Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Recent Comments:
Galley Gossip: Flight attendants, turbulence & scary flights {Gadling}
Nov 5th 2010 11:55PM I love a little bit of bumping and jumping around. It breaks up the normal dullness of the long flights and keeps my mind off how cram packed I am in that little bity seat. ;)
The only time I really didn't like it was as a new pilot on my first long cross country and hit a bunch of nasty turbulance over Denver. That little Cessna was bouncing every which way but upside down. And me the new pilot was doing everything I could to make it worse. ;)
Cockpit Chronicles: Navigating Paris with an iPhone GPS {Gadling}
Aug 8th 2010 12:16AM Thanks for posting this! I'm getting ready to go to Amsterdam and was wondering how to avoid the data roaming fees or having to buy EU maps for the Garmin. I Use Motion X all the time in the states and never realized I could cache the maps.
I've missed your posts, it's good to read you again. Thanks!
Plane Answers: Why can't airlines wait at the gate vs. in a queue on the taxiway? {Gadling}
Oct 6th 2009 1:30PM Why did the flight crew unions ever agree to not getting paid until you push back from the gate? You all should get paid from the time you hit the doors at the airport. Or better yet a straight salary. Then it wouldn't matter when you pushed off.
Are you paying for an airstrip of convenience? {Gadling}
Sep 18th 2009 7:58PM There are a lot of things I don't use personally that I have to pay for through taxes. Some of them I agree with and others I don't. I don't agree with over 70% of the taxes I pay going to fund the Military instead of education but I understand it.
The same with GA airports. I'm a pilot and use GA airports all the time. I'm pleased to know that if something horrible happend, say like Katrina, that there are 2 GA airports with in 20 miles of my house where rescue workers could evac people and bring releaf supplys. I don't want it to happen but it nice to know they little airports are there.
How would you feel about things if you didn't get that federally funded student loan because all the people who didn't want to go to College got together and stopped the government from funding them? It's pretty much the same thing.
Galley Gossip: Why ring the flight attendant call light when you can send a tweet - and get results! {Gadling}
Jun 26th 2009 11:52AM I'm going to start booking flights on AA just so I might run in to you or Kent one of these days. :) You do work for AA right?
Plane Answers: Glide ratios and the most critical phase of flight {Gadling}
Jan 19th 2009 3:55PM The second part of Kylie question about the engines sounding like they were shut off then brought back on got me to thinking the same thing. Why do you guys do that some times?
I fly out of DEN all the time and am also a private pilot. In the summer it can get really bumpy out there between 6000 and 10000 feet above ground and that's when I notice the pilots pulling the engines to idle for a few seconds and then powering back up. When I fly the 182 there are times when I need to fly much slower than cruse speed so I don't exceed Vmo. Is that the same reason it happens on the airlines? It never seems to be done at cruse but on the first turn to GLL or Yellowstone 5 on the North south runways.
Galley Gossip: What to do when the flight crew yells brace! {Gadling}
Jan 17th 2009 10:18PM I don't know when the last time they took a good look at the brace position was but I bet it was back when there was room to sit in economy without your knees hitting the seat in front of you. I tried the brace position just for fun on my flight home yesterday on AA and I didn't get anywhere near the position described. All I was able to manage was crouching forward a bit.
Tucking your head down seems to me a bad idea too as it just puts a lot of pressure and the base of your spine and skull. A better position and one that is actually achievable in economy would be to hold on to the seat in front of you and place your forehead or face on your hands. You might end up with some lower back problems but your neck won't snap right away.
Plane Answers: Kent's 3 favorite and 3 most dreaded runways. {Gadling}
Nov 25th 2008 1:22AM My favorite is 17R at DIA Denver international but only because that's the biggest airport I've ever landed at.
My least favorite was a little tiny one my DE picked for the diversion. Once I found it he wanted me to go a landing there. It was 2000 feet long and about 10 feet wider than the Cessna I was flying. He had heard that I had some trouble landing on the center line and wanted to teach me something. ;)
Plane Answers: Takeoff and landing concerns {Gadling}
Aug 25th 2008 9:37PM I fly the little guys, small GA airplanes like Cessna and Pipers. Take offs and landings are the best part of flying. I would never want an auto pilot to take off for me. After awhile of flying you get used to how an airplane feels; how it's handling in the air, how fast the engine is running. You look at the instruments to be sure but you can feel if everything is "Right" with the plane too. Something no computer could do.
There is a lot more to do when landing and when the weather is bad the pilots have a lot to do a little help from the auto pilot is really nice to have while you are double checking everything and getting set up. Making a good landing and hearing the tires squeek is one of the best feelings in the world.
If you are thinking of the plane in Madrid that crashed on take off know that the pilots were doing everything humanly possible to keep the shiny side up and the best of a horrible situation.
