From 31,000 feet Antarctica emerges ambiguously on the horizon. At first one questions whether it is a cloud bank but soon the distinct and jagged profile of mountains put paid to any queries.
After a near 20-year career with Qantas, Boeing 747-400 VH-OJU will have a second life flying as a Rolls-Royce test aircraft.
The Qantas Boeing 747-400 fleet will be reduced to just six aircraft from mid-October when VH-OJU Lord Howe Island is withdrawn from service.
This story from Australian Aviation's archives is from 2015, when Tom Ballantyne wrote about being on Qantas's record making London-Sydney flight in 1989.
A second-hand Boeing 747-400 that was previously flown by the Japanese government has been put on sale for US$28 million.
Owen Zupp offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Qantas Rural Aid charity flight from Sydney to Avalon and back during the Australian International Airshow.
