On Tue, 25 Oct 2016 10:29:44 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:
In message , at 08:25:10 on Tue, 25 Oct
2016, d remarked:
There are plenty of 30 year old planes still flying out of the UK
That's true. The 747 is over 45yrs old, five years more than an HST.
Yes, but pretty much all of the 747 Classics are long retired. The
747-400 from 1989 had significantly modernised systems, including a
two-crew glass cockpit. And many of the older 744s have now also been
retired. This is unlike the HSTs, none of which have been retired
(though a small number have been written off in accidents).
The latest, further modernised and stretched 747-8 was introduced in
2010, and remains in limited production.
But if you're going to cite classic versions of airliners, the
original 737 is even older than the 747 (dating back almost 50 years).
Unlike the 747, the current versions are being produced in record
numbers.
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2016/01/27/boeing-to-lift-737-production-to-57-monthly-by.html
But none of the first generation 737s are still flying in Europe (too
noisy). Even the second generation 737s have mostly gone. But some
trains from that era remain in service in the UK, mainly in the
charter market. And, of course, the legendary 1938 stock soldiers on;
it dates from the DC3 era!