Are you Old School?

[Catnhat]

I am probably in a minority here, but I like tend to like the following things about aviation:

1. Old Piston Airliners (DC series, Connie)
2. Old Turboprop Airliners (Viscount, Britannia, Electra)
3. Planes with flight engineers
4. NDBs
5. Planes that make a lot of noise
6. Planes that make a lot of smoke
7. Round analog dials

Maybe I'm just a dinosaur, but I'm only 40ish and I've been like this since I started flying as a teenager....haven't changed a bit. I see these new pictures in magazines of cockpits that look like the TV wall at Best Buy and I don't get excited, I just get kind of sad about it. Is there anyone else out there with this disease?

I'm 40ish also, and I couldn't agree more. I read all the threads here with guys talking about how they are better pilots because the airplane they fly is bigger or faster than the one someone else flies. I couldn't care less. I just like to fly, and some of the best flights I have had are at 6 or 8 thousand feet at 160kts. I have had the chance to fly a C-46 over the Carribean on a starlight night with the exhaust stacks glowing and the moon reflecting off the water. I'll take another night like that over any flight in a corporate jet at .8 mach and 40,000'. But that's just me, and I'm sure a few other guys who have felt the difference.

 

[VNugget]

Q: Why do radial engines spew so much oil?

A: To mark their territory.

 

[Tailwheelman]

Amen to that....gotta love round engines and tailwheels and all the messy glory. I'll take a round motor that sounds like a pack of wild Harleys over a round motor that sounds like a vacuum cleaner anyday.

 

[Junkflyer]

Love round motors and old crusty f/e's. I could live wiout ndb's

 

[pilotyip]

C402, you will see in my profile I have flown most of the stuff you list, the DC series, the Electra, flown with engineers, lots of round engine time and I like you have the disease. However I get to live my dream and will be flying a C-47 (DC-3) to Oshkosh next month.

 

[Flex newby]

I'm not even 30 but if it were for my chronological state-of-mind (i can say that since i'm drinkin now) you'd say I'm 60. I love watchin smokey tri-jets take off, and smoke pour out of the radials on their first startup in the morning.
I never lived the 50/60/70s era but even the 80s weren't that bad. I remember living near DCA I'd get to see:
- Fokker 27s (Pilgrem airlines)
- Nord 262s...with the old Turbomecas!!! (anyone even know what that is???)
- Convair 580s in pax service (piedmont)
- Dash 7s
- F-28 (loud!)
- G-II.......without hushkits!!!!!!!!
- 727s galore
- etc etc

I was flying those Nords form '72 to "79 and then the Dash 7 'till 86. Incredible fun. You probably saw the Piedmont YS 11's on the ramp at the same time. It was a fun time in aviation.

 

[aussiefly]

gotta say i really like the L-1011's and most of the DC range of planes. I've always wanted to get my hands on a DC-8/9 and they arnt even that old. Although by todays standards they are pretty ancient.

 

[corpcap]

I really, really enjoy what I do (flying a Lear 45), but NOTHING touches my days as a (very) young DC-3 captain. I hope all of you get to fly something someday that stays with you forever. It's pretty sweet.

 

[FN FAL]

I experienced a plane ride in Save A Connie's Super Constellation...it was grand and jumping out of it was hoot, especially the windmill effect of exiting the aircraft in the prop-wash of engine no 2.

As a plane owner, I enjoyed owning a 320 Skyknight with partners, although there were some pitfalls. Working for a 135 operator the 320 experience came in handy when they upgraded me into the 310R model and the C-340. Also, I had to ferry flight a real early model of the 320 after our FBO recieved it for brokerage purposes.

 

[SoCentralRain]

I really enjoyed my time in the Gulfstream 2. What a sweet, grand, overpowered monster of an airplane.

Operationally, we usually planned our takeoffs taking advantage of this by reducing our takeoff thrust, pulling power back at approx 400 agl in the climb. It was still pretty loud.

I remember fondly my last takeoff in the jet, though. Long runway, short leg to fly. I knew it'd be the last time I ever flew one of these sweet smokers. So I briefed my copilot that it would be a full power takeoff with no power reduction at 400 feet. He loved the idea, too, because he was going to be transitioning to the G-4 in a couple of flights. So we just set the brakes, felt the wheels practically skipping across the pavement as we set max takeoff power, then let her go. The acceleration was typically exhilerating. The noise. The smoke. The fuel flow!

After liftoff, we just cleaned her up and let her go. Cleared almost immediately to FL430, we were there 14.5 minutes later. The flight only lasted 1.1 hours. What a sweet ride.

Cheers,

SCR