Request for aircraft registrations LOOOOOOONNNNNNG Shot!

Aviation Airlines
1

I know this is a long shot. I’ve been keeping track of all my airline flights over the past 37 years. After over 200 flights, it still bugs me that I have a handful that I do not have the registration of the aircraft.

I’ve already checked the DOT statistics page. All of the following flights took place earlier than the earliest data available on that page

The flights are:

07 Jun 71: Hughes AirWest flight 812 YUM-IPL-LAX DC-9

07 Jun 71: Golden West DHC-6 LAX-ONT

18 Jun 71: Golden West DHC-6 ONT-LAX

18 Jun 71: Hughes AirWest LAX-IPL-YUM (this flight only operated twice week. One of those days was Friday; I believe the other day was Thursday). This was the middle flight of the day out of 3 flights between LAX, IPL, and YUM.

19 Jul 72: Pan American 707 military charter from SUU to HNL (arrived HNL between 2000 and 2200)

09 Feb 78: Southern Airways 174 GPT-MSY

The flights in red I have no illusion of ever getting the registrations because Golden West operated quite a few flights between LAX and ONT. If I could get a listing of all registrations operated on those days then I could probably figure it out by cross-referencing the times with my Hughes AirWest timetables of the period.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

2

I’m reminded of a STYX song from the 80’s…TMTOMH’s :wink:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntzCi1lu2ys)

3

TMTOMH? Too much time on my hands?

I know you are just joking (at least that’s the way I took it) but I don’t think it’s that. It’s something that has bugged me for years.

As far as the STYX song i so concerned. Didn’t watch it - afraid my mouse would come up and slap me in the face for making it go to that site! :smiley:

4

As you say, a very long shot, but good luck scratching that old itch.

5

Thanks for the encouragement.

With the exception of the Southern flights, I was too young to know that I should get the registrations. With the Southern flight, I was young and thought people would think I was weird asking for the registrations. I also didn’t know the certificate containing the registration was posted at the top of the door.

I want to thank Southwest for making my logging much easier. They have the registration not only above the door like required by the FARs but also on the bulkhead as you enter the aircraft.

6

Holy moly, that’s a longshot. That said, records that old would be on paper someplace and frankly, I think you have a better shot than if you were looking for reg numbers of planes you’ve flown on more recently.

Example: I’m trying to find the reg number of a Boeing 757-200 that I flew on from PIT to DEN on February 3rd of this year - impossible. I couldn’t get the number because I never had a clear view of the outside rear of the plane.

Joe

7

Were you on UA1227? If so, then the registration is N583UA.

From the Airline On-Time Performance section of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

If you can see the number on the nose wheel gear, you can cross reference that to a tail number by using JP Airline Fleets. You may also be able to find a site online that offers the same information.

8

What flight were you on, Joe?

Hmmmmmm… The ACARS Report shows UA1227 as being N203UA, a 737-300. :confused:

Linke no workie

9

ACARS uses GMT. N203UA operated the flight on 2 Feb 08 local times.

Here’s the correct link:
transtats.bts.gov/Tables.asp … me=On-Time

(the original link had an extraneous character in it)

10

Dami- You might try your request on the sites for those defunct airlines. A retired pilot or employee might have useful advice. Please change your avatar back to Marvin Martian! :stuck_out_tongue:

11

Good suggestion.

Regarding Marvin: I’d have to relocate it. I think it’s on my cmputer at work.

Actually, I was thinking of changing my avatar again in a few weeks but to another great airline of the past.

12

Yes, it was flight 1227. N583UA, new livery 752 - Thanks!

So on a personal note, out of 22 flights this year alone on United 752’s I have not been on the same plane twice. I keep thinking that at some point the odds are that I’d have to fly the same plane twice. Thanks to those links, I’m going to look up the numbers for flights I did in 2007, I didn’t keep track of N numbers back then.

Thanks again!

Joe

13

While not impossible to catch the same plane twice, I would say it would be difficult to do so, especially with only 22 flights. Look at the routes N583UA flew for the first 4 days of February:

2/1: DTW-ORD-SAN-IAD
2/2: IAD-STT-SJU-ORD
2/3: ORD-BWI-PIT-DEN-MCI
2/4: MCI-DEN-SNA-SFO-IAD

In case you haven’t downloaded the data yet, here’s a few pointers:

  • The data file is too large to fully import into Excel 2003 or earlier. You’ll need Excel 2007

  • If you use Microsoft Access, you can import the CSV to create a new table. I’ve noticed that Access wants to treat the fl_date field (yyyy-mm-dd) as a number so you’ll need to change the field type in the import wizard.

Please contact me via this topic or private message if you need any assistance in manipulating the data once it’s in a database.

14

For those of us who log our airline flights, don’t you wish the airlines still placed the registration on the side of the aircraft and on the wing?

15

I should pay more attention to the tail numbers of the planes I fly. I probably fly between 30-50 flights a year. I’m sure I have been on the same MD-80 a few times (yes, American Airlines).

Best of luck with the searches. I have no idea how you can keep track of all of the flights you have taken. Very cool.

16

Well, here’s an update:

Last night I boarded N506UA for a routine flight from SEA to SFO, Boeing 757-200. Turns out that my two year unbroken string of United 757 flights on different aircraft ended at 44. My records show I was on this same plane on January 22, 2007 from SJC to ORD.

United has what, something like 100 752’s in their fleet? I’ve been on 44 of them. I was kind of hoping I’d repeat a plane after I’ve been on half the fleet. Oh well.

Joe