I just booked a flight with United, not online (but via a very nice UA Agent...good to talk to humans rather than computers...once in a while...🙂...), from my hometown Chicago Airport (the one in O'Hare, aka: ORD) to Orlando (MCO), to be flown in about a month's time. This is at the invitation of a local family in Florida. I would be hosted and chauffeured, so, I just need to still get a one (or two) day pass for the Disney World. I have not been there in ages, and wild rides for myself being now things of long past...maybe a leisurely stroll in the Epcot Center is what I'm most looking forward to. I have some fond memories of my decade-and-half ago visit to Epcot, such as sampling food (and brew) at the street-side cafes and kiosks, there, from countries around the world...World Cuisine...🙂...maybe not, but food was certainly better than I'd expected...Oh well...we'll see...

When I settled in Chicago 25+ years ago, you might guess that FS2000 was about getting released...🙂... So, I recall routinely setting up virtual flights out of KORD in the mundane (SIM) aircraft of the day and considering myself sufficiently knowledgeable (pilotage included) about aviation. The old adage, "A little learning is a dangerous thing" perfectly applied to me...🙂...but my intentions were honest. The first thing that had struck me about KORD is the Airport ID (ORD), which stands for "Old Orchard". Indeed, O'Hare sits on an old apple orchard, and was called "Orchard Field Airport", been also the site of a former Douglas factory of WW-II military aircraft. In 1949, it took its current (O'Hare) name, by which we all know it now, but the original ID (ORD) was retained. United and O'Hare have been intertwined though history. Currently, United is headquartered in the local Willis Tower in downtown Chicago (formerly called "Sears Tower"; always liked this former name before it got renamed after the London-based insurance broker...🙂...).

Today, I was looking in this Forum at vbazillio's post "Milwaukee General...Sandwich", and that's what I recall at O'Hare as a frequent traveler. Chicago is one busy airport for sure (I just read in Wiki, "As of 2023, O'Hare is considered the world's most connected airport."). Having often travelled domestically and internationally from this Hub, I would sometimes strain to look back through my cabin window (best when you're taxiing perpendicular to the runway) to catch sight of the "ducklings following the mamas"...🙂...or vice versa. How about a smaller CRJ "sandwiched" between a 777 and a 350 or even a 380...?

Anyway, this post mimics my upcoming (United) flight (ORD-MCO). I see that United would give me a 737 MAX 9 for the departing leg, and believe it or not, a 757-300 for the return leg. I didn't even know United still operates the (old gem) 757s. Their (current) fleet actually shows up with 61 total 757s (40 -200s and 21 -300s). So, more than the 737 MAX, I am looking forward to experiencing the "stretched" pencil-liner (757-300), the "longest single-aisle twinjet ever built". I've flown in Delta's 757s in the past, but never with United. BTW, we really need a 757 in our SIM (instead of umpteen more 737s and 320s... with due respect for these stalwarts...🙂...) ...truly miss the 757s/767s from the past SIMS (CS: Are you listening...?). 

FlightAware shows the (ORD-MCO) route for yesterday's (completed) flight UAL2042 as follows: (CMSKY CARYN CYBIL PXV HITMN ACORI DEEDA GRNCH5). Now, I neither have a 737 MAX 9 nor a 757-300 in my SIM, so, I've set up a flight with a United A320 instead, (roughly) following the above (RW) route. So, here we go. Please find, below, 2 distinct liveries of United (both interesting and nostalgic): First 4 pictures of the good-looking United "Friend Ship" (note, two words) heritage (1972-1974) livery A320 lifting off from ORD, and then the rest of the pictures of the famous "Battleship Gray" (1993-1998) livery (people said, it had a "dark" and "sinister" look...🙂...but I like this one a lot), also on an A320, touching down into MCO's Runway 17R, in the dusk light...

Hope you enjoy...! Thanks for viewing...!

Nice shots. So instead of waiting until after your Orlando trip to relive it in the sim, this time you have chosen to pre-live it! 🙂

Fine set - again !

cheers 😉

As always, great story and pics, P_7878! We must have visited Epcot at the same time, you were there. My wife, who is almost fanatic about Italian cuisine, insisted that we had lunch at the Italian pavillion, and she loved it.  

Your customary fascinating intro, P_7878 and another splendid set of shots. I really love that Friend Ship livery, but personally I've never been that enamoured of the grey/blue paint. No great fondness for KORD in real life - I always seemed to have to rush like crazy for miles between gates for connecting flights whenever I used it, but I do enjoy it in the sim. Lots of good airports and addons for around that area. Re your CS comment - they do have the 763 and 764 for MSFS, but no 757 - and I'll join you in the queue for that one!

Another nice set P_7878, good looking shots...

Nice set of shots! 😉 

Fantastic  Look back at those Great  UA Liveries

On 5/7/2024 at 7:20 PM, John F said:

Nice shots. So instead of waiting until after your Orlando trip to relive it in the sim, this time you have chosen to pre-live it! 🙂

Thanks, John. Yes, kind of...🙂... probably had also done it in advance of my trip last time I visited MCO/Disney...🙂.... cannot believe 15+ years have passed since ...

 

On 5/8/2024 at 12:01 AM, pmplayer said:

Fine set - again !

cheers 😉

Appreciated the comment, pmplayer...!!

 

On 5/8/2024 at 6:16 AM, bernd1151 said:

As always, great story and pics, P_7878! We must have visited Epcot at the same time, you were there. My wife, who is almost fanatic about Italian cuisine, insisted that we had lunch at the Italian pavillion, and she loved it.  

Thank you, Bernd. Glad you could recall a bit from the Epcot Park. Now, I recall a thing that maybe of interest to you...I'd bratwurst and cabbage in the German stall...🙂...with a certain brew to go with it...🙂...a brand that would not be normally found in grocery stores ...

 

On 5/8/2024 at 8:39 AM, andy1252 said:

Your customary fascinating intro, P_7878 and another splendid set of shots. I really love that Friend Ship livery, but personally I've never been that enamoured of the grey/blue paint. No great fondness for KORD in real life - I always seemed to have to rush like crazy for miles between gates for connecting flights whenever I used it, but I do enjoy it in the sim. Lots of good airports and addons for around that area. Re your CS comment - they do have the 763 and 764 for MSFS, but no 757 - and I'll join you in the queue for that one!

Appreciated the note, Andy. Yes, KORD is now slightly more efficient maybe, but not much better...from what you recall. They are building a huge multi-Storey parking that might avoid ground traffic in future, but KORD is my connection to all my world trips. I would not have seen the world without it...and would not have flown in so many a/c types without it...It has contributed tremendously to my aviation interest not being a Pilot, so, I'm grateful to it...

Oh...about 767, you mean the one from CS without an actual 767flightdeck ...🙂 ...similar to their 777...Actually, when CS had brought out their original 757s/767s I was active daily on their forum, and, as I recall, I had also participated via the stepwise versions they were releasing these products ... But I'm with you Andy, if you are fond of a certain aircraft type, you can get it irrespective of avionics and flight fidelity. To me, an aircraft type stands for many more things...e.g., unique history, memories, and a story of its own from its lifetime of deployment...As an aviation enthusiast, I feel those sense more when I actually get to fly it, even if it's not pilot-grade...🙂...Hope, we get the 757 soon in MSFS...

 

On 5/8/2024 at 9:04 AM, andiflyit said:

Another nice set P_7878, good looking shots...

Thanks for chiming in, Andreas...!

 

On 5/8/2024 at 10:22 AM, Alaska738 said:

Nice set of shots! 😉 

Will: Appreciated the comment...!

 

On 5/9/2024 at 6:34 AM, Phantom88 said:

Fantastic  Look back at those Great  UA Liveries

Spoken by a native...🙂...Thanks for the kind words, Patrick, and, of course, about United, you would know...

20 hours ago, P_7878 said:

Oh...about 767, you mean the one from CS without an actual 767flightdeck ...🙂 ...similar to their 777...

That's the nice thing about not caring about the flying (piloting) side of all this - I wouldn't know the difference between a 747/777/767 cockpit anyway. I could probably tell if they were using the default Cessna 150, but beyond that - not really <grin>. Given that I don't use a yoke, just a CH Pro HOTAS setup, none of them match my desktop anyway. As you say, an aircraft is a whole lot more than just its sim performance/behaviour. Some of them are like old friends (even to the point of scruffiness and crankiness <grin>)

On 5/13/2024 at 6:08 AM, andy1252 said:

That's the nice thing about not caring about the flying (piloting) side of all this - I wouldn't know the difference between a 747/777/767 cockpit anyway. I could probably tell if they were using the default Cessna 150, but beyond that - not really <grin>. Given that I don't use a yoke, just a CH Pro HOTAS setup, none of them match my desktop anyway. As you say, an aircraft is a whole lot more than just its sim performance/behaviour. Some of them are like old friends (even to the point of scruffiness and crankiness <grin>)

Andy:

Honest thoughts expressed well and w/o reservation...🙂...I admire that...I can't recall how many times you've (openly) said you prefer "CNTRL+E"...🙂...above hours of time spent with hundreds of pages of the (SIM) a/c manual...BTW, don't think I am saying you cannot follow a set of manual instructions for the (SIM) a/c if you put your mind to it, but you've chosen to spend your available time more suitably per your liking and what you're expecting from this wonderful hobby. Perfectly understood...! Most of us are here not to become aspiring pilots, but just to have some fun in our spare time...each in their own way…

I distinctly recall from decades ago, how I was repeating, 2-3 times a week, the (extremely well-written) PMDG MD-11 (FSX) Tutorial Flight, between different cities, following the instruction manual to the letter...from cold start-up to cold shut-down, each session taking many hours. As the hair is turning greyer...🙂... I just cannot afford to do that even if I want to, so, I'm now a free-lancer just a tad bit above you in terms of following a/c manual instructions...though I certainly like to dig deep into a complex a/c, once in a while...

Cheers and happy flying…!

Edited May 16, 20242 yr by P_7878