The Russian TU154 (their 727 category aeroplane)
Now that brings back memories.
Many years ago, I headed off to Laos, via Bankok, to do a brief task with Lao Aviation. Transit via a 154M operated at the time on contract by Balkan Bulgarian. Ended up in the cockpit somehow during cruise for the remainder of the trip outbound to Vientiane. Pretty straightforward, a bit like an AN 727 flight (not sure, though, if "check essential" was part of their protocols, nor did the crew have any functional English - sign language worked fine, nor did they bother with those pesky seat belts). Absolutely a thoroughly nice bunch of chaps, though, the sort of folk with whom one would enjoy a beer on an overnight - and, as with any overnight, language problems disappear once everyone gets to the stage of conversing in that wonderful tongue leveller, Gibberish, after numerous beers.
Moving forward, a couple of weeks later on the return journey, same crew. The captain spotted me during boarding, whereupon I was whisked into the cockpit for the sector back to Bankok.
Rough as anything weather on the way into Bangkok (still no seat belts) but the thing which stays with me was the flare and touchdown. Without knowing what was going on, the procedure was along the lines of flare, then there was a call of some sort whereupon the boards were pulled. However, on this occasion it was patently obvious that we were still several yards or more above the runway. With the benefit of a 727 upbringing, my heart sank as my stomach leaped into my mouth and my pulse rate soared in abject terror. This beast, however, just waffled down from on high with a silken smooth touchdown .. quite an undercarriage, methinks, with its three axle GA. That landing will stay with me until my last breath.
As to 727s, the -100 was a delight, while the -200 I never quite worked out really what was going on in the landing, which was a bit of a shock after having a good run with landings since my first foray into the air. When I checked out in the RHS, still with next to no idea how reliably to land the -200, I bid a couple of blocks with dear old Standish whose flare and touchdown technique I was determined to emulate. He sort of bored down to the ground and then the aircraft magically just ran along the surface without any fuss or apparent actions/effort on his part. I never did figure whatever it was that he did but it sure worked fine. Eventually I just gave up and landed it like a C150 and that seemed to work as well as any other technique. As to greasers, I had one (and only one) satin smooth greaser on the -200. Clearly, the event had little, if anything, to do with whatever I was doing but, nonetheless, the aircraft mysteriously (accidentally ?) completed the flare no more than a cigarette paper's thickness above the runway. The result was that we heard nothing, felt nothing, and the ASI reading just started decreasing ...
Absolutely the eeriest and most uncomfortable sensation I have ever experienced in an aeroplane. I knew we were pretty close to the ground. Were we on the ground, all would be well. If not, then everyone would know all about it in a second or two. In any event, as the ASI kept on decreasing, it was obvious that we were on the ground, all was well, and we went through the usual boards, reversers, etc., routine.
At the gate, the purser dropped in and demanded to know "who did that". Neither of us wanted to claim a reputation neither could emulate in future so, naturally enough, we just blamed the FE.
doomed by the bean counters as a gas gurgler.
But, wasn't it fun racing the Ta-Ta opposition around the countryside at 0.8-whatever .... more than a few stories lie therein.