The first Boeing 727 sitting at Paine Field
Back in August, we connected with some of the fine folks that have been working to prepare the first Boeing 727 for its last flight. At the time, they were painting the plane and it looked damn good. Although a new coat of paint will make the plane look slick, it doesn’t exactly get it airborne. What does? Engines, of course.
Classic first class seats in the first Boeing 727
I heard that they took possession of a few Pratt & Whittney JT8D engines and I wanted to get an update on how things were going and also take a tour of the interior.
When the aircraft was donated to the Museum of Flight, it was almost fully restored to how it looked (inside and out), when it first flew for United Airlines. So, I headed to the Museum of Flight Restoration Center at Paine Field and see how things were progressing.
Some real classics as seen at New York's La Guardia in 1977. Click for larger.
You might be an airline nerd if you spent a good chunk of your time looking at random photos of classic airliners on the internet. Well, I happen to do just that more than I want to admit. Every once in a while I come across one that really moves me for one way or another and I want to share.
I just love this photo with the Allegheny DC-9 (N964VJ) parked next to the Braniff International Boeing 727-100 (N301BN) and next to a Southern DC-9. I think the best part are the Boeing 737 and 727 in different United Airlines livery.
The Boeing 737 is in the Friend Ship livery and the Boeing 727 is in the newer tulip livery, that matches the United service truck. Also notice the Allegheny tug is sporting their “new” livery that was then used on USAir after their purchase.
A special thanks to George Hamlin for taking this photo and letting me use it.
