Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximum Rocknroll
every time i get on an airplane i am firmly convinced that i am going to die. when i see the other passengers around me calmly reading books or falling asleep i always want to grab them by the shirt and yell "DON'T YOU REALIZE WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN?" but instead i just put the blanket over my head and rock back and forth until the beverage cart comes my way.
so, thanks for doing this, hopefully it will help me learn some things that will make me stop acting so irrationally (for some reason flying is the only thing i'm so ******ed about).
i've always wanted to ask pilots questions when i see them sitting around the airport but obviously nobody likes to be bugged during their downtime so i don't bother. i'm sure 2+2 can come up with better questions than i have anyway.
i heard once from a guy going to flight school that the takeoff is the most dangerous part of the flight. is this true?
You should go ahead and talk to the pilots you see. Most pilots really like doing PR for the industry and our profession. I would be very surprised if they mind.
When I was flying light airplanes, I remember taking a high school buddy of mine on a trip to the Bahamas. We stopped in Jacksonville Florida on the way south and spent the night with my aunt and uncle. I had a hard time sleeping that night just thinking about the flight the next day from West Palm Beach to Freeport: 70 miles of ocean to cross in a single engine plane.
We flew to West Palm and I filed the flight plan for the Bahamas. We got the required life vests and raft for the crossing and then took off. Minutes after takeoff, the shore line was receding behind me and nothing but water in front. I imagined every sort of odd sound from that engine and I guess I was about as nervous as a knocked up nun.
Fast forward to early 90s and I'm flying the J-32 (19 seat turboprop) for United Express out of Dulles. On flights to Islip NY we would go out over the ocean, at night, about 50 miles. This made me nervous too.
After the move to jets, I became very comfortable with the inherent reliability of the engines and the single engine performance of the plane. Flying the MD-88 to Nassau from NY? No problem.
When I moved to international flying, I did give some thought to crossing thousands of mile of cold North Atlantic water in a plane with 2 engines, but after a couple of crossings I can honestly tell you I feel as comfortable and relaxed as if I were sitting on my living room couch surfing 2+2.
BTW, there was a day when at least 3 engines were required for an ocean crossing. With the improved (and proven) reliability of jet engines, the FAA and other countries' aviation authorities approved ETOPS certification for certain jets. ETOPS stands for Extended Twin engine Operations, though I've also heard it stands for Engines Turn or People Swim...ha ha, good aviation humor huh?
Also, if you're interested, ask if you can visit the cockpit when you board your next flight. We do that all the time for our flights.
One real good story on this: in Amsterdam we had lady bring her two little kids up to see the cockpit and then she just headed back to her seat, leaving them with us. Cute little kids, boy and girl about 4 and 5 years old. We put them in the right seat, and then started showing them some of the bells and whistles and lights. After about 2 minutes, it became very apparent that they didn't speak a word of English, so now the Captain starts in with: "Do you like gladiator movies? Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"
Last edited by W0X0F; 06-18-2014 at 12:38 PM.