UPS MD-11 crash at SDF
- Thread starter FlyingAccountant
- Start date
When I flew 135 cargo in the mid-90s, we had routes for both UPS and for ABX. ABX would bring in their DC-8s or DC-9s that we’d park next to, to get sorted and transloaded cargo to our planes. I always thought their light-grey pilot uniforms were as distinctive as the UPS brown ones.
Why is it taboo? Some cool and fun stuff went on back in the day. Both during my time, as I realize these days, as well as before my time, which is my own thoughts of nostalgia.
HeyEng
Well-Known Member
I miss the plane spotting from that generation. I lived about 20 NM NW of ATL and I spent hours upon hours watching departures with my binoculars. So many cool looking jets back in the day. Now? A bunch of meh. At least I am close to an AF base that gets a lot of pretty awesome transient traffic.
Soul Brotha'
Off to go do Black guy stuff
2000-03, I worked as a dispatcher for the fueling company at JFK. When the Concorde took off especially 31L(our office was just to the side) it was a remarkable experience and sound. It would set off several car alarms daily. Just prior to 9/11 Delta had a 727 that would go to DFW and surprisingly loud.
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
UPS was still operating DC-8's when I was at Amflight.
Hell Delta was operating DC-9's until 2014.
That's for another thread. But the "good ole days" weren't really that "good" for alot of people. And for aviation, the safety record back then vs. now makes the nostalgia a bit off the mark.
knot4u
Repeat Offender
Loud airplanes were just a part of aviation back in the olden times, 727s, 737-200s, DC-8s, G-IIs, LR-25s, MU2s, G-Is, everything was deafening and left smoke trails on take off when I first started. Years later I can recall standing on the ramp with the DOM I was working with back in the early '00s and a G-V was taxiing out. The crew shut the APU down and it got quiet, but the airplane was still running and I commented to my boss that that was the darndest thing I'd ever seen, the APU was louder than both of those big engines and he agreed.
Yea i look back at some of my first plane spotting photos, you would think they were from 30 years ago....•. Anyways. Funny enough i stumbled upon a FLL folder and it was filled with the likes of Song, Ted, Laker Airways.
Yes! Hijackings, strikes, bankruptcies, accidents, no CRM, sexual assaults, drunks flying airplanes, financial instability, babysitting, arguments, walking off a jet during probation because some captain made a joke about me being an “engin-N’word” and literally couldn’t figure out why I was offended and dared to knock his teeth out while being on probation.
“Son, you’re on probation”
“Lets have this chat in the CPO, I’m totally OK with that”
ERfly
Well-Known Member
Throw in a little L1011 love, too!
ERfly
Well-Known Member
I always liked ABex's unique cargo containers that actually loaded through the passenger entry door vs having a big cargo door!
ERfly
Well-Known Member
Got to ride on a UPS DC-8 right before they retired them. Man, that thing was cool! The Captain said when they re-engined them, it was like adding a 5th engine. Lot's of power! The engineer was a Check Engineer and had actually been doing IOE all week (they were still hiring into the back seat of the DC-8...or displacing into it, I can't remember). He looked like he could have been a close, personal friend of Donald Douglas. And when he moved the big fuel levers, I'm 99% sure he was moving the actual valve itself.
knot4u
Repeat Offender
I heard a story a long time ago and I don't know if it's true. The 707 and the DC-8 were competitors way back in the olden times and they were both loud, smoky monsters. Boeing was also building KC-135s during the Cold War to maintain our "defensive" posture. Eventually the USAF said these engines are outdated and we want a more efficient option so they re-engined all of the KC-135s. The airlines flying 707s were aware of this upgrade and wanted it but Boeing was not going to make it available for civilian operators because they had new airplane models to sell to the airlines. In the meantime Douglas re-engined the fleet of DC-8s for their customers happily. The 707 quickly disappeared, the DC-8 kept going for a while and the KC-135 continues to to operate. I have no idea of the morality of this story, it is what it is. I think a DC-8 went supersonic in a dive once but I have no evidence to back that up.
ERfly
Well-Known Member
There were a couple of reasons the DC-8 soldiered on long after the 707. The first one was its ability to be stretched. Because of the way Boeing made the gear on the 707, it couldn't be stretched any further than the -320 without banging the tail. The DC-8 was able to be stretched into the -60 series. Secondly, I've heard Douglas never put a lifetime limit on the airframe of the DC-8. The 707 had a timeout point on the airframe.
And yes, the DC-8 did go supersonic during a test flight. A -43 broke the sound barrier in 1961 on said test flight.
knot4u
Repeat Offender
I've also heard Douglas didn't have airframe life limits, I've also heard those airplanes were purposefully overbuilt and heavy. Turns out trying to design an airplane that can last forever isn't really possible. Technology and economics constantly evolve, sometimes manufacturers get ahead of themselves and stub their toe, just look at the 757 and imagine what the C-suite at Boeing currently thinks about stopping production, imagine a next gen 757 with new engines and avionics. Airbus offers exactly that with the A321 and possibly the 322. I don't understand it but I'm not very smart.
Ah, ok. In those respects, now I see where you’re coming from. I can see that.
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
And unfortunatly, Boeing took this lesson to heart, and when they designed the 737, they made it so they could stretch it forEEEEEVVVVER.
Used to watch the morning TWA L-1011 getting started up to launch out of the south gates of Terminal 3 each morning, just down from the cargo ramp where we were loading up. I imagine headed to STL. On cold mornings, the amount of smoke it would put out on engine start was impressive, and the low baritone noise of those Rolls 211s as they were starting up, was a sound to be experienced.
