Detailed tour around the first Boeing 727!

The 727 - 100 is a beautiful airplane. My favorite jet airliner. I also have a fondness for the Cougar sitting behind the 727.

One thing you are incorrect about is the seat efficiency. The 727's design intentionally allowed for much more leg room than today's economy seat sections. This wasn't a cost consideration back then. Passenger comfort was a priority unlike today.

Boeing is STARTING TO MAKE THE 727 ,The plans are on the Board!!

Worked the last HMV in SFO they found our graffiti behind panels

D.B. Cooper plane

My uncle Harrold tried to tell me about this plane I would be flying back home from Sea-Tac to OKC in 1976 when I was 15. It was the first and only airplane I've ever flown on at 62 years old. His brother, my uncle Jimmie test flew the first one and flew AF-1 for three presidents. He flew JFK to Dallas and back on that tragic visit. James Andress was my great uncle. He and his copilot were both from a very small town in Oklahoma named Shattuck. He was on a mission in the air force in 1947 when he had to rush home as his hometown of Woodward was destroyed by the largest tornado in history at the time. 52 years later, i survived the May 3, 1999 tornado in Moore Oklahoma. His son Stephen has lived in London for years.

Nice video

Let's hear it for Aerosucre who still operates a few of them--as many of us have seen on some of their more harrowing takeoffs--using every inch of the available runway, but no doubt not exceeding the MTOW (wink wink).

I find these planes to be very sleek.

Excellent knowledge and content, great work these videos. Well presented and very interesting.

Ah D.B. Cooper, the gentleman gangster... the mystery is still at large, bundles of rotten money where found somewhere near a river, and newer calculations say he jumped and landed on a complete different area. So no one will ever know what has happened to him. Maybe his skeleton is still sitting deep in some tree canopy fully invisible for the unaware hiker, maybe he had the life of a king with all that cash after his risky jump. Maybe he has lost all the money because a few test parachute jumps came to the conclusion that the strong wind would have ripped that bag out of his hand... while other skydivers where able to hold on to a similar bag... So no one will ever know.
I heard there is even an annual D.B. Cooper festival in one county, and legends say parts of his money is till out there... Maybe he was the one who has inspired Stephen King for his story "A simple plan".

The view of the slats and flaps is deceiving as they are not fully deployed. When fully deployed they radically increased camber and drag. There were some accidents on approach. The drag caused a sink rate where the high stabilizer was in the wash of the wings. The flap handle was then blocked from full deployment, The oval plates in the wings are access to enter the fuel tanks for inspection and maintenance.

When You See It

Interesting it has a production interior. If it is like most first commercial aircraft, the only thing the first aircraft carries is experimental testing and recording equipment

I still see these fly out of where I work and then see the new 747-8’s take off right after and the -8’s are so quiet compared to the 727. It’s amazing I might post a video.

I was working the theSF maintenance base from 1989 to 2004. I’m very familiar with that ship.

I was a ramp rat for UPS for several years (1986-1995), and loaded, unloaded (main cargo deck with containers and luggage pits with loose packages), even refueled for a year or two.

UPS was one of few airlines that refitted all three engines on their -100 planes with the Rolls Royce Tay turbofan engines, in effort to make the planes quieter and less obnoxious since UPS was flying in and out of smaller airports at night.

I used to laugh at the ramp workers who had motion-sensitive alarms in their cars when a 727 would take off, triggering a dozen or more car alarms in the parking lot four hundred yards from the end of the runway.

I saw it in person today

I actually fueled an array of planes where I had the luck on fueling a 727 200 series. Analog Guage but easy to get to the hook up. Only thing is with the automatic fueling is not an option because the system does not regulate the in difference on weight to keep balance.

I was lucky enough to actually fly on that plane during the final month it was in service. Den/ Ind

I love this plane. Beautiful design.

The Eastern Airlines ones flying between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas used to have a tray hidden in the middle seat in Economy.

Not quite accurate video !

Great vid

My favorite aircraft N40 FAA 727-100QC. Flew it as a flight test engineer doing MLS Demonstrations in the USA and Europe in the early 1990s.

Brings back memories. I remember servicing these classics back in the late 1990’s. Also major overhaul facility in Oakland California in the late 1980’s. They were rotted out by then. I did the aft airstair modification and remember the “DB COOPER” vane . I remember having to drill out entire stringers then cutting an access hole on the skin and pulling it out. I’ve worked on just about every jet aircraft that Boeing and Douglas have produced, also Lockheed L1011. From 707’s to 787’s. DC 8’s to MD11’s. Also Airbuses. A319-a320. Now I just feed the birds and squirrels.

I'd love to see a video or two from Canada! We have a few great museums here - especially air force museums!

My dad had just turned Captain on the 727 for United and he took me out of school for a flight from Chicago to Sacramento and back. The 727 was only about a month old. I think it was 79? Still remember it like it was yesterday.

Nose wheel brakes? I've never heard of this before.

I was a flight engineer on this very airplane many times during the late 1980s when I was a pilot for United Airlines. I recall one flight in N7001U where the captain had 20 minutes after our scheduled arrival at O'Hare to catch his commute flight home on a flight from RDU. We made it from push back at RDU to block in at ORD in 1 hour and 35 minutes. But to do that, we had to fly at Mach .89 most of the way and were in continuous Mach buffet. While being vectored for an approach at ORD to the old Runway 27 Left, the controller had us flying east bound at 13,000 feet over Lake Michigan and going away from the airport. I recall that we were flying at an indicated airspeed of 410 knots which was red line. The captain burned an extra 5,000 lbs of fuel on the RDU-ORD leg, but he made his commute flight. I was also a flight engineer on United airplane N7004U, which is now the Museum of Science and Industry in downtown Chicago.

The high lift flaps slats and upper wing spoilers was a marvel of design, engineering and performance.

One of my favorite airliners. For many years the 727 has been the best seller, #1 in sales followed by the DC-9 (another great plane), the 707 and the DC-8. The wing of the 727 is amazing. Much more complex of the other airliners of the time, but performing extremly well at cruising speed as at low speed. I always enjoyed looking at the flaps lowering during approaches. The 727 was replaced by another great airliner: the 757. By the way, I flew on 727s with Lufthansa, Air Algerie, Tunisair, TWA, People Express and Mexicana.

Thanks. Good show. I enjoyed flying the triplet for Continental, especially a bit on our cargo, convertible Air Mic subsidiary out of Guam through the islands. I retired early year-end 1981 to avoid the horror show of the mergers shortly thereafter. My last flight was to ferry a very empty -224 from LAX to PHNL on Dec 18, 1981, very carefully calculated, with c. 2,500 # fuel at shutdown at Hickham, the only 200 we ferried off of the west coast while I had the privilege of flying for that great, small airline. Best, romain

Worked the ramp at Delta with the 727. Loud and greasy lol.

The sound of a 727 is insanely great especially when landing in Sydney australia in the 60,s 70,s
On vacation as a kid in the U,S early 70,s many times these planes i remember were full of passangers who were all dressed nice unlike todays travellers

Fun fact: the 707, 717 and 727 are all banned from schiphol in Amsterdam, the netherlands because of the noise and other problems wich i can't remember off the top of my head

hello paul why the boeing 717 was not dis play in the museum , and i see some airline retired 717 , could the bone yard 717 can donate i nto the museum

I flew in a 727 only once, but it was quite memorable. In the summer of 1971, my folks and I were vacationing in California. It was the first time I’d ever flown, and I was more than excited. When mom and dad told me where we were going for our vacation, I immediately begged for them to see if we could fly on a new 747. My dad went to our travel agent to figure things out and came home with bad news. We would fly into San Diego, and at the time, the largest jet servicing San Diego was the 707. I was still excited, but somewhat let down. In the next several months we prepared for the trip. Everything from new clothes to luggage. We were staying with my aunt and her family, so that was a big savings.
The day came and we headed to the airport in early June for my first flight. The takeoff was very exciting, I threw up. We landed at O’Hare in Chicago, people were exiting and boarding the flight for other connections. I was more interested in seeing all the international carriers coming and going. We got on our way again, but I fell asleep. Soon I felt my mother trying to wake me since we were landing soon. To my surprise, as I stepped out of the jet, it was pitch black outside, loud with lots of vehicles zooming about, and we had to deplane using stairs. It was a bit much for a 9 year old to take in.
We ended up having the best summer vacation ever, we saw everything to see, but soon enough, my dad had to return early to get back to work. My mother and I stayed another few weeks. She even started school shopping for me. Soon everything was packed and ready to go. I really didn’t want to leave California, but those are the breaks. My uncle was driving my mom and I to the airport and decided to take a few “short cuts” that turned into delays. My mother was nervous we’d miss our flight. We ran into the terminal to check in. They were holding the plane for us. She said we’d have run like crazy onto the field to catch our flight. As we exited the terminal I saw a truck with stairs on it driving up to our flight. It was an American 727. I was confused. We walked through the cabin everyone grinning as we tried to find seats. Since were late, we couldn’t sit together. We were flying to LAX for a connection this time. I didn’t know why, but when your 9, don’t ask too many questions.
The flight was very short. My mother sat me at a gate telling me not to move while she checked in at the proper gate. She came back winded, but mission accomplished.
We didn’t have too long to wait for our flight, but when it arrived I understood why we flew home this way. A new American 747 inched its way up to the gate and stopped. My mom said “surprise”. After returning from California a few weeks prior, My dad visited our travel agent and asked if mom and I could fly home on a 747. She solved the problem and I was smiling the whole time we were boarding. It was a beautiful flight, I still have the Richie Rich comic book I was given, and the last surprise was there was a full size cocktail lounge at the rear of the plane with club chairs, end tables with chrome mushroom shape lamps, and a full size bar with a bar tender. My mom and I enjoyed looking out the windows while sipping on our drinks. We were landing soon, so back to our seats.
After we landed, we could see my dad grinning ear to ear when we saw him from the jet walk. “Well” he asked “how was it?” I said it was the best part of the trip. Flying just isn’t like it used to be. Now people wear cutoffs and flip flops. I miss women in dresses and men wearing suits and ties. I know my story is too long, but it brought back lots of good memories.

excellent video very informitive

informatibe

when I was 4 or something I thought the black cone was made of rubber so if it hit a mountain it could bounce off. Relax - I do not work in the aerospace industry

Sexiest commercial airliner ever. IMO

The 707 could store enough compressed air to start one engine. The running engine could then provide pneumatic air to start the other engines. Barring that, it would need to be ground started from a cart.

Many happy memories flying on ATA's 727s down to Florida as a kid in the 90s. Will always love these birds

I admired thus plane as a teenager in the 1960s. In what I think was the 1990s I flew in what must have been one of Uniteds last 727s. Supposedly the same fuselage as the 737 it felt much smaller to me and uncomfortable. Also I read the cockpit was quite with the engines being in the rear. I was surprised that the interior was extremely noisy with high engine noise. So my one and only 727 flight was disappointing and I felt sorry for the passengers who flew on it. One reportedly broke the sound barrier as it dove and nearly crashed.

Thank you Paul, for the opportunity to view this historic 727 :-) The 727 was the first aircraft I ever boarded and features like the trailing edge triple-slotted flaps are still amazing. In 1995, when 727s were operated, I moved into a home 5 km north of Sydney International Airport. We experienced 727 takeoffs toward our home daily. No aircraft produced in the last 28 years can begin to compare to the sheer noise volume of a 727 departing an area. It was so extreme you'd wonder if the atmosphere itself might fracture--and this was after the engines were fitted with quietening 'Hush-Kits'. In 2023, older aircraft like 747-400's feel subjectively less than half as noisy as the grand old 727. Current jets, with wide diameter turbofans, are becoming truly whisper quiet by comparison.

Amazing to think the b727 used to fly atlantic routes esp into heathrow. With the front of a b737 but a fantastic looking rear tail and engine setup the b727 is one of my favorites

When this airplane was rolled out in the 60's it didn't have hush-kits on the engines or cascade reverser's like this one.