Color Scheme: Final
Colors
Registration: N4867T
Composition: One
Piece Plastic
Dimensions: Length:
13.5" (34cm), Wingspan 11" (28cm)
Condition: Mint
Model History: Acquired
from my friend Jim Powroznik on September 1, 2001. This model
is beautifully detailed for it's size with CFM Logos on each engine
and the stripes on each wing.
Transamerica's
DC-8 History: Transamerica Airlines' roots date back to
1948 with the creation of Los Angles Air Service who operated
a single DC-3 on charter flights. In 1960 the name was changed
to Trans International Airlines (TIA) by the new owner - the Studebaker
Corporation and the company headquarters was moved up to Oakland,
California. Also around this time TIA had acquired additional
aircraft - DC-6s & Lockheed Constellations to upgrade it's
fleet and entered the jet age with the purchase of DC-8
'Ship One' N8008D to be used on transpacific charters.
In 1964 TIA became independent from Studebaker (then in financial
trouble) when the president of TIA bought the company. During
the mid to late 1960s TIA took factory delivery of single DC-8F-54
& DC-8F-55 Jet Traders, 3 DC-8-61CF (Click
Here To See Trans International DC-8-61CF Model)
& 7 DC-8-63CF Convertible Passenger/Freighters which allowed
for TIA to become a "major player" in the fast growing
U.S. charter market. TIA was acquired by the large conglomerate
- San Francisco based Transamerica Corporation in 1968 and thus
gained substantial financial resources backing it. In 1976 when
TIA acquired Saturn Airways & it's fleet was integrated (including
Saturn's DC-8s) this catapulted the airline to the status of world's
largest charter operator (at least for a time). (Click
Here To See a Saturn DC-8-61CF Model)
More DC-8s were acquired on the used market and DC-10s and Boeing
747s were also added to the fleet during the 1970s. Throughout
the 1970s TIA's DC-8 Fleet hauled just about everything - ranging
from 7000 head of cattle from Ft. Worth, Texas to Chile, at 270
head of cattle per DC-8-63CF flight (a Real 'Cattle Car')
to 144 First Class Passengers from the USA to Australia &
New Zealand in a DC-8-63CF Configured to All First Class Seating
- 36 Rows in a 2 by 2 Abreast Arrangement. Now that's a Big First
Class Compartment! Click Here
to See TIA & Transamerica's DC-8 Fleet Information. In
1979, with the advent of deregulation in the US airline industry,
TIA was awarded routes from the US to Europe and officially changed
it's name to Transamerica Airlines prior to starting them. During
the early 1980s Transamercia had 7 of it's DC-8-63CFs upgraded
to DC-8-73CF status and thus extended their operating lives with
the quieter, fuel efficient CFM-56 High By-pass Turbofan Engines.
Sadly, the mid-1980s proved to be very hard on the US airline
industry, and although Transamerica reduced routes and sold aircraft
in an attempt to match capacity with demand, they still suffered
extensive losses and were ultimately offered for sale by the parent
company in 1986. Unfortunately there were no buyers and the airline
was forced to cease operations on September 30, 1986. In a bit
of irony, the TIA (Trans International Airlines) name was resurrected
in the turbulent mid-1980s by the parent company Transamerica
Corp. who created the "new" TIA as a nonunion low cost
airline based out of Louisville, Kentucky & operated DC-8s.
This strategy didn't work either and the "new" TIA was
forced to cease operations on the same date at the older TIA/Transamerica
Airlines - September 30, 1986.
