Boeing quit building airplanes when the 727 production line was shut down. I was on the jet for 8 years... every day at the controls was joy. Outside the US in the Caribbean, we would be 320 knots in the climb to about .82. Level off and accelerate to about .875
. Descend at that speed until transition to the barber pole all the way to about 1500 feet. Reduce power at about 20 miles out and would not have to touch the power until the landing flaps were set at about 500 feet. Landing distance??? 10 times the ground speed at touchdown always worked. Getting out of the shorter strips could be a bit of a challenge even for the lead sleds.
It was a sad day when I had to return to the 737 aka the SLUG
.
The old 72 is an honest machine and will never let you down
.