This episode of the Discovery ’67 TV show, made in partnership with United Airlines, focuses on the Boeing 727. The episode starts with host Bill Owen sitting in a flight simulator cockpit for the Boeing 727. In the Captain’s seat is flight instructor Major General Donald A. McGann. Closeup of Captain’s flight instrument panel with air speed indicator, compass, and altimeter. Closeup of center panel with instruments for engine readings. Captain McGann points to the gear handle. Closeup of the throttles for the three jet engines. Closeup of radio controls. Closeup of overhead panel with lighting switches, hydraulic switches, and electrical switches. 1:45 Closeup of the center panel. 1:53 Closeup of the captain advancing the throttle. He points to the engine thrust instruments and the air speed indicator. He decreases the throttle, then extends the speed brakes. 2:36 Closeup of gyro horizon (attitude indicator) as the pilot moves up, down, left, and right. 3:31 An operator with Denver Approach Control is seen at his panel. He speaks into a telecom. 4:27 Exterior shot of the Boeing 727 simulator. Pilots sit in the cockpit during a training session. Closeup of the problem panel. One of the pilots presses the “No. 3 Engine Fire” simulation button. The lead pilot walks through the steps he would take in that situation. 5:57 Instructor McGann freezes the simulation. 6:11 Bill Owen stands in front of the simulator, talking. 6:15 Exterior shot of a United Airlines Boeing 727 jetliner on the tarmac. The second officer conducts a ground check. Instructor McGann steps on board with the pilot. The men board the plane and walk down the aisle towards the cockpit. 7:12 The Boeing 727 prepares for take off. Operators peer out of binoculars in the control tower. 7:25 The pilot, second officer, McGann and Owen all sit in the cockpit. Closeup exterior of the plane. The nose lifts and the plane ascends. 8:09 Airplane wings in the foreground and Denver, Colorado below. 8:25 Closeup of the control panel in action. The pilots check the stick shaker. 9:04 The United Airlines Boeing 727 cruises above the clouds. 9:30 Closeup of the center control panel. 10:23 Training continues in the cockpit. 11:38 The camera shakes a bit due to turbulence. 12:03 Closeup of lead pilot wearing a hood, impairing his vision so he must depend solely on the instrument panel in front of him. 12:22 Exterior of the Boeing 727. The plane dips to the left above rural land. The runway is visible on the ground in the distance. View of the left wing as the plane slowly descends. The plane approaches the landing strip. 13:47 McGann lifts the pilot’s hood and the plane meets the landing strip. The camera shakes as the landing is made. 14:15 The plane lands and taxis on the runway. 15:21 Jets taxi on the tarmac and then fly overhead. Model of the SST supersonic jet transport. 15:47 Demonstration of a vertical takeoff. The plane arises, then tilts its engines to fly forward. 16:04 Cut back to Bill Owen in the cockpit, and then standing at the nose of the 727 on the tarmac. The film ends with various shots of the Boeing 727 as the credits roll.

The trijet Boeing 727 was launched in December, 1960, with the first 727-100 rolling off the assembly line in November 27, 1962. It first flew on February 9, 1963, and entered service with Eastern on February 1, 1964. It was powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofans below a T-tail, one on each side of the rear fuselage and a center one fed through an S-duct. It shares its six-abreast upper fuselage cross-section and cockpit with the 707. A stretched version dubbed the 727-200 entered service with Northeast Airlines in December, 1967. Besides the airliner accommodation, a freighter and a Quick Change convertible version were offered. The 727 was retired from passenger service in 2019. Production ended in September 1984 with 1,832 having been built.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com