Originally Posted by
IrishTiger
Interesting. I didn't realize the 727 was THAT loud. I'm still wondering why they put these weird Krugers on there to begin with. I'm going to go try and research this.
Thanks for all the input, I like stuff like this. I enjoy learning new things. However, it makes me a bit jealous that I've never had nor probably will have the opportunity to fly one. I'd love to fly that, AND the DC-9. Call me crazy, but if NW called me up and said I could fly the 9 or the bus, I'd take the 9 every day.
Eastern must have done it with some amusement but they referred to their 727s as "WhisperJets". The JT8D did anything but whisper, especially the JT8D-17s which sounded as if they were about to come apart at takeoff thrust.. a cross between a scream and a roar.
Didn't fly the -9 but did fly the -80 and it clearly demonstrated the difference in philosophies between Boeing and McDoug. But like the 727, the -80 (and more so the DC-9) was a hands on airplane. The very high extension speeds (280 for initial flap extension) were very useful. Although I never did it, I know some -9 drivers who gleefully claimed to hit the outer marker clean and at 250kts and have to spool up for landing.
One guy summed the -9 up by saying, "It is like a baseball bat. Nothing sophisticated. Extremely useful, simple to use and as for maintenance, very little. It works or its broken."