Borrowed colours III

     

Fokker F-28 Mk.4000 LV-MZD (cn.11127) at Miami, Dec1979. Photo: Christian Volpati.

 

 One summer afternoon in 1979, while looking out from the terrace at Aeroparque, I managed to distinguish among the various aircraft on the apron the unmistakable shape of a particular Fokker F-28. There was no doubt that it looked different from the others operated by the state-owned company since 1975. Not only because of its colour scheme, but also because it was longer.

    These were not the days when one could simply go online and find out what it was. However, if one was familiar with the various colour schemes, thanks to the specialised magazines that helped nurture our still fledgling spotting knowledge — Interavia, Air Pictorial and Aircraft Illustrated, to name but a few — it was possible to identify it. This particular aircraft turned out to be the first of its type in Argentina, as the second Mk.4000 did not arrive until 1999, when T-02 - cn. 11203- was incorporated and assigned to the Presidency of the Nation.     

    Upon its arrival, the aircraft still carried the colours of NLM Cityhopper, and entered service in this guise: wearing "borrowed clothes". Before long, it would receive the full colour scheme of the Argentine company, once it was formally acquired in Apr80. In 1990, the aircraft was destroyed at Villa Gesell.

Borrowed colours II

 

Between 1988 and 1991, Time Air acquired several Fokker F28s from US Air, at a time when the company was undergoing a process of fleet reorganisation and standardisation following the absorption of other airlines, including Piedmont Airlines. In such circumstances, the transfer of a second-hand aircraft could result in particularly curious combinations of colours and paint schemes. Such was the case with Fokker F28-1000 C-FJRI, -msn. 11103- whose history provides a fascinating example of a true “mixture” of liveries: possibly originating from US Air, it carried Time Air titles, whilst its fin and nose retained the colours associated with Canadian. Rather than displaying a clearly defined livery, the aircraft ended up wearing a singular combination of corporate identities — a veritable “blend” of colours that visually reflects the complex processes involved in the transfer and integration of aircraft during those years.

# We received the following comment from the Time Air Historical Society Facebook page—one that we certainly welcome: Time Air during this period was snapping up F-28’s very quickly. The majority had a Garuda to Piedmont to US Air lineage. Many F28’s were used to supplement Canadi>n Airlines 737 routes, or replace them altogether. C-FJRI was purchased in March of 1991 during Time Air’s 25th Anniversary year, and one year before being renamed Canadi>n Regional. To get the aircraft into service quickly, the Piedmont/US Air light blue cheatline was hastily painted the dark blue of Canadi>n. It remained this way until the name change, when it received the full Canadi>n livery.

Borrowed colours I

    

The Canadian airline Time Air, based in Lethbridge, Alberta, operated a total of 12 second-hand Fokker F-28 Mk.1000 aircraft throughout its history. Eight of these aircraft had previously served with US Air, a United States carrier that operated a significant fleet of these regional twinjets.

    The need to introduce additional equipment into service quickly meant that at least one of these aircraft joined Time Air while still retaining much of its previous operator’s appearance. The Fokker therefore carried the basic US Air colour scheme, including its United States registration (N), although the titles of the Canadian regional airline were added to its fuselage.

    It may not have been the only example within the fleet, but photographic evidence remains of Fokker F-28 Mk.1000 N452US (cn.11105), which would later become registered as C-GLCR, showing this unusual combination: the identity of Time Air displayed over the borrowed colours from US Air.