I was employed
by Airmark Corporation in March 1982. We were a private aviation
department for a wealthy person in southern California. We were
based at Burbank, California (KBUR). At that time, we were only
operating a Gulfstream II N21AM. In order to offset operating costs,
we placed the G-II on an FAR 135 charter certificate. The owner
wanted an extra mode of transportation in the Los Angeles area,
so a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter N221AM arrived, and we also made
it available for charter.
The owner had purchased a very large ranch east of Perth, Australia,
and wanted a longer range aircraft with more than two engines. A
search was made in the summer of 1983, and N138TA (ex VH-EBA) was
purchased from Tiger Air on 16 October and later re-registered N220AM.
During that period of time in the aviation world, Tiger Air had
been very active in converting BAC-111s, and a couple of Boeing
727s and 707s into corporate aircraft. The 707 was the choice for
those individuals who needed the extra range.
N138TA was a special project for Tiger Air as they actually purchased
the aircraft and converted it on their own for resale. They did
not realize the noise issues were soon to devastate the 707 market.
They chose the 138B for its size and fuel capabilities, which translated
into range. Since it was outfitted for only 34 passengers, there
were extra fuel tanks added in the forward and aft baggage compartments.
They were all the same size and similar in shape to the potable
water tanks in the aft hold and were hung from the floor above.
I believe there were 9 total. 6 aft and 3 forward. With all 9 installed,
the forward hold could take no baggage and the aft hold was only
useable from the aft end (edge) of the baggage door to the front
of the aft hold. There was a 9G barrier just at the aft end of baggage
door so that baggage could be placed in the forward part of the
aft hold. I don't think there were gauges for these tanks. I think
there were lights indicating valves were open or shut (bleed air
and aux tank to main tank valve). As I recall, we could put a maximum
of 130,000 pounds of fuel on board.
The fuel tank system was unique in that we could use just about
any combination of the tanks required for the mission. There were
some weight and balance issues if just the forward, or just the
aft tanks were used. The fuel was pumped using engine bleed air
from each tank into the center fuel tank in the wing. We rarely
used the auxiliary fuel system, but a friend, the late Ron Rounce,
flew the aircraft for Prince Bandar and told me they used them all
the time without problems.
The engines were updated to the Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B fans (18,000
lbs of thrust each) and an APU was added in the forward baggage
compartment. Unfortunately, the APU did not produce enough air on
the ground for air conditioning, so external carts had to used for
conditioned air.
There was an aft airstair, which made the aircraft "self contained"
except for ground air conditioning. Those air stairs were the best
that were ever installed on an airplane like this. I have used others
on 707s and 727s that only worked about half the time.
The galley was full VIP with sterling silver service utensils and
serving tools. Limoges China and Waterford Crystal were used in
the dining and lounge area. There was a four place round table at
the forward part of the lounge area. The seats were covered in a
very expensively tanned and produced pig skin. According to a popular
story which circulated around Burbank for many years, this choice
of covering severely limited Tiger Air's sales propects in certain
parts of the world. In that same area, there was a beautiful brass
outline of the world on the forward bulkhead. Televisions and the
latest (for the day) VCR equipment were located in the passenger
areas. View the cabin of N138TA.
The cockpit was equipped with the latest (again for the time) radios,
radar, and navigation equipment. We had dual Delco Carousel IV-INS
units, plus a GNS-500 VLF as a backup. The rest of the cockpit was
standard Boeing except for the sheepskin coverings on the seats.
We began operating the aircraft under an FAR 125 certificate while
we were undergoing certification as an FAR 121 Supplemental Air
Carrier. We were awarded 121 worldwide operations specifications
in July 1984. We moved the 707 operation to an American Airlines
maintenance hangar at Los Angeles International (KLAX) in June 1984.
Our first big charter was the Michael Jackson Victory Tour, which
started on July 6, 1984 in Kansas City, Kansas and concluded on
December 9. Although the Jacksons used road and rail for some sectors
of the tour, Airmark did all the flying with the 707. There were
usually no more than 10 passengers on the aircraft.
During the course of the Victory Tour, N138TA was flown to Tramco
at Everett, Washington for maintenance, arriving on August 10. The
aircraft re-emerged on August 20 under the new registration N220AM.
While we were on the Victory Tour at Vancouver, two teenagers actually
"broke into" the aircraft while it was parked on the ramp. I don't
remember the handler or FBO we used at Vancouver, but they noticed
an over wing exit open at night and called the police, who caught
the kids. The police did a thorough search including a bomb dog
walk through. They did not vandalize the aircraft, as they were
only interested in seeing Michael Jackson's plane. I met with the
father of one of the teens who was very upset and concerned that
we would press charges, which we did not. We also alerted Bill Bray,
the chief of Michael Jackson's security. They thought it was funny
and actually gave the kids free passes.
After the Victory Tour, we flew the owner on several trips, plus
charters to New Zealand, Japan, France, and England. Other clients
included a Saudi Prince (not Prince Bandar) and a group of executives
from the Diamond Shamrock oil company.
The stage 3 noise regulations grounded the aircraft as of 31 December
1984. However, Airmark had a firm deposit on a Stage 3 hush kit,
and was given an exemption to continue operating the aircraft in
the USA until 31 May 1985. The exemption stipulated that we could
only operate to the same airports we had serviced in 1984, so for
a charter operation, it effectively shut the operation down.
The lawsuit and subsequent exemption are still used today as a precedent
in other exemption suits against the FAA. The hush kit we had planned
on never materialized. However, Community Transport, San Antonio,
Texas was successful in producing a stage 3 hush kit for the -300
series 707. They saw sales in the -100 series, but the FAA was requiring
them to actually use a -100 in their testing.
Due to market conditions, and the effective grounding of the aircraft,
N220AM was sold to Community Transport in January 1985. I delivered
it to them in San Antonio on a ferry permit during that month. CT
was owned by Morris Jaffe and operated by his son Michael Jaffe.
They also wanted to operate, or sell the aircraft after the hush
kit certification. HRH Prince Bandar bin Sultan (Saudi Arabia’s
ambassador to the USA) purchased the aircraft in August 1986 as
an upgrade from his Boeing 727. The 727 was registered HZ-122, and
the 707 became HZ-123. The aircraft was based at Page Aviation,
Washington Dulles (KIAD) and was actively in service until the Prince
took delivery of his Airbus A340. It was actually parked directly
outside the ramp side door at Page Aviation and everyone who arrived
or departed from there saw it regularly.
As a side note, there was a retired USAF Chief Master Sergeant,
Paul Talbot (believed deceased) who was with the -138B from the
time Tiger Air purchased it from Pacific Western all the way through
until it was retired from Prince Bandar’s service. He was a fantastic
flight mechanic and helped in all maintenance areas. He knew the
aircraft inside and out.
Coincidentally, I also flew N707KS (ex VH-EBG) when I was with Skyways
International operating out of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
David
Rowland
13 January 2009
SOME
AIRMARK OPERATIONS
(Sourced
from the Log Book of Flight Engineer Jerry Pappe)
DATE |
REGN. |
FROM |
TO |
REMARKS |
01JUL84 |
N138TA |
KLAX |
KBHM |
Victory
Tour |
02JUL84 |
N138TA |
KBHM |
KMKC |
Victory
Tour |
02JUL84 |
N138TA |
KMKC |
KLAX |
Victory
Tour |
09JUL84 |
N138TA |
KLAX |
KMKC |
Victory
Tour |
09JUL84 |
N138TA |
KMKC |
KDAL |
Victory
Tour |
19JUL84 |
N138TA |
KDAL |
KJAX |
Victory
Tour |
19JUL84 |
N138TA |
KJAX |
KLAX |
Victory
Tour |
24JUL84 |
N138TA |
KLAX |
KBOS |
FAA
121 Proving Flight |
25JUL84 |
N138TA |
KBOS |
EINN |
FAA
121 Proving Flight |
26JUL84 |
N138TA |
EINN |
KMIA |
FAA
121 Proving Flight |
27JUL84 |
N138TA |
KMIA |
KLAX |
FAA
121 Proving Flight |
10AUG84 |
N138TA |
KLAX |
KPAE |
Ferry
for maintenance |
20AUG84 |
N220AM |
KPAE |
KLAX |
After
maintenance and change of registration |
20AUG84 |
N220AM |
KLAX |
KDTW |
Victory
Tour |
20AUG84 |
N220AM |
KDTW |
KMCO |
Victory
Tour |
25AUG84 |
N220AM |
KMCO |
KBUF |
Victory
Tour |
27AUG84 |
N220AM |
KBUF |
KLAX |
Victory
Tour |
19SEP84 |
N220AM |
KIAH |
LFPG |
Charter
- Saudi Royal Family |
22SEP84 |
N220AM |
LFPG |
KIAD |
Charter
- Saudi Royal Family |
12OCT84 |
N220AM |
KMCO |
KORD |
Victory
Tour |
12OCT84 |
N220AM |
KORD |
KDAL |
Victory
Tour |
13OCT84 |
N220AM |
KDAL |
PANC |
Charter
- Diamond Shamrock |
14OCT84 |
N220AM |
PANC |
RJAA |
Charter
- Diamond Shamrock |
15OCT84 |
N220AM |
RJAA |
VHHH |
Charter
- Diamond Shamrock |
17OCT84 |
N220AM |
VHHH |
WIHH |
Charter
- Diamond Shamrock |
20OCT84 |
N220AM |
WIHH |
RJAA |
Charter
- Diamond Shamrock |
20OCT84 |
N220AM |
RJAA |
PANC |
Charter
- Diamond Shamrock |
21OCT84 |
N220AM |
PANC |
KDAL |
Charter
- Diamond Shamrock |
22OCT84 |
N220AM |
KDAL |
KDAL |
Maintenance
flight |
15NOV84 |
N220AM |
KLAX |
KIAH |
Victory
Tour |
15NOV84 |
N220AM |
KIAH |
CYVR |
Victory
Tour |
Note:
This summary is based on the only Airmark log book thus far located.
It is hoped that others will emerge.
ICAO
DECODES
CYVR |
Vancouver
International, Vancouver, BC, Canada |
EINN |
Shannon
Limerick, Ireland |
KBHM |
Birmingham,
Alabama, USA |
KBOS |
Boston,
Massachusetts, USA |
KBUF |
Buffalo,
New York, USA |
KDAL |
Dallas
Love Field, Texas, USA |
KDTW |
Detroit
International, Detroit, Michigan, USA |
KIAH |
Houston
Intercontinental, Houston, Texas, USA |
KJAX |
Jacksonville,
Florida, USA |
KLAX |
Los
Angeles International, Los Angeles, California, USA |
KMIA |
Miami,
Florida, USA |
KMKC |
Kansas
City, Kansas, USA |
KORD |
Chicago
O'Hare, Chicago, Illinois, USA |
KPAE |
Everett
Paine Field, Washington, USA |
LFPG |
Paris
Charles de Gaulle, Paris, France |
PANC |
Anchorage
International, Anchorage, Alaska, USA |
PHNL |
Honolulu
International, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA |
RJAA |
Tokyo
Narita International, Tokyo, Japan |
VHHH |
Hong
Kong Kai Tak |
WIHH |
Jakarta,
Indonesia |
Airmark
People Associated with N220AM
(listed
in alphabetical order)
Hugo
Boissette |
Flight
Engineer |
Glenn
Cox |
Captain |
Lee
Crawley |
First
Officer |
Lynn
DeGrasse |
Flight
Attendant |
Cindy
Divorski |
Flight
Attendant |
Vicki
English |
Flight
Attendant |
Mike
Fechisin |
Mechanic |
Gayle
French |
Flight
Attendant |
Ernie
Gustafson |
Mechanic |
Mike
Jaureguey |
Flight
Engineer |
Daryl
Johnson |
Office |
John
Liebernicht |
Mechanic |
Carol
Lucas |
Flight
Attendant |
Mike
McGregor |
Captain |
Tommy
Ogan |
Mechanic |
Jerry
Pappe |
Flight
Engineer |
Ron
Rounce |
Captain |
David
Rowland |
Captain |
Diana
Stone |
Flight
Attendant |
Paul
Talbot |
Flight
Mechanic |
Ed
Wetzel |
Director
of Maintenance |
Wendi
White |
Flight
Attendant |
Larry
Zeigler |
Asst
Director of Maintenance |
The
Author
David Rowland
retired from flying in April 2008. Prior to retirement he was
with a private group in New Orleans, Louisiana managing and
flying a Gulfstream III and subsequently a Gulfstream 450. He
holds type ratings in the Boeing 707/720/727/737, BAC-111, G1159
(Gulfstream 2, 2b, and 3), NA265 (Sabreliner), and the G-V (Gulfstream
350/450/500/550). He also holds a Commercial helicopter license,
and an Airframe and Powerplant mechanics license. David is currently
a Licensed Homebuilder and builds one or two houses per year. |
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