A37575
I disagree with a couple of your comments. First of all it is probably quite rare to find a pilot of any significant experience who is not well versed with the writings of Ernie Gann. The mere title of his classic
Fate is the Hunter evokes the uncertaintly and almost cruel whimsicalness with which fate can play a hand in
any type of flying.
I had excerpts read to me during a morning briefing in military flight school and I can assure you that almost every member of the class ran out to buy a copy that very weekend.
However the main point with which I disagree with you is your statement of
More's the pity because those were the days of real airmen rather than the flight deck automation managers of today...
Naturally I cannot pretend to speak for Gann, but I think he would be sorely disappointed that the subtilty of his writing seems to have been missed. Fate is a never tiring hunter. He knew it had always been so and he well knew that it would continue to be. I believe that he would not have been surprised of the recent events discussed in these fora--the A320 landing in the Hudson, the Emirates' incident in Melbourne, and tragically the Air France loss over the Atlantic.
Just as one had to put on the game face to guide a DC-2 or 3 down to mins in blowing snow, so I am certain that Gann would have recognized the two professional and well trained aviators in the cockpit of the Air France A330 trying everything in their skill set to salvage a viciously deteriorating situation near the Equator. I beleive Gann would recognize that while the equipment has changed and safety is light years ahead of what it was, that the cat and mouse game of the hunter and hunted is very much the same. If anything, Gann would probably say that his masterpiece is unfortunately one that will never be finished.
The last point is one that while we do much more "button pushing" today than the early pioneers and when I fly the 777 into London or Beijing or beyond that I am normally parked out on the ILS and I will freely admit that is not nearly as difficult as approaches that I flew in the military into places around Africa years ago but the changes from the pilots of the DC-2 trying to find the flarepots in the fog have been what the industry needs to maintain a level of safety. This is not, nor was it ever really, a story of self-actualization for who can be the lead-dog in the race to find out who the dude of all flying is by shooting the fixed card NDB with an engine out into 30K crosswinds etc. Remember, Gann started out many of those chapters with mention of aviators who had fallen in service. It was a risky business back then and there were many losses. I am sure those early pioneers would appreciate the changes that make it safer today to fly. For those need adventure in flying there are still a lot of avenues to take in one's free time. If you wish to fly the fixed-card NDB to blowing snow mins at the end of a 16 hour day I am sure you can do so!
Unless it is the only approach available however, I prefer that you just do it in your own airplane please
