Flight deck visits

[Georgeablelovehowindia]

"Such visits by passengers are not encouraged, but many readers may have made them, and the pattern of the occasion does not vary greatly. There is a rather confusing contrast between the light inside and outside the flight deck, a bewildering display of dials and gauges. Two or more crew members engage the visitor in disjointed conversation, switching on some of the more interesting displays like the radar. The pilots seem to have some desultory radio contact with the ground, and from time to time a hand may be lazily extended to adjust a throttle lever, or correct the automatic pilot. It is an atmosphere of bored disinterestedness, and after the inevitable effort has been made by the passenger to locate which of the many dials is the clock, he returns to the cabin very ready to believe what he has heard about the boring aspects of the pilot's life. Such visits are, especially to people with little imagination, disappointing." (Captain Lincoln Lee: Three Dimensioned Darkness - The World of the Airline Pilot.)

Captain Lee, a BOAC Comet captain, wrote that in 1962. Sums it up very well, eh? However, when the rules prevent people with a genuine interest in being there - air traffic controllers, or the general secretary of BALPA who had to ride the flightdeck of a KLM 777 to appreciate the job that we do - surely it's time for a bit of common sense from the D.of T. Not that I'm holding my breath!