con-pilot said:We were told that it was serial number 1 buy the FAA when we got the airplane from them, but it was the FAA that told us, so who really knows.
As for the -6 to a -8 to a 731 I'm not really sure, however, it was Lockheed that changed this airplane from the original twin engine version into a -6. The airplane was converted from the -8 to the 731 when the FAA had the airplane.
Now remember one very important fact, back until a few years ago the FAA did not have comply with FARs. So this JetStar may been the only -6 that ever did make to a 731. As I said earlier, the fuel panel was inverted from all other JetStars, this was/can be confirmed by Flight Safety. There were other minor differences on that airplane compared to the rest of the JetStar fleet, but I cannot remember them now, it has been around 10 years since I flew the airplane.
As I said, I did love flying the JetStar, you had to try really hard to look bad in that airplane, especially on landing.
(It would be nice to know the real truth about that airplane, as I stated I was repeating what the FAA told us.)
I just had a thought, could the one in Seattle be the first non-civilan JetStar and the one the FAA and we operated the first civilan JetStar? Just an idea.
Okay I did a Google search and here is what I came up with. The JetStar you flew was actually #2. The original prototype remained in the 2 engine configuration and was in fact the airplane that Kelly Johnson rode around in. Serial #1 is at the Boeing Museam of Flight Restoration Center at Paine Field. WA. Don't know what happened to the one you flew but I'll bet someone at the museam knows it's whereabouts today, assuming it was not cut up. The one uo there has a single wheel landing gear as opposed to a dual set up. How was yours configured? The -6 to 731 conversion is questionable as the AF, who had all -6 airplanes was never able to upgrade to the 731, which they wanted very badly at one point in time. I suppose your aircraft was a true hybrid. Was it on a normal Airworthiness certificate?
Enjoyed this post, as it always interesting to learn something from the guys who were there and actually had some first hand knowledge. Take a look at rbogash.com/jetstar.html for more info.
