A REAL airplane

[hydroflyer]

Someday I will get checked out and endorsed to fly a real airplane and become a real pilot. My thoughts would be something with a tailwheel and stick or a radial engine as being a real airplane. The cub, Stearman, Husky, all come to mind as examples. I don't feel I will be a real pilot until I get my tailwheel endorsement.

 

[PC12Cowboy]

Hey,

ALL the airplanes on my Microsoft sim are REAL airplanes....LMFAO

 

[Fury220]

What do you mean by the t38 being a workhorse? I can understand the b727 being a workhorse, but the t-38?

respectfully,
Midnight

50 years of UPT students, hard landings, over-Gs, and hamfists, and it's still going strong. It just keeps coming back for more.

 

[Midnight Flyer]

The best airplane was the 727 especially if you flew it back in the day when the F/A's were young and pretty( and Female ). Three pilots and three F/A's a long overnight in some place far enough away to feel like you were not just down the street. Ah those were the days.

72 would get you out of just about any field with enough gas to get somewhere. Fly in almost any weather and keep you warm on that cold ramp in the middle of the night ( APU ). If you broke down somewhere, just about anywhere in the world you could get it fixed and find parts in short order.

Other amenities that need mentioning, a bathroom not to far away from the flight deck. A galley nearby with a coffee pot and oven that if kept clean worked really well.

But best of all She (727) always managed to get you home. I miss the old girl.

Peanut Gallery, you're making me tear up!!:beer: Amen on the 727. I fly the 727 now for a cargo airline. She's a true sportscar. She may not climb like a 757, but one you're leveled off, everybody else better watch out. I have a 3 hour butt, so I'm glad the 727 typically does the shorter hauls. I'm all about nastalgia and the old Legacy airlines. I would've loved to have flown her back in the 70's and 80's when, like you mentioned, you had the young flight attendants bringing you coffee.

Midnight

 

[Captain Oveur]

24 carat, if you fly that Duchess well, you don't have to
take a backseat to anyone here. It's as real as a Twin
Beech, OR 747....

 

[ozpilot]

I like the Citation X, especially mine which has the upgraded engines (see pic at left...)

 

[Donsa320]

Convair 5800!!! Too much power!

Hey, what's a Convair 5800? We had the Allison Convair A340/440 which we called the 580. Maybe the same thing but with Hamilton Standard High Activity Propellers perhaps? The 580 had Aero-Products props.

What is the official type rating for the 5800? Thanks,

DC

 

[Dumbluck]

Initial multi in a 310 will get you to up speed pretty quick, spring gear in a little Cessna 120 will bounce you down the pavement for a while, but landing a C-195, (radial tail-dragger) with cross-wind gear in a decent crosswind will get your hands, feet and brain fighting each other as to what the right thing to do is.

 

[sky37d]

Howard, 250, or better yet, the 500.
A-26 Invader, with only one set of controls.
TBM.
That's my short list.

 

[falcon20driver]

Hey, what's a Convair 5800? We had the Allison Convair A340/440 which we called the 580. Maybe the same thing but with Hamilton Standard High Activity Propellers perhaps? The 580 had Aero-Products props.

What is the official type rating for the 5800? Thanks,

DC

Not sure which but the type rating for the 5800 is either CV-A340 or CV-A440.
The 5800 is a stretched 580 http://www.airliners.net/open.file/658434/L/ http://www.airliners.net/open.file/545486/L/

 

[Bjammin]

I would say a "real" airplane is anything with both a radial engine and a tailwheel. Something that takes "real" skill to fly. Today's airliners and mil jets may be sexy, but they have every gaget and system on them to make flying them easier. The humble guy that both fixes and flys those old birds, that's where the true pilots are found in my book.

 

[Lead Sled]

Real airplanes flown by real pilots? Over the years I've heard that real airplanes:
a. Have a tail wheel.
b. Have round engines.
c. Have an upper and lower wing.
--- OR ---
d. Are single-seat carrier based fighters.

I've heard that real pilots:
a. Fly taildraggers.
b. Don't use autopilots.
c. Don't bother with that sissy "electronical" navigation.
--- OR ---
d. Fly single-seat fighters off of aircraft carriers.

Also, when it comes to power, airplanes are no different than boats, cars, snowmobiles, dictators, etc. - you can never have too much power. You can only misuse it.

Personally, I've never flown an airplane that wasn't "real". Some airplanes like the Skipper could just barely kill you. Oh by the way, usually the bigger the airplane the easier it is to fly.

'Sled

 

[JessMan]

Hey, what's a Convair 5800? We had the Allison Convair A340/440 which we called the 580. Maybe the same thing but with Hamilton Standard High Activity Propellers perhaps? The 580 had Aero-Products props.

What is the official type rating for the 5800? Thanks,

DC

Allison 501-D22 (5000 shp de-rated to 4300) with Ham Stan props, streched 14 1/2 feet. The type can be both 340 & 440 'cause they converted both, mostly the military C-131 'cause of the beefed-up floor.

 

[NuGuy]

The best airplane was the 727 especially if you flew it back in the day when the F/A's were young and pretty( and Female ). Three pilots and three F/A's a long overnight in some place far enough away to feel like you were not just down the street. Ah those were the days.

72 would get you out of just about any field with enough gas to get somewhere. Fly in almost any weather and keep you warm on that cold ramp in the middle of the night ( APU ). If you broke down somewhere, just about anywhere in the world you could get it fixed and find parts in short order.

Other amenities that need mentioning, a bathroom not to far away from the flight deck. A galley nearby with a coffee pot and oven that if kept clean worked really well.

But best of all She (727) always managed to get you home. I miss the old girl.

I couldn't agree more, brother. A true gentlemen's ride for a more civilized day in age. Rode good up front and in back. Heck, Boeing had their sonic cruiser right there, and the wing was a marvel...it was like watching the finely crafted workings of a clock.

Other "real" aircraft:

R-22...as close as you can get to thought powered controls...if you could see your hand move, you were overcontrolling.

Anything with a round engine.

Anything with NO engine.


Nu

 

[Grumman guy]

There is only one un-disputed real airplane. Its very simple but quite difficult for most airline types. The ultimate REAL airplane is the Grumman Goose.

Here is why!

1. Tail dragger

2. Twin radials R-985's

3. Amphibious

4. Throttles(not power levers) on the roof.

5. Made by Grumman


Everything that makes an airplane cool is incorporated here!