LCF Flight Numbers Explained

I had previously posted on the relative regularity of the LCF flights from here on out as they are operated by Everegreen. The flight numbers are fixed and will be consistent. However, not in the way I previously thought. In fact, there is a specific logic and formula to each flight number. Within each flight number lies a great deal of information about the flight. The formula is as follows:



Airports
PAE - Snohomish County / Paine Field, Everett, WA
TAR - M.A. Grottag Airport, Grottaglie, Italy
IAB - McConnell AFB, Wichita, KS
CHS- Charleston AFB/International Airport, Charleston, SC
NGO - Chūbu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya, Japan

There are many different combinations.
Here are some examples:

NGO-PAE-CHS
Eastbound Flight
EIA5186
Delivery of section 45/11, 43

TAR-PIK-CHS
Westbound Flight
EIA5127
Delivery of section 44/46

TAR-PIK-PAE
Westbound Flight
EIA5121
Delivery of horizontal stabilizer

NGO-PAE
Eastbound Flight
EIA5180
Delivery of wings

Finding Regularity

It appears as though the LCF routes operated by Evergreen (previously BOE632 and BOE876) are going to have consistent flight numbers than previously thought:


PAE-IAB - EIA5104
PAE-NGO - EIA5169
PAE-CHS - EIA5106
PAE-ANC - EIA5109
ANC-NGO - EIA5109
IAB-CHS - EIA5146
CHS-PAE - EIA5169
CHS-TAR - EIA5162
NGO-PAE - EIA5180
TAR-PIK - EIA5127

JFK was used on July 24 as a WX diversion from CHS
PIK-JFK - EIA5127
JFK-PAE - EIA5161

EIA5169 left Everett for Japan at 5:25AM PDT this morning. Anyone know what it's going to pick up? Wings for Dreamliner Two?

LCF1 Returning to the US

BREAKING NEWS

The first large cargo freighter, N747BC will return on July 18, 2007 as BOE876 leaving Taiwan at 3:15 GMT and coming back to Everett by way of a fuel stop in Anchorage. LCF1 had been undergoing final modifications and received a full Dreamlifter paint job in Taiwan following the extensive metamorphosis over the previous year. N747BC will join its hard-working sister ship N780BA on normal rotations very soon as a transporter of 787 parts as the program moves toward first flight, flight testing and production ramp up.

UPDATE:
LCF1 snuck into the continental United States this afternoon as EIA574, arriving in Portland where it will undergo bridge work for the next several days before returning to Everett.

Changing Flight Numbers

Flightblogger has learned that the modified 747 LCF2 has changed its call sign from Boeing 632 to Evergreen 5146 and Evergreen 5104. 5146 represents the leg from Wichita to Charleston and 5104 represents Everett to Wichita. Flightblogger is working to confirm the permanent change in LCF flight numbers. Either way, it looks like Section 41 for ZA002 should be coming to Everett very soon.

UPDATE: LCF2 will return to Everett tonight as Evergreen 5169 with an estimated arrival at 6:12PM PDT.

Two Places At Once

Somehow, I managed to defy the laws of gravity, physics and the universe and be in two places at once. I had an excellent vantage point of the departures at PAE yesterday afternoon. Watching the seven series aircraft lined up for departure one after another was truly an amazing sight. After the 757 departed PAE, I, along with famed night-time photographer Charles Conklin, raced down to BFI in time to see the 777-300ER do a fly over. The 777 had already begun its taxi when we left. I have the honor of saying, I raced a 777, and won.

I took a little video from my cell phone camera and put it on youtube.



Here are some of my favorite shots from yesterday. Please note these are 100% unedited images and have not been modified at all except for the copyright mark.

Parade of Sevens

Post time is EDT. -3 hours for PDT.

Editors Note 1: This is the first post from Seattle.
Editors Note 2: This information was not purchased and was provided at the courtesy of a source.

Last night as I was taxiing to the gate at SEA after my cross country flight, my phone rings and on the other line comes the complete schedule for tonight's events at PAE and BFI.

The rumors are true, the parade of Seven series aircraft will take place tonight, July 7, 2007 (7/7/07). Boeing will leave PAE tonight with eight aircraft (707 through 777) beginning at 1835 PDT.

Saturday, July 7, 2007
All times in PDT
1000 LCF2 Returns to PAE (Wings for Static Frame believed to be aboard)
1300 LCF2 Leaves PAE for BFI
1320 LCF2 Arrives at BFI
1400 FedEx 727-200 (tail N464FE) positions at PAE
1400 Delta 767-300 (tail TBD) arrives at PAE
1415 Alaska 737 (tail TBD) arrives at PAE
1500 AirTran 717 (tail TBD) arrives at PAE
1530 Continental 757 (tail TBD) arrives at PAE
1600 Crew meeting for all involved pilots
1700 Group photo for all aircraft
1820 Crews are in place with all aircraft
1830 Museum of Flight Reception begins at BFI
1835 707 taxis, 717 through 777 taxi behind and depart PAE
1900 NOTAM for BFI released - South Field Shut Down
1902 Welcome Remarks at BFI Reception

1907 Omega Air 707 (tail N707MQ) Operating as Omega 1 - Touchdown at BFI
1917 Air Tran 717 Operating at B717B - Touchdown at BFI
1927 FedEx 727 - Touchdown at BFI
1937 Alaska 737 - Touchdown at BFI
1947 Rolls Royce 747-200 (tail N787RR) Operating as N787RR - Touchdown at BFI
1957 Continental 757 - Touchdown at BFI
2007 Delta 767 Operating as DAL9900 - Touchdown at BFI
2017 Air France 777-300ER (tail F-GSQY) Operating as BOE536 - Touchdown at BFI

2038 Rolls Royce 747 taxis at BFI on three engines
2045 707 + 717 towed to Museum of Flight
- 707 and LCF2 will spend the night at BFI
2200 Rolls Royce 747 heads to BFI

All eyes on the sky. Mine certainly will.

A Busy 747

While all eyes were on Dreamliner One heading to the paint shop yesterday, LCF2 was busy working overtime.

N780BA, Large Cargo Freighter 2, returned to Charleston Tuesday from Italy (after a fuel stop in Scotland) with Section 44 and 46 in tow for the second flying test frame ZA002. After arriving in Charleston just before 5pm EDT on June 26, LCF2 turned around two hours later and departed on its way to Everett.

LCF2 arrived in Everett around 9:30 PDT June 26. The full scale static test rig will be assembled and put through its paces in Building 40-23, two bays down from the location of the 787 assembly line.

The modified 747 turned around and departed from Everett (this morning) at around 4am on June 27 for Japan. LCF2 should return to the Pacific Northwest by Thursday.

Boeing 632 Flight Plan
Everett (KPAE) to Nagoya (RJGG)

TOU TR13 SPONJ ORNAI 5200N 14000W 5400N 15000W 5500N 16000W CDB A342 OLCOT R580 OATIS OTR3 GOC W18 SWING

Update: LCF2 returned to Everett without the center fuselage for ZY9997 as previously reported. The center fuselage for the static test rig continues to be assembled in Charleston. On its way back from Japan, the 747 stopped in Everett for fuel and continued on to Charleston with Section 43 and 11/45 for ZA002 aboard, not the wings as previously thought.

Window in the Skies

Flight International Blog featured this great story from the first A380 visit to the US. This also explains why the JFK flight arrived 19 minutes earlier than the LAX flight. The rivalry is real.

Boeing has never knowingly oversold the rival A340's slowness in its own marketing presentations for the 747 and 777. The slowness of the A340-200/300 is indeed legendary - there's even a painting of a 747-400 in flight where the caption reads: "...and just below can be seen an A340 that is being overtaken". Imagine Airbus's unbridled glee therefore when on the first ever commercial route proving flight of the A380 to New York last week the opportunity came to settle some very high profile public relations scores.

The flight operated in collaboration with future A380 customer Lufthansa was cruising over the Atlantic at M0.85 and was about to slow down to coordinate with the LAX-bound A380 sister flight when the crew spotted one of BA's 747s plying its own lonely furrow to the New World. Never slow to acknowledge the broader irony of the encounter, the Airbus-Lufthansa flight crew accelerated to M0.87 and overtook it. The 747, not to be outdone, responded in kind and crept up to M0.87 as well.

The A380 soon had to drop back to M0.83 for the rest of the way however in an effort to co-ordinate its arrival with the LAX flight. It was still early ahead of schedule - landing at 12.10 at New York Kennedy and slightly ahead of the tandem LAX flight whose distinctly imaginative landing repertoire caused several raised eyebrows on either side of the continent.
By Aimee Turner