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Showing Original Post only (View all)First test flight on Boeing 727. [View all]
Great video:
The 727 was the workhorse of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even into the 90s.
The ultimate 'people carrier'.
I flew them for a few years.
What I liked:
The rear 'airstairs'.
You didn't need the roll up stairs.
(We didn't always have jetways.)
The Auxiliary Power Unit (APU).
You were self sufficient for on ground A/C, electrical power, and starting engines.
A small on-board auxiliary jet engine provided that.
You weren't dependent on a plug-in ground power cart.
It could drop like a rock.
When you needed to.
When you popped the wing spoilers you were going DOWN!
Fast.
Sometimes that really came in handy.
It could stop on a dime and give you a nickel change.
See the video.
Full reverse thrust and max wheel brakes.
1800 feet?
Whoa.
What I didn't like:
Landing that sucker.
It was squirrely.
Never seemed to land the same way twice.
Every landing was a new adventure.
The models I flew had 'auto-spoilers'.
When the wheels sensed rotation (on touchdown) the wing spoilers automatically deployed.
It was almost impossible to 'grease one on', because the autospoilers killed your lift as soon as the wheels touched.
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Interesting story about the 'S' duct, the L-1011, and the DC-10. This may be a bit long...
trof
Apr 2012
#43
Very plausible. Always thought that was a bizarre way of mounting the center engine
Populist_Prole
Apr 2012
#46
I can't believe how quickly they were getting the plane stopped even on a wet runway.
pa28
Mar 2012
#2
As I understand it the 727 wasn't initially manufactured with an APU.
The Velveteen Ocelot
Mar 2012
#5
The concept the FAA is promoting is the box flies the plane from start to finish
Major Nikon
Apr 2012
#19
If it means anything, I'm very sorry about what happened with the Icahn mess
Blue_Tires
Apr 2012
#26
Wow so the auto-spoilers deployed with wheel rotation rather than "weight on wheels"?
cherokeeprogressive
Apr 2012
#14
Not dangerous at all. It's very common on other commercial airliners as well
Populist_Prole
Apr 2012
#15
Yeah, the military has gotten a lot of extended life out of the older frames
Blue_Tires
Apr 2012
#21
Too slow for jets? But it has such a low drag coefficient and frontal profile!!
Blue_Tires
Apr 2012
#25
I have a refueling story for you, though I wasn't involved except on the maintenance end of it...
cherokeeprogressive
Apr 2012
#47