In 1965 I went to work for Boeing as a draftsman. I did drawings for the first 737. I was in the flight controls group. I was still in the group when the 200 Combi with gravel kits was designed. A 737 on gravel runways? That was crazy talk! They sure lasted a longer time than anyone would have suspected. Glad to see the flight!
I flew this airplane for United out ORD for 10 years from 1990 to 2000 accumulating 7,035 hours, and 6,000 legs. I was a copilot, captain, and Line Check Airman and loved every minute I spent at the controls of this awesome airplane. Sad to see it go.
To me, the 737-200 is the definition of an airliner. I took my first flight in an airplane in a 200 when I was 5 years old (over 50 years ago) on a Pacific Western flight from Kamloops to Vancouver. It’s sad to see these glorious aircraft being taken out of service. Great video, as always. Thanks Alex!
This video brings out so many emotions. I grew up in Cambridge Bay, and flew on countless 737-200 combi flights. I was excited to see a small bit of my childhood home, but I'm very sad that Canadian North has retired this aircraft. Thank you so much for this video.
So happy you got to fly on this one more time. This is still one of my favorite aircraft of all time. Nothing beats the bucket reversers of the 737-200.😊
wow what a super video Alex.. my heart tugs a bit at watching this... the B737-200 was my first type endorsement I obtained after working on these Gems at Canadian Airlines so many years ago.. after almost 30 years working as an aircraft mechanic I can say working on these beasties I will always cherish. I remember living in NE Calgary many years ago working at Canadian Airlines and in the cold winter months when it was -20C outside when the air was thick and static and you could hear the crews running up the engines on those amazing JT8Ds and you could actually feel the rumble of the shaking atmosphere around you in the dead of night.. the sound was awesome for a airplane geek, but probably drove the nearby locals mad. Keep up the good work Alex.
The Boeing 737-200 is the OG Boeing 737 and I’m really sad to see another operator go. The Boeing 737-200 will always have a place in my aviation heart and with forever be missed. There are only three operators left, Air Inuit, Nolinor Aviation and Air Zimbabwe.
Love those trust reversers, the amount of forces they have to withstand. As much as I dislike most (stretched) 737`s the old 200 series I adore. The sound alone is to die for, and as Carlos Ballesteros write , it is how the original engines are places like a cigar under the wings. The design is well proportioned. This is for me, a prime example of "Nose in the middle ,and an eye on each side" that makes a face. You start stretching slapping oval engines under them, sticking out in front of the wings, you screw up the visual balance of the aircraft. Thanks Alex.
Not just the visual balance, it screws up the flight balance as well. We have unfortunately seen the results of Boeing's incredibly poor attempt to mask that imbalance. The 737 should never have been stretched into what it is today.
@@jblyon2 The B737NG family is the safest of all B737families, and it shares the lenght with the MAX Family, except for the -10. Also.. as a fact, The MAX is not imbalanced or unstable in flight.
I can't explain myself why the 200 IA the most beautiful of all 737's. It's the same fuselage, the same wings, same landing gear.....but those tiny little engines resembling a mexican taco are something magic.
Hell of a video man! Very well done! Love how you tapped the aircraft before stepping off of it one final time as a farewell. They will surely be missed indeed.
I really hope they preserve this amazing piece of history! It is remarkable that this plane flew for as long as it did! Always a pleasure to watch your videos Alex! Keep up the fantastic work! ❤
I remember flying one of these charter to a diamond mine in NWT about ten years ago. We hit the gravel runway so hard that oxygen masks were falling out the ceiling. The plane also had a placard saying that the Pope had flown on it. A very interesting trip and the Arctic is stunningly beautiful.
So awesome that you document these moments in Canadian aviation history. I remember those thrust reversers as a kid flying home to Whitehorse on CP AIR. And WOW love that vintage cockpit!
Adore the 737-200, massive part of my childhood flying them frequently on CP Air and later Canadian!! Those cabins were rare on the CP Air fleet as they had the open hat racks and the 707 looking PSU's on most of theirs in the 70s, those were the 'newer' 'widebody look' cabins introduced in the mid-late 70s on 727s and 737s, thought they were so futuristic at the time. Love the clamshells on those JT8D's and that dual footage with KC's amazing capture of the power and dust-cloud was incredible!! Amazing report, thank you!
Did many hours on that bird between 1994 and 2000. Loved the 200 series. Geoff Quickfall BSc, MSc, PhD candidate with 28,000hrs; DC10, B737, B757, B767, B777, B787, DHC2, DHC3, B18
Truly an amazing piece of engineering and history. Thanks Alex for taking us along for one of this 200's final flight's with Canadian North. I'd love to have a 737-200 off my bucket list of planes I've flown on. Keep up the fantastic video's you bring us on Canada's aviation industry. It has so many unique aspects to it other places don't see.
I've flown on this type from Winnipeg to Rankin Inlet and back. Sad to know this opportunity is not there anymore, as there's no equivalent sustitute for the type. Thanks for sharing!
It hurts my heart to see to them retired. Like lots of Northern kids, I spent my childhood on these workhorses, flying in and out for school. It's been almost 35 years, and while the Milk Run wasn't my favourite, being on the cargo flights I always found interesting. Thank you for the video!
Have to say, it is sad to see it go. I do miss working on the 737-200 series. Worked for First Air back in the day in YZF. Great video . JT8d-17 engine.
Thanks for the nostalgic video. I remember flying on a lot of 737-200's in the 1980's and 1990's. The one and only time I flew on a 737-200 with the gravel kit was on Alaska on the OAK-PDX-SEA route in the late 1980's. It's amazing to take these airplanes for granted until they're gone.
Great video Alex..thank you. As an ex CP Air mechanic this brought back many happy memories...mingled with a little sadness to see this stalwart 200 landing for the last time....a fantastic aircraft...whose memory lives on with the DC 8..DC 10 AND 747 200.
As a kid I always flew on Britannia Airways B737-200s on our holidays to Spain, the sounds and the flaps/thrust reverser brings back memories (I used to love the window seat) as do the reading lights, air vent and call button panel - how much less claustrophobic is the narrowbody cabin without the massive overhead bins they fit nowadays?
Love that part of the video showing departure from Cambridge Bay in 2 parallel views: one from the airplane and one from the outside by your viewer Casey.
I trained for Combi operations as a flight attendant for Can. North on that very aircraft in 2014. Never flew on it sadly but I remember it well. Great video 👌🏻
My first ever commercial aviation experience was in 1998 when I was almost 10 years old. YOW-YYJ direct on a Canadian Airlines military family charter 737-200. It was a formative experience, to say the least, and definitely sparked the aviation geek in me, which persists to this day :) I have flown on the exact aircraft featured in this video twice from YOW-YFB and back (and used to fuel it a lot for years when it was doing the YOW-YFB run). Fantastic video Alex. Brings back a lot of fond memories.
Hi Alex! First time viewer. Thanks for sharing this flight on a Boeing 737-200 Combi with gravel kit. I’ve had four flights on this type between Anchorage and Galena Alaska on the now long defunct Wein Air Alaska, between 1979 and 1980. The gravel kit is an engineering marvel, in my opinion. Keeping anything out of a turbine engine is of upmost importance. Any small piece of debris can FOD out an engine in a second. How the gravel kit manages to accomplish that is nothing short of amazing! The 737’s successor engine, the CFM-56, literally eats people and spits out what’s left (“Mechanic sucked into jet engine, killed at El Paso International Airport” -CNN, January 16, 2006). The gravel kit would not work on this engine to keep FOD out. Again, thanks for sharing.
Thanks Alex for another great video. A lifetime ago, I worked for First Air based at YOW. I did just like you and took a couple of joy rides in my 2 years with the company to go to the Arctic Circle and back in a day on the eastern-based 727s. Visited YRB/Resolute Bay, YSR - the long since closed airport to service the Nanisivik Mine and the community of Arctic Bay (which is where the present day airport is located). On one trip I was on, YRB was ice fogged in and we diverted to YUX - Sanirajak (formerly Hall Beach). Jet service to YUX had stopped in the early 90s. In all of those communities, along with another diversion to YVP/Kuujjuaq, QC on a trip to YFB/Iqaluit, like you, I never left the airport!
Alex, for those of us that live in the United States, Your videos give us a taste of a world we will never see. Canada and a world above the Artic Circle. Beautiful and yet deadly in the winter. Your videos also give a view of aircraft long gone here. The sound of Jet Engines long prohibited here! Nothing sounds better than a Pratt Whitney JT8D whining on Takeoff! Thank You
As a young kid growing up in the 80s i had countless flights on the classic -200 with CP Air, Canadian airlines and WestJet airlines, its gonna be missed, landing into Edmonton's old Muni Yxd airport was always a thrill, 5000 ft runways and full reverse was always selected! Plus since i lived in North Edmonton you would always hear the 7am flight 🛫 departure to Calgary 🙂 many memories of the 737-200 😎
I too remember as a kid seeing the 737-200 on approach to the old Edmonton muni airport. I lived directly under the flight path of runway 16 in north side of the city
I used to be a Rampy with Echo Bay at CYEG back in 1997. I did turnarounds on the Purolator 727s and CanAir Cargo 737s. CanAir had a few gravel kit equipped planes. We always dropped extra pylons in front of the engines to mark off the gravel blowers. IIRC, we only chocked the main gear, since the nose gear skirt is literally 2 inches off the ground.
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful journey and the classic Boeing 737-200, this aircraft used to serve on the domestic flights of Far Eastern Airlines in Taiwan, but now it is all retired, and I used to fly the 737-200
The 737 200 I flew numerous times on NAC, the domestic airline of NZ. They began with 3 & grew to 16 when Air NZ merged with them. They had 1 200QC model for over 20 years which, I believe found its way to a Canadian operator. Passengers by day & freight by night was how Air NZ worked this aircraft
Thank you so much from bottom of my heart!!! Brought a tear to my eye, the 200 was an iconic part of my boyhood with a lot of my early travel here in New Zealand. Back then it was with NAC ( National Airways Corporation) later to become Air New Zealand. Also the 200 was the first cockpit visit I had as a youngster, while in flight!!! Remember those days? Anyway, thanks again, and a special thanks the airline in making this memory so deep. ❤❤
Alex, as I'm 99.9% sure I will never have another opportunity to fly a 732 of any kind I really appreciate you documenting these true classic work horses were a part of that era where they were called an airliner (especially that front of engine view that of a modern day 732 flight). To me this is a totally different type of flying than what is offered today which is focused on inside entertainment rather than the thrill of flight and the environment your flying through and the terrain your traversing. Thank you and I love that you gave her a tap as you left for the last time in that livery! 😉
I am so sad I couldn't be with you on this flight, however I knew you would do it justice as usual. The fact you are able to tell it's legacy is a great addition. I hope someday we can retire this plane to a Canadian Museum. Keep up the good work! I also hope they let you snag that special safety card ;)
You went to the northern reaches of Canada and found a viewer? Thats absolutely incredible, that must have felt awesome, Casey great work on the footage!
Thanks for documenting this! I've taken that flight many times since 2011 and I've taken it for granted. It will be sorely missed by Cam Bay and Kugluktuk.
I'm so glad you were able to get that camera in the cargo area to hear those JT8D's up close. Closest experience we might get to the MD-80 nowadays is on the 737-200.
I live in the deep south of the USA in northern Mississippi. I am looking forward to visiting a region totally different from my own. I intend to visit Yellowknife in the mid summer to escape our brutal humidity . Your videos are the best! Thanks, David 19:00 .
I flew many many times on Aloha Airlines 737-200s growing up. They were loud as heck compared to todays planes but they have a special place in my heart.
As an American old enough to have flown on a 737-200 but always interested in the arctic and aviation…it’s a sad vid to see…but glad it could be documented. I got to visit Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton in 2007. Still remember seeing a few Air North 737s and some other random carriers. That was in June…and the sun setting at 11p was a wild thing.
Very cool....in the late 70's I rode in a 727 - combi Edmonton to Yellowknife to Rae Point, Dome Panarctic's base camp on Melville Island at that time. The strip at Rae Point was dirt or gravel....it was a while ago! I remember Rae Point was further from Calgary where I was based than Montreal. 75 degrees N latitude if I recall correctly. (started the trip on Pacific Western's Airbus 737 Calgary to Edmonton). From the base camp to the oil rig was another 1 1/2 hours in a twin otter. Very cool trip! Every 2 weeks I did the reverse trip for a week off in Calgary, then back to Dundas Peninsula where the rig was located.
Nice flight..! I'm curious about the cycle that the planes as left... I actually fly in few of the 737-200 of Air Inuit fleet to go from Montreal to a mine site up north. How many cycles those air planes have left? Do you think that they have many years of service left? I love flying in those but I'm questioning the time they got left to fly... I also had the opportunity to fly Nolinor and Chrono aviation... they are great jets.... thanks again for that video, I liked it !
Fanatstic video thanks Alex ! I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to to fly the last 737-200 United Airlines had in service years ago on a short hop from Chicago O'Hare to St. Louis while on a business trip. I did not know when we went to board the flight that it was the retirement cycle from ORD to St. Louis and back so the flight was packed and full of Av geeks it was amazing and United had the iconic Stars & Bars livery on the aircraft when that too had been left behind years earlier. Again thanks for this brings back some great memories !!
...lovely video. Enjoyed the split screen on the last takeoff. This is what the 737 was really all about, a full width cabin jetliner designed do serve small communities with little to no ground handling equipment or jet bridges. (originally the self contained boarding stairs were under the front passenger door).. Love those old JT8Ds which worked well with the aeroplane's ground hugging stance. The larger high bypass turbofans on the "classic through NG series changed the handling a bt due to having to be mounted a bit more forward, and up as well as the bottom of the forward nacelle was flattened to ensure ground clearance again due to the stubby undercarriage . This introduced a bit of extra unwanted lift but was still able to be controlled through trim input,, With the Max series, it became a matter that required a software "kluge" to keep under control as the larger LEAP engines had to be placed even more forward and upward which made the pitch-up issue more pronounced. . Like the 727 the I feel original 737 held a unique role, and as mentioned the only version of the type able to be fitted to land on unimproved runways. Sad that they are being replaced with narrower high wing ATRs , which tend to be more prone to icing issues.
The end of an era...I grew up in rural Alaska for a few years, and we'd fly Alaska Airlines -200Cs to the villages. They were such awesome workhorses. I miss the good ol' days!
I took the flight to Cambridge Bay in about 1975. The connecting flight to Gjoa Haven, left before we arrived. That was as planned and forced a night stay in a hotel (creating income for the community). The hotel charged for the bed, two to a room but another guest had the second bed. 18:59 An 18 yo construction worker, I thought all jets had stone guards. Most northern airports were gravel. Enjoy your videos, Thank you!
Thanks for featuring the B737-200C. I spent the better part of three years lovingly creating a 3d version for Flight Simulator X and Prepar3d whilst working for MilViz (Military Visualizations). Keeping to the spirit of the project, it features a fully functional "steam gauge" cockpit, and allows one to install the gravel kit or fly stock as desired. It comes with Canadian North, Air Canada liveries as well as several other iconic liveries, including the mysterious "Janet Airlines" (the notorious CIA livery)... 😃
Great video! I had the opportunity to work on this aircraft in the beginning of my aircraft maintenance career. Working for Canadian after they bought Wardair, me. Loved the wing and engine shots. So many memories of removing and installing those panels to the wing and thrust reversers. Huum . The many flights all over Canadian Airlines flew. Listening to that constant rumble from my seat. Glad I got to live in those times.. Thanks for the video , I was 20 something again for this video, realizing now how quick yesterday is gone..
I grew up with them flying over me landing at the original YEG not todays imposter. I lived on one side of the street and they landed on the otherside. So close I could count the rivets!! Fifty five years ago! Sure miss those days!;😢 Long live the 737 200's!! ❤❤❤
Love the love pat at the end. There's a retired Alaska Airlines 737-200QC on display at the Alaska Aviation Museum in Anchorage. Worth checking out if you're ever in town.
The first 737 that I saw with a gravel kit was a Nordair 737 in Thunder Bay in 1979. I think Transair operated some as well in the late 70's. I saw a Pacific Western 737 takeoff out of Gillam in 1983 with a big cloud of dust. Lovely aircraft.
Lord knows, but it would be cool if I flew on that aircraft as a kid with PWA or Canadian Airlines back in the day when I lived in Yellowknife. Love seeing those thrust reverser buckets! Thanks for bringing us along on those flights!
My first flight was on a 737-200 from Edmonton to Uranium City in 1980... such memories flying over the sand dunes of Lake Athabasca. And probably in the same seat as your first leg.
This was before your time. But could you imagine for a minute that upon arriving in SFO from O'Hare. We we're put in a 737 & flown TO Modesto CA with a stop in Stockton CA!?! The return leg was Modesto, Stockton, San Fran to Chicago!
I flew one leg on an Air Alaska flight from Vancouver to San Francisco on a 737-200 Combi in 1999. It ended with a spectacular night approach and landing at SFO.
That’s cool. I got to work on DPA a number of times when I started on the ramp at YYC. Something of a bitter sweet retirement. Makes me wonder if they’ll ever truly replace the 200 combi with gravel kit.
I worked on those planes as a flight attendant for a couple of years out on Montreal with Canadian Airlines. It usually were always the same and quite senior crew that flew those routes as they were in great demand. Routes are given out of seniority. I filled in when a crew was sick. Not too many passengers, same familiar crew, usually comfortable schedules like leave at 9am and back by 5pm. Except when things go wrong. Once we had a mechanical issue, I believe the tire blew out on landing. Parts had to be flowing in causing another set of problems... But great memories!!!
Reminds me of my days in the far north. You should see if you can get Detour Lake Mine north of Cochrane Ontario to allow you to fly in to their mine site on their jet into their remote gold mine!
In 1965 I went to work for Boeing as a draftsman. I did drawings for the first 737. I was in the flight controls group. I was still in the group when the 200 Combi with gravel kits was designed. A 737 on gravel runways? That was crazy talk! They sure lasted a longer time than anyone would have suspected. Glad to see the flight!
Awesome! Imagine a B737-200 re-engined with the CF34-8 - or, better yet, the GE Passport 😍😍😍
SE VC FEZ O DESENHO, E PARTICIPOU DA CRIAÇÃO DESSE MODELO, VC ESTA DE PARABÉNS 🎉🎉🎉🎉 ESSES AVIÕES SÃO LINDOS...
That is awesome
I flew this airplane for United out ORD for 10 years from 1990 to 2000 accumulating 7,035 hours, and 6,000 legs. I was a copilot, captain, and Line Check Airman and loved every minute I spent at the controls of this awesome airplane. Sad to see it go.
I wish I had my pilots license cuz I’d buy one so fast and turn it into a private jet for hire or something
To me, the 737-200 is the definition of an airliner. I took my first flight in an airplane in a 200 when I was 5 years old (over 50 years ago) on a Pacific Western flight from Kamloops to Vancouver. It’s sad to see these glorious aircraft being taken out of service.
Great video, as always. Thanks Alex!
This video brings out so many emotions. I grew up in Cambridge Bay, and flew on countless 737-200 combi flights. I was excited to see a small bit of my childhood home, but I'm very sad that Canadian North has retired this aircraft.
Thank you so much for this video.
Are u still living in there? I bet its real cold out there all year round right?
@@robpittstop1797 occasionally in the summer it'll get to the upper 20s and the record hot temp recorded at YCB is 30.8.
That little pat at the end when you deplaned was a nice sendoff. Even though they’re inanimate objects, I still feel like every plane has a soul!
So happy you got to fly on this one more time. This is still one of my favorite aircraft of all time. Nothing beats the bucket reversers of the 737-200.😊
wow what a super video Alex.. my heart tugs a bit at watching this... the B737-200 was my first type endorsement I obtained after working on these Gems at Canadian Airlines so many years ago.. after almost 30 years working as an aircraft mechanic I can say working on these beasties I will always cherish. I remember living in NE Calgary many years ago working at Canadian Airlines and in the cold winter months when it was -20C outside when the air was thick and static and you could hear the crews running up the engines on those amazing JT8Ds and you could actually feel the rumble of the shaking atmosphere around you in the dead of night.. the sound was awesome for a airplane geek, but probably drove the nearby locals mad. Keep up the good work Alex.
The Boeing 737-200 is the OG Boeing 737 and I’m really sad to see another operator go. The Boeing 737-200 will always have a place in my aviation heart and with forever be missed. There are only three operators left, Air Inuit, Nolinor Aviation and Air Zimbabwe.
Chrono Aviation or "Matte Black" still have a couple in operation as well.
Glencore Canada has two of them.
You forgot about Aeroscure.
I'm pretty sure in Venezuela Avior Airlines and Venezolana still each have a single pax 732 flying.
@@vintagesupermarkets5210 Aaahh yes, I remember now
Great video for a great aircraft!
That dual view was fantastic. Thank you Casey!
As always- a well done video to the end of an era. Casey did well with the departure video- not often you see a dust cloud behind a jet at T.O thrust!
Loved the dual view, thanks Casey!
Love those trust reversers, the amount of forces they have to withstand. As much as I dislike most (stretched) 737`s
the old 200 series I adore. The sound alone is to die for, and as Carlos Ballesteros write , it is how the original engines
are places like a cigar under the wings. The design is well proportioned.
This is for me, a prime example of "Nose in the middle ,and an eye on each side" that makes a face. You start stretching
slapping oval engines under them, sticking out in front of the wings, you screw up the visual balance of the aircraft.
Thanks Alex.
Not just the visual balance, it screws up the flight balance as well. We have unfortunately seen the results of Boeing's incredibly poor attempt to mask that imbalance. The 737 should never have been stretched into what it is today.
@@jblyon2 The B737NG family is the safest of all B737families, and it shares the lenght with the MAX Family, except for the -10.
Also.. as a fact, The MAX is not imbalanced or unstable in flight.
Boeing had to make the changes to the 737 because airbus is breathing down their neck, capturing market share. Long live BOEING!
I can't explain myself why the 200 IA the most beautiful of all 737's. It's the same fuselage, the same wings, same landing gear.....but those tiny little engines resembling a mexican taco are something magic.
Hell of a video man! Very well done! Love how you tapped the aircraft before stepping off of it one final time as a farewell. They will surely be missed indeed.
3:40 Air stairs in the back? Cool
I really hope they preserve this amazing piece of history! It is remarkable that this plane flew for as long as it did! Always a pleasure to watch your videos Alex! Keep up the fantastic work! ❤
The 737 200 is an awesome airplane ! I consider myself as a very lucky pilot, as I flew almost 7000 hs. in this model.
I remember flying one of these charter to a diamond mine in NWT about ten years ago. We hit the gravel runway so hard that oxygen masks were falling out the ceiling. The plane also had a placard saying that the Pope had flown on it. A very interesting trip and the Arctic is stunningly beautiful.
So awesome that you document these moments in Canadian aviation history. I remember those thrust reversers as a kid flying home to Whitehorse on CP AIR. And WOW love that vintage cockpit!
Thanks!
Adore the 737-200, massive part of my childhood flying them frequently on CP Air and later Canadian!! Those cabins were rare on the CP Air fleet as they had the open hat racks and the 707 looking PSU's on most of theirs in the 70s, those were the 'newer' 'widebody look' cabins introduced in the mid-late 70s on 727s and 737s, thought they were so futuristic at the time. Love the clamshells on those JT8D's and that dual footage with KC's amazing capture of the power and dust-cloud was incredible!! Amazing report, thank you!
Did many hours on that bird between 1994 and 2000. Loved the 200 series. Geoff Quickfall BSc, MSc, PhD candidate with 28,000hrs; DC10, B737, B757, B767, B777, B787, DHC2, DHC3, B18
Truly an amazing piece of engineering and history. Thanks Alex for taking us along for one of this 200's final flight's with Canadian North. I'd love to have a 737-200 off my bucket list of planes I've flown on. Keep up the fantastic video's you bring us on Canada's aviation industry. It has so many unique aspects to it other places don't see.
Air Inuit to or from Puvirnituq and Montreal. If you've not been on a Beech 350 or a Dash 8 you could do that on the return
That's awesome you used the video footage from Casey, he took video while I took some pics.
It was great working with the 737 combi back in the day of Canadian Airlines . . Loading the pallets was tricky business . .
I've flown on this type from Winnipeg to Rankin Inlet and back. Sad to know this opportunity is not there anymore, as there's no equivalent sustitute for the type. Thanks for sharing!
Another great video. Thanks Alex for covering arctic aviation. Something most Canadians don't get a chance to experience.
It hurts my heart to see to them retired. Like lots of Northern kids, I spent my childhood on these workhorses, flying in and out for school. It's been almost 35 years, and while the Milk Run wasn't my favourite, being on the cargo flights I always found interesting. Thank you for the video!
Have to say, it is sad to see it go. I do miss working on the 737-200 series. Worked for First Air back in the day in YZF. Great video . JT8d-17 engine.
Thanks for the nostalgic video. I remember flying on a lot of 737-200's in the 1980's and 1990's. The one and only time I flew on a 737-200 with the gravel kit was on Alaska on the OAK-PDX-SEA route in the late 1980's. It's amazing to take these airplanes for granted until they're gone.
Thanks for taking us along. Enjoyed this immensely. My 1st 200 flight was in the early 70s with Nordair.
Great video Alex..thank you. As an ex CP Air mechanic this brought back many happy memories...mingled with a little sadness to see this stalwart 200 landing for the last time....a fantastic aircraft...whose memory lives on with the DC 8..DC 10 AND 747 200.
As a kid I always flew on Britannia Airways B737-200s on our holidays to Spain, the sounds and the flaps/thrust reverser brings back memories (I used to love the window seat) as do the reading lights, air vent and call button panel - how much less claustrophobic is the narrowbody cabin without the massive overhead bins they fit nowadays?
Love that part of the video showing departure from Cambridge Bay in 2 parallel views: one from the airplane and one from the outside by your viewer Casey.
I trained for Combi operations as a flight attendant for Can. North on that very aircraft in 2014. Never flew on it sadly but I remember it well. Great video 👌🏻
The video of the takeoff from Cambridge Bay is awesome. Thanks Casey :)
Look at those engines, awesome 👌
Beautiful video ❤
My first ever commercial aviation experience was in 1998 when I was almost 10 years old. YOW-YYJ direct on a Canadian Airlines military family charter 737-200. It was a formative experience, to say the least, and definitely sparked the aviation geek in me, which persists to this day :)
I have flown on the exact aircraft featured in this video twice from YOW-YFB and back (and used to fuel it a lot for years when it was doing the YOW-YFB run). Fantastic video Alex. Brings back a lot of fond memories.
I got back from holiday and checked social media and saw this news. I was sure you'd be around for this! I'm glad you were able to!
Hi Alex! First time viewer. Thanks for sharing this flight on a Boeing 737-200 Combi with gravel kit. I’ve had four flights on this type between Anchorage and Galena Alaska on the now long defunct Wein Air Alaska, between 1979 and 1980. The gravel kit is an engineering marvel, in my opinion. Keeping anything out of a turbine engine is of upmost importance. Any small piece of debris can FOD out an engine in a second. How the gravel kit manages to accomplish that is nothing short of amazing! The 737’s successor engine, the CFM-56, literally eats people and spits out what’s left (“Mechanic sucked into jet engine, killed at El Paso International Airport” -CNN, January 16, 2006). The gravel kit would not work on this engine to keep FOD out.
Again, thanks for sharing.
Thanks Alex for another great video. A lifetime ago, I worked for First Air based at YOW. I did just like you and took a couple of joy rides in my 2 years with the company to go to the Arctic Circle and back in a day on the eastern-based 727s. Visited YRB/Resolute Bay, YSR - the long since closed airport to service the Nanisivik Mine and the community of Arctic Bay (which is where the present day airport is located). On one trip I was on, YRB was ice fogged in and we diverted to YUX - Sanirajak (formerly Hall Beach). Jet service to YUX had stopped in the early 90s. In all of those communities, along with another diversion to YVP/Kuujjuaq, QC on a trip to YFB/Iqaluit, like you, I never left the airport!
Alex, for those of us that live in the United States, Your videos give us a taste of a world we will never see. Canada and a world above the Artic Circle. Beautiful and yet deadly in the winter. Your videos also give a view of aircraft long gone here. The sound of Jet Engines long prohibited here! Nothing sounds better than a Pratt Whitney JT8D whining on Takeoff!
Thank You
As a young kid growing up in the 80s i had countless flights on the classic -200 with CP Air, Canadian airlines and WestJet airlines, its gonna be missed, landing into Edmonton's old Muni Yxd airport was always a thrill, 5000 ft runways and full reverse was always selected! Plus since i lived in North Edmonton you would always hear the 7am flight 🛫 departure to Calgary 🙂 many memories of the 737-200 😎
I too remember as a kid seeing the 737-200 on approach to the old Edmonton muni airport. I lived directly under the flight path of runway 16 in north side of the city
One of the best hauls ever built. Proper flying with analog instruments. What a legend. I hope Nolinor keeps their fleet flying for long too.
I'm so glad some of you takes the time to immortalise thèse classic airliners !
Really enjoyed that coverage of an important piece of Canada's history. Thank you!
I used to be a Rampy with Echo Bay at CYEG back in 1997. I did turnarounds on the Purolator 727s and CanAir Cargo 737s. CanAir had a few gravel kit equipped planes. We always dropped extra pylons in front of the engines to mark off the gravel blowers. IIRC, we only chocked the main gear, since the nose gear skirt is literally 2 inches off the ground.
Enjoyed watching these flights! Had the privilege of flying on a Piedmont 737-200 back in 1973. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful journey and the classic Boeing 737-200, this aircraft used to serve on the domestic flights of Far Eastern Airlines in Taiwan, but now it is all retired, and I used to fly the 737-200
The 737 200 I flew numerous times on NAC, the domestic airline of NZ. They began with 3 & grew to 16 when Air NZ merged with them. They had 1 200QC model for over 20 years which, I believe found its way to a Canadian operator. Passengers by day & freight by night was how Air NZ worked this aircraft
Thank you so much from bottom of my heart!!! Brought a tear to my eye, the 200 was an iconic part of my boyhood with a lot of my early travel here in New Zealand. Back then it was with NAC ( National Airways Corporation) later to become Air New Zealand. Also the 200 was the first cockpit visit I had as a youngster, while in flight!!! Remember those days? Anyway, thanks again, and a special thanks the airline in making this memory so deep. ❤❤
Alex, as I'm 99.9% sure I will never have another opportunity to fly a 732 of any kind I really appreciate you documenting these true classic work horses were a part of that era where they were called an airliner (especially that front of engine view that of a modern day 732 flight). To me this is a totally different type of flying than what is offered today which is focused on inside entertainment rather than the thrill of flight and the environment your flying through and the terrain your traversing. Thank you and I love that you gave her a tap as you left for the last time in that livery! 😉
Thank you for this video. Yes, not many of these 200's left. First flew as a child 50 odd yes ago. Nice job, rg.
I am so sad I couldn't be with you on this flight, however I knew you would do it justice as usual. The fact you are able to tell it's legacy is a great addition. I hope someday we can retire this plane to a Canadian Museum. Keep up the good work! I also hope they let you snag that special safety card ;)
Very special video. Thanks for this historical thrip.
You went to the northern reaches of Canada and found a viewer? Thats absolutely incredible, that must have felt awesome, Casey great work on the footage!
Wow, another great video. When you were in the flight deck, my jaw dropped, that was soooo cool to see!
Nice video Alex sad too see her go
Hi Ter
Thanks for documenting this! I've taken that flight many times since 2011 and I've taken it for granted. It will be sorely missed by Cam Bay and Kugluktuk.
I'm so glad you were able to get that camera in the cargo area to hear those JT8D's up close. Closest experience we might get to the MD-80 nowadays is on the 737-200.
I fondly remember flying ...-200 combi a/c growing up in Alaska. Thanks for the video of this classic!!
I live in the deep south of the USA in northern Mississippi. I am looking forward to visiting a region totally different from my own. I intend to visit Yellowknife in the mid summer to escape our brutal humidity . Your videos are the best! Thanks, David 19:00 .
That was brilliant - and so good of Casey to get that great footage!
Fantastic video Alex! Thanks for capturing this workhorse in all its glory. Love your work, keep it coming.
I flew many many times on Aloha Airlines 737-200s growing up. They were loud as heck compared to todays planes but they have a special place in my heart.
I like how you gave it a pat when you got off Cool
As an American old enough to have flown on a 737-200 but always interested in the arctic and aviation…it’s a sad vid to see…but glad it could be documented.
I got to visit Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton in 2007. Still remember seeing a few Air North 737s and some other random carriers. That was in June…and the sun setting at 11p was a wild thing.
first time working in one of the oil sands aerodrome was loading this MPE 737-200C, and canadian north pilots and crew are awesome
Very cool....in the late 70's I rode in a 727 - combi Edmonton to Yellowknife to Rae Point, Dome Panarctic's base camp on Melville Island at that time. The strip at Rae Point was dirt or gravel....it was a while ago! I remember Rae Point was further from Calgary where I was based than Montreal. 75 degrees N latitude if I recall correctly. (started the trip on Pacific Western's Airbus 737 Calgary to Edmonton). From the base camp to the oil rig was another 1 1/2 hours in a twin otter. Very cool trip! Every 2 weeks I did the reverse trip for a week off in Calgary, then back to Dundas Peninsula where the rig was located.
Nice flight..! I'm curious about the cycle that the planes as left... I actually fly in few of the 737-200 of Air Inuit fleet to go from Montreal to a mine site up north. How many cycles those air planes have left? Do you think that they have many years of service left? I love flying in those but I'm questioning the time they got left to fly... I also had the opportunity to fly Nolinor and Chrono aviation... they are great jets....
thanks again for that video, I liked it !
shout out to kasey, that was a great dual view! curious about flying in northern canada, so keep up the great content (:
Fanatstic video thanks Alex ! I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to to fly the last 737-200 United Airlines had in service years ago on a short hop from Chicago O'Hare to St. Louis while on a business trip. I did not know when we went to board the flight that it was the retirement cycle from ORD to St. Louis and back so the flight was packed and full of Av geeks it was amazing and United had the iconic Stars & Bars livery on the aircraft when that too had been left behind years earlier. Again thanks for this brings back some great memories !!
...lovely video. Enjoyed the split screen on the last takeoff.
This is what the 737 was really all about, a full width cabin jetliner designed do serve small communities with little to no ground handling equipment or jet bridges. (originally the self contained boarding stairs were under the front passenger door).. Love those old JT8Ds which worked well with the aeroplane's ground hugging stance. The larger high bypass turbofans on the "classic through NG series changed the handling a bt due to having to be mounted a bit more forward, and up as well as the bottom of the forward nacelle was flattened to ensure ground clearance again due to the stubby undercarriage . This introduced a bit of extra unwanted lift but was still able to be controlled through trim input,, With the Max series, it became a matter that required a software "kluge" to keep under control as the larger LEAP engines had to be placed even more forward and upward which made the pitch-up issue more pronounced. .
Like the 727 the I feel original 737 held a unique role, and as mentioned the only version of the type able to be fitted to land on unimproved runways. Sad that they are being replaced with narrower high wing ATRs , which tend to be more prone to icing issues.
I loved the sound of those engines when taking off.
I flew a Canadian North -200 up to Inuvik in around 2013. Best flight of my life
The end of an era...I grew up in rural Alaska for a few years, and we'd fly Alaska Airlines -200Cs to the villages. They were such awesome workhorses. I miss the good ol' days!
An Air Florida 737-200 was the first plane I ever flew on from PNS-MIA. Thanks for sharing.
I took the flight to Cambridge Bay in about 1975. The connecting flight to Gjoa Haven, left before we arrived. That was as planned and forced a night stay in a hotel (creating income for the community). The hotel charged for the bed, two to a room but another guest had the second bed. 18:59 An 18 yo construction worker, I thought all jets had stone guards. Most northern airports were gravel. Enjoy your videos, Thank you!
Thanks for featuring the B737-200C. I spent the better part of three years lovingly creating a 3d version for Flight Simulator X and Prepar3d whilst working for MilViz (Military Visualizations). Keeping to the spirit of the project, it features a fully functional "steam gauge" cockpit, and allows one to install the gravel kit or fly stock as desired. It comes with Canadian North, Air Canada liveries as well as several other iconic liveries, including the mysterious "Janet Airlines" (the notorious CIA livery)... 😃
That beauty should be in a museum hopefully. Great to see that love pat on the jet when you disembarked
Great video! I had the opportunity to work on this aircraft in the beginning of my aircraft maintenance career. Working for Canadian after they bought Wardair, me.
Loved the wing and engine shots. So many memories of removing and installing those panels to the wing and thrust reversers. Huum .
The many flights all over Canadian Airlines flew.
Listening to that constant rumble from my seat.
Glad I got to live in those times..
Thanks for the video , I was 20 something again for this video, realizing now how quick yesterday is gone..
I grew up with them flying over me landing at the original YEG not todays imposter. I lived on one side of the street and they landed on the otherside. So close I could count the rivets!! Fifty five years ago! Sure miss those days!;😢 Long live the 737 200's!! ❤❤❤
Love the love pat at the end. There's a retired Alaska Airlines 737-200QC on display at the Alaska Aviation Museum in Anchorage. Worth checking out if you're ever in town.
The first 737 that I saw with a gravel kit was a Nordair 737 in Thunder Bay in 1979. I think Transair operated some as well in the late 70's. I saw a Pacific Western 737 takeoff out of Gillam in 1983 with a big cloud of dust. Lovely aircraft.
loving the fact you flew the loop ... just for the hell of it
Lord knows, but it would be cool if I flew on that aircraft as a kid with PWA or Canadian Airlines back in the day when I lived in Yellowknife. Love seeing those thrust reverser buckets! Thanks for bringing us along on those flights!
The pat at the end got me. I've seen those planes fly in and out of YEG for years. They'll be sorely missed.
My first flight was on a 737-200 from Edmonton to Uranium City in 1980... such memories flying over the sand dunes of Lake Athabasca. And probably in the same seat as your first leg.
I do wonder if Nolinor will purchase this aircraft once sold
don’t think so, I believe some South American operator will purchase it. (hopefully not Aerosucre)
This was before your time. But could you imagine for a minute that upon arriving in SFO from O'Hare. We we're put in a 737 & flown TO Modesto CA with a stop in Stockton CA!?! The return leg was Modesto, Stockton, San Fran to Chicago!
I flew one leg on an Air Alaska flight from Vancouver to San Francisco on a 737-200 Combi in 1999.
It ended with a spectacular night approach and landing at SFO.
That’s cool. I got to work on DPA a number of times when I started on the ramp at YYC. Something of a bitter sweet retirement. Makes me wonder if they’ll ever truly replace the 200 combi with gravel kit.
glad you didn’t have to worry about tail swaps!
hope you enjoyed YCB and my base YCO! as always, great video alex.
Awesome video. Thanks you. I love the JT8D engine planes.
Your reports are some of the best!
first flights to/from Baffin Island (Frobisher Bay back then) in 1969 were on a 200 owned by Nordair! Great airplane.
I worked on those planes as a flight attendant for a couple of years out on Montreal with Canadian Airlines. It usually were always the same and quite senior crew that flew those routes as they were in great demand. Routes are given out of seniority. I filled in when a crew was sick. Not too many passengers, same familiar crew, usually comfortable schedules like leave at 9am and back by 5pm. Except when things go wrong. Once we had a mechanical issue, I believe the tire blew out on landing. Parts had to be flowing in causing another set of problems... But great memories!!!
Reminds me of my days in the far north. You should see if you can get Detour Lake Mine north of Cochrane Ontario to allow you to fly in to their mine site on their jet into their remote gold mine!
They made the best sound in the world when put in reverse thrust👍🥰❤✈
wonder if Nolinor will pick it up.