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Home >> Forum >> Older vs newer aircraft type: Why do we feel nostalgic? Civil aviation forum
Older vs newer aircraft type: Why do we feel nostalgic?
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Message of FLX - Sent 19 Aug 19:09 |
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An interesting journal written by a CA(Cabin attendant) about her experience & feelings while on the last commercial flight of a 747 classic: http://www.jalways.co.jp/crew/200708/95.html
Personally, I can totally relate to her feelings about why some of us hv a special affinity with/preference for flying older airliners. Nostalgia is a very abstract notion but she vividly described it through her observations of pax emotions in the cabin.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a retro-freak who think the newest, most sophisticated latest generation aircrafts can't compare with those from the <good old days>. As some of U on this forum know, I'm pretty much a tech junky who totally admire/mesmerized by the amazing advancements we see in today's pax flight and the commercial aviation industry as a whole. In fact, I'm often hooked to get myself to fly on the latest thing rather than stuck in something older, noiser and without a PTV/AVOD in my seat(Even in Y-class) for hrs of flight. It's just normal rational consumer behaviour like the vast majority of today's flying public: Get the most comfortable flying experience for every $ of fare we pay.
Yet, fm time to time, there's this irrational side of me longing to fly older airliner types especially those which are about to retire fm pax services. That's when I question myself, do I really watch those movies(Most flicks today suck anyway) fm the PTV/AVOD in my seat? Do I really need those fancy 100ways adjustable headrests+footrests(Insufficient support no matter how U adjust them)? Does it really matter to me as a pax that the engines @ takeoff thrust are 5-10% quieter(Frankly, my ears aren't as sensitive as an acoustic measuring instrument fm a FAA lab when they're glued to the headphones @ full blast)? Does it really bother me that the toilet flush is by greenish-blue washer fluid rather than strong vaccum sucking action(Half of the cabin can hear loud & clear everytime U press that flush button). When I was younger, I remember I used to spend hrs watching every tiny movement of the flaps+spoilers+ailerons on the wing fm my window seat and tried to relate how they fine-tune the unpredictable movements of the plane. I also never missed the moment to watch how the thrust reversers were deployed right after touchdown. Nowadays, I'm more distracted by the flightpath of the plane along a fixed route on a moving map display overhead....totally predictable & a bit boring yet I still robotically watch it.
I admit I hv a special affection towards the 747 classic. It EIS with PanAm around the same time I was born. As a young kid, the 747 was the 2nd airplane type I ever remembered I hv flown on(The 1st type was a DC10 possibly due to the <strange big hole> on the tailfin!). I practically grew up with the 747 as I flew it nearly once a yr from age 5 till after I graduated fm college. 747-100,747-200,747SP,747-300,747-400,747-400Combi, even the Japan-only 747SR and 747-400D(No, the <D> doesn't mean Diesel), I hv flown on all production pax variants(Except the 747-400ER which is a Qantas exclusive), sat in all cabin sections fm nose to tail to upperdeck and even visited the cockpit once inflight(I never hv any friend working as a 747 pilot). Despite the advent of the A380, I still think the original jumbo is the most remarkable aviation icon for the general public. It's an incredibly sturdy & sophisticated aircraft platform/family that is way ahead of its time. It's the 1st airliner that can truly fly a full load across the Pacific non-stop yr-round. Its capabilities+efficienies(e.g. Range,fuel burn per seat,etc.) were simply unmatched for nearly 3 decades until the 777-200ER came along in 96. Yet the 747 platform is still good enough to form the foundation of the future 747-8Intercontinental. May be some of U here can help me out as I simply don't know any other airliner family in history that was still developing new pax variants 40yrs after EIS - stupidity of Boeing(And Lufthansa as the paying customer) or a testimony to the fundamentals of the 747 platform? In a sense, the 747 classic was also an ARROGANT airplane in which top world airports @ that time had no choice but hv to basically rebuilt massively to cater to it in order to stay competitive(Relatively speaking, the A380 design was clearly directed to <fit> into existing airports) - no other airplane in history had this kind of clout. The 747 also contributed enormously to the incredible growth of some top airlines today that were tiny industry amateurs in the late 60s. Large fleets of 747 classics transformed SQ,CX,JL,KE,TG which eventually propelled these carriers to be among the top Int'l airlines and out-ranked most traditional western majors.
Nex yr is the 40th birthday of the 747. I'm planning to book myself on 1 of the last scheduled commercial 747 classic Int'l flights so that I can <suffer> its inferior cabin features(i.e. Irrational spending behaviour). Sorry for ranting on and on about the 747. We may now return to admiring modern avaition marvels such as 380 and 787......thank you.
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Message of captain bill - Sent 22 Aug 7:40 |
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I can relate FLX to what you are saying about the 747. For me being a bit older it was the 707 and then the DC-10. I thought the same was going to happen to me with the 757 bus so far I don't have this same feeling.
Although the 707 was not the first aircraft I flew in, it was a DC-8-43 CF-TJJ of Air Canada, yes they had just changed their name from T.C.A. , the 707 held a great interest for me and although mooving on to other types I still had this attraction towards them.
The DC-10 was also one of my lovers and during the period when all DC-10s were grounded after the AA crash at ORD in 1979 I went into battle with every authority worldwide who dared to say a wrong word about them. The great late Sir. Freddy Laker was one of the few high profile CEOs who was vocal and found to be right in everything he said about the qualities of the DC-10. I remember the proabition was lifted on the Wednesday and I was off to YYZ on the Friday with a smile on my face. Strangely some of the passengers did not have such a smile on their dish.
When I look back back at some of the older types I have flown flown in I would like just once more to have another rotation for old time sake. Types like the Viscount or One/Eleven or the very very fast but noisey gas guzzeling Trident. I was never in the air in a VC-10 but one can always dream.
The modern types ? Well I have to say that the 380 does nothing for me so you wont find me in any que to board it if I can help it. I preferr the smaller types such as the 319/320 or 737 as long as it is not Ryanair. I think it is an age thing.
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