Boeing 747

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I flew all models of this airplane except the 300. Two different version of the -100 three different versions of the SP, three different versions of the -20 abandon my last six years on the -400. That was a fantastic airplane loved the -400 the best of all.

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I was lucky to fly the 100's and 200's at UPS for 16 years and then NASA's SOFIA SP for a few years before retiring for the final time. The 747 is one of those airplanes that assists in making the pilot look really good. If you made a good landing, it was the airplane's fault. If you made a bad landing, it was your fault. It is truly a gentle giant.

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What a great aircraft this is. From an engineering point of view the redundancy built in to the systems was ground breaking. I have to say with three crew members including a flight engineer , this was the ultimate operation that has ever existed.

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Great memories from many international flights to-and-from the Asia-Pacific Rim during the 1980s via PAN AM on its 747SP model. As PAN AM assigned names to their 747SP models, I recall flying on the "Clipper Lindbergh" and was delighted to learn that very same aircraft is now operated by NASA for its SOFIA [Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy] airborne platform. The name recognition of this particular 747SP during its PAN AM tenure is unforgettable. Nice to see it still in action. The PAN AM 747SP flying experience was the best ever! It was the "platinum" standard for international travel.

George Haloulakos - Author
CALL TO GLORY - How the Convair B-58 Hustler Helped Win the Cold War [ISBN 978-0-692-47545-4]

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IT TOOK BOEING, P & W ALONG WITH PAN AM STAFF TO KICK START THE ENTIRE 747 INTO OPERATION AROUND THE GLOBE. THE FIRST TWO YEARS WERE TRYING TIMES FOR ALL THAT WERE WORKING THIS AIRCRAFT. FLIGHT CREWS, MAINT FOLKS, AND STATION STAFF. TODAY ITS THE WAY TO FLY AND ENJOY TRAVEL.
BOEING 747, from 1969 thru today 2015 PAN AM, YOU COULD NOT BEAT THE EXPERIENCE

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Yes, the SP was quite an (ugly) airplane. Pan Am used them from ORD to NRT, but they couldn't carry all the bags, so we carried them in our 747-200s. On the way back to ORD we could carry 400 pax while Pan Am could only carry about 250. They didn't stay around for very long for a good reason. I have about 15,000 in NW 747s as pilot and another 1,000 as S /O.

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Flew once on an SAA B-747SP from CPT to JNB - 750 miles - climbed to FL410 !!! SAA flew these from CPT to Houston non-stop. I also flew numerous times with SAA on their B-747 "Super B" 200's around West Africa from JNB to LHR and Frankfurt. Sometimes a stop in Lisbon north bound was needed for fuel when winds were unfavorable. Pan Am flew the SP to Auckland and Sidney from the US west coast. The Venetia hotel owner has two B-747SP's used for flying clients to the hotel and casino. Both are based at LAS (Las Vegas)

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In my 25,000 hrs its the most enjoyable and comfortable AC I've flown.

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Love flying on these planes, smooth, comfortable and reliable

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Did you folks leave off the most fun 747 of all. The SP!?

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We have brand new 3 x B747-8 Freighters available for immediate sale. Delivery: January - February 2012.

Contact us for more information.
E-mail: chochkov@aero-x.eu

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We have 2 x B747-200F available for immediate sale. Contact us for more information.
E-mail: chochkov@aero-x.eu

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I remember my first flight on the PA 747. I was PA sales Mgr. MIA. It was prior to starting scheduled service. We invited our best customers for a ride. After take off we headed north along the FL coast and the pilot set those engines so you could hardly hear them. It was like the magic carpet floating along and looking down on FTL & PBI. It was a salesman's dream.

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I was a load master for the 747C at ORD with Pan Am. Those freighters had a MTOGW of 771000lbs. Great airplane.

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Pan Am, Americas premier airline until incompetence and Lockerby killed us. Flew the 100 /200 /sp.Used all the seats. rated in the SP with Wild Bill Frisbe, The west coast chief pilot. I didn't finish, he said you passed and then gave the seat to the FAA pilot back to SFO. What a jerk. 15,500 hours down the tubes. Now to Family Air. We started with a Northwest 100 and thense into the trash. that plane ended out at the desert with a hundred others. Bad decision. V bad management.Oh yes, one of the pilots that flew the Lockerby plane the day before. too close!

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I was posted at the old Atheine Gr air base in 1974 and being located right next to the runway was able to watch a lot of Action. One after noon in a heavy rain an Evergreen Airlines 747 was landing when I could see he wasn't going to be able to stop. Sure enough, he ran off the end of the runway almost in Jacque Onassis' house in Glyfada. Which by the way was around the corner from my house. The next aircraft to land was the SP being demonstrated by the crack Boeing test pilots. Well even in the heavy rain and a bad RCR they showed them how to do it. They made several touch and go's and was very impressive. The Evergreen was "fished" out of the gully and repaired by Boeing, and flew again.

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I have about 7,300 hrs in the left seat of a '47 having flown for PEX, COA and JAL. It's the best, in my book. Safe, sound and completely reliable.

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From a maintenance perspective it is too big. Difficult to work on as a ladder or stand is required for practically everything. Heck, even the aft pressure bulkhead was so tall you would need some kind of ladder to get near the top on the aft side. I taxied one once in NY and I felt like a hippopotamus tiptoeing on a tight rope.

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Best aircraft ever built. My last assignment as a navigator in the US Air Force was the 1st ACCS at Offutt AFB Nebraska. They had the 747-200 model and I have never flown on a smoother flying, more reliable aricraft then this.

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