We wear generally them until the cockpit door is closed though some of my colleagues wear them throughout the flight.

(Written on 2020年 09月 26日)(Permalink)

When I was a greenhorn FO, I used to tell a lame joke when welcoming the pax. "There are two smoking lounges on this aircraft. Feel free at any time during the flight to step out onto the wing and light up." One day a grizzled old captain said, "You should stop telling that story, son. In the first place everybody has already heard it. In the second place, one of these days some stupid SOB will try it."

(Written on 2020年 09月 04日)(Permalink)

I propose a $50,000 fine for any journalist who uses the word "tarmac."

(Written on 2020年 08月 14日)(Permalink)

Per my friend and neighbor, professor of pulmonary medicine at the local med school, instances in which a mask would be medically contraindicated would be vanishingly rare. That said, I share the concern of others regarding emotional support animals. I've flown many a guide dog and other service animals with nary a problem while "support" animals have frequently caused issues. I returned a flight to the gate once to deplane a woman with an absolutely out of control cat. To her credit, the woman agreed that the cat couldn't fly and apologized profusely to the FAs, the pax, and to the FO and me.

(Written on 2020年 08月 07日)(Permalink)

Don't know much about virology, do we?

(Written on 2020年 08月 07日)(Permalink)

And your evidence in support of this remarkable assertion would be?

(Written on 2020年 07月 10日)(Permalink)

I'm too young to remember the heyday of the Electra but it was an experience of riding in the jumpseat of an old cargo-converted Electra as a child that convinced me to become a pilot.

(Written on 2020年 07月 03日)(Permalink)

I drive 737s for a living and would happily fly the Max with my whole family on board. In fact, my training having included management of runaway trim incidents, I would not object to piloting the pre-fix Max. Those tragic incidents, with their inexcusable loss of lives, should never have been more than annoying inconveniences. Obviously, the MCAS system needed to be fixed as did the sweetheart relationship between FAA and Boeing. I strongly suspect that the software issues have long since been resolved and FAA is now doing damage control and reputation repair. That's OK, there's no such thing as "too safe." It will be interesting to see if FAA and EASA hold Airbus to the same strict standards.

(Written on 2020年 07月 03日)(Permalink)

Your comment could stand as a monument to absolutely stupendous ignorance. I have been piloting 737s for over a decade and would happily fly the first 737-Max to come off the line. It is reliable, easy to fly, and safe. There were problems and they have been fixed, period.

(Written on 2020年 03月 27日)(Permalink)

Spare us your ill-informed condescension. It doesn't matter if this was a US carrier, an African carrier, or the Vatican air force. It doesn't matter if the pilot was from the Netherlands, Swaziland, or the moon. This was incompetence, pure and simple. Like Steamjet, I have flown in the cockpit for thousands of hours, landing everywhere from state of the art airports to bush strips. It is not, repeat NOT difficult to distinguish runway lights from taxiway and boundary lights, even in category III conditions. Rationalizations about circadian rhythms and "unreliable infrastructure" are clever buzzwords for you to toss around but they do not excuse poor performance when hundreds of lives and millions of dollars are on the line. I'd suggest that you not talk the talk until you have walked the walk.

(Written on 2020年 01月 03日)(Permalink)