Fokker 100, Anyone?

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GBNorman

OBS Chief
Joined
Feb 26, 2017
Messages
573
Over at the active Stewart Airport topic, I noted that I had flown in there during '01 in an American MD-80. That was reported in error; the aircraft was actually a

, and I have edited that posting accordingly.
But that raises the question: how many others around here remember that aircraft? To my knowledge, American was the only US flagged carrier to order such and disposed of these aircraft in fairly short order.

Anyone?
 
I flew in a Fokker 100 when I was in college, I want to say in '01 or '02, somewhere in there. It was an American flight from Boston to Washington Reagan (and also on the return a few days later). I don't recall anything bad about it, but it was a rather short flight, so not sure how it would have been on a longer one.
 
Mid Pacific Airlines in Hawaii flew mainly Mitsubishi YS-11's, but tried Fokker jets for a while. I remember some kind of air brake folded out from the tail cone when the engines reversed.

edit: I just Googled a picture of one, and they were F-28's, not F-100's.
 
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I flew one SWF-ORD on American.

Also, MDW-DFW when American was at Midway.
 
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To the best of my knowledge I've flown on a Fokker only once and I have very little memory of it. After racking my brain a bit and researching possibilities I eventually came to the conclusion that it was almost certainly a Fokker 100, but that's about as much as I could recover. I wish airlines would keep track of aircraft flown in the same way they track mileage and segments. My first flights were when I was a young boy and I have very few adult-brain-readable memories of those trips. Although now that I think about it most airlines probably hadn't started tracking and banking miles when I first started flying so I guess it's a moot point. Still would be cool to have an auto-log of every model and variant you've flown on a given airline.
 
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I remember the F100 well. I'll do you one better, I remember the BAC-One Eleven. Great birds, but from that vintage, my beloved 727 will always be champ. I'd trade my shiny 777, with all it's bells and whistles for it's steam gauges any day. I was a much sharper pilot then!
 
I can barely remember the 727. Probably because they had a relatively short lifespan in mainstream passenger service. If I remember correctly they were saddled with poor fuel economy and suffered from sound abatement problems, but I can imagine why pilots might enjoy them for the high thrust/weight ratio and the old school seat of the pants control envelope. Although I'm not sure how much difference that would actually make these days, at least outside of the odd acceptance flight or ferry move. From what I understand nearly every modern passenger aircraft is operated well below their design limits. Partly for fuel economy and mechanical longevity reasons, but also to provide a calm and comfortable flight for unsuspecting kettles who might be scared or even injured during highly technical operations. My most heart-pounding trips weren't on 727's or 757's or any other famous hot rod. They were on conventional ho-hum twins like the 737 and DC-9 that just happened to be under the fearless control of a dopamine challenged operator.
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How about the BAC-145 (or was it 144)? The quietest jet I have seen from the outside (I was sitting at the end of the runway, turned around, then when I looked back it was down the runway almost wheels up)! However, on the inside it was one of the most noisy jets I have ever ridden on.
 
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727 ... short lifespan in mainline service?
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Compared to more modern and efficient designs like the 737 and DC9/MD80 the 727 had a relatively short lifespan. 727's still had a meaningful role in flying passengers and freight to less developed airfields and airports with shorter runways and/or reduced lift. Conventional mainline service was negatively impacted as the fuel and labor requirements put the 727 at a distinct and growing disadvantage over time.

Most of my early flights for 20-30 years were on a 727 on many different carriers (EA, PA, TW, NA, NW, PeoplExpress, UA, etc...)
Although I have nearly forty airlines under my belt I've never flown with EA, PA, TW, NA, or PE. It's possible I'd feel differently if I had, but where I lived 727's didn't last that long in mainline passenger service.
 
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I remember the F100 well. I'll do you one better, I remember the BAC-One Eleven. Great birds, but from that vintage, my beloved 727 will always be champ. I'd trade my shiny 777, with all it's bells and whistles for it's steam gauges any day. I was a much sharper pilot then!
I have flown in a BAC 1-11 -BEA flight from London Heathrow to Paris Orly in the summer of 1966 as I seem to recall. And of course I have flown more 727 legs than one can shake a stick at. Used to fly almost every weekend when I was commuting every work week to SLC and back from EWR via DEN.

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Actually, the 727 was enormously successful, over 1800 built, most of one family until surpassed by the 737 family. They were in mainline service in the US past 2000. As the A-320 and larger versions of the 737 became available with 2 engines and a 2 person flight deck they were replaced on a steady basis, but had close to a 40 year run on US mainlines.
 
Ahh, the Fokker. I flew these a few times between DFW and MSP in the early aughts. I remember them being a little cramped on the inside with the 2-3 seating and they were basically doing the work of what the large regional jets are doing today. Basically the size of the smaller DC-9's. AA didn't keep them them very long. 1991 to 2003 or 2004? I have pictures of them when I worked at DFW in 2003, but when I interned at AA in 2005, they were definitely gone. That time was the "lost decade" and AA, among others, were trying to reduce the number of types their fleets. Horizon use to have from Fokker 28's as well and I seem to remember riding on a KLM Cityhopper Fokker from AMS to Copenhagen in 2008. Does anyone know how many seats the 100 and the 28 had?
 
Actually, the 727 was enormously successful, over 1800 built, most of one family until surpassed by the 737 family. They were in mainline service in the US past 2000. As the A-320 and larger versions of the 737 became available with 2 engines and a 2 person flight deck they were replaced on a steady basis, but had close to a 40 year run on US mainlines.
Flown where and by whom? Freight service 727's are not uncommon but I haven't flown, haven't seen, and haven't been offered a scheduled flight on a passenger 727 since the 1980's. The 727 is very distinctive compared to other designs so it's pretty hard to miss by accident. Presumably whatever passenger 727's remained into the 90's and beyond must have been relegated to airports I rarely visit and/or flown by charter airlines I never use.
 
Actually, the 727 was enormously successful, over 1800 built, most of one family until surpassed by the 737 family. They were in mainline service in the US past 2000. As the A-320 and larger versions of the 737 became available with 2 engines and a 2 person flight deck they were replaced on a steady basis, but had close to a 40 year run on US mainlines.
Flown where and by whom? Freight service 727's are not uncommon but I haven't flown, haven't seen, and haven't been offered a scheduled flight on a passenger 727 since the 1980's. The 727 is very distinctive compared to other designs so it's pretty hard to miss by accident. Presumably whatever passenger 727's remained into the 90's and beyond must have been relegated to airports I rarely visit and/or flown by charter airlines I never use.
I believe the last B-727 flight I can remember taking was on Delta into Cincinnati around 1998. A quick look shows that Delta Airlines flew the 727-100 until 2003.
 
At my airline, they were the backbone of the fleet. We had several hundred at one point.
 
Actually, the 727 was enormously successful, over 1800 built, most of one family until surpassed by the 737 family. They were in mainline service in the US past 2000. As the A-320 and larger versions of the 737 became available with 2 engines and a 2 person flight deck they were replaced on a steady basis, but had close to a 40 year run on US mainlines.
Flown where and by whom? Freight service 727's are not uncommon but I haven't flown, haven't seen, and haven't been offered a scheduled flight on a passenger 727 since the 1980's. The 727 is very distinctive compared to other designs so it's pretty hard to miss by accident. Presumably whatever passenger 727's remained into the 90's and beyond must have been relegated to airports I rarely visit and/or flown by charter airlines I never use.
I believe the last B-727 flight I can remember taking was on Delta into Cincinnati around 1998. A quick look shows that Delta Airlines flew the 727-100 until 2003.
Never been to Cincinnati myself (can you blame me
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) and I stopped flying Delta in the 1990's due to a series of unfortunate events. I've since returned to DL and haven't had any more problems to speak of, but apparently I've been avoiding the 727 for most of my life without even realizing it.
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Delta was one of the last US mainlines to fly them and had many of the last ones built, so they were the last to go. The next generation high bypass turbofans (more power/less fuel consumption) that permitted planes like the A-320 series and newer 737s as well as 2 man flight decks sealed their fate.
 
Those were the earlier 727-100s. The 200s were significantly longer and many airlines flew them around 150 seats. 200 and 200 advanced made up 2/3 of the production and were seen in large quantities in the US including by American.
 
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