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Aviation Flashback

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Aviation Flashback

Every picture tells a story! Most pics are scans from Fuji Film Slides.

Here I post photo's taken by myself (Peter Bakema) since 1984, first a simple DDR Praktia camera, later with Olympus and Canan Equipment.

06/16/2026

British Airways BAC One-Eleven 402AK G-BBME City of Shropshire at Düsseldorf Airport in July 1985.

This classic British-built twinjet was likely operating one of British Airways' West Berlin services, possibly on a routing between Birmingham or Manchester, Düsseldorf and Berlin-Tegel. During the Cold War, the unique status of West Berlin meant that only airlines from the United Kingdom, France and the United States were permitted to operate scheduled services to the city. German airlines, including Lufthansa, were not allowed to fly these routes, making British Airways a familiar sight on the Berlin corridors.

G-BBME was delivered to British Airways in 1974 and remained with the airline until November 1988. Unlike many of its contemporaries, its career did not end there. The aircraft subsequently flew for Birmingham European Airways, Brymon Airways and later Maersk Air UK, where it once again appeared in British Airways service under franchise arrangements. Sold to South Africa as ZS-OAG, it continued flying until its final retirement in 1998.

A wonderful reminder of a time when political agreements shaped airline route networks and the BAC One-Eleven was still a common sight across European airports.

06/10/2026

A classic Greek trijet at Düsseldorf.

Olympic Airways Boeing 727-284 SX-CBD "Mount Helikon" is seen on the ramp at Düsseldorf International Airport in August 1988, wearing the airline's elegant blue-and-silver livery and the famous Olympic rings on the tail.

Named after Mount Helicon, the legendary mountain of the Muses in Greek mythology, SX-CBD was one of the workhorses of Olympic's European network during the 1970s and 1980s. The aircraft was delivered new to Olympic on 7 February 1969 and, unlike many Boeing 727s, spent its entire airline career with the Greek flag carrier.

After nearly 30 years of service, SX-CBD left Olympic in 1998 and was registered as N727SR, but never flew for another operator. Instead, it was retired at Opa-locka, Florida, in October 1998 and ultimately broken up for parts—bringing to an end the career of an aircraft that had faithfully served a single airline since the days when the Boeing 727 was the backbone of short- and medium-haul jet travel.

A scene from an era when the distinctive sound of three rear-mounted engines was still a familiar part of airport life.

📍 Düsseldorf International Airport, Germany
📅 August 1988
✈️ Olympic Airways Boeing 727-284 SX-CBD "Mount Helikon" (1969–1998)

06/04/2026

Holidays in Different Times...

July 1985 at Düsseldorf Airport: Aviogenex Tupolev Tu-134A YU-AHX preparing for another charter flight to what was then one of Europe's most fascinating holiday destinations – Yugoslavia.
For many Western Europeans, Yugoslavia offered something different: sunny Adriatic beaches, historic coastal towns and surprisingly affordable holidays. Although the country was a socialist state and often considered to be "behind the Iron Curtain", it maintained a much more open relationship with the West than most Eastern Bloc nations, making it a hugely popular summer destination.

Back then, only three Yugoslav airlines carried the country's colours across Europe: JAT Yugoslav Airlines, Inex Adria Aviopromet and Aviogenex. Aviogenex was particularly interesting for aviation enthusiasts, operating a unique mix of Eastern and Western aircraft. Its fleet included Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-134s alongside Boeing 727-200s, with Boeing 737-200s joining later.

Seen here in the airline's red-and-white livery, YU-AHX represents an era when holiday travel was a little less uniform and airports offered a colourful mix of aircraft from both sides of the Cold War divide. Most holidaymakers probably never gave a second thought to boarding a Soviet-built Tu-134. Today many travellers would regard such an aircraft as unusual, exotic or even intimidating, but in the mid-1980s it was simply another airliner taking sun-seekers to the beaches of the Adriatic.

Ironically, aircraft like the Tu-134 and 154 were so common at major European airports in the 1980s that many spotters considered them rather ordinary. Aeroflot, Malev, Interflug, CSA, Tarom and the Yugoslav carriers were everyday visitors, and few of us realised that one day these Soviet airliners would disappear completely from Western Europe and become some of the most sought-after images in our collections. In the background, another piece of history is visible: Düsseldorf Airport's Terminal C under construction, a reminder that not only the aircraft but also the airport itself was in the midst of change.

A Yugoslav charter flight aboard a noisy Tu-134, bound for Dubrovnik, Split or Tivat, was all part of the holiday experience. It was a different world, a different Europe, and certainly a different time to travel. ✈️☀️

05/19/2026

Caught in beautiful light at Amsterdam Schiphol in April 1986, CP Air DC-10-30 C-GCPE was impossible to miss in its spectacular orange and silver colours ✈️🍁

Back then, Schiphol still welcomed some of the world’s most colourful classic widebodies, and CP Air’s tri-jets were always among the highlights.

This particular aircraft, C-GCPE, was part of the DC-10 fleet that helped CP Air expand its long-haul network across the Pacific and to Europe during the late 1970s and 1980s. Only about a year after this photo was taken, the famous CP Air name would disappear into Canadian Airlines following the merger era that reshaped Canadian aviation.

The slide itself sat in the archive for nearly 40 years before finally being scanned — and it even came with a little surprise. Look closely and you’ll notice a perfectly timed “photobomb” crossing right through the frame 😄📸

05/02/2026

August 24, 1991 — Zürich ✈️

Pushed back for departure is this beautiful Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 500 (N3140D) of British West Indian Airways — a type that, to me, remains one of the most elegant jetliners ever built. With its graceful curves and distinctive S-duct tail engine, the TriStar was as advanced as it was beautiful.

BWIA, proudly carrying the slogan “We are the Caribbean,” connected the islands and beyond for decades before eventually evolving into Caribbean Airlines. Their TriStars were a familiar sight across the Atlantic and the region in the 80s and early 90s.
This particular airframe would later be retired as the era of tri-jets faded, making way for more fuel-efficient twins — a quiet end for a truly iconic machine.

This day is extra special for me: it was also my very first flight as a passenger, on a Boeing 737-300 with KLM. One of their famous “Dagvluchjes” — a mystery day trip where you didn’t know the destination until you landed, only to turn around and fly back shortly after.

A first airliner flight… and a TriStar in the background. Not a bad way to start a lifelong passion for aviation. ✈️

09/24/2025

📸 Amsterdam–Schiphol, 8 August 1984

Boeing 747-124(SF), 4X-AXZ (msn 19735, ln 64), photographed in Avianca Colombia colors while operating for El Al Cargo.

First flight: 17 July 1970
Delivered new to Continental Airlines (N26863) in Aug 1970
Later with Imperial Iranian Air Force (5-291 / 5-8112)
To El Al as 4X-AXZ in June 1977
Leased to Avianca as HK-2400X (1981–82), then returned to El Al
Withdrawn from use and scrapped in Tel Aviv in 1999

A rare example of a transitional livery, reflecting the layered histories of classic 747 operators.

11/11/2024

We go back to Monday, 25 August 1997. Internet was just getting popular but most communication between plane spotters still worked via dial-in Bulletin Boards. On said Monday one of those boards reported the arrival of the one and only Conroy Sky Monster at Amsterdam Airport. As it was supposed to be a night stop I tried my luck and drove the 200 kilometers from my then home town Groningen to Amsterdam. And indeed, it was there, parked at the east ramp (in those days some cargo charters were handled there) in a favorable position for photos. It was my first encounter with this unique aircraft. For some reason it ended up with Azerbaijan Airlines in 1997, having served various other airlines over the years.$

The year after I saw it one more time, now registered as 9G-LCA of First International Air.

Skymonster was originally built as a Canadair CL-44D4 in 1961 (The CL-44 was a development from the Bristol Britannia but only 39 were build of which a significant number was lost in crashes). In August of that year it was delivered to Flying Tiger Line and served with them till 1968. It was sold to Conroy Aviation and got its unique enlarged fuselage and was designated as CL-44-O Guppy. The initial idea was to ferry large Rolls Royce RB211 Turbofan Engines from Belfast to Palmdale in California. The engines would there be fitted on brand new Lockheed TriStar aircraft. Of this plan not much came true and the aircraft was sold to British airline Transmeridian Air Cargo who renamed it "Skymonster", the name that it would stick by from then on.

Out of Transmeridian became British Cargo Airlines in 1978 and in 1982 it was sold to Heavy Lift Cargo. After several years carrying oversized cargo it was put in storage before being reactivated by Buffalo Airways (not the Canadian one!).

As mentioned before it ended up with Azerbaijan Airlines for a brief stint in 1997 before being transferred to Baku Airlines and thereafter First International.

Since 1999 Skymonster is present at Bournemouth Airport and it was reregistered RP-C8023 before reverting to its original registration N447T in 2013. Although threatened with scrapping it survived and sits at the airport as we speak (November 2024). The chances that Skymonster will fly again are about zero in my opinion, but I hope it can be saved and kept in a reasonable condition.

10/30/2024

Another magical place I visited in California was Flabob Airport. Here I got a very warm welcome from the airport manager and was shown around all over the airport. Many interesting aircraft and I was lucky to see a Douglas C-47 (or DC-3 if you want) in action. N62CC "Virginia Ann" made a local test flight and could be photographed taking off, landing and being serviced after arrival.

This C-47 was built in 1943 at the Long Beach Douglas factory and took part in Operation D-Day on June 6th 1944, the start of the allied invasion of occupied Europe in World War II.

After a long career serving many civil operators she was restored in her original D-Day colors and still at the age of 81 years takes the skies regularly!

08/18/2024

Arguably one of the most beautiful jetliners: the Sud Aviation SE210 Caravelle. I was lucky enough to capture some during the early days of my aviation photography career.

Seen on the photo Caravelle 10R D-ABAW of Germania, taxiing out at Düsseldorf Airport after some rain sometime during July 1986, probably on a flight to Palma or another holiday destination.

This Caravelle with construction number 239 flew for the first time in June 1968 and was delivered as D-ABAW to LTU. In 1978 it went to German charter airline SAT. SAT was renamed Germania in 1986, operating in that year a mixed fleet with Caravelles and Boeing 727s. D-ABAW was operated in this outfit only for a few months before being sold to Istanbul Airlines as TC-AKA were it spent one or two years before being withdraw from service. It was finally broken up in 1993.

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