Lockheed L1649A Starliner move to Rand Airport

Associations

Lockheed

L1649A Starliner

ZS-DVJ

c/n 1042

January 2011

Lockheed L1649A Starliner ZS-DVJ to be relocated to Rand Airport

This page follows the project of moving ZS-DVJ from OR Tambo Airport to Rand Airport

Click here to go to the Lockheed Starliner ZS-DVJ main page with history and photographs

For a number of years the SAA Museum Society has known that the inevitable would happen i.e. the order to relocate our beloved Starliner to a new home.

The order came in the first week of 2011, the Connie must go!

Since then numerous meetings have taken place as to who, what, where, when etc. Our dear friends at Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung (DLBS) in Germany have been simply awesome and have given us plenty of information to work with. They have had a couple of years involvement with their own three Starliners and are able to offer the SAAMS advice as well as access to much needed technical information, manuals and special tools required for dismantling ZS-DVJ.

SAA Technical and the SAA Apprentice School have also been of immense help and will be there to guide the museum through what is undoubtedly a daunting task.

It's actually quite simple really, undo the aircraft, move the bits and put it all together again. When we're done we'll look back and say "piece of cake", but for now our problems have just begun.

A working committee was in place by June 2011 and a document (Moving D-ALAN) had been been drafted that would serve to guide us through the initial phase. The document was been compiled by Johannes Wiesner, Technical Manager BizJet Auburn - The Lockheed Super Star Project.

This page also acts a repository for documentation and photographs, new and old, that will assist the relocation team.

First off is a set of photographs of the dismantling in 1979 of ZS-DVJ when she was at Klein Kariba in Warmbaths, now Bella Bella.

Dismantling at Klein Kariba and transporting to Jan Smuts Airport during 1979

Offloading at Jan Smuts Airport during 1979

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Dismantling begings mid 2011 at SAA Technical

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By July 2011 the spinners and some wing panels had been removed.

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Removing the engine cowlings, 22 October 2011

Removing the props, 5 November 2011

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2012

Unfortunately it was not possible to continue the dismantling process at SAA Technical and arrangements were made to continue at Denel Aviation on the north east side of OR Tambo International Airport.

Awaiting a tug to tow her to Denel Aviation the Starliner stands next to a soon to be scrapped Angola Boeing 747. 12 May 2012

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ZS-DVJ crossing between the two main runways at OR Tambo International Airport, 12 May 2012.
It was nearly 41 years since she last trundled around the airport, known then as Jan Smuts, on 9 October 1971.

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At Denel Aviation. Dismantling was soon to begin. 12 May 2012

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The first workday at Denel Aviation - cold and damp! The start of removing many pannels begins. 23 June 2012

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Labelling the panels for future identification and re-fitting. 23 June 2012

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The first of many hundreds of rivets being drilled out. 23 June 2012

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In the following weeks the centre panels had been removed as well as the left flap.

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The right hand flap being removed. 1 September 2012

New front passenger door
21 November 2012
Photograph:Bernhard Scholz

New doors were manufactured as ZS-DVJ's original doors will "fly again" on Starliner c/n 1018
owned by Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung (DLBS) German Lufthansa Berlin Foundation

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New front passenger door
21 November 2012
Photograph:Bernhard Scholz