USMCFLYR

You must have missed some of amcflyboy's post.
I'm sure that in his days with AMC that he has probably flown internationally - and I'm pretty sure that he can fly with the "big dogs" as you say.

I didn't see where he said a 10 mile ILS was "fun", but he said that with passengers in the back he'd take it.

USMCFLYR

80ktsClamp

It sounds more like amc has become a button pusher and lost his edge, honestly.

USMCFLYR

Steve -

After reading a few of your posts in other forums and understanding your desire to fly regional, majors, and corporate (even the King air), and then reading your post here about not wanting to be a "button pusher" and wanting to be a "hands on flyer", I'm afraid that you might be very disappointed in the type of flying that you are imagining yourself doing.

I'm glad you are on the forum learning the ins-and-outs of the business. Keep an open mind about the different types of flying out there. Good luck.

USMCFLYR

USMCFLYR

From my little experience in this new professional gig, button pushing is the way things are done in commercial aviation on a majority of levels.
I'm willing to bet that I probably have the opportunity to hand fly more than most and I still think that there is a lot of button pushing and time spent on autopilot. I don't know amcflyboy so I don't know whether he is a button pusher type guy or a flying on the edge guy. It sounds like he is a passenger airline guy and is concerned about the comfort of the ride for the pax in that one post, and I could appreciate that. He might also have had enough of the crazy type of flying he did in the military and enjoying a different type of lfying. Still doesn't mean that he can't fly with the big dogs as was insinuated.

USMCLFYR

80ktsClamp

I believe your observation of these forums has skewed your views of what airline flying is.

Each flight is as hands on or as hands off as you want to make it. I prefer very hands on, and I keep it that way. When things are visual, I use a minimum of automation (FD/AT/AP all off) and as things get progressively "worse" I add levels as appropriate while remaining very engaged, making sure I have a mastery of all levels. As a result, when things begin to go wrong I find that I can much more efficiently and accurately respond to the situation.

If you want to make it mindless, airline flying can be that to you. When the poop hits the fan (and it will at some point), the pilot that makes it mindless is the last person I want to entrust my life to.

80ktsClamp

If he was in AMC, his amount of button pushing was about the same as an engaged airline pilot. From your statements here and in previous posts, I believe your understanding of airline flying is below what you think it is. You can remain very engaged, even when "button pushing." His statements trend toward being disengaged, which can prove to be high threat and even deadly.

SteveCostello

And this is why I do not want to be anything but a button pusher. I get that it has its purpose, so I'm not saying that I think we should go back to the days of flying beacon-to-beacon. I like that a lot of the workload CAN be offloaded if necessary. But I also think that all of this automation (some of which is apparently required as SOP for certain carriers) can take the edge off of pilots who should be razor sharp. Point-in-case, AF447. From what I have seen (and I admit to not knowing all the ins-and-outs of this incident), some pretty basic seat-of-the-pants flying would have prevented that disaster. When the poop hits the fan, the only thing that matters is flying the plane. Should all the FPDs and computers in the cockpit go Tango Uniform, the pilot should be able to go back to his/her days in that ol' 1966 C150 they earned their first wings with and fly the plane by looking outside, not at HAL.

Sorry for the topic drift! On a related note, good job on the pilot in this situation (if it was his/her call) by keeping the ego in the flight back and taking a lap.

USMCFLYR

I don't see where he looks disengeaged. Maybe you can point that out to me.

I've never flown P121. What I know is what I've learned on these forums, what I've read in many profesional publications over the years, and being around and talking to airline pilots about airline flying for 20+ years.

USMCFLYR

EasternATC

Sorry I'm so late getting to the thread. I worked at DCA Tower for 21 years, and saw dozens of exciting finishes to the river visual.

The usual suspects were the crews from outfits that only had a flight or two per day at DCA, thus nobody was proficient. Texas Air--circa 1983--in its various liveries comes to mind. But at night, nobody was immune to making mistakes! The biggest of which was mistaking 15 for 18 (now 19).

Until the merger with USAir, the absolute best seat-of-the-pants pilots thru DCA worked for Piedmont, followed by Eastern, and then USAir (only in the DC-9s, the rest of the fleet wasn't as sharp).

The most exciting thing was watching Empire fly down the Anacostia in the F28 to land on 21 (now 22). Yankin' and bankin' like it was a Beech 99, they'd roll out on a 1/8 mile final and open the clamshell. They made it look easy. Good memories!

2StgTurbine

I have wanted to talk to a DCA controller for a while. I have 2 gripes. When landing 19 and 15, approach will first clear us for 19, tower will then clear us for 15, and finally on short final, they will clear us back to 19. I know there is not a lot of airspace, runway, or taxiway to work with, but I would think they would have figured out a rhythm by now.

Also, the last few times we have come in from the west from CLE, approach will keep us at 6,000 ft inside 10 miles. We needed to switch from 15 to 19 every time so we had enough time to descend. I also love how tower tells us S-turns are approved as long as we avoid the prohibited areas. Is there some reason why they would keep us so high so close?