Oldman tell us your stories about your flying experiences.

I started my career as an engineer for DuPont, but after a few years of sitting in a cubicle drawing circles and squares, I knew that I needed to do something more challenging. I always wanted to fly and I spoke with my dad and he told me to go for it. Most airlines at that time required all pilots to have a 4-year degree, so I was able to go straight to flight school.

Was the picture taken in Alaska? I flew there once. It was in June and I was surprised how warm it was.
 

An interesting thing came to mind after I posted in the “Vocabulary” category. Did you know that English is the International language in aviation? Every pilot and every ATC must speak English over the radio. No country is exempt from this practice.

Let me tell you something. Some foreign pilots really struggle with communicating with ATC. I shouldn’t laugh, but some conversations turn very funny. I know English is a difficult language to learn, so I sometimes feel bad for pilots from other countries when they are struggling to communicate, so I would sometimes try to help ATC understand pilots that are struggling.
 
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Capt Lightning said:
Oldman, maybe you could answer this....
When I worked in Amsterdam, I stayed in the Marriott hotel and a lot of flight crews stayed there too. I got to know some of the pilots - mainly in the bar. One time when my wife was staying with me, we saw a fairly short pilot come in and Mrs. l wondered if the cockpit seats were adjustable. We asked one of the pilots (who mainly flew 747 cargo flights) and instead of a simple answer, we got a whole story of the difficulty in flying different sizes of planes and how you had to set up things to get the proper perspective for landing.

Is this the case? Do you adjust the seats to suit the pilots ? Are there specified height ranges for pilots?
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I apologize. Somehow I missed this post. Pilot seats are adjustable and here in America, and probably other countries, they are covered with sheep’s skin for comfortability and wear. Seats can be adjusted up, down, forward, aft and they also have a lumbar support. The armrests fold up, as well.

Here’s the issue with adjusting the pilot’s seat. Some of the newer aircraft, like the last 20 or so years, have what we call HUD, or Heads Up Display. If you aren’t familiar with this, HUD reflects some of the important instruments onto the windshield or their sun visor, so the pilots do not have to continually look down. Adjusting the seat to get the desired height, so a pilot can correctly read those instruments while using HUD can sometimes be tricky.

My Corvette also has HUD as do many of the foreign race cars. I hope this answers your question.
 

old medic said:
Sorry Oldman... Kinda hi-jacked your thread... (no Pun intended)....
Im about to turn 57, grew up around dirt track racing in NY, Did alot of help building tuning and some seat time. Got involved helping some folks attempting to take back the Production Motorcycle Record at Bonneville that Harley had held since the 50s... (We Did) But that opened a Pandora's Box, Our son wanted to race, and at 15 build a 250 Honda Rebel.... and finished 10th in points the 1st year.... Started getting other ride offers..
He has set records over 200 MPH at 4 different tracks Eventually setting a record that was , At the time, 7th fastest sit on motorcycle in the world....
Does that count as FLYING ?????
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Not that it matters, but I live about 3 miles from the Harley plant. I think they build softails there.
 
fmdog44 said:
The scariest crash in my mind was the flight that flew inverted (upside down) for several minutes before crashing in to the sea. Imagine the passengers on that plane in the final minutes.
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I wanted to comment on this post and it slipped by me. Normally, when a pilot goes inverted, it’s all over. I was in a simulator at 38,000 feet when the master alarm came on and I had no idea what the problem was. We were dropping nose down and then, we rolled over. I thought for a few seconds and decided that it had to be with the horizontal stabilizer. It took me until we got to 9000 feet to right side the plane. The check pilot that was grading me said that I was only the second pilot to ever save the plane. I was really proud of myself, until I thought, if I had been at 28,000 feet, I would have bought the farm.
 
oldman said:
I started my career as an engineer for DuPont, but after a few years of sitting in a cubicle drawing circles and squares, I knew that I needed to do something more challenging. I always wanted to fly and I spoke with my dad and he told me to go for it. Most airlines at that time required all pilots to have a 4-year degree, so I was able to go straight to flight school.

Was the picture taken in Alaska? I flew there once. It was in June and I was surprised how warm it was.
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Yes,The picture was in Sitka. It's beautiful there when it isn't raining. We would go out boating every day it didn't rain! Anti-climatic after reading your last incredible post!
 
United has the right idea. I wonder if other airlines followed?

April 24, 12:07 p.m.
Effective April 24, United Airlines will require all flight attendants to wear face coverings or masks while working. The airline said this will be in line with the CDC recommendation concerning face coverings when social distancing is not possible. United said there will be 20 masks on every domestic flight and 40 on every international flight, according to CNN. Flight attendants are able to wear their own face masks or the ones that will be provided by United. The decision came in line with their partnership in the Association of Flight Attendants.
 
I have been hearing some really sad stories from some of my friends that are still flying. There was a flight from Phoenix to Boston and they had a person of Chinese origin onboard and he was coughing , but not a lot. However, it was enough to concern the flight attendants and so they told the Captain, who in turn advised air traffic control. Boston wanted to refuse the flight for landing, but under FAA rules they did not have the authority to do so, but the Governor thought he was able to do so.

The Governor spoke with his attorney general and he told the Governor that he did not have the authority to refuse the flight, so the plane landed. They took the passenger to a hospital nearest to the airport and had him tested, which he tested negative for the Coronavirus. The passenger was free to go his own way.

This was not a United flight.
 
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Could the airline industry open again if "social distancing" were practiced? I haven't heard, Is the government bailing them out? This industry CAN'T close down! Any insights on this?
 
The government already bailed them out once and now they are looking for a second handout. I think Delta may go bankrupt. Social distancing on planes is already being practiced and it's easy for them since there planes are only about 10-25% of capacity, if that.

From what I am hearing from some others still flying, both men and ladies is that they are still being paid, but money is tight. Two weeks ago, United was late with making payday, which is not a good sign.

American is also in deep financial problems.

What it may come down to is government doing to the airlines what they did to GM. Force them into bankruptcy, which would terminate all of their working agreements with Boeing, Airbus and other airlines and stay (hold) off their other creditors and also to make their stock worthless. Then, allow them to restructure and come back under the same name, but different corporate management. Right now, it's the cheapest way out and if I was holding any airline stocks, I would consider dumping it, even at a loss. At least that way, the investor could take a capital loss against any gains on other more profitable investments.
 
Sitting in the office in Dallas and a Captain from AA (American Airlines) comes in really loud yelling to "Just fix the damn thing already." I looked at him and asked him "What's up?" He tells me, "I left Seattle and about an hour into the flight the damn Autopilot (A/P) shuts off and will not re-engage. I tried changing the breaker and every other damn thing in the cockpit manual, but nothing worked."

I asked him what plane was he flying. He tells me a Boeing 737. I asked him if he checked the Autothrottle (A/T) circuit breaker. He goes back out the door cussing up a storm. The dispatcher looked at me and said that I must have hit a nerve. I told him, "No, he forgot to check the A/T circuit breaker, which is a main problem on the 737 and will cause the A/P to shut down. Problem solved.
 
I saw a thread on this forum about masks. It brought to mind another flight that was entirely unexpected. We were flying from New York to Los Angeles. This was two months after 9-11. Upon my arrival to the airport, a note was handed to me, which read to be sure to speak with the United Dispatcher before boarding.

I went into his office and the first thing out of his mouth was, “Captain Loser, you’re going to love this.” I immediately thought, this isn’t going to be good. He tells me that eight (8) female Muslims will be on my flight and by their tradition, they are required to wear a mask (niqab) over their face and United has approved their request. However, they are afraid they will be taunted and abused by other passengers. He just thought that I should be made aware of this.

I had to think how I could suppress the situation before anyone started anything. So, I decided to wait until everyone was boarded and then I walked back through the coach to where the women were seated in four (4) seats. I announced to the passengers, (I have a very loud voice), that these ladies are traveling with us to L.A. for the purpose of seeking freedom in the U.S. They are NOT terrorists. They just want what all of us have....freedom.

With that they applauded and there were no issues. I didn’t think any of the women understood what went on until the last lady leaving told me, “Thank you for your kindness. I love America already.” I thought to myself, “Lady, I hate to tell you, but you haven’t seen nothing yet, but you’re about to.”
 
When I retired, I moved to a place a half mile from a small airport. I got my license in 1972, but had been inactive for a number of years, taking care of my late wife. I decided to get active again, and got a check ride to enable me to fly.
I found an organization called Angel Flight West, that arranges volunteer flights for patients who cannot travel any other way. I have made 110 flights, and the satisfaction I get from the patients is priceless.
I have always been interested in older military planes, and have actually flown a B-25, P-51 Mustang, and a Korean War MiG-15 Jet. I flew the P-51 to celebrate my 80th birthday.
 
Under the newest FAA regulations, pilots are limited to 10 continuous hours of flying time. If you are flying international, chances are that two complete flight crews will be onboard. One crew consisting of a Captain, F/O and however many F/A’s will be on duty while the second crew is either in a resting area or a lounging area away from the passengers. *NOTE: There are times when three pilots are in the cockpit. It’s up to the airline.

The two crews will decide when the change of crews will happen. It is possible that if you sleep during the flight, when you awake, you will notice a different set of F/A’s serving you. (F/A = Flight Attendant) (F/O = First Officer)

I have never piloted an International flight. When I flew from Chicago to Hawaii, that was not considered an International flight. Back then, it was a direct flight. Today, United uses a connecting flight in the winter.
 
Oldman, are you certain about Doris Day flying with you? I knew her well and I know for a fact she refused to fly anywhere. Ever. When Pres. George W. Bush wanted to send AF One to fetch her when she was awarded the Medal of Freedom, she flatly refused. Doris had a few phobias and flying was number one on her list. She'd take a train, ride in a car or bicycle anywhere, but never get on a plane.
 
Lewkat said:
Oldman, are you certain about Doris Day flying with you? I knew her well and I know for a fact she refused to fly anywhere. Ever. When Pres. George W. Bush wanted to send AF One to fetch her when she was awarded the Medal of Freedom, she flatly refused. Doris had a few phobias and flying was number one on her list. She'd take a train, ride in a car or bicycle anywhere, but never get on a plane.
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I thought I addressed this earlier, but it may not have posted. This was early in my career and I was at JFK when the Dispatcher gave me a choice between flying out to LAX in a commercial flight or flying a charter flight for the New York Mets out to LAX. I chose the commercial flight. I’m pretty sure that Tony Randall was also on that flight. I think he lived in NY at that time. The more I think about it, I’m thinking I may be confusing DD with Debbie Reynolds. But, I’m still thinking it was Doris Day. That was about 40 years ago. WOW! Where does time go?
 
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I think I told this story before, so bear with me. It was in mid July and most of the U.S. was in an oven. We had left Denver and flying down to Dallas. Our arrival time was about 4:00 p.m. Right before we left Denver, the latest weather report was showing possible thunderstorms by the time we arrived in Dallas. Dallas is known for having bad t’storms in late afternoons in summer.

About 80 miles from DFW, we checked the weather again and it was showing t’storms were developing, so we checked with ATC, and they concurred. It was about 90 degrees, but not yet raining. We could see in the sky ahead that a huge thunderhead (Cumulonimbus Clouds) were forming. The F/O was flying and preparing for the landing. We alerted the F/A’s to close up shop and get everyone strapped in because it could be a rough landing.

About 25 miles from the airport, the ATC called and told us that rain was beginning to fall at the airport. I decided that I should talk to the passengers and tell them what we could be facing. It makes people nervous, but they need to know, in case they have to prepare for an emergency.

Now, 10 miles from the airport and they were reporting heavy rain with lightning. Winds were 15 mph, gusting to 25. Wind direction was from the north, which made it a crosswind. As we came down through the clouds, it was very rough.We were bounced side to side and up and down. I could hear people making sounds like, “Ohhh!!” The lightning was very active. We touched down on the runway and I warned the F/O not to hammer the brakes, just tap them. We also had the auto-brakes set. He did very good. The landing was straight and smooth. The passengers applauded, which is a release of their nerves. Finally, we got off the runway and taxied to the gate.
 
Maybe you will like this one.

I have never flown International flights. However, I did fly to the Far East on several occasions with my first job out of college when I worked for DuPont. On a trip to Singapore, we had a change of planes in Hong Kong when we had come from San Francisco. The plane that we were to connect with was coming from Seattle, but it never left there due to maintenance issues, so we were shuttled to the hotel at the airport. Beautiful view of the harbor. We had flown first class on DuPont’s dime. When I worked there, I had an expense account with no limit, except we had to have receipts for most everything.

First problem we ran into was that our luggage, (I was flying with another engineer), went on ahead on China Air. Like a dummy, I never packed a change of clothes in my carryon. The airline that we were flying (United), gave us $50.00 to buy essentials. When you exchange U.S. dollars to HK dollars, the exchange rate was what it is still today, which is $7.75, or $385 HK dollars. I had no idea what all I could buy with that kind of money. Nike sneakers for $7, Gucci watch for $65 and so on. So, after we were settled into our rooms, we went shopping. I asked the Concierge where was the best place to shop downtown. He told us to go to Nathan Road.

I asked the Concierge if the cabbies speak English. No, of course not, so he wrote down on a card in Chinese, the name of where the cabbie was to drop us and on the other side of the card, he wrote the address of the hotel. When we got downtown, it was busy, but we were ready to shop. I couldn’t believe the stuff I bought. The other engineer and myself went together and bought a nice size suitcase to carry it all. I think the case cost about $10.00.We had a really good time.

When we got back to the hotel, we had a few drinks, went back to our rooms and slept like a baby. Oh, when we were downtown, we were propositioned a few times. I guess they knew we were either Americans, English or Australians. That’s what the Concierge told us.

The next day, our plane to Singapore didn’t leave until 6:00 p.m., so we hung out at the hotel and spoke (bothered) a lot of business people. The one man was telling us that he was a diamond broker and was on his way back to France to cut a deal for $30 million in U.S. cash. We actually ended up having lunch with him.

When we finally arrived in Singapore, our female cab driver told us that we should have arrived a day earlier. We asked “Why?” She told us because they hung two Australians a day earlier and the public can watch. (No thanks.) We had to ask what they did and she told us drug trafficking. Wow. Kind of a surprise. The prison is not far from the airport and you can see it when outside the airport. The airport and the prison both have the same name, Changhi Prison and Changi Airport.

Hope you may have found this a bit entertaining and maybe educational.

Last thing, we did get to watch a court ordered thrashing. They have this long reed that they slice the end into several pieces and depending on the crime, a judge can order that you receive any number of thrashings. On this day, a 22 year old received 4 thrashings for shoplifting.
 
Bonnie said:
You've had a most interesting life @oldman !
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I made several trips over there. You wouldn’t believe some of the (what they call) food they eat over there. Deep fried chicken feet and monkey brains to name a few. They also have a fruit named Durian. It stinks so bad that they don’t allow it to be consumed on the plane. Look it up. And there was also a lizard that they eat.

In Taipei, they eat some really more weird food. Not me. I went to Colonel Sanders or Burger King.
 
oldman said:
I made several trips over there. You wouldn’t believe some of the (what they call) food they eat over there. Deep fried chicken feet and monkey brains to name a few. They also have a fruit named Durian. It stinks so bad that they don’t allow it to be consumed on the plane. Look it up. And there was also a lizard that they eat.

In Taipei, they eat some really more weird food. Not me. I went to Colonel Sanders or Burger King.
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All I found, was Continental-style fare, equal to any fine European restaurant. But then, I stuck to eating at the better hotels and didn't stray far afield.
 

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