737 Magic!
I'm curious...
We've talked about why the 727 was great in its day, but what about the 737?
We often hear people get poetical about airliners of the past, first generation airliners most of us won't fly or fly again. The 737's the world's most popular airliner...it has lasted...it has, like a well known sci-fi series, gone boldly into the Next Generation. Is it really just a cynical matter of economics? Or is there something deeper that Boeing really got right, like they didn't with other models?
Many of us fly it and have first hand experience of it. What quirks does this aircraft have that you as an engineer or pilot (or anyone else) find endearing, what makes this airplane unique, what qualities as a flying machine does it have (or lack!) for you that no other airplane has had in your career? It's interesting that it's the only airliner to my knowledge that has several independent guidebooks to it on the market. Would you go back to it if presented with the opportunity, would you leave it, and why?