Plane Tales

I’m sorry dear listener but the logbook stories continue unabated with the next instalment. I had been inducted into Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd and, after completing the type rating technical exam we were dispatched to the heart of Airbussery, Toulouse in France, to undergo their simulator training course. There were about 10 of us but, other than our sim partner, we didn’t have a lot of time to get to know each other with our busy month long schedule.

 

The SAAB 340... a little smaller than the A340!

 

Lufthansa A340, the A340 launch customer.

 

The World Ranger paintwork

 

A340 Sim

 

Cordes, France

 

Door training

 

Pool training

 

First time in the Black Pyjamas for real!

 

Taking G-VSKY into the air for the first time

 

Circuits at Manston

 

Job done!

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Ronnie Robertson, MarcelX42, Simaero, Clément Gruin and Nick Anderson.

In earlier decades, the early demise of pilots was mainly based on empirical evidence and based on the well publicised news of an ex colleague’s early death. However, in 1992, the time when I was putting in my papers to leave the RAF to pursue a life as an airline pilot, the Flight Safety Foundation published a study which seemed to confirm that pilots died at a younger age than the general population. The oft quoted statistics that a retiring pilot would only have 5 years to enjoy their pensions was quoted... BUT WAS IT TRUE!

 

Early pilot death has been assigned to the myth that, as a work group we are prone to a tragically short retirement down to ‘flight line talk’ and that each time an airline pilot dies shortly after retiring the hypothesis of early death is reborn and reinforced in this weak minded group of grounded gossipers! (I said that last bit)

 

The 1992 study which expressed mortality data as percentages is now considered an “interesting” method and apparently, dare I say it, “inappropriate”!

 

This information is quoted by a large fiduciary investment company based in Dubai. They quote a Boeing Aerospace actuarial study of life span based on age at retirement. Boeing deny ever producing this study.

 

The Flight Safety Foundation later published this study by, amont others, the Wright State University School of Aerospace Medicine and the US Federal Aviation Administration Civil Aeromedical Institute

 

The comparison group of the general population used was that of US white males.

 

Please feel free to discus

 

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the Flight Safety Foundation and AI generated images.

So the logbook tales continue. I am out of the RAF and seeking an airline job but in the downturn there are few available. In the meantime I am working for British Aerospace flying Tornado F3s on trials flights. I had also been given the chance to deliver a Hawk 100 series trainer to the Royal Malaysian Air Force. I left you at Bangkok having turned a brand new aircraft into a blow torch and nearly cooking an inquisitive guard.

 

Flying the last leg to RMAS Butterworth

 

We complete our 7,000 NM to Malaysia

 

Chasing the towed decoy trials

 

Some of Hoppy's aircraft had parted company

 

We soon passed 600 knots and slipped through the sound barrier without a ripple

 

I went off to a little commercial uniform shop to pick up my first of the 4 different Virgin Atlantic uniforms I would wear over the next 25 years.

 

The Flight Crew Operating Manuals, from which they picked facts at random to put into the question paper.

 

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Mid Journey AI and Nick Anderson.