MAC Forum

Tomiyama in Japan had some very nice scale models of jet airliners in the 1960s, the DC-8 and Comet IV being two examples. The third example is this Caravelle. A switch underneath the wings stops and starts the toy, and one battery fits in the body. The battery is to turn on the lighted engines, as the plane is fitted with a friction motor. It also came in SAS colors.

Images of a United Caravelle at Idlewild (now JFK) airport in NYC...

The registration on the toy was issued to a United aircraft, but a 727! Perhaps they did a 727 too and reused the graphics.
http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.s ... rch=N7014U

The photo of the United Caravelle reminded me of the times back in the 1970s and 80s when if you asked the cockpit crew would invite you to visit during the flight. The mention of also being a pilot helped.
I did so once in an AF Caravelle from Paris to Geneva on a cloudless night. Incredible. Not a cloud over Europe. Unlimited visability.
My wife, who flys First Class on her business trips still gets invited to join the crew from time to time- well it is called a cockpit after all....and she is about 20 years younger then me... go figure.
Other memorable cockpit visits included:
A DC-3 in South Africa {I also was a co-pilot on one in the Army}
The BA and AF Concordes several times, once I shared a visit with Jacques Cousteau who asked the captain if he could touch the controls so that he could say he actually piloted a Concorde...
When I was a kid and flew unaccompanied i got into the cockpits during flight of a TWA Connie and a Northwest Stratocruiser
Also Burma Airlines F-27 over Burma on several flights- this plane and the crew perished a few weeks later in IFR weather.
An Aeroflot type with those four engines on the tail.
Various times in almost everything else -727s, 737s, etc... including while I was in the service some USAF types like a C-5A, C-121, C-54, Air Force One type VIP 707/135, and others.
Now I don't even ask and rarely know even which airplane I am in!!

An Aeroflot type with those four engines on the tail.

An Ilyushin (Iliouchine) Il-62?

Yeah, that's the one. Only time I ever Aeroflot. Interior of the cabin was very simple, bad service and it had opposing seats for some reason in front, which was 'Business class'. Must have been early 1980s, like 83 or so.

Note the little tail wheel. Russian solution to a balance problem that vexed the Vickers VC-10 team for years...

The tail wheel is a solution for tin toy airplanes too Both Ilyushin Il-62s I have, have just the nose wheel, though.

The YB-60 also had a cute long tail wheel to solve the same problem. Many aircraft used, and still use, a "stick"or prop under the tail. I most often see them used on DC-4s.
When I was a kid (use 1960 as a time) we would ALWAYS get invited into the cockpit while in flight! Usually it was on an EAL Constellation. I even remember sitting in the co-pilot seat on same! Big deal for a kid - my brother and I would anxiously wait for cruising altitude to arrive so we could go forward! Great fun!
Don't despair on flying, GR. We can never go back to the thrill of our youth, but it's still a thrill! Go find a friend with a Stearman!
That's an excellent model of a Caravelle, Tony - better than the average tin toy!
I'll post a link to my Flickr Flight photos when I get back...OK...here ya go...these are mostly old shots - on film - but the "new" pics will be added over time. Take a look around my Photostream and get your fill of airplanes. No toys - yet! Check back often...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10659106@N ... 629337924/
Michael