Here's a second video with more graphics and less audio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE_5e...ture=quicklist

hey woxof this is a great thread and very much appreciated! I have a couple questions if u dont mind?

1. what is one or even some cool possesions that you have obtained or will in the future from being a pilot that say you might not have if you were a dentist or janitor?

2. I understand you have flown some famous people around and I really loved your Dan Marino story lol but is there anyone in particular that you would love to have the honor of having as a passenger?

3. sorry if I missed this in the earlier parts of the thread but you say now days the money is not really so good and all, I was kind of curious as to what the pay and or benefits were for a pilot in the good days?

4. Last but not least, Im half joking but half serious too when I ask, what do you think goes thru the mind of the pilots who dont play poker and are not aware of 2p2 everytime they notice the sudden influx of some young punk poker kids constantly crying for the APU to be turned on because they are a tad bit warm lol?

anyway thanks again for such an awesome thread, I also really dig how you get to fly with your bro, so sick. Be well sir

Im 300 posts in, and haven't seen these asked yet. (apologies if they have been)

1. How absurd was what Frank Abagnale Jr. (catch me if you can) managed to get away with, do you know anyone that encountered him? Would he literally have just sat there doing nothing?

2. What did you think of Concorde? My fathers friends with a retired Concorde pilot who said it was one of the safest planes out there, (although economic failures were it's downfall).
Would you have liked to fly Concorde? Not sure if it's his ego speaking but he claims it was the ultimate plane to fly. He retired with Concorde, claiming he wouldn't fly another plane or something.
Can you see any other supersonic planes coming any time soon?



Have more to ask but wouldn't want to bog you down.

Interesting speech by Frank William Abagnale, unfortunately he reveals most of the film is false

Thanks again.

Sorry about that. It was an oversight and not intentional...and there's nothing silly about your questions.



Yes, windshear is just two air masses with different velocities, but not necessarily due to temperature differences. This abrupt change in wind velocity means turbulence and can be a real safety concern on takeoff and landing due to the potential for an immediate decrease in airspeed during low speed operations (takeoff or approach). We practice windshear recovery (both takeoff and landing scenarios) every year in recurrent training. [My turn to go "practice bleeding" is coming up next month.]

As for how they detect windshear, I'm kind of mystified by that too. I understand doppler as it applies to red star shifts, speed measuring equipment, and why sirens sound different when they're coming at you or going away from you. But I don't understand how they use doppler on air masses.

Some of the other data, such as temperature and wind speed, is compiled from position reports. On every flight, we send in a report about every hour and a half which includes the winds and SAT (Static Air Temperature). From this wealth of data, the company can put together a pretty good picture for their software models and they give out very accurate forecasts.


Did I say that? I don't remember, but I see how it could be better for sudden decelerations such as might be experienced during a high speed abort or an emergency landing. One thing that might argue against it is simple comfort. During cruise, the plane flies at about 2.5 degrees nose up and facing backward you might feel a little bit like you're slipping out of your seat. I suppose they could just cant the floor to account for this.

I completely agree with you. Statistics are interesting things and you can bend them to your will, but I don't think anyone can argue that it is inherently safer to be operating on the ground at speeds that are survivable (not to mention that you have the option to slow down or pull off the road at any time).

The one thing air travel has going for it is that there's nothing to run in to while aloft (it's not the fall that kills you...it's the sudden stop) whereas a car is always seconds away from hitting another car or going off the road.

Flying is a demonstrably safe way to travel. However, an aviation accident has a certain 'terror' aspect to it. An airline disaster gets national attention, days of round the clock talking heads and often Congressional attention (which sometimes mean new laws or regulations). Meanwhile, thousands of motorists die every year on our highways and it doesn't raise an eyebrow.

I'm sorry...what did you say?

Yeah, I have seen this...pretty interesting. I've said it before: Sullenberger and Skiles are great representatives of professional pilots everywhere. What an outstanding job they did.

hahaha

OP, are you watching Ice Pilots? I just watched an episode where they landed a four engine turbo prop on a runway that was barely visible up in the Arctic. It looked pretty insane! Definitely a show I'd think you would enjoy...

I don't know that I have anything that's really cool. I have a chrome plated P2-V gear bolt (not sure exactly where it goes in that assembly) that was given to my dad in 1956 when he finished a tour at Overhaul & Repair in Corpus Christi, TX. I have my dad's Navy logbooks, which I treasure. I have the unpublished autobiography of Jim Cherbonneaux, who gave me my first flying lesson and who flew 100 missions in the P-51 in Korea and then flew U-2s over Russia in the late 50s for the CIA.

I've bought little souvenirs all over the world, but nothing too special. Every time I go to Moscow I bring back a bottle of Russian Standard Platinum vodka...cool looking bottle (and a good price over there). Whenever I go to Istanbul I load get pashminas and little baubles to give away as gifts (bracelets, etc). In Brussels, it's chocolate...again, as gifts.

I used to see a lot of celebrities and politicians when I flew the shuttle. Not so much now, though I did have Jonathan Lithgow on my flight from Nice a few months ago. I would love to have David Letterman, because I know he is a fan of aviation and I've been watching him off and on since 1982.

I've got a good celebrity story about Richard Belzer that I'll put in a separate post (probably tomorrow...getting late here).

Well, before my time in the golden age of airline flying (60s and 70s) it's been said that a Captain with one of the major airlines could buy a new Cadillac with his monthly check. What would it take to do that today? Maybe $50K a month?

Retirement plans varied from airline to airline, but it's safe to say that someone who spent a career at a major airline could have a 6 figure income in retirement (and that would be in addition to any personal savings, such as a 401k). Not anymore.

I think you overestimate the impact this thread has had.

That really was a pretty neat thing. I've got the picture of us (in the cockpit over the North Atlantic) displayed in my office at home.

This story was told to me by Steve, a Captain I recently flew with. It occurred on a Nice trip when he was a First Officer. The Captain he was flying with at the time was not widely loved. In fact, several pilots had this guy on their "Do Not Fly" list, which is a way of specifying, during the monthly bid process, that you don't want to get any trips with a certain pilot. The problem with Captain Bligh (not his real name) wasn't that he was so terrible with fellow pilots, but that he treated every other working group, including FAs, like crap. It was just embarrassing to be with him.

Captain Bligh had been his usual disagreeable self on the trip over to Nice and now it was time to head back to NY. He had his wife and 10 year old son along on the trip (even more reason to try to be nice to the FAs, one would think). During the boarding process, the gate agent told the Captain that they had a celebrity on board and pointed him out. It was Richard Belzer, who I am told has a place over in Eze, near Nice.

Belzer said hi as he boarded and indicated an interest in seeing the cockpit. The Captain asked him if he would mind having his picture taken with the Captain's son. Belzer readily agreed. With Belzer in the Captain's seat, the Captain urged his son, "Step in a little closer to Mr. Nimoy" while he framed the picture. Belzer looked over at Steve who was sitting in the right seat and said, "Oh, Spock huh?" and made the Vulcan "peace sign." Belzer never told the Captain of his mistake. (Steve managed to let Belzer know that he, Steve, was aware of his real identify by just asking how the show "Homicide" was doing. The Captain never got a clue.)

Belzer was travelling with a small dog in a carrier and in the course of their discussion, the Captain made the offer to let the dog get some exercise up in the cockpit during the flight. After Belzer was back in his seat, both FOs let the Captain know that this was a bad idea. FO #1 was very diplomatic and said it was "not a decision that I would have made." Bligh said, "Well, I'm the Captain." Now Steve piped up, "That dog is not coming up here during flight." The Captain asked why not and Steve told him, "Look, there's no way for you to get that dog up here without everyone in Business Class seeing it. And then they're going to think we're up here playing with a dog rather than flying the plane. If a passenger doesn't report it, one of the FAs almost certainly will."

The light seemed to go on for the Captain and he said, "Well, what do I do now? I promised Mr. Nimoy that we'd let the dog up here." Steve said, "Just tell him that I'm allergic to dogs and that you didn't realize this when you made the offer." That sounded like a good way out to the Captain and he started out of the cockpit to make his excuse.

As he was stepping out of the cockpit, Steve said, "Oh, and by the way, when you tell him, be sure to call him Mr. Belzer, not Mr. Nimoy." The Captain, still clueless, asked why. "Because that's his name", Steve told him.

Holy smokes! What a bonehead. And here I thought common sense and being a good pilot went hand in hand! Sheesh!

i've flown backwards in United's new business class, and apart from takeoff, didn't notice any difference from the front-facing seats. during takeoff, however, you kind of have to brace your feet on the floor to avoid slipping down in the seat.

enjoying the tread W0X0F, even thought i'm a loyal united guy.

No problem with that. I have a lot of friends flying with United (and a lot who are out on furlough). I would have loved to have gotten hired by United, but I couldn't even get an interview (and neither could my brother, who was current in C-5s at the time). I wanted United because I live minutes from IAD, one of their bases. Glad I didn't get on there now...I'd be on the street.

The 90s were the days of Nancy Stuke (not sure of the spelling) heading up United's HR dept. She hated men and United hired nearly every woman pilot we had at ACA (including FOs with no Pilot in Command time).

I remember the chairman of United's pilot union stopped in to talk at one of our union meetings and someone asked him what the deal was with none of our guys being able to get interviews at United. He went on about how competitive the process is at United and ended by saying, "My son flies F-14s and even he would find it very tough to get an interview these days." Someone in the back of the room piped up, "How about your daughter?"

I'm just looking into getting a license for flying.. and I'm very curious, it'd be for my own personal convenience.. whats the cheapest airplane I could get my hands on? A two seater would be fine

For cheap, you probably want a 2 seat trainer type plane (C-150, C-152, Piper Tomahawk or Cherokee). For as long as I've been flying, the best source for finding used planes is a publication called Trade-A-Plane which now, of course, has a web site. Here's an excerpt from that site:

but basically you can get a 25+ year old airframe like a cessna 150-152 for about 25k ballpark. i don't think that comes with the g1000 system tho.

Sorry if this has been asked already and I missed it.

How old is too old to start learning to fly.

Thanks

LOL luv the spock/belzar story, thanks again sir!

There is no age limit. I found these posts about an 89 year old student pilot and a 91 year old student pilot. And this web site mentions a 103 year old guy who is a pilot with a current medical certificate.

I've heard of lots of guys who didn't take their first lesson until their 60s, after they retired.

but you could probably be 30 years old and never learn how to fly. i'd say everyone can learn to fly but a very select few can become good pilots.

if you're someone who shuns technology and avoids learning about new things especially electronics, then it might be really difficult and tedious to get back into the groove. i've taken two lessons (2.3 PIC hours yeah baby) and i know that before i get to 10 hours when i can solo, and before I get to 50 hours to get far enough to take the tests, there is literally a wealth of information similar in scope to a college course that you need learn.

from my limited experience you have to have an extremely sharp mind, capable of both remembering all kinds of little but crucial details, and just like in a car if something goes wrong you need to be able to make the proper decisions on instinct in the face of any fear/adrenaline that will be pumping. that definitely doesn't describe everybody.

If you live in a rural area, you can fly without all the cockpit gizmos. Many people learned to fly in planes without electrical systems and for instruments all they had was the venerable "needle, ball and airspeed". In my ideal flight school, that's what all my students would start with. Just go out and learn stick and rudder skills and then add the automation (and comms) later. But that's impossible if you operate in urban areas or at a tower controlled airport.


Congratulations! I don't want to rain on your parade, but it's not PIC...yet. It should be logged as "Flight Training Received" (often called "Dual instruction"). See FAR 61.51 Pilot Logbooks. An excerpt:

That first solo will be your first PIC time and it's a flight you'll always remember. Please post your first solo experience when it happens.

it's in a little while still...still only two lessons so far and going to traveling a bit over the next month. i'll have another post for lesson 3 when it happens.

Michael Moore did a short 5 minute piece on how pilots are severely under paid to the point of having to go on food stamps. Since it is michael moore I came in assuming alot of "showmanship." However, they had captain sullenberger testifying to congress about it so I felt it had more creedence. As an outsider it is hard for me to seperate the fact from the fluff. So I'm asking you, what is your take on the rate slashes and how dramatically do they affect the pilots?

Here is the video for reference

http://www.wimp.com/pilotsstamps/

I agreed with everything in that video up until the end when Michael Moore lays all the problems at the feet of Capitalism. But the voice-over after Sully's statements to Congress regarding the airline profession was right on the money: Congress didn't want to hear that stuff. They wanted to bask in the glow of an American hero.

When Sully said that no pilot wants his son or daughter to enter the profession, he's echoing statements I've been hearing in the cockpit for the last decade. I tell people I have a great job...but it's a lousy profession.

The major airlines still pay decently, but in most cases pilot retirements and pensions have been gutted or completely eliminated. There's at least one outfit I know of where the FOs pay for the privilege of flying! That's because building time is one of the biggest hurdles any fledgling civilian pilot faces. So it's a win-win: the pilot gets his multi-engine time and the company gets a revenue producing warm body in the right seat (and somehow satisfies the Feds with this). In reality it's a lose-lose situation: the pilot is instrumental in the industry's "race to the bottom" and the flying public is unwittingly getting a one-pilot operation.

When I started at ACA in the early 90s, I couldn't support myself on my airline pay. Luckily for me, I had other skills. I worked on the side as a software consultant and made more doing that than I did flying.

There's a lot of reasons for the current state of the industry and a big one was the blurring of the major airline/feeder airline relationship. It used to be that the feeders operated small prop planes (usually turboprops...very safe planes in spite of the publics fears) on short routes that fed the associated major airline's hub and spoke system. Pay at the feeders (regionals) was lower but pilots recognized them as the "paying your dues" stepping stones to a job at a major airline.

When small jets started replacing the props, this system began changing. They put the jets on longer and longer routes and the pilots flying them (at least the Captains) started enjoying a liveable wage. A career at a regional was now a viable option (I was pretty happy at ACA flying as Captain on a 50 passenger CRJ).

With the RJ, management had been handed a means to whipsaw the two pilot groups, i.e. use one group as a club to keep the other group in line. Mainline flying was shunted to the small jets (cheaper to staff) and you could find yourself on a 50 passenger jet flying halfway across the country. This shift in flying meant stagnation in movement at the major airlines. With flying going to the regionals, time to upgrade from FO to Captain increased and career progression was effectively halted.

Add to all this mix the fact that executive compensation is obscenely ridiculous, and each new management group comes in and treats the business like their own little cookie jar, and...here we are.

Didn't mean to get off on a rant.... And don't read too much into these grouchy musings. I'm happy with my job..for now (but I'm always thinking of my "Plan B"). I'm also not looking for sympathy from anyone. As my dad once told me, "If you're looking for sympathy, you'll find it in the dictionary somewhere between s*** and syphilis." (You can't teach those kind of parenting skills!)

I just found this thread and would like to thank the OP, a very interesting and fascinating read

Thanks