Fizzelle Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Last week I landed at Paphos, Cyprus for a week's holiday. The Jet2 737-800 was a comfortable aeroplane, quiet and with enough legroom even for me. As I was awaiting the special assistance ambulance, the other passengers got off and I was alone with the crew for about 15 minutes. The 2 pilots were chatting and I made the usual joke about "Autoland" being a bit rough, to which they laughed and the pilot said was I criticising the co-pilot's manual landing? I said "No" of course not and explained I was an avid flight-simmer and would he mind if I asked a few questions? Next thing I knew the Captain (10 years experience) invited me to sit next to him in the co-pilot's seat and; just WOW! So here's a few "real-world" impressions. 1. Forward visibility is terrible, much worse than your monitor or VR headset. But it's enough for taxiing and landing - just. 2. Side window visibility is fantastic and the sense of space and perspective so high up off the ground is exhilarating. 3. 3D perception of the cockpit instruments is very different to a monitor. In the cockpit one feels cocooned by the console and, strangely, safe and comfortable. 4. The yoke really did have paint wearing off it and looked quite weathered even though the aeroplane was just over a year old. 5. In the hands the yoke felt like tempered steel bars - incredibly strong. 6. The rudder pedals likewise - very very strong. 7. The seat had wonderful positional flexibility and was lovely to sit in. 8. Despite extremely strong sunlight on the displays, the instruments were crystal clear in both direct and indirect light. 9. The overhead panel was really easy to use and much easier to flick switches etc than in the Sim. 10. Switches themselves had a strong and re-assuring "click" to them and you had to be positive in your switching action. 11. The FMC buttons were nice also. The FMC is just as much a pain in the arse as it is in the Sim! 12. The back-up instruments (ADF etc that are aft of the FMC) were used by the pilots even though the MFDs were the primary display. Captain said he liked to keep his old-school hand in. 13. I asked about the Autoland feature. Cap'n said they really only used it in marginal visibility as they all preferred hand-flying final approach. 14. The ipad-like tablet with all the charts etc on was easily detachable and clear to use and, for example, the Flythemaddog MD80 models it exactly. 15. I was pleased to note that all the sounds in the cockpit (aircon, APU etc) sound exactly like they do in the sim - well done to those sim sound engineers! 16. The passenger weight and balance calculations, plus the fuel load was mind-boggling. I gave that a miss - having got only a "B" in applied maths, not a bloody Honours degree! And that's about it - hope you enjoyed reading about my thrilling experience as much as I enjoyed living it. BTW I cannot recommend Cyprus enough - a real gem of a country. And finally, I asked which sim was more realistic - X-Plane or P3D. I'm not going to answer that one here!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobnobs Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 In my experience, real-world aviators love talking about their job; all you have to do is strike up a conversation. It's a shame that they get stuck behind a bullet-proof door most of the time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodneyprice Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Wow you were lucky to able to sit up there , Since 9/11 its near impossible , here in Australia I asked if I could maybe just have a look inside the Qantas training Simulator and was told very quickly not a chance, I guess you cant blame airlines for being that strict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 I won't MeToo, I'll just say thanks to Fizzelle for his clear observations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boetie Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 You lucky bugger! Thanks for sharing Frizzelle. Cheers Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Harmes Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Awesome Fizzelle, thanks for sharing so much info about your very fortunate experience. I am pretty jealous . Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caleb1 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 That seems to have been an awsome experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernief Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Hi all. Our granddaughter and daughter-in-law flew home from Sydney on Saturday night. Our niece works for the airline sent a text message to the captain of the aeroplane that they had to look after them. Once they landed in Perth, they were invited into the cockpit. It is not what you know but who you know. Cheers Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper31 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Great story Fizelle, and wonderful experience! I am always amazed by cockpits, especially modern ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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