kinshasa zaire africa 1976 1977

Presentation by Ar t h u r

Air Congo began services in a close partnership with SABENA which had been serving the Belgian colony of Congo since the 1930s with DC-3s, DC-4s, and DC-6s. Many of those types were inherited by Air Congo and were used for internal services and for flights to neighboring countries.

Air Congo also used the Beech 18 and the Curtis C-46. A Boeing 707 was used for services to Brussels, Rome, and Paris until 1963. The 707 was replaced by a Douglas DC-8 with more capacity. In 1965, Air Congo became independent of SABENA and acquired two SE 210 Caravelles in 1967.

Because of technical difficulties experienced by Air Congo, a partnership was established with Pan American from which Air Congo acquired further DC-8s.

In 1971 the Congo changed its name to Zaire and the national airline was renamed Air Zaire. In 1973, Air Zaire acquired its first widebody aircraft, a DC-10-30. The DC-3s, which were still in service, were replaced with the F-27 Friendship, of which eight were bought. Further fleet modernization saw the Boeing 737-200 enter service.

I got volunteered as the powers to be thought that I spoke French. I was “Hangar Foreman” for the Fokker's, DC-6 and the DC-8ths. My title in French sounded much better.

Fokker

DC-8

DC-8 Cockpit

B-737

DC-10

Kinshasa Terminal

Kinshasa Terminal

Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is located on the Congo River.Once a site of fishing villages, Kinshasa is now a bustling city with a population of more than 7 million in 2004. The city of Brazzaville (about 1.5 million inhabitants in 2007 with its suburbs), capital of the Republic of Congo, lies just across the Congo River from Kinshasa. Together with Brazzaville, the combined conurbation of Kinshasa-Brazzaville has thus nearly 9 million inhabitants.

In 1974, Kinshasa hosted the 'Rumble in the Jungle' boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, in which Ali defeated Foreman to regain the World Heavyweight title.

The language in Kinshasa is Lingala, which I used to speak.

Zaire President Mobutu Sese Seko, a tyrant, plundered his country's wealth for decades.

The antenna hairdo

Boulevard Lumumba

Parrots in Kinshasa

The American School in Kinshasa

Saint Ann’s Cathedral

Hotel Astoria

Intercontinental Hotel Kinshasa

Intercontinental Kinshasa Pool

Boulevard du 30 Juin, we lived on the right side

Fred Jones lived in an apartment in the building across the street

Local beauty

Fresh oranges

Stanley Falls in Kinshasa

The Congo River

Café de la Paix

N’djili

Fish from the Congo River

The Harbors on the Cong River

La Gare

Boulevard du 30 Juin

La Gombe

Wood gatherer