More Slides.You Asked For Them!

[TSR2]

Well spotted Toby. I'd been staring at it for about half an hour. Any idea why this would be?

[DaveB]

Hi Ben..

Not anything obvious in ME's history to indicate why she might have those blanks up front. It's a 401 CAK originally delivered to American Airlines in '66 as N5026 though it's designation then was 401 AK (might the C mean Cargo?). It started ops with BA in '74 as BBME (previous reg was AZMI) and flew with them until 31 Oct 88. Sold to British European 4 Jan 90. Then merged with Brymon (Brymon European) then demerged ending as Maersk Air (repainted as BA!). G-INFO shows she ended up going to SA.

ATB

DaveB

[Garry Russell]

TBH I noticed that straight away and have been thinking the blinds on those windows were pulled down and exposure bleaching has done the rest

Didn't seem odd to me on a pic of that vintage

There are odd windows looking blank along the rest of the line as well

[DaveB]

You could be right mate. They just seem a little too flush with the outer skin to me but as you say, picture quality/degradation may be playing it's part

ATB

DaveB

[Garry Russell]

Hi mate

If the blinds reflect, the flare will be off the glass...virtually flush with the skin

The Sun is full on that side

I had a lot of that sort of thing when I took pics in those days as the Sun was usually full on the side here..the reason the blinds might be pulled down.

Nowdays with better exposure setting, digital imagineg and no Sun this doesn't happen, but then a good exposure would mean slight bleaching on the highlight and filling of the shadows with the type of equipement ordinary folk had

[DaveB]

Hello Mate

Yup.. that's the only logical explanation really. ME had only been in BA service at year at most so her paint was in good nick so add that to bleaching from the sun in the exposure.. you have what looks like a 1-11 Combi

ATB

DaveB

[TSR2]

Yep, found this photo of her in '74 which shows her with all of her windows so I doubt they were changed.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/British- ... 1650789/L/

[Garry Russell]

And as I mentioned it is also odd widows firther along.

I used to see that a fair bit from the start and I never saw it with odd widows...it is just an illusion

[clavel9]

I have to say I don't buy the optical illusion/glare explanation. It doesn't account for the intermittent gaps in the windows at the rear of the cabin. You can just about see lighter areas where the windows should be. My best guess would be some sort of temporary VIP arrangement. But in the absence of any hard information or other photo confirming the layout it's impossible to say.

[spot]

Great pics. Makes me Hanker after those lost days as a boy in the
60's on the roof of the Queens Buildings at London.

Brian...