Whatever happened to all the Boeing 727s?

Started by roadman65, June 07, 2021, 12:12:40 PM

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roadman65

I know Boeing discontinued manufacturing them back in the Nixon Days, plus they became functionally obsolete when bigger aircraft were able to short haul passengers just as efficiently later on. Plus the noise factor with its three loud tail engines.

However, you don't see them anymore in commercial use but what about private use?
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Sheryl Crowe


oscar

Per Wikipedia, the 727 is no longer in use for commercial scheduled passenger flights, but is still used for cargo, military, and other specialty uses (mostly outside the U.S.).
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gonealookin

Kalitta Charters is still flying a few of them in the US; here's one that looks like it's mostly been running cargo flights back and forth between Cincinnati and Hamilton, Ontario the last couple weeks.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N724CK

If any 727-200s including Kalitta's are currently in the air you'll find them listed here:

https://flightaware.com/live/aircrafttype/B722

And any 727-100s would be here, thought I doubt those fly much at all anymore:

https://flightaware.com/live/aircrafttype/B721

Pink Jazz

Interestingly, while Boeing designed the 757 as a replacement for the 727, the 757 is larger and has much more range than the 727, which is why many airlines continued to operate 727s until the early 2000s.  Most 727s were replaced either by the 737-800 or the Airbus A320, both of which are closer in capacity and range to the 727-200.

TheStranger

Quote from: roadman65 on June 07, 2021, 12:12:40 PM
I know Boeing discontinued manufacturing them back in the Nixon Days,
Actually, last one was built in 1984.

https://www.boeing.com/history/products/727.page

FedEx retired a bunch around 2011, I was able to photograph several still in use back then before the fleetwide retirement.

Chris Sampang

roadman65

I remember when St. Thomas, VI only allowed 727s out of all jets to land at their airport due to a 4000 feet runway.  The 727 was the only plane that could stop and accelerate in that short distance, so other crafts couldn't handle it.

Now the runway has been lengthened to accommodate pretty much all jets besides the 747 who need at least 8000 ft. Long runway to pick up speed when fully loaded.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

Dirt Roads

Quote from: roadman65 on June 12, 2021, 10:35:53 AM
I remember when St. Thomas, VI only allowed 727s out of all jets to land at their airport due to a 4000 feet runway.  The 727 was the only plane that could stop and accelerate in that short distance, so other crafts couldn't handle it.

Now the runway has been lengthened to accommodate pretty much all jets besides the 747 who need at least 8000 ft. Long runway to pick up speed when fully loaded.

Same thing for the Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia.  I was on a flight in a 727 from Atlanta one time and the pilot was slow getting his landing gear on the ground.  I was bracing for an ultra hard stop, when he gunned it and did a touch-and-go landing.  He apologized about forgetting how short the runway was and circled around and got down quicker the next time.  So cool.

qguy

One of the things that makes the 727 outdated is that it doesn't have a supercritical wing. This makes it less fuel-efficient than would be a modern airliner of similar capacity.

interstatefan990

The 727 reminds me of the god-awful McDonnell Douglas MD-88. Cramped legroom, never any seatback screens, never any wifi, a claustrophobic feeling overall, noisier engines, little overhead bin space, lots of visible wear and tear, and the list goes on. I have had many a bad flight experience on those. The MD-88's earlier-than-expected retirement from the Delta fleet is one of the good things to come from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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ozarkman417

Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 13, 2021, 11:32:05 AM
The 727 reminds me of the god-awful McDonnell Douglas MD-88. Cramped legroom, never any seatback screens, never any wifi, a claustrophobic feeling overall, noisier engines, little overhead bin space, lots of visible wear and tear, and the list goes on. I have had many a bad flight experience on those. The MD-88's earlier-than-expected retirement from the Delta fleet is one of the good things to come from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Allegiant did the same thing not to long ago, either- retiring their MD-88s and replacing them with Airbus A319s and 20s. I've had to fly down to Florida on those MD 88's too many times. Because its a budget airline, its not like they are going to have seatback entertainment anyway.

kphoger

Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 13, 2021, 11:32:05 AM
The 727 reminds me of the god-awful McDonnell Douglas MD-88. Cramped legroom, never any seatback screens, never any wifi, a claustrophobic feeling overall, noisier engines, little overhead bin space, lots of visible wear and tear, and the list goes on. I have had many a bad flight experience on those. The MD-88's earlier-than-expected retirement from the Delta fleet is one of the good things to come from the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of that has to do with Boeing or McDonnell Douglas, though, right?  That is to say, it's not a problem with the airplanes, it's a problem with the carrier.  The seats are installed according to the carrier's specifications, not the manufacturer's.  Or do I misunderstand things?
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Male pronouns, please.

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Pink Jazz

Quote from: kphoger on June 15, 2021, 10:22:11 AM
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 13, 2021, 11:32:05 AM
The 727 reminds me of the god-awful McDonnell Douglas MD-88. Cramped legroom, never any seatback screens, never any wifi, a claustrophobic feeling overall, noisier engines, little overhead bin space, lots of visible wear and tear, and the list goes on. I have had many a bad flight experience on those. The MD-88’s earlier-than-expected retirement from the Delta fleet is one of the good things to come from the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of that has to do with Boeing or McDonnell Douglas, though, right?  That is to say, it's not a problem with the airplanes, it's a problem with the carrier.  The seats are installed according to the carrier's specifications, not the manufacturer's.  Or do I misunderstand things?

From some information that I have read, in Delta's case, the reason for not installing an IFE system in the MD-88 was due to insufficient capacity in the factory relay panel (similar to the breaker panel in your house). It would have required an expensive upgrade to install a larger relay panel.

interstatefan990

Quote from: kphoger on June 15, 2021, 10:22:11 AM
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 13, 2021, 11:32:05 AM
The 727 reminds me of the god-awful McDonnell Douglas MD-88. Cramped legroom, never any seatback screens, never any wifi, a claustrophobic feeling overall, noisier engines, little overhead bin space, lots of visible wear and tear, and the list goes on. I have had many a bad flight experience on those. The MD-88's earlier-than-expected retirement from the Delta fleet is one of the good things to come from the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of that has to do with Boeing or McDonnell Douglas, though, right?  That is to say, it's not a problem with the airplanes, it's a problem with the carrier.  The seats are installed according to the carrier's specifications, not the manufacturer's.  Or do I misunderstand things?

What is the carrier supposed to do about the overly noisy engines or claustrophobic feeling?
Multi-lane roundabouts are an abomination to mankind.

kphoger

Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 15, 2021, 04:03:35 PM

Quote from: kphoger on June 15, 2021, 10:22:11 AM

Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 13, 2021, 11:32:05 AM
The 727 reminds me of the god-awful McDonnell Douglas MD-88. Cramped legroom, never any seatback screens, never any wifi, a claustrophobic feeling overall, noisier engines, little overhead bin space, lots of visible wear and tear, and the list goes on. I have had many a bad flight experience on those. The MD-88's earlier-than-expected retirement from the Delta fleet is one of the good things to come from the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of that has to do with Boeing or McDonnell Douglas, though, right?  That is to say, it's not a problem with the airplanes, it's a problem with the carrier.  The seats are installed according to the carrier's specifications, not the manufacturer's.  Or do I misunderstand things?

What is the carrier supposed to do about the overly noisy engines or claustrophobic feeling?

Wow, apparently I'm really bad at reading comprehension.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

Pink Jazz

Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 15, 2021, 04:03:35 PM
Quote from: kphoger on June 15, 2021, 10:22:11 AM
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 13, 2021, 11:32:05 AM
The 727 reminds me of the god-awful McDonnell Douglas MD-88. Cramped legroom, never any seatback screens, never any wifi, a claustrophobic feeling overall, noisier engines, little overhead bin space, lots of visible wear and tear, and the list goes on. I have had many a bad flight experience on those. The MD-88’s earlier-than-expected retirement from the Delta fleet is one of the good things to come from the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of that has to do with Boeing or McDonnell Douglas, though, right?  That is to say, it's not a problem with the airplanes, it's a problem with the carrier.  The seats are installed according to the carrier's specifications, not the manufacturer's.  Or do I misunderstand things?

What is the carrier supposed to do about the overly noisy engines or claustrophobic feeling?


Well, in the case of the MD-88 as far as IFE goes it is the fault of the airplane (at least in Delta's case) since the relay panel was undersized to install an IFE system.  My guess since the MD-88 was designed as a short-to-medium haul aircraft, IFE systems were an afterthought for McDonnell Douglas.  The MD-90 was at least capable of installing an overhead video system (Delta used to have such system on their original MD-90s, but it was eventually removed).  The 757 was the first narrowbody to widely feature IFE on domestic flights. In fact, the 737NG's electrical system was derived from that of the 757 to handle more power.

kkt

The airplane D.B. Cooper hijacked was a 727.  That was important to Cooper because he was able to drop the rear stairs and parachute out without cooperation from the flight deck.

qguy

Quote from: kkt on June 19, 2021, 09:32:27 PM
The airplane D.B. Dan Cooper hijacked was a 727.  That was important to Cooper because he was able to drop the rear stairs and parachute out without cooperation from the flight deck.

FTFY

'Course, that wasn't his name either...

kkt

Quote from: qguy on June 21, 2021, 05:29:19 PM
Quote from: kkt on June 19, 2021, 09:32:27 PM
The airplane D.B. Dan Cooper hijacked was a 727.  That was important to Cooper because he was able to drop the rear stairs and parachute out without cooperation from the flight deck.

FTFY

'Course, that wasn't his name either...

I figured since all the names we have for him are false it didn't matter too much and I picked the one in most common use.



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