2023-06-08 00:58:12
He Boeing 737-800 with registration PR-GTAwas officially withdrawn from the fleet of Gol Linhas Aéreas on June 5. This aircraft held the recognition of being the first Boeing 737 Next Generation specially adapted to operate on short runways.
It began its final flight departing from Belo Horizonte International Airport in Confins, where the Gol Maintenance Center is located. His final destination was Liège, Belgium, with a technical stopover on the Island of Sal, Cape Verde. According to our partner media, Aero he aircraft will be converted to a freighter and delivered to a new operator shortly.
Since its founding in 2000, Gol Linhas Aéreas has struggled to position itself as a competitor to Varig’s decline. In 2004, the airline faced the challenge of operating a highly demanded route between Santos Dumont (SDU) and Congonhas (CGH) airports, with runways of limited length.
The Boeing 737-800 and the Short Field Performance variant
To solve this problem, Gol asked Boeing, its main aircraft supplier, for modifications to the Boeing 737-800 to adapt them to shorter tracks. The result was the development of the variant Short Field Performance (SFP) for the entire family 737 Next Generation.
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The SFP modifications include tweaks to the forward wing slats and engine upgrades to increase power on takeoffs. Another important aspect is the angle of the wing drag brakes, which has been increased from 30 to 60 degrees, allowing for more braking during landing.
The legacy of the first Boeing 737-800 SFP: the PR-GTA
El PR-GTA, the world’s first Boeing 737-800 SFP, joined the Gol fleet in 2006. Since then, the airline has standardized its Boeing 737-800 fleet with this package of improvements. But Gol is not the only airline that has adopted this modification, companies like the Irish Ryanairhave also implemented these improvements, expanding their operating capacity on shorter runways and optimizing the efficiency of their operations.
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