The best/worst fam flight I ever had
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Join Date: Jan 1999
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The best/worst fam flight I ever had
....any suggestions?
I fondly remember some Cyprus Fam Flights in particular. Mostly because sometimes the time spent on board allowed me to say hello to the sharp end, get completely trolleyed, sober up, sleep and start again. Notably once when the route was Heathrow-Orly-Paphos-Larnaca, get to hotel bar to find it being propped up by some dodgy looking characters who I then discover to be fellow ATCOs from the previous day's trip.
Worst: BA Trident just after the ATCO strike in the early 80s. It was part of a BA simulator course at Cranebank part of the cadetship and we had to do a real trip to round it off. On the way out the Capt told me to sit down the back (ok). For the return from Manch it was the same crew but the plane was full; he said first that he wasn't having 'any ATCO in his cockpit as ATCOs are bankrupting my company'. Then the FO or station manager explained that CAA were paying for the course I was on, blah blah, so he eventually agreed to let me ride back to LHR up front but on the basis that I didn't say a word. I have never felt so embarassed in my life!
I fondly remember some Cyprus Fam Flights in particular. Mostly because sometimes the time spent on board allowed me to say hello to the sharp end, get completely trolleyed, sober up, sleep and start again. Notably once when the route was Heathrow-Orly-Paphos-Larnaca, get to hotel bar to find it being propped up by some dodgy looking characters who I then discover to be fellow ATCOs from the previous day's trip.
Worst: BA Trident just after the ATCO strike in the early 80s. It was part of a BA simulator course at Cranebank part of the cadetship and we had to do a real trip to round it off. On the way out the Capt told me to sit down the back (ok). For the return from Manch it was the same crew but the plane was full; he said first that he wasn't having 'any ATCO in his cockpit as ATCOs are bankrupting my company'. Then the FO or station manager explained that CAA were paying for the course I was on, blah blah, so he eventually agreed to let me ride back to LHR up front but on the basis that I didn't say a word. I have never felt so embarassed in my life!
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The Best was a trip in a Bristows SK61 around the Forte Oil Field Rigs and Fire Ship .... great grub , fantastic flying skills and after 3 hours virually no fuel left.
The worst was a BA Tristar Heathrow- De Gaulle where the Cabin Director told me that the Captain could spare me a few minutes just prior to landing.
I declined the invitation.
The worst was a BA Tristar Heathrow- De Gaulle where the Cabin Director told me that the Captain could spare me a few minutes just prior to landing.
I declined the invitation.
Join Date: Mar 2001
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Fam flights.......emmmm I should know what they are.......nope not done one recently........
Best were when at EGLF on a few bizjets. Not often a fam flight person OFFERS to sit in the back on their own! (and of course the hostie and a drinks cabinet!).
Great days
Best were when at EGLF on a few bizjets. Not often a fam flight person OFFERS to sit in the back on their own! (and of course the hostie and a drinks cabinet!).
Great days
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Third best fam flight was when I got five minutes in the right hand seat of an A320.
In the cruise, I got to disconnect the A/P and hand fly it.
I was told to 'just follow that pink line', then once I got the hang of it, 'weave off, then try and rejoin the line' . (Don't know what the passengers thought.)
Second best was the following day when I got into the left hand seat ten minutes after take off and stayed there until ten miles out of heathrow. They let me do all the 'work' while the f/o did the R/T.
...and my best fam flight was when I got the hosties phone number
In the cruise, I got to disconnect the A/P and hand fly it.
I was told to 'just follow that pink line', then once I got the hang of it, 'weave off, then try and rejoin the line' . (Don't know what the passengers thought.)
Second best was the following day when I got into the left hand seat ten minutes after take off and stayed there until ten miles out of heathrow. They let me do all the 'work' while the f/o did the R/T.
...and my best fam flight was when I got the hosties phone number
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Has to be when Air Malta found they could not get us back to the UK and we discovered the ramp littered with Aer Lingus aircraft which had just brought most of the male population of Ireland to see the Irish football team play the maltese.A little bit of negotiation with the EIN ground guys and 10 minutes later 2 BFS atco's were sitting in the back of their own B747 being flown back to Dublin...crew three ...pax two ...thereafter known as the "company hack" Thank you Shamrock!!
BRING BACK FAM FLIGHTS.......
BRING BACK FAM FLIGHTS.......
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I have been on some fabulous fam flights over the years, getting to know the crews you control every day and making some good friends out of it.
The worst i suppose had to be when I turned up at the flight and the flight deck knew nothing about me, the captains girlfriend had been given the jumpseat and then was promptly told by the company that it had to be me in there so you can imagine the atmosphere, I did say I would come back another day but in the end stayed , i am just grateful it was a Paris return flight so didn't have to stay to long with them.
The most eventful was onboard a Maersk B737 to Berlin, Great crew made to feel very welcome, but ended up having to push in circuit breakers etc for them during the flight as things kept going wrong , then upon arrival in Berlin the fun really started, sheet ice causing the aircraft to slide whilst parking on a remote stand , the captain refusing to let the PAX disembark as it was unsafe , negotiating for over an hour for an airbridge stand , then having to power back as the tug couldn't get a grip , several hours later we finally managed to get de-iced to return and had just seconds to spare on the time because of the long queue at the hold .
I have had some great fam flights particularly with British Airways who always went out of their way to make you feel wanted , the best I suppose has to be the night stop in New York and staying in the Crew hotel with them on my Birthday , not being allowed to put my hand in my pocket and drinking Long Island Ice teas until the early hours.
I agree with Eastern Wiseguy bring back fam flights
The worst i suppose had to be when I turned up at the flight and the flight deck knew nothing about me, the captains girlfriend had been given the jumpseat and then was promptly told by the company that it had to be me in there so you can imagine the atmosphere, I did say I would come back another day but in the end stayed , i am just grateful it was a Paris return flight so didn't have to stay to long with them.
The most eventful was onboard a Maersk B737 to Berlin, Great crew made to feel very welcome, but ended up having to push in circuit breakers etc for them during the flight as things kept going wrong , then upon arrival in Berlin the fun really started, sheet ice causing the aircraft to slide whilst parking on a remote stand , the captain refusing to let the PAX disembark as it was unsafe , negotiating for over an hour for an airbridge stand , then having to power back as the tug couldn't get a grip , several hours later we finally managed to get de-iced to return and had just seconds to spare on the time because of the long queue at the hold .
I have had some great fam flights particularly with British Airways who always went out of their way to make you feel wanted , the best I suppose has to be the night stop in New York and staying in the Crew hotel with them on my Birthday , not being allowed to put my hand in my pocket and drinking Long Island Ice teas until the early hours.
I agree with Eastern Wiseguy bring back fam flights
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What about the ATCO who went on a fam flight to Italy.
On the way back they suffered an engine failure after take off and the crew shut down the wrong engine.
I think they put it down in a field and all walked away.
On the way back they suffered an engine failure after take off and the crew shut down the wrong engine.
I think they put it down in a field and all walked away.
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Vertigo
Thanks for reminding me about that one; as I recall it was a BCAL (or BUA?) 1-11 out of Milan. The ATCO was allegedly Mike Bloodworth aka Major Bloodnock. I wonder if anyone knows if it is true?
Mike was (and hopefully still is) a nice chap; I remember him asking lots of detailed questions all the time at work. Someone said that he had a tape recorder with him on the F/F and having walked away from the crash confronted the Capt with a mike and asked if he could say why the aircraft crashed!
I suspect the reply was (unintelligible) as they say
Thanks for reminding me about that one; as I recall it was a BCAL (or BUA?) 1-11 out of Milan. The ATCO was allegedly Mike Bloodworth aka Major Bloodnock. I wonder if anyone knows if it is true?
Mike was (and hopefully still is) a nice chap; I remember him asking lots of detailed questions all the time at work. Someone said that he had a tape recorder with him on the F/F and having walked away from the crash confronted the Capt with a mike and asked if he could say why the aircraft crashed!
I suspect the reply was (unintelligible) as they say
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Mike Bloodworth, a name from the past indeed.
I was under the impression the incident took place at Corfu in the late sixties, with the aircraft running into the Lagoon at the eastern end of the runway. Fortunately, both Mike and his tape recorder were unscathed.
Regards to everyone at the Hippodrome of Dreams.
Sabredog.
I was under the impression the incident took place at Corfu in the late sixties, with the aircraft running into the Lagoon at the eastern end of the runway. Fortunately, both Mike and his tape recorder were unscathed.
Regards to everyone at the Hippodrome of Dreams.
Sabredog.
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Lots of great FAM flights, My Dad's retirement flight in particular, then there was the time I got to fly a T-39 for 45 minutes of approaches and pattern work.
But the worst I ever heard of happened to an old, old friend many years ago. He took up an Air Force Officer's offer of a ride in a B-36 Bomber. Supposed to be a 4-6 hour hop. Sometime during the ride, SAC called an alert as they were wont to do back then, and the B-36 and crew wound up making something like an 18-20 hour flight up over Alaska to near the North Pole and back to New Mexico via middle Canada.
Of course, his wife became worried near dark and began trying to phone someone at the base who could tell her where her dear husband was at. Naturally, SAC at that time wasn't in the habit of releasing information on the location of it's Bombers and crews. She became convinced there had been an accident and her husband was dead, and SAC was covering everything up.
Pete said she damned near killed him anyway when he came in the door next day......
But the worst I ever heard of happened to an old, old friend many years ago. He took up an Air Force Officer's offer of a ride in a B-36 Bomber. Supposed to be a 4-6 hour hop. Sometime during the ride, SAC called an alert as they were wont to do back then, and the B-36 and crew wound up making something like an 18-20 hour flight up over Alaska to near the North Pole and back to New Mexico via middle Canada.
Of course, his wife became worried near dark and began trying to phone someone at the base who could tell her where her dear husband was at. Naturally, SAC at that time wasn't in the habit of releasing information on the location of it's Bombers and crews. She became convinced there had been an accident and her husband was dead, and SAC was covering everything up.
Pete said she damned near killed him anyway when he came in the door next day......
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The ATCO on the "eventful" flight in Italy was in fact Brian Jones - currently Heathrow Tower. My best (and worst) fam flight was landing at JFK in a Concorde with a double hydraulic failure and veering off the side of the runway, but I won't bore you all with the details. Then there was the B747 trip when we had an airmiss and then were struck by lightning....
Bring back fam flights? Nah, far too dangerous! Tee hee.
Bring back fam flights? Nah, far too dangerous! Tee hee.
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You lucky ******s is all I can say!
I'm due to start training in Oct2003 and one of things I was really looking forward to was the 2weeks of fam trips....which has now been shelved.Any idea if they will ever come back.....or am I deluding myself?Fortunately in my previous life as a dispatcher I did a couple of jump seat trips,highlight being A320 Cat3b autoland into CDG...those a/c really do fly themselves!
P.s the double hydraulic failure on SSC sounds great.....feel free to bore me with the details anytime!
I'm due to start training in Oct2003 and one of things I was really looking forward to was the 2weeks of fam trips....which has now been shelved.Any idea if they will ever come back.....or am I deluding myself?Fortunately in my previous life as a dispatcher I did a couple of jump seat trips,highlight being A320 Cat3b autoland into CDG...those a/c really do fly themselves!
P.s the double hydraulic failure on SSC sounds great.....feel free to bore me with the details anytime!
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Best - Sitting on an Esky (cooler, chilli bin or whatever else you call it) between the two pilots, in a Lear Jet, doing 2 v 2 intercepts against Fa18's over NT, Australia.
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Best famflight was sitting in left hand seat of BAC 111 from DCS to Dieppe whilst the Capt was chatting to his friend down the back.
Worst was Chinook flight which engine failed on departure from oil rig. I thought I was going to end up in the North Sea but got away with hard landing back on the rig. Eventually when they brought me home the two crew had a full blown argument on whether they should return SVFR or IFR . The Capt was junior to the P2 in terms of company seniority and they forget there was an ATCO in the cockpit. Intresting.....
Worst was Chinook flight which engine failed on departure from oil rig. I thought I was going to end up in the North Sea but got away with hard landing back on the rig. Eventually when they brought me home the two crew had a full blown argument on whether they should return SVFR or IFR . The Capt was junior to the P2 in terms of company seniority and they forget there was an ATCO in the cockpit. Intresting.....
Three admissions of ATS staff illegally flying aircraft during Fam Flights, and/or occupying a control seat (if it isn't illegal, it should be). I wonder if the people who so stoutly asserted that this never takes place, after a TV programme last year (Confessions of Cabin Crew?), are reading this thread? If the demise of Fam Flights means an end to this practice - good; although the huge benefits to both sides of legal and safe Fam Flights are undisputed.
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Hello all!
I love the old fam flights....went ion a great one to milan and back with someone that halo knows quite well.
By the way, I am having a great laugh at the college for anyone that knows me! The work has started to pile up a bit now, but it is all good fun- a bit nerve racking on the sims the first couple of times tho.....'tug3 cleared take off....'!!!!! Great stuff!
I am also looking forward to the BA course where we get to have a couple of fam flights around europe!
All the best
LORI
I love the old fam flights....went ion a great one to milan and back with someone that halo knows quite well.
By the way, I am having a great laugh at the college for anyone that knows me! The work has started to pile up a bit now, but it is all good fun- a bit nerve racking on the sims the first couple of times tho.....'tug3 cleared take off....'!!!!! Great stuff!
I am also looking forward to the BA course where we get to have a couple of fam flights around europe!
All the best
LORI
Hew Jampton has a good point, be carefull who you admit it to. More than one pilot has been sacked for giving flying lessons on revenue flights and as CAA licence holders you may not come out of it smelling of roses either. Great fun I am sure but keep it under your hat.