Boy This Nostalgia Stuff Will Kill You!

I keep reading these threads mentioning this, that and the other from the past and it brings back memories. And the latest about the L-1011 sent me to my flight log to do some reminiscing. Many of you that know me know that I traveled for business (a polite way of saying on someone else's dime) for over 30 years so the log is long and rich with much history. Thought you guys might like to know a little of it.

Many of you probably know I'm more of a Boeing/Douglas (and Lockheed of course) man than an Airbus type and my stats prove it out. My Boeing/Douglas flights out number my Airbus flights 22 to 1 :)

Number of flights on particular aircraft:

707 - 13
727 - 567
737 - 218
747 - 30
747SP - 4
757 - 67
767 - 54
777 - 1
DC-9 - 139
DC-10 - 185
DC-8 - 10
MD-11 - 2
MD-80 - 239
MD-90 - 2
L-1049 - 1
L-1011 - 35
SST - 2

As if that wasn't enough I then looked at my list of airlines flown and found these:

Air Aruba, Air Virginia, Allegheny, ALM, BEA, Braniff, Canada 3000, Capitol, CP Air, Eastern, Holiday Air, Kiwi, Metro, National, New York Air, New York Helicopter, North Central, Ozark, Pacific Western, PSA, Pan Am, Peoples Express, Piedmont, Precision, Republic, Simmons, Southern, Swissair, Texas International and TWA.

To my knowledge, everyone of them are now gone. Things certainly have changed in the 30+ years I've been flying. Sorry if I've bored you with this :)

Art

Art:

Quite an impressive list...thanks for the reply in the other post regarding flights within the three NYC airports.

Where did you fly with Air Virginia, Metro, and Piedmont? Going to school in NC I'm quite curious. Also, I assume you've been on some commuter aircraft as well, as you list several commuter airlines. Which particular aircraft?

Thanks,
Matt

yea i can't get anywhere near that list. you're king art... :)

Whoa you were on a 727 500x !!!!!

In response to RDU - JFK:

Air Virginia - Mar. 1981 from EWR to BWI
Metro - Sept. 1982 from DFW - TYR
Piedmont - probably over a 100 flights all over the south and from DFW

Commuter Aircraft, you name it. ATR 42/72, Beech 1900, BAE146, Convair 240/440, Dash 7/8, Dornier, Embraer 135/145, CRJ 100/200, Fairchild 27/28, Jetstream 31/41, King Air, Navajo, Nord 262/298, Saab, Shorts, and Swearingen. Not the complete list but most.

Art

My list is sadly, much shorter, but I was lucky enough to have flown on an Electra and BAC 1-11.

Art - I know I've asked you before, but what airline, airport, year was the Connie flight?

I think the A380 might be a good addition for Airbus. :)

Tom

The Constellation flight was on Capitol Airways in Nov. 1957 from Norfolk to Newark. I recorded it as a 1049, which is what I believe it was, but I'm not a hundred percent certain.

Yes, the Electras and the BAC-111s. I've flown them as well. Even have some cockpit shots from the BAC. My list is only long because someone else was paying for it. Had I been paying for it, I assure you my list would be much shorter also.

Art

Art simply amazing flying over 1500 times, WOW. Besides some great memories from some great airlines you must have some funny and interesting travel stories. Watching the public do its thing always results in some interesting happenings.

Art that is one amazing list and I assure you that if anyone on this forum "was bored by that" then they must have stumbled on here by accident.

Simply Amazing

Ron Peel

Tommy,

Yes, hundreds of stories. Some sad, some funny, some probably downright hillarious and some people would consider frightening. Way to many to recant here for sure. And, yes, the people watching can be fun. It's amazing what you can observe sometimes if you just open your eyes, not to mention what you hear sometimes. It can also be discouraging to be confronted with the thought that there are actually people out there like that. I've met all kinds and many I'd like to forget. But all things considered I can't complain ... I got on at point A and off at point B, delivered safely and that's all that counts.

Art

What an amazing list, Art. You must miss alot of those rides.

My only trip on a 707 (that I can actually remember) was when I was a kid, I think I was about seven years old. My dad was working for an aluminium company in Dubai and his travel office arranged a flight home for my Mum and I on an MEA flight, via Beirut. Unfortunately, on arrival in Beirut, fighting started near the airport. We were taken in pitch darkness (all the facility's lights had been switched off) from the aircraft by military personnel.

Apparently there was (I was told much, much later) a risk of being taken hostage, and that we were not allowed to go anywhere without an escort.

A few hours later, during a lull in the fighting, flights were allowed to leave again. The 707 was lightly fuelled, and had to stop again in Larnaca (Cyprus, just 30 minutes away) in order to take on fuel for the rest of the journey.

I've still got the flight in my little blue 'Junior Jet Club' book. I want to find the damn thing, as I suspect it may be full of regos that I would love to check out.

I'm happy to say that I don't have a flight like that to look back on. All things considered I've led a pretty charmed life of flying. Of course the normal things like delayed flight, mechanicals, canceled flights, and delayed luggage have always been there. And, on a good note, after almost 2,000 flights I've had luggage delayed only about 10 times and never lost. It was always delivered back to me after a day or so. Not a bad record I think for so many flights.

The closest to what you experienced was back in 1970 or 1971 on a trip to Switzerland. They'd bombed a Swissair DC-8 the week before we went so security was up. Physical searches at the airport and when you got by the plane your checked luggage was lined up outside. You had to physically pick your luggage up and move it over to another area for it to be loaded on the plane. And, all around were Swiss Army types with automatic weapons. Certainly not as frightening an experience as you had.

In 1984 we took a trip to the Middle East. TWA from JFK > FCO > ATH, then aboard a cruise ship for a few days, then a week in Egypt, and then back aboard the cruise ship for a few more days and on the way home we stopped in Rome for few days to relax. Within a year of so of that trip the TWA 727 was hijacked and held for countless days, the terrorists commandered one fo the cruise ships on the same routing as ours and threw a wheel chair bound passenger overboard, the Egyptian Army revolted because of conscription laws and burned the hotel down we stayed in at Cairo, and the massacre at the Rome airport happened. Glad we had gone the year before as those events would have certainly changed my mind about going.

Art

The moment you mentioned a cruise ship in the med I thought 'Achille Lauro'. Wasn't 1985 a terrible year?

The strange thing about that whole beirut thing Is, although I only remember parts of it, I don't recall being the slightest bit scared, indeed when my mum recounted the story she said I was very excited - the blissful ignorance of youth!

Any particular aircraft or experience that you really miss?

WN flew me for free last feb to get a tour of thier hdq's in Dallas- i got to meet gary kelly- colleen - nd uncle herb- all at the same time :) it was the best time of my life- everyone there knew my name ( because my aunt works at wn customer realtions ) it was the best time i have ever had i even got to do the take off and landing in a 73NG sim- best trip i have ever had- but to go back on subject- i have been on a 737- 11 times

here are the regs
N322SW N609SW N203WN
N329SW N616SW
N380SW N762SW Delta Airlines
N411WN N768SW N320DL
N452WN N351SW
N482WN N790SW

i never flown wn before- and most planes i saw in the wn hanger

boy art - u were lucky that u werent there in 1985- i wonder if u flew the same TWA 727 heres the reg of that plane N64339- made in 1974- i want to be a pilot so i hope i never have to worry about a hijack

did you have $13,000 to fly concorde?

N790SW .... I have no idea what the registration of the plane was that I flew. Never kept track of that and even today I find it difficult to remember to get the registration. When you flew as much as I did it was more to get from one place to another rather than a joy ride.

Tower Air .... Didn't have to. I flew BA Concorde courtesy of American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flyer program. 175,000 miles two free round trip tickets.

Art