Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Howitzer on March 18, 2005, 12:08:35 PM
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I'm bored today so I thought I'd share this and see if anyone has a similar experience.
I was on my way to Atlanta last week, and the flight was mostly uneventful. Then we are on approach for landing, I hear the gear come down, and I look out of the window and can kinda see where the runway starts and the little voice in my head that is WAY to used to watching me play AH says: "I think we are too high to land gently". Being that my only aeronautical experience comes from this game and the endless hours I've wasted playing that I will surely never get back, I brush it off with a: "Shut up stupid, you don't know anything, you can't even land a seafire on a carrier. This guy gets paid money to land this behemoth".
So as more runway passes by, I can see the black skid marks, and I'm still thinking we are high because we are nowhere near touching down yet, but I still shrug it off. Next thing I know, the pilot must've realized it to and pushed the stick down because we hit so hard I swear my twig and berries are still lodged somewhere in my nasal canal. How we didn't flatten a tire is beyond me.
And to cap it off, the landing on the return trip was just about as bad... We were also stuck on the plane for a minute because the little bridge thingy that connects to the terminal wasn't ready, so I was watching the baggage people unload the plane. That is a fun time... if you've never seen it, I'd recommend it. The highlight was when the lady grabbed this bright orange cooler marked "BIOHAZARD" and tossed it like a sack of potatoes from the conveyor belt onto the blacktop where it slid about 5 feet before coming to an abrupt yet violent stop on the tire of the little tractor thing that hauls the luggage around. Fantastic :D
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depending on the approach, Atlanta is a kind of freak airport to fly into.
(dad lives in atl, and i have flow into there probably 15 times)
comming over the one set of warehouses there is ALWAYS some turbulence / winds that throw the plane all over.
if it was foggy or hazy the little drafts are worse in my experiance, maybe the pilot was trying to stay out of that stuff.
it is a little nerve racking being that close to all those power lines and buildings on approach to me, maybe it was the pilots first time comming into ATL.
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That's nice to hear. I'm on a flight to Colorado next week and you know I'm going to fight my 4 yr old daughter for the window seat!!!
By the way, for anyone interested, good special on The Military Channel about the Blue Angels will probably be airing off and on for the next month.
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I'd say one of the most fun approaches is down the potomac at Washington (now Ronald Reagan) National. The plane will be banking this and that way and for extra excitement you'll clearly see the faces of people looking up at you on the little viewing island.
First time I ever rode that approach I thought we were gonna crash or something based on those people looking at us and pointing.
I hear Denver is also exciting to come in to.
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I know just how you feel about letting someone else fly you around, even if you don't have any kind of "real life" piloting experience.
A couple of years ago there was a major crash in the Northwest due to pilot not putting the flaps out. I think icing was involved as well, but the primary cause was due to him expecting more lift than the wings generated.
About 2 months after this happened I was on a flight out of Houston IAH, seated right behind the wing. As I we started to roll, I looked out at the wing. Yep, no flaps. I kept waiting for the pilot to deploy them, but they never came out. About 2/3 of the way down the runway, my mubling of "no flaps" over and over began to annoy my wife and a couple of other passengers. The pilot got it off the runway, and I seriously thought we were going to go right back down. At this point, I guess he figured out something was wrong because suddenly the flaps popped out, and we quit wallowing around.
God I hate flying.
Ouch out
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LMAO shane, I landed there once. All I saw was water under the plane until I thought we were seriously going to ditch and then almost simutaneously I saw runway and heard the tires bark and felt the jolt.
Chicago airport was fun, wings wobbling to and fro in the wind, then on the same trip I flew back to Atlanta (home) and landed in the hurricane (well, between the rotating fingers of the storm). Friggin pilot got a standing ovation from the pasengers :eek:
Magoo
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The approach path to Ronald Reagan International in Washington DC is among the most thrilling and tricky. Following the Potomac at low alt is one of the few allowed approaches and is set that way because of all the restricted airspace surrounding it.
Denver is thrilling because of the altitude, but for a real thrill, fly into Aspen sometime:D
I think that Atlanta has some interesting approaches because of the noise abatement rules, which, come to think of it, affect many of the airports in or very near to metropolitan areas.
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last time i flew into reagan it was in the mid eighties LOL
reagan was still prez. LOL
but yeah creepy approach, especially at night.
laguardia kinda fun
JFK same, like ohare
ohare great view of the city at night.
phoenix has some really cool views comming in.
there is an approach into milwaukee that takes you pretty low over lake michican in a hard turn, as a child i thought for sure the wing was going to hit the water LOL
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Philly is a treat.
Philly the first time I landed there was at night I could not tell where we were in relation to the runway no real ground refrence to help judge.
I am not a pilot so I would not know if they were doing it right or not but as we slowed down and I saw the big oil tanks next to the water, I could have sworn we were going to smash quite hard.
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Pheonix is a fun airport, and I love the views. And while the flights to Hawaii are boring as can be, the final approach and landings are always interesting no matter which airport you land at.
For me though, nothing beats coming in to Lambert in St Louis. If the cabins weren't pressurized, you could probably smell it at 20k even, but for all that, there's no place like home.
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Originally posted by Magoo
LMAO shane, I landed there once. All I saw was water under the plane until I thought we were seriously going to ditch and then almost simutaneously I saw runway and heard the tires bark and felt the jolt.
Chicago airport was fun, wings wobbling to and fro in the wind, then on the same trip I flew back to Atlanta (home) and landed in the hurricane (well, between the rotating fingers of the storm). Friggin pilot got a standing ovation from the pasengers :eek:
Magoo
Well its ok if you ditch because you only lose half of your perk points, but if you crash, then that is another story =)
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You want interesting Flying, I suggest flying in a C-130 in Alaska. I was stationed there for 5 years and some of the dinky places we landed in some extremely crappy weather was interesting at best. God I miss it....LOL
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I got 2 for you. Flying into LaGuardia seems to be a controlled crash latelly :D
Now try looking out the windows when landing at the old Athens airport. The end of the runway is a few feet by the water. The effect is a lot better when you come in a little low with max side wind. You keep hoping that the water will go away and the runway will apear but it does not happen until a few seconds before landing. :lol
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We had a Northwest regional jet (think it was a CRJ) hit a patch of ice on the main N/S runway at General Mitchell Int'l in Milwaukee last week. As it was braking past the ice, it veered off the runway, into a shallow ditch and back out on to the taxi way. The nose gear was bent to hell, and the pilot bravely taxi'd to the gate, which was now 30 yards away after almost skidding into it! ;)
Two weeks back, a US Airways Embraer 145 did the same thing, but stopped in a ditch. They had to tow it back to the gate. I saw that one happen :)
I see a ton of pilots blow their approaches and scream off for another circuit. Newer pilots flying Midwest Connect (Skyway) Dornier 328s and Beech 1900s seem to be glorified bus drivers :D. Talked to one co-pilot who wasn't even sure of their destination 10 minutes before departure!
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I was coming home, and my flight was on final to MCO (Orlando). The flight I was on pumped Air Traffic Control through a channel on the headset that we passengers could listen to.
The flight was transferred over to Orlando's Tower and our Captain identified herself and informed the tower she was on final on runway 18L.
The problem was, she was talking to the wrong airport. She quickly apologized and found the correct freq for the Orlando Tower and we landed safely.
I could not help but smile though. She had requested a landing at Sanford Airport. This airport does receive some comercial jet traffic, but there are several aviation schools there.
I had this picture of a noob pilot in a Cessna frantically "checking his 6" for the Heavy bearing down on him while he was making his approach.
I guess pilots screw up like we all do at our jobs. It just gets a whole lot more exciting when they do though.
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Try flying into Belfast City airport in a little Shorts 330 with a howling gale going on!!!!
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I've had three which stand out in my mind. We're on final at the airport on Maui. Gear go down, I'm checking out the cool water colors close to the shore, palm trees; all of a sudden, the pilot jams the throttle forward and pulls a steep bank to the right. After he straightens out, he gets on the com and says "sorry folks, but I didn't want to land on top of that small plane below me"(****e pants here).
Another time, we're coming into LAX in a MD-80 and I can tell he's coming in "hot". He hits the runway hard and bounces like a basketball. After re-touching down, he puts the engines in reverse and jams on the brakes. I'm looking out the window and see a parked plane in front of us waiting for the terminal, he manages to stop about 100 feet behind it. I'm one of the last people off the plane, and as I walk past the cockpit, I say "nice landing" very sarcastically. We had a 2 hour delay while the hydraulics cooled off.
Not a landing, but still thrilling. We're somewhere in the midwest and we hit an air pocket. My beer left the glass and went up, and after we finally caught air, it came down in my lap. We dropped about 200 feet in a split second. Quite thrilling if you've never experienced it.
:eek:
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I work at the Cincinnati airport. Sometimes when we got nothin to do we will sit on an access road that goes around the main runway and just watch the planes come in. Other day there was a German MD11(BIG PLANE!) cargo plane cleared for takeoff and postioned on the runway. Well as we're watching it start to roll(takes it awhile to get going) I happen to look behind it and see a CRJ about 2 miles back coming in for landing. It was obvious from where I was sitting that there was no way for the MD11 to be up and outta the way by the time that CRJ arrived. But, the CRJ just kept right on coming! To make a long story short, just as the MD11 got front wheels up, the CRJ seemed to realize what was up and immediatly started a go around. Welp the MD11 couldn't see the CRJ about 2000-4000ft slightly above and behind him(and not much he could do anyways) and was just starting to lift off the ground. If the planes woulda kept on the same headings, theres not a doubt in my mind they woulda hit. Luckily the CRJ broke hard left and got outta the way. It was so close I had that lump in my throat feeling! I just wonder how those pilots felt:eek:
Another situation I was amazed to see was at the 2004 Dayton airshow. At one point they had the F15 doing it's fly over and manuevers. Welp just as they announce the F15's taking off, my g/f wants to go to the car to get something(a 2 mile walk lol) So as we're walking to the car I'm trying to watch what I can. We get to the car which is right under the final approach for the Dayton airport. So my g/f get's here things and we start walking back. I see the F15 coming in from my 3 oclock position and behind me. I also see a 737 coming in from dead 6 behind me. I'm still not sure if the F15 pilot did this on purpose(which I very highly doubt someone would even consider being this dumb with peoples lives) but I suddenly hear him hit full throttle and the 2 aircraft meet right above where me and my g/f are. The F15 only about 500-1000ft in front of the 737!!! The F15 was so low and throttled up so high that we had to cover our ears and I could feel my chest vibrating, which is something b/c I'm around aircraft all the time and don't have to do this. The F15 zooms away easily, but the poor 737 is shaking like a leaf in the wake of the F15, that or the pilot was shaking lol. I'm not sure if they can communicate with each other but I'm sure the 737 had a few choice words for the F15. I think the F15 pilot should try out for the Blue Angels, the way he pulled in right in front of the 737 was flawless lol. Looking back now and knowing no one was hurt, that was probably one of the coolest things I've seen.
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Next time you have a landing like that, as your walking out ask the peelot "Did we just land or get shot down?"... a little old lady asked that to a peelot one nastly landing I was treated to. :D
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F-15s are amazing. :) Ive seen them take off from Lambert and no sooner get the wheels off the runway than the plane stands on its tail like a rocket and shoots straight up. Coolest thing.
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Originally posted by SFCHONDO
You want interesting Flying, I suggest flying in a C-130 in Alaska. I was stationed there for 5 years and some of the dinky places we landed in some extremely crappy weather was interesting at best. God I miss it....LOL
I have a healthy respect for what those planes can do. A few years ago I took my son to his first Cardinals game on 4th of July. St Louis always hosts a big airshow during the VP Fair, so we got to sit in the ballpark and watch the game, and still see a good bit of the airshow too. They did some great aerobatics, but the capper for me was these guys flying a C-130 down so low I thought sure they would hit something. They flew it below the Arch! Whoever was flying that thing had balls of steel (of course, this was before 9/11).
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these are all great stories :D another interesting place to fly into is Acapulco, the runway is right on the beach and you come in low over the water ....first time i went there i thought we were making a water ditch :p
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If you want some fun, definitely fly into Reno, NV USA
Reno is a high altitude city, that also happens to be in a "bowl" valley. To top it all off, the airstrip is in he MIDDLE of the south end of town. (Let's put it this way... I lived south of the airport, worked west of the airport by 5 blocks, and partied north of the airport.
Basically a landing consistitutes of
A) Where's the bloody landing strip?
B) Hmmm.... That Hilton is getting really damn close
C) GAH! What are they doing, flying sideways?
D) *BAM*
*Knite kisses the tarmac*
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Originally posted by 2stony
Not a landing, but still thrilling. We're somewhere in the midwest and we hit an air pocket. My beer left the glass and went up, and after we finally caught air, it came down in my lap. We dropped about 200 feet in a split second. Quite thrilling if you've never experienced it.
:eek:
flying from milwaukeeto omaha to miami for a criuse....
comming into omaha in a smaller plane, we see a dC10 or something big off to the right and higher, in a steep climb.
he had obviously just taken off, and wer were somewhere in the landing pattern. anyhoo... flew right into his wash or something. wer were maybe 8,000 feet, and droped like a STONE. 2 people flew up out of their seats (morons didnt have seat belts on even though we were in the landing path).
aftwards pilot came on and apologized rather irate sounding (like someone had told him the wrong place to fly i'd guess). he said we dropped about 1,100 feet in about 1 second.
that was the scariest thing i have ever experianced in my life.
to this day i wont ride one of those "drop" rides at 6 flags or wherever
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Juneau is a fun airport:
(http://www.juneauphotos.com/photos/697.jpg)
(http://www.juneauphotos.com/photos/315.jpg)
(http://www.juneauphotos.com/photos/940.jpg)
eskimo
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Im shocked it took so long for someone to mention LaGuardia. Dad was a TWA/American pilot and that was his least favorite.
What part of St Louis are you from SA2? I lived in Edwardsville over on the east side for 6 years. My poor sister still lives there.
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I really believe pilots are no better at what they do than what everyone else in the population does. Think of it in the terms of athletics: less than 1% of the entire population excells at any given sport, and I believe this goes for anything, including flying. Maybe he was just a wanna be ho-tarding lala punk
:D
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Originally posted by Grits
Im shocked it took so long for someone to mention LaGuardia. Dad was a TWA/American pilot and that was his least favorite.
What part of St Louis are you from SA2? I lived in Edwardsville over on the east side for 6 years. My poor sister still lives there.
Actually grew up in Illinois over by Mt Vernon. We had a nice little airport there until the days of the jets passed us by (back when Ozark was operational). TWA operated small jets there for awhile and then decided it was too unprofitable. Now its just a few private planes and the medical choppers flying out of there.
Last 6 years or so I lived either in St Louis proper or on the west side in St Charles county. I worked at the NS railyard at the GM plant in Wentzville MO until I moved to Hawaii.
Heh, Edwardsville (at SIUE) was where we used to go when I was a teenager if you wanted to party till you puked and absolutely KNOW somebody would have pot. If you wanted all that plus getting laid you went to Carbondale (SIUC). Mostly though, us country boys just got drunk out in the middle of nowhere, stared up at the stars at night and wished we were anywhere else but there. Be careful what you wish for lol.
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Think the scariest landing I've ever been on was a combat landing in a C-130. Went to a location in North Africa and had to do a rapid decent landing just as we came into the pattern. Funny part was even our fighters that landed their said they had a wild ride. Apart from having to do a rapid decent also they had to pray that all the dogs running across the runway would get the heck out of the way in time.
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Khe sann(forgive the spelling ) landings in Herc's used to be lots of fun , you could run around the wheel well area when the jockey pushed the nose down , that is until the raf toned down the heavy a/c displays.:D
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I was on final approaching to Charlotte riding on an Embraer jet. I could tell the pilot was coming in too fast, and at the last moment we zoomed down the runway, he pulled up into a loop. At the top of the loop he cut his engines, lowered the gear, and then we started down towards the ground. He pulled the nose up, we touched down on the runway and coasted exactly to the gate. As we got off the plane, the stewardesses handed each of us a bar of gold from Fort Knox, and also french kissed us.
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Im shocked it took so long for someone to mention LaGuardia. Dad was a TWA/American pilot and that was his least favorite.
I didnt much care for it. Actually it scared the hell out of me.
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Originally posted by Shane
I hear Denver is also exciting to come in to.
:D My wife`s fingerprints are permantly embedded on my arm resulting from a twin prop hop from Rapid City to Denver.
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Originally posted by SunTracker
I was on final approaching to Charlotte riding on an Embraer jet. I could tell the pilot was coming in too fast, and at the last moment we zoomed down the runway, he pulled up into a loop. At the top of the loop he cut his engines, lowered the gear, and then we started down towards the ground. He pulled the nose up, we touched down on the runway and coasted exactly to the gate. As we got off the plane, the stewardesses handed each of us a bar of gold from Fort Knox, and also french kissed us.
I think I was on that flight. 1986?
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Originally posted by StarOfAfrica2
Heh, Edwardsville (at SIUE) was where we used to go when I was a teenager if you wanted to party till you puked and absolutely KNOW somebody would have pot.
ROFL, I graduated from SIUE. :)
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Originally posted by SunTracker
I was on final approaching to Charlotte riding on an Embraer jet. I could tell the pilot was coming in too fast, and at the last moment we zoomed down the runway, he pulled up into a loop. At the top of the loop he cut his engines, lowered the gear, and then we started down towards the ground. He pulled the nose up, we touched down on the runway and coasted exactly to the gate. As we got off the plane, the stewardesses handed each of us a bar of gold from Fort Knox, and also french kissed us.
:rofl :rofl :rofl
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(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/621_1111249089_reganvisualjpg.jpg)
Yeowza!
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http://www.dangerousairports.com/
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Originally posted by Grits
ROFL, I graduated from SIUE. :)
I'm from a little town called Staunton which is about 20 min. from Edwardsville, and 35 min from downtown St. Louis... Kinda reminds me of Maybury =)
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(http://www.dangerousairports.com/dad/charts/SKBO.jpg)
this is taken from the above website. dunno what it means, its in pilotese ;)
Ive been to Bogota only 3 times in my life and every single time the landing was frightening.
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Originally posted by Shane
I'd say one of the most fun approaches is down the potomac at Washington (now Ronald Reagan) National. The plane will be banking this and that way and for extra excitement you'll clearly see the faces of people looking up at you on the little viewing island.
First time I ever rode that approach I thought we were gonna crash or something based on those people looking at us and pointing.
I hear Denver is also exciting to come in to.
I've been one of those people looking and pointing, used to go there when I was a kid. There's a little park under the "up river" approach; the planes fly about 3-500 over your head.
The sound of the wind swirling is awesome--kind of freaky actually.
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Originally posted by tkor
The approach path to Ronald Reagan International in Washington DC is among the most thrilling and tricky. Following the Potomac at low alt is one of the few allowed approaches and is set that way because of all the restricted airspace surrounding it.
Denver is thrilling because of the altitude, but for a real thrill, fly into Aspen sometime:D
I think that Atlanta has some interesting approaches because of the noise abatement rules, which, come to think of it, affect many of the airports in or very near to metropolitan areas.
Actually the old checkerboard, lead in light approach into Old Hong Kong International is one of the more thrilling approaches in the world. Then again, maybe its why the closed the airport.
Anyway, you'd aim at the old checkboard that sat 3/4 of the way up a mountainside, then you'd see the lead in lights and begin the approach. As you made the standard rate turn onto final you could look in the windows of the apartments on both sides of the B747-200 as you flew by em.:) Then...you hadda roll out on centerline and get her on the deck before you went swimming. That was a wild ride from the cockpit. It musta scared the life outa anyone in the back.:lol Especially when they hadda look up and sideways to see people watching tv. I think Lufthasna put one in the infield so they wouldn't take a dip but Korean mighta went swimming a few times. And once a jet touches salt water its cheaper to write it off (and legal) than to try and retrieve the wreak.
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Originally posted by SunTracker
I was on final approaching to Charlotte riding on an Embraer jet. I could tell the pilot was coming in too fast, and at the last moment we zoomed down the runway, he pulled up into a loop. At the top of the loop he cut his engines, lowered the gear, and then we started down towards the ground. He pulled the nose up, we touched down on the runway and coasted exactly to the gate. As we got off the plane, the stewardesses handed each of us a bar of gold from Fort Knox, and also french kissed us.
Bob Hoover was the pilot right? :) He used to do that to us all the time.
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Most frightning landings for me are (but being a passenger I don't realy know of course if the situation realy was all that dangerous)
1) Madrid Barajas airport. Comin in from Santiago de chili (Chile) in a 747. Aproach was in a thunderstorm with no visibility at all. I was seated in the back of the plane near the galley. With gear and flaps out I felt a sudden jolt that was much harder then the others (flying through a thunderstorm you've got alot of jolts), I believed the plane veered left but I'm not sure because I had no reference... outside was grey/black. A stewardess behind me in the galley seats began weeping and panicking, a colleague comforted her. That got me worrying a bit, since if they start panicking it sure isn't a normal aproach. Landing came sudden, I thought we were in a turn when we touched down. After the landing the captain told us that we had been hit by lightning on final aproach (gear and flaps out).
2) La Paz airport Bolivia. Not a special landing as in dangerous but because it felt like he kept engine throttle very high during approach. After thought... he should have ofcourse, landing at 13000 feet :D
3) Juarez Mexico City airport is also a nice one. Mexico city being surrounded by high vulcanoes, and at an alt of 6000 feet.
Then again, I'm sure that every commercial airline pilot must have had some close calls in his career.
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Originally posted by Stang
I really believe pilots are no better at what they do than what everyone else in the population does. Think of it in the terms of athletics: less than 1% of the entire population excells at any given sport, and I believe this goes for anything, including flying. Maybe he was just a wanna be ho-tarding lala punk
:D
You can teach any monkey to fly...............with enough banana's.
Why would you think Pilots are any different? :D
Ren
__________________
The Damned :
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Originally posted by Shane
I'd say one of the most fun approaches is down the potomac at Washington (now Ronald Reagan) National. The plane will be banking this and that way and for extra excitement you'll clearly see the faces of people looking up at you on the little viewing island.
First time I ever rode that approach I thought we were gonna crash or something based on those people looking at us and pointing.
I hear Denver is also exciting to come in to.
Denver can get real exciting when you gotta go around in a heavy jet with an engine out.
Did I mention this was a fun post? :)
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Originally posted by Howitzer
So as more runway passes by, I can see the black skid marks, and I'm still thinking we are high because we are nowhere near touching down yet, but I still shrug it off. Next thing I know, the pilot must've realized it to and pushed the stick down because we hit so hard I swear my twig and berries are still lodged somewhere in my nasal canal. How we didn't flatten a tire is beyond me.
And to cap it off, the landing on the return trip was just about as bad... We were also stuck on the plane for a minute because the little bridge thingy that connects to the terminal wasn't ready, so I was watching the baggage people unload the plane. That is a fun time... if you've never seen it, I'd recommend it. The highlight was when the lady grabbed this bright orange cooler marked "BIOHAZARD" and tossed it like a sack of potatoes from the conveyor belt onto the blacktop where it slid about 5 feet before coming to an abrupt yet violent stop on the tire of the little tractor thing that hauls the luggage around. Fantastic :D
Porlly let the First Officer fly the legs. LOL
:rofl
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Originally posted by Grits
Im shocked it took so long for someone to mention LaGuardia. Dad was a TWA/American pilot and that was his least favorite.
What part of St Louis are you from SA2? I lived in Edwardsville over on the east side for 6 years. My poor sister still lives there.
Real planes actually FLY into KLGA? hehehehe
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Originally posted by Bee
La Paz airport Bolivia. Not a special landing as in dangerous but because it felt like he kept engine throttle very high during approach. After thought... he should have ofcourse, landing at 13000 feet :D
My dad flew into La Paz in the early '60s...whew! That's when engines were not quite so reliable.
A heavy jet goin outa KABQ in a hot night (airport elev 5330 ft) can be fun. Normal rotation speed is around 140 knots in a B727 but KABQ takeoff speeds can get up ato 175 knots. The 13,755 ft runway can sure get short at those speeds. Especially if ya have to do a rejected takeoff.....
BTW, why do you think all the bomber fields in WW2 were at sea level :D
Ren
________________
The Damned
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Originally posted by Howitzer
I'm from a little town called Staunton which is about 20 min. from Edwardsville, and 35 min from downtown St. Louis... Kinda reminds me of Maybury =)
Yup, I know where Staunton is too...:)
That was my exact impression of Edwardsville when I moved there. First time I drove down 159 into downtown Edwardsville I said "Where's Andy and Barney?".
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Denver isn't very fun, surrounded by farms its as flat as Nebraska except for the mountains a good ways away. I think New Orleans was a pretty good one flying over the Mississippi on final I figured we'd be going for a swim.
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Originally posted by DamnedRen
My dad flew into La Paz in the early '60s...whew! That's when engines were not quite so reliable.
Your dad sure must have some stories to tell damnedren...
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When we came back to the U.S. in 1957, we took a hop from Scotland to Nova Scotia in a 4-engine turbo prop(don't remember what type of plane). I was around 4 years old and I remember to this day getting sick as it was a rough ride. After our stop in N.S., we dropped down to La Guardia. I believe the flight took around 11 hours from Scotland to N.J.
The most scenic ride I've been on is in a twin engine flying boat from Honolulu to Princeville(Kauai). We flew right down the middle of the valley on Kauai and it was absolutely gorgeous(and a little bumpy).
;)
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There are a couple of "white knuckle" approaches as rated by the ALPA. Atlanta is in there somewhere, #1 is San Diego every year. To the best of my knowledge it s the only airport you need to be certified to land at seperately. Further if you arent "current" (30 days) you need to recertify. The reason is the combination of a 6 degree decent (noise restrictions) and a parking garage on final right off the runway. Basically your flying down the slope of the hill dropping the plane over the edge of the parking garage onto the runway....
The worst I've seen ever is Brazil (also some of the best pilots)...I was on one flight that aborted the landing at Sau Paulo 6 times before he got it on the ground in literally zero Visability (couldnt see wingtips sitting on the ground (737-500). Since my understanding is that CAT-2 requires 300 yds vis or so on final I asked 1st officer what was up (I happened to be one of last folks off the bird...apparently the weather that rolled in had already shut down the 2 alternates and they didnt think they could make it farther with any margin...(also said was an even worse instrument landing).
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I believe Mexico City has seperate currency requirements for pilots as well. There was a retired AA captain living in FL I had a chance to speak with and said his son was flying somewhere either in Mexico or South America for American at one point and listed certain procedures for it. Circling approaches had to be flown in the airplane within a certain timeframe (maybe 90 days) or you were no longer current.