Bogota—El Dorado
The Last Boeing 727 Stronghold
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On April 20, 2015, the OldJets management team visited Lineas Aereas del Sudamericana at Bogota Airport. We came across many classic Boeing 727 freighters. LAS staff with at the right Michael Prophet and in the red jacket Jan Koppen.
Michael Prophet took photos during our visit with Lineas Aereas Sudamericas in spring this year. Enjoy the pics! Lineas Aereas Suramericanas LAS started operations from 1972 with Curtiss C-46’s. In 1975 they acquired a Douglas DC-6 freighter. In 1986 LAS started operations to North America with a Canadair CL-44 freighter. In 1987 they acquired a Caravelle and began operation between Bogota and Panama, In 1991 the first of the Boeing B727-100 was acquired. In the 2001 the company acquired two DC-9 for domestic flights. Between 2002 and 2005 LAS acquired four Boeing B727-200 with JT8D-15 and JT8D-17 turbines. The Boeing 727 design was a compromise among United Airlines, American Airlines, and Eastern Air Lines requirements for a jet airliner to serve smaller cities with shorter runways and fewer passengers. United Airlines wanted a four-engine aircraft for its flights to high-altitude airports, especially its hub at Stapleton International Airport at Denver, Colorado. American, which was operating the four-engine Boeing 707 and Boeing 720, wanted a twin-engine aircraft for efficiency. Eastern wanted a third engine for its overwater flights to the Caribbean, since at that time twin-engine commercial flights were limited by regulations to routes with 60-minute maximum flying time to an airport (see ETOPS/LROPS). Eventually the airlines agreed on a trijet. 
Current regulations require that a 727 in commercial service must be retrofitted with a hush kit to reduce engine noise to Stage 3 levels. One such hush kit is offered by FedEx, and has been purchased by over 60 customers. Aftermarket winglet kits, originally developed by Valsan Partners and later marketed by Quiet Wing Corp. have been installed on many 727s to reduce noise at lower speeds, as well as to reduce fuel consumption.
HK-4401 during her F/C check. This one, a 727-200/Adv. was built in 1981 and started operating for the French charter company Air Charter International as F-GCMX. During the years she also had a carreer with the Belgium operator Constellation and Amerijet from the U.S.A. With the latter she wore registration N797AJ. Finally she left for Colombia and started working for LAS.
The 727 was designed for smaller airports, so independence from ground facilities was an important requirement. This led to one of the 727's most distinctive features: the built-in airstair that opens from the rear underbelly of the fuselage, which initially could be opened in flight. Another innovation was the auxiliary power unit (APU), which allowed electrical and air-conditioning systems to run independently of a ground-based power supply, and without having to start one of the main engines
Stretched version of the 727-100. The -200 is 20 feet (6.1 m) longer (153 feet 2 inches;46.69 m) than the −100 (133 feet 2 inches;40.59 m). A ten-foot (3-meter) fuselage section ("plug") was added in front of the wings and another ten-foot fuselage section was added behind them. The wing span and height remain the same on both the −100 and −200 (108 and 34 feet (33 and 10 m), respectively). The original 727-200 had the same max gross weight as the 727-100; however, as the aircraft evolved, a series of higher gross weights and more powerful engines was introduced along with other improvements, and, from line number 881, 727-200s are dubbed −200 Advanced. The aircraft gross weight eventually increased from 169,000 to 209,500 pounds (76,700 to 95,000 kg) for the latest versions. The first 727-200 flew on July 27, 1967 and received FAA certification on November 30, 1967. The first delivery was made on December 14, 1967 to Northeast Airlines. A total of 310 727-200s were delivered before giving way to the 727-200Adv in 1972.
Tail section of HK-1273. This classic Boeing 727-23C freighter was delivered to Continenal Airlines on 1 August 1967 as N2473. Registration changed to N5473 in February 1969, to N1781B in August 1970 and to N830 in January 1971. She flew later with Avianca and SAM as HK-1273 before being sold to LAS. Currently this ship is used for spare parts.
HK-1273 left the Seattle Boeing plant in July 1967 as a convertible passenger cargo version . The Booeing 727-24C (24 is the unique, fixed Boeing customer code of Continental Airlines) was delivered the Golden Jet operator on August 01, 1967 as N2473. During 1971 she was sold to Avianca and wore registration HK-1273. During the 80’s she was leased to SAM Colombia for several periods to time. Since February 1994 this short 727 was working for LAS.
HK-1273 is enjoying her retirement at the LAS hangar. She is used for spares to keep the remaining 727's operational.
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727-200F Advanced— A freighter version of the 727-200 Advanced became available in 1981 designated the Series 200F Advanced powered by the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17A engines and featured a strengthened fuselage structure, an 11 ft 2 inch by 7 ft 2 inch forward main deck freight door and a windowless cabin. This was the last production variant of the 727 to be developed by Boeing, and 15 aircraft were built, all for Federal Express; the last 727 aircraft completed by Boeing was a 727-200F Advanced.
The LAS hangar at Bogota El Dorado
HK-4262 being readied for her next mission!
The first flight of HK-4154 was on July 13, 1965. She was build for Northwest Orient and got registration N468US. Northwest had Boeing customer code ‘56’ so it became a 727-51. During the years with Northwest she was converted to a 727-51F (freighter). After being sold by NWA this 727 did operate for National Airlines and later Amerijet International as N5607. She was sold to Colombia and became a hush-kitted ‘workhorse’ for LAS as HK4154.
HK-4262 was delivered new to Nigeria Airways. This ship changed hands many time. After Nigeria she flew for Alaska Airlines, Continental Micronesia and Amerijet International
HK-4261 is a Boeing 727-56(F). Unique, fixed Boeing customer codes have been used by Boeing Commercial Airplanes to identify the original customer for an aircraft for all Boeing 7x7 aircraft, up to and including the Boeing 777. The codes were announced at an ICAO congress in 1956. Customer codes are not being used for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The codes do not change if the aircraft is subsequently sold as they reflect the original configuration of the aircraft. Before the 707, Boeing used a generally similar system to identify the presence of detailed variations or options requested by particular customers, but the codes were not customer-specific. A Boeing 377 Stratocruiser built to the requirements of United Air Lines, for instance, was designated a Model 377-10-34. In the 7x7 series, the code denoting United Airlines is 22, so a 747-400 built for United Airlines is a 747-422.
HK-4261 is a former Northwest Airlines ship. During her Red Tail carreer she was registrated N277US.
HK-1271 is a 727 which has spent nearly all of its working life based in Colombia. Delivered in July 1967 to Continental as N2471, this Golden Jet was traded-in already after about a year of service. She was prepared for sale to Varig, but the deal was cancelled and she went to Avianca instead. For brief spells she was leased to SAM Colombia and in January 1994 she was sold to Lineas Aereas Suramericanas, with whom she still flies as a freighter
The airliner's middle engine (engine 2) at the very rear of the fuselage gets air from an inlet ahead of the vertical fin through an S-shaped duct. This S-duct proved to be troublesome in that flow distortion in the duct induced a surge in the centerline engine on the take-off of the first flight of the 727-100. This was fixed by the addition of several large vortex generators in the inside of the first bend of the duct.
The 727 proved very popular with cargo airlines and charter airlines. FedEx Express introduced 727s in 1978. 727s were the backbone of its fleet until the 2000s; FedEx began replacing them with Boeing 757s in 2007. Many cargo airlines worldwide employ the 727 as a workhorse, since, as it is being phased out of U.S. domestic service due to noise regulations, it becomes available to overseas users in areas where such noise regulations have not yet been instituted.
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Pratt & Whitney In 1960 Pratt & Whitney was looking for a customer for its new JT8D turbofan design study, based on its J52 (JT8A) turbojet, while United and Eastern were interested in a Pratt & Whitney alternative to the RB163 Spey. Once Pratt & Whitney agreed to go ahead with development of the JT8D, Eddie Rickenbacker, Chairman of the Board of Eastern, told Boeing that the airline preferred the JT8D for its 727s. Boeing had not offered the JT8D as it was about 1,000 lbs heavier than the RB163, though slightly more powerful; the RB163 was also further along in development than the JT8D. Boeing reluctantly agreed to offer the JT8D as an option on the 727 and it later became the sole powerplant. At the start of the 21st century, the 727 remained in service with a few large airlines. Faced with higher fuel costs, lower passenger volumes due to the post-9/11 economic climate, increasing restrictions on airport noise, and the extra expenses of maintaining older planes and paying flight engineers' salaries, most major airlines phased out their 727s; they were replaced by twin-engine aircraft, which are quieter, and more fuel-efficient. Modern airliners also have a smaller flight deck crew of two pilots, while the 727 required two pilots and a flight engineer. 
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The 727 is one of the noisiest commercial jetliners, categorized as Stage 2 by the U.S. Noise Control Act of 1972, which mandated the gradual introduction of quieter Stage 3 aircraft. The 727's JT8D jet engines use older low-bypass turbofan technology, whereas Stage 3 aircraft utilize the more efficient and quieter high-bypass turbofan design. When the Stage 3 requirement was being proposed, Boeing engineers analyzed the possibility of incorporating quieter engines on the 727. They determined that the JT8D-200 engine could be used on the two side-mounted pylons, but the structural changes to fit the larger-diameter engine (49.2 inches (125 cm) fan diameter in the JT8D-200 compared to 39.9 inches (101 cm) in the JT8D-7) into the fuselage at the number two engine location were prohibitive.
The Pratt & Whitney JT8D is a low-bypass (0.96 to 1) turbofan engine, introduced by Pratt & Whitney in February 1963 with the inaugural flight of Boeing's 727. It was a modification of the Pratt & Whitney J52 turbojet engine, which powered the US Navy A-6 Intruder attack aircraft. A "fixed" version for powerplant and ship propulsion is known as the FT12
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Super 27 Speed increased by 50 mph (80 km/h), due to replacement of the two side engines with the JT8D-217 or the JT8D-219, which are also found on many MD-80s, along with the addition of hush kits to the center engine. Winglets were added to some of these aircraft to increase fuel efficiency. This modification was originally developed by Valsan Partners, but was later marketed by Quiet Wing Technologies in Redmond, Washington. The Valsan program was intended to make 727-200s compliant with the Stage 3 noise rules. The outer (#1 and #3) JT8D-9, -11, -15 or -17s are replaced with JT8D-217s, which have a higher bypass ratio and are quieter. The -217s are the engine found on the MD-82. The center (#2) engine, being buried in the tailcone, could not be easily replaced, so instead it looses its thrust reverser and gets an internal (bypass/core) mixer, to lower its noise signature. The first modified aircraft, for Sterling Airways of Denmark, re-entered service in October 1988. Aircraft modified have included some Continental aircraft and high gross-weight Federal Express -200s (late model aircraft). Since this time, Valsan has also certified and put into service winglets on the -100 and -200. These are intended to cut cruise fuel burn. A 5% improvement is claimed. 
HK-4637 is a ‘Super 27’ which is upgraded with MD80 engines. Originally she was build for Fedex as a 727-2S2F/Adv. Freighter.
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HK-4636 previously flew by Fedex as N205FE and is a Super 27
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