Thanks, your my new Idol, 30 years time and I hope to be in the pointy end of a transatlantic jet. Out of interest though, what do you do on the layovers with all your spare time?

Erm, usually once we reach the hotel we get the keys to our rooms then meet up 40 mins later for dinner in the hotels restaurant, we stay there together as a team for the rest of the evening most times, the pilots and CC, then we're usually ready to hit the hay. I get a nice looooong lie in bed the next morning, when we get up there's usually about 4-5 hours to kill before we head off for the airport. Usually I might go on my laptop at these times, check my mails, facebook, certain forums, skype chat with people who aren't busy. I have relatives in Boston and Chicago and sometimes visit them if my layover falls on a weekend which isn't all that frequent. That's pretty much it.... Ró.

...then we're usually ready to hit the hay.

And that's when us, cabin crew, start partying! YEEEEEI preferred to stay up so that I didn't have to kill time before the flight. So I would go to bed about 10 hours before the flight back.

And that's when us, cabin crew, start partying! YEEEEEI preferred to stay up so that I didn't have to kill time before the flight. So I would go to bed about 10 hours before the flight back.

Well you CLEARLY aren't 47 years old

Ehi Fred, you quit the real flight world for the simulated one, we all hope for a future in the real aviation world... Probably there is somothing wrong... :)

I love being in the professional simulation field now.It is a constant challenge and is a fast growing industry. For about 70,000 euro you can now have a fully funtioning 737NG with even morethings simulated than a 20 million euro Level D sim. These much cheaper fixed base trainers are now very popular in the flight training world.We have even designed and built sims for Boeing. Frederic.

Well you CLEARLY aren't 47 years old

Well, im 30 and more and more I was noticing that I was more ready for staying in the hotel than for tourism. Often, I wouldn't give a rat's &@($* about the city standing outside of the hotel room. With some exceptions, of course: BKK, SYD, SIN, JFK, SEZ... if in those places you stay in, you're wasting your life really.

I love being in the professional simulation field now.It is a constant challenge and is a fast growing industry. For about 70,000 euro you can now have a fully funtioning 737NG with even morethings simulated than a 20 million euro Level D sim. These much cheaper fixed base trainers are now very popular in the flight training world.We have even designed and built sims for Boeing. Frederic.

Are those FSX or FS9 based?

Well, im 30 and more and more I was noticing that I was more ready for staying in the hotel than for tourism. Often, I wouldn't give a rat's &@($* about the city standing outside of the hotel room. With some exceptions, of course: BKK, SYD, SIN, JFK, SEZ... if in those places you stay in, you're wasting your life really. Are those FSX or FS9 based?

Ha, well when I started on the 330 I had just had my first son, he was about 6 months old at the time, being able to get a good nights sleep in a quiet room was a god sent. Then when I started back on the 330 as a captain I was 44 and well past my partying age, otherwise I would've been out seeing the sights every night.....

Ha, well when I started on the 330 I had just had my first son, he was about 6 months old at the time, being able to get a good nights sleep in a quiet room was a god sent. Then when I started back on the 330 as a captain I was 44 and well past my partying age, otherwise I would've been out seeing the sights every night.....

The main thing is that we took it for granted. In Emirates we had shared accomodation, company provided. So, we shared our rosters and would even make shopping lists for groceries depending on the countries we were to fly to on a particular month. Meat from southafrica, japanese food stuff from Nagoya, and so on. So we really adapted to the travelling lifestyle. After I left the company, that's the first thing I started missing. Back then, I just knew that sometime during the next couple months, I would just go to China, it was a sure thing. Now I don't know if I'll ever set foot outside of Europe, and it's not a good feeling when you got used to having the world in the palm of your hand. Of course my whole airline experience was coupled with the fact that we were all based in Dubai, which is kind of a surreal city (responsible for half of the international aviation community divorces) so that kind of amplifies the whole thing and makes you miss it even more.

The main thing is that we took it for granted. In Emirates we had shared accomodation, company provided. So, we shared our rosters and would even make shopping lists for groceries depending on the countries we were to fly to on a particular month. Meat from southafrica, japanese food stuff from Nagoya, and so on. So we really adapted to the travelling lifestyle. After I left the company, that's the first thing I started missing. Back then, I just knew that sometime during the next couple months, I would just go to China, it was a sure thing. Now I don't know if I'll ever set foot outside of Europe, and it's not a good feeling when you got used to having the world in the palm of your hand. Of course my whole airline experience was coupled with the fact that we were all based in Dubai, which is kind of a surreal city (responsible for half of the international aviation community divorces) so that kind of amplifies the whole thing and makes you miss it even more.

Are you saying all the pilots lived together in one house when with Emirates [like 3-4 to a house?] ?!?!?!? What about your families?

Are you saying all the pilots lived together in one house when with Emirates [like 3-4 to a house?] ?!?!?!? What about your families?

No, initially the accomodation can even be hotel room in case they have taken in too many pilots. That used to happen when most of the company buildings were still under construction, yet they needed the crew for the aircraft that were arriving, so they put some people in hotels. Eventually you move to company accomodation in buildings that are 100% crew (cabin and flt). Some of the flats are for cabin crew, some others for pilots. The building I lived in was cabin crew up to the 15th or so floor and pilots from there on upwards. More serior pilots (I think it's seniority based) can move to villas a little farther from the airport. Their family can move in with them only if they are married and the company offers something for the kids in the package (schooling and other things). The whole package might have changed since I left though. For example, 5 or 6 years back, you could choose to live out of company accomodation and the company would give you an annual allowance for that. So, I think some guys used it for actually buying a house there. They were also taking direct entry captains back then, so they must have had a more attractive package for sure. I heard somewhere that you are not allowed to live in non-company accomodation anymore, or that, if you choose to live out, they will not pay you the allowance. Again, im not sure about that. You'll probably find the current package somewhere in pprune. As i said. Duabi was a bit of trouble for pilots with families. Some could take it, some others just couldn't (or their wives).

Yeh I think it's changed slightly since then, I was sent this link by Emirates there about December trying to recruit me,

Seems different to what you said but either way I'd hate to be based down there anyway, It's a well know fact that the melting point for Irish people is 18 Degrees centigrade... I'd not last an hour....

I'm always, when able, using the ILS LOC. When LOC captures, I use the APP function. When stabalized and runway good in sight, I disengage the A/P. When approaching the runway, I disengage the A/T. But I never use autoland, only in bad circumstances such as low vis or heavy rain. I only use the ILS LOC/APP to get stabalized for the landing so I fly straight "into" the glidepath.

Yeh I think it's changed slightly since then, I was sent this link by Emirates there about December trying to recruit me,

Seems different to what you said but either way I'd hate to be based down there anyway, It's a well know fact that the melting point for Irish people is 18 Degrees centigrade... I'd not last an hour....

HAHAHA. Well, you guys put together one hell of a Saint Patrick's day down there in the sandpit. But yeah, it was unbelievably hot. So hot that on the airbus, flaps had to stay down when parked.

I'm always, when able, using the ILS LOC. When LOC captures, I use the APP function. When stabalized and runway good in sight, I disengage the A/P.

And that is how MEN do it!End of thread

Are those FSX or FS9 based?

FSX for the outside visual with no addons.The PC with FSX is the server and also used to control the MCP hardware and software. The rest of Project Magenta is on seperate client computers. Fred.

FSX for the outside visual with no addons.The PC with FSX is the server and also used to control the MCP hardware and software. The rest of Project Magenta is on seperate client computers. Fred.

So fsx is on slew basically? or it also provides all the variables

HAHAHA. Well, you guys put together one hell of a Saint Patrick's day down there in the sandpit. But yeah, it was unbelievably hot. So hot that on the airbus, flaps had to stay down when parked.

Yeh, I hear there's a whole "Village" [if you can call it that] of just the Irish pilots based down there, either way I'm glad I didn't go, money ain't everything, although that was one MIGHTY package they were offering...