III Corps

A few years ago I spent a day with the guys doing flight test on the DO-328. Nice bunch of guys. They told the standard Luftwaffe jokes about the -104.

What do you call a -104 driver who quits smoking? An optimist.
How do you get your own -104 in Germany? Buy some farmland and in no time you will be on your way to accumulating one.

Not all the story. The Luftwaffe was doing mods to the airplane that were not authorized by Lockheed and they were flying highspeed low-level in some of the worst wx and terrain in Europe.

I knew a few -104 guys and one worked with the Luftwaffe at Luke. He too said that in the vertical, he had a good time with the F-4s and the -104 was no grape when you used its energy correctly.

I have heard that.

I really enjoyed the -38. I had a great instructor (for a while) and we were the only base flying 3 solos and a dual in 4-ship which included close trail. Rejoins could be VERY exciting.

175+ fuel in the final turn.. 155+ fuel on final.. around 2800lbs for pattern entry at 280kts. I still remember almost 40yrs later.

Did they ever get the air conditioning system fixed so it wouldn't spit ice balls out the wemacs in hot humid weather?

UAL T38 Phlyer

Still spits ice--look for the famous video on Youtube of "Turn the Heat O-F-F!!" Some posts say it is an F-16, but it's a T-38C.

That happened at CBM about 3 years ago--I was there. The student was a Japanese National, and the IP's callsign was Satan. No kidding. He's since retired; rumor has it the video is used at FedEx for CRM training, and I think Satan is at AirTran.

The kid got his callsign a week later, including a Friday nametag. It actually said:

"O-F-F" (Hyphens included). I don't think he ever got it---"Lost in translation."

Now pattern entry is 300, and because they "improved" the jet (by making it heavier), final turn is 180+ Gas (usually start about 200 knots), and final is 160+gas (typically 170-175).

The kids won't ever fully-flare it, though. They usually scrape off rubber at 150+; I've gotten as slow as 121 kts at touchdown, but that is hanging on the blades and a whole lotta experience.

daytonaflyer

Yes, indeed, the launch date is why the MD-80 was so named. Also, the variants were named after their projected launch dates as well ie. MD-82, 83, 87, 88, etc. This trend ended with the MD-90 which actually showed up in 1989.

Luckydawg

No MD80 is that old as previously noted. AA acquired MD82's and MD83's. TWA received some of the last MD80s built in the late 90's which would make them the youngest MD80s around. AA are still flying those. They kept the airplanes but didn't keep the employees and it became the most lopsided..... doh.. wooops .. I won't steal the thread

zondaracer

I know that the 135 airframes and the B-52 airframes are old, but i was sitting on Maho Beach and saw a DC-3 come in, ok so it didn't have US registration but some places out there fly some really old airframes, and not for nostaligic purposes. Colombian Air Force has got some AC-47's, they modified some DC-3's with guns on them to make gunships, and i heard some of the tail numbers have history in the berlin airlift.

JayDee

I was merely making the point that if AA's planes were more or less left overs from the TWA merger, and those were 20+ years old, then it is fully possible that yes 40+ year old planes are still in commercial service. I never said that the 80 was 40 years old. I said I thought it was entirely possible that 40+ year old planes are pretty prevelant in commercial aviation today.

Sorry to start such a controversy.

III Corps

I've seen this... funny, sad and very instructive. I worked with foreign nationals (if that is the term today) and there was a language barrier as well as cultural barriers It made for some very interesting and some unsafe flying

I understand the new intakes allow better takeoff performance, especially for hot high.

Why won't they flare?

UAL T38 Phlyer

III Corps:

See this post/thread (somebody asked the same thing):

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/sh...457#post353457

III Corps

I guess things have changed a LOT. We used to ALWAYS pull to the at least moderate buffet in the pitch. You wuss around the pattern and someone was going to chew on you.

And yes, the x-box guys are something to work with. I have done some instructing in the Cirrus and it is a fabulous machine with incredible displays and myriad information but all that wonderful display just sucks them into the cockpit and they disregard the marvelous display OUT THE WINDOW. I was with one fellow.. we were about 15 miles north of the field on a blue sky-clear and a million day and when we get ready to RTB, he programs the Garmin with D. ???? It is as if it is just an all moving video game...