It is somewhat miraculous to have found a flight video taken 26 years ago. The time was the afternoon of May 1, 1995, taking a China Eastern Airlines flight from Jinan to Beijing. Departure time was 15:38, landing time was 16:18. The aircraft type was an MD-82, with registration number B-2123. This airframe was assembled and produced in Shanghai by the Shanghai Aviation Industrial Corporation and the American McDonnell Douglas company, rolling out in 1989.

This plane I rode on back then flew for China Eastern for ten years, was sold to Europe to fly for ten years, and then flew in the US for nearly ten years. <img src=https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/1/9/8/0182891.jpg?v=v40>

Now it is located in Miami and has been retired. Many old aircraft have been dismantled, but this airframe’s parts were removed for use in other aircraft, so being able to remain is considered lucky. <img src=https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/7/4/3/5884347.jpg?v=v4fabe52b614>

In my memory, I have absolutely no impression of the details of this flight, what aircraft type I sat in, or what video camera was used; I guess I was just tired from the trip. Seeing this video brought this long-sealed memory back to life; it must be said to be an unexpected surprise, because I always thought I had never taken a McDonnell Douglas 82. (By the way, the last time I took a McDonnell Douglas plane was in 2013, flying from Hiroshima to Tokyo on a McDonnell Douglas 90, which was also introduced before on this site.) The MD-82 in the video was stable in flight, and the noise from the JT8D—one of the most successful gas turbine engines in history—wasn’t particularly loud; it was quite excellent.

After landing at Beijing Airport, you can see China Southwest Airlines 737-300, Air China 747-200, China Northwest Airlines Tu-154, China Southern Airlines 757, and other aircraft types on the Apron, which is quite rare. Looking at the records, this Boeing 747-200M with registration B-2448 even experienced the China Airlines Flight 981 hijacking incident.

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