The Death Thread

[CMRivdogs]

I spent about 6 of our 10 years in Chicago in the back seat of a Cessna 172, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Filled in occasionally for the guy who was the "passenger" in the Jet Ranger. Not sure which was worse, cold weather or wind gusts over Lake Shore Drive. What really scared me was flying directly thru O'Hare airspace (over the tower) when I had chopper duty.

Easy work, but in hindsight 25 years later not one of my favorite experiences, 

[Screwball]

2 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

I remember flying to Cleveland a few times (don't ask why the company flew us from Det to Clev....) in these little twin engine turbo prop Convairs that seated about 15 - door to the cockpit open (not sure they even had a cockpit door actually), flying low and bouncing all the way there. Way more flying 'experience' than I ever needed.

I used to get some of those twin prop amusement park rides from Detroit to Toledo. Wasn't my money, so I booked it that way. They were wild. I was scared ****less, but I didn't like planes anyway. I figured it was worth it. I could be sitting at a bar three blocks from home after spending a week at an ass kissing extravaganza. 3 hours if I had to drive, not counting getting out of DET. Half hour joy ride saved me two hours.

I would no way, no how, get in an airplane today, maybe not even drive under one if I can help it. 🙂

[Screwball]

16 minutes ago, CMRivdogs said:

I spent about 6 of our 10 years in Chicago in the back seat of a Cessna 172, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Filled in occasionally for the guy who was the "passenger" in the Jet Ranger. Not sure which was worse, cold weather or wind gusts over Lake Shore Drive. What really scared me was flying directly thru O'Hare airspace (over the tower) when I had chopper duty.

Easy work, but in hindsight 25 years later not one of my favorite experiences, 

I cannot imagine. I think it is all about how you deal with heights. Some people can, some can't. I'm a can't. I went to the top floor of the Sears Tower in Chicago, but was petrified. I guess now they have a transparent floor you can walk out on. The key word there would be 'you.' 🙂

I have a buddy who did a chopper ride over Hawaiian volcanoes , which I'm sure was spectacular, and memories of a lifetime. No way I could do that. I did have to fly for work, but I hated it. Always bought aisle seats.

I had seats at a Tiger game one time in row 2 of the second deck right behind home plate and almost had crawl down the aisle. 

[CMRivdogs]

19 minutes ago, Screwball said:

I cannot imagine. I think it is all about how you deal with heights. Some people can, some can't. I'm a can't. I went to the top floor of the Sears Tower in Chicago, but was petrified. I guess now they have a transparent floor you can walk out on. The key word there would be 'you.' 🙂

I have a buddy who did a chopper ride over Hawaiian volcanoes , which I'm sure was spectacular, and memories of a lifetime. No way I could do that. I did have to fly for work, but I hated it. Always bought aisle seats.

I had seats at a Tiger game one time in row 2 of the second deck right behind home plate and almost had crawl down the aisle. 

Interestingly enough the height aspect never really bothered me even though I'm nervous on ladders. I was a traffic reporter. The chopper pilots were veterans, the airplane guys were basically kids working to collect enough hours to get a better aviation job. 

We had a couple of :"incidents" that in hindsight give me pause (declaring an emergency into the old Navy Airfield north of Chicago to avoid a thunderstorm). A about a year or so ago wife and I took a trip to Las Vegas. The trip included a helicopter trip to the north side of the Grand Canyon, basically tribal territory. I enjoyed it tremendously. We landed in an area near the Canyon, and had a chance to go walk on the Glass Bridge over the Canyon. That was a bit nervy at first, looking at that big drop below (We were safe, but the illusion was interesting.

Back to the flying experience. Chicago does an Air Show every Summer on the Lakefront. One year some promotion person had the bright idea to have the "Air 78 Squadron" do a flyby down the lakefront. I'm not sure how they managed to actually get that passed the FAA. They did make us fly single file only along the route (3 Cessnas and a twin engine plane from the flight crew). During this I was supposed to "chat" with the radio station anchors doing the radio "play by play"

Anyway we're heading down over Lake Michigan at about 500 feet and I'm describing whai I'm seeing. One of the producers tells my wife who was managing the broadcast "he sounds good" Her reply, "he's ****less" 

[Screwball]

5 minutes ago, CMRivdogs said:

Interestingly enough the height aspect never really bothered me even though I'm nervous on ladders. I was a traffic reporter. The chopper pilots were veterans, the airplane guys were basically kids working to collect enough hours to get a better aviation job. 

We had a couple of :"incidents" that in hindsight give me pause (declaring an emergency into the old Navy Airfield north of Chicago to avoid a thunderstorm). A about a year or so ago wife and I took a trip to Las Vegas. The trip included a helicopter trip to the north side of the Grand Canyon, basically tribal territory. I enjoyed it tremendously. We landed in an area near the Canyon, and had a chance to go walk on the Glass Bridge over the Canyon. That was a bit nervy at first, looking at that big drop below (We were safe, but the illusion was interesting.

Back to the flying experience. Chicago does an Air Show every Summer on the Lakefront. One year some promotion person had the bright idea to have the "Air 78 Squadron" do a flyby down the lakefront. I'm not sure how they managed to actually get that passed the FAA. They did make us fly single file only along the route (3 Cessnas and a twin engine plane from the flight crew). During this I was supposed to "chat" with the radio station anchors doing the radio "play by play"

Anyway we're heading down over Lake Michigan at about 500 feet and I'm describing whai I'm seeing. One of the producers tells my wife who was managing the broadcast "he sounds good" Her reply, "he's ****less" 

I have seen pictures of that Grand Canyon glass bridge. I can't imagine!!! I think it would be a ball, but I just can't...

Funny, the first time I flew was about a week after the 1982 crash in DC when the plane went in the river. Had to fly into the same airport. Oh goody!

We know they are going to come down, that's a given. We don't always know how. And over the years my flying experiences have not been very good anyway.

Then, you have people that jump out of them. Are you nuts?

[oblong]

if you ever saw the movie The Right Stuff, you will remember the nurse to the astronauts.  She told Gordo Cooper (Dennis Quaid) she needed a sperm sample so he went into the stall next to John Glenn (Ed Harris) and they both started whacking off to their respective service's fight songs. (Marines vs Air Force).

She later went on to become a traffic reporter in DC and her chopper crashed live on the air.  6 months before that she survived a crash into the river.

 

[Edman85]

17 hours ago, chasfh said:

I don't think I will ever get on a small plane or helicopter ever again.

I grew up yards from a municipal airport runway. In hindsight it was a miracle we never got clipped. My brother says he remembers seeing airplane wreckage in the woods we used to hike in.

The NTSB does have a database of plane crashes. So many are single seaters as a result of pilot error/hubris.

 

https://www.ntsb.gov/Pages/AviationQueryv2.aspx

Edited Friday at 03:10 PM by Edman85

[gehringer_2]

7 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

So many are single seaters as a result of pilot error/hubris.

Yup- People working in pairs are always safer. That's true for everything from maintenance guys working in a plant to pilots working in a cockpit.

[GalagaGuy]

I've always felt safer in a helicopter than any plane but that probably has something to do with me having been a helicopter mechanic/crew chief in the the Army.  

[CMRivdogs]

30 minutes ago, GalagaGuy said:

I've always felt safer in a helicopter than any plane but that probably has something to do with me having been a helicopter mechanic/crew chief in the the Army.  

I get it. Just memories of a horrific crash in Richmond, Va in 1974 where the traffic copter lost it's rotary tail and crashed into a home killing the pilot, reporter and a young child in the home.

[Screwball]

This past summer a buddy of mine, to help conclude his bucket list, jumped out of an airplane. Small craft. He was attached to another guy who had the parachute and another guy who filmed it. Cost him $500 bucks.

[oblong]

I grew up in a flight path for Metro and still live in the area.  Seeing planes take off and land is very common and I know where they are supposed to be.  When I see one elsewhere, it scares me.  I was in Phoenix, coming back the next day, when 255 happened here.  Everybody around saw the smoke and could smell the fumes.  I have recurring dreams of seeing a plane crash.

 

[ewsieg]

I grew up about a mile from MBS and now I'm near Selfridge air base.  As you say, it's quite noticeable when a plane isn't where its 'supposed' to be.  

My first flight wasn't until I was 18.  My dad flew regularly for work though and I was flying with him.  We went through a thunderstorm.  I had a window seat and all I could think off was I was going to see that monster from the Twilight Zone on the wing with the next flash of lightning.  I was amazed at how much the wings could flex from the turbulence.  My dad was calm the entire time and just said most flights aren't this bad, but it's normal.  

The next day while visiting my sister, she asked how the flight was, my dad quickly announced it was awful, he thought we might die, he never experienced anything like that in his life, and he was a little afraid to get on a plane to go back home.

The plane ride home was uneventful and I never developed a fear of flying.  It would have been wildly different if he expressed how he was really feeling during that flight though!

[gehringer_2]

Good Dad 101.

A big lesson the average modern helicopter parent could work on is that best way to have your child not be fearful about things is for you not to act like they should be.