As a regualr BA pax I read this with some alarm even dis belief, but I did as one person suggested and read the much longer thread which discussed this kind of situation in depth.
My intial reaction was God are they mad to carry on over the Polar route on three engines. However after reading all the details on the earleir post the it was clear four engines are very nice to have ensure a smooth and comfortable take off but once airborne any single engine is pretty much redundant as far as safety (as opposed to optimal operation) is concerned.
I never had a problem flying the same routes or long over water sectors on a DC 10 or 1011 and logically whats the difference when on a three engine 747 and what was a case of 'god werent they reckless' turns into an understanding of a rational and perfectly safe process.
On that subject thought I would take my life in my hand and try and pour a bit of oil on the troubled waters that sometimes occur on this site between the pros and the amateurs. That friction is toa degree understandable which is understandable but would like to make a couple of comments.
On the side of the pax the cabin crew and 'enthusiasts ' I do think we have a legitimate right to ask the odd question without being snapped at or derided . Other than for the freighter guys we are your customers and should be treated as such even if that involves a bit of patience-something I am sure is benerally regarded as virtue among airline pilots.. Customers today do feel they have the right to ask questions about all sorts of services and also about the conduct of professionals in all fields thats the way of the world
On the side of the professionals though I think the non flying folks should perhaps think first and make their points in a way that isnt downright disrespectful at times or just plain thoughtless at others. After all unlike other professionsals the crew are up their with you in the unlikely event things do go wrong.
My views were reinfoced recently when I had the good fortune to have a go in a real 73NG sim at LGW -(Xmas pressie from Mrs PB)
Great fun but a real eye opener even though I always believed that FS 2002/2004 was a million miles from the real thing.
Landing it from a set up 6 mile final witha qualified pilot in the right seat was not that hard. Thats cos all i had to do was steer it and judge the descent . I think I could have a shot at that for real.
What came across though were two things-theres an awful lot going on in your mind to just use the yoke on a clear day -the same process for real at night in the rain with a crosswind leaving aside any actual defect problems would rapidly stretch and probably overload most peoples brain capacity. I know I could not get anywhere near getting it down in those sorts of conditions and they happen every other day in Northern Europe.
I half expected that conclusion but the sim ride really reinfocred it when you folks minds get busy they do get very very busy indeed way beyond the capcity of most people even with the years of training and preactice involved.
The other memory I took away was the sheer power of the machines- they failed an engine at 1500 feet on take off and while I held the yaw easily ( because the guy on my right told me what to do) the performance seemed virtually unaffected. Iwas really surprised at how undramatic the event was and kind of fits back into the original theme of this thread that 3 engines on a 74 isnt a big deal ( Yes I know getting it back on the grounds a completely different story ))
Anyway to cut to the chase
I like this PPrune and admire the attitude Danny and Co have of letting people of all interests particpate. Its interesting , informative to regular users and often fun to read. I do wish some pilots would be a little more customer oriented rather than dismissing non flyers with contempt. Equally if not more important ( since all non PPs are clearly guests here) is that when non pilot people ask questions or post a 'story' they approach it in a respectful and genuine way rather than than a sensational form along the lines of ' I was amazed that a reputable airline could do this etc etc etc'
PB
( By the way the Sim ride was terrific fun and I would really recommend it to people interested in aviation; a real eye opener and run by a couple of terrific enthusiatic and informative profeesional pilots )