Originally Posted by captjns
The first 727 I flew was the -100 series built in 1966 for American Airlines. Other than the 737-100 and 200 series, it was the only jet you could chop the power, flare, hold it off, and grease it on everytime. The 727-100 was the best airplane that Boeing ever built... although I can't comment on the 707, 717, or 777. The are good, but there is something special about the old -100.
I guess it could be equated to the affection that pilots have for the good old DC-3.
It's a same that GE terminated the unducted fan engine program which would certainly have given the 727 a longer life.
They did "studies" and concluded that (passengers) would be "scared" of it. It did look like something that tom hanks put together with macguyver on a desert island