BMAbound From Sweden, joined Nov 2003, 660 posts, RR: 5 Posted (9 years 4 months 1 week 6 hours ago) and read 3557 times:
To the pilots, private or commercial, what's your favorite part of flying? Relaxing at cruise altitude, the take off or the landing? Or, (pertains to small AC pilots) steep turns, spins or something else in that manner?
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FredT From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2002, 2184 posts, RR: 26 Reply 1, posted (9 years 4 months 1 week 3 hours ago) and read 3481 times:
Taking a solid 5+ m/s elevator ride right up to a high cloudbase!
Or possibly looking out after hanging on by teeth and nails to a weak blue thermal caught at 400 m, to be met by the view from 1500 m in a clear blue sky.
Powered flight? Bah, flying straight is boring!
(Yeah yeah yeah, it does get you places somewhat more reliably)
Oh, a really good landing leaves a nice aftertaste to the flight as well.
Cheers,
Fred
I thought I was doing good trying to avoid those airport hotels... and look at me now.
CV990A From United States of America, joined Sep 1999, 1391 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (9 years 4 months 1 week 2 hours ago) and read 3361 times:
For me, it is when tower gives the 'Taxi into position and hold' instruction- for me this is when all the anticipation and excitement about the upcoming flight reach their peak.
BMAbound From Sweden, joined Nov 2003, 660 posts, RR: 5 Reply 4, posted (9 years 4 months 1 week ago) and read 3320 times:
I agree with CV990A, communication with appr./dep./twr/gnd or whatever is very stimulating and keeps you on your toes. Landings are nice though, it's a precision job and a great one leaves a smile on my face for the entire day!
johan
PS. FredT, where do you fly your gliders? Around Linköping?
FredT From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2002, 2184 posts, RR: 26 Reply 10, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 22 hours ago) and read 3099 times:
BMA,
we're trying to get them to fly tow... problem is, our Vne is below their Vs!
Thinking more about it, the feeling of freedom is probably the greatest. "Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth...", that poem captures it all for me. To be free to explore a world of clouds at will, the peace and tranquility only found when spiralling down around a soft cumulus on a sunny afternoon... the view of a landscape where the sun has set, while you are still enjoying a sunset invisible to those ground-bound. A rainbow seen from above, sun glittering off a lake or the canopies of the trees in a forest.
As for pure kicks, as most people seem to home in on... stalls are an nice feeling. I for one don't mind having my stomach displaced. I actually enjoyed spinning as well. "Whoa, where did the ground go?!"
The feeling in a zero-G pushover... or negative Gs, hanging by the shoulder straps with the earth below you. That plays an interesting trick on your sensory systems, your ears tell you that your eyes are wrong and vice versa.
There is no roller coaster able to replicate that part of flying!
Cheers,
Fred
I thought I was doing good trying to avoid those airport hotels... and look at me now.
Socalatc From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 509 posts, RR: 1 Reply 11, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 22 hours ago) and read 3033 times:
I like when we have an empty plane and we can take off and climb like a bat out of hell all the way up to altitude. ( well, that's if ATC is in a good mood)
Also I love when you in the Flight Levels and you can see for days and days, then the sun sets, Its really amazing and all the bad things that you hate about flying kinda go away for a while.
Jayce From Canada, joined Nov 1999, 520 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 2975 times:
The best feeling for me is when air traffic is at it's peak, weather is at minimums, you've had to dodge storms, you've been vectored all over the world it seems, and then you look back at the plane once you've parked and know that it's in one piece because of the skill of the crew.
"Trying is the first step towards failure" -Homer Simpson
XJRamper From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 2345 posts, RR: 52 Reply 14, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 2936 times:
I do have to say, other than landings, when you fly between cloud bases, especially at night. When the lower base is overcast and then the top base(oxy-moron i know) is just broken or a few and the moon comes from between the clouds and makes it look like a lake of silver from the clouds below: thats cool.
Usnseallt82 From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 4891 posts, RR: 55 Reply 16, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 2900 times:
Very true, BMAbound. I'm not real sure how I survive.
Schreiner From Netherlands, joined Oct 2001, 960 posts, RR: 2 Reply 18, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 2807 times:
Winch-launch for me... for sure... and thermaling in a gap in the clouds, getting above the clouds in a glider! Great! Watching my shadow on the clouds when i´m turning in a firm thermal!
Nycfuturepilot From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 791 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 16 hours ago) and read 2718 times:
I would really to be a commercial pilot but don't the long haul flights get really boring? It almost seems as if it would be more fun to fly for a regional carrier than to fly big long haul flights.
BMAbound From Sweden, joined Nov 2003, 660 posts, RR: 5 Reply 20, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 16 hours ago) and read 2700 times:
I agree, flying CRJ's on 1 hr routes would probably be more fun than a Pacific crossing. However, I do believe that for most pilots, flying the big iron is a natural step.
Raggi From Norway, joined Oct 2000, 958 posts, RR: 1 Reply 21, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 14 hours ago) and read 2635 times:
When I nail a really greaser landing in my C152... hehe. Oh, and also when I passed my private checkride... ( yesterday )
also taxiing in to the ramp after a 4.5 hour XC in the rather cramped 152... =)
TrnsWrld From United States of America, joined May 1999, 763 posts, RR: 0 Reply 22, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 2596 times:
As for me I would say the most intense and best feelings of the flight would be as mentioned when your sitting at the end of the runway and ATC advises you to taxi into position and hold or cleared for immediate takeoff. Things happen quick, you start taxiing onto the runway at the same time your switching your transponder on, lights on, mixture rich, close the window, reply to ATC, and work the throttles and rudders all at the same time.
The the best feeling for me is after a good landing. That just makes even the worst flights seem better.
Usnseallt82 From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 4891 posts, RR: 55 Reply 23, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 2582 times:
I'd have to agree as well. On the worst flights, a good solid tarmac under your feet can ease the pain away! That, or a nice carrier deck...relative to the individual, of course.
Cancidas From Poland, joined Jul 2003, 4112 posts, RR: 13 Reply 24, posted (9 years 4 months 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 2564 times:
the flying part.
thats about it, all i care about is flying. i dont care what the wx is, what kind of airplane it is. as long as im flying im happy.
"...cannot the kingdom of salvation take me home."
25 Futureualpilot: Flying is the second greatest thrill known to man.....landing is the first! I'd agree with that.....I love flying in general, but landing requires a l
26 Usnseallt82: Spin recovery during training flights is always a great rush, although I believe the FAA has now outlawed that for any civilian flight school. Sorry g
27 Futureualpilot: Raggi, congrats on the private checkride, thats awsome! Usnseallt82, yeah, its been outlawed, or at least we dont need to recover from a spin for the
28 BMAbound: Really? When were spins outlawed?? I knew you didn't have to do it on your checkride, but it's good to know how to recover from one. johan
29 Futureualpilot: BMAbound, I don't know for sure if spins were actually outlawed (Im too lazy right now to get the dang FAR/AIM out to look it up ), but on almost all
30 Cessna172RG: About 5 seconds after rotation, and when the gear goes up really tells me that "Yes, you are losing your connection with the ground and you are above
31 Usnseallt82: Yeah, they outlawed the spin recovery instruction because of too many students attempting it without proper training. Of course, this begs the questio
32 Saleem: A perfect landing, but before that approach on finals, when runway in view straight, .... turning finals
33 FredT: I heard they tore it out of the curriculum, but training it certainly can't be outlawed? If it is, I expect we will see the US disappear from the aero
34 707CMF: When I line up on the runway (on solo flights), apply full throttle, keep the aircraft perfectly alligned while building up some speed, giving a very
37 Usnseallt82: Try some short finals aboard the massive CE-150 in the wake of some Air Force C-130's churning their vortices! That'll make any pilot wake up! Great f
38 Cytz_pilot: I used to like the spin training...part of the curriculum here, although there's a lot of rules concerning fuel load, weight and balance, passengers,
39 BMAbound: Well, first of all the CG must fall within the utility category envelope in order for anyone to practice spins. However, some GA planes do not have th
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