How's the kangaroo's in AUS? Gotta watch out for the dingos too ;)
Not necessarily. It was able to burn the fuel in a reasonable amount of time. The reason that the widebodies and jumbos have 'em, is because a fully loaded 747 would have to be in flight for 9 hours before reaching max landing weight. Info from Boeing, Max takeoff weight: 875,000 lbs, Max landing weight: 652,000, average fuel burn, 24,000 lbs/hr.
I was not in the best of moods then. And one of my major pet peeves is when people call others stupid....especially when they are directed to me.
To paraphrase an old flying adage, a career in flying is mostly boredom, punctuated by moments of terror. A pilot really earns their pay when they deal with those few moments with a safe outcome.
Damn straight they earn it. I'm sure there was a bit of "only in L.A." muttering going on between some passengers as they watched themselves.
Most are underpaid as I see it. They deserve more $$, particularly when you factor how long it takes to get to the point where they are earning big bread. Lots of hours flying bug squashers and commuter props before they can step into a regional or national jet. I unfortunately allowed myself to get roped into watching that last night. I was stuck to the tube like a bug to a zapper at a double wide. However, unlike the media reporting it, I was hoping for a good outcome. Their sensationalism (spelling) kills me. Foaming the runway, the gear is going to snap off, etc. OK! That and their monumental lack of knowledge (at least the few reporters that I saw last night). Two channels were reporting that they were flying over the ocean to dump fuel. Airbus doesn't have that option at least not on that one! Most with any knowledge of the situation knew what the outcome was going to be. That said, that pilot did one hell of a job bringing that plane in. Textbook. Glad it all ended well. John
One of those questions that will never be answered, but I can't help asking: If AA had Direct TV on all flights in 2001, I wonder what would have been the outcome for the other 3 planes, after the first plane hit the WTC.
Pilots are all overpaid flying bus drivers, right up to the moment something like this happens. Then they are underpaid wonder boys with whom we trust our lives. A thankless job for the most part. Terry