This may come as a surprise to most, but not to anyone who knows me, but I have always, and continue to regard the B747-300 as by far the best '74 ever manufactured, certainly the safest with it's 3 man crew. The technology is conservative, but it just keeps going and is much cheaper to operate per seat mile, even with its slightly higher consumption and slightly lower fuel carrying capacity.
I've been in quite enough B727 and B747 OFT rides to know the 3 man crew (that's with the Flight Engineer, not the third pilot!), is quite superior to the 2 man when it all hits the fan, and very convenient even when it hasn't yet!
I'm a nervous flyer in two-crew aeroplanes, because I know what sometimes goes on in those flight decks, which I guess means I'm going to be a nervous flyer for the rest of my retirement.
I'm flying BNE to LAX this week as a pax, and I'm not looking forward to it at all!
Cheers,
