Any 727 operators left in the U.S.?

Kalitta Charters still flys them, and another outfit (Sierra West?) is always advertising for pilots. I'm sure a few more sprinkled around.

Great airplane, I spent 7,500 hours in them. :thumbsup:
 
Amerijet and IFL Group are the only current operators. Kalitta is all 747 now.
 
Would love to fly a 727..!! Always heard great things about them.
 
When landing in Allentown, PA during training, I came in behind a 727 that was being used for equine transport. Think the company was H.E. Tex Sutton.
 
drotto said:
When landing in Allentown, PA during training, I came in behind a 727 that was being used for equine transport. Think the company was H.E. Tex Sutton.
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Likely a private type operator.
 
RotorAndWing said:
Great airplane, I spent 7,500 hours in them. :thumbsup:
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They were nice in the back too. I spent a few years flying all over the US on data center projects in the early 80s when the -200 was a ubiquitous member of many airline's fleets.

It seemed I was always boarding one of the last flights of the day. Settling into one of those rather large seats (by today's standards) a few rows in front of the galley resulted in a comfortable flight with nice white noise to lull one to sleep.

And I got to where I was going quickly. The -200 could climb at about 2,800 FPM and cruise at 0.84 Mach IIRC.
 
ZeroG flies one.

Fedex ditched the last 727 a couple of years ago. We used to have that for the Special Olympics "Plane Pull" at Dulles ever year.

I'm sure there are still charter/cargo ops out there using them. My buddy who got laid off from Evergreen (flying left seat in 747's at the time), ended up flying DC-9-10's for a while afterward. Now he's flying the Barbie jets.
 
I've got a million plus in commercial, and used to fly a LOT of 727 on DAL. Always liked it better than the DC-9/MD-80/MD-88/MD-90/717. Noisy, fast, very "jet age". Also really miss it's huge evil twin, the L-1011. Now that was an awesome ride! :)

Edit: I should be clear -- RIDING in commercial, not at the yoke. :redface:
 
ettsn said:
...Noisy...
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Whaddya mean, noisy?! It's the Whisperjet! It says so, right on the tail!
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Ah, I miss those days. My first airline flight as a kid was PHX to IAD in an AA 727.
 
RotorAndWing said:
Kalitta Charters still flys them, and another outfit (Sierra West?) is always advertising for pilots. I'm sure a few more sprinkled around.

Great airplane, I spent 7,500 hours in them. :thumbsup:
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Sierra West (ugh that's a scary place for a big airplane, look up their history on some of the career oriented pilot sites) is setting up a 125 operation for their 727, so you can fly beyond 65...:D


HighFlyingA380 said:
USA Jet just got a -200, and apparently they have plans for more.
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Yes they got a 727, hadn't heard they were getting more

ktup-flyer said:
Sweet. They fly a DC-9-10 here sometimes. LOUD!
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The -15's are great airplanes. Honest, straight flying airplanes.

RotorAndWing said:
Kallita's nephew runs Kallita Charters II, lears and 727's.
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Kalitta Charters is the Falcon 20, Learjet, King air operator (135 operation). Charters II is the 121 (DC9 & 727)
 
Several 727s for sale on Controller. Who wants to start a lucrative charter operation? :D

Says max cruise speed of M0.9. If you want the speed of a G650 but don't need the range, buy one of these and get triple engine safety and a large, luxurious cabin for a $64M savings. That'll buy a lot of fuel.
 
There are a couple of defense contractors that still run them as test beds for various (______) electronics systems.
 
I have a sales contact that I could get you in contact with that has sold 727 parts for quite a while if you want to look that way :lol:
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Says max cruise speed of M0.9. If you want the speed of a G650 but don't need the range, buy one of these and get triple engine safety and a large, luxurious cabin for a $64M savings. That'll buy a lot of fuel.
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I hear that if you pull the CBs for the leading edge slats and let out a little flap, you go faster.

And aerobatics become possible too!
 
I saw a 727 flying maybe 3 months ago.
I haven't seen a kalitta horse charter in a long time.
 
Fearless Tower said:
I hear that if you pull the CBs for the leading edge slats and let out a little flap, you go faster.

And aerobatics become possible too!
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I've always wanted an aerobatic airliner! :D

(I just wanted to control when the aerobatics occurred)
 
Fearless Tower said:
I could get one 'one piece at a time?'
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You could probably pick up some neat old stuff off them for cheap - they went and tore down a ton of them a while back for UPS and DHL iirc. They'd also have an idea of who actually flies theirs since they sell parts to them! :yes:
 
RotorAndWing said:
Kalitta Charters still flys them, and another outfit (Sierra West?) is always advertising for pilots. I'm sure a few more sprinkled around.

Great airplane, I spent 7,500 hours in them. :thumbsup:
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Did you ever see Leona hemsleys 727? it was based at Georgetown, del.( to avoid taxes) and would fly to NYC to pick her up. The pic, name of Jack took me on a tour. Large bedroom, bathroom, a bar in the rear with a special seat for the body guard who watched the Cooper door. All white with big american flag on tail. Jack was, at that time, supposedly the youngest captain of one at 30 years old. He flew it in Bermuda shorts after they got under way. He said she was truly a terrible person. 1980s.
 
Jimmy cooper said:
Did you ever see Leona hemsleys 727? it was based at Georgetown, del.( to avoid taxes) ... she was truly a terrible person.
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Oh yeah, the "Queen of Mean." In the end, she spent 19 months behind bars for tax violations. Should have been more.
 
flyingron said:
ZeroG flies one.

Fedex ditched the last 727 a couple of years ago. We used to have that for the Special Olympics "Plane Pull" at Dulles ever year.

I'm sure there are still charter/cargo ops out there using them. My buddy who got laid off from Evergreen (flying left seat in 747's at the time), ended up flying DC-9-10's for a while afterward. Now he's flying the Barbie jets.
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An old 727 is used for the plane pull at KRVS (Tulsa, OK) as well. Used to be a training tool for the local community college/Vo-tech.
 
"Plane Pull" is obviously descriptive, but could someone elaborate on what happens at such an event? Thanks!
 
graumann said:
"Plane Pull" is obviously descriptive, but could someone elaborate on what happens at such an event? Thanks!
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Usually done at charity events, teams of people sign up to see who can tug on a rope attached to the aircraft and cover a set distance in the shortest time. Teams are usually 10-people or so, and they have to pull the aircraft something like 10-20 yds. Obviously getting the aircraft rolling is the most difficult part, but it's all just a friendly competition.
 
I've always had a love of the 727. Never flown one - I was born just a hair too late for that, but it'd certainly be a neat type rating to have.
 
There are still some corporate operators of the B-727. There is still a certified simulator in Sanford, Florida.
 
Any idea what it costs to get a 727 type? DC-3 might be more useful.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Any idea what it costs to get a 727 type? DC-3 might be more useful.
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I wouldn't think more than 10 grand, in the simulator, but that's just a total guess. With not many operators left, the sim company has to be happy to have anyone there using it.
 
I saw one advertised a while back claiming to be Hef's old bunny plane. Are any of the African operators flying them?
 
We had 20 people on a team. I actually pulled for two teams: DC Pilots and on some radio station's team that was short people. After you pull all 20 of you get on FEDEX's giant scale (I can't remember if the scores were handicapped for weight or it was just for tie breaking).
 
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