So true :Big Grin:

 

 

Apropos, some guy stopped in the cockpit on our JFK flight the other day and said something like "hey boys, how's the weather lookin? just to let you know I've been a private pilot for 10 years now if you need any help up here... I'm back in 32G"

 

Now you know why I don't fly self-loading cargo. :smile:

 

blaustern

I was a holder of a private pilot's licence with considerable experience many years ago on various types up to the size of light twins like the Aztec. Having spent a lot of time flying airliners on FSX, I still think I would still be hard pressed trying to safely fly and land a large modern airliner such as a 777 or any of the Airbuses mainly down to the complexity of their electronic systems etc, which I have never fully mastered to the point where I can use them in depth intuitively. I think I might have a better chance with older airliners such as a 727, 737-200 or 707, which relied a lot more on the 'stick and rudder' approach to flying and where any electronic systems were a lot simpler. That is not to say I would not give it a go as a last resort in the dreadful 'bad fish' scenario proposed above and perhaps with help over the radio from an experienced pilot of the type on the ground there may be some chance of safely executing either an autoland or manual landing, but I would pray for the sake of my &@($* and everyone else's that I am never put in that situation!

 

Bill

...they have the presence of mind to unlock the flight deck door.

This is the reason why none of these fantasy scenarios will ever be possible, much less realized...

Let me see if I understand your fantasy now.

 

Both crewmembers happen to pass out (but not in a way that is harmful, really bad fish) suddenly before they even have a chance to declare a "medical emergency" initiate a descent and land the aircraft. As this terrible fish is knocking them unconscious they have the presence of mind to unlock the flight deck door. A flight attendant finds the unconscious crew with enough time to go "Oh, help is their a pilot in the house?" Swagger and suave Mr. Microsoft Flight Simulator expert stands up and yells, "I'll save this airplane! I have 100,000 hours flying on VATSIM, am a Senior Super Duper Command ATP Captain with EastWest Virtual Airlines, and I am rated in and a Senior Check Captain for everything that ever flown or will ever fly." The Flight Attendant, clearly impressed, takes you to the flight deck where you move one of the 170-200 pound crew out of the way, you clean the vomit off the headsets before placing them on your head and ever so calmly stating "Atlanta Center, this is Captain Super Star flying this here 737-800 and I'm going to bring her in for an emergency landing at Atlanta Hartsfield, so you better tell all them Delta boys to get out of my way."

 

Center just happens to have the Chief of Training for 737s sitting right next to him when you called. Of course you are a Senior Super Duper Command ATC Captain, you don't need no lip from some weak minded Chief of Training. Real pilots fly they don't teach. Tell that old man to shut up. It also just so happens that the 737-800 in which this crew happen to pass out in was optioned and ordered with Autoland and it is operational. Who cares about the limitations of autoland, because limitations are for wimps. Besides you never had an autoland fail because the cross winds were a little out.

 

You set up the FMS, tune in the ILS and dive the airplane toward Georgia telling ATC to, "move em or lose em." You slide the Guppy down the ILS ignoring the series of EICAS messages as nonsense and the airplane thumps gloriously onto 9L. There is a loud applause from the rear of the airplane as you try to taxi the airplane off the runway not understanding why the rudder pedals are ineffective. What do you mean tiller, there ain't no tiller on the PMDG 737. Clearly Boeing got it wrong. No matter you are an emergency aircraft and will taxi right across the grass, its not like airplanes ever get stuck in the grass in Flight Simulator, right?

 

You greet the passengers as the jump down the inflatable slide and by the end of the day you have nearly a dozen proposals, an offer by Clint Eastwood to make your movie and a call from Tom Cruise asking if he can play your role.

 

Did I miss anything in this fantasy? :smile:

 

Talk about fantasies and ego lulz.

This is a internet forum not a specialized pilot training facility.

Some of us are actually curious bout things. And you know what they say.... there are no dumb questions, just dumb answers.

This is the reason why none of these fantasy scenarios will ever be possible, much less realized...

What!  No spare door key under the flower pot or door mat?

What!  No spare door key under the flower pot or door mat?

No, there's not.

 

In an Airbus there is a keypad that will unlock the door when the correct 'secret code' is entered, but only after a 30 second delay. This allows whomever is in the cockpit time to flick the switch to "Locked" which overrides the keypad for five minutes. This may be repeated as often as necessary to continue to deny entry.

 

I've not been able to find any information about Boeing or other manufacturer's door security procedures online.

A lot of pilots say that computer sims are not realistic just based on the factor that you have no feeling of the aircraft itself. However I had a conversation with a WestJet pilot and he worked with a flight attendant who played flight sim a lot and the pilot told me that if need be, he could land the plane based on his experience in his simulator. 

I normally do not participate in these types threads because most sim pilots don't even set their altimeters before takeoff. :smile:

Apropos, some guy stopped in the cockpit on our JFK flight the other day and said something like "hey boys, how's the weather lookin? just to let you know I've been a private pilot for 10 years now if you need any help up here... I'm back in 32G"

 

 

I remember reading in "Cockpit Confidential" by Patrick Smith, how he (an active airline pilot, not a mere PPL holder), popped his head into a BA cockpit for a quick chat with the pilots while they were preparing for departure.

 

The conversation went something like:

PS: "Hi guys, I fly for ____________ , am I interrupting anything?"

Pilots (looking up from paperwork) in unison: "Yes!"

 

Whereupon the author beat a hasty retreat to his seat...

I normally do not participate in these types threads because most sim pilots don't even set their altimeters before takeoff. :smile:

Many sim pilots become obsessed with flying by the book. I watch many streams and some do make mistakes, but I also see that they like following procedures. And as best as they can, because most just do it from memory and not checklists. Also you are doing it all single pilot, even the streamers that fly on vatsim or pilotedge. You have a high work load and miss some basic steps, but not many. I have seen many streamers follow procedures so much they fly all departures and approaches by the book, when in real life coming into a small airport most approach controllers will clear you to the approach fix or vector to land. Pilots used to give simmers a hard time and for some reason felt threatened about their knowledge but that is changing now that aircraft developers have made it so realistic.

What!  No spare door key under the flower pot or door mat?

ROFL, love it!

..... but when we run the FFS for demos the sim is run in crash suppress, especially if we are on motion with a non-certified 'pilot flying.'

 

 

Ken - might I ask why? Is it because it's too hard on the motion systems? If every non-certified person was bouncing it on its stops I can imagine it'd would be pretty hard on the mechanical components. What I mean is - with a certified pilot flying, they are unlikely to get into a crash situation... unless the simulator (instructor? examiner? operator?) deliberately causes that situation as part of some extreme training? 

 

If it's none of the above, why not leave it with crashes fully enabled - that way it would burst a few ego's sooner rather than later!  (Including mine, no doubt!)

 

Thanks.

I remember reading in "Cockpit Confidential" by Patrick Smith, how he (an active airline pilot, not a mere PPL holder), popped his head into a BA cockpit for a quick chat with the pilots while they were preparing for departure.

 

The conversation went something like:

PS: "Hi guys, I fly for ____________ , am I interrupting anything?"

Pilots (looking up from paperwork) in unison: "Yes!"

 

Whereupon the author beat a hasty retreat to his seat...

 

Awwwwww.. I love cockpit visitors, I really do. Love meeting people just as passionate about aviation as I am. But often I feel bad because the 30 minutes before the flight up front is often a flurry of activity of flows, looking up MELs, checking the logbook, jamming numbers/info into the box, completing briefings, hopefully a lua break and some "song and dance script reading" of checklists that all has to be done before the holy D-0

Ken - might I ask why? Is it because it's too hard on the motion systems? If every non-certified person was bouncing it on its stops I can imagine it'd would be pretty hard on the mechanical components. What I mean is - with a certified pilot flying, they are unlikely to get into a crash situation... unless the simulator (instructor? examiner? operator?) deliberately causes that situation as part of some extreme training? 

 

If it's none of the above, why not leave it with crashes fully enabled - that way it would burst a few ego's sooner rather than later!  (Including mine, no doubt!)

 

Thanks.

 

Because my company says to do such on demos due to how violently the sim can come off motion if crashed. If a leg hits a stop then the other legs can drop suddenly. They prefer the sims to stabilize and come off motion normally rather then violently. There is also a whole bunch of training even with certified crews we have to take the sim off motion, i.e. gear up landings, URPT, departing the landing surface, ect.