Aircraft Quiz #31 Redux.

[Doug Robertson]

Personal circumstances required that I delete this quiz earlier because I had to be off-site inactive for some time and unavailable to answer. There were about 300 views back then but no answer attempts, as I recall, apparently showing my aviation quizzes are tough, and that is my goal-to ask the esoteric.

The first non-stop transcontinental scheduled passenger air carrier service in the USA took place many years ago.

1. What airline first offered this service?

2. What was the year of this first service?

3. What aircraft did they use? Make and model number needed.

4. What is an absolutely unique feature of this airline's PRESENT non-stop transcontinental (coast to coast) passenger service? Nota Bene: this question reveals the air carrier in question is still in service in 2014.

5. What aircraft provides the present service of question #4 for this air carrier?
Make and model number needed.

I won't give credit for ANY answers until ALL are correctly answered, perhaps making this a tougher quiz. Prove me wrong!

[moxy]

I'll give it a whirl.

1. United Airlines

2. 1933

3. Boeing 247D

4. Tricky one. Maybe the Seat Back Satellite TV. Probably not!

5. Boeing 737-900

Apparently in 1933 one of the United Boeing 247D aircraft was the first civil airliner to be brought down by a bomb, killing the crew and 4 passengers.

[Doug Robertson]

Well, a no on all counts. You may have not considered the word non-stop. The Boeing 247D had a range of up to 750 miles at 155 mph. Even the later iconic Douglas DC-3 had to make one fuel stop to fly USA transcontinental at about 170 mph cruise, speed/range depending on version-there were several civil passenger versions of the 24 or so of all versions built. My first ride was in a USN R4D military version.

Might you have somehow been thinking of the Boeing 247D that came in second in transport category in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race from England to Australia? That one had special fuel tanks added but race was not non-stop, my recollection.

Please keep trying, participation enhances this site!

[SunvisorFlyer]

New here, but I'll throw something out.

1. T.W.A.

2. 1953

3. Douglas DC7

4. Offers first, business and commercial class options?

5. Airbus 321T

[Doug Robertson]

Thank you, No-but keep trying. I might add TWA not still in business-long defunct.

[moxy]

I should have known better than to think the Boeing 247D had the range.

I think SunvisorFlyer was correct except for the airline named.

1. American Airlines (Known as Mercury Service I believe)

2. 1953

3. Douglas DC7

4. Economy/Business/First Class seating

5. Airbus A321T

[Doug Robertson]

Thank you, No-but keep trying. Sharpen your focus.

[moxy]

Struggling with this one Doug.

Re my previous post I can only suggest amend number 4 to: Lie flat seats in First and Business. Hopefully the other answers were correct though I'm not holding my breath!

[Doug Robertson]

Well, close enough!

4. First class cabin seats are only SINGLE seats in two rows-each seat BOTH an aisle seat AND a window seat, and pitched to allow full length recline flat bed with covers. Business class seats are NOT single seats, but also their seat pitch allows full length recline flat bed makeup- with covers. This the uniqueness of American Airlines' present transcontinental non-stop service. (But consider the possible "issues" of those business-class bed arrangements-LOL).

AA "invented" transcontinental NON-STOP airline service in 1953. Your other answers correct. Other features are enhanced Wi-Fi at every seat and a library of hundreds of films or television programs.

Trans World Airlines went defunct in 2001. It originally flew New York to Los Angeles via stops at St. Louis and Kansas City with reverse courses back to New York. After filing it's third bankruptcy it was acquired by American Airlines and TWA disappeared.

I thank all who viewed this puzzler.

[Ztex]

Everything I have read tells me that TWA started the non-stop trans continental service on October 19, 1953 with American beginning November 1, 1953.

They both had trouble meeting the 8 hour crew time limit on the westbound journey...American had to get the feds to change the rules and negotiate overtime with the crews to make it happen westbound.

hmmm

[Doug Robertson]

Zane,
Suggest you take it up directly with American Airlines-that is their printed claim-from 2013.

I quote "Sixty years ago, an American Airlines DC-7 took to the skies for the first-ever nonstop transcontinental service. It was the most luxurious and advanced flight of its day. Today, we're bringing the legend to a new generation. Introducing our new A321 Transcontinental fleet. Enjoy refinement and exclusivity more often found on private jets, both on the ground and aboard the only true First Class from coast to coast. Only on American".

One possible explanation-back in the day, US airlines frequently piloted a new route with paid passengers aboard as a trial establishing service, time enroute, ETA confirmations, and or other bugs, etc, before publicly offering fare service on a scheduled basis. Vagaries of weather forecasting then enroute a transcontinental flight at piston speeds suggested such caution, etc. Note I am not defending American's claim; only pointing out their claim as first. That was the basis of the quiz's questions.

[Ztex]

I wouldn't put it past Howard Hughes to jump on any opportunity to be the first at anything. LOL

And AA like to toot their own horn as well...

It seems that AA may have had the first "two way" transcon flights...
On the west bound legs, TWA stopped along the way for crew change and/or gas in the earliest days of their service, because of pilots union and FAA crew duty time limits.
That was soon fixed with money and legislative pressure on the regulators.


http://aviationtrivia.blogspot.com/2010/10/holy-grail-of-nonstop-transcontinental.html

[Doug Robertson]

Thank you Zane, for the link. It validates the quiz question entirely as two-way (out and return) service is a given defining scheduled non-stop transcontinental airline passenger service in America. Kudos to Moxy for getting it basically correct.

As an aside, I had many 10-12 hour flight missions as aircrew in Navy P2V-4 (range to 4,200 miles) and P2V-5F Neptunes (range to 4,750 miles or 14 hours) on station with two meals aboard-both labeled by the station galley as Not To Be Consumed After 1400, so lunch and supper was onboard-no one ever got food poisoning as was cold at unpressurized altitude. (We did have individual O2 masks/tanks as necessary). When young, such was possible and routine. And the Federal Aviation Agency not overly involved with military flights on filed flights, except when need to use civilian tower airports in emergencies. Question-Are you larger than a DC-3? Answer-Give me your longest runway! LOL