Hotel Tango, agreed, reminiscing is fun but maybe should be moved to "Where Are They Now". All a bit damned serious now after 9-11. Quite right but we do get a bit carried away,sometimes, with ill thought out procedures like "Flight Deck Door Policy"............Passwords to be agreed at the Captain's Briefing, etc, etc. No dispute but let's think it through a bit. For you & others enjoying the fun; 5 years old, BOAC Constellation, Beirute-LHR via loadsa places, spent most of the time in the cockpit. 8 years old, regularly in the cockpit of MEA Viscounts, Tehran-Beirut & back. In fact, so regular, Ozzie skipper gave me his MEA wings. Wore them at school & got a regular beating but the chicks loved me ! Few would have thought that I made it to RHS Viscounts after sponsored pilot training. The chicks never doubted. Standing up behind the Captain on Cally DC7 & Britannia..................oh, a bit older then. Oh yeah, did I ever get a go at the controls of both. Then, multi cockpit visits & a seat in the Captain's chair honed my background & assisted me no end in getting into and staying with this glorious profession. Thanks guys; Moreton's DC3, BUA BAC 1-11, BUA VC10, Laker 707...............pass the tissues.
Quite right all you spoilsports. Different world & I regret, deeply, not being able to share the fun of the past with aspiring youngsters. But, what of that saying; "Rules are for the Guidance of wise men and the obeyance of idiots". Well, something like that.
Ooooh, forgot, Age 7, even got to steer the HMV Baltistan through the Red Sea because Captains allowed visits to the Bridge & the young Gmac to fling the cargo/pax vessel from side to side. Mega.
Bort(as we say in the north), different world today & highly regulated. Quite right. Boo hoo. Nasty terrorists spoling the fun, eh, Hotel Tango ?