Travolta arrives at Lanseria

[Selfloader]

John Travolta arrived at Lanseria today in his 707, actually a B707-138B, which is a rarity, as only 13 units were built and most of them were axed upon retirement from airline service, according to the British Daily Mail. Personally I have never seen such bright (dazzling) braid on a jacket (and cap) in my life. Still, a helluva nice guy (I shared a DC-4 with him on on trip to Oshkosh) and a thorough gentleman.
Read more: World Cup 2010: John Travolta and pregnant wife Kelly Preston fly to South Africa | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1285566/World-Cup-2010-John-Travolta-pregnant-wife-Kelly-Preston-fly-South-Africa.html#ixzz0qT5pwzPj)

[Sir Herbert Gussett]

Doesn't he just have a PPL and fly as the First Officer?

[NOTOT]

Type Ratings
P/B-707 P/B-720 P/CE-500 P/EA-500S P/G-1159 P/HS-125 P/LR-JET

Limits
ENGLISH PROFICIENT.
AUTHORIZED EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT: SO-G2.
B-707 SIC PRIVILEGES ONLY.
CE-500 (VFR ONLY).

Roughly translated from Latin: A serious WEEKEND WARRIOR!!!:rolleyes:

[Vlamgat]

:cool:Ah Ah Ah Ah Staying Alive Staying Alive!!

Yeah Notoot!! I was I had such a lovely wife when I was a Weekend warrior!

[Selfloader]

SoCal, if he only has second in command privileges what are those limits on the flight deck? Can he fly sectors and do an ILS appraoch if necessary. What I am trying to find out is he a fully functioning second officer and what about the four bars on the sleeve?

[Agaricus bisporus]

Well of course he can "fly sectors" and and ILS. What on earth do you imagine a 2ic does, make the tea?

All it means is that he isn't allowed to Captain his own 707, and as it is private and not an airline operation he can wear an Admiral's jacket over pyjama trousers or any other damn thing he wants if he so pleases.

Just makes him looks dreadfully poseurish and a bit insecure, that's all.

[Unlucky Nelson]

I should imagine that he can do what ever he damn well pleases on his plane and wear a bikini while he is doing it if that is what he wants!

111:E

[chuks]

This is where his main career as top Scientology bod hit a speedbump, kissing his PA on the lips at the foot of the airstairs. It made all the redtops and caused Scientology World HQ to throw a wobbly, since when Tom Cruise has had to take his place as prime figurehead. Never mind, he still gets to do a lot more of what he wants than I get to do of what I want to do, including dressing up posh to pose with his 707.

I had one of those once but I put it on a radiator and it melted.

[Whenwe]

Its on my licence, i have few hours on it and I love it. Its still made of steel ........... well almost!!:ok:

[airmuster]

I just hope he and his family have a great time.

Who cares how many stripes he has on his sleeves, I've met so called professional pilots (airline types) who really don't deserve the ones they have.

[chuks]

I worked hard for my professional qualifications and I really, really do not like seeing someone pretending to be an airline captain when he's just playing dress-up! If that makes me look like someone who is envious, jealous or whatever in your eyes then I can definitely live with that.

Even the losers you cite, above, at least they are properly licensed, yes? They passed the tests when JT didn't.

[four engine jock]

Envious, jealous.
That’s exactly what you are.
Why does it bother you so much?
Has he taken someone’s job? NO.
Here is man that loves aviation and the Mighty B707.
Wish I could do the same. And I sure you would too!!!!!

[Selfloader]

Whoa chaps! All I was trying to do was establish Travolta's qualifications. It wasn't all that long ago that I saw a pic of him standing on the stairs of a Qantas B747, the caption of which said he had qualified on type which I took to mean that he had achieved a senior comm or an ATPL. Now JT told me quite openly he was never academically inclined (like me) which made me wonder how he did it. That's all. I doff my cap to him for achieving whatever qualifications he has and more especially for the positive publicity he has generated for aviation and the ageing aerries he has given new life to. Remember the yellow and black MATS Lockheed Connie? He part-owned it at one time.

[gerpols]

Agaricus biswhateverporus,

I think your reply shows a the true sense of humour all pilots should have !! Keep on sending replies like this!
Me, and a few other aviators,:D laughed our heads off !!
All the best saturdaynightfevour.....staying alive...!!

GARY

[Jim-J]

4 stripes? He acting. He's in character.....

[xuejiesandi]

For me he's poster boy of aviation, a brand ambassador...some one who is respected in & respects aviation...from my side he can wear 4 or 14 strips by all means:ok:.

[chuks]

JT is in the papers as giving a big boost to the Wankeroos, some Australian soccers. Something like that anyway, if I could only find my glasses...

So what happens when the Aussies come up against the Septics? Who is he going to root for then, huh?

Me, I am rooting for North Korea. Hey, someone has to!

Envious, me? Oh yeah, and likely to be arrested for stalking Kirstie Allie too! Get a life; my stripes were earned, not bought or given to me.

[Savoia]

I think Jim-J probably put it best: "4 stripes? He's acting. He's in character...."
Travolta has an arrangement with Qantas and the 70's era uniform and aircraft paint job are part of the image they have agreed to promote.

I suspect that he consider's the Captain's rank as being an appropriate symbol of an airline pilot and that he wears it not as a snub to the professionals but possibly as a tribute to them.

Yes he's taking a mild liberty, a few too many centimeters braid, but as mentioned by others, its his show and its not a bad one and that gives him the right to play by his own rules.

I wonder how much smoke that thing puts out on take-off?

[Agaricus bisporus]

I wonder how much smoke that things put out on take-off?

Well, with all the hot air, guff, puff and bluster that spews from those scientologists I doubt it would be noticeable...

[toolowtoofast]

If I owned five jets including a 707 and had them parked on my front lawn, I'd wear 6 stripes, just to wind up the precious ones. Hell I'd probably have them tattooed on my shoulders!

[Flying Binghi]

Dream Home...............

http://mediumatlarge.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/travoltapilotrex_468x502.jpg


john travolta jet pictures - Google Search (http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENAU374&q=john+travolta+jet+pictures&aq=7&aqi=g8&aql=&oq=john+travolta+jet&gs_rfai)=

[kotakota]

Leave him alone , he is not licenced to carry fare-payers , so is not going to kill any of them , unlike a few dodgy ATPLers I could name.

[Yellow & Blue Baron]

Savoia, welcome to the PpRuNefarm! You wondered how much dust JTs 707 might put out on take off! Well, here's a non-photo-shopped example: (Lanserians take cover!!!)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Boeing_KC-135_J57_takeoff.JPEG/800px-Boeing_KC-135_J57_takeoff.JPEG

:)

[Cardinal Puff]

He's an actor. He bullsh*ts for a living. Don't care what he does but wearing one of those bondage slave hats the poor barstewards in the airlines hobble about in is a self inflicted injury IMO.

As for the stripes, if they help him get laid, it's all within the rules. ARRSE's Waltfinder General has approved walting for legovers.

[chuks]

I was based at Miami International Airport around 1980, when you still had old jets operating cargo flights.

I often could get a ringside seat for the takeoff of one of those old things as it was cleared for takeoff. First came an earsplitting racket and then vast clouds of jet-black smoke as this dinosaur slowly gathered speed down the 10 thousand-foot runway.

From not very far along all there was to see was this extending cloud of inky smoke that just went and went until finally you were thinking, "It's the Big One! Hit the Crash Alarm!" but then a tiny white speck would appear at the head of the black cloud, making its shallow climb-out over Biscayne Bay.

It was a good show and a very good introduction to the concept of V1, Vr, V2 when all I had known was small airplanes except for doing the ATP theoretical test. "Ah, so this is what they meant!" was all I could think as I saw that this smoky old thing must have used about 9 thousand 9 hundred feet of concrete to get airborne there. Wanna bet those guys are really, really focused as they pass V1, waiting for Vr and/or the end of the pavement to show up?

This is not something you want to "try at home." I think it is best left to the professionals, not to rich amateurs in costume. Let this admittedly beautiful old 707 lose one just at V1 and we might well be reading about JT in all the papers. Anyone else here know the story of Arthur Wolk and his beautifully restored jet? The Atlas Cargo head man and his L39?

If I seem a bit negative about well-heeled amateurs, well... I once invested about a thousand bucks in a check-out with one of those German wheeler-dealer types, hoping to hook up with him and get a job flying in Germany instead of West Africa. I did a Twotter check-out, when it was fairly clear to me that his mind was not focused 100% on the business of flying but more on the flying business. About a month later a dinky little King Air 90 killed him daid after he had rushed through his checks, lifted off into the dark sky and then followed his senses and the unstabilised AI to his death, going into a shallow descent right after lift-off and then hitting a tree to end up in a big pile of crap in a potato field. Too bad for him of course but I was also mildly peed-off that now he was no use to me as a contact unless I wanted to use Madame Zora and her Ouija Board.

[xuejiesandi]

:d:d:d:d:d:d:d:d:d

[PhoenixDC]

When you pay the Piper, you can damn well do as you please!
Considering the attitude of ground personnel at African airports, I don’t blame him for dressing up.
So let the whiners and whinges, wind in their necks, and let us enjoy those who promote aviation.

[doubleu-anker]

Who is he supporting? He has been known to support Australia.

Where I come from, we support anyone playing Australia. :}

[Sir Herbert Gussett]

I wouldn't want that homophobic scientology-weilding baffoon "representing" me or my industry at all.

What an ostentatious fool plodding around an airport with his "full uniform" on.... as soon as I get through the airport the hat goes in the boot along with the jacket, flight bag etc. I would happily fly my paying passengers around with a Hula skirt on. I hate these people that walk around being patronising with their noses raised at others with their crappy little dress-up uniforms which their airline buys in bulk fairly cheaply anyway.

If you haven't earned your gold bars & wings DON'T WEAR THEM....!!

TAKE NOTE FLYING SCHOOLS! I was at an airfield on the Eastern side of Scotland and watched a Cessna 152 roll up to see an instructor with 4 gold bars pathetically climb out. I seen him later that evening walking out of McDonalds with his "uniform" still on. :ugh:

[mach decimal 83]

Oh my, but some of you are so pathetic. This is the exact reason why I visit Pprune so little and haven't posted for over 2 years. Here I was looking forward to see a few nice pics, read up on the B707's arrival and what do I get apart from that? Some guys winching about a PPL with 4 stripes. Who in this right mind cares about that sort of this thing? All I can say is, shame, I feel for you okes.

[chuks]

It's like a lot of things, if you look on and say nothing then it is as if this is okay with you. Well, for a lot of good reasons, playing dress-up when real-world skills are involved is not okay with many of us. You can read of people who pretend to be doctors and paramedics, even and this sort of pretense on JT's part can be pure catnip to the weak-minded that way inclined, to pretend to be more accomplished as a pilot than you really are is an invitation to serious trouble. Never mind that the facts are on file about his qualifications; he is posing as the Captain of that aircraft and that is enough for me.

It doesn't even need to be pure pretense to be dangerous; have a look at the Air Florida crash for an example of this.

I have no real problem with rich guys owning beautiful toys, not being a Communist. It is the pretense that bothers me, that is all. To me this is not promoting aviation per se but promoting oneself and in a rather childish way. Can you think of anyone else who dresses up in this way to fly an airliner with a PPL? This is on the level of the amateur yachtsman in his little white cap with "scrambled eggs" on its brim, as if he were some sort of admiral in real life. It's just "walting" when you get down to brass tacks.

If JT would simply get the proper licence and rating then there would really be nothing much to carp about so that it's a mystery to me why he hasn't bothered to do that. If he has the money for the airplane and the flash uniform then I am sure he has the money for the training to pass the written and practical tests so what is stopping him, given that it really will not eat up a whole lot of time? Am I the only one who has to ask this obvious question?

Any professional pilot who has no problem with someone impersonating a professional pilot, well... why then complain about those of us who do have a problem with that? If you are that amazingly tolerant then extend that tolerance to all, and best of luck with the state of things that will bring.

[Sir Herbert Gussett]

If JT would simply get the proper licence and rating then there would really be nothing much to carp about so that it's a mystery to me why he hasn't bothered to do that. If he has the money for the airplane and the flash uniform then I am sure he has the money for the training to pass the written and practical tests so what is stopping him, given that it really will not eat up a whole lot of time? Am I the only one who has to ask this obvious question?

Probably because he is too thick to pass the exams! If he had a sense of brain power he would realise that playing dress-up aged 56 is not in the least bit "cool"!!

[PhoenixDC]

Whatever happened to Cavortingcheetah? At least his replies were refreshing.
It appears that this post is now deteriorating due to the envious input of Ranting Ricardo wanabees.

[keitaidenwa]

Back to topic. Lanseria was closed today due to a belly-up landing. The reporters are quick to fill us with the most important detail that Travoltas takeoff was delayed, before diving into less important details like that nobody was hurt :rolleyes:

News - South Africa: Emergency landing shuts Lanseria (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20100613135759223C865411)

More professional accident account at:

Accident: West Cape Ferries SW4 at Lanseria on Jun 13th 2010, gear up landing (http://avherald.com/h?article=42cdf2f8&opt=0)

[chuks]

It takes a certain amount of brains to be an actor. They don't just speak those lines off the top of their heads, do they? JT is a good actor so that I don't think he's stupid at all, whatever some of us might think of the wisdom of behaving as he does with his personal 707 or signing up for the full Scientology trip.

I have flown with not a few guys with FAA ATPs who were distinctly average in their ability so that I would assume that someone with the brains and experience of JT should be able to get one too. (Hey, I got one...)

If I were saying off the top of my head that he could never do that, that it was beyond him, well, that would come across as being sort of mindlessly negative and probably envious, yes. All I am saying is that if he's really so keen on aviation, then he should show some respect and get the qualifications appropriate to the (real life) role he is playing in it! You know, play by the rules, not just play.

[PLovett]

FFS, to all those banging on about him wearing a uniform the answer was given in post #19:

Travolta has an arrangement with Qantas and the 70's era uniform and aircraft paint job are part of the image they have agreed to promote.

Now, for all those "qualified" to wear the cap and braid, perhaps you could also learn to comprehend.

[chuks]

Well, I have an arrangement with the Federal Aviation Administration and they can be sort of bothersome. Stupid me, I should have done a deal with Qantas instead! Thanks for pointing out my lack of comprehension, Bub.

Why the quotes around "qualified," by the way? (That Travolta is not qualified, that is a matter of record and one you seem to be okay with and, really, if this is okay with Qantas who am I to question any private deal they get into. Of course a logical question then must be if any of their other pilots are just given a flashy uniform and turned loose upon the gullible public, or do they have to go through all that boring stuff to become "qualified"?) Why should you care about that,"qualification," so long as the uniform looks good and the airplane is nice and shiny? I thought I was the one being picky here!

A local store selling work clothing went out of business, when I got a deal on an industrial-quality high-viz vest. Working as a pilot can be a real bummer so, sod the qualifications, I pretend to be a garbage collector sometimes. Top that one, John Travolta!

Err, should I have cleared this with Qantas first? I did ask the Church of Scientology, up in Hamburg but all they wanted to do was sell me a copy of Dianetics and give me some counseling to clear my troubled mind.

[Cardinal Puff]

That auditing is a bugger. Not only did I get to hold the jam jars, but for being a really good boy, they gave me 220V through them.

Enlightening....:E

[four engine jock]

Chuks
You must be a very frustrated, bored, and uptight individual to write things like this.
Get a life dude!!!!
I am sure if you had his money you would do whatever you wanted.
Give the guy a break.
As long as fly’s the B707 he's ok in my books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep it up JT.
But iam sure he does not waste his time reading PPRUNE.

[ChiefT]

[quote]
Well of course he can "fly sectors" and and ILS. What on earth do you imagine a 2ic does, make the tea?
[\quote]

SIC = Sandwich In Cabin or Serves In Cabin? ;-D

Just jokin'

[chuks]

I never even got to pre-solo or whatever the Scientologists call that and the money ran out. Xenu ate my lunch!

I understand that that Hamburg "Church" has been hit with a wave of cancellations. Some trouble with the Socceroos I guess: They had just been backed by Xenu, Top Clear Number Two Jet 707 Pilot JT and Qantas when everyone in the Church was naturally expecting World Domination. Instead they were giving a really hard spanking by the Germans so that now they are all being audited as these words hit the page plus sceptical boxheads are storming the doors of the Hamburg "Church" wanting their money back on Dianetics and DVDs of Battlefield Earth starring Guess Who, having seen what happens to those who get the kiss of death from Xenu. I mean, it's worse than a campaign endorsement from Barack Obama.

Not another peep out of me about this painful subject lest JT fly back in to boost the U.S. team. On the other hand, if he wants to give the North Koreans some support, well, go for it!

[Katamarino]

Back to topic. Lanseria was closed today due to a belly-up landing. The reporters are quick to fill us with the most important detail that Travoltas takeoff was delayed, before diving into less important details like that nobody was hurt

To be fair, the article says it was a group of "Journalists" on board, so their well being is arguably less important anyway :E

[chuks]

I thought Californians spent their time in such a state of bliss that recognising conflict, contrariness, combativeness, imbalance, negative auras or whatever was quite beyond their ken. You know, the golden land of, "Whatever, Dude..."

I don't spend a lot of time obsessing about actors playing dress-up. If one wants to roll down Sunset in an up-armored Hummer and the next in a Prius, followed by some fool riding a Harley without a helmet, should this be a matter of deep concern to me? Here it was simply that Mr Travolta chose to appear upon the aviation scene, when I just had to pipe up with my carping about his near-total lack of formal qualifications, since some of the easily-fooled really do think that he's fully qualified because of the shiny gold braid and the shiny airplane too. ("You mean that Qantas just gave him the uniform of a four-striper to wear despite his not holding a professional licence? How can that be?" Well, I guess you better buy a copy of Dianetics and read it closely, for the sub-text, to figure this one out.)

I am now off on a new topic, the fortunes of the North Korean football team, led as they are by another sort of L. Ron Hubbard figure, Kim Jong Il but not so very ill, feeling better already in fact.

You go back to grazing upon the lotus and I promise to leave JT and his shiny toy in peace until the next time he wafts onto the world stage trailing clouds of glory and unburnt Jet A. Haiti, South Africa, where next? Well, anywhere with about ten thousand feet of paved runway, I guess!

[nugpot]

Chuks,

I see that after the FlyAfricans did not agree with you, you had to give PPRuNe a try. I don't think that people would think that John Travolta is an airline captain. Even if they did, I don't think that it has any influence on me or my status as an airline captain. If your four bars are so important to you that the fact that JT wears them causes you to whinge on multiple aviation forums, then I suggest some professional help.

If on the other hand your problem is with Scientology (which I suspect is the real reason), then I suggest you take this fight to some religious forum where someone might care. Pilots come in all colours, shapes, sizes and religious beliefs. Even agnostics or atheists can become airline captains.....

John Travolta wears four stripes on a Qantas uniform as an actor who is a goodwill ambassador for Qantas. Take your fight up with them. We actually don't care.

[Unlucky Nelson]

Nugpot I could not agree more. Who gives a damn what he wears or believes in. He could wear a bloody bikini if he wants. So what. it does not affect anyone.................except maybe chuks.

111

[chuks]

My goodness! "Two to one," is it? And to be caught posting on multiple fora, a clear sign of a disordered mind, or so says someone else who does exactly that. Err...

Yeah, I have a problem with people who impersonate qualified airmen and I have a problem with Scientology too and in John Travolta I get a "twofer," don't I? On the other hand, it's not a big problem, just a small problem and one I get to post about for free here and over there too. Ain't the internet grand?

Stand by for a little while and you may find the score changing on this, even if we are in overtime.

[nugpot]

Stand by for a little while and you may find the score changing on this, even if we are in overtime.
Why? Are you planning to get a few more usernames?

[chuks]

Be careful or I will sic the RWS on you.

No, odd as it must seem to you, not everyone shares your, and many others', childish enthusiasm for shiny braid and shiny airplanes.

The thing is, JT puts in these appearances to get attention. I think we can both agree with that, yes? What, you think Qantas made him "an offer he couldn't refuse" to get him to dress up like that?

He gets one sort of attention from folks like you, just "Gee whiz, what a purty airyplane, and that gold braid sure does shine!" so this simple trick does work to some extent.

I just want to give him a rather different sort of attention, that is all. Tell those who might not know the difference that he does not hold an ATP but a PPL and that without even a command endorsement on the shiny airyplane. He's a poser, a walt, a charlatan to a greater or lesser degree.

Am I a mean, hateful, insanely jealous person to write that? Or is it that I see this whole charade as a misuse of a couple of the tools of our trade, namely a four-stripe uniform and an aircraft in airline livery, used in combination?

I really do appreciate the use of this forum (and that other one too) to be able to speak up on such things. This is not something that is going to ruin the game for everyone, someone playing airline pilot but I really do not see it as a Good Thing no matter what you, Qantas or the Church of Scientology might think, say or do. (Oh, yeah, the Scientologists come into this too. Check out who he carried to Haiti and why.)

If you and others disagree, that is fine with me; this is not a popularity contest, otherwise I would just coo about what a lovely machine that 707 really is and leave it at that. I think this goes a lot deeper than the paint on that 707, though. I might well be wrong to think that but I don't care and I assume that makes what I have to write here even more annoying to some. It is all those negative engrams, you see, not really my fault at all...

[chuks]

How do you know this with such a degree of certainty, that I am "entirely wrong"? I would have thought this is something where you have a spectrum of opinion, as with most things.

You have the usual yokels out there on one end, when they are simply captivated by anything shiny (gold braid) or loud (a Boeing 707) or loud and shiny (a highly-polished Boeing 707 doing a low pass with a slow roll over a NASCAR race, just about the coolest thing ever). To them JT with his stripes and his airyplane are just pure magic and I am sure they wouldn't hear a word said against any of this.

At the other end you have... just me, all alone? Perhaps but that still doesn't mean that no one else has at least an iota of scepticism about this whole carry-on, does it? I am sure that I have read others questioning at least some of what is going on with this whole "dress up like an airline pilot" thing of his, not that they might take it as far as I have. So that makes me entirely wrong, does it?

Does that mean that you and your like-minded chums are entirely right, then?

Does this certainty of yours extend to opinions about other things to or is it reserved for just my stance re: John Travolta? I really would like to know more so please, do tell.

You may wish to consider that at least one other poster here has twice expressed the opinion that Mr Travolta should perhaps wear "a bikini," when that must be taken as caring, at least caring enough to offer his opinion, so that I cannot be taken to be entirely alone in what I choose to write about this matter.

[Parrot]

Chuks, you take actors far too seriously:bored:

I have it on good authority that Buzz Lightyear never fully qualified for his astronauts ticket either, perhaps he should be your next target;)

[Unlucky Nelson]

Maybe after Buzz you can give Luke Skywalker a go. I know for a fact the SACAA has no record of his licence. And he has to wear that stupid robe as well.

In fact I heard the other day that Darth Vader is selling fake Viper ratings.

111

[chuks]

I will leave Buzz Lightyear, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader to you two to deal with. You are probably far more qualified in that regard. My generation knows only John Carter, Doc Savage, Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon.

I will continue to keep an eye out for the doings of JT and his very odd "church," with your kind permission of course.

BTW, Unlucky, where does the desire to see a man in a bikini flying a 707 come from? That is one very bizarre image. A 707, well, of course, everyone wants to see one of those. A man wearing a bikini, err, if you say so... The two together though, that shakes the mind like a madman shaking a dead geranium... You might want to go get audited, just in case. I am sure there must be a Church of Scientology just around the corner from you with auditors standing by ready to help. Cash only...

Will JT return for the next outing of the Socceroos? (They come up against the Black Stars of Ghana in just two days, so expect another spanking.) What will he be wearing then? If it's a bikini then we will know for sure that he reads PPRuNe so... "Tune in on the 19th!"