$500k on ebay...
$500k on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Boeing-737-275-CARGO-READY-FLY-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem255eb2c339QQitemZ160502563641QQptZMotorsQ5fAircraft#ht_32425wt_939 Shes been around since 1969 though! Wonder how much hours left in the airframe etc?
On Ebay? Good fish hauler. Timed out airframe, Airframe Hours : 60801.4 Airframe Cycles: 74666 No thanks.
Is there a cycle or hour limit on the 737-200, or do the inspections just get more and more expensive? Either way, I'd guess it's headed south, where they are less picky about such details.
pass, it has the original fuel-hog engines, not the CFM56-3's. Part it out or pyrotechnic it in a movie.
It's the CYCLES that wear them out. Repeated pressure expansion. The inspections not only get more expensive but the repairs increase exponentially after they find aluminum powder in the joints and seams between the skin and stringers, (and frames, and skin laps, and join rings). Not to mention the CRACKS EVERYWHERE. Airframe cycles, environment and likely lack of maintenance puts this one in the scrap yard. The thing is a TURD. Perfect for flying livestock in Africa. I wouldn't fly on that thing if you paid ME. ( Maybe with a parachute below 10,000 feet) Besides, would YOU buy a 40 year old 737 from ebay? See Aloha 737. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19880428-0 Status: Final Date: 28 APR 1988 Time: 13:46 Type: Boeing 737-297 Operator: Aloha Airlines Registration: N73711 C/n / msn: 20209/152 First flight: 1969-03-28 (19 years 1 months) Total airframe hrs: 35496 Cycles: 89680 Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A Crew: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 5 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 90 Total: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 95 Airplane damage: Substantial Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: near Maui, HI (United States of America) show on map Phase: En route (ENR) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Hilo International Airport, HI (ITO) (ITO/PHTO), United States of America Destination airport: Honolulu International Airport, HI (HNL) (HNL/PHNL), United States of America Flightnumber: 243 PROBABLE CAUSE: "The failure of the Aloha Airlines maintenance program to detect the presence of significant disbonding and fatigue damage, which ultimately led to failure of the lap joint at S-10L and the separation of the fuselage upper lobe. Contributing to the accident were the failure of Aloha Airlines management to supervise properly its maintenance force as well as the failure of the FAA to evaluate properly the Aloha Airlines maintenance program and to assess the airline's inspection and quality control deficiencies. Also contributing to the accident were the failure of the FAA to require Airworthiness Directive 87-21-08 inspection of all the lap joints proposed by Boeing Alert Service Bulletin SB 737-53A1039 and the lack of a complete terminating action (neither generated by Boeing nor required by the FAA) after the discovery of early production difficulties in the 737 cold bond lap joint, which resulted in low bond durability, corrosion and premature fatigue cracking." ( The cold lap assembly is still used on all Boeing jets, improved and with no durability compromises, ever) AND THIS WASN'T EVEN IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. Just think, there are still 707s out there still flying................................... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Part out candidate. -200s are useless. The only redeeming item for this aircraft is that it is a freighter. If there was a real market for this it would not be on E-Bay. Jeff
Uh, not totally..... You can't put the gravel/soft runway kit on anything other than a -200. A couple of the airlines up here still operate them even.
Maybe this needs another thread.... But how well does a 737 of any variety operate off of a gravel runway? I would imagine that you would FOD out the engines pretty much immediately?
Early Alaska Airlines 737's had gravel guards and foreign object vortex generators that blew away possible damaging stones and gravel.
Currently in use daily in the Alaskan Aleutians. Same runways the DC3's use only longer. Those things are beat to hell underneath. Just slap a glob of BMS 5-95 across the holes and go,
And that fact that the plane didn't break up in flight but continued to hold together all the way through landing is a helluva testament to build quality. I hear ya, but haven't seen any other planes come down that way.
A passenger sitting over the wing section could see the crown of the cockpit flexing up and down a foot or so in the turbulence. It got worse when they tried to lower the flaps on approach, causing extreme buffeting so left them at 5 degrees or so and literally flew it onto the runway at minimum cruise, very hot at 180+ or so. I saw the video taken from the end of the runway as it passed over down the strip. Wiki, "First Officer Madeline "Mimi" Tompkins' head was jerked back during the decompression, and she saw cabin insulation flying around the cockpit. Captain Robert Schornstheimer looked back and saw blue sky where the first class cabin's roof had been. Tompkins immediately contacted Air Traffic Control on Maui to declare mayday, switching duties with Captain Schornstheimer, who from this point on, took over control of the plane, as it is usually customary for the Captain to take over a flight that enters a state of emergency." What's amazing is he greased it on without breaking it in half.
That 737 had just been reworked to replace the lower fuselage skins that held the lower monocoque together as designed. The passenger floor beams have longitudinal intercostals and the seat rails that add to the bending rigidity. The upper monocoque failed due to corrosion and pillowing at rivet locations due to moist salt air invasion of the alloy not protected by the alclad. It was caused by an outright maintenance issue.
This is a thorough documentation of the A/P, the incident and failure determinations. Professionally done for TV, answers all your questions. This part 4 of 5 parts. I've seen them all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-8fpfWBD9k This A/P was #152 off the line by the way. One of the VERY oldest. More than 8,000 have been built to far. I always tell people that are afraid of flying to is fly on an airline that is NOT having financial problems and runs a "newer" fleet. The safest plane to fly is one right out of the factory, after the airlines get them those things are in the air up to 20+ hours a day and get the crap run out of them. Try THAT with your Toyota.
