Color Scheme: First Colors

Registration: 6Y-JII

Composition: A Refinished Polished Aluminum Model made by Nifty Models, Finland

Dimensions: Length: 26" (66cm), Wingspan 22.75" (58cm)

Condition: Mint

Model History: This blank was produced by Nifty Models of Finland and was originally finished in Finnair Colors. When I acquired it back in 2004, from a seller in France, the livery was in poor condition. Since I had a Finnair DC-8-62 in my collection already I wanted to have it finished off in United's "Stars & Bars" or Air Jamaica's Livery. I ultimately decided on Air Jamaica and sent it off to Airborne Replicas to be hand painted in the Philippines in October 2005. I received it back on October 5, 2006 and once again Airborne Replicas did a great job of painting it!

Air Jamaica's DC-8 History: Air Jamaica began it's first services on May 1, 1966 under a three party agreement with the Government of Jamaica, British West Indies Airways (BWIA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) [now known as British Airways]. The aircraft were operated on a wet lease agreement* with these two airlines. On April 1, 1969, Air Jamaica, LTD was created by a joint investment from the Government of Jamaica (60%) and Air Canada (40%) and began operations with a single DC-9 & single DC-8 jet both provided by Air Canada. In fact, Air Canada provided not only the aircraft, but also management, pilots, equipment, training & technical assistance to enable the airline to begin service. Thus, in April 1969, Air Jamaica became the National Airline of Jamaica, with their inaugural services from Kingston & Montego Bay to New York & Miami. During the early 1970's the fledgling airline expanded their services between Jamaica & North America. In 1973 Air Jamaica began their first trans-atlantic service to London from Kingston & Montego Bay using a single DC-8-62H Jetliner (as depicted above). Initially these services were operated as charters but by 1974 evolved into scheduled services which operated through 1981 when the last of the DC-8's were retired. Click Here to See Air Jamaica's DC-8 Fleet Information.

* Per Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/): "A wet lease is a leasing arrangement whereby one airline (lessor) provides an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance, and insurance, (ACMI) to another airline (lessee), who pays by hours operated. The lessee provides fuel, covers airport fees, and any other duties, taxes, etc. The flight uses the flight number of the lessee. A wet lease generally lasts one month to two years, anything less would be considered an ad-hoc charter. A wet lease is typically utilized during peak traffic seasons or annual heavy maintenance checks, or to initiate new routes. Ground handling is usually done by the lessor although this can vary from country to country. In some cases the lessee provides these services (or one of its partners). "

Click Here to View a Photo of the Actual Aircraft
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Photo Courtesy Of & Many Thanks To: AIRLINERS.NET and Photographer Bob Garrard

Links To Other Air Jamaica Models On This Web Site:
DC-8-61 1/250 Scale in this Color Scheme