Another big reason why widebodies aren’t common for short/medium flights is because an airliner’s lifetime is *not* defined in hours, but in *pressurization cycles*.

One flight is typically one pressurization cycle, regardless of distance. So it makes the most economical sense to put the most expensive (largest) planes…

Great, now I’m not sure if it was an MD-11 or a MD/DC-10. Back then it wasn’t all Airbus and Boeing. Seemed absurdly large, it was probably the last trijet I rode on, which was sad.

Well regional airports also don’t have the volume. Most big city airports have plenty of room (with the exception of some old airports that are no longer the city’s main airport: LGA, National, Midway, Love, Hobby and the like, though LGA can, and very occasionally does handle 767s).

She’s kind of middling as a director, but she’s always great as an actress. Can’t wait to see her in this!

Nope. That number would be absurd. No jet fighter costs so little. I want to say that initial costs hopes were somewhere in the $25-35M range, a keep in mind that was in the ‘90s, so you are looking at more like $50M in today’s dollars. That’s still a lot less than what we are paying, but not as bad.

And to think...the program was originally slated (as in, this was a HARD requirement of contract award) for F-35 to cost $1,000,000 each (give or take). This helmet costs almost 1/2 of that original budget figure. Cost overruns and feature creep at its finest.