The 737 is probably the world's most overpowered airliner, and the Southwest pilots seem to delight in this fact during takeoff. If the country ever needs another medium bomber or cruise missile platform, the 737 would be just the ticket.
"If the country ever needs another medium bomber or cruise missile platform, the 737 would be just the ticket."
Boeing is now offering a maritime patrol variant of the 737. I just wonder if it can loiter like a P-3 Orion (descendant of another airliner, the Electra, although nowhere near as successful as the 737. Same goes for the Nimrod/Comet). Just add a weapons bay, a sonobouy dispenser, MAD boom, surface search radar, and load the passenger compartment with the signal processing equipment.
I used to ride Indian Airlines 737s into the Shrinigar (Kashmir) airport back in the early 80s. I think that runway was about as long as my driveway, and the air was reeeeeal thin up there. Those IA pilots used to firewall those engines on takeoff and landings, every single time.
You think the 737 is a hot bird, but I dare say you have never felt what it is really capable of. When they set that thing down and hit the thrust reversers, you were thrown against the belt so hard, half the people would have bumped their heads on the seat in front of them, if the seat had not already collapsed forward.
Pretty exciting stuff. Takeoffs were fun too...
Speaking of Southwest, I was on a flight arriving at Sacramento. There was a pretty stiff headwind (as is often the case during certain times of the year in Sac), and the touchdown was a bit hard. As we taxied to the gate, the hostess gave her usual "welcome to Sacramento, thank you for flying Southwest," and added "and we hope you enjoyed that demonstration of Naval aviation upon landing."