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AviationDirect is starting the “Personal” series with immediate effect, in which we will portray interesting people from the aviation scene in the future. It starts with Benjamin Radner, a young boy from Innsbruck, who has a particular weakness for a special aircraft: namely the Boeing 757, for many the “beauty of the skies”.
AviationDirect: Benjamin, at 17 you are actually still a very young spotter, but you have been aviation as a hobby for a long time. Can you tell us how you got there
I started flying before my first birthday. I was less than a year old when my father, mother and I walked around Innsbruck Airport for the first time. I watched the planes from the stroller. From Air2000 to Tyrolean, something was really going on back then! The most defining moment was in January 2004. I had been on my own two feet for a few days, back then still on the old embankment at the end of runway 08. My dad filmed me with his video camera and I waved to a First Choice Boeing 757. The video shows how the English pilot waved back. A highlight that still shapes me to this day. The airport festival was on the program every year. I was given model aircraft as a gift at a young age.
Benjamin Radner's greatest passion is and remains the Boeing 757 (Photo: private, zVg)
Aviation Direct: Many of you know you, of course, because you have a particular weakness for the Boeing 757 and you even run your own blog about it. What is it about this machine that fascinates you so much?
In Innsbruck most of the people don't know me by the name “Benjamin Radner”, but I'm the 757 crazy. I was always there when a Boeing 757 set course for Innsbruck. After a skiing accident and an operation, I was in the hospital. It was Saturday, charter Saturday in Innsbruck, the events couldn't stop me from seeing the approach of a Thomson 757, so got out of bed with crutches and a cast and looked out the window and waited for my plane. A week later I was already sitting with extreme caution on the terrace at the airport when the temperature was below zero. The performance and, above all, the elegant appearance, narrow and long, make the 757 a true dreamliner for me. It is always fascinating to watch a rapid take-off climb of a Boeing 757 from the Inn valley, especially when the season starts and the charter planes fly home empty. Since March I have been running my Instagram "the_b757_blog". A few days ago we celebrated our 1000th follower. Every day I present a Boeing 757 from 1.050. There is some information and great pictures to be seen every day at 19.00pm. I post the pictures in order, strictly following the line numbers.
Aviation Direct: You have also been allowed to take a seat in the cockpit of a Boeing 757. After many copies will remain in freight traffic over the next few years, some are even currently being converted from passenger planes to freighters, would you still have the opportunity to pursue a corresponding pilot career and become a 757 pilot?
The pilot's seat of a Boeing 757 is my goal. The question is whether it will be a DHL freighter or a new version from Boeing. I would prefer the charter and vacation traffic. I want to see beautiful islands, landscapes and cities. My goal is definitely a pilot, but an Airbus or the Boeing 737-MAX would not be an option. No new place of residence would be too far for the 757.
A boy’s dream should become a dream job as soon as possible, preferably in the cockpit of a Boeing 757 (Photo: private)
Aviation Direct: You can literally feel your passion for this aircraft, but unfortunately the Boeing 757s in passenger traffic have an expiration date in the medium term, especially in Innsbruck. As an Innsbruck spotter, what do you expect for the time after that?
The end hit me very hard. Above all, the quick end due to the corona crisis and no dignified farewell caused my mood to fluctuate downwards. What did I do about it? I had my favorite machine "G-OOBD" and G-CSVS "custom-made. Two models, almost one meter long, now decorate my room.
Aviation Direct: With these two models you have secured nice souvenirs, but tell us about your most impressive experience as a spotter in Innsbruck so far?
There are countless impressive moments in Innsbruck. Regardless of whether it is an approach over the 08 in the alpenglow or a foehn-like crosswind landing. Several times I was on the apron directly, when I was already watching a few take-offs and landings. The most impressive thing was to watch the I-FLY "EI-EWT", which came to Innsbruck every Sunday morning, at the start. It was a rainy morning, we didn't need a shower after take-off, because the machine was rotating right in front of our noses. On that day, too, I was filmed by colleagues from the terrace. I'm in most of the photos that show my Dreamliner. So recently I found another photo where I was pointing 100m above my head with my favorite device.
Aviation Direct: In addition to the plane mockery, you are now connected to Innsbruck Airport via the FDFI airport friends there. Is it a special motivation to get involved in the FDFI youth group?
The FDFI association (editor's note: Friends of Innsbruck Airport) I only joined about a year ago. I used to be traveling alone. I've made countless acquaintances for a year. A large community emerged that is known in many parts of the world. Many English, Dutch or German people, with whom we are still in contact today, look forward to seeing the whole group again. The community is like a pack, but only until there is a landing or a take-off, then the hunt for the “spotter spots” begins. A fun atmosphere usually makes the temperatures never seem so bad. On peak days, we are usually up to 12 hours on the site of our Alpine airport.
Aviation Direct: How many young plan spotters does the FDFI's youth division currently have?
We are currently 5 young people. We try to expand the young community with our own logo and Instagram page. According to a division, I'm the youth director of this group, but that doesn't matter, because we're all about flying.
Always a beautiful picture, the start of a Boeing 757 in front of the breathtaking backdrop of the mountains around Innsbruck (Photo: Benjamin Radner)
Aviation Direct: Your long-term goal is to become a pilot? Aside from Christmas, how will everyone have things they want? What would these be in the aviation sector in the medium term?
Christmas gifts that are not related to aviation are not Christmas gifts. That would be more of an April Fool's joke for me. Because the space will soon run out due to the many models. That is why I am currently in the process of expanding my flight simulator, on which I have been gaining valuable experience for years. I recently sneaked a replica of the Boeing 757 thrust lever. My next goal would be a steering wheel. I've been looking for original parts for years. I already have a few plane tags, but at some point I'd like to have a window frame. Where this should go is the smallest problem.
Aviation Direct: There is a suitable solution for every problem. One can only hope that there will be a long-term solution for a successor to the Boeing 757. Surely you will wish that?
My biggest dream is a new edition of the legendary "flying pencil". The classic nose, the elegant appearance and the performance should be taken over. It would be my greatest dream and wish. In my opinion, Boeing needs to launch a new middle-of-the-market jet. Flying for several hours with a Boeing 737-MAX is not a pleasure. The size of the Boeing 757 would offer more comfort and space, in addition, it is an aircraft that does not have an oversized capacity and can also land at smaller airports. Flights across the Atlantic are feasible, no mega-airports are needed, and it is a size that is just right for the future market.
Aviation Direct: In addition to airplanes, the future market also needs pilots, ideally with the passion for aviation as you have it. Before that, you have to bring your school career into the “final approach”?
My goal as a pilot is to discover the world, but I must or may first graduate from the “eco telfs” commercial academy. I am already known as a “pilot” from the headmaster to the staff room and most of the classes. I have also talked to the director about aviation. Strong support, whether from school or from a private perspective, strengthens me. If at some point I have the license I will have to take a lot of them on a sightseeing flight in the Alps, I always promised that. Hopefully with a Boeing 757+.
I hope that aviation will recover quickly and that it will become something really big again!
AviationDirect: Benjamin, thank you for this interesting interview with you, but allow us to finish with a short word rap.
Innsbruck or Salzburg?
Clearly my home base in Innsbruck.
Winter flight schedule or summer flight schedule?
Winter flight schedule, full program!
Nikon or Canon?
Old but gold, Sony Alpha.
Inner dam or terrace?
The Inndamm is a very special place, almost like St. Maarten in the Alps.
Boeing 757-8 or Boeing 797?
The almost "Brand" "757" has to stay!
Last but not least, a question for the interested female readers: girlfriend or plane?
Airplanes are and will always play the most important role in my life (that's how it was - that's how it will stay). A very “special” one has to come in order for this opinion to be changed.
The future of many 757 is air freight, as used here in Linz for the DHL parcel service (Photo: Michael David)
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