Hmm
 

Father travels a lot, I've done my fair share of flying..he's always out in goofy faraway places like Singapore, Guam, and Hawaii. The planes don't bother me too much, but I've always been in business class. As long as I can get up once and awhile and stretch my legs out, its always good.

I don't like the DC-10, though. All the early safety issues scared me about them.

Worst flight was by far in an IL-62M. Russian plane. Packed inside like cattle. Very "freight car" feel to it.

The days when Zeppelins crossed the Atlantic looked like a cool time..literally floating at a somewhat low altitude over the sea. Walking over the promenade to have a view of the ocean. Spectacular!

http://www.nlhs.com/images/hindenbur...enade_deck.jpg

http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/...0/2bb0c560.jpg

Graf Zeppelin

if it is at all possible i drive.

but if i have to fly i just go ahead and enjoy it. nothing you can do about it. if it goes down you are probably dead anyway.

in december after 9/11/01 i flew to italy with my four daughters and my mom. i made the reservation on about 9/6 and couldnt cancel. after getting my flight info i looked it up. the airbus we took was the same model as the one the tail fell off a couple days after 9/11. over the atlantic we ran into some very heavy turbulance. enough that at least half the passengers got air sick (me not thankfully). i just kept praying for the integrity of the tail.

after we got home i told everyone about the plane and the tail etc.

i am driving to wyoming in july while my wife flys. she still enjoys flying. we are old enough that we remember back when flying was kindof ritzy titzey. now it is one step above taking the bus. except for transcontinental. our plane to italy was alitalia. the food was supurb.

tom w

Well, you got yourself all worked up over nothing.

The Airbus that lost the tail was an A300-600R. It has a maximum range of about 4000 nm. No carrier would attempt to use this aircraft to go from Chicago to Rome.........a distance of 4200 nm.

AFAIK, no A300-600R aircraft traverses the Atlantic in scheduled service due to range/payload problems.

BTW, Alitalia doesn't have any Airbus aircraft other than the short range A320, single aisle twin. This aircraft does not fly across the Atlantic in scheduled service.

Also -
 

Not to mention - That Airbus (A300-605R) lost its tail primarily do to the first officer slamming the rudder(s) back and forth. Not because of an Airbus production issue.

If at all possible, I fly.

But if I have to drive, I just go ahead and enjoy it. Nothing you can do about it. If some idiot goes to answer his cell phone and comes head-on into your lane at 70 mph, you are probably dead anyway.

"oh contraire"
 

I think that taking off is the coolest part - no car I've ever owned will accelerate like a jet will from 0 to 200-
While there are cars that will out accelerate jets, they'd still lose if the race went over 200mph =)

That said, I only fly when I have to - I enjoy driving (and maybe someday again riding) too much.

-John

Factual about this flight .

.""..................
NTSB Identification: DCA02MA001.
The docket is stored in the Docket Management System (DMS). Please contact Records Management Division
Scheduled 14 CFR Part 121: Air Carrier AMERICAN AIRLINES INC
Accident occurred Monday, November 12, 2001 in Belle Harbor, NY
Probable Cause Approval Date: 4/14/2005
Aircraft: Airbus Industrie A300B4-605R, registration: N14053
Injuries: 265 Fatal.

The Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm.


On November 12, 2001, about 0916:15 eastern standard time, American Airlines flight 587, an Airbus Industrie A300-605R, N14053, crashed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York. Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight to Las Americas International Airport, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with 2 flight crewmembers, 7 flight attendants, and 251 passengers aboard the airplane. The airplane's vertical stabilizer and rudder separated in flight and were found in Jamaica Bay, about 1 mile north of the main wreckage site. The airplane's engines subsequently separated in flight and were found several blocks north and east of the main wreckage site. All 260 people aboard the airplane and 5 people on the ground were killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. Flight 587 was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
the in-flight separation of the vertical stabilizer as a result of the loads beyond ultimate design that were created by the first officer's unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs. Contributing to these rudder pedal inputs were characteristics of the Airbus A300-600 rudder system design and elements of the American Airlines Advanced Aircraft Maneuvering Program.................."


.

What kind of competition requires a hacksaw? I hope it's robotics.

I would say just have a drink or two before you get onboard but other people might notice. ;)

Are you serious? A fear of flying is completely irrational. :confused:

It is a statistically proven FACT that it is far, far safer than driving a car.

The only downsides are the ridiculous, ineffective security procedures, and the crying babies and annoying passengers who want to talk to you the whole damned time while you're obviously trying to sleep. :mad: It is also a minor annoyance when you are seated next to a really fat person and their girth is intruding into your space. :mad:

But when I can avoid the babies and the "talkers" and the fat-a$$es, I REALLY do enjoy flying.

Mike

Very easy to say Mr. Cessna Bravo :D

I don't fear flying but I don't enjoy it either; too much time in one seat with nothing to look at. Coach is terrible, but an aisle seat makes it better. I never sit next the ladies who look like Eva Langoria, but Eva Hippopotoma squeezes into the seat next to me. Enough frequent flyer miles and I can now ususally get upgraged to 1st class, which is much better. Still I bring a portable DVD player and watch/listen to opera or other music with noise cancelling headphones. Can't hear other passenger's conversations or babies crying.
regards,
mark

we flew from chicago with a stop i think. it was a very large plane with two isles. three four three in the widest part i believe. the ends of the wings turned up like a little tail. i was told it was the same as the one that lost its tail. i am no expert on planes. and it was 2001. has alitalia not bought any planes or retired any since then?

tom w

its called technical problem solving.. you need the tools to use when solving the problem

im in the terminal right now.. i took 1 dramamine instead of two so ill be in a drowsy and un alert state

My guess is that you flew the McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing) MD-11.

Notice a third engine up in the tail?

Alitalia never had any A-300's.

Be careful what people tell you..................;)

I fly to much - two things bug me about commercial flying; Planes have morphed into flying buses and contain that small group of probably 10% who do not have a clue what's going on or have never flown. Then there is TSA, but that's probably another thread:P

This is worth mentioning and somewhat related thread - anyone notice the increase in un-escorted minors this summer? I happened by the "holding area" in IAH, electric carts were rolling in packed with kids. The door opened and a airline worker who looked like she was going to have a few straight whiskeys after work greeted the new detainees. The room was packed! It probably rivaled Gitmo in population