To keep this in perspective, BA are only retiring their 32 747s. There are over 400 currently in airline service, plus freighters and other derivatives. So there will be 747s around for some time to come yet
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That would be right - it’s ability to get off the ground from short, high-altitude, high ambient temperature runways meant it was a bit of a hotrod in normal conditions which is one reason the pilots loved them.
By contrast, a pilot friend of mine told me years ago that the only reason the original Airbus A340's could actually get airborne was due to the combined effects of the length of the take-off roll and the curvature of the earth
Sorry, I'm mistaken. Just looked up its operational history and I couldn't have flown on a VC-10, it had ceased to operate commercially by the time I began taking business trips in 1984. Strange, without looking it up, I was quite confident I'd been on one. My loss I guess.
Yeah maybe...Perhaps you were thinking of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 (later upgraded to MD-10)?
Perhaps you were thinking of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 (later upgraded to MD-10)?
AFAIK, civilian examples were all single aisle with two rows of two (business) and two rows of three (economy), so nothing unusual in that. But...What I find strange is the Fact that no-one has mentioned the Seating Layout of the VC-10?
AFAIK, civilian examples were all single aisle with two rows of two (business) and two rows of three (economy), so nothing unusual in that. But...
ISTR that (at least some of) the RAF ones had rear-facing seats. Is that correct?
My first flight was with Dan Air (dare) and I recall that there were rear facing seats. We flew through a thunderstorm, my Mum shit herself.Yes the Seats were all Facing the Tail, one of a small number of Aircraft that had the Seats Installed Correctly!
That’s correct.ISTR that (at least some of) the RAF ones had rear-facing seats. Is that correct?
Especially until Prezza gets round to replacing Air Force One .To keep this in perspective, BA are only retiring their 32 747s. There are over 400 currently in airline service, plus freighters and other derivatives. So there will be 747s around for some time to come yet
Yes , that’s rightAFAIK, civilian examples were all single aisle with two rows of two (business) and two rows of three (economy), so nothing unusual in that. But...
ISTR that (at least some of) the RAF ones had rear-facing seats. Is that correct?
And some had a huge side cargo door : I remember a PR photo showing a RR Phantom being driven out !Yes the Seats were all Facing the Tail, one of a small number of Aircraft that had the Seats Installed Correctly!
I believe that a fully laden early 747 only just about made it into the sky!!First flew in one of those to New York courtesy of Freddie Laker in 1976. (Missed the hot summer in the UK!)
Initial thoughts were amazement that something so big could actually take off.
Correct, see the last para in my post above.I believe that a fully laden early 747 only just about made it into the sky!!
There used to be a similar saying about helicoptersEarlier posts on “if they look right, they fly right”
A380s only get off the ground because they’re so ugly, the earth repels them.
End of the road for the 747.
More like a cul-de-sac, IMO.....and the beginning of a new era?
Airbus' self-flying plane just completed successful taxi, take-off, and landing tests, opening the door for fully autonomous flight
Airbus finished the tests in June after its first autonomous take-off in December, paving the way for pilot-less passenger flights in the future.www.businessinsider.com
....and the beginning of a new era?
Airbus' self-flying plane just completed successful taxi, take-off, and landing tests, opening the door for fully autonomous flight
Airbus finished the tests in June after its first autonomous take-off in December, paving the way for pilot-less passenger flights in the future.www.businessinsider.com
More like a cul-de-sac, IMO.
However good the automation, I don't think there are many people who would get on a commercial flight with no flight-qualified crew in the cockpit. I know I'd rather trust someone with their own life on the line to get me back on the ground safely when something unanticipated goes wrong rather than rely upon someone having anticipated the situation and coded for it perhaps many years beforehand.
As the old saying goes, by their nature, pilots come from a long line of survivors
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