Posted on 12/10/2004 2:44:08 PM PST by CHARLITE
When I arrived at the airport to stand in line, I watched others with worried expressions and realized that they also wanted to get to their destinations safely. I started thinking about the thousands of flights which take off and land safely every day without incident, each flight loaded with passengers just like me.
On one flight a man sat behind us, sat down and rather abruptly shut his window blind. I smiled and asked if this was his first flight.
He said that he was in the Marines, and had flown much but could not overcome his fear of flying. He was home on extended leave where he had planned to marry his childhood sweetheart and enjoy a few weeks together. He and his bride had married and had spent just one day together when his orders were changed which sent him for deployment in the Middle East.
Instead of taking the nap I so desperately needed, the serviceman and I started chatting about his concerns about flying, about leaving his bride behind, about the sudden change in orders, through most of the flight.
He said it was strange that he was more afraid of flying than facing the unknown in the Middle East. As we headed East I described the landscape below to the Marine. A couple of times I encouraged him to raise his window blind to see the beautiful sites. He seemed to relax a bit.
Perspective and prayer helped me. I hope it helps you too. :)
One of the guys in the hangar brought up his handheld in one hand with his beer in the other, and called ground, "Cessna 1234X taxi for takeoff with information bravo".
Ground gave him clearance, and after an appropriate period of time the guy in the hangar called "Cessna 34X ready for takeoff, closed pattern".
The Tower gave him clearance, and after a bit the hangar guy calls, "Cessna 34X downwind", and got a prompt "34X cleared for the option".
This went on for a couple of patterns until the "Cessna" requested full stop and a taxi back to the hangar from ground.
The last call from the "Cessna" was "Ground, are you guys watching the game?". Ground called back with the score and the "Cessna" answered, "Yeah, I figured".
LOL!
Great stuff!
ping
I could see that happpening (c8
ROFL! These are great, Charlite. Thanks for posting them.
Reminds me of an afternoon when we were walking out to pre-flight our (USAF) F-4. The pilot climbed to the front cockpit, stopped, and climbed back down.
Crewchief: What's the problem, sir?
Pilot: There's no seat, and I'm not sure I want to stand the entire sortie...
One night years ago I was one of the few passengers on a commercial flight. The stewardess asked me to fasten my seat belt as the pilot "said that there was some weather ahead." I told her that I certainly hoped so. She hurried to the cockpit and a few minutes later the copilot came back and introduced himself and sat next to me. He started up a rambling conversation to try to see what kind of nut I was. He finally mentioned my remark to the stewardess and I told him that I was just happy to know that we weren't flying toward a vacuum. He said "oh" and went about his duties.
Ha ha ha!
LOL!
I can belive it... some pilots have a wonderfully dry sense of humor.. I think they have too.
Lol! Yes, that does sound like a native Texan.:)
As a retired FAA/ATC, I feel I have to make an entry. When I was being trained in New York Center, in the early '70s, my instructor told an Eastern flight on approach to JFK Airport to reduce to 1-8-0 knots. The pilot responded with, "Center, do you know the stall speed of the aircraft?" My instructor fired back,"no, but if you ask the guy next to you, he probably does!"
More good air traffic control stuff here.
http://www.avweb.com/cgi-bin/texis/scripts/avweb-
search/search.html?query=short&publication=avflash&category=shortfinal
As a retired FAA/ATC, I feel I have to make an entry. When I was being trained in New York Center, in the early '70s, my instructor told an Eastern flight on approach to JFK Airport to reduce to 1-8-0 knots. The pilot responded with, "Center, do you know the stall speed of the aircraft?" My instructor fired back,"no, but if you ask the guy next to you, he probably does!"
bump
As a retired FAA/ATC, I feel I have to make an entry. When I was being trained in New York Center, in the early '70s, my instructor told an Eastern flight on approach to JFK Airport to reduce to 1-8-0 knots. The pilot responded with, "Center, do you know the stall speed of the aircraft?" My instructor fired back,"no, but if you ask the guy next to you, he probably does!"
I heard that while flying in LA Center.
I told the guy that the "Kitchen" wasn't my best room.
I still laugh at that.. Another Empty Kitchen... Devoid of the smell of chocolate chip cookies - because I learned to fly! HA!
It's very helpful when the pilot tells you what rivers, towns, etc. you are passing over. To me, it's fascinating to watch the "great American desert" begin as you cross from DFW to California.
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