how to land a plane

[Blue Ring Octopus]

It looks like he has done it before.

 

[Captain Quint]

Don, I graduated college the year Top Gun was released (not to date myself). Like many others, I decided I would join the Air Force. Took the test and did great. I had three letters of recommendations from a retired Major General, a retired Brigadier General and a state representative. I thought I was a shoe in for sure.

Last step was the physical and it turned out I didn't have adequate depth perception and didn't even know it. It was correctable via glasses/contacts but at that time, they didn't allow corrected vision as a pilot. I was offered a navigator opportunity but I wanted to be Maverick, not Goose. Looking back, I wish I hadn't been so hard headed and went ahead and served my country.

Years later is when I started playing with the simulator and as it turns out, maybe I wouldn't have made it anyway...lol.

But Goose was cool! :)

Props for the great recommendations.

 

[dbl]

But Goose was cool! :)

For sure and I realize that now, but at 22 I was just another stupid kid.

Props for the great recommendations.

Thanks. The BG was a church member and Major was a friend of his that happened to live near by. I never met the state rep...I think that was a favor for the Major...lol.

 

[norfolkgarden]

This is actually a virtually daily thing at Bristol, they have squatters that just sit and shoot video of these kinds of landings and pilots that get spun because they can't get the planes down.

Which Bristol?

 

[Matthew Frost]

Which Bristol?

This is in the UK. Crosswinds are just part of the deal here.

 

[albano]

That’s crazy stuff! My dad had a Cessna 172 when I was a kid ...

Lot of pilots in my family: Navy pilot, Vietnam medivac, private pilots, TWA 747s, ... dad had a Piper Tri Pacer since when I was about 10. If you remember the tail numbers of your dad's 172, it should still be the same # today... My dads was N8145C, found the plane on eBay a few years ago!

 

[Bob Weigant]

Just one more reason why I hate flying

 

[norfolkgarden]

This is in the UK. Crosswinds are just part of the deal here.

Thanks!

 

[Retro Reefer]

Lot of pilots in my family: Navy pilot, Vietnam medivac, private pilots, TWA 747s, ... dad had a Piper Tri Pacer since when I was about 10. If you remember the tail numbers of your dad's 172, it should still be the same # today... My dads was N8145C, found the plane on eBay a few years ago!

That’s cool.. we are talking early 70’s and my dad passed 23 years ago but I remember the tail number and call.. November-9865-Gulf, thought the radio was the coolest thing in the plane.. lol, I logged a lot of hours but never went to ground school, life got in the way plane got sold it’s all just a blur now.. I fly RC planes, heli’s And racing FPV quads these days when I can.

 

[Katrina71]

My dad always had and built planes growing up. Luckily, I never had a landing like that, but I did get to barn storm in a bi-plane. Coolest ride in history.

 

[albano]

That’s cool.. we are talking early 70’s and my dad passed 23 years ago but I remember the tail number and call.. November-9865-Gulf...

Looks like your plane is in Florida now!
My father started in early 60s... in the 70s he bought a farm in upstate NY so that he could have a landing strip in the front yard. When he died, my mom had his tombstone engraved with his plane and the barn/hanger, because he loved to fly!

 

[Ron Reefman]

I flew for 4 years, 2 while I was getting my license and 2 more after I had it. I was even looking at a Cessna 140 (a tail dragger made with cloth and dope) that was so full of instruments the owner taught IFR (Instrument Flight Rules as opposed to VFR which is Visual Flight Rules) pilots with it. But with 2 average sized people onboard, you couldn't run with full fuel tanks as it made the plane too heavy! I was seriously considering getting my IFR rating from the owner and buying the plane when my wife bought a 1980 (and David thinks he's old) Fiat x1/9 and I ended up racing sports cars for the next 20 years! Gave them up for just over 10 years to play with boats, but went back to sports cars about 3 years ago. Now I autocross a 450+ horsepower Miata SSM (Super Street Modified).

Near the end of my 2 years as a licensed pilot the guy I rented from got a new Cessna 152 Aerobat and I had a ball doing short field landings (like going down in an elevator!) The owner taught aerobatics and I took a few 1 hour lessons. But I was pretty disoriented whenever we got upside down so I gave it up.