Iran´s Saha Air has reactivated its two 742Fs EP-SHB and -SHF in recent months after being stored since 2000 and 1999. That must be some kind of record for a big jet.

Now lets see what will finally happen with the two low-mileage 747s of Iraq parked at Tozeur/Tunisia since 1991!

I wonder how much work would be needed to get them airworthy...

Are they allowed to fly it everywhere? I am not so sure about the safety aspect here.

Isn´t Saha Air the Commercial Airline of the Iranian Air Force? So could their still be sanctions upon them which could make it difficult to get spare parts?
The planes are likely low cycle ones, so I guess they could have life left in them. Depends of course of the storage conditions. As they are pure -Fs they have the lifting nose to carry special cargo which makes the plane more valueable.

na wrote:

Iran´s Saha Air has reactivated its two 742Fs EP-SHB and -SHF in recent months after being stored since 2000 and 1999. That must be some kind of record for a big jet.

Now lets see what will finally happen with the two low-mileage 747s of Iraq parked at Tozeur/Tunisia since 1991!

So, that's where all the spare parts from the 3 scrapped SPs are going...

That’s awesome! Always nice seeing these classics

na wrote:

Iran´s Saha Air has reactivated its two 742Fs EP-SHB and -SHF in recent months after being stored since 2000 and 1999. That must be some kind of record for a big jet.

Now lets see what will finally happen with the two low-mileage 747s of Iraq parked at Tozeur/Tunisia since 1991!

Who even knows how to rehab a 742 for flight anymore? The cockpit instruments and avionics must be antiques.

Philippine747 wrote:

I wonder how much work would be needed to get them airworthy...

Kick the tires, light the fires, off ya go!

Next step, get the Saha pax carrying 707s back in service!

Next, they can get Tom Thumb back into service too!

Does anyone know when these planes were built? 17 years in storage, I'm thinking early 80's?

727200 wrote:

Does anyone know when these planes were built? 17 years in storage, I'm thinking early 80's?

Serial, LN, Delivery Date

5-8113 315 1977-12-22
5-8114 319 1978-02-27
5-8115 340 1978-09-29

Wow, 77 and 78? I wasn't close and the majority of A-netters were not born.

No laptops, computers, PTV, and your "phone" was a glass booth on the corner with a sliding door. Bring lots of quarters.

727200 wrote:

Does anyone know when these planes were built? 17 years in storage, I'm thinking early 80's?

For Iranian Boeings like this, they would have to have been delivered prior to the 1979 revolution.

That first takeoff is going to be "interesting", perhaps we can get Sammy to go along and do a TR.

Now that's something you don't see every day. Glad to hear it!

They fly for the iranian airforce? So no chance to book a trip to Iran and fly them?

Revelation wrote:

Philippine747 wrote:

I wonder how much work would be needed to get them airworthy...

Kick the tires, light the fires, off ya go!

If it gets off the ground under its own power then its deemed airworthy.

There is a very good reason why these 2 birds are up and flying again. The only active B747 Cargo that the military or the revolutionary guards used was recently blown up by Israel Air force in Syria.
They really need to fly in supply from Iran to Syria since its way to difficult to drive through Iraq.

Sad to see that they where bought to defend Iran from USSR are now working with Russia today to fight a war in Syria!

Cyrus wrote:

There is a very good reason why these 2 birds are up and flying again. The only active B747 Cargo that the military or the revolutionary guards used was recently blown up by Israel Air force in Syria.
They really need to fly in supply from Iran to Syria since its way to difficult to drive through Iraq.

Sad to see that they where bought to defend Iran from USSR are now working with Russia today to fight a war in Syria!

Politic aside, any reason why Israel Air Force would blow up the B747? Which frame was this?

juliuswong wrote:

Cyrus wrote:

There is a very good reason why these 2 birds are up and flying again. The only active B747 Cargo that the military or the revolutionary guards used was recently blown up by Israel Air force in Syria.
They really need to fly in supply from Iran to Syria since its way to difficult to drive through Iraq.

Sad to see that they where bought to defend Iran from USSR are now working with Russia today to fight a war in Syria!

Politic aside, any reason why Israel Air Force would blow up the B747? Which frame was this?

Probably because it was being used to transport weapons from Iran to Syria. Most likely these old birds will end up meeting a similar fate.

QuarkFly wrote:

Who even knows how to rehab a 742 for flight anymore? The cockpit instruments and avionics must be antiques.

Even before this, I'd have bet that the answer to some species of "Who still has working fluency with geriatric 747s?" would be some dudes in Iran. There have to be a lot of very talented people there to have kept the stuff they have flying for so long given the very limited access to parts they had for so many years.

These 747s along with a number of Il-76 freighters that operate for the revolutionary guard corps. The strangest thing is that Iran Air has a purpose build nose loading 747-200F stored at THR that for some reason has not been active in many years

QuarkFly wrote:

Who even knows how to rehab a 742 for flight anymore? The cockpit instruments and avionics must be antiques.

This is an ignorant post. Iran Air kept their 747 fleet flying for decades beyond their western counterparts retired their fleets, so they are most certainly experts at it. In the western world, LH Technik AG and the 89th Airlift Wing certainly do...

You can't see the paperwork but from the outsite it seems they put a lot of energy of removing any sign of wear & tear from the cockpit. All looks kind of new, better then many freighter 747 cockpits I've seen.

https://youtu.be/0JcERT5qOP0

keesje wrote:

All looks kind of new, better then many freighter 747 cockpits I've seen.

Agreed but that is the cockpit of one of their SPs. I reckon that as the SPs are scrapped, any usable parts that are compatible with the -200s will be cannibalized.

Well the 747 classics are a bit like the 707. Heaps were built, and their technology from that time is easily reverse engineered. So it depends on where they are sending them. If it's not somewhere that has to comply with FAA or JAA standards, they can manufacture some of the parts and buy some second hand as basically nobody wants them anymore. They'll just do it through a 3rd country. As for Airforce one.... it was one of the last off the line and it got the next generation of CF-6 engines plus got knows what else military wise... its not even close to the original 1970s technology. I believe the only other airline that took advantage of the CF-6-80 on a 747 classic was Thai on the 747-300. Most waited knowing the more capable 747-400 was just around the corner. And the carriers that needed the range knew the new generation of RB211 engines would carry more further.

The INS appears to be Litton LTN? Wonder how they maintain or replace those? Fairly low MTBF and only few places that can do the required work when necessary.

KICT wrote:

QuarkFly wrote:

Who even knows how to rehab a 742 for flight anymore? The cockpit instruments and avionics must be antiques.

This is an ignorant post. Iran Air kept their 747 fleet flying for decades beyond their western counterparts retired their fleets, so they are most certainly experts at it. In the western world, LH Technik AG and the 89th Airlift Wing certainly do...

What do you think the chances are for the USAF or NASA (including their partners, such as LH Technik) helping the Iranian Air Force? Unfortunately, with the current political environment, I'd say the changes are less than zero.

727200 wrote:

Wow, 77 and 78? I wasn't close and the majority of A-netters were not born.

No laptops, computers, PTV, and your "phone" was a glass booth on the corner with a sliding door. Bring lots of quarters.

TRS-80 Micro Computer System desktop microcomputer launched in 1977



In 1979, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) launched the world's first cellular network in Japan.
Of course those in the technology-leading USA only get their fix in 1983.

KICT wrote:

QuarkFly wrote:

Who even knows how to rehab a 742 for flight anymore? The cockpit instruments and avionics must be antiques.

This is an ignorant post. Iran Air kept their 747 fleet flying for decades beyond their western counterparts retired their fleets, so they are most certainly experts at it. In the western world, LH Technik AG and the 89th Airlift Wing certainly do...

Chill out...No, not ignorant, actually insightful. Perfectly fair to call the 742 avionics antiques...it has not been in production for almost 30 years. If Iran still flies a few, the maintenance staff is working on antiques.

USAF and AF1 747's are a completely different, almost one of a kind beasts, specialized avionics were installed for AF1...but I'm sure still a lot of old stuff on board.

Any qualified Aircraft Maintenance Engineer should be able to work on them if they have the appropriate manuals & other reference material for the aircraft. It's parts that are the problem.

IADCA wrote:

QuarkFly wrote:

Who even knows how to rehab a 742 for flight anymore? The cockpit instruments and avionics must be antiques.

Even before this, I'd have bet that the answer to some species of "Who still has working fluency with geriatric 747s?" would be some dudes in Iran. There have to be a lot of very talented people there to have kept the stuff they have flying for so long given the very limited access to parts they had for so many years.

Quite a few of us, actually, and not from Iran.

It hasn't been that long since Classics were flying regularly.

QuarkFly wrote:

na wrote:

Iran´s Saha Air has reactivated its two 742Fs EP-SHB and -SHF in recent months after being stored since 2000 and 1999. That must be some kind of record for a big jet.

Now lets see what will finally happen with the two low-mileage 747s of Iraq parked at Tozeur/Tunisia since 1991!

Who even knows how to rehab a 742 for flight anymore? The cockpit instruments and avionics must be antiques.

Actually, most of the cockpit instruments and a lot of the avionics will be the same or similar to those used on GA planes. And there are lots and lots of GA planes from that era and older still flying. There is no shortage of people who know how to fix them, here or anywhere else where GA is active.

KICT wrote:

QuarkFly wrote:

Who even knows how to rehab a 742 for flight anymore? The cockpit instruments and avionics must be antiques.

This is an ignorant post. Iran Air kept their 747 fleet flying for decades beyond their western counterparts retired their fleets, so they are most certainly experts at it. In the western world, LH Technik AG and the 89th Airlift Wing certainly do...

Let's not forget the pair of 747SP used by LVS. One was even an ex-Pan Am bird. There are probably more examples.

The Iranian mechanic's have to be "Men of the Year" just for the ability to keep these birds in flight shape. When its all said and done, would love to sit with them a while and hear the stories they have to tell of how they did it.

SEPilot wrote:

QuarkFly wrote:

na wrote:

Iran´s Saha Air has reactivated its two 742Fs EP-SHB and -SHF in recent months after being stored since 2000 and 1999. That must be some kind of record for a big jet.

Now lets see what will finally happen with the two low-mileage 747s of Iraq parked at Tozeur/Tunisia since 1991!

Who even knows how to rehab a 742 for flight anymore? The cockpit instruments and avionics must be antiques.

Actually, most of the cockpit instruments and a lot of the avionics will be the same or similar to those used on GA planes. And there are lots and lots of GA planes from that era and older still flying. There is no shortage of people who know how to fix them, here or anywhere else where GA is active.

I was a captain on the 747 Classic. I don't think there was anything in the cockpit that I've seen in general aviation aircraft.

You may have experienced differently when flying the 747.

Revelation wrote:

Next, they can get Tom Thumb back into service too!

Yeah, National Rail are doing this. They're reasonably certain it will improve on-time performance between 7 and 9%.

747Whale wrote:

SEPilot wrote:

QuarkFly wrote:

Who even knows how to rehab a 742 for flight anymore? The cockpit instruments and avionics must be antiques.

Actually, most of the cockpit instruments and a lot of the avionics will be the same or similar to those used on GA planes. And there are lots and lots of GA planes from that era and older still flying. There is no shortage of people who know how to fix them, here or anywhere else where GA is active.

I was a captain on the 747 Classic. I don't think there was anything in the cockpit that I've seen in general aviation aircraft.

You may have experienced differently when flying the 747.

I have never flown the 747, but I was under the impression that the flight instruments were quite similar, or at least operated on the same principles and functioned the same. Pictures I have seen of airliner cockpits of that era showed very similar instruments to what I was familiar with. And the radios, while they may have had more bells and whistles, performed the same functions and had the same basic circuits. Am I wrong?

The 747 has over a thousand instruments, indications, warnings, indicators, switches, controls, bells, buzzers, etc, in the cockpit. I don't think a single one of them would be found in a light airplane. Whether it's inertial navigations pitot-static compensated instruments driven by an air data computer, or any of the other parts of systems; the closest might be the standby attitude indicator and instrumentation, but even then...not really what's found in light aircraft.

No, the radios are not the same. While they may provide communication on some of the same frequencies (light aircraft seldom have HF capability), they're not compatible and won't be found in a light aircraft. The 747 operates on AC and DC power of varying voltages and sources, and general aviation aircraft radios are not compatible and don't interface (or fit). Even the standby magnetic compass is not the same.

There are plenty of spares available globally for the classic. Noise restrictions and economic disadvantage have largely lead to the demise; they were operating flying cargo until recently and continue to fly the Hajj. The problem for the Iranians, of course, is obtaining those spares; not all are accessible. There are 747-400's available on the world market, but again, obtaining them may be the problem for Iran.

I've flown with a few Iranian pilots who formerly flew the at home. Good men, good pilots who were more than competent at their craft, and pleasant company on long trips. I'm sure there are those in Iran still qualified, who can be brought back to speed . I don't know what navigation capability the Iranian aircraft have. If theirs have the old Caurosel systems, then they're far inferior to almost anything found in a general aviation aircraft today. A GA system could be put in the airplane, but interfacing it with aircraft systems would be another matter. While I've flown older 747's with older nav systems, most that I operated used modern FMS sytems fed by both GPS and IRS, and navigated quite accurately. I doubt the 747's that Iran is activating have those upgrades.

Here is a video of Iran air Boeing 747-100 before they retired the last one ( video 5 years old )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx6zPB5kbpQ

The airplane in that video has the old INS, with all analog instruments. The last -100 I flew was upgraded to triple FMS with GPS and glass replacements of EADI and EHSI, and was the same as the -200's, except for the engines. The last one I flew, which was its last flight, was one of the highest time -100's in the world, and I had the privilege and disappointment of operating its last flight.

The Airplane in the video would have trouble operating in many areas due lack of required navigational performance (RNP).