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Not Sure

(735 posts)

86. Great story - kept me locked in to the end

Wed Oct 30, 2013, 12:21 AM

Oct 2013

I was surprised to catch a number of parallels to my line of work as a locomotive engineer. Once you learn how to run a locomotive, the job is then about becoming familiar with the territory as much as anything. I do my best to learn everything I can about every mile of rail I run on. I try to master the difficult parts of a run each time I take a train and incrementally I get better at it. Unless you try to memorize everything about a given territory and try different methods of deceleration and train handling, you'll find it's nearly impossible to run in dense fog or heavy snow, for example. I've had a few times where all the time I spent studying track charts and memorizing landmarks has paid off. Not quite as hairy as that flight, but definitely butt-puckering.

Hats off to the captain in the story.

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This is what airline pilots USED to know. [View all] trof Oct 2013 OP

I enjoyed this. mgc1961 Oct 2013 #1

Thanks for sharing this, trof. Ptah Oct 2013 #2

Well that's nuthin'... ret5hd Oct 2013 #3

Wow! What a gripping story, my dear trof... CaliforniaPeggy Oct 2013 #4

Agreed mcp37 Oct 2013 #103

welcome to DU gopiscrap Oct 2013 #106

Wonderful story Blue_Tires Oct 2013 #5

I haven't been in a passenger plane since October of '70 madokie Oct 2013 #6

That sounds absolutely hair-raising. The Velveteen Ocelot Oct 2013 #7

Perfect micro of the macro. dchill Oct 2013 #8

Thanks. 1000words Oct 2013 #9

Great read. Liberal In Texas Oct 2013 #10

I am absolutely gobsmacked at the reception and recs here. trof Oct 2013 #11

Wow. It's great. I hung on every word and am still "on the edge of my seat" Thor_MN Oct 2013 #18

Same here! laundry_queen Oct 2013 #68

you're a long trusted and valued DUer, trof Skittles Oct 2013 #22

Would you like to go steady? trof Oct 2013 #27

I got my fill of pilots in USAF LOL Skittles Oct 2013 #44

Are you kidding? I'd read your stories for days Blue_Tires Oct 2013 #35

yup Skittles Oct 2013 #55

It was a visual feast with few words. Spitfire of ATJ Oct 2013 #67

It's not the length of the post... krispos42 Oct 2013 #99

What did he mean by being outside? hootinholler Oct 2013 #12

He was looking out the windshield for visual clues. trof Oct 2013 #17

Makes perfect sense hootinholler Oct 2013 #36

"which does that for you with a computer"... bvar22 Oct 2013 #113

Fantastic! LeftofObama Oct 2013 #13

Recommended. NYC_SKP Oct 2013 #14

I'll be darned. It does stand for "I Follow Roads". Scuba Oct 2013 #15

Ha! IFR trof Oct 2013 #20

I'm writing some code for the FAA hootinholler Oct 2013 #40

Cool. n/t JimDandy Oct 2013 #96

He couldn' t do that today, of course, JimDandy Oct 2013 #97

Absolutely worth the read! Thanks for posting... (nt) petronius Oct 2013 #16

LOVE this Skittles Oct 2013 #19

Good read mikebl Oct 2013 #21

Gann was the master. trof Oct 2013 #25

I knew Ernie Gann slightly but PearliePoo2 Oct 2013 #101

Didn't kmow about Gann's wife. Thanks. trof Oct 2013 #124

Great Story! I learned to fly out of Stapleton in the early 70s' MindPilot Oct 2013 #23

AA Pilot in family...I loved this read...and will pass along KoKo Oct 2013 #24

Even though a bit of it was too technical for me rock Oct 2013 #26

excellent article. littlewolf Oct 2013 #28

That was a nail-biter! procon Oct 2013 #29

I have about 100 hours in a C172 and have tried flying commercial jets on flight sim and..... yourout Oct 2013 #30

Very, very true nadinbrzezinski Oct 2013 #31

Good read, thank you. I knew Stapleton well. n/t Egalitarian Thug Oct 2013 #32

Very much worth the read, Trof. dixiegrrrrl Oct 2013 #33

That's a pretty freaking cool story! hatrack Oct 2013 #34

Thanks, trof. enlightenment Oct 2013 #37

What an exccellent post malaise Oct 2013 #38

Pilot Here - Good Read cantbeserious Oct 2013 #39

excellent icarusxat Oct 2013 #41

I really appreciate you sharing this. n/t Wilms Oct 2013 #42

Of course... Aviation Pro Oct 2013 #43

But when all else fails, that pilot better know what to do.. mountain grammy Oct 2013 #49

I had a chance to meet Al Haynes... Aviation Pro Oct 2013 #125

Great story.. printed it for my retired aircraft mechanic husband mountain grammy Oct 2013 #45

fanfuckingtastic pasto76 Oct 2013 #46

One of the best reads in a while here. longship Oct 2013 #47

Best story I've ever read on DU. Thanks for this ! nt steve2470 Oct 2013 #48

I think in my lifetime we might see "drone planes." MADem Oct 2013 #50

Under good conditions Stapleton was a difficult field. HubertHeaver Oct 2013 #51

thanks for that Locrian Oct 2013 #52

K and R panader0 Oct 2013 #53

Great read. n/t louslobbs Oct 2013 #54

Outstanding. westerebus Oct 2013 #56

A subject near and dear to my heart! Thanks, trof! DemoTex Oct 2013 #57

Wow. Great story. And a hell of a lesson in that. K&R n/t jtuck004 Oct 2013 #58

I loved it. Great read. BlueJazz Oct 2013 #59

Didn't they pay the pilots a decent wage in those days? YBR31 Oct 2013 #60

Wow, what a great story. NealK Oct 2013 #61

awesome alato Oct 2013 #62

hats off to a real professional heaven05 Oct 2013 #63

What my husband, who's a pilot, has told me is that "any landing you can walk away from calimary Oct 2013 #64

Flying a jet liner with needle, ball and airspeed... zeemike Oct 2013 #65

I hope DemoTex sees this. WilliamPitt Oct 2013 #66

+1 bullwinkle428 Oct 2013 #71

He did. See post #57. n/t CaliforniaPeggy Oct 2013 #82

Great story. mn9driver Oct 2013 #69

k+r ...nt TeeYiYi Oct 2013 #70

Taking flight lessons now. riderinthestorm Oct 2013 #72

Get yourself a copy of "Stick and Rudder". by Wolfgang Langewiesche. AdHocSolver Oct 2013 #88

Many thanks! I'm 15 hours in and loving it! nt riderinthestorm Oct 2013 #100

Wow catchnrelease Oct 2013 #73

Heart-Pounding! Great writing - Thanks, trof NBachers Oct 2013 #74

Very cool. blackspade Oct 2013 #75

Excellent. Very nice. Thanks for posting. n/t A HERETIC I AM Oct 2013 #76

K&R Change has come Oct 2013 #77

I love reading this stuff as I am a pilot and my dad flew with united for 30yrs litlbilly Oct 2013 #78

25 years in Airline bus, I fearlessly flew with Ozark, TWA and United, but no more.... joanbarnes Oct 2013 #79

You flew Ozark? HubertHeaver Oct 2013 #87

That was too cool! Gidney N Cloyd Oct 2013 #80

A nice yarn, but caraher Oct 2013 #81

Nice research and follow up, thanks! Nt Logical Oct 2013 #84

sorry some of my details were wrong, it was in 72 so i forgot a few things, here it is litlbilly Oct 2013 #93

As I recall litlbilly Oct 2013 #95

Always appreciate a good read hueymahl Oct 2013 #107

Well, air travel is safer than ever, so something good is happening. Nt Logical Oct 2013 #83

I am always amazed at how much trust people put in electronics and computer software. AdHocSolver Oct 2013 #85

Great story - kept me locked in to the end Not Sure Oct 2013 #86

K&R! n/t Lugnut Oct 2013 #89

I think we studied this in flight attendant training! flygal Oct 2013 #90

wow. hung on every word. holding my breath. finally ... I could exhale. whew. made it. Tuesday Afternoon Oct 2013 #91

Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Oct 2013 #92

Wonderful post! Thanks! (nt) Recursion Oct 2013 #94

The key to learning well is over-learning. Excellent lesson well told. Thanks. nt Bernardo de La Paz Oct 2013 #98

Definitely worth the read! alcibiades_mystery Oct 2013 #102

k&r for exposure. n/t Laelth Oct 2013 #104

That was a great read, trof! Thank you for sharing. CrispyQ Oct 2013 #105

Great post! ScreamingMeemie Oct 2013 #108

Thanks.. ewagner Oct 2013 #109

Wonderful story arikara Oct 2013 #110

should computer programmers know how to use punchcards, too? jon10 Oct 2013 #111

not a valid comparison. bvar22 Oct 2013 #114

very valid, there were days when mech altimeters were "gadgets" uponit7771 Oct 2013 #115

That doesn't make any sense. bvar22 Oct 2013 #116

I believe he is saying that even a mechanical altimeter isn't needed to fly a plane whopis01 Oct 2013 #130

"Denver weather was 300 feet with visibility one-half mile in heavy snow" bvar22 Oct 2013 #134

Who is saying you wouldn't? n/t whopis01 Oct 2013 #135

So people didn't fly BEFORE altimeters? Yes, they did... they prolly thought the altimeter was a fan uponit7771 Oct 2013 #137

YES!!!... Brilliant!!! ...You are really "showing your stuff" in THIS thread!!! bvar22 Oct 2013 #140

No one said it was useless just like stick feedback isn't useless today... same thing no? tia uponit7771 Nov 2013 #141

UM...they guy who said pilotage was like computer punch cards bvar22 Nov 2013 #142

+1 uponit7771 Oct 2013 #136

Wrong analogy. Should be "should computer programmers know binary?" Xithras Oct 2013 #122

Indeed they should. onyourleft Oct 2013 #139

This story was so good, even a few lurking Freeps probably liked it! Patiod Oct 2013 #112

K&R SlipperySlope Oct 2013 #118

K&R excellent read passiveporcupine Oct 2013 #117

I loved reading this! I worked for a Denver-based airline for Turn CO Blue Oct 2013 #119

From an old air traffic controller billh58 Oct 2013 #120

K & R fadedrose Oct 2013 #121

I wish my Dad (a career Naval Aviator) was alive to read this. He could describe a "night trap" ... 11 Bravo Oct 2013 #123

As I read through the OP I think about new car commercials - truedelphi Oct 2013 #126

Just WOW! Did this story ever have legs. trof Oct 2013 #127

Very cool cvoogt Oct 2013 #128

Way overstates the role of autopilot! HERVEPA Oct 2013 #129

I made a zero-zero autoland at Heathrow in an L-1011 back in the day. trof Oct 2013 #131

Loved that! Grew up in Denver, flew in and out of Stapleton many times! likesmountains 52 Oct 2013 #132

Fascinating. (n/t) spin Oct 2013 #133

I read this... onyourleft Oct 2013 #138

Professionalism is not outmoded in an age of technology (KnR) Agony Nov 2013 #143

Thanks so much curlyred Nov 2013 #144

thank you KentuckyWoman Nov 2013 #145

The Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 brought me back to this ... SomeGuyInEagan Mar 2014 #146

Wow! Talk about resurected. trof Mar 2014 #147