Originally Posted by
UAL T38 Phlyer
This, plus
As explained to me:
If you have a swanky modern lawnmower, it starts with a key.....but the old, primitive ones were "rope-starts." You youngin's may not know that you once had to manually wind a rope around a pulley...
Anyway, some Capts would retire at 60, and become super-senior engineers. When I was a new-hire, there were 12 (I think) FEs over 70(!!!). The oldest two were over 80!!!!
Since these guys were "Retired Old Pilot Engineers," (ROPEs), and the FE started the engines on the 727, 747, and I assume DC-8 and DC-10, it doubly reinforced the reference of "ROPE-start 747."
The DC-8, the F/O started the engines. The start switches were overhead forward, right by the light switches. You really needed 3 hands to do it.
The lawnmower story is why the 100's were called rope starts. The engineers over 60 were more commonly called "Herpies." Once you got one, it wouldn't go away. Would that be like friends of Fred?