You could ask the same about a fixed-wing aircraft. I think the answer lies in the carbon-based lifeform at the controls.

I have a lot of respect for the job they do. Although many people think they're just airborne waiters, their reason for being is for safety. In an emergency, they save lives and there are many instances to illustrate this. But day-to-day, they provide one of the most lasting impressions the airline makes on its customers, so it's important that they have good social skills. If you don't like dealing with people, it won't be a job you like.

You're outside my knowledge base here. For better information, you should talk to a flight attendant, and probably any one of them you see would be happy to talk about it. Go to this website: http://upgrd.com/thecrewlounge/ which is hosted by two flight attendants, or email them at fa@upgrd.com with your questions. They might even discuss it in their podcast (I was just a guest on Episode 29 of their podcasts.)

No. A particular airline might have some limits, especially if their flight attendants are unionized, but the FAA puts no limits on block hours for flight attendants. While most of them fly about the same number of hours as pilots (80-85 flight hours/month), I've talked to some FAs who have flown as much as 150 hours in a month!

In my opinion, there should be some kind of flight time limit. A fatigued FA might be useless in an evacuation. There should also be an age limit. There have been several cases of FAs working well into their 70s and being physically incapable of doing the job. But airlines fear age discrimination suits. The FAA took care of that problem with airline pilots by imposing an age limit. They should do the same with FAs.

I'm not sure you understand what "furlough" means. To be furloughed is to be laid off. It's like being fired, but you maintain your position on the seniority list and a right to come back to the job if they ever recall employees.

All crew members (pilots and FAs) receive per diem during overnight stays, whether domestic or international. And, of course, the company arranges and pays for transportation and hotel.

If you're interested in travel and meeting lots of new people (co-workers and the public), it could be a great experience. It will certainly expand your horizons and experience base. Check out that website I mentioned above...they can probably answer a lot of your questions.

My knowledge on that subject is about the same as yours. In the helicopters I fly, the only requirements for flying inverted is a LOT of altitude, and considering my employer, a wish to either die or never fly again. But that's not so much flying upside down as it is falling out of the sky.

Thanks for the answer anyway. Like sure, I dare say, I've seen military display where the chopper flew upside down for a time but I can't recall offhand if it was restricted to the top of a loop or roll, in which case the inversion would be pretty short-lived. I can't imagine it does a lot for the stresses in the main rotors.

It would definitely be a short lived maneuver and wouldn't be possible without a lot of altitude. I didn't even realize there were helicopters that could sustain inverted flight until I did a google search and found that Red Bull owns a couple. Like you said I imagine it would require a lot of engineering and I doubt it would ever be practical on a military helicopter.

Actually, the Blue Eagles, which is the helicopter display team of the British Army Air Corps perform loops and wing-overs in their Lynx and may actually have been/still are the only display team to perform such a maneuvre. I stand to be corrected on that last point but it does show that a military helicopter is capable of such a maneuvre and it is in fact sanctioned by the top brass and manufacturer. Maybe you could ask for a detachment to their HQ which is at the wonderfully named village of Middle Wallop.

Lol I've heard the bashing between helo and plane pilots quite a few times. I know it's mostly playful but pretty silly imo.

They're both awesome.

Cool Red Bull Helo acrobatics

Have always been fascinated with helicopters. Too bad the flight time is so damned expensive.

What do the FA's earn?

And if the pilots are paid peanuts on the regionals, does that leave only the shells for the FA's?

That was a fun listen.

If you decide to go ahead consider that Delta is now hiring:

https://delta.greatjob.net/jobs/JobS...4c1&actionMsg=

I notice Delta has a "Ready Reserve" category for part-time employees. Do all airline employees enjoy free travel?

Ready reserve employees (and some dependents) are eligible for free travel.

F Anybody who does that kinda stuff for enjoyment is definitely a screw loose.

Too true.

Some guys are better than others at getting the sweet landing and I've flown with a handful who seem to consistently get the "greaser." This is often someone with a whole lot of time in that particular type of airplane.

I never landed a 727, but I flew sideways on it for a few months (as flight engineer), and I remember hearing pilots discussing technique for a good touchdown. A lot of guys said the correct move was to actually push slightly forward on the controls just before touchdown because continuing to pull back just slammed the main gear onto the runway.

During my initial training in the 767/757, I was given some good advice that seems to work: when flying the 767, start rounding out at about 30' and keep some power on until at least the last 10'; in the 757, start the power back to idle at 30' and have it fully off by 10'. Of course, you have to adjust this for prevailing winds (stronger, gusty winds would dictate keeping more power on, perhaps right to touchdown).

As you mention, there is variance. Even a guy with a history of great landings can have a firm "arrival" occasionally and, on the other hand, anyone can luck out and get a greaser now and then (you'd be surprised how much a wet runway helps this). It's been a long time since I've had a landing that would embarrass me, but I've had several where I'd really like to have another try at that last foot or two.

Glad you had a good experience in the 172. If you plan to pursue a pilot license, I'd be interested to know if you ever hit any parts that you consider not quite so shockingly easy. For most, that's the part close to the ground (where there's something to hit).

The R-22 definitely requires more pilot input throughout the flight and I can relate to your reaction. I really enjoyed my hour in one.

I don't know anything about this accident. I never even heard about it until your post. The runway is only 4100' long, short for any jet, even a straight-wing Citation 550. The report you cited mentioned "wind and rain." My guess, based on absolutely nothing, is that some combination of (1) excess speed at touchdown, (2) landing long, and (3) hydroplaning (if there's enough rain for standing water) resulted in going off the end of the runway. But it's really kind of irresponsible of me to even speculate, given no additional information.

A post-crash fire is probably the biggest threat from an over-run like this (assuming you're not going off a cliff), so walking away from this kind of event is not that unusual.

If you consider employee wages to all be doled out of one pot, then this is probably not an unreasonable metaphor. But it would be hard to argue that FAs should be paid as much as pilots, imo. After all, there are no special qualifications to getting the job, whereas pilots must invest thousands of dollars in obtaining the ratings and experience.

I don't know the pay for FA's (and of course it varies from one airline to the next), but it doesn't increase as much as pilot pay does over the years. So although a first year pilot and FA may have comparable W-2's, this won't be true for 5 year employees.

I don't know if part-time employees get the travel benefits, but my guess is that they do. It's one of the perks that airlines have used for a long time to justify the low wages they pay to gate agents and ramp workers. It's becoming kind of a phantom perk lately, because it's hard to plan on non-rev flights these days. If you're planning a family vacation, you're better off finding cheap positive-space fares on the internet. It's no fun sitting at the gate and wondering if you'll get on.

We even have a long list of destinations where the company employs something they call "load optimization", which means that the cargo is so lucrative at this destination that they will leave passengers behind so that they can take more cargo. I've flown out of Cairo with 20 empty seats and non-rev passengers left behind.

If you're very flexible, non-rev travel can be great. My parents use the benefit 3 or 4 times a year. They have a great non-rev attitude, which came in handy earlier this summer. They tried to get from D.C. to Denver to visit my sister. They got stuck in Atlanta where, due to really bad weather the previous day, hundreds of stranded passengers were filling up flights. My parents spent the night in Atlanta, couldn't get to Denver the next day either, and ended up flying back home (and barely getting on that flight!). It's the first time they had such trouble and they were surprisingly upbeat about it. They told me that the gate agents in Atlanta were all very helpful and tried very hard to get them on flights.

I'm only on page 6 of the thread, and I don't really have time to read the other 163 pages, but what about the cell phone and ipod stuff. Is a cell phone really going to crash an airplane? Also what about all those 9/11 stuff when people were calling from the plane, is that or isn't that possible? Sorry if these questions have been answered.

Hey Captain, I heard that you can use your free travel benefit tickets on other airlines, they call it a z-class fare. is that true?

I think when terrorists are aiming your plane at a building, using a cellphone is a Dr Pepper '"what's the worst that could happen?" situation.

Is the story from the following video totally made up? If not is it as dangerous as it sounds?
Cliffs - On the tarmac for 20 mins, pilot comes on the intercom and says "Fuel gauge is broke, They'll be on their way shortly."
20 mins later pilot saya "It still isn't fixed but they know how much fuel is on board so we'll just go"
Another 20 mins pilot says the cant get clearance to land at La Gaudia because of bad weather, so he will tell the local tower the are going to Philly and the weather will have cleared by the time they get to their original destination.

About half way in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW7qNmNa8CY

A few weather questions:

Can the temparture ever be too hot for takeoff? I recall hearing a story out of Phoenix a few years back where the temparture got to 122 and they cancelled flights until it got down below 122.

Could it ever be cold enough on the ground to see contrails while a plane was taxining?

Have you ever done a Zero/Zero Landing? If so, did you use the heads up display?

great link W0X0F, your spot was good, then I downloaded the rest. A lot of info and humor from those FA's.

Will copilots soon become redundant?

W0X0F, perhaps you should consider a move to the left seat after all before it's too late...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ch-pilots.html