"Roger" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:52:42 -0800, "RST Engineering"
wrote:

Not a problem, Monty...we had a couple of Fat Alberts on the line when I
"retired" from PSA in the late '60s. The 737 was BUILT for the milk
runs...our longest run was an hour; many of them were 45 minutes or so.
You
can get a dozen cycles a day in at that rate and that was 40 years ago.

A "cycle" is depart, gear up, gear down, arrive. 99.999% of the time that
also means a pressurization.

Isn't there a "check or inspection" some where around 10,000 to 12,000
hours that amounts to almost a complete airframe rebuild?


Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

Ok, I'll jump in here. Back in the 80's I worked for a Charter/Corporate
outfit that purchased, rebuilt, maintained and flew a 1969 Lear 24B. The
airplane did indeed run up against a 9000 hour inspection, which we did in
our shop. New engines, interior, and systems(Hydraulic & Electrical). Yes,
it was expensive, and yes the old beast burned a lot of fuel, no fanjets
these. But it was reliable, a very good performer, and we could go a long
way on the over $1,000,000 saved on a new jet.
Yes, it had some training issues. It had all the subtlety of a rake in
the garden. You kinda wanted to take the thing seriously most of the time.
Yes, it was noisy. We once got a $250 ticket for making a "Non noise
abatement departure" before we left. In fact we were sitting in the airport
lounge. It was like getting a ticket for speeding before your new Porche was
delivered. The cop said, it was an "anticipatory" ticket.
It was also fast. At light weights, I have recorded a climb to 12,500 in
1 minute from brake release. We could be level at FL410, and a 1000lbs
lighter, 15 minutes after departure. Lose an engine at night in the snow and
ice, and you are reduced to the performance of a stock DC9. Whenever you
wanted more altitude, the loud levers would take you there. I felt like I
was flying a liquid fuel rocket.
If properly maintained, there is nothing wrong with an older airplane.
How do you think it got so old?

Al G