Posted on 09/20/2017 9:22:24 PM PDT by ConservativeStatement
In my first year of college (Ellensburg WA) we used to watch and stare at this HUGE airplane fly over many times a day. It was 747s doing pilot training at Moses Lake (Grant County : KMWH). Lots of JAL pilots etc trained there.
Years later, I loved flying in Asia on business. Most flights there were 747’s. My all time favorite plane for travel, upstairs in business class.
I spent a lot of time on the DC-10. United Airlines from Dulles to Denver then a hop to Albuquerque (my home away from home). I had to be in Albuquerque about once every three weeks so I used the same flights every time. The flight crews knew me and the rental car folks knew my voice when I called.
One of my favorite planes to fly was the old twin engine Convair flown by North Central Airlines. When I was young I flew on those a few times and loved it. Also flew one flight in the early 70s on a Douglas DC-7. I love flying in propeller-driven aircraft.
Like you, never a 747. I got on the same big ones as you, L-1011 & DC-10, courtesy of the US Army & World Airways to Frankfurt Rhein-Main AB.
I can’t believe I’m going to miss out on the 747. What a bummer.
The one and only DC-10 I was in apparently deployed the speed brakes (or something) as we were coming into Denver from Los Angeles. Maybe they needed to scrub altitude quickly or we were coming up on somebody too fast.
All I know was I was hanging in the seat belt. Wow.
Maybe President Trump will hire me and THEN I’ll get to ride on a 747 or two. LOL
Boy that L-1011. If I was a multi-billionaire, I’d have a couple in my fleet. Fantastic bird.
One night, long long ago, returning from Boston, I never EVER felt the main gear touch the runway. Absolutely amazing.
Dad (RIP) and I complemented the pilots as we deplaned. Several rides in the L-1011. 727, even 707, a gazillion in 737’s (prefer 300 or above), DC-9, MD-80/82/84 and an Airbus 319. I took a prop plane outta Oklahoma City once but I don’t remember what it was. Too long ago.
I loved those seats. Seemed better than in the nose.
Back in the 80's I was flying 300-500 thousand miles a year so I had every free gold card upgrade to First Class from every airline that I used.
The lounge in the upper deck was super service and what a view.
The 747 was a smooth riding plane but when we skidded off the runway in Pgh it was crap your pants, scary {no injuries, no major damage} lots of praying and promises made to Jesus {almost all were quickly broken}.
I fly very little today, don't miss the airport hassle, and train travel isn't as bad as a covered wagon.
Since I dumped my passport {been all over the world, both business and vacations} I have no need to fly, but the 747 was/is a great American piece of work.
Flew MIA - ORD once on a 747, first class. We were near the nose, where the fuselage bends in. You could see somewhat forward. More interesting than the normal view.
And watching the wings flex up as they started to create lift on takeoff. IIRC they flexed about 15 ft.
My favorite plane is the 757 rocket. Climb out on that baby is just short of the space shuttle.
I don’t fly much but when I do I look to see if I can catch a ride on one.
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Flown on many 747’s, but never upstairs.
OTOH, I have flown in the COCKPITs of both a 767 and 777 on international flights (have pics to show it) - and that was an amazing experience, especially the triple 7. The 777 was a quantum leap from the 747 in every way - first plane approved & certified to fly by FAA without test flights and based solely on the CADD/CAM design process being approved.
Don’t fly anywhere anymore so doubt I’ll ever experience the 787, but hear it’s as big a leap over the 777 as the 777 was over the 747.......
My first flight in 1982 was a Pan Am 747 from JFK to Heathrow and they had to do a pass by the Control Tower to check the landing gear but all was fine. They land so smoothly.
Several pilots had shared with me they enjoyed flying the 727’s the best since it required more skills and less automation to fly. I think they also required a 3rd officer as the flight engineer.
When Prat -except had their 50th anniversary, at the open house they had, there was a 747. Beautiful plane...(my dad was an engineer for Pratt).
Somehow, after being there when the 747 was introduced, and doing a lot of flying over the years, I’ve never flown in a 747. How did I miss that?
When I worked in a Control Tower, I had many an aircraft fly by, to check the landing gear. We ALWAYS used legalese language. We NEVER said, "your gear is down." We ALWAYS said, "it appears your gear is down." We also NEVER said anything about the gear being down and locked.
It saved us from having to answer embarrassing questions, such as, "when did you become an expert on landing gear?"
The Airbus 321 seats are simply awful.
Saw my first 747 on R&R in Sydney in 1970. It was visually stunning, even on the ground.
During my road warrior days I must’ve racked up a million-plus miles in them.
Upstairs in business. It was worth fighting over to get one of those seats.
I forgot to mention, I have also flown a ton of miles on C-130s, C-141s and C-5s.
L-1011 were underrated planes...
Oops, how did except got in there...Sorry, all...
The 747 is one of the nicest airplanes ever built.
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Yep, especially for its time. It started life as a competitor for a government cargo carrier that the C5 eventually won.
It was initially such a money loser for Boeing that they considered selling their 737 rights to the Japanese.
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