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Do You Wave?

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Old 20th September 2012 | 16:10
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From: Nova Scotia
Do You Wave?

When airliners pass close to each other are you able to see well enough to wave to each other? If so, do you wave?
Just curious
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Old 5th October 2012 | 21:22
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From: The Winchester
Well, not waving because it was dark but I kid you not I once got into a very slow exchange of morse using torches on the north Atlantic tracks one night a few years back ..... ( well it was 3 AM and we were very bored) ..
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Old 5th October 2012 | 22:00
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From: Delsey
Christ, I hope you reported the GNE!
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Old 8th October 2012 | 00:36
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From: The Netherlands
Once when I was chilling out at Schiphol a little while back the pilots in a plane waved during pushback, so I waved back and took their picture. Does that count?
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Old 8th October 2012 | 07:31
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From: london
A Pilots farewell

... An elderly relative was telling of the times when intrepid aviators flew
machines of canvass and wire that as an aircraft circled a few
hundred feet above he would wave to the pilot - who waved back -
"And that was his fatal mistake" quipped a listener to much merriment.

...
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Old 8th October 2012 | 07:39
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From: down south
We always used to wave, and they would wave back.

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Old 8th October 2012 | 07:54
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From: Chester
What kind of wave was it? Not you Tony C by any chance?

At night when passing in opposite directions on the same airway some will flash lights and some will respond.
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Old 8th October 2012 | 22:43
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From: London
Thumbs up Gatwick Air Bridge - Pilots often wave !

When using the Gatwick Airport Air Bridge on several occasions we have seen pilots wave back to PAX (usually children) who have stopped to watch aircraft which are taxiing and about to pass underneath the bridge.

http://simflight.com/wp-content/uplo.../Airbridge.jpg


Our grandson is a keen aircraft spotter and loves to go over the giant bridge.

We are not so keen due to the distance to walk to the North Terminal, especially last time when the escalators were out of action !

Last edited by sanjaime; 8th October 2012 at 22:52.
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Old 9th October 2012 | 07:46
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From: London
The OP's question is similar to one I've been meaning to ask for ages: do you also sometimes recognise your colleagues' voices over ATC channels?

I suppose it would apply particularly to Ground/Tower channels when you've spoken to/seen each other in the crew room but then gone out to different aircraft to operate different flights? Or are the messages transmitted just too short to tell?
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Old 9th October 2012 | 14:02
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From: Hundred Acre Wood
Yes, Nicholas 49, if I recognise a colleague's voice and the frequency is not busy I will say hello. My old airline had several flights a week to two different cities in Africa and as the flights were in roughly the same airspace for a period of about 30 minutes we would often have a quick exchange of greetings.
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Old 9th October 2012 | 16:31
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Coppula eam se non posit acceptera jocularum
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From: Northumberland, UK
Full praise to the BA pilot at DME who waved back at Miss ES when, as a shy toddler a few years ago, she decided while we were waiting in the departure lounge to wave at the pilots. In the unlikely event he is reading, I thank him as the waving back made her day.
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Old 10th October 2012 | 08:15
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A Runyonesque Character
 
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From: The South of France ... Not
The only time I ever got within waving distance, it was at night
... and we were taking evasive action
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Old 10th October 2012 | 08:57
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From: The Winchester
500..
Christ, I hope you reported the GNE!
Err no, why the shock horror? .....SLOP ring any bells? ( FWIW he was on the track, we were offset 1 R and at our cleared and filed level 1000 below - and you can see a torch from quite a distance at night..)

Last edited by wiggy; 10th October 2012 at 09:04.
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Old 10th October 2012 | 09:02
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From: Delsey
Jeez, Wiggy... Chill out! Tongue in cheek. Who's panicking? Yes SLOP should indeed ring a bell, it's SOP.
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Old 10th October 2012 | 09:05
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From: The Winchester
Ah, Got it ( I was just imagining the Daily Mail headline "pilot in the dark with torch, Air Traffic plunged into chaos" )
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Old 10th October 2012 | 09:11
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From: Delsey
Haha! I can just see it now... One of our colonial cousins asking for a ride report with a maglite!
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Old 10th October 2012 | 11:50
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From: Oxfordshire
Smile

Ah, Got it ( I was just imagining the Daily Mail headline "pilot in the dark with torch, Air Traffic plunged into chaos"
Or even...

"Pilot dazzled by laser lout at 30,000ft!"
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