Launched and displaying at the Farnborough Air Show during the weekend of 16-17 July. I used to dispatch B727 with Air France during the 1980s. We operated the first UK-CDG departure of the day at 06:30, sometimes with just 6 passengers on board! Although on busy days this would be at least 166 passengers IIRC. These new newly out-fitted B727s must though must be two of the very few B727s still flying in the UK today. It's role is to disperse oil spills via a spraying system and tanks of dispersant in its fuselage. It can be called out very quickly to deal with emergencies.
OSR have two B727s on strength, G-OSRA and OSRB. Both are ex-FedEx and both painted at Air Livery Manchester. 'RB was in fact the last B727 constructed.
" ....The aircraft, two Boeing 727-SS2F (RE), are now central to OSRL’s aerial dispersant capability and will be officially launched during this year’s Farnborough International Airshow, 11th – 17th July 2016. Fitted with internal tanks, pumps and a spray boom to deliver dispersant liquid, the specially adapted Boeing 727-2S2F (RE) aircraft are truly a first-of-a-kind capability for the oil and gas industry. The Valsan engined 727-2S2F (RE) proved to be an ideal aircraft for OSRL, offering greater stability, adaptability and an almost unrivalled power to weight ratio. "OSRL’s main requirement was to acquire a more up-to-date asset that could travel further and faster than its extant capability offered by the organisation’s L-382 Hercules” says Andy Offer, former RAF Harrier and Red Arrows pilot, the Owner and Director of 2Excel Aviation Ltd...." via OSR.com
Above and below; two from Neil Cotten seen during Saturday's display
More screen captures via planesTV.com live coverage
" ..The Boeing 727 is highly distinctive because of its three engines and a high T-Tail design. The middle engine, or engine 2, is stationed at the very rear of the fuselage and obtains air from an inlet ahead of the vertical fin through an S-shaped duct.
...The aircraft has a built-in Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), which is mounted in a hole in the keel beam web in the main landing gear bay. This allows the aircraft to have power for electrical and air-conditioning and not to have the main engines running while sitting on the ground; the APU is also used to restart the engines.
..To be able to use the required shorter runways the Boeing 727 has a unique wing design. With no wing-mounted engines, leading-edge devices (Krueger, or hinged, flaps on the inner wing and extendable leading edge slats out to the wingtip) and trailing-edge lift enhancement equipment (triple-slotted, aft-moving flaps) can be used on the entire wing. Together these high-lift devices produced a maximum wing lift coefficient of 3.0 (based on the flap-retracted wing area).
The 727 is very stable at very low speeds compared to other early jets. A key feature is the aircraft’s ability to use a very short runway. The nose wheel brakes are available as an option to reduce braking distance on landing which provides reductions in braking distances of up to 150m. Another important feature is that the 727 is equipped with a retractable tail skid that is designed to protect the aircraft in the event of an over-rotation on take-off..." via OSR.com
