|
Found while scrolling though the Whitehorse Star newspaper
Source: Yukon Nuggets
|
|
What happened to the CP Air Boeing 747-200s?
Condensed by Ken Pickford
The first two of CP Air's four Boeing 747-200s, C-FCRA, Fin #741 and C-FCRB, Fin #742, were delivered in November and December 1973. The next two, C-FCRD, Fin #743 and C-FCRE, Fin #744, were delivered a year later, in November and December 1974. All were the B-747-217B model. "17" was CP Air's Boeing customer code and "B" indicated the standard passenger version as opposed to the -200F (freighter), -200C (passenger/cargo convertible) and -200M (combi).
All four aircraft went to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in 1985/86 as part of a deal that exchanged the 747s for four of PIA's McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30s, with each airline acquiring aircraft better suited to their routes at the time.
C-FCRE, Fin #744, was the first CP Air 747 to go to PIA in December 1985, becoming AP-BCL. It was disposed of by PIA in 2005. After service with defunct Orient Thai Airways it was dismantled and moved to Pattaya, Thailand a few years ago where it was reassembled (minus engines) and is now parked in the middle of a street food market. At one point there was a plan to convert it to a bar or restaurant.
|
 Click the icon for one of the more recent YouTube videos about C-FCRE (posted by Chris Blair) |
|
C-FCRB, Fin #742, went to PIA in May 1986, becoming AP-BCM, followed by C-FCRA, Fin #741 in September 1986, becoming AP-BCN. Both were withdrawn from use in 2001 and scrapped at Karachi in 2002.
C-FCRD, Fin #743, was the last CP Air 747 to go to PIA in November 1986, becoming AP-BCO. It was still in service until at least 2002 but retirement date is unclear. It was eventually scrapped at Karachi. |
 |
|
C-FCRA at Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport
December 1974
Photo by Christian Volpati |
 |
|
C-FCRD at Manchester, England
Circa 1980 Photo by Clipperarctic
|
|
A rare family in Canada today
The Boeing 747 series as a whole is now an extremely rare aircraft family when it comes to Canadian-registered examples of the ‘Queen of the Skies.’ The country has no registered B-747-200s left today, and, in fact, just two 747s of any kind. These are both examples of the short-fuselage 747SP, and serve as testbeds for engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada.
These classic quadjets are both over 44 years old. C-GTFF was originally delivered to Korean Air in March 1981 and C-FPAW is an ex-Air China example, delivered to predecessor CAAC in September 1980.
|
 |
