"You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much" (youcantellafinn)
10/27/2014 at 08:36 • Filed to: planelopnik, md-11
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"You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much" (youcantellafinn)
10/27/2014 at 08:36 • Filed to: planelopnik, md-11 | 1
| 9 |
Have a picture of the KLM MD-11 Ingrid Bergman that I took at Amsterdam Schipol airport in 2006. Also an article in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! talking about the MD-11 and its retirement. The DC-10 / MD-11 family are unique airplanes and it will be sad to see them go, but such is progress. Since airlines can get the same number of seats flown with less fuel in the big twins, there is not much sense in dragging along an extra engine.
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Viggen
> You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
10/27/2014 at 08:57 |
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At least we'll still get to see their cargo carrying siblings.
f86sabre
> You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
10/27/2014 at 09:29 |
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The 11 was an interesting bird. Worked on it for a while early in my career. Nice to ride on, stout fuselage, but quirky systems. Bummer to see them go, but we did that math years ago and I am surprised KLM was still running them.
BJ
> You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
10/27/2014 at 09:42 |
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I've flown in that exact same airplane - I might even have a picture somewhere on my computer. If I remember, I'll look it up.
I'm also pretty sure that was on the same trip where I flew First Class, and it was delightful.
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You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
> BJ
10/27/2014 at 09:44 |
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Cool! If it was April 2006 and you were in Amsterdam you may have been on the plane when I took this photo.
I actually took the picture because it was one of the first times that I had seen a tug that lifted the nose gear instead of using a tow bar.
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You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
> f86sabre
10/27/2014 at 09:47 |
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At the time they were introduced they made sense, but now it is obvious they are past their time. IIRC they went with the tri-jet because that allowed them to certify for long distance over water (ETOPS?) but they were more fuel efficient than 4 engined jets. Now that twins can certify to ETOPS for overwater routes the tri-jet doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
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f86sabre
> You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
10/27/2014 at 09:51 |
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Correct. ETOPS is not an issue for anything with more than two engines. You can fly the most direct route. With regulatory authorities allowing longer distance from a recovery field for twins it is less and less an option. This all stems from the much more reliable engines and systems we are seeing in modern aircraft.
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BJ
> You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
10/27/2014 at 09:52 |
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Nope, but close. I did a handful of Montreal-Amsterdam flights on my way to Cologne from late autumn 2006 through spring 2008. I don't know which trip it was on, but I remember the plane well because (1) MD-11 and (2) Ingrid Bergman!
Related story: On a return flight from Cologne to Amsterdam I experienced my first ever takeoff failure in the small prop-jobbies they use - just as we were about to lift, a sensor crapped out and we did a sudden stop and pulled off onto a taxi road. They rebooted but the sensor wasn't reading correctly and we had to de-plane. The plane ended up flying back home empty, and I got a free taxi ride to Amsterdam with a handful of other travellers, which was fine because I had the time to kill and I like road trips.
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You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
> BJ
10/27/2014 at 10:00 |
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I've never been on a plane that aborted a takeoff. That would be a little bit scary I think.
A few years ago flying out of Chicago on a regional jet they were doing the preflight controls check after pulling away from the gate and the spoilers freaked out. They did the open close cycle, but then kept going. After about the third time I figured something had gone wrong. They pulled out of the way and waited for maintenance to come take a look. While we were waiting the spoilers kept cycling. Turns out they just needed to reboot.
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BJ
> You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
10/27/2014 at 10:48 |
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It was a bit exciting, but since we hadn't lifted it was also a bit anticlimactic. They did the reboot cycle twice I think, which took a good 20 minutes. That was boring.
And I know we've all got places to go and people to see, but it's always surprising to see how people get all worked up - insulted almost - as their fight gets cancelled. I suppose it has something to do with watching their plane take off empty, after having been so close themselves...