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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 21, 2008 9:45:50 GMT -8
Karl did you happen to notice how far they are along with the expansion of the Terminal in Ottawa? The new section is replacing the much older part of the terminal that was still partially in use when the last new section was built. It was very old and reminded me of the old terminal in Edmonton. The Maple Leaf lounge was way over there in the old section too and you had a long walk to go get your free coffee or soup. During one snowstorm I was stranded in there for about 4 hours watching one of the finals with the Senators. There were two passengers and about 10 AC employees in there watching. Except the AC employees weren`t drinking - ahem much . Normally it is all self service but one of the AC people kept topping glasses. When the Senators won a champagne bottle appeared and a chocolate cake - which isn`t normally on the offer there. Fresh baked cookies are the usual sweet available. After sitting there with the gate agent for a while and to assuage all the Leafs ribbing I took (Ottawa and Toronto as are bad as Oilers vs. Flames) he asked for my boarding card and said to come get it from him at the gate when the plane finally boarded. I had been upgraded - I guess as payment for the abuse. No food on the plane that late night but more free booze if I wanted. But since I was driving home from the airport in a snow storm - stuck with one whiskey and one coffee .
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 22, 2008 10:07:36 GMT -8
No photos, but I did see the Russian cargo plane (world's largest) at Winnipeg Airport yesterday.
It was refueling, right near the UPS plane at the airport (a good view from the departures lounge where I was sitting). I counted 20 tires on the plane.
A while later she taxied out of site (runway on other side of the terminal building), and then there was a terminal announcement explaining that the world's largest cargo aircraft would be taking off.
I didn't see the actual take off, but saw it roaring into the sky, climbing pretty fast vertically, but seemingly moving slow horizontally (ie. lots of lift, but still moving slow).
Once at height, it turned around and headed north.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 22, 2008 10:28:42 GMT -8
Flug did it have 4 or 6 engines? The 4 engine Antonov 124-100 is a regular visitor to Toronto. It brings in fuselages for Dehaviland for the Q400 that are produced in China I believe. And other parts from their Shorts branch in Ireland. You can also see a regular flight at Trenton where they run cargo flights for the Canadian Forces - resupplying Afghanistan among others. The 6 engine Antonov 225 is the one built to carry the Buran Space Shuttle. There is only one right now and it is much in demand. There is a second one rumoured to being built and it has taken forever though. *Here it the 225 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_225. Big difference besides the extra two engines is the massive tail with two vertical fins instead of one.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 22, 2008 10:37:44 GMT -8
Flug did it have 4 or 6 engines? Four engines. So that's the one that regularly visits Canada. A security guy at the airport said that it refuels in Winnipeg because fuel is cheaper there, compared with Toronto.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 22, 2008 10:58:26 GMT -8
Cool thanks Flug. I got worked up - I have never seen a AN225 myself and got jealous . Winterpeg is working hard to become a cargo hub so probably has some pricing advantages.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 22, 2008 11:59:25 GMT -8
A video showing take offs & landings from St. Marteen.
(the good stuff starts at 2:50 or so of the video).
I think this is where Karl needs to go, and take some beach pictures.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 22, 2008 15:37:40 GMT -8
This airport lets you multitask. Watch planes and blow dry your hair from swimming in the ocean from the aircraft exhaust.
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Post by Kahloke on Oct 22, 2008 15:59:35 GMT -8
Yeah, St. Maarten is one of the most photographed airports in the world because of that beach right at the end of the runway. I've never been there, but I've seen lots of pics at Airliners.net.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Nov 10, 2008 10:22:19 GMT -8
Waiting for my grandmother to arrive on a stopover from FLA to her home in Edmonton snapped a few pics at YYZ. Peter Nygard's 727. Line up of FedEx MD10's, A300 and B727. AC 77L (777 Long Range) heading to the runway for take off. Inter terminal LINK train. Based on ski-lift technology with one power unit at the end of the line and a continuous cable that pulls the units around. Links the offsite economy parking with Terminal Three and One and eventually with the Downtown Toronto Blueline rail link. A little blurry because this is from the Link train bumping along. View of the apron between Terminal 1 on the left and Terminal 3 on the right. You can just see the tail of the quite stunning Cathay "Asia's World City" paint special paint scheme View from inside Terminal One from the departures check in area through the security zone onto the apron between the International arm on the left and domestic on the right. Unseen on the left behind the end of the arm is a Jet Airways A333 and Emirates 77W with their great paint schemes.
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Post by Kahloke on Jan 15, 2009 13:12:03 GMT -8
A US AIRWAYS JET CRASHES INTO NEW YORK CITY'S HUDSON RIVER Check out the photo in this news article: abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=6656804&page=1Here's the text from the article - it just happened, so there's not much on it, yet: A US Airways jet en route from New York to Charlotte crashed into the Hudson River off the west side of Manhattan with more than 150 people on board. New York City firefighters and passenger ferries responded to the crashed plane, which floated near the historic aircraft carrier, The Intrepid. The flight, US Airways 1549, was an A-320 manufactured by Airbus was carrying as many as 146 passengers and five crew members, according to the Port Authority fo New York and New Jersey. The plane's pilot allegedly reported a bird strike. Witness Barbara Sambriski, a researcher at The Associated Press, said she thought, "Why is it so low?" And then, she said, "splash, it hit the water." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Late edit: 13:26 KOMO has a little more information on it. Apparently, that plane was eventually bound for Seattle, after its stop in Charlotte. www.komonews.com/news/37658674.html
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jan 15, 2009 16:04:28 GMT -8
Like 9/11 it was neat seeing all the New York WaterTaxis and Ferries come to the rescue within minutes. And since the plane splashed right near Circle Line one of their tour boats was immediately on scene. Depending on tides the current is pretty strong and you could see the plane and rescue craft floating down river at a good clip.
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Post by yvr on Jan 16, 2009 11:30:42 GMT -8
Regarding the US Airways cruise. Wouldn't it have been interesting if the cockpit crew were able to deploy the RAT (Ram Air Turbine, or as insiders call it the Evinrude) after the water landing and sail up to the Manhattan cruise terminal and use that facilities gangways for disembarkation. Of course thats only possible in Hollywood movies. Never the less most modern 2 and 3 engine jet aircraft have an Evinrude, and if you ever see one you'll know why it acquired that nick name.
YVR
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Mill Bay
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Post by Mill Bay on Jan 17, 2009 16:08:42 GMT -8
An extended synopsis of the other day's events.
Hudson ferry rescuers hailed as heroes They beat police and fire crews to the scene after the US Airways jet hit the river. New Yorkers are impressed.
By Richard Fausset and Geraldine Baum
January 17, 2009
Reporting from New York — If you have the bad luck to be at the stick of a crippled passenger jet, there may be no better place to land it than in this vigilant and disaster-ready city.
And if you have to land on water, you might as well do it on the Hudson River, just before rush hour in front of a busy ferry boat terminal.
As federal investigators prepared to lift a crippled US Airways jet from the river Friday, praise continued to pour in for the pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, who deftly handled such a dilemma the day before.
New Yorkers also turned their attention to rescuers, particularly the ferry boat crews, which responded quickly to the downed plane and helped save all of the 155 people on board.
"Those boats were already manned, fully fueled and ready to be put into the evening commuter rush," said Jeff Welz, public safety director for Weehawken, N.J., on the west bank of the Hudson. At any other time of the day, they might not have arrived for the stranded passengers in time. "Hypothermia would have been an extreme threat," he said.
New Yorkers, disheartened recently by the plummeting fortunes of Wall Street and scandal, had a new class of heroes to celebrate Friday: members of these ferry crews, who were all over the TV news describing their response with a practicality reminiscent of the rescuers who rushed into the towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
"You don't have to think much," said Capt. Manuel Liba, 52, whose crew pulled 14 passengers onto the Moira Smith, named for a police officer killed on Sept. 11. "You just go."
The police and fire departments also rushed to the scene. Three minutes after the first alert, police had commandeered a Circle Line boat that only minutes before was taking sightseers on a leisurely tour of New York's landmarks. The officers directed it toward the sinking plane.
Within five minutes of the call a police helicopter was also hovering above the scene. A detective, a trained diver, was lowered into the frigid water. He swam to a disoriented female passenger clinging to the side of a ferry and helped her to safety on another boat.
"The bulk of this event was over in 10 minutes," said Raymond Kelly, New York police commissioner.
Officials across the city acknowledged Friday that government rescuers were really "second responders."
The first were the captains and their deck hands, whom Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg praised at a City Hall ceremony. He handed rescuers makeshift certificates for valor and promised "fancier ones" would be coming.
Everyday New Yorkers were also impressed.
"Those guys have a right to be walking around with their chests out today," said cabdriver Ronnie Bostos, 58.
The airplane, which was headed to Charlotte, N.C., encountered trouble moments after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport at 3:26 p.m. Preliminary reports indicated that the engines failed after the plane collided with a flock of birds.
The plane was tied to a pier in Lower Manhattan on Friday, with one wing poking out of the water and a swarm of government investigators and divers trying to assess its condition and salvage its contents.
At a televised briefing, Kitty Higgins of the National Transportation Safety Board said that both engines were missing and that they would be "very important pieces of the puzzle" in determining why the Airbus A320 went down. A police sonar probe was being used to scour the depths of the Hudson.
"We are pretty confident" that we'll find the engines, Higgins said, "but how quickly it happens, I don't know." Investigators began Friday to interview the plane's crew but said they would not meet with Sullenberger until today.
Sullenberger took calls Friday from President Bush and President-elect Barack Obama. He also spoke to his wife.
Lorraine Sullenberger of Danville, Calif., said during a television interview that her husband was "a pilot's pilot, and he loves the art of the airplane." Her two young daughters, grinning shyly, were beside her as she told reporters it was "a little weird" to hear her husband described as a hero.
All she had to do was go on the Internet to understand the extent of it. A shrine to the tall, white-haired captain had already attracted more than 80,000 fans on Facebook by Friday night, and it was growing at a rate that could surpass similar sites for swimmer Michael Phelps and cartoon star Homer Simpson.
Darren Beck, a 37-year-old passenger from Charlotte, was home Friday and still marveling at the fact he was alive. For him, Flight 1549 was supposed to be the end of a mundane business trip. Beck, a marketing executive, had thought his upgrade to first class would be his big news of the day.
That was until he heard an explosion on the left side of the plane and glanced out at the engine. "I could see the fan blades were still turning, but they were obviously damaged," he said. "It sounded like something was off-balance in a washing machine -- every time they turned around something went thump, thump, thump."
The pilot made a left turn, and Beck figured they were headed back to LaGuardia.
The descent felt smooth and steady, but Beck didn't realize they were headed for water. It was only moments before impact that Beck understood how wrong things were. "The two stewardesses, who were strapped in the front of the plane, started chanting in unison, 'Keep your head down, brace for impact!' . . . I could see out the window the water getting closer and closer -- and I soon realized we were going in."
The landing was hard, but not as hard as he expected. The plane rolled to the right, but soon steadied. The flight attendants began calmly directing passengers to the front doors, and they calmly complied. Beck recalled that one woman was with a young girl, maybe 4 or 5, who was clutching a stuffed dolphin.
"I remember joking with her: 'Hey, maybe the dolphin can go for a swim,' " Beck said. "At that point there were a couple of people getting kind of teary."
Beck and others stepped out of the plane and onto an inflatable slide. Others gathered on the wings. Water covered his feet. The plane was sinking. Almost immediately, a ferry appeared. "It was coming right at us," he said, "And it was a beautiful sight."
The last person to leave the plane was Sullenberger. As he boarded a ferry he clutched a clipboard with the list of passengers.
Beck and a few co-workers returned to Charlotte on Thursday night on a private plane his company hired.
He arrived at his house much like he would after any business trip. Except his bags were gone, his shoes were damp, and he was wearing tube socks he received from the Red Cross.
Times staff writers Joanna Lin and James Rainey in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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Post by Nickfro on Jan 21, 2009 20:09:39 GMT -8
It really is mind blowing to me how good pilots and airplane technology really are these days.
You have this Hudson River incident that had disaster written all over it, and they come out of it with few injuries, no fatalities and many heroic stories that dominate the storylines over the problem itself.
What also is so impressive is how planes are able to land in foggy conditions, like what YVR has been experiencing for the past week. Planes taking off and landing when they can only see the runway at the point of touching the wheels down! Amazing how technology on planes guides you to the exact required spot! I am currently in Castlegar for work, having flown out of Vancouver this morning in pure fog. Unfortunately, due to mountains surrounding the area on all sides, Jazz hasn't flown into Castlegar for almost a week now, cancelling all 3 daily flights from YVR. Some people call it "Cancelgar" because of regularly cancelled flights into here. We changed our plans and flew to Kelowna and drove from there...almost a 4 hour drive. I wish I had my camera with me on the flight, as the view above Vancouver was amazing, with Bowen Island peeking out of the clouds, which filled Howe Sound. A great sight to see! I usually like seeing the ferries from a plane, but that sure wasn't possible today!
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Post by DENelson83 on Jan 21, 2009 20:43:55 GMT -8
Planes taking off and landing when they can only see the runway at the point of touching the wheels down! That's known as a "Category IIIc" landing.
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Post by Kahloke on Jan 21, 2009 22:01:11 GMT -8
What also is so impressive is how planes are able to land in foggy conditions, like what YVR has been experiencing for the past week. Speaking of the fog, I guess YVR saw an unusual customer today, at least not normal for them. Foggy conditions at SEA meant the Air France A330-200 flight from Paris to Seattle was diverted to YVR instead. I read that in a thread on Airliners.net today. That would have been interesting to see. Air France doesn't normally fly into YVR, right?
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FNS
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Post by FNS on Jan 22, 2009 1:05:11 GMT -8
What also is so impressive is how planes are able to land in foggy conditions, like what YVR has been experiencing for the past week. Speaking of the fog, I guess YVR saw an unusual customer today, at least not normal for them. Foggy conditions at SEA meant the Air France A330-200 flight from Paris to Seattle was diverted to YVR instead. I read that in a thread on Airliners.net today. That would have been interesting to see. Air France doesn't normally fly into YVR, right? Just ask that famous skunk (hold your nose)! Run for the sake of your nostrils, it's Pepe Le Pew!! Actually, I looked at Air France's site and CYUL and CYYZ are the only Canadian airports they serve. We here in Seattle are benefited with having many direct flights by appropriate airlines to these countries to name a few: Air France to Paris, British Airways to London, SAS to Copenhagen Kastrup, et al. I often hold my nose when Air France flies over my office (when the wind comes from the north). That dreaded French skunk may be at the controls! ;D Rare sighting at CYVR, to say the least.
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D'Elete BC in NJ
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Jan 22, 2009 4:30:37 GMT -8
It really is mind blowing to me how good pilots and airplane technology really are these days. You have this Hudson River incident that had disaster written all over it, and they come out of it with few injuries, no fatalities and many heroic stories that dominate the storylines over the problem itself. What also is so impressive is how planes are able to land in foggy conditions, like what YVR has been experiencing for the past week. Planes taking off and landing when they can only see the runway at the point of touching the wheels down! Amazing how technology on planes guides you to the exact required spot! I am currently in Castlegar for work, having flown out of Vancouver this morning in pure fog. Unfortunately, due to mountains surrounding the area on all sides, Jazz hasn't flown into Castlegar for almost a week now, cancelling all 3 daily flights from YVR. Some people call it "Cancelgar" because of regularly cancelled flights into here. We changed our plans and flew to Kelowna and drove from there...almost a 4 hour drive. I wish I had my camera with me on the flight, as the view above Vancouver was amazing, with Bowen Island peeking out of the clouds, which filled Howe Sound. A great sight to see! I usually like seeing the ferries from a plane, but that sure wasn't possible today! lol "Cancelgar", good one...for that area, Trail airport is often a much better choice and only half an hour away.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jan 22, 2009 7:51:58 GMT -8
Speaking of the fog, I guess YVR saw an unusual customer today, at least not normal for them. Foggy conditions at SEA meant the Air France A330-200 flight from Paris to Seattle was diverted to YVR instead. I read that in a thread on Airliners.net today. That would have been interesting to see. Air France doesn't normally fly into YVR, right? Just ask that famous skunk (hold your nose)! Run for the sake of your nostrils, it's Pepe Le Pew!! Actually, I looked at Air France's site and CYUL and CYYZ are the only Canadian airports they serve. We here in Seattle are benefited with having many direct flights by appropriate airlines to these countries to name a few: Air France to Paris, British Airways to London, SAS to Copenhagen Kastrup, et al. I often hold my nose when Air France flies over my office (when the wind comes from the north). That dreaded French skunk may be at the controls! ;D Rare sighting at CYVR, to say the least. To what extent aircraft are allowed to land depends on the lighting and other systems used at an airport. Low visibility lighting and runway radar to spot FOD are to examples. Centreline lights down taxiways also help. My first experience with Autoland was on a CPAir DC10. We didn't realize we were not in the clouds still was when the runway lights were glowing through the mist and the gentle thud as we settled onto the runway. We pulled off on an exit ramp from the runway but had to wait to be escorted to the terminal by ground vehicles with flashing lights so we wouldn't end up in the rubarb or cut or our own taxiway through the mud. There are persistant rumours of Air France starting flights to either Calgary or Vancouver but I don't think either are very realistic. AF will have four daily flights to YUL this summer and two to YYZ. There also is a rumour of a new livery about to announced. Probably just a refresh. Two flight crews are regulars at a restaurant I frequent in downtown Toronto. One is Lufthansa (LH) and the other is Air France (AF). I actually get to practice my French and German from time to time. My accent in French is parisian I am told (gets me dirty looks in Quebec) as my two teachers and one prof all had that accent. I understand spoken German quite well but totally butcher tenses of my verbs as I am sure Markus can attest. The Air France crew say there is no chance of expansion beyond YUL and YYZ. They have some of the best connections to places like Lebanon and North Africa and is a big alternative to strike prone Italy. But airline crew don't always know the inside scoup they claim and can only give what they hear on the internal grapevines and their information can often be tainted by their particular perspective on an airline. I sit and listen to two factions (one pro-management and one pro-union) as they go back and forth on issues. Sound familiar?
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Post by Nickfro on Jan 22, 2009 22:04:48 GMT -8
lol "Cancelgar", good one...for that area, Trail airport is often a much better choice and only half an hour away. Haha! I wish we could have amended our plans to fly into Trail. Pacific Coastal flies there twice daily from South Terminal. Unfortunately their flights were cancelled for the 3 days before we had to come here, including yesterday. Kelowna was our most reliable option at the time. I'd like to do the Trail option just because of going thru the easier South Terminal. It's just that dicey time of year! At least the highway mountain passes are clear sailing right now. I've been told Paulson Summit between Grand Forks and Castlegar has been nasty this winter, but is just fine right now.
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D'Elete BC in NJ
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Jan 26, 2009 8:29:01 GMT -8
lol "Cancelgar", good one...for that area, Trail airport is often a much better choice and only half an hour away. Haha! I wish we could have amended our plans to fly into Trail. Pacific Coastal flies there twice daily from South Terminal. Unfortunately their flights were cancelled for the 3 days before we had to come here, including yesterday. Kelowna was our most reliable option at the time. I'd like to do the Trail option just because of going thru the easier South Terminal. It's just that dicey time of year! At least the highway mountain passes are clear sailing right now. I've been told Paulson Summit between Grand Forks and Castlegar has been nasty this winter, but is just fine right now. Tell me about it...stepfather had to go there on business around the same time...finally drove up due to the lack of flights and 4 wheel drive rentals. Me, it was Powell River...that was an adventure unto itself that left my wife and me thumbing a ride with a friendly trucker... ;D It did mean I got to ride a couple of ferries...something I didn't think I was going to have time for.
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Post by Nickfro on Jan 26, 2009 18:08:47 GMT -8
Well, I returned home from my work trip on Saturday. Jazz did end up flying into Cancelgar on Saturday morning, but since we chose to amend our flight to fly into Kelowna, we made it a complete round trip out of YLW. . .rental car arrangements kind of sealed that deal. -4 degrees when we left Castlegar on Sat am, drove over Paulson Summit and it was -18 in Grand Forks! I couldn't believe the temperature difference between towns that are only 100km apart. Both Air Canada flights that we were on were on their Embrarer E190 aircraft. 32 rows of seats and both flights were full! I hadn't been to the Kelowna Airport in a number of years and I must say, that airport has grown massively in size since my last time there.
Sorry folks, unlike the title of this thread, I have no pictures to contribute from my airline journey.
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D'Elete BC in NJ
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Jan 27, 2009 4:35:04 GMT -8
Well, I returned home from my work trip on Saturday. Jazz did end up flying into Cancelgar on Saturday morning, but since we chose to amend our flight to fly into Kelowna, we made it a complete round trip out of YLW. . .rental car arrangements kind of sealed that deal. -4 degrees when we left Castlegar on Sat am, drove over Paulson Summit and it was -18 in Grand Forks! I couldn't believe the temperature difference between towns that are only 100km apart. Both Air Canada flights that we were on were on their Embrarer E190 aircraft. 32 rows of seats and both flights were full! I hadn't been to the Kelowna Airport in a number of years and I must say, that airport has grown massively in size since my last time there. Sorry folks, unlike the title of this thread, I have no pictures to contribute from my airline journey. lol...me neither, given the overcast skys and fact that the flight left 2 hrs late...I'm trying to make up for it with photos from the other legs of our flights (some already posted in other threads). ;D
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Post by Kahloke on Mar 31, 2009 13:03:54 GMT -8
I ran across a link to some cool videos today while browsing around Airliners.net. This is a fairly in-depth look at a Virgin Atlantic 747-400 flight deck during takeoff and landing. The video is several years old, but for you airline buffs out there (a certain ferry nut comes to mind ) this is pretty cool. laughingsquid.com/how-to-land-a-747-at-san-francisco-international-airport/
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Post by Mike C on Apr 3, 2009 11:40:24 GMT -8
together we soarPORTLAND-LONG BEACH | ALASKA AIRLINES
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