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A question for the pilots


ChrisL

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45 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

How is it that someone not trained to fly an airplane could take off and do those maneuvers?  Is the technology so user friendly any reasonably smart person can figure it out or should we not buy the story he had no training other than video games?

No, it's the type of espresso up here, Chris.

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2 minutes ago, Further said:

I work with a guy who is really into airplane pilot games / simulators. He says they are plane specific and pretty detailed. The games also have specific airports in them.

 

I guess if you are not worried about coming down safely the going up is easy?!?!!  Seems really fishy to me.

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He was trained on some of the cockpit systems as he worked as a part of the "plane moving team".  This gives him some ability at ground maneuvering.  He backed the plane out with a ground tractor, got it pointed the right way and climbed onboard.

Now he needs to know how to start the engines.  If successful then getting to the runway and getting up to speed to take off is doable.

He didn't have to navigate, stay level or operate many of the other systems.  I don't think he was worried about overspeeding or pulling too many g's based on the videos I've seen.

A good landing would have been a lot more difficult.

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Just now, maddmaxx said:

He was trained on some of the cockpit systems as he worked as a part of the "plane moving team".  This gives him some ability at ground maneuvering.  He backed the plane out with a ground tractor, got it pointed the right way and climbed onboard.

Now he needs to know how to start the engines.  If successful then getting to the runway and getting up to speed to take off is doable.

He didn't have to navigate, stay level or operate many of the other systems.  I don't think he was worried about overspeeding or pulling too many g's based on the videos I've seen.

A good landing would have been a lot more difficult.

Isn't flying a twin engine plane fairly complex though?  Taking off & Doing the maneuvers & such seems like it would take some additional knowledge but I really don't know.  Hoping @Wilbur chimes in with his $.02 worth.

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1 hour ago, ChrisL said:

How is it that someone not trained to fly an airplane could take off and do those maneuvers?  Is the technology so user friendly any reasonably smart person can figure it out or should we not buy the story he had no training other than video games?

 

10 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

Firstly, You can find "how-to" videos all over YouTube.  This includes starting a Q400 aircraft.   Flight simulators in the form of Microsoft games provide good fundamental information.  You can find checklists for aircraft on the internet.  

The Dash 8 or Q 400 in this case, is probably the easiest transport category airplane to fly.  It has a very high lift wing and forgiving flight characteristic.  On a beautiful day, anybody with just a little knowledge could do what he did.  Pilots however, are trained to do it flawlessly in all weather conditions out with engines on fire and hydraulic systems failing.  We are even trained to land them.  This kid got his landing training from the 911 invaders. 

It aint difficult. 

Good question and a good answer. 

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5 hours ago, Wilbur said:

The Dash 8 or Q 400 in this case, is probably the easiest transport category airplane to fly.  

Pilots however, are trained to do it flawlessly in all weather conditions out with engines on fire and hydraulic systems failing.

Boy, those planes sound like real pieces of crap!  You'd think it would be cheaper to fix the planes right the first time instead of training all those pilots to deal with planes that catch fire all the time or fall apart in the air.

 

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2 hours ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said:

Boy, those planes sound like real pieces of crap!  You'd think it would be cheaper to fix the planes right the first time instead of training all those pilots to deal with planes that catch fire all the time or fall apart in the air.

 

Yay!  Thaddeus is back.

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Years ago an US Air Force aircraft mechanic decided he wanted to go home. He was stationed in England at the time. So he stole a C-130 4-engine cargo aircraft the usually had a crew of at least 4 people to fly it. He did have a private pilots license but that was for single engine aircraft. Pretty impressive that he got it off the ground, but then he crashed (or was shot down) over the English Channel. This was well before video games or personal computers in general.

 

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/03/29/what-happened-to-the-air-force-mechanic-who-stole-a-c-130-in-a-drunken-desperate-bid-to-return-home/

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