Now Let's Talk About Planes/Airlines

[revvinkevin]

Air plane photos..........

I remember (or at least I THINK I remember) my first flight on an air plane was on a DC-10 going to (who knows where). I think I was maybe 8 or 10 years old and I remember it being HUGE!

===========

How about what's left of the airlines today? On my recent trip (August) to the Philippines I was fortunate enough to be in business class (photo below) on Singapore Airlines (going) and Asiana (returning). Both had seats which, at the touch of a button, lay out flat so you can stretch out and sleep. I have to say that the Asian airlines KNOW how to do it, especially compaired to United! (Uniteds fleet is SOOO old now!)

===========

IF anyone is interested, I have a PowerPoint slideshow with 52 pretty stunning photos of both commercial and military aircraft. Obviously I cannot post it or all those photos here, SO..... if any of you are interested, please send me an e-mail and I will send it to you.

[email protected]

 

[rp2813]

Allen, I remember my first trip to Mexico in 1972 involved a flight on an Aeronaves 727. Clearly, it had been a PSA plane before, as it had a cable car motif for interior decor. IIRC, it may not have even had compartments with doors on them for overhead storage, just a long shelf that ran down either side of the interior.

 

[whirlcool]

You could upload the PP file somewhere and then link to it.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Rp2813 -

The open shelves you mentioned I think are what some called 'hat-racks'. They were used in first generation 707, 720, 727 and 737 aircraft, as well as Convairs and DC-8s, until the advent of widebodies with the enclosed bins, at which time new interiors were devised with the enclosed, less cluttered and more streamlined looking bins and sculptured ceiling panels.

Some airlines retrofitted "wide-look" interiors on their aircraft as soon as they became available (American for one) while others never did (TWA, at least on 707s). United was half-half on their early 727s by installing closed bins but not the rest of the upgrades. These interiors became standard on aircraft in new-build equipment by the early 70s I believe.

I remember flying two TWA 707s in 1982, and two Piedmont 721 aircraft (one was the actual DB Cooper plane) later that same year, and the cabin staff was by then having problems on the four flights with passengers thinking they could stow their carry-ons on the racks, which were available only for pillows and blankets (and maybe hats), no carry-on luggage. FAA regs didn't allow any bags up there. Nowadays that would be an enormous inconvenience and they're odd to even see pictures of.

 

[sudsmaster]

My first flight in any airplane was in a 707 from SF to Portland around 1968. I remember being thrilled by the rapid acceleration on takeoff - something I hadn't really expected but I found pleasurable. I also liked the food - it was pretty good, as I recall. Can't remember the airline, but it was probably American or United.

My most favorite flight was in an old DC-3 from Tikal to Guatemala City around 1978. The engines were turboprop but the interior looked unchanged from the 30's - leatherette seats with stainless tube frames that could have been off a 30's PCC streetcar. We flew low and slow and although I had an aisle seat the view was amazing.

My favorite modern airline is Virgin Atlantic. I flew a lot on business related travel in the 90's, and the flight from SF to London stood out as the best experience. By contrast, I found most shorter hop flights on United to be dreadful. Surly flight attendants, little concern for travelers' actual needs. I remember once a flight attendent taking $20 from me for a set of headphones, then taking an hour or two to return the change, and then only grudgingly.I can only assume it's gotten worse since 9/11. Haven't flown much since then, and can't say I miss the airborne Greyhound bus experience or the hotel rooms, which however nice all start to look, smell, and feel the same.

I was very glad, however, when they banned smoking from US flights. There was no smoke-free zone on flights that restricted smoking to the rear of the plane. The air recirculation systems made sure of that.

I recall during my hippier days flying World Airways from Oakland to Honolulu in the 70's. I was really jonesing for a joint - which I had in my carry-on - but I remember a military looking guy sitting in a jump seat just in front of me, glaring at me, so I refrained from retreating to the restroom to light one up.

The strangest flight I had was on Aloha Airlines island hopping in Hawaii in the early 80's. I remember the outer wall of the cabin would flex when climbing so much that it nearly crushed my fingers that were gripping the handrest near the window. A year or two later an Aloha Airlines jet lost the top of its cabin in flight from metal fatigue. I always wondered if it was the same jet.

My naughty passenger moments included transporting camp fuel in an aluminum bottle in the luggage compartment - I didn't realize it was taboo. Fortunately it was a strong bottle with a good seal and it didn't leak a bit. On the flight back though I had to dump the contents out before checking the backpack. Another time I listened to AM radio on my waterproof Walkman... marveling at how the stations came and went so quickly over the mid-west. Then the flight attendent came by and made me shut it off - a few minutes later the pilot apologized that we'd be slightly delayed because we were slightly off course... never did that again...

 

[kenb]

Japan Airlines

Just read an interesting article about Japan Airlines and its training facility in Moses Lake, Washington. It is the end of an era...

Here is a short excerpt:

"Japan Airlines flies all over the world, but nearly all its crews are familiar with Moses Lake. Even before they arrive in the land of sagebrush and scrub – snakes occasionally slither into the JAL offices – they know what to expect. By then, they’ve spent hours looking down at the Grant County landscape through the fake windshields of flight simulators in Japan.

"That computer-generated scene will change when the company stops training in Moses Lake, said Captain Kazuo Noda, director of the Moses Lake training center."

Loading…

www.spokesmanreview.com

 

[revvinkevin]

Whirlcool, where do you suggest I upload it??

Here is a photo I took out the window @ 39000 feet and 538 MPH, in route from Seoul, South Korea back to Los Angeles in September. Hope you like it!

 

[MrX]

I'm not a smoker, but I am just curious as to whether there are any airlines left that allow smoking?

It's been banned here for quite a long time. I have no memory of ever flying on an aircraft where smoking was allowed and I'm in my mid 20s.

Smoking in any enclosed area apart from your own home's illegal here in Ireland for quite a few years now too (March 2004). It also extends to ALL work places, so technically it's illegal to smoke in the cab of a truck, even if you're the only occupant and have no other passengers as it's a work place.

Airlines banned smoking quite a long time before that though.
However, nowadays you can only smoke outside the airport (usually a specified distance from any door to avoid any back wash of smoke into the building)

 

[gyrafoam]

No 7Oh's on UA but could have been a 720. I am also thinking back in '68 SFO-PDX would have been UA.

Had to laugh at your experience with wanting to burn one on board. The narrow-bodied aircraft back in the day used the lav sink drains for some pressure relief. Just hold the spring-loaded drain open and it would exhaust that smoky air for you. Also, many cigaret smokers on board, helped mask the odor. But not from the party-wise F/A's!

 

[dnastrau]

Square windows: DeHavilland Comet

ALR2903: The square windowed British aircraft was the DeHavilland Comet - a very early jetliner. That was the one with the fuselage failures caused by the square windows. They redesigned the windows to be oval but they never regained popularity after that. See the active link at the bottom of the page for more information.

The Constellation was a triple-tailed prop-driven airliner built by Lockheed. Here is a link for more information on those:

Loading…

www.conniesurvivors.com

Andrew S.

Loading…

en.wikipedia.org

 

[dnastrau]

Lockheed Constellation link

Here is an active link to the Constellation site...

Loading…

www.conniesurvivors.com

 

[sudsmaster]

I remember World Airways fondly because they usually had the cheapest fares going to/from Hawaii/Oakland during the brief time when they actually had scheduled service. I understand they their heyday flying troops and others back and forth to the Indochina war theatre during the Vietnam War. World moved from Oakland to DC in the late 80's.

The acceleration rush I experienced on my first jet flight in the late 60's may well have been on a 707-20 or a 720. I have never really experienced acceleration like that again, except on a motorcycle ;-). Part of it may have been the surprise of the first time experience, but I remember being disappointed on subsequent flights by the relative slowness of the take off. It's also possible the pilot was trying to avoid some hazard and had to accelerate at wide open throttle.

In terms of handling, the most fun flights were the inter-island Hawaii hops. I remember one time the stubby jet rose suddenly and then the pilot banked it over steeply. The stewardesses were kind of po'd as they were in the aisles taking orders and one of them said "He promised he wouldn't do that any more!"... lol... I got the impression the pilot was some sort of hotshot former fighter pilot from the way he flew that jet. Wings flapping the whole nine yards.

 

[whirlcool]

You are right, takeoffs are a lot more boring than they used to be. Most modern jetliners have FADEC controls which has a computer that controls the takeoff thrust. You just enter the runway length, the weight/balance information and then push a button when you are ready to go. The computer calculates the required thrust for takeoff. This saves a LOT of fuel during takeoff, and that's were about 30% of the fuel needed for the entire trip is used.
We once non-revved on an American 777 out of DFW a few years ago. We were very lightly loaded and were assigned DFW's longest runway. When we took off, the acceleration was actually very boring. A 737 would have been exciting compared to this plane. Of course we used almost the entire runway, but it was a very economical take off for AA.
And from time to time pilots do manual takeoffs just to keep in practice. Mostly short field takeoffs. On those you really get a kick in the pants. If you ever want to feel this, just take a 757 flight out of Chicago MDW. Short runways, heavy loads (unless its too hot, then you get load restricted) equals maximum thrust!

Aeroflot was the last airline to allow smoking on board, and about 2 years ago they stopped that too. Air France gave it up about 5 years ago, they were also one of the last.
Some of our F/A's who work the DC-9 say that even though the interiors have been totally replaced several times, they can sometimes still smell cigarette smoke on them. It gets into everything!

 

[sudsmaster]

Might be that the guys doing the re-upholstering were heavy smokers...

 

[rp2813]

Brownies or cookies

. . . are the easy solution to lighting up regardless of the mode of transport since smoking isn't allowed on trains or buses anymore either. Next long flight we take, that will be the plan.

Rich, next time you swing by we'll have to budget some time to get adjusted and BS for a while before you head home.