How to drift a 747

[saintjohn]

Boeing 777 and 747 crosswind landing test videos:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...7479&q=747

Still think commercial jet pilots are overpaid?

[tres-b]

That is crazy. Did you see how the wheels catch and the front end comes back

wow...

[rhythmburn]

whoa...

[HouseJunkie]

Originally Posted by saintjohn

Boeing 777 and 747 crosswind landing test videos:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...7479&q=747

Still think commercial jet pilots are overpaid?

Well lets see, $300K to make a small announcement, take off and land a plane while you sit on your ass for hours and let autopilot do all the work, hell yes.

[Adam Singer]

Originally Posted by HouseJunkie

[quote author=saintjohn link=board=6;threadid=28285;start=0#msg327708 date=1148062725]
Boeing 777 and 747 crosswind landing test videos:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...7479&q=747

Still think commercial jet pilots are overpaid?

Well lets see, $300K to make a small announcement, take off and land a plane while you sit on your ass for hours and let autopilot do all the work, hell yes.






[/quote]

you need to put in a crapload of flight hours become a commercial pilot

it is *very* rigorous (a friend of mine is a private pilot, ive heard everything he's had to do)

and what if your auto-pilot goes awry?

have you ever tried a real flight simulator? it is more difficult than you think

[saintjohn]

Originally Posted by HouseJunkie

Well lets see, $300K to make a small announcement, take off and land a plane while you sit on your ass for hours and let autopilot do all the work, hell yes.

Autopilot doesn't handle the takeoffs and landings. Anybody can handle straight and level flight in calm weather during the day in a perfectly functioning aircraft, but when things get complicated (night landings through heavy clouds in freezing rain with windshear are surprisingly common), I'd prefer a former Navy pilot with plenty of carrier landings to get me and the other passengers back on the ground safely. If it takes a generous salary to attract qualfied pilots, then I'm happy to pay whatever it takes.

$300,000? There aren't many pilots making that kind of money anymore. To cut costs, airlines are encouraging senior pilots to retire. Junior co-pilots make less per hour than the mechanics at my local Ford dealership.

Median annual earnings of commercial pilots were $53,870 in 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $37,170 and $79,390. The lowest-paid 10 percent earned less than $26,300. The highest-paid 10 percent earned more than $110,070.

http://www.bls.gov/k12/science03.htm

[swirlundergrounder]

Originally Posted by HouseJunkie

[quote author=saintjohn link=board=6;threadid=28285;start=0#msg327708 date=1148062725]
Boeing 777 and 747 crosswind landing test videos:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...7479&q=747

Still think commercial jet pilots are overpaid?

Well lets see, $300K to make a small announcement, take off and land a plane while you sit on your ass for hours and let autopilot do all the work, hell yes.






[/quote]You have got to be kidding me! Like you can even begin to understand how to fly a 747. And with the above statement you just made, I bet you couldn't even fly a paper airplane..

Whatever man. Pay the pilots their money. It's not like they are overpaid taxi drivers and if something happens to the taxi driver then you can just jump into the drivers seat and drive a car.

My gut tells me that there are only 2 or 3 people at the most aboard a commercial airline that can even understand how to fly it!

BTW how strong are those crosswinds?

[saintjohn]

For more information on pilot pay, take a look at the following site:

http://www.willflyforfood.cc/Payscales/PayScales.htm

Salaries are broken down by airline, seniority, and position (captain, first officer, flight engineer).

[bcnjunkie]

300 g's for my life .... hmmm they're seriously underpaid ;D

As low as 27,000 ???

If you have ever had the fortune of being in the cabin of a wide body jet, for either take off or landing, you know the kind of precision these guys need to have.

[pod]

Landing on a carrier at night takes real skill.