Hey, was reading another topic here about FS related mistakes, and saw a few people start posting real life mistakes they've made and other stories. As an aspiring pilot myself, I'd love to hear more. Post away...FS mistakes topic http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=256400

OK, here's one. Years ago I belonged to a flying club at Lantana Airport, Fl. I used to love flying the Champs, because they're fun to fly and the rental cost so low. Well, one day when I was on final for the E/W runway I "noticed" I was lined up with the parallel taxi strip, not the runway. :( Roger

I was practicing forced landings in a low wing Piper single engine. I retarted the throttle and was looking for a landing spot. All of a sudden I heard what sounded like the engine starting to sputter. WOW. Gave it a couple shots of gas and it came back to life. Got back and they said the carb was cracked and getting too much air. The engine actually stalled just after I landed and got to the taxiway. Not an oops but someting.JimCYWG

One of my opps was when I was doing my multi training in a Beech Travel Air.After doing a crossfeed with the fuel I didn't put the fuel selector fully in the detent and it killed the left engine. Luckily it was a cooler day and we could run through everything really quick to find the left fuel selector pointing a little to the side of the aux tank I was trying to select. :(

This didn't really happen to me but. Being a flight mechanic, I spent hours upon hours in the cockpit. One afternoon, we were taxing down to rwy 33 at the old Stapleton Airport in Denver. The F/O had just finished talking to the tower, and forgot to switch back to PA to address the Passengers. Among his announcements he reminded the passengers to fasten their seatbelts until they turned the seat belt lights out. At the end of the speach, we heard coming over the headphones. "Well, I have my seatbelt on, and oh yeah the guy on my right has his seatbelt on too. The guy on my left wait. Larry this aircraft crew says to put your seatbelt on."Yes this actually happened.John

When I got my initial training in 1989 the Cessna 150 I flew only had 1 vor to navigate with. On my first Solo Cross Country-I flew to Traverse City, Michigan in the Winter using mostly a map and my eyes. I knew the airport was between to bays with at the base of a finger of land going up the middle of the bays. Getting close I could see it-called the tower and said I was 10 miles south. Trouble is-the airport never appeared. Turned out the left bay was frozen solid and covered with snow and I was seeing the right bay which was unfrozen and Torch Lake which was also unfrozen. I kept going for an uncomfortable amount of time to where I thought the airport was supposed to be and never found it. I finally recognized a landmark I was familiar with and realized that I was now 10 miles northeast of the airport instead. I headed back and gave a new position report-the controller sounded baffled....

These are reportedly some transcripts of ATC-and-pilot radio traffic you might enjoy: ATC: Alitalia 345 continue taxi holding position 26 South via Tango check for workers along taxiway AZA: Ali345 Taxi 26 Left a via Tango. Workers checked - all are working --- ARN851: "Halifax Terminal, Nova 851 with you out of 13,000 for 10,000, requesting runway 15." Halifax Terminal (female): "Nova 851 Halifax, the last time I gave a pilot what he wanted I was on penicillin for three weeks. Expect runway 06." --- (busy) Moncton Center: "Speedbird 169 cleared direct Chibougamau" BAW169: "I'm sorry, sir, can you repeat that?" CZQM: "Speedbird 169 cleared direct Yankee Mike Tango" BAW169: "Direct Yankee Mike Tango for Speedbird 169. What was that name again?" CZQM: "It's called Chibougamau" BAW169: "Would you say again, please?" CZQM: "Chibougamau. I say again, Chibougamau!" BAW169: "Oh, how quaint. What does it mean?" CZQM: "It's eskimo for f--- off!" --- Lost student pilot: "Unknown airport with Cessna 150 circling overhead, identify yourself." --- NY Ctr: "Federal Express 235, descend, maintain three one zero, expect lower in ten miles." FedEx 235: "Okay, outta three five for three one oh, FedEx two thirty-five." NY Ctr: "Delta fahv twuntee, climb one ninah zeruh, dat'll be finah..." Delta 520: "Uhh... up to one niner zero, Delta five twenty." NY Ctr: "Al-italia wonna sixxa, you slowa to two-a-fifty, please." Alitalia 16: "HEY! You makea funna Alitalia?!" NY Ctr: "Oh, no! I make-a funna Delta anna FedEx!" --- Cont: "AF1733, You are on an eight mile final for 27R. You have a UH-1 three miles ahead of you on final; reduce speed to 130 knots." Pilot: "Rogo', Frankfurt. We're bringing this big bird back to one-hundred and thirty knots fer ya." Cont: (a few moments later): "AF33, helicopter traffic at 90 knots now 1 1/2 miles ahead of you; reduce speed further to 110 knots." Pilot: "AF thirty-three reining this here bird back further to 110 knots" Cont: "AF33, you are three miles to touchdown, helicopter traffic now 1 mile ahead of you; reduce speed to 90 knots" Pilot (a little miffed): "Sir, do you know what the stall speed of this here C-130 is?" Cont: "No, but if you ask your co-pilot, he can probably tell you." ---ATC: "Cessna G-ARER What are your intentions? " Cessna: "To get my Commercial Pilots Licence and Instrument Rating." ATC: "I meant in the next five minutes not years." --- Controller: AF123, say call sign of your wingman. Pilot: Uh... approach, we're a single ship. Controller: oooohhh! You have traffic! --- ATC: Pan Am 1, descend to 3,000 ft on QNH 1019. Pan AM 1: Could you give that to me in inches? ATC: Pan Am 1, descend to 36,000 inches on QNH 1019 --- Cessna 152: "Flight Level Three Thousand, Seven Hundred" Controller: "Roger, contact Houston Space Center" --- 727 pilot: "Do you know it costs us two thousand dollars to make a 360 in this airplane?" Controller: "Roger, give me four thousand dollars worth." --- Student Pilot: "I'm lost; I'm over a lake and heading toward the big E." Controller: "Make several 90 degree turns so I can identify you on radar." (short pause)... Controller: "Okay then. That lake is the Atlantic Ocean. Suggest you turn to the big W immediately ..." --- Tower: "...and for your information, you were slightly to the left of the centerline on that approach." Speedbird: "That's correct; and, my First Officer was slightly to the right" --- Tower: "Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff" Eastern 702: "Tower, Eastern 702 switching to departure...by the way as we lifted off we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway." Tower: "National 63 cleared for takeoff...did you copy the report from Eastern?" National 63: "Roger, Tower, cleared for takeoff... yes, we've already notified our caterers." --- ATC: "N123YZ, say altitude." N123YZ: "ALTITUDE!" ATC: "N123YZ, say airspeed." N123YZ: "AIRSPEED!" ATC: "N123YZ, say cancel IFR." N123YZ: "Eight thousand feet, one hundred fifty knots indicated." --- Tower: "Alpha Charlie, climb to 4000 ft for noise abatement" Pilot: "How can I possibly be creating excess noise at 2000 ft?" Tower: "At 4000 ft you will miss the twin coming at you at 2000 ft, and that is bound to avoid one hell of a racket". --- Controller: "Air Force 53, it appears your engine has... oh... disregard, I see you've already ejected." --- Tower: "Delta Zulu Romeo, turn right now and report your heading." Pilot: "Wilco. 341, 342, 343, 344, 345..." --- Pilot Trainee: "Tower, please speak slowly, I am a baby in English and lonely in the cockpit" --- Controller: "CRX600, are you on course to SUL?" Pilot: "More or less." Controller: "So proceed a little bit more to SUL." --- Pilot: "FLX 30, we just have a few gallons of fuel." Tower: "Please give us your position, we dont see you on radar!" Pilot: "We are standing at runway 2 and want to know when the fuel truck will come!"

hah, Gander, you had me cracking up. Some of those can't be real :(

As an instructor, I would typically like to do "little things" for the student that speeded up the pre-flight w/o interfering with the preflight routine itself. For example, I would typically untie one wing and the tail tie down leaving the other for the student... of course letting them know what I was doing and the other still needed to be taken care of.One day approaching the Warrior II we were flying, I noticed one wheel in a very depressed (sunken) area of the parking ramp. Ok np, quick exterior/interior preflight and let's go. Student fires up the engine and ok let's taxi out.Except when the student carefully applies a bit of throttle, we don't move. "Try a little a more, but be careful and be ready to pull the throttle back, and get on the brakes" I suggest. Nothing... nada... we don't budge an inch..."Ok let me have it" (the throttle)... up, up, up the throttle goes and we aren't moving (a little voice says, "this isn't right" and how true that was) "Man that hole really has our wheel but I'll get us out of it!" And up we go over 2000 rpm and some point between that and max throttle I hear a "BOOM!" like a shotgun going off underneath the right wing. Throttle immediately comes back and I'm on the brakes; let's shut it down but at least we are "free" of whatever was going on.I look under the right wing and there is about a foot long piece of nylon rope attached to the tie-down bracket. Another "Never Again" moment and a huge phew! that I didn't pull out that bracket off the wing.