On behalf of the Payload Asia staff , I would like to apologise for the – apparently unforgivable – error in last month’s Bellyache. In the item entitled “Last minute gift idea”, a miscreant staffer, claiming to be a plane geek, misidentified the airplane in the accompanying photo….*GASP*!
Never before has Bellyache’s email inbox been so full ! It truly gave us a bellyache. We realise now that we have it completely backwards – we are not the geeks – you, our dear readers are. And sheesh, you guys can be darn sarcastic…I think we have some job openings here should your careers in the aviation industry not pan out!
The aircraft in question was identified as a Lockheed L-1011, or Tristar, but alas…the plane is actually another, older and smaller Tristar, a Boeing 727-200, likely in Northwest Airlines’ old livery. Rest assured we gave the errantBellyacher a good scolding and sent himback to Plane Spotting 101 class for asemester or two. As he was leaving hewas heard mumbling something ageistabout not even being born yet when the727 rolled out of the factory.Ouch!
We did, however feel that we should give him a chance to respond to the flood of email comments. But he was in kind of a bad mood so all he did was toss a couple of photos on the table saying: “Fine, let these know-it-alls take a stab at this one….”.
So, here you are, his parting gift…a photo of a plane (top) – and yes, we’re quite sure what it is this time! – for you to test your plane spotting ability. Let us know what you think it is and if you’re among the first five people (hey times are hard you know) to respond with the correct answer, we’ll send you a copy of the dreaded “Air Travel Survival” guide. Good luck! – the ED.