Yes, I know the common vernacular, but....138 passengers "small"? "Small" only to the mass media and the uninformed. The TCA DC-8-40 had a large first class salon, plus a very generous (by today's standards) seat pitch in coach class. Quite comfortable for all. The Palomar seats in coach class were very comfortable, even for a 240 pound "6 foot 4" male passenger. The galley was large and took up precious cabin space, yet it was capable of actually cooking food. The cockpit had four seats, (five if you count the jump seat), because it accommodated a flight engineer and, for long-range flights, a navigator.
To me, an aircraft that carries 2 people and has a GTW of 2,000 lbs. is "small". An aircraft that carries 5 passengers and a crew of 1 with a GTW of 4,500 lbs. is also "small". "Small" is subjective. I prefer the terms Light, Medium, Heavy, Personal, Light twin, Corporate, Commuter, Transport, Jumbo, and oh how I do go on...
Light: up to 12,500 lbs GTW.
Medium: 12,500 lbs to 300,000 lbs GTW.
Heavy: 300,000 lbs GTW plus.
Yup, the above are wake turbulence categories, but still...any aircraft you can walk underneath without stooping and requires a ladder to board is probably not "small". Just saying.
As a steward once said whilst I was deplaning, "Buh bye".
Last edited by evansb; 13th Dec 2017 at 20:28.