December 25, 2008

Got Home for Christmas by Air? You've Got No Complaints.

icehouse.jpg

Here's what the commercial jet pilots (the good ones) were doing while you were bitching in the terminal.

Flight Level 390: Ice World, Part One...

Position: Underneath the Electric Jet, KJFK (Kennedy)...
Outside Air Temperature: None
Windspeed and direction: 290 degrees at 28 gusting to 42 knots
Precip: Blowing snow

I am underneath Fi-Fi's belly with flashlight in right hand; left hand in pocket of leather flying jacket. It is surrealistic out here tonight. It reminds me of a movie scene in Alien, where Dallas, Kane, and Lambert descended the Nostromo's crew elevator down to the surface of LV-426. Back to planet Earth, it is unbelievably cold, with howling winds from the northwest. My face is burning, soon to be numb. The snow is stinging my eyes as I try to keep them open, following my flashlight beam, searching for the hydraulic leak, missing piece of aluminum, or shredded tire. Whatever is wrong, if there is anything wrong, this would be the time to overlook it... Got to be careful, even if it freezes my face. Oh well, the pain will go away in a few more seconds.

This from Dave @ Flight 390: America from the Flight Deck, the best blog by a professional airline pilot on the net. If it is not in your bookmarks, it should be.

Posted by Vanderleun at December 25, 2008 2:16 PM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

Thank you, Gerard, for introducing me to Flight 390-- it's a keeper.

And happy birthday-- The feast of Stephen, as the carol says, the first martyr of the newborn King. The Greek word martys means witness, as you probably know. Thank you for your witness to beauty as well as sanity in a rapidly darkening world. May you have many more good years to bear witness to those truths we hold to be self-evident, whatever the postmodernists say.

Posted by: Connecticut Yankee at December 26, 2008 10:36 AM

From one professional pilot to another: Yep. He's a good one.

Posted by: azlibertarian at December 26, 2008 2:35 PM

From one professional pilot to another: Yep. He's a good one.

Posted by: Roderickksl at November 3, 2012 4:58 PM