Aircraft you loved flying in

[TCAS FAN]

Has to be a DC3, courtesy of Liberian National Airlines out of Monrovia Spriggs Payne to Cape Palmas. Around 40+ PAX in back, including one strapped into the steward’s seat, he was sat in the toilet, me stood up hanging on to the bulkhead behind the two pilots.

[Mr Mac]

Most of my early flying was in the DC3,4,6,Viscount,Vanguard's and one Britannia and an Ambassador, though the later I slept the whole trip as a new born. We then moved to South America in late 60,s, and the Jets came into my life with my long personnel association with 707,s with the odd DC8 / VC10 on the haul too and from school in UK. Holiday trips in summer in Europe before heading back south to winter involved Comets, 1-11, 727, 737, DC9, Trident. There then came a little break with BAOR / Uni where I seemed to drive everywhere, then came the world of work. It developed after a few years into the long haul type, with long associations, like so many with 747,DC10, L1011 / Tristar up to the current time with A380/350/340/330/320, Boeing 777/ 787/737. There were smaller propeller driven stuff like Bombardier's/ Shorts etc as well as the Ute of Africa the Cessna Caravan in Africa but the big stuff.

With regards to the Lockheed Constellation, we did see them in Santiago into the 1970,s on cargo, as I am sure I never flew in one. They were very striking looking in comparison with other props of the time, and esthetically pleasing to the eye, however after watching them start up, especially as these were very long in their lives by then, you did used to wonder if they were coal fired with the amount of flames and smoke produced.

I was reminded of this on a recent trip back there when we had taxied out for take off, and indeed started to roll down the runway slowly, when the pilot announced that we were going to taxi further and wait from smoke from a local wild fire to dissipate. Back in early 70,s I had another BCAL pilot apologies for the late taxi, but he had to wait for the smoke to clear from a number of old props cranking up !! Virtually the same location adjacent to the Santiago air force base 55 years apart !!

Cheer
Mr Mac

[SpringHeeledJack]

So many types to choose from, but as the comfort and performance of aircraft has developed, very much to the benefit of passengers, the whole experience had become very homogenous imo and I hark back to aircraft that had more character and were noisy, not to mention the cabin service was better for the most part adding to the experience. B727, 737 early versions, DC-9, DC-8, Viscount because of the amazing views afforded by the massive windows ;-) One winter I had a month pass with Northwest Orient and flew the heck out of it on standby, much of it on all their many variant DC-9's and I'd often sit in the last two rows to be able to 'enjoy' the wonderful sounds of the engines (JT8D's I think) as they revved and idled on the ground as well as on approach and, of course, reversed out of gates at many airports.

[justapax]

Originally Posted by SpringHeeledJack

So many types to choose from, but as the comfort and performance of aircraft has developed, very much to the benefit of passengers, the whole experience had become very homogenous imo and I hark back to aircraft that had more character and were noisy, not to mention the cabin service was better for the most part adding to the experience. .

The air experience for passengers has IMHO decreased, those who have met me at Bashes will confirm that I am a child-sized portion, but a Y seat is too small even for me, it's designed for eight-year-olds. I'll be cramped into one for the two-hour flight EMA-VRN, it's only a bus with wings, but anything outside Europe I want a C seat.

Being a kid on a Viscount vs a none-too-agile adult on a A380? 7-year-old me and me now are looking for different things from the experience.

[Mr Mac]

I would suggest the easiest way of looking the downgrade is a walk through a VC10 at Duxford and then see Ryanair or indeed BA economy seats never mind service.
Cheers
Mr Mac

[ZFT]

Originally Posted by Mr Mac

I would suggest the easiest way of looking the downgrade is a walk through a VC10 at Duxford and then see Ryanair or indeed BA economy seats never mind service.
Cheers
Mr Mac

Having just got off an A321neo trip in a so called business class seat, i would suggest that VC10 product was better than this , and lets not even start about the decline in the we are here for your safety modern cabin service product.

[justapax]

What I do appreciate on modern airliners is lie-flat seats in C and F. I sleep on my side, and if I got two C class seats to myself I was happy. I could sleep on my side, curled up, I'm not that big. I can snore for Ireland, so the other pax might not have had as relaxing an experience.

[JEM60]

Not forgetting Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur in a Malaysian A.380. Four seats each for my wife and I, there and back!!, and lovely service because I was sympathetic to their Chief Attendant about their recent losses near that time. Good flight!!.

[ZFT]

Originally Posted by justapax

What I do appreciate on modern airliners is lie-flat seats in C and F. I sleep on my side, and if I got two C class seats to myself I was happy. I could sleep on my side, curled up, I'm not that big. I can snore for Ireland, so the other pax might not have had as relaxing an experience.

I've never seen an F or C without a solid centre between adjacent seats. Which airline was this?

[USER0005]

Originally Posted by ZFT

I've never seen an F or C without a solid centre between adjacent seats. Which airline was this?

As a mere pleb I've never seen an F or C seat!

[MrAverage]

Every single one of them!

[ZFT]

Originally Posted by MrAverage

Every single one of them!

I'm really intrigued. An F or C seat where you can remove the centre console. I've travelled in a variety of F and C seats going back to the 70s and obviously my memory is letting me down, but I don't recall any.

[pulse1]

I have only enjoyed two flights where the seating was worthy of mention. The first was because there was no seats for the passengers and we had to lie on the floor for the T/O and landing. It was a test flight in an Avro Lincoln. It also stood out as the noisiest by far. The next one only had two spare seats and I had to sit sideways for the T/O and landing. For the landing I sort of had a choice of over 30 sideways seats because all the other passengers had jumped out. That was a USAF Fairchild C119 Packet dropping paras over the Gower Peninsula (Fairwood Common). We also flew alongside another C119 while it dropped a Landrover. I had a bit of a fright on the landing. I had never experienced reversing propellers before and I initially thought that the nose wheel had collapsed.

[treadigraph]

Dragon Rapide... twice. Wonderful way to fly. Out of Biggin with Mike Hood and from Shoreham with Air Atlantique (as a child I narrowly missed a flight in a Tanzanian registered example which has latterly spent many years in South Africa with the late John English and recently been rebuilt...)

Convair 440, DC-3, Waco UPF-7, Stinson SM-8, all radial engined delights...

[justapax]

Originally Posted by ZFT

I'm really intrigued. An F or C seat where you can remove the centre console. I've travelled in a variety of F and C seats going back to the 70s and obviously my memory is letting me down, but I don't recall any.

I was recalling the days when F and C seats were just bigger and spaced further apart than Y. I.e., before the days of lie-flat seats. Two empty seats side by side and I could curl up for eight hours of the deep and dreamless. I don't remember lie-flat seats with centre consoles in the 70s.

[Airbanda]

Vickers Viscount.

Used one twice. Early 1979 from Leeds Bradford to Heathrow on second flight of day on a Sunday. Stand by fare was cheaper than the Standard Class train fare my employer punted up.

Then in 1997 from EMA when G-APEY was doing the farewell flights.

[Mr Mac]

Originally Posted by justapax

I was recalling the days when F and C seats were just bigger and spaced further apart than Y. I.e., before the days of lie-flat seats. Two empty seats side by side and I could curl up for eight hours of the deep and dreamless. I don't remember lie-flat seats with centre consoles in the 70s.

I do remember when First Class seats were more like big lazy boy US seats long before the lie flat beds, which we have all got used to in First and Business, but they only arrived in late 90,s before that it was a lazy boy seat that you could recline a little in.

Cheers
Mr Mac

[justapax]

Originally Posted by Airbanda

Vickers Viscount.

Used one twice. Early 1979 from Leeds Bradford to Heathrow on second flight of day on a Sunday. Stand by fare was cheaper than the Standard Class train fare my employer punted up.

Then in 1997 from EMA when G-APEY was doing the farewell flights.

There was a long and enjoyable thread about the Viscount, I can't immediately locate it but it was here in Pax&SLF, and had lots of pix. A more recent one was Viscount memories . In a thread about 'What was the first aircraft you ever flew in?' the Viscount came up tops. Everyone seemed to have fond memories of the huge windows, the lack of noise and vibration compared with a piston-engined aircraft, but many remembered flying through storms that it couldn't fly above.

[Mr Mac]

Justapax
The noise level was relative as from the outside they were very noisy !!
Cheers
Mr Mac

[justapax]

Vickers Vanguard.

I flew in one or more but I really don't remember much about the flights. It was meant to be a successor to the Viscount but by the time it took to the air the jets had taken over. There were only 44 made, as against the Viscount's 445. It was a pretty plane.