irrational fear of flying

[gregl]

A sad farewell to the queen (sniff). I was four years old when I heard about the roll-out of the first 747 over an AM car radio. I couldn't wait to see one in person. My mom drove me to the Miami airport a few years later when they entered airline service. I couldn't imagine how something so big could fly so gracefully. Truly an amazing piece of engineering. Not too shabby for an "interim" design meant to fill the gap until SSTs were in service. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/08/11415...g-747-last-jet

Greg

boeing-747-final-delivery-airframe-everett-01*1200xx5184-2922-0-454.jpg

[Dave Thompson]

Yeah sad. When I was living in Hawaii in the late 60s early 70s I started traveling to Europe several times a year. Often for motorcycle races, other times just because. I would build my itinerary around flying on 747s. I would change dates, switch airlines or routes based on whether or not the ‘queen’ was available. Flying was so much easier in those days.

The Queen is dead, long live the Queen!

[rwsaunders]

Partying 36,000’ over Bismark, SD…just like Jagger on the Concorde.

[72gmc]

Yeah sad. When I was living in Hawaii in the late 60s early 70s I started traveling to Europe several times a year. Often for motorcycle races, other times just because. I would build my itinerary around flying on 747s. I would change dates, switch airlines or routes based on whether or not the ‘queen’ was available. Flying was so much easier in those days.

The Queen is dead, long live the Queen!

Could you really go upstairs to a lounge or some such thing? I loved 747s as a kid but they were filled up with seats by then.

[vertical_doug]

Could you really go upstairs to a lounge or some such thing? I loved 747s as a kid but they were filled up with seats by then.

I think most airlines had the upstairs configured as business class. It was small and cozy. The best thing was the cockpit was right there and usually the pilots would be sitting there with the door open so you could talk to them before flight. Everything was different pre-9/11.

The Airbus A380 is a doubledecker and a monster. The ambiance is just different. But when you see one flying into Heathrow to land, it looks huge and slow in the air and you wonder how it can fly.

(Having said that, the 747 were the days of paper tickets at the counter, and check-in could be nightmare and take forever. It some aspects, flying now is so much better. Hard to believe, but cheaper and better.
Range is so much better now too. We use to stop in Alaska to refuel to fly to Asia.)

[vertical_doug]

If you have never seen this documentary on the 747, it is awesome.

[htwoopup]

Could you really go upstairs to a lounge or some such thing? I loved 747s as a kid but they were filled up with seats by then.

Yes. It was a definite game changer.

From a month before the Asian Games in 1986 through the 1988 Summer Olympics, I had to do 18 New York/ Seoul round trips. If the company hadn’t paid for the upstairs I am not sure I would have been able to do it.

Interestingly, Korean Air used to have the second flight deck crew (that’s how long the flight was that they switched cockpit people midway through) sleeping up there also. It is also how I learned that the air in the cabin is not so good from a dehydration standpoint. The second crews always had a moist handkerchief over their nose and mouths as they slept.

Which was a trick that I then used on the twice a week JFK/LAX same day turnarounds that I had to do for 17 years.

The carbon footprint of my career is the single most horrifying and disgusting thing about my life that I will forever regret.

But the upstairs was pretty nice.

And, now that I am typing this I wonder if they had a second cabin crew and if so where did they sleep?

[Rich Beaudoin]

Around ‘77 or ‘78, my older brother and I were flying unaccompanied from Tehran to San Francisco and changing planes in London. Since we were flying alone, the crew brought us up for a look at the cockpit of the 747 and they had us sit in little jump seats behind the pilots. We were quietly watching and listening behind them and it seemed like they forgot we were there. As we approached Heathrow they noticed us and the crew thought it was too late to reseat us so we got to land in the cockpit. It’s unlikely that they would let anyone into a commercial cockpit now, even kids.
And of course we were allowed to go upstairs, but not linger because it was basically a bar area.

[bcm119]

....twice a week JFK/LAX same day turnarounds that I had to do for 17 years.

That sounds absolutely brutal! Couldn't you just stay for a few nights and make it once a week?

[htwoopup]

That sounds absolutely brutal! Couldn't you just stay for a few nights and make it once a week?

Believe me I tried.

It was weird. You would leave Manhattan at 6 am and be back at 6:30 am, just 24 1/2 hours later.

I ended up giving almost all of my millions of miles to charity because the last thing I ever would want to do on a vacation was get on a plane and it seemed a better use of them.

[72gmc]

For my first flight at age 7, we were not in a 747 but next to one at the gate. I had the window seat. Big engines, big ignition flames, happy little boy.

[gregl]

It was weird. You would leave Manhattan at 6 am and be back at 6:30 am, just 24 1/2 hours later.

I occasionally crewed trips like that during my bizjet jockey days. Show time 5:30-6:00AM eastern time, takeoff 7AM, arrive LA area ~9:30-10:00AM left coast time. Get ten hours of "rest" in a hotel before departing at 9PM for the east coast. Depending on the time of year, we arrived just as the first light of dawn was breaking in the eastern sky. And your circadian rhythm was totally effed up for days. Don't miss that silliness at all!

Greg

[bigbill]

My late stepfather was an aeronautical engineer. He was involved in the early installation of radar on commercial airliners. Throughout his career, he did many 747 projects including the advanced airborne command post and Air Force One. A green 747 is something to see and a very loud ride. He was the 707 Air Force One engineer in the 70s. I had decals from that project on the top tube of my Orange Krate. He also did the Lisa Marie for Elvis, an extended range 727 for King Hussein of Jordan, and a set of DC-10s for the Saudi Royal Family. He may or may not have been involved in the C-130s that were to be used for hostage rescue in Tehran. His later work was all C-130s; my mom still gets royalty checks for his designs.

Interestingly, my son now wants to fly C-130s for the Marines.

[j44ke]

My late stepfather was an aeronautical engineer. He was involved in the early installation of radar on commercial airliners. Throughout his career, he did many 747 projects including the advanced airborne command post and Air Force One. A green 747 is something to see and a very loud ride. He was the 707 Air Force One engineer in the 70s. I had decals from that project on the top tube of my Orange Krate. He also did the Lisa Marie for Elvis, an extended range 727 for King Hussein of Jordan, and a set of DC-10s for the Saudi Royal Family. He may or may not have been involved in the C-130s that were to be used for hostage rescue in Tehran. His later work was all C-130s; my mom still gets royalty checks for his designs.

Interestingly, my son now wants to fly C-130s for the Marines.

There is a HC-130 from Gabreski Air National Guard that flies up from Long Island to Hillsdale and makes a big loop to go back down. They are flying low enough that when they bank, you can sometimes see someone at one of the lighted windows. That branch of the Air National Guard is a combat search and rescue team, so perhaps they are looking for some sort of target. Now that we live outside of town, I sometimes catch them turning in the distance southwest of us, but when we rented in the town the sound of the plane was pretty intense. Took me a while to figure out whose plane that was and why they were buzzing town every other Tuesday or so.

[SlowPokePete]

There is a HC-130 from Gabreski Air National Guard that flies up from Long Island to Hillsdale and makes a big loop to go back down. They are flying low enough that when they bank, you can sometimes see someone at one of the lighted windows. That branch of the Air National Guard is a combat search and rescue team, so perhaps they are looking for some sort of target. Now that we live outside of town, I sometimes catch them turning in the distance southwest of us, but when we rented in the town the sound of the plane was pretty intense. Took me a while to figure out whose plane that was and why they were buzzing town every other Tuesday or so.

They fly right down over my house at surprisingly low altitude when they come through.

Rattles the house and scares the shit out of the dogs.

SPP

[rwsaunders]

Question for Saab and gregl…I took the redeye the other night from SEA-DET on a Delta 737-800. The plane looked to be patched and caulked together on the interior and the seat screens were maybe 4”x6” with a credit card slot…pretty old I assume. I was on the starboard side of the plane in a window seat and 1/2 way through the flight, I thought that I had frostbite, as my right foot was so freakin’ cold. The guy in front of me was wearing a football parka and muttered something about freezing his arse off. Any idea what was going on, as I’d like to respond to Delta when I get the “how was your flight” questionnaire, and ask for compensation for heated socks for the next flight?

[Saab2000]

Question for Saab and gregl…I took the redeye the other night from SEA-DET on a Delta 737-800. The plane looked to be patched and caulked together on the interior and the seat screens were maybe 4”x6” with a credit card slot…pretty old I assume. I was on the starboard side of the plane in a window seat and 1/2 way through the flight, I thought that I had frostbite, as my right foot was so freakin’ cold. The guy in front of me was wearing a football parka and muttered something about freezing his arse off. Any idea what was going on, as I’d like to respond to Delta when I get the “how was your flight” questionnaire, and ask for compensation for heated socks for the next flight?

Where were you in the cabin? Near an over-wing exit? Or in business class (near the catering door)?

Don't know what to say about the cabin temp other than that it is controlled in the flight deck at the request of the cabin attendants. If nobody says anything, most people forget about it.

I'd definitely mention it on your questionnaire but more importantly, mention it to a flight attendant in the moment. Sometimes that information is relayed to the drooling pilots up front who then turn the dial left or right.

[rwsaunders]

Where were you in the cabin? Near an over-wing exit? Or in business class (near the catering door)? Don't know what to say about the cabin temp other than that it is controlled in the flight deck at the request of the cabin attendants. If nobody says anything, most people forget about it. I'd definitely mention it on your questionnaire but more importantly, mention it to a flight attendant in the moment. Sometimes that information is relayed to the drooling pilots up front who then turn the dial left or right.

[Saab2000]

Don’t know what to tell you. Do you fly a lot of red eye flights? I hate them unless they’re going to a different continent.

Our circadian rhythm is off on those flights and we cool off.

I’d definitely mention it to a flight attendant next time you fly and the temp isn’t right.

[72gmc]

Our circadian rhythm is off on those flights and we cool off.

Haven't flown a red eye in a while, but this feels consistent with my experience. I'm much more aware of the temperature on a flight at night.