My co-pilot, Matt, is smiling for the camera, but his hair tells the true story.
A couple of 'touch and go' landings at Manchester's (NH) Grenier Field with me at the controls of the Boeing 737 Flight Simulator and my instructor's hair was standing on end!
Truthfully, Matt did keep me from stalling the jetliner; and had to remind me to retract the wheels after takeoff; and he did manage to keep the nose lined up to the runway... but otherwise it was all me.
(According to my co-pilot, a 737 can be flown from Sydney to San Francisco, a 14 hour flight, with a little as six minutes of hands-on flying; the balance of the flight is all computer. Such a flight would have four pilots, as regulations limit command time to 4-hour shifts.)
I have officially logged my first 30 minutes at the controls of a 737... and I can cross 'Airline Pilot' off my list of potential careers. :-)
Check out the flight simulator website at: http://www.flightexperience.com.au/
4 comments:
Hey!!!
Now you are a man after my own heart. You look like you fit right into the captain's seat as "pilot in command".
Miss you, see you soon!!
Dad
Dad...
The biggest challenge to commanding a 737 is not flying the plane; the controls are extremely responsive, and the theory is much like piloting a 152; the hard part is keeping track of all the 'buttons!'
It was a lot of fun. You should add it to your list of "things to do!"
See you soon.
Love you.
Jeff
Holy Cow...what's next?? Brain surgery???
(Wait...forget I said that)
Oh, Greg, you're so silly...
You know I faint at the sight of blood. Besides, I'm looking for really challenging experiences.
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