The question of ability to pilot heavy craft - 9/11 related

[Guest Charlie]

Arnold, you are NOT a moderator and you have no business telling me what to keep or what no to keep to myself. And Andrew, thank you for setting him straight.

[LAdamson 240]

> Your son's>support is by no means universal in the military.It's a lot more universal than you seem to believe. I asked this exact question just last evening. L.Adamson

[LAdamson 240]

>If you have made any effort to listen to other voices and news>sources along the way, however, you are aware that there is an>increasing number of high level career military people who are>VERY critical of Bush administration policies. Your son's>support is by no means universal in the military.Just read this to a group of returning military personal, who've actually been there....You didn't fare well.... :-hah Not well at all... :-lol

[Guest CRJ700FO]

all the idiots had to do was type in KJFK or KLGA or KEWR into the FMS L2 and hit EXEC. the airplane would simply fly itself towards NYC or KDCA for DC.this ain't rocket science.it was a severe clear day that morning.

[Guest Charlie]

Whatever that's supposed to mean. Given your posting history, I knew better than to expect a rational dialogue with you. I knew better, but foolishly gave you the benefit of the doubt.Shame on you for not remembering the painful lesson of Viet Nam. Growing dissention among military leaders over the Iraq war is a fact that has been all over the news in recent months. Those like you who have chosen to ignore it are now thankfully in the minority.

[LAdamson 240]

>Whatever that's supposed to mean. Given your posting history,>I knew better than to expect a rational dialogue with you. I>knew better, but foolishly gave you the benefit of the doubt.>>Shame on you for not remembering the painful lesson of Viet>Nam. >>Growing dissention among military leaders over the Iraq war is>a fact that has been all over the news in recent months. Those>like you who have chosen to ignore it are now thankfully in>the minority. >It's incredible how charming some people can be, when they hide faceless, behind the internet......... isn't it?

[Guest saudi_777]

This is exactly why I hate political and/or religious discussions in the internet.Guys: Cool it. Please behave respectfully towards each other.Because if this thread gets too hot to handle....http://www.gizmoxia.be/forum/emoticons/lockit2.gifRegards,

[turner112 52]

Hi Charlie - No need to thank me at all. I didn't mean to start a discussion about anything other than how hard it may be to fly jetliners with little or no experience...You know, we've all had that fantasy of a stewardess... ah... 'flight attendant' ;) popping into the cabin frantically and saying the pilots ate bad fish... does anyone know anything about flying??!?!Well, I guess I should have known better. Sorry.Andrew

[Guest Charlie]

As to the question of whether it is possible, I think persuasive arguments can be made for both yes and no answers. And, of course, the no answer leads directly to the other issue.Though I've been simming for 22 years, I have no real world piloting experience beyond my introductory lesson back in 1969, so can't speak with any authority. I will say that my gut tells me that three guys with no experience on three different planes, under those circumstances, hitting relatively small targets at a fairly precise altitude on the first try certainly beat the odds. So what do you think, Andrew?

[turner112 52]

Well, I'd like to think that I could at least steer something like that. Of course, I've been simming since the early 1980s and have about 40 hours real-world time in a 172, including 2 solos.I haven't heard / read much about what might have been done to prepare - something like Flight Simulator, while pretty comprehensive, hasn't exactly been highlighted as something one could use to learn actual aircraft systems.I'd like to know what type of preparation it would take to be able to do anything other than steer these things, and certainly to fly them with the accuracy we've seen.Again, I'd like to think I could somehow jump into the cockpit of a 757, say, with minimal exposure to the actual systems operation, and figure it out in order to be able to land one safely... which, obviously, takes more care than just running into something.Andrew