Tag Archives: 737-500

Sierra Pacific -500 Is Old School

It must be a sign of aging how surprising it is to find something that was previously so common as to be boring suddenly is a rarity and has novelty value.  Sierra Pacific is an odd operator anyway but they have some 737-500s.  These were not the most popular of that generation of 737 but they sold reasonably well.  United had a bunch of them that I have shot and Southwest had a fair few, some of which I have flown on.  The follow up with the 737-600 and that was a poor seller.

Sierra Pacific was bringing their example in to BFI and I was able to get some time off to see it arrive.  It was scheduled to be a brief stop so the chances were good of getting it arriving and departing.  The -500 was a short jet – similar in length to the -200 and the last version to come of that generation that started with the -300 and then got stretched to the -400.  They were both more popular with the airlines.  It now looks like a toy compared to the current crop.

The skies had been a bit overcast but a bit of sunlight showed itself as the jet was on final approach.  Not fantastic light but certainly an improvement on a little while before it appeared.  It touched down and headed for Modern’s ramp.  It wasn’t long before a bunch of people were around the plane and then a fuel truck showed up so it looked promising for a speedy departure.  Sure enough, it was soon taxiing.  Bigger jets have to cross to taxi to the threshold but you always worry that they will instead take an intersection departure.  This day was a good day, though, and they crossed and taxied right by me.  They were heading to Omaha so we’re pretty heavy so it wasn’t an early rotation but, since it was later in the day, the heat haze was not so bad.

737-500

AU0E8351.jpgSpending a lot of time traveling on Southwest flights means I am pretty familiar with their fleet. Normally I get a 700 series jet which means decent sized bins and wifi.   Occasionally, I get lucky and have an 800 series which has a nicer interior (although the window spacing is wider which isn’t so good). If my luck is not so good, it will be a 300 series. There are still plenty of these in the fleet. Some have had the bins expanded but many still have smaller bin space. Definitely no wifi on these guys.

AU0E8385.jpgThe other week, I had something I have not had for a while. A 500 series jet! These are smaller than the rest of the fleet and are disappearing fast. The interior is certainly not modern with old style seats and small bins. Not an ideal interior for a busy flight. I should be disappointed to get one. However, they are going away quite quickly so this might be the last time I get to ride in one. If so, I’m glad I got one last shot but I certainly won’t miss them.

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