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Flying to Alaska in Minature

Flying to Alaska in Minature

Pacific Northern Airlines Boeing 720B photographed at Seattle-Tacoma in 1965
Pacific Northern Airlines Boeing 720B photographed at Seattle-Tacoma in 1965

If you have been reading the posts here, you may recall some photos from a trip to Alaska back in ’65. For any number of reasons that was quite a vacation. One of the highlights was, for me, my first airplane flight. We flew from Seattle-Tacoma to Anchorage on Pacific Northern Airlines. You probably don’t remember PNA. Eventually, PNA merged with Western, and, as we know, Western merged with Delta.

I recall that the flight north was on a Boeing 720B and the return trip was on a Boeing 707. This is where it gets tricky.

The photograph on the right was taken at Seattle-Tacoma of our 720B.  A few months ago, Airways magazine ran a three-part series on the history of airlines in Alaska. That piece noted that PNA had purchased two 720Bs from Boeing. The photo here is one of these two.

My memory is that our south-bound aircraft was a 707. I remember seeing 707 markings on the airplane and 707 information cards. The next photo on the right shows me, my mother, and my sister boarding in Anchorage by the rear airstairs. The photo was snapped by my father from the tarmac. Note that this airplane is clearly not the same as the first. The fuselage is painted an ochre color.

Pacific Northern Airlines B720 originally owned by Braniff at Anchorage in 1966
Pacific Northern Airlines B720 originally owned by Braniff at Anchorage in 1966

As it turns out, the Airways article and other documentation state that PNA purchased aircraft from Braniff. It appears that this airplane is one of those ex-Braniff ‘planes. But, and this is the trick, the records indicate that the Braniff craft were all Boeing 720Bs, not the 707 that I remember!

We have three choices. First, I was wrong and that both airplanes were 707s. Second, the records are wrong and either some or all the ex-Braniff aircraft were really 707s. Third, the ex-Braniff 720Bs had 707 markings for some reason. To support the third theory, we know that the 720B was, in essence, a short version of the 707. It was intended to be a short to mid-length haul airplane. Maybe, for some reason, our airplane was “stocked” with 707 materials.  If the 720B and the 707 were nearly identical, maybe that could happen. Perhaps the rules were somewhat looser in those days.

The idea of being able to discover the history of defunct airlines and the airplanes they flew is fascinating. Because I have always been fond of airplanes, and because these first flights made such a strong impression, I was wondering if I could make models of the airplanes.

Model of PNA Bpeing 720B
Model of PNA Bpeing 720B

The photo on the right is, indeed, of a model that I made that replicates the first Pacific Northern Airlines flight to the north. The model kit itself is by 144th scale (a common scale for airplane kits) 720B by Roden. Roden is a Russian manufacturer of good-quality plastic kits. I had to purchase the kit online as there are no local hobby shops that have it in stock.  I used various photographic sources, including the Airways magazine articles, to confirm the details.

As you might imagine, no kits of PNA aircraft are available. But, there was a great source of custom decals at Vintage Flyer Decals, vintageflyerdecals.com. They have PNA decal sets in 144th scale for Boeing 720Bs! Amazing!

After assembling the kit, I applied the decals, but made an error that resulted in the destruction of one important decal piece. What to do? I purchased a second decal set and completed the decoration of the model, which you see on the right.

Airfix model of Boeing 707 painted in Braniff colors with Pacific Northern markings
Airfix model of Boeing 707 painted in Braniff colors with Pacific Northern markings

That meant that I had some extra PNA decals. I decided to build a model of the second airplane I ever flew on, the southbound PNA aircraft. But, was that aircraft a 720B as the records indicate, or was it a 707 as my memory recalls? I elected to take a chance, and build a 707 model. In this case the kit is by Airfix, also in 144th scale. Airfix is one of the few, and perhaps the only, manufacturer making a 707 kit these days. Because PNA kept the Braniff livery, I painted the model in Braniff colors and applied the leftover PNA decals.

You can see that completed model on the right.

Am I right, or am I wrong? Did I duplicate the actual airplane we flew on, or did I make a sort of fantasy? I suspect that the records are right, and that our airplane that we flew on back to Seattle-Tacoma was a 720B. So, I guess you can say that I made a model of the airplane that I remember. Either way, I think it looks pretty cool, and it was great fun building it.