My First FH-227 Flight
By Gary C. Orlando
It wasn’t until 1987 that I would actually get to fly on the Fairchild Hiller FH-227 having been obsessed with this aircraft since before I entered Kindergarten in 1972. It was first introduced to me serving our local airport of Rock Falls, IL (SQI) by Ozark Air Lines. Afraid of it at first because of its screaming-loud Rolls-Royce Dart engines, it soon became my favorite airplane of all time.
On September 25, 1987, I took a 25-minute flight from Moline, IL (MLI) to Burlington, IA (BRL) and back. The outbound flight was Continental Express/Britt flight 4723, scheduled to depart at 12:35 PM arriving at 1:00 PM. The aircraft that day was N378NE, the same plane that graced the skies over Rock Falls six years earlier while operating a charter flight for Britt. N378NE was originally delivered on November 2, 1966, to Northeast Airlines where it flew until Northeast merged with Delta in 1972. N378NE was one of only two FH-227Cs that Delta actually used in regular service before selling all of the former Northeast FH-227s to Air New England in early 1975.
Back at Moline with my ticket in hand, I walked across the ramp to climb the airstair door. I was giddy with excitement! As I entered the aircraft I noticed the interior was just the same as it appeared in the Air New England article written by my friend Rand Peck, that I had read many years earlier in an issue of Airline Quarterly magazine. There were no overhead bins; only racks for coats, hats or small carry-on items. Another curious thing was the seat numbers started with seat row number One in the rear of the plane, getting higher in number going forward, up to row number Twelve. I had my tape recorder with me and I took my seat: 10A, by the propeller on the left-hand side of the aircraft.
Since I was the only person getting on the plane in Moline, Sheri, our flight attendant, came directly over to give me a personal safety briefing. She didn’t announce who our pilots were. I guess I should have asked but, I was just too excited!
I had actually flown on my first Fokker F.27 flight a year previously with Chicago Air Lines to and from Moline to Chicago Midway Airport (MDW). Engine startup was much the same on the FH-227 as it was the F.27; the only noticeable difference was the 227 was a lot louder. However, the real difference came at takeoff time. While the newer Fokker F.27 had been quieter, almost a muffled sound, the FH-227C was very loud. The typical staccato sound emitted by the pointed props was clearly heard in the FH-227. The F.27 was much quieter with its square-tipped props. I like loud, so I was happy.
After we landed in Burlington, the Britt agents allowed me to do a little walk-around photoshoot of this big ol’ bird that I had just flown on. I only wish we had digital cameras back then because I would have hammered that plane with pictures. Enjoy the shots of my walk around of N378NE.
Extreme rear view.
Between the two flights, my time in Burlington was spent hanging out at the airport and exploring. I made quick friends with one of the Britt agents named Gary Freitag. We had a nice conversation about Britt and my interest in the airline and especially the Fairchilds. All too soon it was time to climb back aboard for my return to Moline.
Our return flight was Continental Express/Britt flight 4756. It was scheduled to depart at 3:15 PM and arrive back in Moline at 3:40 PM, where it would then return to Chicago.
As I boarded the airplane I would again be welcomed by Flight Attendant Sheri, along with Captain Wiles and First Officer Munson as our pilots. On this leg back up to Moline, I took a more central spot under the wing (Seat 7A) to get a different sound, which indeed it was. The sound wasn’t as “proppy,” as I coined the term. The row of seats was even with the center of the engine nacelle, providing an excellent vantage to hear the characteristic in-flight whine of the Rolls-Royce Dart engines and to watch the main gear cycle up and down. That whine really becomes more pronounced after takeoff when the pilot reduces engine RPM by opening up the props to take a bigger bite of the air. The approach for landing is interesting, to say the least. It’s almost a “dive bomber” approach, especially on short final. Altogether, it’s a different ride than in a low wing plane because it feels like the plane is hanging on the wings instead of sitting on the wing.
After my arrival back in Moline, I quickly headed back outside with enough time to record audio of N378NE starting up and taxiing out for its departure back to Chicago.
It was a great little adventure that I would repeat a month later on October 27, 1987, but next time on Britt Fairchild F.27, N386BA.
Tags: Britt Airways, Chicago Air Lines, Fairchild Hiller, FH-227, N239MA, N378NE, Tail chasers
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Rand Peck
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Hello Gary, I was just doing a little research concerning our Fairchilds at ANE and found this site with your Fairchild adventures. Very nice and well written. I only flew the FH227 for one year before ANE shutdown but it gave me large aircraft and complex systems experience that served me well as I flew larger and more complex equipment as I journeyed through my airline career.
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Gary Orlando
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Thanks Rand.
You even got a mention in the small story!!
Thanks for the recent ANE care package with the slide!!
Stay tuned for more adventures.
Cheers, Gary
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Ken Hodges
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Gary,
I enjoyed your article and appreciate your passion for the FH-227. Most of my FH-227 memories are from Mohawk Airlines’ “Weekends Unlimited” trips I took as a teen, but later I enjoyed one Fairchild flight on Air New England. It was LGA – BDL on N378NE.
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Gary Orlando
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Thank you Ken!!
Yeah, that ole WhistlePig just stuck with me as my favourite. I only wish I could have flown on more of the Britt FH-227s when they were in their heyday.
Neat that you also flew on N378NE, too!!
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Duane Martin
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Hi Gary,
I so enjoyed reading your adventure on the FH 227B propjet. It, too, is one of my favorite planes. There is nothing like those Rolls Royce Dart engines.
I flew Britt Airways frequently from my home airport, EVV to ORD and back. I so loved walking out onto the ramp and walking up the rear airstairs which was actually the lowered rear entry door. I, too, wish I had a digital phone camera to record the sound of those engines. Many times I’d take a morning flight and then return on an evening night flight. Those props would lull me to sleep although I was excited like you to experience the flight.
I loved the different sounds while taxing as well as the flight itself, watching the landing gear retract and lower from the engine nacelles was another special treat for us aviation geeks.
I also liked the smell of the A 1 jet kerosene fumes in the cabin at times, only an av geek would like that. I liked the low dim lighting in the cabin at night as well. Oh, the memories. I’m so grateful that others like you enjoy these very special planes. Thank you for sharing your experience. I so enjoyed reading it and seeing your pictures.
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Gary Orlando
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Thank you Duane!!
Yes, there was always something special about the 227 that just fascinates me, even though it scared the living daylights out of me the very first time I saw it as a Pre-School grader back in 1972. Back then we went out to the airport to see Ozark’s 227Bs as a form of entertainment.
We even made audio recordings of a couple of the Ozark planes. I even audio recorded my two flight segments on the flights mentioned in this article.
My only regret is not being able to fly on more of them when Britt Airways flew them.
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Duane Martin
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Hi Gary,
I so enjoyed reading your adventure on the FH 227B prophet. It, too, is one of my favorite planes. There is nothing like those Rolls Royce Dart engines.
I flew Britt Airways frequently from my home airport, EVV to ORD and back. I so loved walking out onto the ramp and walking up the rear airstairs which was actually the lowered rear entry door. I, too, wish I had a digital phone camera to record the sound of those engines. Many times I’d take a morning flight and then return on an evening night flight. Those props would lull me to sleep although I was excited like you to experience the flight.
I loved the different sounds while taxing as well as the flight itself, watching the landing gear retract and lower from the engine nacelles was another special treat for us aviation geeks.
I also liked the smell of the A 1 jet kerosene fumes in the cabin at times, only an av geek would like that. I liked the low dim lighting in the cabin at night as well. Oh, the memories. I’m so grateful that others like you enjoy these very special planes. Thank you for sharing your experience. I so enjoyed reading it and seeing your pictures.
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Miles Warren Rich
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Gary, I am sure you know this, but if you like quiet while in the cabin, the place to sit in the F-27, F.27, and FH-227 was in the rear. The cabin was quiet there after takeoff. My first FH-227 flight was on an Ozark FH-227B in 1967 or 1968 between ORD and MLI with a stop at SQI, your hometown airport. My first turbine powered flight was on an Ozark F-27 in 1960 on a nonstop from STL to MLI. I also flew on Hughes Airwest F-27s several times in the 1970s, on the MVA and Air Wisconsin F.27-500s when they served Moline in the 1980s, and on Piedmont, and Britt FH-227Bs in the 70s and 80s. I miss the whistling pigs just as you do.
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Frank Ellemers
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Gary,
Must have been a nice experience at that age.
Frank
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Gary Orlando
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Frank,
When in Kindergarten, I was only an observer of the airplane at our local airport but finally as you see many years later, I finally got my chance to fly on the FH-227. I flew on a few more after this as well but, this was my first.
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Diana Kirk
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Great article, Gary! You are quite a writer (which I am not), it was like being there myself. Thank you, very interesting!
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Gary Orlando
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Thanks Diana,
Glad you enjoyed the small article. This was an excerpt from my Manuscript that I am working on. Articles like this will be under a new category called “Tail Chasers.” These small articles will be written about adventures people take to fly on a certain type or types of aircraft. Some interesting and crazy adventures can ensue from trips like that. I made another trip such as this to Mexico to fly on an FH-227 as well. That story is coming up soon.
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