What about if it was a regional wiener that got hired by DL and paid to fly a DC-9?
78 on the NWA birds.
TREMENDOUS fun to fly, especially out of MSP to points west. It would easily climb at 5-6000 FPM on a cold day.
"Turn right to 330, proceed direct when able, climb to FL 330, and let me know when you want to start down".
Lighter on the controls that the -30. The overhaul/mods that NWA did to them in 1990 made them uber-reliable, and at one point, the DC-9 fleet had the best dispatch reliability in the whole airline for several years.
It roared and snorted, and bellowed, and puffed out great gobs of black exhaust. It's glorious sound was that of the sky cracking open and the heavens falling. The smell was magnificiently pre-cambrian.
Of course, no FMS, no moving map, no VNAV, no altitude captuture, no real nav tracking, no magenta line, no good place to put your backpack, no outlet to charge your iPod/Phone/Pad, and it was kind of hot in the summer which might cause one's spikey hair to wilt a bit, so I can see why it'd be unpopular with the current crop of newbies.
Now you kids get off my lawn. Story time is over.
Richman
78 on the NWA birds.
TREMENDOUS fun to fly, especially out of MSP to points west. It would easily climb at 5-6000 FPM on a cold day.
"Turn right to 330, proceed direct when able, climb to FL 330, and let me know when you want to start down".
Lighter on the controls that the -30. The overhaul/mods that NWA did to them in 1990 made them uber-reliable, and at one point, the DC-9 fleet had the best dispatch reliability in the whole airline for several years.
It roared and snorted, and bellowed, and puffed out great gobs of black exhaust. It's glorious sound was that of the sky cracking open and the heavens falling. The smell was magnificiently pre-cambrian.
Of course, no FMS, no moving map, no VNAV, no altitude captuture, no real nav tracking, no magenta line, no good place to put your backpack, no outlet to charge your iPod/Phone/Pad, and it was kind of hot in the summer which might cause one's spikey hair to wilt a bit, so I can see why it'd be unpopular with the current crop of newbies.
Now you kids get off my lawn. Story time is over.
Richman
78 on the NWA birds.
TREMENDOUS fun to fly, especially out of MSP to points west. It would easily climb at 5-6000 FPM on a cold day.
"Turn right to 330, proceed direct when able, climb to FL 330, and let me know when you want to start down".
Lighter on the controls that the -30. The overhaul/mods that NWA did to them in 1990 made them uber-reliable, and at one point, the DC-9 fleet had the best dispatch reliability in the whole airline for several years.
It roared and snorted, and bellowed, and puffed out great gobs of black exhaust. It's glorious sound was that of the sky cracking open and the heavens falling. The smell was magnificiently pre-cambrian.
Of course, no FMS, no moving map, no VNAV, no altitude captuture, no real nav tracking, no magenta line, no good place to put your backpack, no outlet to charge your iPod/Phone/Pad, and it was kind of hot in the summer which might cause one's spikey hair to wilt a bit, so I can see why it'd be unpopular with the current crop of newbies.
Now you kids get off my lawn. Story time is over.
Richman
This post is full of "win"![]()
Out west, the -9s operated practically autonomously.
We'd power back out of the gates in MSP, and most of the western stations were taxi-out gates. You'd pull in parallel to the terminal, and when ready to leave, they'd pull the jetway flat to the terminal, and you'd just start up and turn out.
At some of the stations, you'd have managers who'd been turning DC-9s and 727s for 40+ years, and Convairs and DC-3s before that. Those old salts KNEW how to run a station. You'd show up from the layover after it'd snowed, and the airplane would be de-iced, heated, coffee made, bags loaded, paperwork waiting and they had coordinated with the airport to plow the ramp/taxiway/runways and you'd TALK to the guy who did the friction report.
True, some of the layovers were at the chlorine marinated Holidomes, and yea, some of the places got a bit chilly (Saskatoon at -43C), but listening to the warbly, decrepit, cassette tape of why Minot, ND was called the Magic City just once was well worth the price of admission.
Richman
Dad has flown 94 seat regional jets for Continental.
It was called the 737-100 and it paid small narrow body rates.
If 94 seats is what they want, that is how they can do it.
At some of the stations, you'd have managers who'd been turning DC-9s and 727s for 40+ years, and Convairs and DC-3s before that. Those old salts KNEW how to run a station. You'd show up from the layover after it'd snowed, and the airplane would be de-iced, heated, coffee made, bags loaded, paperwork waiting and they had coordinated with the airport to plow the ramp/taxiway/runways and you'd TALK to the guy who did the friction report.
Then they can say "What scope violation?"
:yeahthat:
I'd feel right at home with that type of aircraft though!
Out west, the -9s operated practically autonomously.
We'd power back out of the gates in MSP, and most of the western stations were taxi-out gates. You'd pull in parallel to the terminal, and when ready to leave, they'd pull the jetway flat to the terminal, and you'd just start up and turn out.
At some of the stations, you'd have managers who'd been turning DC-9s and 727s for 40+ years, and Convairs and DC-3s before that. Those old salts KNEW how to run a station. You'd show up from the layover after it'd snowed, and the airplane would be de-iced, heated, coffee made, bags loaded, paperwork waiting and they had coordinated with the airport to plow the ramp/taxiway/runways and you'd TALK to the guy who did the friction report.
True, some of the layovers were at the chlorine marinated Holidomes, and yea, some of the places got a bit chilly (Saskatoon at -43C), but listening to the warbly, decrepit, cassette tape of why Minot, ND was called the Magic City just once was well worth the price of admission.
Richman
Scope will continue to be given away. Management will offer some monetary number, the pilots will go into the trap, the company will shrink some more until it's a shell. Major airlines will continue to shrink, and if they don't, congress can get cabotage going in less than a month, just staple it to something else, just like age 65.
Scope will continue to be given away. Management will offer some monetary number, the pilots will go into the trap, the company will shrink some more until it's a shell. Major airlines will continue to shrink, and if they don't, congress can get cabotage going in less than a month, just staple it to something else, just like age 65.
This really ought to be the point where a line is drawn so that this career can once again be a promising one.
it is an excellent career for management, and they are going to make sure it stays that way
I don't have the stomach for 94 seat aircraft being farmed out and I hope they don't either. This really ought to be the point where a line is drawn so that this career can once again be a promising one.
I hope all the older guys who are a couple of years away from retiring care enough about the newer generation to bypass a small monetary gain for the good of the next generation. Unfortunately I don't think thats how life works.