pj747 said: I bet Lou doesn't know the answer to this one: What two systems failed/malfunctioned on the 727's first flight?

Well Peter this was indeed a PROTOTYPE! I worked as a flight instructor and a FAA check airman and we would regularly be assigned to the overhaul base to fly a plane as it came out of the check "C" or other work. I always asked the maintenance foreman to ride along with us to observe his work. One time, we flew a 707 that had a lot of work done to it as well as a full horizontal stabilizer replacement. The foreman was reluctant to go fly, but I insisted. There were pages of log book write-ups about things we found wrong with the plane, but the big one was that the stabilizer trim was wired backwards - and the foreman got an eye full first hand.

As for the prototype, the center engine surged during the takeoff roll, probably because the FCU (fuel control unit) was a bit out of trim. Then later in the flight they had trouble with the leading edge devices since the actuators were undersized.  Really not bad for a first time flight.

Lou

P.S. do I win?  ;)

P.P.S. as a new F/E and F/O I hated smoking in the cockpit. We had some old guys who smoked cigars and it was really bad.  :(