Quote :

"There was mad turbulence when I had to take my first solo long distance cross country. I could barely read the sectional and the E-6B was sliding all over the damn place."

lol

The image of someone trying to use an E-6B in turbulence is pretty funny.

4/28/2010 9:32:28 AM

I'm not sure why. It's a standard occurrence.

Quote :

"Crashing isn't as big of a deal as people make it out to be son."

4/28/2010 9:32:55 AM

thank you but no thank you! i will try and avoid flying as much as possible!

last flight - Jan 2009 (India to US)

4/28/2010 9:35:28 AM

Why son?

I could understand not flying on an airliner, as the security bullshit sucks and we certainly don't want elbitch to have a job son. But flying yourself is another story son. That shit is much more relaxing and enjoyable son. No security bullshit. Bring your crack pipe and chill in the plane son.

4/28/2010 9:36:56 AM

well i cant afford to take flying classes or buy a plane
and i think fbi would track me if i ever take flight classes (racial profiling ftw!)

4/28/2010 9:38:45 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyYBDexg8dw&feature=channel

For those who haven't seen these yet, shit's hilarious.

4/28/2010 9:40:37 AM

"THIS IS YOUR PILOT, TARUN, SPEAKING."


aiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

4/28/2010 9:42:05 AM

^^^ A dude I know had to turn down a potential student because he was middle eastern, dressed middle eastern and had a Bin Laden beard. The dude was trying to take lessons out at Halifax I believe (Where some of Sept. 11th terrorists trained from my understanding). The instructor flat out told him "you will not be seen in an airplane with me as long as you look like that".

4/28/2010 9:42:43 AM

4/28/2010 9:43:59 AM

el dude- I guess that's my fear. Taking off I'm fine, landing I'm fine. It's that mid-flight turbulence, where I know I'm stuck in that tube and I have to deal with it, and anything could happen, that's what freaks me out.

4/28/2010 9:45:39 AM

i get a good buzz and sleep thru the flight....i cant stay awake and be calm during the flights

4/28/2010 9:46:32 AM

Quote :

"el dude- I guess that's my fear. Taking off I'm fine, landing I'm fine. It's that mid-flight turbulence, where I know I'm stuck in that tube and I have to deal with it, and anything could happen, that's what freaks me out."

ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN. OH GOD.

4/28/2010 9:47:54 AM

Quote :

"el dude- I guess that's my fear. Taking off I'm fine, landing I'm fine. It's that mid-flight turbulence, where I know I'm stuck in that tube and I have to deal with it, and anything could happen, that's what freaks me out."

Ironically, landing and takeoff are more dangerous than in flight by far. Not to freak you out or anything.

I guess I can understand the fear of being thousands of feet up in the air, in an aluminum tube, traveling 500+ mph, though.

4/28/2010 9:48:54 AM

It's just the idea of being trapped with nowhere to go, and having to put my life in the hands of someone I've never met, and that I have no idea of what's going on. Is that bump an engine going out or a gust of wind? Who knows

4/28/2010 9:53:32 AM

The way I'd look at it is so far it's been all bumps of wind for you and no engines going out, yet. So far so good.

And there's a good chance that you wouldn't even notice an engine failure at altitude, depending on the situation - as stated on the last page.


[Edited on April 28, 2010 at 9:58 AM. Reason : .]

4/28/2010 9:56:41 AM

Yeah, that's the problem with an irrational fear. Rational thinking doesn't help it.

4/28/2010 9:57:13 AM

what goes through your mind when you see a flock of geese near the plane while flying?

4/28/2010 9:57:53 AM

^

4/28/2010 9:59:46 AM

LOL, good question.

I have been known to actually say aloud to kamikaze birds "DON'T DO IT. DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" So far no engine hits. I have taken a bird bounce somewhere on the nose and wing, as evidence of blood and feathers. No engines yet though.

4/28/2010 10:01:49 AM

Quote :

"Is that bump an engine going out or a gust of wind? Who knows"

Engine failures don't cause "bumps". You'd probably hear it or notice the initial yaw, but as he said, pretty much all modern airline aircraft can fly pretty damn well on one engine. That video where the airliner loses an engine on takeoff is proof of this. He just goes around and lands, it's uneventful. The aircraft has enough rudder throw to correct for the yaw component created by having one engine and the one engine has enough power for the aircraft to still be able to climb.


I have come EXTREMELY close to having bird strikes on several occasions recently, but it's more common in small aircraft and for all aircraft on take-off landing obviously. I swear a small bird actually flew through the prop arc recently on one takeoff. Large aircraft tend to fly WAY above that shit though, so the only time it will happen is T/O and landing (The worst possible times, mind you). I had a bald eagle flying near the aircraft a few weeks ago. That shit was FAST man. I swear it was going 50-60mph in a shallow dive. They tend to dive when you get near them too, so going under them can be risky. I hate fucking birds when I'm trying to fly son.

4/28/2010 10:04:45 AM

, son.

4/28/2010 10:07:08 AM

[quote]
I went PSEL, PMEL, Instrument, CMEL, CSEL, MEI, CFII, CFISE, which is sort of unconventional.

I'd say going for your instrument next is not a bad idea. What's your goal? Just flying for fun/transportation?
[quote]

Actually, i'll be doing AFROTC next year, so I'm looking to go that route. But for the love of flying, i'd like to at least get instrument in before graduation/commission. I'm a freshman in engineering so it'll be another 4 years before that happens, so it's doable.

4/28/2010 11:57:05 AM

Definitely doable, especially if you have an FTD available - which could also save you some serious cash and some time. Personally, I'd just wait and let the AF do all my training, but if you have the funds, go for it. I guess flight slots aren't guaranteed anyway. Good luck.

4/28/2010 11:13:13 PM

Do employed airline pilots work most Saturdays, or do they have time off to do fun things like play sports?

4/28/2010 11:45:55 PM

Are you afraid of pissing off the TSA when you are in the airport?

I have two relatives and a lot of family friends that are pilots (20+ years exp) who will bow to the 19 year old tsa agent just so they can make their flight. My uncle left his wife at screening and went on their 30 year anniversary trip without her because she was arguing with the TSA and was kicked out of the airport.
My family friend calls them modern day gestapo.

Do you agree?



Also, I know two air marshals. They do cool shit, don't they...

4/29/2010 1:54:53 AM

The TSA guys I know are cool as hell. there are the occasional asshole ones but the ones that work near me are nice.


(p.s. i'm a ramp agent at rdu. someone should change the thread title to "Ask an airline pilot and other airport employees." )

4/29/2010 2:33:42 AM

I almost got kicked out of RDU in 2007. TSA didn't know the regulations and stole something of mine, because it 'wasn't allowed'. Said either give it up or leave, and it wasn't a time when I could argue more.

Most recently, they didn't know the firearm regulation stuff fully and caused me a minor headache, while at the same time unpacking my entire back and not packing my belongings properly, which in turn damaged my laptop. But of course, I can't directly prove it and their aren't liable for damaging my property.

PS, and no offense, but TSA agents should all die in fiery plane crashes. I don't think I've met one that has more than a high school diploma or equivalent.

Ok, maybe just a few should burn. The rest should quit and find real employment besides harassing old ladies and children who forget to take their belt off.

With >60 flights, I've interacted with quite a few TSA employees, and very few have left me with anything but hatred for them.

[Edited on April 29, 2010 at 2:37 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on April 29, 2010 at 2:39 AM. Reason : .]

4/29/2010 2:35:03 AM

^ Agreed. I always get flagged because of how I pack. I efficently pack my 2 bags I normally fly with and when I have to drag everything out of them to get scanned (which I dont mind) they are like oh hes got lots of stuff lets make his day.

Most of them dont have but a HS diploma and probably most just have a GED. They are as much as law enforcement. Lets hold them as such.

/rant

4/29/2010 9:11:24 AM

Quote :

"Do employed airline pilots work most Saturdays, or do they have time off to do fun things like play sports?"

Depending on your seniority, some can hold Saturdays off. I actually held a bunch of Saturdays off since I was pretty senior on reserve, although very junior overall.

For the most part, yes TSA is generally annoying, but don't hate the player hate the game. The Dept of Homeland Security is hiring these people, blame them. Also I will say, RDU's TSA is about middle of the pack as far as that goes. I've seen much worse and also been to a few places where they were actually unnoticeable, which is how it should be.

While it's definitely an inconvenience, I'm pretty damn fast at the checkpoints so I don't even really bother with worrying about it. Plus, I've always used the employee line, which rids the headache of waiting.


aaronian, which airline do you work for, if you don't mind me asking?

[Edited on April 29, 2010 at 9:37 AM. Reason : .]

4/29/2010 9:28:22 AM

charter express/jetblue

4/29/2010 10:58:32 AM

Back in 2005 I was co-oping in the engineering department of one of the major airlines... bird strike was the number one cause of external damage to aircraft. One time we got an engine in and a few birds had crashed into the intake fans. The fans were beat to hell and had feathers all over the place. I think what was left of the birds were somewhere inside the engine. I don't know why but I lolled.

4/29/2010 11:45:44 AM

If the pilot is female do they really call it a cuntpit?

Seriously though:

Where can I get an aeronautical map of RDU and the surrounding areas?

What's a TCAS alarm?

[Edited on April 29, 2010 at 3:56 PM. Reason : x]

4/29/2010 3:54:52 PM

try an FBO at RDU

4/29/2010 3:56:08 PM

ever fly hungover?

4/29/2010 3:58:12 PM

do they get a DUI?

4/29/2010 3:59:25 PM

^5 Yeah I've seen some photos, it's pretty amazing how much damage a bird can cause to an engine. At my last job they told us a story about the windshield wiper coming off the Saab 340 and it ended up penetrating the fuselage and stabbing a passenger in the leg. No joke. I forget what the circumstances were, it may have been in a hail storm, or possibly collision with a bird, but the pictures were insane. They did manage to land safely. The guy with the windshield wiper stuck in his leg was totally cool about it, supposedly only wanted a couple of free tickets for his injury. People in the Midwest are way more down to earth, I suppose.

^4 Like Mr. Joshua said, I'm sure either Landmark or Hawthorne or whoever else is over at RDU has a sectional/other charts - if you just want to check one out go to SkyVector.com. It's like the Google maps of aeronautics - pretty awesome stuff. TCAS is a system that detects other air traffic. Without going in depth, it basically shows where other traffic is in relation to you, both horizontally and vertically (if available from other aircraft's transponders). TCAS in commercial aircraft also can provide resolutions to impending collisions, by literally commanding the pilot to perform a certain maneuver to create separation.

^2 Nope. I figured I'd answer even if that was a joke directed at Mr. Josh.

^1 Nope. You get FAA action and probably federal charges. I think the federal statute is actually called an FUI/FWI, which is pretty funny to me. The actual act is pretty damn stupid.

4/29/2010 4:48:35 PM

Quote :

"ever fly hungover?"

Hungover as shit on my first solo.

4/29/2010 5:12:44 PM

I'll wait son.

4/29/2010 5:16:44 PM

Just asked someone, turns out the windshield incident was a bird strike with a flock of snow geese. Took out the number one engine as well.

Found it on birdstrike.org

Aircraft: Saab-340
Airport: Aberdeen Regional (SD)
Phase of Flight: Approach (400’ AGL)
Effect on Flight: Aircraft was grounded
Damage: Fuselage, wiper, propeller
Wildlife Species: Snow geese
Comments from Report: A flock snow geese was struck. The windshield wiper broke off, hit the prop which broke it into several pieces and threw it through the fuselage. A passenger was injured in the leg with the piece of metal and was taken to the hospital.



A photo of one of the geese stuck in the wing from the same incident. I wish I could find some of the pics the company had.

[Edited on April 29, 2010 at 5:33 PM. Reason : .]

4/29/2010 5:21:21 PM

Like I said son. Like I said.

I see you don't have anything to say son.

I see ya got pwnt hard son. Ya got pwnt hard.




(And yeah, that makes a lot more sense now that I see the prop threw it into the fuse son. Lucky he wasn't hit in the head or torso. He could have died like Senna did son.)

4/29/2010 5:27:15 PM

this thread is AWESOME

4/29/2010 5:32:14 PM

Naw son.

AVIATION AND KNIFE is better son.



elbitcherino, the bitch who can't admit it when he's wrong son.

4/29/2010 5:35:56 PM

United and Continental in merger discussions. According to the article, they plan to continue under the United brand name. Interesting, since there have been multiple rumors of a possible merger between United and US Air in years past.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/6982466.html

4/29/2010 7:48:59 PM

I hope Continental keeps their same flights. I've flown into St. John's, NL several times and Continental's RDU to Newark to YYX is way better than US Airways from RDU to Air Canda Jazz YYZ to YYX. Air Canada NEVER gives you enough time to get through customs at Pearson. The only downside is coming back customs agents in Newarks are complete bastards, moreso than other places.

4/29/2010 9:48:53 PM

There's always some huge operational restructuring that goes on, but some of the changes may not be noticeable to the public. I was on the Northwest side of things before the Delta merger and not too much changed for about half a year at least, but after that there were changes every day. Delta, for example, decided that they wanted to drastically reduce their EAS routes and get rid of all their turboprop aircraft, which affected a lot of people in smaller markets. On the other hand, not much has changed between big cities besides some reshuffling of aircraft flying the routes.

[Edited on April 29, 2010 at 11:02 PM. Reason : .]

4/29/2010 11:01:45 PM

My soon to be new ride. Let me show you it:



[Edited on May 13, 2010 at 6:30 PM. Reason : damn you cdn]

5/13/2010 6:28:03 PM

Nice!

5/13/2010 9:01:14 PM

bump

6/24/2010 6:25:15 AM

Can you successfully complete a barrel roll in a boeing A330?

6/24/2010 10:22:21 AM

Have you ever received a surface weather observation that wasn't automated (Level C & D airports) and gone "wtf?" because it was totally different than what you were flying through?

6/24/2010 10:33:25 AM