The highest V1 I had was out of Vegas...Going to Manchester England...V1 192...VR was 197...V2 204...Flaps were 2 degrees....It didn't look fast because the cockpit sits 20 feet high on the 10...But the Mass felt fast and so did the end of that 14,000 foot runway!

 

Must of been a hot day....

 

I have flown 172's for the majority of my flying career. I am like you in that I feel exhilirated anytime I lift off the ground, or I start my flare over the runway. I was lucky enough to fly a full motion 747-400 simulator. It is a small box suspended on a 6 axis motion system in a gymnasium size room. Costs $14 million dollars, every single switch in the cockpit is an exact replica on the 747, and it feels the exact same as if u were flying a real airplane. To me, it was the same exhilirating feeling I get when flying a 172. The differences were:
1. Things happened a lot faster. The man working the sim for us secretly put an airplane on a collission course with us. I looked at two lights coming up from the water (thinking it was a boat), then suddenly it was an airliner, and I had to dive the 747 to miss it. Much faster rate of closure than in a 172.
2. There is a lot of mass behind you. Make small corrections. Once you turn a 747, the inertia wants to keep it there. Kind of a cool feeling the first time.
3. Lots more switches and displays. Good in the fact that you have A LOT more situational awareness. Bad because you have a lot more going on.

4. Haha. When I touched the 747 down the first time, I commented that I would exit at the next tawiway. Then my buddy told me we were still at 100kts. I could have sworn we were going 20kts. Sitting 44ft above the ground really affects your perception.


Overall, it is very similar in terms of flying qualities. Personally, I thought landing a 747 with autothrottles was easier than landing a 182. Just pitch the airplane to get it over the runway. Cut the power. Touch down.
Flying is flying.

 

On the 74, by the time we are ready to land I always feel tired.

 

What's the max tire speed on a DC-10? Were you close?

 

If I remember right...That particular airplane was 204 knots...The higher gross weight airplanes go as high as 230 knots...Depends on the tires...The DC-10 has a "Dial a Flap" System, and if the runway is not limited you can Takeoff with Slats/0 Flaps...It makes for very high takeoff speeds and brings you to the end of the runway almost every time...Nothing worse then rotating with the mains still on the runway and the runway end goes below the nose out of sight...lol...But the performance book says "You Can Do It"...lol...yeah right....lol

 

Crazy! I agree this is a great thread. Keep the experiences coming!
Can someone hook me up for a ride in the Delta simulator here in ATL?
Would beer help?

 

Hey, thanks for all the experiences so far guys. This is awesome, and I agree with what animals says, please keep them comin'. Just listening to the stories makes me want to do it more. When I fly the 172 I feel like the little kid who wants to be a star basketball player when he grows up. He plays by himself on an empty court, shoots, scores at the buzzer, wins the game, you know. I sit in the 172 and pretend I'm sitting in the captain seat of the 747, blizzard, and coming into land. Probably cheesy, but you got to start somewhere, eh? I also had one more question concerning this. When people ask you what you do for work, how do you feel when you tell them. I try to think of myself as a humble guy, but if someone who works graveyards at Wal-mart asks me, or whatnot, I don't think I could help but answer with a bit of pride that I fly a Boeing 747. How do people respond when you tell them? People think it's cool enough already that I can fly a 172.

 

I remember as a small boy visiting the cockpit of a chartered DC-10. I actually got to sit up front during an approach and landing into Boston. I remember looking back into the cavernous cabin of this massive plane and asking the captain how he could fly and manage such an amazingly large airplane and he simply answered. "You fly this baby from the cockpit forward and whatever is behind you will follow". He made it sound so simple he convinced me that even I could do such a thing one day. I too flew the 747 and it was awesome. 785,000 pound takeoff weights are hard to even imagine much less do routinely. It was a time I will always remember and feel fortunte to have had the opportunity to fly such a wonderful airplane.

 

After reading HeavyDriver's post, it got me thinking of my box throwing days for FedEx in SLC.

In SLC the FedEx ramp is located just right of the departure end of 16L.
When Delta was still flying the L-1011's, and FedEx had the occasional DC-10 in, I loved watching them try and climb out in hot and high conditions. I am sure it was how HeavyDriver describes it, because it looked tight from where I was. Once, I was sure an L-1011 was going to scrape the ALS trees off the end.

Ahhh, good times.

JM