WYG737LVR From Canada, joined Feb 2007, 33 posts, RR: 0 Posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 15573 times:
I was checking out AC's fleet info page and noticed that FIN 604, C-GAUN, aka "The Gimli Glider", is no longer being shown in their active fleet. Does anyone know if she's been parked in the desert, or is she being "parted out" and scrapped?
I would love to see her donated to one of the aviation museum's. I would really like to see her donated to the Western Canadian Aviation Museum, here in YWG, but would be happy to know that she isn't being scrapped or wasting away in the desert.
Richierich From United States of America, joined Nov 2000, 4036 posts, RR: 6 Reply 5, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 15184 times:
Quoting WYG737LVR (Thread starter): I was checking out AC's fleet info page and noticed that FIN 604, C-GAUN, aka "The Gimli Glider", is no longer being shown in their active fleet. Does anyone know if she's been parked in the desert, or is she being "parted out" and scrapped?
I would love to see her donated to one of the aviation museum's. I would really like to see her donated to the Western Canadian Aviation Museum, here in YWG, but would be happy to know that she isn't being scrapped or wasting away in the desert.
While it would be nice of AC to put this aircraft in a museum, I'm sure that the reality of economics will rule and this aircraft will probably be parted out. Its too bad but - let's be fair - its expensive to keep an aircraft sitting around and I think it is unlikely that this one will be saved.
The story of the "Gimli Glider" is one of the best happy-ending airliner stories I know of. (Although, IIFC, some people definitely lost their jobs and may have even been charged with a crime). The end of a great career for one very lucky bird.
FlyDreamliner From United States of America, joined Jan 2006, 2759 posts, RR: 15 Reply 6, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 15152 times:
Quoting Richierich (Reply 5): While it would be nice of AC to put this aircraft in a museum, I'm sure that the reality of economics will rule and this aircraft will probably be parted out. Its too bad but - let's be fair - its expensive to keep an aircraft sitting around and I think it is unlikely that this one will be saved.
It's one of the greatest stories in commercial aviation, if the Spirit of Delta escapes the scrap heap, I think for certain the Gimli Glider needs to as well. It's the most remarkable thing I've heard of, things could not have gone more right.
"Let the world change you, and you can change the world"
EFCar98 From United States of America, joined May 2005, 137 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 15103 times:
they should invite the crew and passengers on that fateful flight for a retirement ceremony or something like that. I wonder how many of those people are willing to fly on an airplane after that incident?
Mdaigle From Canada, joined Aug 2005, 49 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 15017 times:
She's still actively flying, I've caught her on ACARS over the last few days. Here is a log generated by Alexis Antonakis' website (http://www.antonakis.co.uk/acars.php?page=request)
JoePatroni From United States of America, joined Mar 2007, 199 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 14950 times:
Actually, GAUN is operating AC108 YVR-YYZ as we speak and is being routed on a bunch of Rapidairs and YUL-YVR runs. Doesn't quite sound like she's that inactive and/or retired yet. In fact she's still holding her own.
On a side note, I had a chance to be "up-close and personal" with GAUN when she was in SFO doing a YYZ run. I have to admit, it was like being with a living legend. I hope that when she is retired that they will find a suitable and proper home for her, but for now- KEEP GOING!!!
United_Fan From United States of America, joined Nov 2000, 7176 posts, RR: 8 Reply 12, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 14886 times:
I remember when Popular Mechanics did a story on that flight. There was a dramatic picture of it with its nose gear still up. There were Go-karts racing around it ! They must have used the closed runway for that ..
[Edited 2007-05-18 20:19:35]
'Empathy was yesterday...Today, you're wasting my Mother-F'ing time' - Heat.
KELPkid From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 5962 posts, RR: 4 Reply 14, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 14805 times:
Quoting PC12Fan (Reply 13): You exactly right! But so was the entire airport because it was abandoned. Pilots saw the long stretch of pavement and went for it.
Well, that's a little bit of an oversimplification...the Capt. knew about Gimli from his RCAF days, and actually flew there. Did the RAT give them one of their PFD's? If so, they probably had a good visual on exactly where the airport was...however, if it had been closed for a while, the airfield probably wasn't in the navigation database
Celebrating the birth of KELPkidJR on August 5, 2009 :-)
Airfoilsguy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 15, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 14753 times:
Quoting KELPkid (Reply 14): If so, they probably had a good visual on exactly where the airport was...however, if it had been closed for a while, the airfield probably wasn't in the navigation database
I remember reading that the runway they landed on was closed but the other runway was still being used for general aviation. There was a quote form some guy in a Cessna that was on the other runway saying that the 767 made a perfect landing.
CYQL From Canada, joined Sep 2006, 80 posts, RR: 1 Reply 16, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 14659 times:
Quoting Airfoilsguy (Reply 15): I remember reading that the runway they landed on was closed but the other runway was still being used for general aviation.
Gimli was a former RCAF training base. It had two parallel runways, the same layout as Moose Jaw and Portage. The outer runway was closed and was being used as a drag strip.
I was working the flight line in Moose Jaw at the time and remember the extra briefing's we received on converting gallons to litres. At the time our bowsers still used gallons, while our paperwork had changed over to metric.
BOACVC10 From United States of America, joined Jul 2006, 520 posts, RR: 0 Reply 18, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 14196 times:
From Transport Canada regarding a/c reg. C-GAUN:
What is the function / meaning of the 24-bit address ?
BOACVC10
Mark: C-GAUN Serial No: 22520
Common Name: Boeing Model Name: 767-233
You may search by any combination of following fields.
Please enter the information you wish to search by and click the Search Button.
When entering the mark, it is not necessary to enter CF- or C-.
When searching by Owner, enter a Company Name or a Last Name. CANADA
Mark Information Quebec
Aircraft Information Montreal
Regional Office: Dorval Basis for Eligibility for Registration: Type Certificate - CAR Standard 507.02 (1), 507.03 (3) - A137
Type of Registration: Commercial
Category: Aeroplane Max take-off weight: 140615
Manufacturer: The Boeing Company
Year of Manufacture: 1983
Country of manufacture: U.S.A. 24-bit address: 110000000100011010111110
(kgs)
Owner Registered Since: 1983-04-07 Latest Certificate of Registration Issued: 2006-08-28
Engine: Turbo Fan Number of Engines: 2
JoeCanuck From Canada, joined Dec 2005, 5123 posts, RR: 29 Reply 20, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 13977 times:
When that occurred, I was training in gliders in Grande Prairie, Alberta. From the last weekend of July to the first weekend of August every year there is, (or maybe was), a huge international glider meet in Cowley, Alberta.
One of the glider pilots I met was an Air Canada DC-9 captain. He knew the crew of the Gimli Glider and said that Pearson told him that he credited his glider experience for getting the 767 down in one piece. Wikipedia seems to be 100% correct on that point.
As if flying every day in a gaggle of gliders wasn't cool enough...
Connies4ever From Canada, joined Feb 2006, 3889 posts, RR: 13 Reply 22, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 13626 times:
Quoting KELPkid (Reply 14): Well, that's a little bit of an oversimplification...the Capt. knew about Gimli from his RCAF days, and actually flew there. Did the RAT give them one of their PFD's? If so, they probably had a good visual on exactly where the airport was...however, if it had been closed for a while, the airfield probably wasn't in the navigation database Wink
Actually it was the FO who had trained at Gimli. The Cpt was a qualified glider pilot. Pearson actually thought about trying to make YWG but soon realised that was out of the question, so headed for Gimli. He was having trouble finding the strip and started thinking about putting it in the lake -- which likely would have resulted in serious casualties, when he saw the strip, sideslipped the bird, and put it down on the mains. Nosewheel collapsed, total damage was minimal, and I think one broken ankle going off the slide.
I've said before and willl again, it was an outstanding piece of airmanship that should _never_ have happened. A Captain's primary job is to safeguard his/her pax first and then the a/c. When there was confusion both at YUL and YOW about exactly how muuch fuel had been loaded, the prudent thing to do was to fill the tanks up. End of story, no problemo. When the first blue light came on near Red Lake (185 nm away from Gimli) both Capt & FO looked at each other and knew _exactly_ what had happened. I would have beached him for bad judgment.
ZBBYLW From Canada, joined Nov 2006, 1927 posts, RR: 7 Reply 23, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 13254 times:
While most of everything has been corrected above ill just summarize the first few points.
Gimli was in fact used as an GA base (only using the other runway)
F/O was the ex RCAF pilot
Captain was the ex glider pilot
OK now some interesting points. My mom an AC f/a has talked with the f/o a few times and even brought up the incident, apparently it was not all that quite up front due to the wind noise. I believe he only retired a few years ago.
Anyways any AC insider can take a look at the computers and see if GAUN will continue to fly for a little bit I would love to get on it again before she finally turns into a museum piece or tin cans.
WestJetForLife From Canada, joined exactly 8 years ago today! , 814 posts, RR: 1 Reply 24, posted (6 years 1 month 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 13140 times:
Ahh, yes, the Gimli Glider.
My Air Cadet Squadron (604 RCACS) had an opportunity to meet with Bob Pearson about his experiences gliding a 767 over 130 miles, gliding in general and the basics of being a pilot and how to handle emergency situations.
Cheers,
Nik
PS: July 23, 2007 will mark 25 years since GAUN ran out of fuel. Just thought I'd let you know.
I need a drink.
25 BeechNut: Actually at the time I believe he was still a current glider pilot; he was the president of the gliding club in my home town of Hawkesbury, Ontario (
26 Yegger: Actually July 23, 2008 will be the 25th anniversary as this occured in 1983. I had the opportunity to service this aircraft on many occasions in the
28 SixtySeven: The glider is indeed still flying around. She's due to be retired in the fall. I looked up a date but there is nothing firm as of yet as it's all a fu
29 WestJetForLife: Oops. Sorry about that. Miscalculated my years. I was a little muddled up. Thanks for the correction. Nik
30 SafeFlyer: Yup, still flying, saw it not too long ago. Have a look at http://www.contrailsphotography.com, the fleet stats page seems to be well maintained and a
31 Plunaaircanada: Im going to start my own airline is going to be called "Glide Canada" and its going to be a low-cost one BTW puac
32 Jamesontheroad: Was just reading up on the incident on Wikipedia... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_glider ...and found this.
33 JoeCanuck: "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome aboard this Glide Canada flight from Montreal to Vancouver. Today, we'll be towed up to 38,000', then
34 Trintocan: I sincerely hope that C-CAUN, whenever it is retired, is donated to a museum and preserved. That was a truly spectacular piece of airmanship by the pi
35 SixtySeven: Gimli was an old RCAF base. It had been closed for quite sometime but was being used as a drag strip. The crew did an excellent job of getting that ai
36 Revelation: According to Wikipedia, he did get punished: I bet the pax were turning green:
37 YWG: Pfff.....the golf course is right beside the airport...and is the most bush league course you'll ever see. I recall seeing hulla hoops on the greens
38 WYG737LVR: Well its nice to know that she's still flying. I just find it a bit odd that Air Canada would remove the fin # off of its active fleet website.
39 Skyexramper: There was a movie made about this wasn't there. I remember seeing one about 10 years ago or so, one of those made for tv movies.
40 MIAMIx707: Wow this plane is still flying? That rules! How many AC 767-200s left in the AC fleet anyways? I saw one about a month ago at MCO, strange maybe some
41 ZBBYLW: Perhaps it was a charter for Kidz Horizon, if you saw it at an FBO or the like. Nope, the old white with green tail is still around, but it is gettin
42 Crank: There are 10 762s left in the fleet, C-GAUN being the only non-ER left.
43 SixtySeven: She's a good ole girl. Scraped her chin in Manitoba once, but her takeoffs still equal her landings..... the ultimate test for an airliner, imho.
44 Jamesontheroad: Completely appropriate - he was, in no uncertain terms, responsible for putting the safety of himself, his crew and his passengers in jeopardy. Howev
45 SixtySeven: If you saw it in MCO it was for the Dreams Take Flight trip. AC donates an aircraft, crews volunteer their time and fly underlpriveldged/sick children
47 YOW: It would be nice if the museum built a covered walkway to connect the two buildings together. It's a shame several pieces of Canadian aviation are no
48 Viscount724: Most commercial jets are basically glidiing when they're descending at idle power. If memory correct FIN 671 was retired a few years ago but the othe
49 SixtySeven: I'm not sure about 671 but 672 went down to Marana last week for storage.
50 MIAMIx707: yes it was at an FBO, about a week or two ago. thanks interesting, thanks. I found it strange to see a 767 since the canadian sports charters to flor
51 YVRLTN: Has been at MHV for at least a year already. C-GAUN certainly still flying - operated AC112 YVR - YUL today.
52 BeechNut: Well they did do up an A319 into Trans Canada Airlines colours (fin 264, C-FZUH if my memory is still intact at 48 years...). Last I heard it still f
53 Plunaaircanada: its sad its been retired I have a pic of it during maintenance as my wallpaper puac
54 Skydrol: I also agree, 604 should go to museum. That airplane is a flying legend, too incredible of a story to disappear to scrap. When the CBC page loads, cli
55 Bakersdozen: http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-69-240-...was_then/life_society/gimli_glider Original CBC news video after the event. Check out the plane laying on the r
56 SixtySeven: Just to put another spin on this. This a/c will never be put in a museum. Why would AC donate an a/c to a museum that represents a major embarassment?
57 Blackbird1331: If you can find it, there was a made-for-tv movie titled "Flight 174" starring William DeVane. Lots of mistakes but still believeable. If anyone finds
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