Ewmahle From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 109 posts, RR: 0 Posted (7 years 4 months 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 1238 times:
I just happened to see this on my home from work as I passed by GSO. I was able to see a plane coming in on the far side of the airport, a few seconds later saw it shooting back up and banking hard left. It was a FedEx 727 which I assumed was just performing a go-around. I was able to see it continue its left bank and was able to the wheels drop and everything. However, about 5 minutes later about 5 miles outside of GSO I saw it pass over my girlfriend's apartment. I looked it up and the plane left and came back to GSO. I know that Timco does maintenance of the Fedex 727, could this have been a test run of some sort?
In regards to the 727 it looks like an awesome bird, good performance. Did it have a real big presence in the commercial airline industry in its day? They were mainline a little before I got into aircraft and airlines. Which US carrier had the most 727s?
OPNLguy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 1, posted (7 years 4 months 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 1178 times:
The oddball flight number and the fact that the departure and destination points are the same pretty much nail this as a testhop, especially with TIMCO there.
LTU932 From Germany, joined Jan 2006, 13864 posts, RR: 51 Reply 2, posted (7 years 4 months 4 days ago) and read 912 times:
Quoting Ewmahle (Thread starter): In regards to the 727 it looks like an awesome bird, good performance. Did it have a real big presence in the commercial airline industry in its day? They were mainline a little before I got into aircraft and airlines. Which US carrier had the most 727s?
The 727 was a very revolutionary aircraft for its time. It has great performance out of short fields, well powered and much like the 747 on longer flights, it opened the skies for more people. The Dash 200 was the most popular 727 version for operators, especially the Advanced version. It was in fact Boeing's best selling aircraft of all times, before being beaten by the 737. The 727 is a very versatile aircraft in some ways, which made it very popular with many airlines. I had the pleasure of flying on a 727 at least twice with LR, and it's truely a great experience. I'd love to fly on one again myself sometime.
Moparman From United States of America, joined Dec 2005, 411 posts, RR: 2 Reply 3, posted (7 years 4 months 4 days ago) and read 904 times:
LTU932:
Quoting LTU932 (Reply 2): The 727 was a very revolutionary aircraft for its time. It has great performance out of short fields, well powered and much like the 747 on longer flights, it opened the skies for more people. The Dash 200 was the most popular 727 version for operators, especially the Advanced version. It was in fact Boeing's best selling aircraft of all times, before being beaten by the 737. The 727 is a very versatile aircraft in some ways, which made it very popular with many airlines. I had the pleasure of flying on a 727 at least twice with LR, and it's truely a great experience. I'd love to fly on one again myself sometime.
I agree with you again. The B727 is one of the world's greatest airliners. It is a brute in terms of strength and performance. I used to book flights specifically to be able to fly on one of these magnificent aircraft. My last B727 flight was a DL connect from ATL to IAD in April or May 2000, and before then I had a flight on a NW B727 from MEM to DTW in March 1999. BTW: Und hoffentlich bin ich auch bald wieder in Hamburg.
"Harming a patient is unethical, but I can inflict as much pain as I like" Dr. Phlox
MxCtrlr From United States of America, joined Nov 2001, 2485 posts, RR: 40 Reply 4, posted (7 years 4 months 3 days 23 hours ago) and read 887 times:
The 727 is an AWESOME aircraft (and I have worked Boeings, Douglases, Lockheeds, Airbi and a host of smaller birds). The 727 is generally a pleasure to work on and ride in - it is stable, stout and takes a beating and comes back for more (see the TWA barrel roll/Mach 1+ dive/save as an example).
I believe UA was the largest operator of the 727 but, its popularity is attested to by the number of airlines that ordered/operated this magnificent bird. Big and smaller airlines owned and/or operated this aircraft from Pan Am to Air Florida and just about everyone in between (even WN operated at least one of them for a time). For a time, you weren't a "real airline" if you didn't operate the 727!
MxCtrlr
DAMN! This SUCKS! I just had to go to the next higher age bracket in my profile! :-(
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