I've only been on two types of planes: Whatever Southwest Airlines was using in the late 90's, and a small plane en route from here to Mexico, that AA used, also in the late 90's.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

This is funny.
When Brits fly to an other country the always tries to find a British pub.
My sister included:)

Very true, mainly because none of us can speak any foreign language :-) But of course it's handy to say to the usually bilingual host, where is best to go and where is best to avoid in the local area. But I will also say without much fear of contradiction, that all the Brits really want is a piece of England in the sun. That is why I unashamedly love Gibraltar! I'd retire there if I could afford it :-)

But in Gibraltar they speak English.
And in Malta.

Here is a pic of a Brit after being in the sun:)

Not Britons:)

Russia's Sukhoi has rocked the 50th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget with the premiere of its cutting-edge Su-35 fighter. Super-maneuverable even for a Sukhoi, the Su-35 has been dubbed the "UFO" for its outstanding maneuverability. New engines enable Su-35 to perform all kinds of stunts, including Pugachev's Cobra, the Frolov Chakra, the Dead Leaf, and the unprecedented Pancake, which is an horizontal 360-degree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBKvlLzGkvU

I have been in a plane exactly twice.
First time was as a young man that had to fly down south to tour a paper mill I was buying millions of dollars worth of paper from.

The second was to fly to Atlanta, to pick up my '85 GSLSE RX7.

The ride back home was significantly better than the flight out.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Guess I am in to planes more that most of you.
My first flight was in a Lockeed Electra at the age of about 6

My dad flew and he had a Cessna 150 that I few in often.

After graduation I worked for a company that have it's own plane that I flew in several times.

I worked on the defense team for this incident in LA. I was assigned to the tires and landing grear.

I have flown in most modern commercail airliners except a 474.
I am licensed to fly and have flow one of these:

Currently training to get a general aviation IFR Complex license with the intention of getting one of these.

You are blessed indeed to have been given wings.
I have not been.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

I have not been.

Me neither.
I was talking to my GF today about the tragic crash in the alpes the other day.
She then talked about what is called "clear air".
When she was flying the plane dropped 600 meters until it came into thicker air and the plane stopped with a bang not far from a mountain range!
My Brothers friend had the same experience and now he doesn't fly without alcohol.

first aeroplane that I ever flew in was a DC7C

I am betting that you can still hear that aircraft even now eh?

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You are still far more likely to die in an automobile crash every time you get in to a car than to die in an airliner crash every time you get on an airliner. The papers makes a big deal about airline crashes because they are rare. Here in Canada automobile deaths, if they get mentioned in the press at all, get a weekly summary buried back in Section B of the paper.

My first flight was in an RCAF Dakota, at the age of about 3 months. Don't remember many details ;). Started flying lessons with my father in 1966 at age 14, but didn't bother to get a licence until 1976. Flying regularly on military scheduled flights and commercial airlines since I was born, and as flight test crew since 1976. Have to say commercial flying has really gone down hill in the last few decades, and I dread most comercial flights these days. Not because of fear of crashing, but because of cramped seats, delays, and long line ups.

Janne, I think your girl friend was talking about clear air turbulence. It does happen, but is rarely a safety issue, more of a comfort issue. I strongly recommend keeping your seat belt fastened whenever you are sitting down in an airliner, and always being ready for unexpected movement when you are walking around in an airliner. That should keep you safe.

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Janne, I think your girl friend was talking about clear air turbulence. It does happen, but is rarely a safety issue, more of a comfort issue. I strongly recommend keeping your seat belt fastened whenever you are sitting down in an airliner, and always being ready for unexpected movement when you are walking around in an airliner. That should keep you safe.

I wouldn't say rarely because two of people that I know have experinced clear air "turbulence". How common is that?
The problem is that all your handbagage and things around you often hurt you in such a incident.
But I do always have seat belt fastened.
And checking exit doors...

Question is Carlos, have you ever flown one of these? Michael Dorn has flown one. Click on the image for a 2600x1462 pixel image.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Question is Carlos, have you ever flown one of these? Michael Dorn has flown one. Click on the image for a 2600x1462 pixel image.

Messersmith from German Luftwaffe:)

Come to Think about it.
I have seen these flying in the westcoast of Jylland, Denmark .
The flying coffin Starfighter.

Chuck Yeager was the testpilot before it was deployed.

Have to agree with Bill on this issue. Here is a USA Today store that puts clear air turbulence in perspective.
Over the last 10 years an average of 34 people a year are injured as a result of turbulence. (20 of those are crew.) That is out of about 800 million passanger trips a year, and world wide.
As for driving on the road, in the same 10 year period there were about 40,000 fatalities, not just injuries, but fatalities, in the US alone. Worldwide there are about 2,000 injuries per million miles traveled on the road. (source the NHTSA)
Let's bring it together your. On average 1.5 people die per 100 million miles driven in cars. The same 1.5 people die per 5 Billion miles in an airliner.

We drive everyday so we are use to the bumps, stops, jerks, near misses, etc. Traffic accidents are almost never reported becuase they are so common. The air is much safer, just alien to most.

Question is Carlos, have you ever flown one of these? Michael Dorn has flown one. Click on the image for a 2600x1462 pixel image.

Messerschmidt from German Luftwaffe:)

It's is an Me-262-a1, this one was produced way after WWII, so this Jet plane, has never been a part of the Luftwaffe, this is a full size and authenticated replica, authenticated by the Messerschmidt, this one uses more modern GE CJ610 engines, so as to skip the unreliable 1st Generation engines that came with the originals, which were made with slave labor, unlike this one.

My Uncle flew a P39 in WWII in the Pacific Theatre as a Warrant Officer.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Question is Carlos, have you ever flown one of these? Michael Dorn has flown one. Click on the image for a 2600x1462 pixel image.

I have never been in any fighter plane. I did get to fly in this once:

My first flight was from London to Liverpool where my Dad was working, when I was about 4 or 5. It was in a DC3.

As my Dad worked for the Civil Aviation Authority, I even got a trip up to the cockpit & my Mum told me i was fascinated by the number of clocks they had up there. I can just remember seeing a 'toy church' as well.

I learnt to fly in a Cessna 150 in about 1969, and loved it, just a shame that I couldn't afford to keep the PPL going when I was in college later on.

Flown in a lot of large comercial planes, but I think the worst was a TriStar run by AA just before the Tristars were dropped. Everythong shook, and you quickly learnt not to put any part of your body near the junction between panels, they pinched very well! Terrible plane, or aybe just too old.

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Happy Crunching,

Graham

A plane.. It knows Jack about Planes..

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Flown in a lot of large comercial planes, but I think the worst was a TriStar run by AA just before the Tristars were dropped. Everythong shook, and you quickly learnt not to put any part of your body near the junction between panels, they pinched very well! Terrible plane, or aybe just too old.

I flew in a few Lockheed L-1011 TriStars during my Navy career, and I agree, they were not a well-designed passenger plane. Very noisy, no matter where you sat.

First flight I remember was in a United Airlines turbo-prop when we moved from Milwaukee to California in 1957. Rode in a lot of commercial airliners during my Navy career, from puddle-jumpers like the Fairchild Metroliner and DeHavilland Dash-8 to DC-10s, B-747, and Airbus A320. Also a couple C-141 and C-130 military transports. My favorite was the United 747 Friendship service to Hawai'i in the 1980s. Plenty of legroom, and good foodservice, even in coach.

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Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired