Trivia question for the group... since November 2009, how many comments has W0X0F added to this amazing discussion?

Answer:

And here is a fresh PDF compilation of all of those comments. (as of today, July 30th)

PDF - 2p2 thread - 2156(!) pages

And as an added bonus, here is another PDF summary of the thread with W0X0F from flyertalk.com (that Flyertalk thread died way back in July 2013, so this doc hasn't changed since then):

PDF - FlyerTalk thread - 278 pages

NOTE: The p2p document above also captures the posts from our resident helicopter pilot ("d10"), who has been a part of this thread since the very beginning, asking excellent questions while also providing his own interesting responses from the rotary-wing perspective.

Passed my 76 ride! The plane flies beautifully but its a small step backward automation-wise so that will take some getting used to. Ready to be home after 77 days of training but looking forward to OE.

I think W0X0F mentioned that August was his mandatory retirement month? IIRC, even though I know you're not looking forward to it, congratulations!

Now, a few questions about wind. Planes always want to take off into the wind, right? What if there isn't any? If, for example, a plane that's eventually going east takes off to the west due to wind, how long into the trip (or far away from the airport) is it before the plane turns around?

I looked back through the thread. End of August is the forced retirement. Sucks we can't all book a seat on the final flight. I would have loved to have helped send him out in style.

Yeah, that would've been a great idea, mark.

Eleven weeks of training!? Ours is less than half that. Curious who you work for. PM me if you don’t feel comfortable saying it here.

I’m jealous...the 767 is a great plane and a joy to fly (so is the 757). I’ve had one two trip since the end of March. Not at all the way I pictured my last six months. I’m off right now and I finish my career with eight days of Reserve, August 21-28. Then, on the 29th, it’s happy birthday to me as I’m forced to give up the job I love.

Chances of me getting a flight is near zero since I’m non-current now. They’d have to send me Atlanta to get three bounces in the sim before they could assign me a flight. That costs money and they’re so fat on Reserve Captains that I just don’t see it happening.

I’m thinking that once COVID dies down (a year from now?) I’ll take a few months and fly around the world.

Yes, we prefer to takeoff and land into the wind for performance reasons (not as much runway required). Most airports have a preferred runway configuration in case of calm winds. They often won’t change the active runway until the change in winds is significant. In most cases, we can accept up to 10 kts of tailwind for takeoff and landing. When the tailwind component exceeds 10 kts we tell the tower “Unable” if they try to issue takeoff or landing clearance.

If you takeoff in a direction different from your intended route, the distance you fly before being cleared on course is a function of the local airspace configuration and restrictions. New York airspace has three major air carrier airports (JFK, LGA, EWR) and several other very busy general aviation airports (TEB, FRG, ISP). The airspace is partitioned with arrival and departure corridors for each airport and takes into consideration the current runways being used at each airport. The partitions are 3-dimensional of course, so this sometimes means you fly up to 20 miles seemingly out of your way.

Heading to the west course out of JFK, I’ve often departed on runway 22, then turned to the left east back over Long Island and continuing the turn to North, passing over Stonybrook before turning left westward over White Plains and continuing on course. On a nice day, I just enjoy the view.

Atlas. One week of indoc, two weeks of systems, a SIT, the oral, 6 fixed bases, 8 sims, the type ride, two days of LQT, then four more box checking sims. Bunch of days off between. So ready to go home.

Oh, I wasn’t considering that you were a new hire...forgot about indoc training. Delta used to have two weeks of systems training but cut it back severely, expecting guys to show up to class on the first day (after self-study) for one day of review/questions followed by the test. I favor the old way which actually taught how the systems operated vs. today’s method of knowing just enough to get by.

I’m guessing that somewhere in there (perhaps those last four sims?) you covered worldwide ops (e.g. flying the NAT routes and WATRS routes).

I knew the guy who chairman of your MEC for many years, Dave Bourne. He’s probably retired since he was close to my age, though I don’t know which of us is older. I knew Dave from before either of us got our first jobs. He had an old Bamboo Bomber (WWII twin-engine training plane) that he was building time in. That would have been about 1978 or so.


Anyway, congrats on finishing the training. Now you’re ready to se the world!

Saw a show on the crash of Northwest Airlink 5179 last night.

Sadly, this happened not long before the FAA's mandate for altitude warning systems in all commuter aircraft.

Question not about that crash per se, but here's a wikipedia link if anyone's interested.

Rather, interested in the collision avoidance systems. The way the show made it sound, it would've set warning lights and audible alarms when the altitude got too low.

Wondering if modern systems go further--do they ever take over flight to avoid problems?

https://youtu.be/tyVKN_q34tM

Wtf is going on here? Dude decided to jump out of the plane with a rope seconds before the stairs show up? Of course the video didn’t show it clearly. (2:20)

I hear the commentary from those taking the video but it doesn’t make any sense.

W0X0F have you checked out the just released newest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator? The realism is off the charts. Do you have interest in this type of software or do you not need more "Doing your job" for recreation? Twitch and reddit are currently going crazy about the experiences it provides.

If you have looked at it, how does it compare to actual flying? Maybe I need to ask the guy you helped takeoff, fly and land with only simulator experience.

There is very little information to go on in this video. I don’t know what the emergency was. There is no apparent fire, but the only thing I can think of that would call for evacuating through the cockpit window using the escape rope (which is stowed in a compartment over the pilots’ heads in the 767) would be smoke in the cockpit. No evidence of that either.

I haven’t seen it yet, but I’d like to. Maybe Sparks will chime in on what he thinks of it.

Sparks! That's how I found my way to this thread in the first place, following that thread live. (I think)

Left main gear wouldn't extend. They landed on the nose and right gear only. A lot of sparks, but I don't think there was any fire.

There's an extended ATC recreation here:

There are not a lot of games that cause my jaw to drop but this one sure does. I spent 2 hours the other day watching a group of 20 planes fly through the Grand Canyon. So pretty. The whole simulator plays at 1:1 with the real world (With tens of thousands of airports modeled). And yes it supports multi-player so you can go fly with your favorite flight buddies.

This twitch streamer has made a good pile of memorizing twitch videos:
https://www.twitch.tv/ej_sa/videos

Trailer (100% in game graphics):

hi W0X0F

I happened to stumble across the JAL123 wikipedia page and it seemed to imply that despite the sudden catastrophic loss of the bulkhead that the flight and airplane still had a reasonable chance to recover minimum control to land with survivors, is that accurate?

Reading the min-by-min breakdown makes me wonder why don't pilots immediately focus on regaining as much control and then immediately landing? It seems to me that there is way too much for the pilots to diagnose in the initial situation with all the alarms, ATC, noise, and compounding complications with a catastrophic failure. In those first 5 minutes of failure, contacting and having a discussion with ATC should be way down on the list. All of the focus should be on initial diagnosis, maximizing existing flight capability, examining flight capability, strategizing with FO, then contact ATC and demanding a landing at your choosing

Well, today is the last day of August. Enjoy your new and improved life of leisure WOXOF. I've gotten many years of enjoyment from this thread and want to thank you again for all the time and thought you've put into. It's been great and I'm looking forward to many more years of stories.

Here, here. This thread has killed many an hour when I was deployed, bored, or procrastinating. Thank you.

Congratulations/condolences on the end of the career portion of your life's adventure.

Even though I know it's not what you'd really like, congratulations on retirement.

I used to be an aviation junkie who spent more time in the air than at home and quite often at home I was reading flyertalk or airliners.net and I've never came across a more interesting or illuminating discussion of the life of a pilot. Thanks for many happy hours of reading and I very much hope you find something to do with the third act of your life that brings you joy. Perhaps you should write a book!

The commonly accepted dictum for handling emergencies (and I’ve heard throughout my 43 years of flying) is: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. You fit in the diagnosis and handling of the emergency where it makes most sense. Having two or more pilots makes it a lot easier. One pilot can be running checklists while the other guy flies and talks. Having a jumpseater or relief pilot in the cockpit really helps ease the workload.

I turned 65 on the 29th, so the 28th was my last day as a Delta pilot. It sure didn’t end the way I wanted. I only had one trip since March. I went non-current and I sent several emails begging to get qualified (i.e. head to Atlanta for three takeoffs and landings in the sim), but I guess it just wasn’t worth paying for the sim time and an extra day’s pay for me. After all, with the reduced flying due to COVID, and the fact that we’re not welcome in many countries these days, they had about a hundred 767 Captains on Reserve. One less guy available wasn’t a big deal.

Because of payroll guarantees through September, I drew a paycheck the entire time, albeit for somewhat less than I would have made for an actual line of flying. Considering what so many other people are contending with, I’d have to pretty self-centered to feel sorry for myself. I really was hoping for some more time in heavy aircraft and it’s a tough thing to know that it’s all over.

On top of that, my 92 year old father passed away from pancreatic cancer on August 3rd. (His obituary, written by me, is here.) From diagnosis to passing was about a month. He will be buried at Arlington Cemetery on November 30th.

I really didn’t want to retire. It’s a job I always loved. But a recently retired United Captain told me I’m getting out at a good time and he’s right. The industry might take years to recover and a lot of pilots will be furloughed.

I’ll keep flying small planes and might even do some instructing again. I got my CFI in 1980 and I’ve gone to the trouble of renewing it every two years since then.

I appreciate the sentiment.

That is very flattering.

A book...hmmm.

thank you as well for this great thread once more.

i've learned a lot and it was always fascinating to read your incredibly detailed responses to seemingly basic questions.
thanks for taking the time and sharing your knowledge and all the best in your retirement!