the new 737's are a frankenstein's monster mix of 1950's and 1990's technology. they are also noisy as hell. even the new ones with the eyebrow windows blocked and the vortex generators are noisy. i flew my first one the other day and was trying to figure out what all the commotion was about.

in addition, the basic systems are still very old tech and the number of switches that could be totally automated with a little thought is staggering.

i spent about 5 years on the 757/767 and pray to the aviation gods that i won't have to spend much longer on the 73.

that said, i was beside myself with despair when i saw the cockpit mockups of the 787 and saw that ******* control column rising out of the floor like satan's horns.

you gotta hand it to boeing; thousands of airplanes and not one cockpit designed by a pilot. or maybe guys like setting the NG altimeter with that rube-goldbergish knob and not having a flat surface to eat from or any good way of holding jepps anywhere. it just brings tears to your eyes.