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I sat in Houston airport for four hours. Rob had to leave town, so I got a ride over at ten, but America West didn't have any earlier flights for me to take. Until 2:20 I sat and read over some of the course materials from the flight program.
The flight home was cool: I got to ride on two 737s. I peered into the cockpit on my way in and out of each plane. Yes - it's TOTALLY familiar. I know how to use it; I know where everything is. I could start it up. If these pilots passed out, I could land it, and probably the airplane would even be usable afterward.
Unfortunately, the pilots didn't pass out. Darn.
Chris picked me up at the airport and very graciously listened to me enthuse about the whole thing. I think the phrase "SO COOL" came out of my mouth about every four sentences. It took me a while to wind down.
Now I need a poster of the Boeing 737 cockpit. :-)
The flight home was cool: I got to ride on two 737s. I peered into the cockpit on my way in and out of each plane. Yes - it's TOTALLY familiar. I know how to use it; I know where everything is. I could start it up. If these pilots passed out, I could land it, and probably the airplane would even be usable afterward.
Unfortunately, the pilots didn't pass out. Darn.
Chris picked me up at the airport and very graciously listened to me enthuse about the whole thing. I think the phrase "SO COOL" came out of my mouth about every four sentences. It took me a while to wind down.
Now I need a poster of the Boeing 737 cockpit. :-)
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:alt, boggling at your neatness:
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I was frankly terrified before I went. I figured I'd make the biggest fool of myself in the history of general aviation. Guess not - better luck next time :-). But honestly, it really wasn't that difficult. Anyone with some basic flying knowledge (student pilot, roughly) and five hundred bucks can do the exact same thing. That's one of the things that impresses me most. We humans are pretty good at learning how to do stuff.
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Actually it was amazing how little there is to it. Really. I mean, this is a phenomenally complex piece of equipment, but it's got nothing on, say, the space shuttle. What impresses me is what you can train human beings to do. And how FAST those human beings can learn! I mean, I sure shouldn't be trusted with one of those except in direst need; more training would clearly make me a lot smoother on the controls and I'd know more detail to help do the right thing in an emergency. But it's impressive what two days will do for ya.
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You really do cool things, whether you think so or not. So there. ;-p
You Rock, Ceej!
Re: You Rock, Ceej!
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But give me a pre-written script and I make a GREAT first officer. That might be true even if I'm shaking from adrenaline and a couple fingers are broken. Hey Joe, you wanna fly it? Or maybe you can take out a bad guy or two and I'll fly it. You can have my script. A good first officer is magic. Call out the right things at the right times and I can probably fly a refrigerator. You might even be able to use the refrigerator afterwards, though I wouldn't bet any money on it.
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But give me a pre-written script and I make a GREAT first officer. That might be true even if I'm shaking from adrenaline and a couple fingers are broken. Hey Joe, you wanna fly it? Or maybe you can take out a bad guy or two and I'll fly it. You can have my script. A good first officer is magic. Call out the right things at the right times and I can probably fly a refrigerator. You might even be able to use the refrigerator afterwards, though I wouldn't bet any money on it.
At that point in time, I doubt whether the future flyability of the refrigerator would be anywhere on my list of priorities. :)
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I suppose if I were trying to make an emergency landing in a refrigerator, detox should be pretty high on my list of priorities. :-)
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Like the ones here (http://www.avshop.com/avshop/121206001.html)? You'll find a 737-200 and a 737-300/500 cockpit poster there. A mere $24.95 each.
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:-)
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But yeah, I'm pleased I found those and that you decided to get them. What would it take for you to actually get your 737 ticket, after you've been through that class?
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*blush* Flatterer. :-) :-)
What would it take for you to actually get your 737 ticket, after you've been through that class?
Money. Lots and lots of money.
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Guilty as charged yer honor.
As for the rest, I figured lots of $$$ would be involved, and just wondered if there was anything else. I gather this is the sort of thing most commercial pilots get by having their airline pay for it. Right?
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Nothing else. Ideally I would get my instrument rating first. But (at least pre-9/11) any pilot can fork up the dough and get type-rated. It's said to be between $10K and $15K.
I have no idea whether the airline tends to pay for it. Nooooo clue. While in Houston I bumped into one pilot from a small commuter airline; she was getting her type rating on a scholarship. Don't know how everyone else does it.