[Sticky]Stories from Boards pilots...

pclancy

Would any of our flying visitors like to share a few of your best stories about flying? Be it funny, sad, dangerous, interesting or weird! I love hearing from pilots about their daily lives...care to share some stories for some interesting reading for those of us that can only fly using a mouse?

RoundyMooney

Oi!

Some of us have joysticks and pedals too, you know

Excellent idea, and worthy of a sticky, if it generates a few replies.

pclancy

I never managed to get as far as pedals...actually had to quit FS, sold my games pc and got a laptop that cant run FSX to wean myself off it, ive spent way too many hours the last few years stuck in front of that pc when i should be outside doing something decent! I cant wait to build a home cockpit when i eventually buy a house tho, you'll open a door that looks like a normal room but step into a 737NG cockpit

Ahh dreams

cp251

Well there the time I stalled my Cessna 172 and the floor fell out of the aircraft. I was hanging onto the roof straps desperately trying to regain control before I hit the high tension lines when..............

Another time. I took off but the engine failed. As I tried to land back on the airfield a 200 mph wind blew up and I was pushed backwards across the Irish sea to England where I managed to crash land on small airfield on an island just off the coast.

Oh wait, they were just dreams. I'm guessing that there is a deeper meaning there. Maybe I should take them to another forum.:D

But seriously, I've had few really good adventures when flying. Although there was the time we were mistaken for a missile, another time I picked up some carb ice and had a few nervous minutes before I landed safely. Then there was low flying over the Missisippi.........

My flying has been boring really, which I suppose is a good thing.(Except in my dreams, where I crash a lot )

pclancy

thought this thread would get a lot more responses that werent dream based though

Owen

Yes indeed, yoke, pedals and a trackir too I'll have you know

Seriously though, while flying a plank in real life, it took about 40 minutes to get the solenoid of the Warrior I was flying to engage. Scary ass shiat!

Fionn101

cp251 said :another time I picked up some carb ice and had a few nervous minutes before I landed safely.


yeah , had a Carby ice incident , One thing is for sure , I'll NEVER forget again, ever...


Fionn

damo

Flying at 500 feet over the water, and 1000 feet horizantally accross from the miami skyline, all the way up the coast of florida whilst on radar control is probably the highlight so far in my fledgling aviation career

Also flying in a pa-28 about 700 feet overhead a 747 that was on final to land in fort meyers was pretty sweet too.

jmayo

I knew a guy doing training in Florida who appeared to be jinxed.
Everytime he went to do cross country storms would brew up and he had to turn back. Then he forgot all his charts one day but eventaully found his way back.
While circuit bashing he would do full engine runup checks pre every take off. This proceeded to pi** off the old local guys flying their Harvards, etc who started asking him if he thought he was flying a boeing.

Then he got into trouble at nice size commerical airflield for making radio calls stating wrong position, direction and proceeding to fly downwind for wrong runaway. That resulted in official complaint to flight school.
Anyway he finally got to do his qualifiying cross country.
He landed at away airfield, got his form signed but before he could take off again, some lady planted her Cessna 152 onto the runway whilst taking off. Airfield closed while they cut her out and cleared wreckage so he was trapped.
To add to his woes they had closed the restaurant so he couldn't get anything to eat. He eventually made it back.
He turned up for his FAA test without FAA books, that didn't look good.
He ended up doing test twice same day and eventually passed. He was leaving for home next day.
We actually started taking bets he either ended up in Cuba or got forced down by the Blue Angels.
Oh and the real twist is he wanted to be a commerical jet pilot.
I will not release his name but suffice to say if I or any of the guys that knew him then, hear an announce from Mr X while on passenger jet, we are gettting off the flight pronto.

damo

jmayo wrote:

I will not release his name but suffice to say if I or any of the guys that knew him then, hear an announce from Mr X while on passenger jet, we are gettting off the flight pronto.

haha,

i know a couple of people like that aswell, scary to think who could be flying your plane sometimes!

it can also be kind of sad seeing people who clearly arent up to the job spending loads of money on training, when the chances of them actually completing the whole thing are pretty slim.

el tel

How about this one - I'm holding short while listening to a friend on the radio to the tower as he is supposedly making his approach to land on my runway at our training airfield. Sitting looking out the window I see nothing in the sky and meanwhile the tower are getting a bit panicky as they can't establish visual with him either. A minute later and I'm beginning to twig what is happening as I start to hear a doubtful tone in the mate's voice and confusion in the voice of the tower controller...he's actually making an approach to a different strip. OK which strip could it be?..one of the many many small places within a 25nm radius of ours? Nope, i.e. the runway on the International Airport 14nm W of ours! Suddenly (after quite a long wait) the tower of that airport catches wind of him and gives him a vector to expedite himself out of their approach path. They were so pissed! Anyway he gets home safely citing the haze and the fact that the runways have the same designation (even though ours is 3 times longer and in totally different surround terrain). And where is this legend now...flying an Airbus:(

oscarBravo

Heh.

Remembering my first solo: the usual practice had been for the instructor to go up with the student for a few circuits, then land and stop on the runway, instructor jumps out, student takes off on his own. Didn't happen this time because there was a chopper on long final behind me, so I had to taxi in to the ramp to let him out. Taxi'd back out, had to hold short for what felt like ten minutes while the chopper (Air Corps) made a leisurely approach. Finally got to take off.

I had been reading lots of stories on aviation newsgroups (yes, it was that long ago) about first solos in the US, where the tradition seems to be to do three circuits. Flew a circuit, touch'n'go, and around again. On final second time around, got my clearance: "Cleared to land, oscar bravo, and your instructor asks as a special favour if you'll actually stop this time."

Oops...

pclancy

Davidth88

Hi,

First solo...... told to go around because a business twin wanted to take off and the airfield I was learning at had a policy that business a/planes had priority although I was on finals. Landed to find my instructor on phone purple with rage screaming at the tower. I thought it was great practice though.

Airfield is now a filmset ( Leavesden ) !

Practice cross -country .... warm day , late afternoon. My intructor falls asleep only wakes up when I land !

Ill thnk of some more later

Fionn101

well the stories are finally coming in , best to get my crap one out of the way..

At the very start of training in Bankstown in Sydney, my instructor Greg was telling me that it's one of the bussiest airports in the southern hemisphere due to the amount of private pilots using it (central location, great canteen)

It really was a bit of a nightmare keeping an eye out for all the other aircraft traffic and telling the tower "yeah , traiffic sighted, no i swear i'm not lying ....again"

so as we were coming in to land one day there is a Volvo estate car belting up the taxiway beside the active runway with a cameraman hanging out he boot of the car and filming two lovely Merc cars criss crossing behind him , shooting footage for some car program I guess

Turning onto finals and my instructor points out his window at the cars and says "told you the traffic here was a bitch"

small bits of humour really help.....

therecklessone

Nicked from pprune, but I do love it...:D

A group of RAAF Vampire jets heading opposite direction to a Speedbird who was (from memory - t'was a loooong time ago) looking for climb. Both asked to report sighting and passing (procedural control - outside Radar coverage).

Speedbird: "I can see the jets - well clear, request climb"

ATC: "Vampires confirm sighted and passed Speedbird" (rule required mutual sighting and passing)

RAAF Jet leader (who stuttered a bit) "Neg..Negative sighting"

Speedbird: "Oh come on man, you must be blind!!"

RAAF Jet Leader: "I'd rather be b..b..blind that a f...f...f**king Pom!"

pclancy

:d

cp251

As I mentioned before I've had a dull enough flying career to date. I know it's tempting fate to say that. Next thing you'll see me on the six o'clock news looking sheepish in front of a steaming wreck in a field somewhere.

I remember as a student pilot my instructor showing me how to dive bomb people without them being able to read your registration. Not really something you should be teaching students, I know. He's dead now, not surprisingly. I'll always remember the look on the farmers face as we dived on his little grey Ferguson tractor in a field near the Grand canal. What my friend didn't realise was that the farmers family was standing at the edge of the field. They waved hesitantly and smiled, not sure what was happening. Yes we were THAT low. I waved back. Some anglers by the canal also waved vigorously. Everyone except the farmer could have read our registration but as a rule country people love to see low flying aeroplanes. I remember flying over a lough near Mullingar, one sunny weekend and being waved at by all the daytrippers lining the shore.

The Air Corps are notorious for low flying. One day an Air Corps Cessna limped into Knock with a shattered windscreen and other damage caused when they flew into powerlines. A lucky escape by all accounts.

This didn't happen to me but I heard the story and it's good. Years ago, student pilots in tandem cockpits were taught to fly by simply copying the instructor. Monkey see, monkey do. There being no other communication. In this particular aircraft the joystick was detachable and one instructor had a practice of detaching his stick and flinging it overboard. This indicated to the student that he was on his own.
He was cured of this by a student who smuggled a spare joystick onboard in preparation for the moment. Sure enough, the instructor threw out the stick. This was followed swiftly by the pupils spare joystick. :eek:
You can imagine the rest.

Steyr

cp251 wrote: »

The Air Corps are notorious for low flying. One day an Air Corps Cessna limped into Knock with a shattered windscreen and other damage caused when they flew into powerlines. A lucky escape by all accounts.

Remember hearing from an old PDF guy that he witnessed a Fouga so low that when she went over tall grass training with the Army that she created a lovely swirly wind directly behind her in the grass which followed her.

Galileo

I saw a pilot walk onto a flight to County Clare one day in Dublin.

The hostess at the front said "hello captain".

He looked at her and said " shy to fla none, shy to fla none, shy to fla none"

He then went into the cockpit.

She threw her eyes up to heaven.

She then picked up the PA and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome on board your......























"shyte to flannon"

congo_90

god damn expensive!!!! i've only got as far as SPL on C150/C152. its really annoyin because lately i've stopped my training in order to go beg some nice airline to train me in.

anyhow the only story i have is from one of my early days flying. I was nervous because it was my first time up and i remember the instuctor sayin, watch that door it tends to open during flight.
naturally i forgot this little detail and mid flight (approx 2,500 and climbing west of weston) i leaned against the door and nearly fell!! well the seat belt saved me but istinctively grabbed onto the controls to pull myself in. this just made things worse because i grabbed the right side of the control column which then banked my further left!!!

ImDave

If only my flight instructors door was dodgy. Next time he passes an unwelcome comment on a touch and go, climb away to altitude and make a tidy 60* right hand turn to crosswind :cool:

congo_90

EI-DAV wrote: »

If only my flight instructors door was dodgy. Next time he passes an unwelcome comment on a touch and go, climb away to altitude and make a tidy 60* right hand turn to crosswind :cool:

+1

chickenhawk

Flying one night in Florida. West Palm Beach. In the pattern and I hear some guy contact the tower. This guy had poor english and an asian accent.

Student: Novermber 9525d Inbound from the northeast.

Tower: State your altitude and intentions.

Student: Altitude 2000ft and I plawn to be a pwrofessonal pilot!

(All true and spelling mistakes intentional!)

Mr Benevolent

Student flight in a PA28 with an instructor friend. On approach, I was at the controls. When lined up, flaps down etc, I saw him move his hands to the yoke, so I assumed he had control.

Later I discovered he thought I was in control. The plane had touched down with no-one in control.

hibby

Was flying a left downwind for 25 at EIWT years ago. Going through pre-landing checks. Got the controls mixed up and instead of pulling on the carb-heat (it was a C150) I pulled the mixture to idle cut-off. It took a few seconds to take effect, so by the time the engine spluttered and stopped I had no idea what was happening.

It took a few more seconds (and a hundred foot loss of altitude) before I spotted the problem and pushed the knob back in. The prop was still windmilling and the engine restarted.

That's the kind of mistake you only make once. But it's not the worst mistake I ever made...

hibby

The worst mistake I ever made (and nobody ever found out).

Was flying in to St Augustine, Florida, coming from a southerly direction. It's a busy airport with a lot of commercial and military traffic. The main runway is 13-31. I called the tower to ask permission to land. They told me to join base for 31. I read back the instruction, but in my mind I wasn't thinking 31; I was thinking 13.

In other words, I was fully intending to try to land on the active runway in the wrong direction. And to get there, I was going to fly a base and final on the reciprocal heading of the traffic (including Skybus jets and large military aircraft) taking off and departing.

So I kept flying north, with the intention of joining a right base for 13. I hadn't been told to join the downwind, so I was (thankfully) keeping a spacing of a couple of miles from the runway.

Abeam the threshold I got a call from the tower, along the lines of "Cessna 1234, what's your position?" I replied that I was going to turn base for 31. (Note, I was still saying 31 even though I was thinking 13). They informed me that I had flown a couple of miles too far and was flying right past the airport.

Only then did I realise my mistake. I requested and received permission to do a 180 onto a left downwind for 31 (the real 31 this time!). Despite my horror at what had nearly happened, I managed a decent landing, and taxied over to the FBO to relax and recover.

The amazing thing is, I don't think ATC realised how bad a mistake I was making. They thought I had just somehow failed to spot the airport, and was just flying on past.

ch252

lol, thats a good one!
I heard a few strange transmissions over the years here and there on American and Irish feeds, and indeed Galway tower, I'm only up so this is the funniest I can think of off my head

GMC: Taxi stand xy

Pilot: Taxi stand xy. Any route?

GMC: Just stay off the grass...

---

Melbourne ATC: Virgin *** blah blah blah

Virgin ***: Sorry MEL could you say again, you were in with a Flight Attendant.

MEL ATC: I wish!


Made me laugh!

DeVore

Mate of mine flies for the US army but quit and worked in the public sector. Flying into Hawaii he was in a holding pattern with a lot of traffic and everyone was getting cranky. Apparently its a very difficult approach to Hawaii and one plane was well out of line. The tower contacted them and told them to correct. The pilot confirmed but didnt correct. The tower tried again and when that didnt work, they got a bit annoyed with the Japanese pilot and condescendingly asked him if he had ever flown to Hawaii before.

A tired old japanese voice came back "yes, but it was loooong time ago and we no land!".


DeV.

jmayo

Did some farm strip training in UK few years back and had very good instructor.
Coming into land on short bumpy stubble field strip I kinda came in low over the trees. After we landed he opened door of the cub and looked out back.
I asked what was wrong ?
He replied "just checking how much of the tree is attached to tailwheel".

At least you could find that strip whereas another one of them was an actual uncut meadow which was an ideal camouflage to the non local.