I've often thought that Mr Bean could make a really good sketch out of looking at the forward looking camera screen and playing with the "remote control".

As he does, the aircraft starts to respond to the control.

I'n sure that him doing it would be funnier than my plot summary!

Years and years ago on the B737 flight (multistops) between Vancouver and Whitehorse one of the Captains had his own entertainment.

Once at cruise he would turn the aircraft over to the first officer, and then tie two strings to the back of his seat. He would then back out of the cockpit holding one string in each hand. The copilot would watch the tension on the strings and when the right one was tightened he would bank right. When the left was tight he would bank left (etc.) (Of course nobody in the cabin would see any of this)

The captain would then get as far as the first row of seats and ask one of the passengers sitting there if they would mind holding onto the strings while he went to the loo. He would explain that the copilot had called in sick that morning and he had to fly solo. He really needed the loo and would the passenger oblige by holding the strings tied to the wheel. Most often the pax would agree and the captain would disappear into the lavatory. The copilot would then initiate a series of slow banks causing the passenger to pull on the opposite string. After a few minutes of this the Captain would come out of the loo, take the strings back, say thank you, and return to the cockpit. Nothing further was said but the cabin erupted in laughter.

I saw this myself a couple of times on that otherwise very boring flight, and many of the regulars knew the game as well.

Impossible today though :bored:

Perhaps we need a thread 'playing jokes on the pax'? But it would have to be in 'Aviation History and Nostalgia'. ;)

Thread Drift

My nephew told me this;
Whilst working on the Jetstream 41 in the 1990s, they had many visitors to the office in those days on domestic routes (in another country).

One young woman was particularly pretty but, sadly, particularly gullible. The Cpt invited her to stay on the jump seat for landing and my nephew was told to give the briefing.

When he got to the point about possibly having to jump out of the side window and shimmy down the rope ... she queried this. He replied:
"If I go out that window - don't hesitate - but you'll know what to do as I have <airline name> regulation shoes and printed on the soles is: FOLLOW ME."

Quote:

The air tube headsets were £1 to hire for the trip

And the cabin crew loved them! There were 'cottage industry's' around recycling them, allegedly, with some folks re-sealing them in their plastic bags using a travelling iron!

There was one chap who was said to have bought a 50,000 headset house.

£1 per trip to hire....yup, sounds about right, equivalent to perhaps £10-20 today! As a young boy it was completely beyond my ability, at that time I was getting £1 per whole school term in pocket money! That's why myself and my brother were so fond of the TWA flight attendants who gave them to us free.

http://cdn.head-fi.org/f/f4/350x263p...IMG_0169a.jpeg

For the youngsters reading, this is what we are talking about. Uncomfortable to use as they never sat straight, always managing to bend up on one side and down on the other. There were mini speakers in the arm rest and the sound travelled up plastic tubes. With the introduction of the SONY WALKMAN in the early 1980s, small, light and cheap headphones were being mass produced and these took over.

Someone came up with an adaptor that plugged into the socket and contained a microphone and amplifier which enabled normal headphones to be used.

Yes and crew preyed that a movie would break down in a zone and have to refund the £1 or $2.50 back. They always claimed on paper more than they gave back to passengers. Guess where the 'extra' cash went?