Flying: A Necessary Evil

[REWahoo]

Trivia: Two of the first group of female Air Force pilots (excluding those who flew in WW2) were named Rambo and La Sauce.

Female Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Trainees

 

[Chuckanut]

If one can get to Japan without flying very much, then speedy non-air travel is still possible.

Japanese maglev train breaks its own world speed record

The Central Japan Railway company reports that its magnetic levitation bullet train topped 366 miles per hour on Thursday during a test run along a length of test track in the Yamanashi prefecture. This was enough to break its own 12-year-old, 361 mph world record set back in 2003.

But....

The rail company plans to limit the trains to a pokey 313 mph for regular service

 

[jabbahop]

trying out Spirit airlines today. It is a pain to go through all of the options on the reservations but the price is the best I could get - even with buying the big seats. If it doesn't work, next time back on the old standards.

 

[Car-Guy]

When I was much younger I enjoyed flying. No TSA lines, few crowds, pretty good service, you could smoke on the plane and there were new places to go. Many times I would drive in and park at the airport with just 15 or 20 minutes to go before the flight was scheduled to leave and made it without any problems. I flew when I was working out of necessity (although I think a lot of travel was really not necessary) I can remember in my early days of business travel, the first question many of us asked, where are we going, not why are we going. The last few years I would refuse to fly unless there was an overwhelming and obvious business need and I was going to be flying business or 1st class.

I'm glad I got to see so many international destinations in Europe and Asia (for free) that I visited while working (and while I was younger) since I would have never gone on my own dime and certainly would not deal with the flying hassles of today now that I'm retired. These days, I refuse to fly, even in the US. Probably since I now have the time and love to drive and have no desire for anymore international travel.

 

[marko]

When I was much younger I enjoyed flying. No TSA lines, few crowds, pretty good service, you could smoke on the plane and there were new places to go. Many times I would drive in and park at the airport with just 15 or 20 minutes to go before the flight was scheduled to leave and made it without any problems.

I lived about 30 minutes from the airport.

Back in the late 70's the flights were always soooo late that I would leave my house at 9AM for a flight due to DEPART at 9AM; get there, park my car and easily still make the flight! You just knew that the flights would be an hour or so late for departure.

Also back in the day, there were often nice bars in the upper levels of the control towers...people would go there for a drink and the view and watch the planes come and go. And they weren't even going anywhere!; they'd just say: "lets go to the airport bar for a drink"; even at Boston's Logan airport, parking wasn't a big deal and no security.

 

[marko]

Security:
Try this now: Back when the 747 first came out, you could just walk down to the gate and check it out as part of their PR.

I remember that my buddies and I walked onto a 747, went through the whole plane (including an elevator that went to a lower area); I have a photo of me sitting in the pilot's seat. There was NO ONE there!

Someone went out and brought some beer aboard and we sat in the top level (back when it was a First Class lounge) and someone played the electric piano. Again, no one came along to move us out...the plane was there overnight for service or something.

 

[aja8888]

I'm glad I got to see so many international destinations in Europe and Asia (for free) that I visited while working (and while I was younger) since I would have never gone on my own dime and certainly would not deal with the flying hassles of today now that I'm retired. These days, I refuse to fly, even in the US. Probably since I now have the time and love to drive and have no desire for anymore international travel.

This parallels my flying experiences and current travel desires to a tee. I guess many of us old timer's who flew for years on business just got spoiled and now won't consider flying commercial unless force to.

 

[Chuckanut]

Perhaps if I spent much of my working life flying here and there on business trips, I would no longer find flying interesting. But, I didn't.

I still think it is amazing that I can make a reservation today to be in Istanbul on November 10 at 4:40 PM, get in to a big tube near my home on November 9, and, usually be there as planned. For this, I put up with the hassles of modern air travel.

 

[Texas Proud]

Security:
Try this now: Back when the 747 first came out, you could just walk down to the gate and check it out as part of their PR.

I remember that my buddies and I walked onto a 747, went through the whole plane (including an elevator that went to a lower area); I have a photo of me sitting in the pilot's seat. There was NO ONE there!

Someone went out and brought some beer aboard and we sat in the top level (back when it was a First Class lounge) and someone played the electric piano. Again, no one came along to move us out...the plane was there overnight for service or something.

I will give my interesting observations of a 747....

Back when either Reagan or Bush was President, a friend and I were visiting Yellowstone National Park... we stayed in West Yellowstone.. we did not know it, but the President was doing something in the park... Air Force One was parked at the airport... we only knew it was there when we were driving by going north toward Glacier National.... so we stopped to take a look at it...

I was just sitting near the building.... no security that we could see...We walked up toward the airplane... saw nobody on the outside... saw no lights on inside.... and the stairs were rolled up to the plane... for a few seconds we both looked at each other and were thinking.... and then both came to our senses and walked back to our car.... nobody every came.. nobody every showed themselves....

We had a great time talking about how we would have been shot when we got to the top of the stairs.... OR that we could have gotten some great pics.... (#1 was much more likely)....

 

[Chuckanut]

This might help those who don't like flying and use the Minneapolis airport:

Welcome to “Hidden Airport”

Newest Addition: the “quiet area” at Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)

On the whole, the Minneapolis airport is about as architecturally unexciting as they come. <snip>. And like most American airports, it has a noise pollution problem. But unlike most American airports, it has a place to escape the racket: an upper-level “quiet area” overlooking the central atrium of the Lindbergh (Delta Air Lines) Terminal

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