Meeting my new love - The Boeing 777

[B757Guy]

No worries my friend, and thank you for the comments. I wouldn't worry about TSA or a flight attendant giving you grief over a logbook. I've had passengers that collect tail numbers literally come on board with binoculars to spot other planes while we taxi. That one did get a FA upset, but we worked it out with no issue. Are you an A&P?? Work in aviation?

My work has nothing to do with aviation of any sort unfortunately. When I say "we" I just mean the local airport (KSAT) and maintenance areas. My job is in technical support and sysadmin work. I just happen to find commercial flying and aircraft design/operation interesting topics. When I was a little boy I loved flying despite knowing next to nothing about how it actually worked. Over time my passion for flying dimmed and waned as other interests began to dominate my life. Many years later I got a job working in a building overlooking the airport and something about that experience rekindled my interest. I've been watching planes and following the industry ever since. There's a comedian named Bill Burr who talks about flying helicopters as a hobby on his podcast, and although I have no interest in helicopters he keeps reminding me that I need to look into a private pilot license before I get too old to make it happen.

I hope you do. If you were in NJ, I'd take you flying!

 

[gswager]

Interesting discussion! As far as I remember which airplanes I've flown- Lockheed 1011(?), 737, 757, 6 seat Cessna, sailplane (it's really awesome and I thought about taking class but never got a chance ), varieties of Bombadiers (Skywest), Folkiers (AA and Continental), 19 seat props by Mesa airline, another tiny prop by Horizon between Boise and Twin Falls, ID, 32 seat props (made in Brazil?) by Skywest prior being replaced by Bombadiers, and some more I can't remember. Oh, add one of Airbus fleet. It's like naming the cars and trucks over the years!

 

[BCL]

Interesting discussion! As far as I remember which airplanes I've flown- Lockheed 1011(?), 737, 757, 6 seat Cessna, sailplane (it's really awesome and I thought about taking class but never got a chance ), varieties of Bombadiers (Skywest), Folkiers (AA and Continental), 19 seat props by Mesa airline, another tiny prop by Horizon between Boise and Twin Falls, ID, 32 seat props (made in Brazil?) by Skywest prior being replaced by Bombadiers, and some more I can't remember. Oh, add one of Airbus fleet. It's like naming the cars and trucks over the years!

No Embraers?

 

[railiner]

The only time I've ever been in first class was on an MD-11. I do remember taking my kid to an airshow at an Air Force base where we did a tour of a KC-10 and my 3 year old kid got to be at the controls along with a photo with a pilot (who might have been younger than the plane). What was really odd was someone else touring the plane who claimed to be a flight attendant. She looked at the coffee maker and said it was the same as the kind she used on MD-11s and DC-10s.

I recall the Amfleet cafe's as having the exact same Grimes coffee makers as you'd see in most airliner galley's...not sure what they use nowadays....

As for KC-10's...I had a friend who retired flying them for the USAF, and then scored a job with UAL as a DC-10 simulator instructor at the old Stapleton Field in Denver. For years I teased him about taking me for a "flight" in one. Finally, just before he retired from UAL, he took me in after hours, and told me he could not operate the full motion, as it was too costly, but did let me do one IFR take off and landing from 35 Left, and back on 26 Left....

Let me tell you...even though it was just a simulator, and he talked me thru the whole 'flight'...I was sweating profusely like it was the real thing.....

 

[BCL]

The only time I've ever been in first class was on an MD-11. I do remember taking my kid to an airshow at an Air Force base where we did a tour of a KC-10 and my 3 year old kid got to be at the controls along with a photo with a pilot (who might have been younger than the plane). What was really odd was someone else touring the plane who claimed to be a flight attendant. She looked at the coffee maker and said it was the same as the kind she used on MD-11s and DC-10s.

I recall the Amfleet cafe's as having the exact same Grimes coffee makers as you'd see in most airliner galley's...not sure what they use nowadays....

As for KC-10's...I had a friend who retired flying them for the USAF, and then scored a job with UAL as a DC-10 simulator instructor at the old Stapleton Field in Denver. For years I teased him about taking me for a "flight" in one. Finally, just before he retired from UAL, he took me in after hours, and told me he could not operate the full motion, as it was too costly, but did let me do one IFR take off and landing from 35 Left, and back on 26 Left....

Let me tell you...even though it was just a simulator, and he talked me thru the whole 'flight'...I was sweating profusely like it was the real thing.....

The coffee maker was of course this modular stainless steel box that slid into a slot in the galley. It was kind of old looking like it was designed in the 60s. And in the US Air Force they have uniformed personnel who are essentially just flight attendants. I've mostly heard of the VIP transports (like Air Force One and the ones used to transport Cabinet Secretaries and Congressional delegations) but I think even the tanker/transports get flight attendants since the passengers/crew still need to eat on long flights. The one we toured was set up at least 30 seats, although I think they can arrange seating as needed or even place seating in the entire cargo area if they need to move people.

I was taking photos so I didn't slide into the cockpit seats. That thing had all those ancient dials and switches everywhere. I'm not sure how flying a plane like that translates to a modern plane with a glass cockpit. I sat in the cockpit of a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172, and that cockpit was more modern than the KC-10.

I did get to sit in at the refueling boom controls.

 

[B757Guy]

I flew the F-111 in the Air Force, and the variant I flew was still mostly analog. The conversion to MFD's and glass in the F16 was actually not that difficult, and a welcomed upgrade! I love the glass flightdeck we have in the 757/767, as it reduced our workload and allowed us better situational awareness. The 777 ups that another notch, which is fantastic. Still, I love flying my 1986 Beechcraft with it's steam gauges and HSI, but do use Foreflight on my iPad too!

 

[jis]

Some of the older planes that I have flown in back in the '60s included such famous types as the Caravelle, the Viscount, the Lockheed Super Constellation, the Lockheed Electra, the BAC-111, the Vickers Super VC-10. Somehow I missed getting on any of the Convairs. I guess my age is showing

 

[ehbowen]

When I was a little boy I loved flying despite knowing next to nothing about how it actually worked. Over time my passion for flying dimmed and waned as other interests began to dominate my life....he keeps reminding me that I need to look into a private pilot license before I get too old to make it happen.

Do it. I had wanted to learn to fly from childhood. Finally, at age 34, I started taking lessons at Fletcher Aviation while I had an HVAC maintenance job at KHOU. Get a paycheck, take a lesson. Took me exactly one year to earn my private ticket; I soloed and took my check ride in a Super Decathlon. My checkride prep was spins and recovery, under the hood, at night.

I was an active pilot for one year and was working on commercial and instrument tickets. The very next summer, the doctor put me on one of the FAA's prohibited medications and I lost my medical. I've been grounded ever since. Don't put it off.

 

[gswager]

No Embraers?

That's it! It's Embraers. Thanks BCL!
Beechcraft is pretty comfortable props due to high head clearance in aisle.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Did you miss out on the joys of the Gooney Bird ( aka DC-3) also jis?

I flew alot on Braniff and TTA( we called it Tree Top Airlines!)when they still flew DC-3s and Convairs.

I also got to ride on the Concorde when Air France had a working agreement with Braniff, and flew Sub-Sonic from Dallas to Mexico City! Very uncomfortable plane due to the lack of room in the cabin!

My age is showing for sure!

 

[jis]

I have been in a Dakota (DC-3) but never flown in one.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I'm taking an AA domestic 757 (75W) into New York next week. Only 8 of them left. Maybe it still has the old Eisenhower interior. I got a window seat, too.

Do you get common type rating with the 787 as well?

 

[railiner]

I went for a "fantrip" aboard PBA's famous DC-3, N136PB....at the time it held the world's record for highest time airliner..

I also had the extreme good fortune to fly on BA's Concorde from LHR to JFK....amazing that the world's fastest airliner still had "steam gauges" and a flight engineer. The bird that I flew on was G-BOAD...the one now on display at the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum.

 

[B757Guy]

I'm taking an AA domestic 757 (75W) into New York next week. Only 8 of them left. Maybe it still has the old Eisenhower interior. I got a window seat, too.

Do you get common type rating with the 787 as well?

I believe in Europe it is a common type rating, but the FAA issues separate type ratings for both, here in the US, which appear on an Airman's Certificate.

 

[BCL]

I flew the F-111 in the Air Force, and the variant I flew was still mostly analog. The conversion to MFD's and glass in the F16 was actually not that difficult, and a welcomed upgrade! I love the glass flightdeck we have in the 757/767, as it reduced our workload and allowed us better situational awareness. The 777 ups that another notch, which is fantastic. Still, I love flying my 1986 Beechcraft with it's steam gauges and HSI, but do use Foreflight on my iPad too!

All I remember about the F-111 was that the F-111B variant turned out to be a disaster.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I flew the F-111 in the Air Force, and the variant I flew was still mostly analog. The conversion to MFD's and glass in the F16 was actually not that difficult, and a welcomed upgrade! I love the glass flightdeck we have in the 757/767, as it reduced our workload and allowed us better situational awareness. The 777 ups that another notch, which is fantastic. Still, I love flying my 1986 Beechcraft with it's steam gauges and HSI, but do use Foreflight on my iPad too!

All I remember about the F-111 was that the F-111B variant turned out to be a disaster.

My memories of the F-111 include the huge amount of money spent on it, ( for the times) The political horsetrading that LBJ and McNamara used to get it built in Fort Worth, and the Pilots that told me how much they hated flying it! YMMV

 

[B757Guy]

I flew the F-111 in the Air Force, and the variant I flew was still mostly analog. The conversion to MFD's and glass in the F16 was actually not that difficult, and a welcomed upgrade! I love the glass flightdeck we have in the 757/767, as it reduced our workload and allowed us better situational awareness. The 777 ups that another notch, which is fantastic. Still, I love flying my 1986 Beechcraft with it's steam gauges and HSI, but do use Foreflight on my iPad too!

All I remember about the F-111 was that the F-111B variant turned out to be a disaster.

My memories of the F-111 include the huge amount of money spent on it, ( for the times) The political horsetrading that LBJ and McNamara used to get it built in Fort Worth, and the Pilots that told me how much they hated flying it! YMMV

I loved flying the F-111. It was always an exciting airplane to fly, especially flying very fast, very low to the ground. She was a good plane, and always got myself and my WSO home safe.

 

[BCL]

I flew the F-111 in the Air Force, and the variant I flew was still mostly analog. The conversion to MFD's and glass in the F16 was actually not that difficult, and a welcomed upgrade! I love the glass flightdeck we have in the 757/767, as it reduced our workload and allowed us better situational awareness. The 777 ups that another notch, which is fantastic. Still, I love flying my 1986 Beechcraft with it's steam gauges and HSI, but do use Foreflight on my iPad too!

All I remember about the F-111 was that the F-111B variant turned out to be a disaster.

My memories of the F-111 include the huge amount of money spent on it, ( for the times) The political horsetrading that LBJ and McNamara used to get it built in Fort Worth, and the Pilots that told me how much they hated flying it! YMMV

It wasn't a dogfighter, which is why the US Navy didn't particularly want it. They apparently thought that they'd save money with a common platform, but I thought in the end it was really designed to USAF requirements and way too big to land on a carrier even though the F-111B was shortened. I don't know if the lessons were learned with the F-35 program. Strangely enough the F-35C is larger for more lift.

http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=23126

The F-14 turned out fairly well and that was from learning what went wrong.

 

[Seaboard92]

The first aircraft I have ever flown in was a LH A330-300. But I have flown in by now LH A380-800, A340-600, B737-600. A variety of operators for A319-A321, ERJ models, and a CRJ700. My most recent flight was a B737-900 for AS which was lovely.

I'm hoping to get on as a flight attendant with United in the next year. I'll take whichever airline offers but UA is a favorite of mine.

 

[CCC1007]

The first aircraft I have ever flown in was a LH A330-300. But I have flown in by now LH A380-800, A340-600, B737-600. A variety of operators for A319-A321, ERJ models, and a CRJ700. My most recent flight was a B737-900 for AS which was lovely.

I'm hoping to get on as a flight attendant with United in the next year. I'll take whichever airline offers but UA is a favorite of mine.

Don't knock the regionals like SkyWest.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The vast majority of my flights were in boring 737's and MD-80's. I've never flown a B707, L-1011, DC-10, MD-11, Concorde, or any of the A34X series.

Here's what I have managed to fly though…

A300 Airbus A300-000

A319 Airbus A319-000

A320 Airbus A320-000

A321 Airbus A321-000

A330 Airbus A330-300

A388 Airbus A380-800

B727 Boeing B727-000

B732 Boeing B737-200

B733 Boeing B737-300

B735 Boeing B737-500

B737 Boeing B737-700

B738 Boeing B737-800

B739 Boeing B737-900

B742 Boeing B747-200

B743 Boeing B747-300

B744 Boeing B747-400

B752 Boeing B757-200

B753 Boeing B757-300

B763 Boeing B767-300

B764 Boeing B767-400

B772 Boeing B777-200

B772 Boeing B777-200ER

B77L Boeing B777-200LR

B773 Boeing B777-300

B77W Boeing B777-300ER

B788 Boeing B787-8

B789 Boeing B787-9

C200 Bombardier CRJ-200

C700 Bombardier CRJ-700

C900 Bombardier CRJ-900

DHC2 de Havilland DHC-2

DC-9 Douglas DC-9

E090 Embraer ERJ-090

E145 Embraer ERJ-145

E170 Embraer ERJ-170

E175 Embraer ERJ-175

MD81 McDonnell Douglas MD-81

MD82 McDonnell Douglas MD-82

MD83 McDonnell Douglas MD-83

MD87 McDonnell Douglas MD-87

MD88 McDonnell Douglas MD-88

MD90 McDonnell Douglas MD-90

 

[jis]

I started from the excellent list provided by DA and just edited a few things that I have been on in addition to those in, and edited a few out, to get to my list

There may be a few errors, but it is more or less correct....

A300 Airbus A300-000

A319 Airbus A319-000

A320 Airbus A320-000

A321 Airbus A321-000

A330 Airbus A330-300

A342 Airbus A340-200

A345 Airbus A340-500

A388 Airbus A380-800

B703 Boeing B707-320

B704 Boeing B707-420

B721 Boeing B727-100

B722 Boeing B727-200

B731 Boeing B737-100

B732 Boeing B737-200

B733 Boeing B737-300

B735 Boeing B737-500

B737 Boeing B737-700

B738 Boeing B737-800

B73B Boeing B737-800BBJ

B739 Boeing B737-900

B739E Boeing B737-900ER

B741 Boeing B747-100

B742 Boeing B747-200

B743 Boeing B747-300

B744 Boeing B747-400

B752 Boeing B757-200 both RR and PW

B753 Boeing B757-300

B762 Boeing B767-200

B763 Boeing B767-300

B764 Boeing B767-400

B772 Boeing B777-200 A & B PW

B772 Boeing B777-200ER both GE, PW

B77L Boeing B777-200LR

B773 Boeing B777-300

B77W Boeing B777-300ER

B788 Boeing B787-8

B789 Boeing B787-9

C200 Bombardier CRJ-200

C700 Bombardier CRJ-700

C900 Bombardier CRJ-900

de Haviland Comet IV

DC-8 Douglas DC-8

DC-8-6 Douglas DC-8-6x

DC-9 Douglas DC-9

DC-101 Douglas DC-10-10

DC-103 Douglas DC-10-30

E090 Embraer ERJ-090

E145 Embraer ERJ-145

E170 Embraer ERJ-170

E175 Embraer ERJ-175

General Dynamics Convair 880

Hawker Siddeley HS-748

Lockheed Electra

Lockheed L-1011

Lockheed Super Constellation

MD11 McDonnell Douglas MD-11

MD87 McDonnell Douglas MD-87

MD88 McDonnell Douglas MD-88

MD90 McDonnell Douglas MD-90

Sud Aviation Caravelle

Vickers Super VC-10

Vickers Viscount

 

[Devil's Advocate]

That's a mighty impressive list Jis.

Especially these items...

B73B Boeing B737-800BBJ

de Haviland Comet IV

DC-8-6 Douglas DC-8-6x

DC-101 Douglas DC-10-10

General Dynamics Convair 880

Hawker Siddeley HS-748

Lockheed Electra

Lockheed L-1011

Lockheed Super Constellation

Sud Aviation Caravelle

Vickers Super VC-10

Vickers Viscount

I feel bad for people who are just now growing up and will mainly travel in a sea of cramped regional jets devoid of any unique passenger visible quirks or personality. It's crazy to think that first class on a regional twin is worse than coach used to be on a long range quad.

 

[jis]

Yeah, those (except the DC-8s and 10s, the L-1011 and BBJ) are mostly from the mid-60s when I traveled to the US and spent a year in Cambridge MA, and then traveled for a month and a half in the US and Europe, mostly by air. I was a freshly minted teenager then and of course traveled with my parents and younger sister.

 

[fairviewroad]

I can't match the lists that were posted. Will only say that I've been on a total of 6 flights on a 747 and I'll never forget the long takeoff roll. An amazing aircraft...one which I probably won't ever fly on again, given the state of the industry.

I've also enjoyed my 777 flights...but my most memorable 777 experience was arriving (and later departing) on a Kenya Airways 777 in NBO. Both flights used an external stairways to the tarmac. Getting the chance to walk on the ground near that enormous aircraft was a real treat.

Of course, I've boarded using external stairs countless times on other aircraft, mostly Dash-8's used by Horizon in the PNW. That's fun (except when it's raining in PDX or SEA) but not nearly the same thing.