SKA380 From Norway, joined Jun 2005, 162 posts, RR: 0 Posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 6802 times:
I was about to reply to the post about high speed fligths on a 747, but somehow it got deleted.. So here's my story..
I went with Lufthansa from Manila to Bangkok, and they were a bit over 7 hours delayed from Manila..
First of all, they used 20(!!!) minutes to turn the aircraft around in Manila (from when they parked at the gate, to we were starting the engines already pushed back) I didn't think this was possible with a 744.
Then, when we approached Bangkok (we were still on cruise altitude, and were placed right over the dot that indicated BKK on the zoomed in map), i heard the captain say over the speakers "dear passengers, plz fasten your seatbelts, and hold on!" (LOL) Followed by a steep dive witch made me hang in my seatbelt.
On the way down the IFE indicated a groundspeed of 990 km/h! The entire aircraft was shaking and making noises i've never heard on any aircrafts.. I fly longhaul on a regular basis, and i love flying. But this is the only time i've ever been nervous..
Needless to say, when we arrived at the gate we were practically chased out..
Talk about German efficiency on its best!
HT From Germany, joined May 2005, 6475 posts, RR: 26 Reply 1, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 9 hours ago) and read 6505 times:
Quoting SKA380 (Thread starter): I was about to reply to the post about high speed fligths on a 747, but somehow it got deleted..
SKA380, if you were looking for this thread Has Any Body Flown On A 747 At Full Speed? (by 747400sp Aug 7 2005 in Aviation Polls & Prefs) it is (now) in Forum Polls&Prefs.
I think it was moved to there ...
NorthstarBoy From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 1716 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 6460 times:
fast flights can be fun, i think i've had three i can remember, one, on a UA 744 from Ord to Nrt, landed 40 mins early, another, an AA 763 from chicago to Paris, we hit a substantial tail wind enroute and landed an hour early and the most memorable one on an AA A300 from JFK to London, we made it across the pond in 5h45 mins. i nicknamed that plane "Smokin 73" i seem to recall on the last one, the A300, we were hitting ground speeds of over 700 mph at times, with a 100 mph tail wind. fun times.
I could have elite status if I wanted it, but flying the same airline all the time is boring.
WhiteHatter From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 6333 times:
Quoting SKA380 (Thread starter): I went with Lufthansa from Manila to Bangkok, and they were a bit over 7 hours delayed from Manila..
First of all, they used 20(!!!) minutes to turn the aircraft around in Manila (from when they parked at the gate, to we were starting the engines already pushed back) I didn't think this was possible with a 744.
I suppose that's possible if there were not that many passengers leaving at that point and LH had loaded the containers properly, which unfortunately isn't all that common! If they just need a couple of tins off then it can be done pretty quickly (assuming no cargo either). Presumably the flight was tankering enough fuel as well.
Quoting SKA380 (Thread starter): The entire aircraft was shaking and making noises i've never heard on any aircrafts..
Ages ago, I was on an IB 722 which did an incredibly fast descent over London into LHR. Now that was a ride! Presumably ATC found your flight a quick slot into the arrivals pattern to help out with the delay rather than shoving it into a stack.
It's nothing out of the ordinary but when a pilot starts 'flying' the aircraft rather than a normal smooth computerised kind of approach, then some of the noises and effects that used to be common in aviation come into play.
Many airports also have noise abatement approaches whoch necessitate a steeper descent at the later part of the approach, and those can be fun too. Again it's nothing unusual. The speed brakes can be a little bit noisy as well when used to dump lift and reduce height.
RedChili From Norway, joined Jul 2005, 2053 posts, RR: 2 Reply 4, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 6288 times:
In 1993, I was flying a Balkan T154 from Oslo Gardermoen to Varna. The flight crew told us that we will soon start descending. I was standing up putting something onto the overhead shelves (no overhead lockers) when suddenly the floor dropped under me and I was "flying" in the air. Ten minutes later, we were on the ground. That was my fastest descent ever.
BA380 From United Kingdom, joined May 2004, 1466 posts, RR: 9 Reply 6, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 6189 times:
I once crossed from JFK-LHR in 5:30 and a friend of mine believes he did it in 5:10 (seatbelt signs on throughout flight...). It all depends on the tailwind I guess
ManchesterMAN From United Kingdom, joined Sep 2003, 1193 posts, RR: 1 Reply 7, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 6099 times:
Had a similar situation on a ORD-AMS flight on a 747 - we made the trip in 6 hours obviously with a stong tail wind. we even had our departure from ORD delayed by 40 minutes so we wouldn't arrive at AMS too early before night quotas ended.
ZKSUJ From New Zealand, joined May 2004, 6971 posts, RR: 10 Reply 9, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 6025 times:
Been in several 744 several times when the ground speen exceeded 1200km/h. Thats quite high speed I think. Must be strong tail winds as well I presume.
Jtamu97 From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 655 posts, RR: 2 Reply 11, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 2 hours ago) and read 5598 times:
When I flew from ATL-CPT on SAA non stop we arrived One hour and thirty minutes early which was VERY VERY welcomed.
SevenHeavy From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2004, 1127 posts, RR: 10 Reply 12, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 2 days 1 hour ago) and read 5423 times:
Occasionally our BOS-LHR flight will come in at a whisker under 5 hours. this is only when being operated by a B744, and generally in spring or fall when the jetstream is at its strongest. This is the only US-UK flight I can think of that can cut the 5 hour barrier. The fastest I can actually find is 4h 52m - pretty quick!. You would need tailwinds in excess of 100mph for most of the crossing but it does happen.
AirPacific747 From Denmark, joined May 2008, 2096 posts, RR: 23 Reply 15, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 3967 times:
Quoting Vunz (Reply 8): On the way down the IFE indicated a groundspeed of 990 km/h!
I have also flown more than 1200 km/h in a 747..
and last year I flew an SKA330 from Washington Dulles to CPH.. it actually reached 1133 km/h at one point!
Thats pretty well done for that aircraft I think
Jtamu97 From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 655 posts, RR: 2 Reply 16, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 3216 times:
Halls120 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 17, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 3173 times:
Quoting WhiteHatter (Reply 3): Ages ago, I was on an IB 722 which did an incredibly fast descent over London into LHR. Now that was a ride! Presumably ATC found your flight a quick slot into the arrivals pattern to help out with the delay rather than shoving it into a stack.
Back in the 80's I was on a C-130 over Treasure Island in SF Bay that was on a normal downwind pattern to land at the now-closed NAS Alameda. All of a sudden, the pilot announced that we needed to land quickly, because of another a/c that declared an emergency. We immediately banked hard left, quickly descended, and landed safely. It was almost better than an amusement park thrill ride.....
Geo772 From United Kingdom, joined Jul 2004, 497 posts, RR: 0 Reply 18, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 2160 times:
A few years ago I flew from antigua to LGW on a 767-300 and we made landfall in a little over 4.5 hours. There were 150mph tailwinds for most of the flight the aircraft was flown at high power and it was very bumpy all the way. Unfortunately Gatwick was closed because of snow and we had to hold for about 2 hours before we could land. Even then it was a quick trip.
Flown on A300B4/600,A319/20/21,A332/3,A343,B727,B732/3/4/7/8,B741/2/4,B752,B762/3,B772/3,DC10,L1011-200,VC10,MD80,1-11
Brokenrecord From United States of America, joined Jul 2005, 772 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 2030 times:
Quoting Halls120 (Reply 17): Back in the 80's I was on a C-130 over Treasure Island in SF Bay that was on a normal downwind pattern to land at the now-closed NAS Alameda. All of a sudden, the pilot announced that we needed to land quickly, because of another a/c that declared an emergency. We immediately banked hard left, quickly descended, and landed safely. It was almost better than an amusement park thrill ride.....
Ah yes... C130 combat landings... Nothing like them.
I had a wonderful experience on my first trip in a C130 landing at KDH.
Thelowfarehero From Cayman Islands, joined Aug 2005, 144 posts, RR: 0 Reply 20, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 1958 times:
I remember back in 1988 while on a flight from PPT-LAX, I was on a UTA DC-10 and we had a medical emergency enroute after a passenger had a heart attack in the first class cabin. The captain informed us that he was gonna make a run at it full throttle because we were closer to LAX rather than a diversion to HNL. Our flight was scheduled to land at 10:30 pm and we actually arrived at 8:15.
FLFlyGuy From United States of America, joined May 2004, 238 posts, RR: 3 Reply 21, posted (7 years 10 months 2 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 1915 times:
The first time I ever had to work the lower lobe galley on the DC10, we did LAX-MIA in 3hr 31min. Helluva tailwind. Barely got the carts back in time!
The views expressed are my own, and not necessarily those of my employer.
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From Norway, joined Jun 2005, 162 posts, 
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Must be strong tail winds as well I presume.
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