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The "Big Five" of Aviation?

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The "Big Five" of Aviation?

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Old May 27, 2016 | 8:53 pm
  #31  
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Originally Posted by handspring088
I think that the historical, non-attainable, flights have skewed the list. What are the Big 5 today?

-747
-A380
-787
-*****
-******

What do you think?
737 and a320
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Old May 28, 2016 | 2:07 pm
  #32  
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Originally Posted by lloydah
Which the 707 variants have beaten also.
Probably helps that there almost 10 times as many 707s built as Comets, yeah?

At any rate, not on a per capita basis. There were 114 Comets built and 26 hull losses. That's horrendous. There were 1,010 707s built with 172 hull losses.

Although with the 707, it's worth pointing out that it had a much longer career and flew exponentially more hours than the Comet did, which was pretty much extinct by 1970. Once a bunch of third world operators got their hands on them, they started dropping like flies. It's also worth pointing out that more than a few 707 incidents were the result of terrorism and not the fault of the aircraft.
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Old May 29, 2016 | 12:50 am
  #33  
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Originally Posted by WRCSolberg
Probably helps that there almost 10 times as many 707s built as Comets, yeah?

At any rate, not on a per capita basis. There were 114 Comets built and 26 hull losses. That's horrendous. There were 1,010 707s built with 172 hull losses.

Although with the 707, it's worth pointing out that it had a much longer career and flew exponentially more hours than the Comet did, which was pretty much extinct by 1970. Once a bunch of third world operators got their hands on them, they started dropping like flies. It's also worth pointing out that more than a few 707 incidents were the result of terrorism and not the fault of the aircraft.
I presumed your comment was tongue in cheek, as was mine. The first of anything probably has more failures than those that follow but I'd still say the Comet was legendary for being that first passenger jet, even with those square windows that caused the problems.

BEA Airtours were using the 4C into the seventies, so on the way out by then, ailing but not extinct by any means.

Last edited by lloydah; May 29, 2016 at 10:53 am Reason: typo
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Old Jun 5, 2016 | 10:15 pm
  #34  
 
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I wonder if I've ever flown on a 747. Not as far as I can remember, but then there were family trips in my childhood that I don't remember. Did AA ever fly 747s to Chile or Argentina?
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Old Jun 6, 2016 | 2:48 am
  #35  
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Originally Posted by BigOrangeTerp
I wonder if I've ever flown on a 747. Not as far as I can remember, but then there were family trips in my childhood that I don't remember. Did AA ever fly 747s to Chile or Argentina?
AA had 747-100s until '84 and 747SPs until '94. I never flew on them, all my AA TATL flights of the last millennium were on DC-10s and 767s.
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Old Jun 6, 2016 | 9:31 pm
  #36  
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Originally Posted by BigOrangeTerp
I wonder if I've ever flown on a 747. Not as far as I can remember, but then there were family trips in my childhood that I don't remember. Did AA ever fly 747s to Chile or Argentina?
Not sure about the routing, but I have a distinct memory of the UD on an AA 747 in the 1970s. At that time, they still had the piano on the plane- lower deck, I think.
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Old Jun 7, 2016 | 12:36 am
  #37  
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Originally Posted by handspring088
Not sure about the routing, but I have a distinct memory of the UD on an AA 747 in the 1970s. At that time, they still had the piano on the plane- lower deck, I think.
Yes, the piano bar was in coach. The upstairs was a first class lounge. Google "747 Luxury Liner" and select imaged.
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Old Jun 7, 2016 | 8:22 pm
  #38  
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Originally Posted by lloydah
BEA Airtours were using the 4C into the seventies, so on the way out by then, ailing but not extinct by any means.
I recall seeing a bunch of Comet 4s wearing Dan-Air London colors at LGW in summer 1974, so they hung on a bit longer still.
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