It is always a good thing to see old aircraft donated to a museum, organisation or University. They are tangible items that connect people with history so I like seeing them preserved.
Donating items for educational purposes is arguably better as it allows students to train on the actual machines themselves. It compliments classroom learning very well. In the UK, there is a University with both its own airport its own Boeing 737.
Cranfield University
Cranfield University is located at Cranfield Airport. This is about an hour north of London near the city of Milton Keynes. It specialises in post graduate and research based education in the areas of science, engineering, technology and management.
A number of aviation related degrees are offered and the institution is well regarded in the industry. Students study a wide range of subjects including Aviation Management, Safety and Accident Investigation and lots lots more.
British Airways Donate A Boeing 737
British Airways operated a number of Boeing 737s over the years. When it became time to retire the aircraft one was donated to Cranfield University. The aircraft in question is the former G-DOCB, first flying on 7 October 1991.
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- G-DOCB at London Gatwick when in service
According to Airfleets.net, this aircraft was number 2,144 off the assembly line at Boeing and it arrived at Cranfield Airport on 23 October 2014. It remains here today.
Video Of The Arrival
The donation of the aircraft to Cranfield made the news. BBC Look East put together a report that lasts a little over two minutes about the arrival at the University and you can see this below.
What’s cool about the report is that you get to see the flight deck, passenger cabin and also video of the landing itself. Definitely worth taking a couple of minutes to check it out.
Overall Thoughts
I only found out that Cranfield University has a Boeing 737 the other day. As soon as I had some time I did a little research online and found all the bits and pieces in this post.
The Boeing 737 is one of the first aircraft I flew on as a passenger with British Airways. I have fond memories of flying Club Europe in the convertible seats, a framed picture on the bulkhead, great food, Champagne and crisp and consistent service.
Students at Cranfield are lucky to have something like this on site, and I look forward to checking it out myself sometime. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Adrian Pingstone, G-DOCB image by Aero Icarus, Zurich, Switzerland.
Both images via Wikimedia Commons.
Westjet donated a retired 737-200 to British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Aerospace Technology campus near YVR. It’s still in WS colors and can be easily seen from Russ Baker Way.
Brilliant, I didn’t know that another place had something similar. That’s really good to see. I’ll have to research that a little too, they’re always good stories. Thanks for the heads up and the comment!
Trent, it is less than a mile from my house and no longer in BA colours. Such a shame I missed the arrival though.
That’s pretty cool if it’s nice and close. I guess it’s no real surprise it’s not in BA colours any longer – it may have been part of the deal. It would have been fun to see it land, that’s for sure! Thanks for the comment!