greaneyr wrote:Wow, really interesting story Lawrie.
I've also heard numerous comments that the 732 was, in many ways, the perfect machine to drop into Queenstown. I don't think NAC started out flying in there, though.
Now I'm intrigued about the handling of the 732 versus any other jet. Maybe the flight models I've flown haven't been too accurate, but any 732 I've flown has handled pretty much like any other jet - big, heavy, slow to turn, and way too powerful to ever do a circuit in fullstop. I've also read in many places that the 727 handled like an oversized fighter jet. Again, big, heavy, slow to turn and way too powerful to ever do a circuit in fullstop in my experience.
What am I missing?
No,...... NAC didint fly the 732s into NZQN till many years later.
Pilots did say it was the ideal machine to fly down in between those mountains,....... steady and stable,......... and overly endowed with more than enough power to get up out of the rough air in the mountains as quickly as possible after lift off, causing little or no discomfort to passengers.
Theres a very interesting DVD video i have from the "Pioneering Aviation in New Zealand" series called "The Boeing 737, 25 years in New Zealand".
Gives you the entire history of the lead up to the ordering and purchase of the B732s, the reasons why, shows you the competitors etc, and you get a complete flight in a B732 from NZCH to NZQN. Some really great internal and external filming of the aircraft and the scenery.
You also get the complete history of the B732 with NAC, through all its various liveries and changes, right up to the change to Air NZ, and including the final NAC B732 flight. All in all,........ very interesting indeed.
Pilots did used to say that the B732 was grossly overpowered, but extremely nimble for an aircraft of its size.
The possible rate of climb of a 732 was incredibly phenominal,......... i believe i read somewhere that one pilot for BA in the UK, said that its possible rate of climb from lift off to a certain altitude (I forget now what that altitude was), was more than Concorde's !! I dont know how true that is..........
I have a couple of NZ liveried B737s in my sim,..............
The Eric Cantu B732, the Flight FX B733, and the Vistaliners B733.
They all behave differently, but the 2 733s are very similar, but the 732 is a rocket ship in comparison.
Totally different in the way it handles,......... quicker response time to control surface inputs, and throttle inputs than the 2 733 models i have.
All this of course is dependant on who built the configuration files for the models. I couldnt say how accurate they are compared to the real thing........
Lawrie.
