Still with this lovely dancer on the fin, before AirBaltic switched to that boring green. This aircraft was delivered to Braathens in 1991 as LN-BRN, and was acquired by AirBaltic in early 2004. Sold to Estonian Air in 2010 as ES-ABO, then to LY-AYU in late 2011, but never flew as such. It was stored at Vilnius, fate unclear.

The last Tupolev 154 ever built, delivered in Feb 2013, coming in to land on rwy 27. On board were witnesses from Douma in Syria, who were on their way to an international press conference for the OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) in The Hague, about an alleged chemical attack on their city. The conference was organised by Russia, hence this Russian Air Force aircraft, with the 223 LO badge clearly visible. A very unusual aircraft type for Schiphol these days!

Lufthansa's lovely 1960s scheme looks wonderful, even on a modern and boring A321.

A very welcome visitor at Amsterdam, coming in to land on runway 18R. It was chartered by the European Space Agency to carry equipment to their Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.

Presumably the last aircraft ever to carry the once familiar Martinair colours. The airline was established by aviation pioneer Martin Schröder on 24 May 1958, and absorbed into the KLM Group in late 2008. Martinair ceased passenger services in Oct 2011, focusing entirely on freight services. PH-MPS is ex Singapore Airlines 9V-SMF and Air India VT-AIF, and was acquired in 2008. It is now their only remaining aircraft.

MDC delivered this DC-8 to Alitalia in 1970, as I-DIWW. It was withdrawn from use in 1981 and sold as N39305 two years later. In 1988 it entered the MGM Grand Air fleet, and became N802MG in 1990. Kalitta acquired it in 1996 and converted it to a freighter. Transferred to Kitty Hawk in 1999, and then sold to African International in early 2002. With them it initially flew as 3D-AIA, but was soon reregistered to ZS-OSI, as seen here. Finally, in 2009 it went to Stars Away and was permanently withdrawn from use in 2012. In early 2015 this beauty was broken up at Manston, UK.

Ex KLM Connie, beautifully preserved at the Wroughton Science Museum facility. Delivered to KLM in 1947, as PH-TET "Tilburg", later PH-LDT, and withdrawn from use Sep 1960. It was converted to freighter in 1962, then briefly carried TI-1045P in 1964 before becoming N7777G that same year. As such it saw service with many operators until impounded at Dublin in 1974, where it would remain for many years. Sold to Aces High in 1982 and registered as G-CONI, but reg never applied. The Science Museum acquired the aircraft and transported it from Dublin to Wroughton in July 1983. Restoration completed in Sep 1984 in TWA colours, even though it never flew for TWA.

A very early DC-3, among the oldest still in existence. Originally delivered to United Air Lines, way back in 1936, as NC16071. After a long and varied career it was acquired by Skyways Inc. in 1969 as N655GP, and as such it made its way to Europe in the early 1970s. It was mostly based in Ireland while operated by several companies. In March 1976 it was registered as EI-AYO, and then sold to the Science Museum in late 1978.

On display in its original Highland Airways colours. It was delivered to that airline in 1933, and used for the inauguration of their Aberdeen-Orkney service in July 1934 (hence the aircraft's name). After that it saw service with several operators, but always kept the same registration. In Sep 1971 it became part of the Historic Aircraft Museum at Southend. This museum closed and saw its aircraft auctioned off in May 1983, which is where the Science Museum acquired it. In 1993 it was fully refurbished and painted in the historic Highland colours you see here.

This aircraft was originally delivered to the RAF in 1944 as NF865. Registered G-ALXT in 1950, to Ceylon in 1951 as CY-AAI, later to 4R-AAI. Returned to the UK in 1974, and added to the Strathallan Aircraft Collection the next year. Painted in Railway Air Services colours seen here in the late 1970s. The museum acquired this aircraft in the Strathallan auction on 14 July 1981, and it has been on display at Wroughton in those same colours ever since.

Handed over to the RAF in 1949 as a Devon C.1, and later converted to Devon C.2/2. Operated by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) since 1953. Flown to Wroughton, UK in Febuary 1986, on delivery to the Science Museum's rarely-opened facility and preserved there in excellent condition ever since.

Delivered to United Air Lines (via National Air Transport) in 1933 as NC13340, first as a Boeing 247, converted to 247D in July 1935. To the CAA (predecessor of the FAA) in 1942 as NC18. Sold in 1947, to N18 in 1949, and served with various companies. Reregistered as N18E in 1953. Acquired by the Wings and Wheels Museum at Orlando, FL in 1977. The museum closed in Dec 1981, and acquired by the Science Museum in a Christie's auction. An epic delivery flight then took this rare Boeing 247 through Reykjavik, Dublin and Cardiff on 29/30 Jul 1982. The final leg to Wroughton was flown on 3 Aug 1982.

A Mignet "Flying Flea" hiding under the belly of a DC-3. This little aircraft was first registered in April 1936 and withdrawn from use three years later. Many years later the interesting and unusual biplane was acquired by the Science Museum and displayed at their rarely-opened Wroughton facility. In 2011 it was transferred to the "M" Shed Museum in Bristol.

A nice Il-62 seen here crossing runway 06/24 on its way to the S-apron. At that time it was still an active part of Russia's governmental transport fleet (Rossiya State Transport Company), but its CofA expired in Jan 2007. It was then stored at the Kazan Aircraft Production Association (KAPO) factory at Kazan, Russia, and it was still there by Oct 2020.

Photo 1 of 2 (see here). This Tristar suffered a compressor stall in engine #1 during the take-off run for a Dutch Caribbean Airlines Amsterdam-Curaçao flight. The scene here is a few seconds later, showing the subsequent high-energy Rejected Take-Off (RTO) on rwy 24, causing significant damage to the landing gear. The aircraft was stored for repairs, but a second attempt three weeks later saw a repeat of the problem. It then remained stored at Schiphol for three years, until ferried to Lissabon on 20 July 2007, and on to Victorville, CA a month later for continued storage. In Jan 2014 it was acquired by TriStar History and Preservation Inc. and reregd to N91011, then sold to Orbital Sciences Corp. in April 2018.

Photo 2 of 2 (see here). This was the situation on runway 24 at Schiphol, 25 minutes after this former Air Portugal TriStar (ex CS-TEC, SE-DVF) executed a high-energy rejected Take-Off following an compressor stall in the #1 engine (see other photo). This RTO caused major damage to the landing gear, which kept it from vacating the runway. It blocked Schiphol's most-used runway for many hours. It would be three years before the aircraft would finally leave the airport. Following many years of continued storage at Vacaville, CA it was registered to TriStar History and Preservation Inc. as N91011 in Feb 2014, then to Orbital Sciences Corp. in April 2018. Apologies for the heat haze in this distant shot.

Delivered to Martinair in 1987, and served with them for 20 years, until sold to GirJet in 2007 as EC-KEP. They used it for only one year, selling it as N652AP in 2008. It was acquired by Rayyan Air in 2009, as AP-BIB, and then by Aerospace One in 2013 as SX-ASC. It was withdrawn from use and stored at Sharjah a year later. It was still there in late 2016, but its current status is unclear.