In a fitting retirement for its oldest Boeing 747-400 aircraft, if all goes to plan Qantas flight QF7474 is due to land at 7:47am (local time) on Sunday at the Illawarra Regional Airport near Wollongong, New South Wales.
Four highly experienced Qantas pilots have already spent more than 25 hours in a flight simulator preparing for the tight landing, with Captain Greg Matthews - the pilot in command on the day - having also scoped out the final approach path in a far smaller Piper Cherokee.
The 747-400 can normally fly for up to 16 hours - and in fact, this very aircraft once set a record for the world's longest commercial flight for the longest ever commercial flight, non-stop from London to Sydney in 20 hours, 9 minutes and 5 seconds in August 1989. Its last flight was from Johannesburg to Sydney on January 14, after which the final crew signed their names on an internal wall.
The final flight of VH-OJA from Sydney Airport to Wollongong is expected to be far, far shorter - just over 15 minutes. Then, it will be placed on display at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS), which is home the largest collection of both flying and static heritage aircraft in Australia, including an old Qantas Lockheed Super Constellation.
Qantas is hoping for good weather on the day, as the runway needs to be dry to reduce braking time and the aircraft can land in only one direction, from the north, which has the longest runway. The aircraft will carry 25,400 litres of fuel, versus the maximum of 217,000 litres. It will have four pilots, partly so that one can spend the entire flight focused on being the radio operator, communicating with the ground.
The four pilots, led by Captain Matthews, who is Qantas's manager of training and checking for the 747 also include first officer Peter Hagley, a 747 technical pilot, second officer Michael East and Captain Ossie Miller, the 747 fleet captain. Second officer East was chosen for the job in part because he learned to fly in the Illawarra and used to be a flying instructor based at Albion Park. In total, the pilots on board have more than 50,000 flying hours between them.
The final flight of VH-OJA from Sydney Airport to Wollongong is expected to be far, far shorter - just over 15 minutes. Then, it will be placed on display at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS), which is home the largest collection of both flying and static heritage aircraft in Australia, including an old Qantas Lockheed Super Constellation.
Qantas is hoping for good weather on the day, as the runway needs to be dry to reduce braking time and the aircraft can land in only one direction, from the north, which has the longest runway. The aircraft will carry 25,400 litres of fuel, versus the maximum of 217,000 litres. It will have four pilots, partly so that one can spend the entire flight focused on being the radio operator, communicating with the ground.
The four pilots, led by Captain Matthews, who is Qantas's manager of training and checking for the 747 also include first officer Peter Hagley, a 747 technical pilot, second officer Michael East and Captain Ossie Miller, the 747 fleet captain. Second officer East was chosen for the job in part because he learned to fly in the Illawarra and used to be a flying instructor based at Albion Park. In total, the pilots on board have more than 50,000 flying hours between them.
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