I-DIRG Alitalia Boeing 727-243 on final approach to runway 23 at London Heathrow

The Boeing Collection
From a collection of some 500 Boeing slides that I've had scanned from my archives. Hope they will provide some enjoyment and nostalgia from a bygone age.

Memories of Heathrow's original third runway - Runway 23
I was brought up in Southall in West London, just a few miles from Heathrow. Not only that, the house where I lived was right under the flight path of the cross-wind runway 23.

Alitalia Boeing 727-243 I-DIRG is seen over the outer marker on flight AZ266 - on final approach to runway 23 at London Heathrow. It was very unusual to have blue skies when we had when Runway 23 in operation - usually it was towards the end of the day once a weather front had passed over. Sometimes the aircraft passed over my house completely hidden in the cloud :)

Whenever we had a nice stormy south-westerly wind, you would start to hear the familiar sound of approaching aircraft. As we were around 4 miles out, aircraft would call out over the outer-marker just as they flew over the house - I have some interesting recordings which combine the aircraft going over with the pilot calling on the radio.

I-DIRG 'Citta di Urbino' c/n 21663 Boeing 727-243 was one of a small fleet of 727s that Alitalia used between 1976 and 1984. They were eventually superseded by a larger fleet of MD-80s. The aircraft was delivered new to Alitalia in Jan 1979. After just five years, in 1984, the aircraft was sold to PeopleExpress as N580PE. The airline merged with Continental in 1987, and the aircraft became N17410 in 1994. In 1999 the aircraft was sold to Express One and converted to a pure freighter. In 2004, the aircraft was sold again, this time to Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter of Canada as C-GXKF and flew with that airline for 10 more years. After 35 years of service, the aircraft was retired and donated to Fanshawe College School of Aviation Technology, London, Ontario.

This plane was hijacked on September 25th, 1982. You can read the full story here:
www.azfleet.info/dirottate-su-tripoli

Taken with a Soviet made Zenith TTL camera and 300mm telephoto lens. From an original slide, scanned and unrestored.

You can see a random selection of my aviation memories here: www.flickriver.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/random/

Taken in: UK / England / Ealing / Lady Margaret (show map)

Taken on: May 22, 1981

Tags:

Alitalia

Boeing 727

LHR

Runway 23

London

Heathrow

I-DIRG

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