[COLUMN] 1988 From big freighter to small freighter: Aerospatiale SN-601 Corvette EC-DYE Drenair
Posted: 07 Oct 2017, 17:31
Once the singing legend Prince had a song called "Little Red Corvette". Now, little she is, the AƩrospatiale SN 601 Corvette. But I'm sure Prince had something else in mind instead of an airplane.
Yes, the Spanish airline Drenair had a fleet of small aircraft, doing business charters, but they also had freighters in the fleet using Gulfstream 1's for that. Their only SN-601 Corvette was initially in use as bizzjet, but by removing the interior they could use it also as a freighter.
Drenair was one of the airliners hauling freight for XP Express Parcel Systems in the late Eighties. Normally the Corvette was only in at MST by night, while operating the route LEMD-EHBK-LEMD for XP and Emery, who cooperated together at Maastricht. The chance to see the nightguys during the day was almost zero, unless fog made a disaster of the flightschedules. And the period Christmas gave a posibilty to see them hanging around for the weekend at MST as it was an extremely busy period for the couriers.
So on a cold late November Sunday afternoon I catched this little jetfreighter SN-601 EC-DYE of Drenair while resting at the C-apron.
Yes, the Spanish airline Drenair had a fleet of small aircraft, doing business charters, but they also had freighters in the fleet using Gulfstream 1's for that. Their only SN-601 Corvette was initially in use as bizzjet, but by removing the interior they could use it also as a freighter.
Drenair was one of the airliners hauling freight for XP Express Parcel Systems in the late Eighties. Normally the Corvette was only in at MST by night, while operating the route LEMD-EHBK-LEMD for XP and Emery, who cooperated together at Maastricht. The chance to see the nightguys during the day was almost zero, unless fog made a disaster of the flightschedules. And the period Christmas gave a posibilty to see them hanging around for the weekend at MST as it was an extremely busy period for the couriers.
So on a cold late November Sunday afternoon I catched this little jetfreighter SN-601 EC-DYE of Drenair while resting at the C-apron.