Posted on 12/12/2005 9:57:19 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
I don't know. What would you use as two engines on the 727 to replace the three old JT8Ds? You can't tail-mount CFM-56s like the 737-300 and later use. And if you did what the "Super 27s" did and slap JT8D-217s back there (as on the MD-88), you've still got older, noisier, less fuel-efficient engines. RR Tays like UPS uses on their 727s? Or maybe IAE engines like on the MD-90? I'm actually surprised the 727 hung on in mainline service as long as it did (until Delta got rid of theirs in 2003).
I think the 727's the most gorgeous jetliner ever built, but I can see why the 737's eclipsed it. What Boeing's done with that design--swapping the old JT8Ds for the CFM-56s, stretching it, adding the winglets, almost completely recreating the avionics in the NG -600 through -900--is just remarkable. They've taken a short-hop 100-passenger plane and turned it into a transcontinental plane hauling nearly 170-180 people.
But nothing compares to the sound of three JT8Ds wide open and belching soot. Hush kits? We don' need no steenkin' hush kits! :)
}:-)4
You would pretty much have an MD-88, but with 3 across rather than 2 across seating.
Maximum seating -
MD-88 - 172, typical 142
727-200 (streatched version) - 189, typical 145.
So in a standard layout, there is a 3 seat differential.
I always follow the Today in the Sky blog and noticed that they mentioned this today too.
Its America West crews and iron, US doesn't have the rights to fly the flights, as they don't have ETOPS on their certificate. We also have the right to do one Europe flight with our certificate, possibly Dublin or Shannon.
Speaking of Southwest, I was on a flight arriving at Sacramento. There was a pretty stiff headwind (as is often the case during certain times of the year in Sac), and the touchdown was a bit hard. As we taxied to the gate, the hostess gave her usual "welcome to Sacramento, thank you for flying Southwest," and added "and we hope you enjoyed that demonstration of Naval aviation upon landing."
Why not. I'm talking about replacing the three engine configuration with two more powerful side mounted engines and getting rid of the S-ducted middle engine. I don't see why the CFM-56 engines wouldn't have worked in that configuration. In fact it wouldn't have required the extreme modifications to the engines and nacelles that were required to put them on the 737.
What Boeing's done with that design--swapping the old JT8Ds for the CFM-56s, stretching it, adding the winglets, almost completely recreating the avionics in the NG -600 through -900--is just remarkable.
They didn't just add winglets. The NG 737 has two whole new wings. There's the wing for the 737 600 and 700 and the wing for the 800 and 900. They are supercritical airfoils like the one on the 777.
But it would have standardized the 757/767 cockpit on smaller aircraft. One of Airbus' selling points in the comonality of cockpit layouts across their whole line of aircraft.
Instead, they put the cockpit in the 757 for their large, single aisle plane, before dumping the whole concept of large, single aisle planes except for the 737 in cattle car configuration where it will hold up to 189 - identical to the maximum on the 727.
The 737-900ER will be able to hold up to 215 passengers in cattle car configuration so it will be able to replace the 757-200 for domestic markets. The 757 has become popular for long thin trans-Atlantic operations so some airlines that own 757's might want to replace their domestic 757's with 737-900ER's in order to redeploy their 757's.
I don't understand your post. I flew JetBlue last month from JFK to San Diego and back and there wasn't an empty seat on either flight.
Good to know! Thanks for the info.
How is the merger going anyway? Since I live on the east coast, I always fly US Airways, but I could imagine a culture difference between the two airlines.
I'll try to stay away from them. I found the 757 to be the least comfortable jetliner Boeing ever produced. (The big 737 is probably going to be pretty bad as well.)
I'm retired but I hear lots of fun stuff.
The east guys in PHL are from the union thug gimme gimme mentality and distrust any management. The west guys are survivors (we were left for dead many times) and we trust our management and are annoyed at losing the name that we fought to keep alive for so long.
West says AWA bailed out USAirways and that they would be dead without us, East says that they have been around forever and must be treated and respected as if they were the ones that bought out AWA (when its actually the reverse).
Its an ugly culture clash, I'd send 50 guys out to Philly with baseball bats to clean house.
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