AirSkinz
Virgin Atlantic
B747 PURPLE Skin Tilez
G-VBIG “Tinker
Belle”
AirSkinz
was a small-scale producer of aviation memorabilia based in the UK
Despite
its relatively short lifespan, the AirSkinz legacy is an incredible array of repurposed
artefacts of aviation introduced to what has become a burgeoning market which gained
leverage off back of a pandemic which decimated the aviation travel industry
Ironically,
the pandemic which inspired this market almost exclusively bought forward the
retirement of the B747 passenger aircraft
This
material would have otherwise been destined for scrap
The
proprietor sent a firm message to his competitors that no one entity was
entitled to a monopoly
This statement
and the AirSkinz ethic is evident in the Tilez range
These
tiles of aircraft skin were cut larger than plane tag keychain keepsakes and as such have a far greater presence
Virgin retired their Jumbo’s in May 2020
The skin from Virgin Atlantic Jumbo’s reflects a luxurious, deep finish
which absolutely ‘pops’ in direct
daylight
The unique pearlescent finish provides a shimmering sparkle and while
difficult to capture in photograph remains a sight to behold, especially to the
naked eye
This PURPLE tile measures 10 x 8cm
It
features a brief description of the aircrafts’ service to the airline engraved
into a highly characteristic zinc chromate internal surface
Certificate of Authenticity included
AirSkinz is no more
The Queen is dead
Reward
yourself with this near-impossible to acquire artefact today!
G-VBIG
“Tinker
Belle”
B747-4Q8
x4 GE
CF6-80C2B1F
MSN:
26255 / LN: 1081
First
flight 28th May 1996
Delivered
to Virgin Atlantic 10th June 1996
Withdrawn
10th November 2019
Stored at
St Athan 22nd November 2019
Recorded
as scrapped May 2020
Price in
$AUD
Combined
postage encouraged
Virgin
Atlantic had operated thirty B747’s between 1984 and 2020
Seventeen
were Classic variants sourced 2nd and 3rd hand
from various sources while thirteen were the upgraded -400 model some of which
were delivered new to the airline from Boeing
On the 9th April
2019 Virgin announced that it would retire the last of its eight B744’s by 2021
to make way for more efficient twin jets
However,
consistent with every other remaining Jumbo PAX operator, Virgin Atlantic made
a further announcement that it would retire its entire remaining B747 fleet
with immediate effect on the 5th May 2020
At this
time five of the airline’s seven Jumbos were already listed as stored at MAN,
G-VROY was at LHR and G-VXLG at GLA
Manchester
became a staging point where the fleet awaited its fate
VS B744 Fleet Status
G-VBIG 10th Jun
1996 Tinker Belle SCRAPPED
G-VAST 17th Jun 1997 Ladybird SCRAPPED
G-VXLG 30th Sep
1998 Ruby Tuesday VQ-BZV Longtail Aviation
G-VGAL 26th Apr
2001 Jersey Girl Stored
G-VLIP 5th May
2001 Hot Lips Stored
G-VROS 22nd Mar
2001 English Rose N583BC Boeing Capital Corp
G-VROY 18th Jun
2001 Pretty Woman N482MC Atlas
G-VROM 29th Mar
2012 Barbarella N481MC Atlas
The 744 Dilemma
The Boeing 747-400 is an advanced
variant of the B747 series. The 'Advanced Series 300' was announced at
the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow. The -400 is a larger, more efficient and
longer-range Jumbo variant which enabled the over-flight of traditional tech-stops.
It introduced a glass cockpit and reduced the number of dials, gauges and knobs
from 971 to 365 via enhanced avionics eliminating the role of the third knob
– the flight engineer. It retained the original airframe with the -300 EUD and
introduced 1.8m drag reducing winglets. The -400 also featured tail fuel tanks,
revised engines, and a new interior. Powerplants included the Pratt
& Whitney PW4062, General Electric CF6-80C2, and Rolls-Royce RB211-524,
equivalent and interchangeable with those utilised in the parallel production
of the B767’s
Northwest Airlines were the launch customer and ordered ten aircraft on the 22nd October 1985. The first-400 rolled out on January 26th 1988 with a maiden flight on the 29th April. Type certification was received on the 9th January 1989, the first commercial flight occurred on the 9th February between Minneapolis and Phoenix
An extended range freighter (ERF) entered
service in October 2002 followed by a passenger version (ER) in November.
Qantas were the only airline to order the -400ER initially for the MEL to
LAX and DFW to SYD routes allowing a commercially viable service
with full passenger and cargo payloads. Prior to introducing the -400ER, Qantas
blocked out E zone to weight limit passenger numbers and associated baggage.
The -400ER featured the Boeing Signature Interior, which was later offered as a
retro-fit on previous models
The -400ER also introduced flight deck
enhancements, including the replacement of CRT displays with LCD’s and the
three standby instruments were amalgamated into a single combined integrated
standby flight display LCD, both of which became standard across the series in
late 2003
In March 2007, Boeing announced that it
had no plans to produce further passenger versions of the -400, the final
delivery occurring in April 2005 for China Airlines. However, orders for
36 -400F and -400ERF freighters were already in place. The -400 was
superseded by the stretched and improved Boeing 747-8, introduced in October
2011 to an albeit mild reception
With 694 -400’s delivered between
1989 and 2009, it was by far Boeing's best-selling 747 variant. The largest
operators of the jet included Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines and British
Airways
The -400's leasing, resale and salvage
value has dropped steeply due to relatively expensive operating costs above
more efficient twin-jets. Age is also not on the -400’s side as most airframe
exceed twenty years. Airlines are beginning to replace them with more fuel
efficient aircraft such as Boeing 777/787’s and Airbus A350’s. The change in
emphasis from hub and spoke operations to point-to-point flights has also
reduced the need for large, multi-engine jets
Moreover, economic weakness in air cargo markets has slowed demand for cargo conversions. Since the cost of replacement is high, most appear to be operating the -400's to the full extent of their accepted useful lifespan prior to scrapping. The current parts resale value for the type has been reduced to its engines and Planetags
Thank you for looking