Originally Posted by
El Gwopo
I just can't call airplanes by their dumb nicknames. I think people are TRYING to sound cool and I honestly get a bit embarrassed for them. I simply say "737".
One person's "dumb nickname" is another person's "tradition".
Most United pilots call it the guppy. Its like calling the F-14 the Tomcat or the F-4 the Phantom.
Its tradition to refer to an airplane by something other than the number designation that the manufacture gave it. In WWII even each airplane had its own name. Ever heard of the "Enola Gay"? It was a B-29 Stratofortress.
It's not a big deal to call it the Guppy, but could you imagine being in a Navy Squadron and having the new guys refuse to call the F-18 a "Hornet" and just tell people "I fly the F/A-18C"
Call it what you want, but its a guppy.