USAF757300 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Posted (7 years 11 months 1 week 22 hours ago) and read 5515 times:
Me & my father where doing some spotting at Air Lane in PHX. We were waiting to see the British Airways flight leave for LHR, and there was this guy, he was maybe mid 30s and he had his family with them. They were clearly very bored, and he thought he was a know-it-all aviation buff like most of us. Some of the things he said actually made me and my dad laugh out loud. For instance: British Airways is going to start flying the A380 to PHX as soon as 2007. WN is the only airline in the world with an all AIRBUS fleet of A320s, and that the 747-400 was the longest range a/c in the world.
Jaspike From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2008, 1 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (7 years 11 months 1 week 22 hours ago) and read 5512 times:
Hehe it's quite amusing when some people just talk utter crap
Not quite a spotter, but there was this one woman at an airport once saying things about aviation to her (young) son, which was totally wrong. He seemed really interested in what she was saying, looking like he was taking it all in. I almost felt as though I should say something as she was telling him absolute rubbish... But I didn't
VS747SPUR From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2005, 373 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (7 years 11 months 1 week 19 hours ago) and read 5483 times:
I was at LHR spotting one weekend when a VS 346 came in, where I overheard a spotter say to his friend ' I can't wait to fly Virgin in the summer on their 737s' Lets just say it couldn't have been an experienced spotter !
PipoA380 From Switzerland, joined May 2005, 1591 posts, RR: 52 Reply 3, posted (7 years 11 months 1 week 19 hours ago) and read 5480 times:
The usual one: while in the terminal, the guy saying to his wide/friends/kids "look at that jumbo" pointing out a 737 or 320. I always have to laugh loudly when I hear that! Yes sir, there's two wings and a cockpit, so it's a jumbo!
Just never correct them, leave them with their "I know it all" stupidity!
It's not about AIRBUS. it's not about BOEING. It's all about the beauty of FLYING.
Kmh1956 From Bermuda, joined Jun 2005, 3324 posts, RR: 8 Reply 4, posted (7 years 11 months 1 week 18 hours ago) and read 5475 times:
Not so much a stupid spotter story, but a stupid pax story. We flew into ATL several years ago on our way to MCO, and were told that the DL flight was going to be delayed for several hours, as they'd developed engine trouble on theh plane we were due to fly to MCO on. Th woman in front of me went nuts. She started hollering at the ticket agent and any other DL rep that was within earshot that she HAD to be on that plane at the time her ticket stated, and that the airline would be sorry that they'd ever done this to her...yadda yadda yadda.
I couldn't leave it alone. I felt so sorry for the DL people. I tapped the woman on the shoulder and said to her "If you'd like to fly this leg of the journey on a plane with engine trouble, bearing in mind that only leaves one engine to fly on, by all means be my guest." She had no idea what to say to me....dumbass.
'Somebody tell me why I'm on my own if there's a soulmate for everyone' :Natasha Bedingfield
FlyMIA From United States of America, joined Jun 2001, 6284 posts, RR: 6 Reply 5, posted (7 years 11 months 1 week 18 hours ago) and read 5470 times:
When waiting to fly MIA-ORD someone says what kind of plane we flying. Someone else says 737. Guy looks out the window. Oh yea looks like a 737. I than say no its a 757 actully, one man says oh I always thought 757 are bigger, he said are you sure. " Yes I am sure .
Than flying back home ORD-MIA on 757 had someone say we were flying a 737 again, but no it was not, this time the person said oh I though AA was getting rid of their 757.
Person sitting next to me on the trip asked after we landed do planes have brakes. I told him yes just like a car they have brakes to stop on the ground. He says oh I always thought the wing stops the plane.
I know there are more from just that trip. I need to start writing these things down.
"It was just four of us on the flight deck, trying to do our job" (Captain Al Haynes)
Shamrock350 From Ireland, joined Mar 2005, 6099 posts, RR: 15 Reply 6, posted (7 years 11 months 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 5384 times:
well not really a spotter story but its was funny at the time.
I was about to get on my flight and well a man behind me said to his wife "so we are flying on that one" she replied "yes dear" he then got very stressed when he looked at the name of the plane, "Look, thats not our plane we cant get on this one. we are ment to be flying British Atlantic" she said back to him "no thats British Airways and we are flying on Virgin Atlantic" he said back "Im right you are wrong we are not getting on this flight" he then started asking passengers where this flight was going and then himself and his wife became very embarrassed when told by STAFF that this was the right flight and not to worry.
WA727 From United States of America, joined Feb 2005, 172 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (7 years 11 months 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 5356 times:
In the mid 1980's, I was waiting for a PSA flight from LAX to PHX. When the BA146 pulled in, some guy commented that it was a B707. I know they both have four engines, but he was way off !
SlamClick From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 10062 posts, RR: 71 Reply 8, posted (7 years 11 months 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 5326 times:
Top this!
I was standing on the GA ramp at San Diego many years ago and N1, the FAA Jetstar (at that time) came in, carrying the Administrator
I won't mention his name because that would be indiscreet. (Alexander Butterfield)
Already parked on the ramp was a Gulfstream II, N10XY, belonging to occidental petroleum, and Dr. Armand Hammer. The adminstrator saw it next to his plane and said: "Whose 727 is that? Then all his GS supergrade assistants chimed in: "I think it is a BAC 1-11" "It's a DC-9, isn't it?" and so on.
I had to walk away before I said something.
Happiness is not seeing another trite Ste. Maarten photo all week long.
727EMflyer From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 547 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (7 years 11 months 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 5274 times:
When I was a young boy, 10 years old, I was fascinated with flight. I had one book about airlines, and though it wasn't very thorough at all, I took it to be the bible! Any way, my older sister returned from a visit to our aunt in Denver DEN-GTF on a CO 733. I did not realize the 737 existed, my understanding being limited to 727, 747, 767 and DC-10. Thinking that 727's were all anyone flew into town I was very excited at seeing a plane with underwing engines and told her I was jealous that she got to fly on something so big as a 767. She said no, its a 737, and the typical brother/sister "is not, is to!" argument ensued. Soon after I got a new airliner book, and wasn't I surprised! Who knew there were busses in the air too?!
Redngold From United States of America, joined Mar 2000, 6907 posts, RR: 51 Reply 10, posted (7 years 11 months 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 5255 times:
OK guys, be real for a second...
Let's just say that with the proliferation of RJs, that 737s and A320s *do* look like jumbos!
There was a time that I was confused about planes, too. For example, someone once told me there was a stretched 737 (at the time, a 737-300/400 was considered the stretched version) but I thought that was the 727. So the 727 became, to me, the 737 stretch, and the third engine and different tail were a result of the stretch!
MANTEC From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2005, 57 posts, RR: 1 Reply 11, posted (7 years 11 months 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 5251 times:
A spotter (or could have been a pax) at MAN was saying to his wife that "actually, my dear, the 737 has 3 engines"
The lady looked a bit perplexed and peered through the window in T1 and replied that she could only see 2.
To my utter amazement the guy went on unperturbed with his stupidity.
"No, look, there are 3.....1 on each wing and one under the tail" (the APU no doubt)
But, it doesn't stop there!!......... "That small one at the back is for taxiing....the other 2 are far too powerful for that"
BCAL From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2004, 3384 posts, RR: 18 Reply 12, posted (7 years 11 months 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 5247 times:
Not quite a spotter but in July 1983 at PMI we were on the bus being taken to our steam-driven BAC1-11 when we passed a brand new Monarch 757 that was parked on the ramp and looked resplendent in her colours. How I wished I was flying on that plane. It seemed that many of the other passengers on the bus were also admiring the 757 and a young lad asked his father what that plane was, pointing to the 757. "Don't know, son. I think it must be a new version of Concorde!"
MOL on SRB's latest attack at BA: "It's like a little Chihuahua barking at a dying Labrador. Nobody cares."
SA006 From South Africa, joined Sep 2003, 1883 posts, RR: 56 Reply 18, posted (7 years 11 months 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 5149 times:
Well , Andy , for a person who knows nothing about aviation , mistaking a 743 for a 744 isn't the worst thing.
Funniest thing I have heard was at Wonderboom Airshow. Some guy was talking to a friend of his over his cellphone after 1Time and Kulula had brought in their MD-82's for static display. He said "Kulula and 1Time just brought their DC-10's in." lmao
Birdwatching From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 3573 posts, RR: 52 Reply 20, posted (7 years 11 months 2 days ago) and read 5072 times:
Hehehe, spotting at SCL one day, a man told his son that the airlines build their own planes... now that was one of the funniest things I've ever heard!
All the things you probably hate about travelling are warm reminders that I'm home
Burnsie28 From United States of America, joined Aug 2004, 7411 posts, RR: 9 Reply 21, posted (7 years 11 months 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 5043 times:
Me: My dad flies a DC-9
Person: Oh thats a really big plane
Me: if you think so, about 100 people
Person: That is a lot
Me: 747-400 typically carries about 402 on average
Person: Oh
Or people, looking out the window (at a DC-9) this guy was taking pics, logging which was sad, then a DC-9 pulls into that gate "Look son, N9683E, it was just built not too long ago"
I stand there saying to myself, yeah, when you were his age.
"Some People Just Know How To Fly"- Best slogan ever, RIP NW 1926-2009
Freedomtofly From United States of America, joined Apr 2005, 750 posts, RR: 6 Reply 22, posted (7 years 11 months 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 5017 times:
Someone gave me this postcard once and it had a Lufthansa Cityline Avro RJ on it. The person who gave it to me claimed it was a 747. We argued for hours until we finally looked online and obviously that was no 747. Moral: Not all 4 engined planes are 747's. I hear that a/c name all the time and it bugs me. Like one day I was telling this kid about flying in flight sim and he immediately says "Oh so you want to fly the 747's." No. The '47 has become quite well known with av and non av enthusiasts. Airbus (A380 program) is gonna have to work real hard to gain popularity with both groups.
Tobi3334 From Germany, joined Sep 2004, 146 posts, RR: 3 Reply 23, posted (7 years 11 months 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 4996 times:
When I have some free time I always enjoy to sit in the McDonnald of T2 in FRA. There you have a nice view on the apron and here you can hear amazing stories
A woman to her father "Here you can see the 4 runways" then she wondered why a Condor 767 on the taxiway to runway-west doesn't take off.
Couple is seeing an Atlas Air 747 departuring "Look here, Atlas Air ... the airline of Atlas-Reisen (german travel business)"
There are a many other stories but I can't remember now. Maybe I will post them later.
HAWK21M From India, joined Jan 2001, 31201 posts, RR: 58 Reply 24, posted (7 years 11 months 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 4985 times:
There was this Guy,at a party a few yrs ago.Telling people around him that He had done his CPL on a B747 at British Airways in LHR & decided to leave aviation thereafter.
During the Conversation I asked a few questions & realised He was blowing hot air.So I added to the Conversation telling my Buddies not to disclose that I was in Aviation.
It was only at Dinner time I told him where I worked.
Thereafter I never noticed him around again
regds
MEL
Think of the brighter side!
25 ACDC8: A couple of years ago, I was on the ob deck in DUS. Anyway, a couple gets talking and she mentions to her male friend that she flew to New York the ye
26 PipoA380: Because we are aviation geeks, and that I would't tell the difference between a 1.5 liter engine and a 3 liter engin on a car, or couldn't identify a
28 777ER: USAF757300 What was the mans and his familys reaction to you and your dad laughing at what he said?
29 PipoA380: Nope, actually calling every plane a jumbo is like calling every car a van, or a cabrio. That's ignorance. Not knowing the difference between a 747-3
30 AlitaliaMD11: One of my moms students was talking to me about his experience of flying on a private jet. He said he flew into BOS on the fifth runway. I kept insist
31 ASMD80: It's all about perspective, and these plane types seem to just be the first thing non-av people think of when they see a cerrtain plane.
32 ACDC8: Sorry Pipo, it just seems like you were contradicting yourself .. I am very aware of that. This thread is titled "Stupid Know-it-all Spotters." I simp
34 HorizonGirl: Oh NO! I can't see how anyone could think that! ROTFLMAO!!!! LMAO!!! LOL!!! When I was flying back from Newfoundland, I was on a 737, During the push
35 Starlionblue: They're not rockets. Everyone knows they're mind controlling chemtrails. Duh...
36 Loggat: You do know that BOS has five runways, right? 4/22 L&R, 15/33 L&R and 9/27
37 Cdeanda: About 4 years ago some guy was with his family spotting at MMGL / GDL and said to his son that the planes had "double traction" (4x4, FWD). Obviously
38 AlitaliaMD11: Loggat, No I didn't well I am not from Boston, I am from New York.
39 Apollo13: IM sorry for saying this and im probably going to be bashed like fuckin hell for this also, but how can some of these people in the airports get to yo
41 Euclid: I saw my mom off on a flight to Cape Town from Johannesburg International somewhere in April, and was standing on the viewing deck watching the planes
42 HorizonGirl: The concorde's shape is a LOT different though.
43 N766UA: It's always amusing when I'm at Cleveland and I hear people say "Ohhh, look how big that one is!" Yeah, lady... it's big compared to an ERJ, but can y
44 WindowSeat: Cut some slack, absolutely! But would it really be beneath them to not just shoot in the dark and pretend they know everything when they could just a
45 1MillionFlyer: I would have pulled out the breifing card in the seat pocket.
46 BigPhilNYC: I certainly don't expect people to knwo aviation-related thigns that people like us know. I only get annoyed when non-aviaiton people try to tell me w
47 Avioneto: Talking about 9/11 ... a classmate was plenty sure that was a 747 the a/c type that hits the WTC towers... Someday he even said "I have a CNN video th
48 VHTAE: I was on a Virgin Blue flight from Sydney to Melbourne and as we were taxing to the runway the man next to me said "it's nice to be in a 767 for a cha
50 VHTAE: HAWK21M i guess he believed me as he didn't talk to me for the remainder of the flight. hehe. VH-TAE.
51 Atrude777: I have quite a few..some with my own family. Sitting at STL in the plane in the middle seat ugh. My bro was at the window and said OMG! A 747 PASSED B
52 Jeffry747: Someone in the Terminal at SDF spotted a UPS 747 and called it "some kind of DC-10"
53 Airbus3801: My favorite experience was me getting into a fight with a know it all women sitting next to me on a quick flight from HNL-Kauai on a 717. Once we boar
55 1MillionFlyer: But a 717 is not considered a regional jet
56 Vasu: Compared to something that can fly twice around the world without refueling, I'd call anything a regional jet!
57 HorizonGirl: This just happened. I was waiting for someone at YVR. While I was having breakfast, I was looking out the window, and an Alaska Airlines plane landed.
59 Atrude777: He is 10, will be 11 this month. Alex
60 Airbus3801: Well it pretty much is just one in denial.
61 HAWK21M: Still a Kid.He'll learn eventually. regds MEL
62 YooYoo: Oh man...that hurts Sure rub it in. What the frick !!...is it pick on Andy day ?? Kas , your off my Lotto list Zak...well...you were never on it
63 ACDC8: I remember when I was a kid, this guy was explaining to me that the middle number in Boeing's 7X7, stood for the number of engines the a/c had. Well,
65 ACDC8: Read your post again...pay specfic attention to this part... So was it an AC B737 or A320?
66 Tobi3334: Today I had a really nice experiance: While I was watching the apron in FRA from the McDonnalds in Terminal 2 two elderly persons came and sat beside
67 Skywatch: How did the Alaska Airlines 737 change into an Air Canada 737?
68 ANITIX87: Even more impressive is that is changed to an A320!!!!! I don't know whether to pass this off as a complete BS story, or whether to wonder if Horizon
69 ACDC8: Give a HorizonGirl a little slack. I was just pointing out a little mistake that she made which I found very amusing, given the name of this thread.
70 Skywatch: I agree! She is on my Respected Users list. She just made a little mistake. She probably knows more about aviation than me. She did not say the plane
71 HorizonGirl: I knew something was going to happen if I posted that. I could hardly believe it either, and to top it of the employee said something that is hard to
73 Lehpron: We all were 'stupid' once; maybe you should volunteer your knowledge next time? Though subtle, you sound like that one member in here that laughed whe
74 BCAL: Not quite a stupid spotter, but a know-it-all reporter in the UK's Daily Mail covering the Condor incident (see Condor Pilot Flies Close To Another Ai
75 Soups: Waiting at the gate at FRA to board a plane to BEY when a ''know it all'' lebanese women tell her friend looks its a 747 (in french) the other said no
76 GhostRider: Apparently, he must be related to a reporter that I heard of in Seattle recently when CO 7 bound to NRT from IAH was diverted to SEA due to a hydraul
77 HighFlyer9790: One that hate with a passion is hearing "drive a plane." (etc.) It really ticks me off....i dont know why!!
78 Kmh1956: I've actually heard military pilots use that phrase....
79 Aa777jr: I was on a AA flight from LAX to AUS and the flight attendant doing announcements said to read over the safey card for this Boeing 737 airframe. We we
80 Ariis: That may just be me, but I find this whole thread itself the biggest "stupid know-it-all spotters" story (with a few honorable exceptions). I know wha
81 AlekToronto: hey guys. fun thread. There are and always will be the know it all spotters. Having just completed over 20 flights I can point out at least 20 example
82 KCMike: I actuallyuse that phrase as well as many other pilots i am associated with Probably is. Because it is common in this community Mike
83 AFHokie: now that I think about it, I can't remember the last time I heard a military pilot say that he "flew" instead of "drive" hell, just about every airfra
84 Alfa75: As an Alfa Romeo fan I have had to endure many ignorant people myself. Usually I keep my mouth shut and chuckle to myself. As some of you have pointed
85 OpsGuy: I have had a couple good ones. Most of them have come from the Noise complaints that I receive. We seem to get a lot of "regulars" who like to call in
86 ZK-NBT: Hmm, was at AKL oneday maybe 6-7 years ago when an NZ 763 took off. Some guy turns to his son and says that must have been an old DC8. Another time a
87 ZKSUJ: Oh my goodness, thats classic Brilliant!!!
88 Navairjax: Another stupid pax story. When I was returning from SAN on Sunday I was discussing travel with the gentleman sitting next to me on the BNA-JAX leg. Th
89 TERRA: Whenever my work colleagues and i would sit in ear shot of spotters we would talk absolute crap about aircraft (most of them belonging to our airline)
90 AzoresLover: Thanks for a great laugh...made my day!!! I get frustrated, like others have said here, with people who know nothing but talk as if they do, and refu
91 Ib16uk: Hey I was on the bus coming back from work one day and this woman I knew came on, we talked about my work as she was interested in joining ( Im in ret
92 SkySurfer: I used to spot at MAN for many years before i moved, and i think i heard enough to last me a lifetime! I don't know how many times i heard guys tellin
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