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As if I don’t already have enough on my to do list.
i just started building a CRM 727-200, decided it needs to be Hughes Airwest. Now my insanity insists to build that aircraft in all the airline colors it had. I have the final Republic scheme, both NW schemes it carried, now I need the Republic scheme with Herman!
Please help! I can pay or trade.
I don’t always say “Proceed as requested”
But when I do, it is because I have no clue what you just said.Hi Xradar98
I have that sheet going spare if you want it.
Not sure if it’s a negative but I’m in the UK and I’ll need to get a postage quote for you, the envelope will need stiffeners to survive that trek.
Let me know, I don’t suppose you have it but I would like FP44-128 Federal Express DC-10 delivery colours.
Geoff
Three engines are safer than two
Looking for some additional help in my quest. Does anyone out there have any knowledge or pictures of any Hughes Airwest 727 that wore both Republic AND both NWA schemes? I have found that N728RW was in both the Republic schemes, and the bowling shoe colors. There is a photo of it with a red tail, white fuselage temporary paint after the merger. I don’t know if it stayed that way, and got painted in the bowling shoe straight away, or if it had the bare metal treatment. Any help is appreciated!
I don’t always say “Proceed as requested”
But when I do, it is because I have no clue what you just said.Now my insanity insists to build that aircraft [N728RW] in all the airline colors it had. I have the final Republic scheme, both NW schemes it carried, now I need the Republic scheme with Herman!
On February 7, 2026 at 8:41 pm Wrote
Looking for some additional help in my quest…
Your quest doesn’t sound so insane to me! Will your collection of airline schemes through the years all be with the CRM 727?
I took a cursory look at Airliners.net with N728RW as search criteria. I found this beautiful shot of it in Republic (Herman) colors (SEA, September 12 1984),
and then again in Miami (August 1988) wearing the Northwest-Republic hybrid scheme:
The next closest photo by date is 1992 and by then N728RW was wearing Northwest’s “bowling shoe” colors. I don’t think Northwest switched over to the “bowling shoe” until 1989 or 1990 so it’s possible it spent a little time in the bare metal scheme.
I didn’t see any photos of N728RW in the “Mary Tyler Moore” Republic scheme, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist. Also, photos of it in Hughes Airwest yellow (1981) showed the tail was yellow as well. Looking around for more registrations, I looked at N726RW and that one had a bare metal tail (dated 1979).
Looking at photos of N728RW later in life — around 2000 and 2001 — show it equipped with Stage III noise-compliant hush-kitted tail pipes. Just thought you’d like to know…
Cheers!
Tom
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Thanks Tom,
Yes I plan on them all as CRM builds. I did the same search on ANet, among others as well. I did find a pic somewhere of 728RW in MTM scheme. I’m just a bit leery of the bare metal scheme thinking she stayed in hybrid colors and went straight to bowling shoe. Sadly, in my quest I can’t find a SINGLE Hughes bird that wore all five schemes, however in combinations they did. I might just have to pretend one registration got all five looks.
I’d show a progress pic, but that takes more work than I care to try.
I don’t always say “Proceed as requested”
But when I do, it is because I have no clue what you just said.I looked through my photo archives, and while this isn’t definitive proof that Northwest N728RW spent any time painted in Northwest’s bare metal scheme, allow me to introduce this photo as Exhibit C.
This is Northwest N712RC, a 727-2S7 built for Republic Airlines (never wore Hughes Airwest colors; Hughes Airwest’s were identified as 727-2M7) and folded into Northwest’s fleet after the merger with Republic (which would have also included 727s with the earlier provenance from Hughes Airwest). This photo was taken on March 12 1993, so it is plausible that Northwest repainted all the Republic 727s into this scheme shortly after the merger. And even though the “bowling shoe” scheme came into being around 1989-1990, it would take time to repaint every single aircraft — obviously more than three years! The catering truck in the foreground got painted into the “bowling shoe” scheme before the airplane!
I rest my case. I’ll be willing to back you up if anyone challenges your premise!
Cheers!
Tom
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Tom, you shall be my character witness when the time comes. Some rivet/registration counter will have me in a windowless room with a 150W bulb in my face, grilling me about my source. I won’t divulge, to protect my source. Then you come in flashing a badge, telling them I’m clean and you can vouch that N728RW did indeed have all 5 paint schemes. We will leave before they get the internet back up and running that your sidekick disabled. End up in Mexico with Jon Ochoa hiding us out until it all blows over.
I don’t always say “Proceed as requested”
But when I do, it is because I have no clue what you just said.Does anyone out there have any knowledge or pictures of any Hughes Airwest 727 that wore both Republic AND both NWA schemes? Any help is appreciated!
I have finally emerged from my research project to see what I could find in regards to the Hughes Airwest 727s transitioning through Republic and Northwest. As before, this could hardly be considered scientific in any sense of the word, but using Airliners.net for photographic evidence (and some helpful captions), Wikipedia, the Northwest Airlines History Center (NWAHC) and Aeromoe for fleet data (http://www.aeromoe.com/fleets/hughes.html) gave some results that could be repeatable. It turned out to be a fun (well, for an aviation geek) and interesting project. There was lots of corporate intrigue involved in this 727 order but we’ll keep the proceedings to the task at hand.Hughes Airwest ordered 13 727-2M7(Advanced) airframes and Boeing delivered them between August 1976 and December 1980. NWAHC stated that 10 Hughes Airwest 727s made it into Republic Airlines (they didn’t mention how many moved from Republic to Northwest); a decent sample size to work with. I thought it would be an easy exercise to track each 727 through the different paint schemes: “Hughes Airwest yellow” — specifically “Sundance Yellow” — (and I noted which jets had bare metal tails); Republic “Herman” and “Mary Tyler Moore” schemes; and Northwest bare metal “classic” and “bowling shoe” schemes (I also noted the date of the earliest photo in that scheme). Hughes Airwest registered the aircraft sequentially starting with N721RW through N730RW. N731RW was never taken up as a registration number and before the first flight in March 1980 the registration was changed to N740RW. Boeing delivered N741RW and N742RW in Republic’s “Herman” scheme in late 1980, after the merger with Republic was completed. They never wore Sundance Yellow.Using photos found on Airliners.net introduced some error. Obviously what is on the site is not every photo of every aircraft in existence, but only what someone chooses to submit. I’ve noticed that not every photo on Airliners.net remains on the site forever. Some photos I saved years ago are no longer available for whatever reasons. So identifying photos by tail number was more or less a snapshot in time — what I was able to find between February 10 and 12. I soon discovered what airliner spotters/photographers choose to record for posterity has a lot to do with the subject, including paint schemes. During my sampling I found only one photograph of a Hughes Airwest 727 repainted into the Republic “Mary Tyler Moore” scheme (the listing showed “N7xxRW”). I expanded the photo as much as possible and could make out the “2” and “1” but it’s difficult since that scheme used a very light gray for the registration numbers. Only one photo? I entered “Republic 727-2S7” into the photo search (the 727-200s built for North Central and Republic) and NO photos showed up in the “Mary Tyler Moore” scheme. I grew up in the Twin Cities and spent a lot of time at MSP; there were enough of the 727s repainted into the MTM scheme to warrant a few photos. I can only conclude that photographers just weren’t interested in the scheme, at least not as much as they were when the 727s were painted in the blue and turquoise “Herman” scheme.Here are my findings:N721RW shows photos in four of the five paint schemes; the only photo I was unable to find was the Northwest “classic” scheme. The earliest photo of the “bowling shoe” scheme is from 1991.N722RW showed the jet painted in the “bowling shoe” scheme in 1992.N723RW made it to Northwest’s “classic” scheme as of May 1990 but then photos showed it in Sobelair (Belgian) paint in 1996 and Sterling Airlines (Austrian) in 1997 and finally Sun Country in 2000. I doubt it was painted in Northwest’s “bowling shoe” scheme, but there is nothing to prove it wasn’t.N724RW had no photos at all on Airliners.netN725RW was in Hughes Airwest yellow in 1979, then was leased to Philippine Airlines through 1981. It was flying for Republic in 1982 (anecdotally in the caption) and a photo from 1987 shows it in Northwest’s hybrid scheme with red tail, Northwest title above the windows and one narrow stripe below the windows (similar photo in earlier entry above).N726RW is the only Hughes Airwest 727 with a bare metal tail. According to Aeromoe, it left the fleet in July 1979, a few months after delivery, and only two photos of it exist on Airliners.net without any information on subsequent owners.N727RW, N728RW, and N729RW are unremarkable, only showing photos of the jets in Hughes Airwest yellow, Republic “Herman” and Northwest “bowling shoe” (earliest dates of which are 1993, 1994, and 1999, respectively).N730RW was in Hughes Airwest’s fleet from March through May 1980, according to Aeromoe’s database. Only two photos are on Airliners.net, one in Aerolineas Argentinas colors (1993) and Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) colors (2003).N740RW was delivered to Hughes Airwest in March 1980 and went to Republic in October 1980, but was then sold to Bahrain Royal Flight in July 1981.N741RW had no photos at all on Airliners.net.N742RW shows photos in the Republic “Herman” scheme taken in 1982, 1983, and 1987 and Northwest’s “bowling shoe” scheme in 1996.Thirteen airplanes…. One (N726RW) was sold 15 months before the merger with Republic, and two (N741RW and N742RW) never flew for Hughes Airwest at all. The other ten aircraft?? Well, we’ll let modeler’s license take hold as to how they were adorned from October 1980 onward.I came across a cool photo on the Northwest Airlines History Center website:
Obviously only an artist’s conception, but as North Central expanded its route network it became apparent it needed aircraft larger than the DC-9-50 to handle capacity, and so the Board of Directors approved the purchase of three 727-2S7s in early 1979, just a few months before the July 1, 1979 merger with Southern Airways that created Republic Airlines. The first, N715RC, was delivered in March 1980 in Republic’s “Herman” paint scheme. I call dibs on making one as a Flight of Fancy!Cheers!Tom
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Tom,
First of all, great job digging up all that info and putting it together. Thanks for that! You must not have mandatory six day work weeks like I do. Seems as if there are a few candidates to wear all five colors, without concrete proof. Oh well, I’ll pick one and run with it. I’ve seen that North Central (one my favorite airlines) 727 picture before, it does look sharp. I have a few LU DC-9-50 sheets, might have to do the 727 with a couple. Herman on the tail might prove to be difficult, but worth it.
I don’t always say “Proceed as requested”
But when I do, it is because I have no clue what you just said.Being retired allows me lots of free time to do research projects like this. Now I’m looking up the north Central-Republic 727-2S7s in the same detail. It was exciting to see them begin to show up on the ramp in front of the North Central (they hadn’t changed the lighted sign yet) maintenance hangar at MSP in early 1980 and through the summer.
I used the LU DC-9-50 set on a Fly Models -50. Beautiful decals and easy to work with.
Cheers!
Tom
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Herman on the 727 tail might not be that bad. Looking at the DC-9-50, Herman covers most of the tail; on the 727, there seems to be considerable “room to spare” around Herman, so the DC-9 decal may work just fine.
Gene
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Hey Tom,
Curious, did the LU DC-9 decal fit the Fly kit as is, or did you have to shorten the fuselage a little?
Gene
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Gene, I built the Fly Model DC-9-50 straight out of the box without changing anything. I know the Fly kits are not quite accurate, but I was happy to have a -50 without having to slice and combine two Airfix kits à la the instructions with the Microscale decals. To me, it looks close enough and looked even better with North Central decals on it. The LU decals were easier to work with than the Microscale North Central -30 set I worked on years before.
The LU decals fit the Fly kit just fine (it was a few years ago, but I don’t recall having to trim their length, or if I did I must have thought LU was generous with the stripes.
I’m on a weekend trip at the moment. I have details at home on the actual measurements of the DC-9 (from various sources including Jodie’s book “At the Gate” and compared to the various kit measurements (deviations from actual) and models in my collection acquired on “Bay of Evil” still needing to be worked on. I know some of them were too long or too short. I can give you a better answer in a few days.
Cheers!
Tom
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Okay guys, you have derailed this thread…. That’s okay, it seems the quest ran its course, still hoping for that 727 decal.
I myself have spent much time and effort to accumulate LU North Central DC-9 sheets. I plan on a -50 (my personal favorite airplane of a favorite airline.) and a -30. I always try to get extra decals, because I always, no exaggeration, always f*%c+ something up. High hopes, I have enough left over for a 727 now!
I have an Authentic Airliners -50 waiting for assembly with this decal, or Hawaiian 🌺. For the other of the two, I plan on using an EE kit or re-box of it. I really like the EE DC-9 range, and personally disgusted with the Fly kits. If I have to, I’ll use two Airfix kits for my second 50.
I don’t always say “Proceed as requested”
But when I do, it is because I have no clue what you just said.Apologies for derailing the thread… We were talking Hughes Airwest and Republic 727s and just like that, we’re comparing notes on DC-9 kits.
It’s easy to do, but we do need to stay on topic. Unfortunately all of my decals, including the FP sheets, are safely stored away for the next few years until we return to the States.
Cheers!
Tom
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Hi Tom, thanks for the offer, but I have all the same references you mention above. I did, per Jodie’s comparison article, shorten the Fly -30 by 3.5 mm, and wondered if the -50 might need the same treatment.
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