Memphis, TN
You’ve gotta love FedEx. They keep old birds flying. But they also have many new aircraft coming on line, such as the B777F which are replacing the older types.

For the time being, you can head to their Memphis, TN, base to catch quite a few classic B727 and DC/MD-10 aircraft coming and going each day. Depending on whether you consider A300-600 and A310-300 aircraft to be old or not, you can also see those. Also, as the airline is bringing in lots of second-hand B757 freighters, it’s another one I’ll leave you to decide on whether they’re an old jet or not!

Jakarta, Indonesia
Last time I visited Jakarta’s main CGK airport, it was still a hub for B727′s, B737-200′s, DC-9′s, DC-10′s and F-28′s. It was incredible, and great for filling lots of gaps in my log book from the 80′s and 90′s.

Today there are still a number of these types around, but it has dwindled significantly. More prevalent are MD-80′s and B737-300/400′s, which are becoming classics.

Tehran Mehrabad, Iran
Iran’s sanctions have meant its many airlines are forced to use older types in passenger service. The famed Saha Air B707′s are still here, though the rumours constantly say they will be retired imminently. Elsewhere at this domestic airport you’ll see Yak42′s, B727-200′s, MD-80′s, B747-200′s,  A300B2/B4′s, A310-200′s and a few other Russian types. Sadly the TU-154 and IL-62 aircraft no longer fly passengers in Iran.

Tehran is, for the time being, still open to tourists. But the political situation is always fragile and likely to change. So check before travelling!

Pyonyang, North Korea
Air Koryo, the national carrier or North Korea, still operates a number of classics from its Pyonyang base. These include TU-154′s, TU-204′s, IL-18′s, and IL-62′s. Recently there was an enthusiast’s tour announced that took in flights on all of these types. You can also simply fly in from Beijing and arrange domestic flights.

Detroit Willow Run Airport
The original Detroit Airport is now mainly a cargo hub. Whilst the number of classic types operating here has declined, you can still see older B727′s, B747-100/200′s, DC-9′s, and Lockheed Electras around the place regularly.

SHANGHAI AVIATION ENTHUSIAST CENTRE
To access SAEC by public transport, take Shanghai Metro line 1 to Jin Jiang Park station. Leave the station to the left, and walk past the variety of alive/dead mobile phones, computer parts and domestic animals available for sale on Humin Road. After crossing a small bus station you will come to a subway/underpass. The first entrance is for motorbikes, enter at your own risk; the second is pedestrian access.

Cross under the road. On the other side you exit next to a fair ground – continue walking south on XXXX (this will involve leaving the subway and doing a 270 degree right turn). Whilst there is a footpath it is a bit perilous due to the adjacent cycle/bicycle lane, variously also used by cars and buses, and not always in the correct correction.
Indeed the desire to shout “mentalist!” in an Alan Partridge voice betroth me several times! After about 400 yards the SAEC is on your right, there is wide gate with a large booth on the left. Pay your 8RMB (about 80p) and inspect the DC-8 (including the interior), Volks IL-14 as well as 4 MiG/Chinese copies, one helicopter and a boat.
There was apparently a DHC-2 here but it was not visible.

LONG HUA AIRPORT
The disused airport at Long Hua is now a residential area, with much of the terminal ramp having blocks of flats. The runway is fairly intact but the scene of much building / clearance work so a fair bet it will be built on soon.

Adjacent to the airport is the CAAC College, home of an AN-24, an IL-18 and an AN-2. To get here take Shanghai Metro line 3 to Long Cao station. After exiting use the circular footbridge to access Long Hua Road, follow this to the next junction with Long Hua Road West. After crossing the railway line you reach a roundabout, facing the old airport terminal. Turn left, and keep going. After about 500 yards the end of the runway is visible on your right, and on the left is a bus parking area with may be 10 buses and some huts for bus drivers, cleaners, bicycles etc. Between these the three aircraft can be seen. They are tightly packed, viewed through a double fence, so are not photographable to any standard.

Bus 864 also operates frequently between Long Hua Airport and the City Centre.

Note that the walk from Long Cao to the Airport is not the easiest due to the amount of crap the Chinese festoon their pavements with, such as bicycles and dead things. It is also not the easiest place to cross the road as traffic signals are more for decoration than any real intent – indeed I saw an elderly woman knocked over by a Chinese 4×4.

THE 737-200
I intended to go and find the ex-China Eastern 737-200 that is also in southern Shanghai. The Metro line XXX terminus at Ji Yang Road seemed quite close by. However my Chinese speaking friends couldn’t find this station on the map, and I later established the station was closed.
After looking on Google Maps for the next station (South Ying Lan Road), it all looked a bit favella-ish, so decided to not bother.

SHANGHAI DEVEOPMENTS
Instead I went to the Shanghai Council Museum for planning Projects for the Shanghai Expo 2010 (!). Shanghai is a rapidly expanding city and lacks the infrastructure to cope with the rate of expansion, so
there is a heavy building program focussing on both sustainability and volume, from everything to housing to water supply to subways. And an obsession with building very tall office buildings (the glass floor on the 210th floor of Shanghai Wold Financial Centre is very scary!).

The point of my including this is the museum had models of the plans for both Pu Dong and Hongqiao airports. At Pu Dong the intention is to build a very large ‘H’ shaped pier to the north od the existing two terminals. Hongqiao is slated for massive redevelopment in to an airport with two piers. I think this would include the demolition of the Hong Gang.