Originally Posted by RedeyeAV8r
Now I know your not an airline Pilot by your lack of knowledge and misinformation.
First I fly an MD11 (not a 747). I fly both long haul international and short haul domestic. I get way more than 3 landings in a month.......
My Dispatch........(Purple/orange Freight carrrier) will send me anywhere anytime., doesn't matter what the weather is....as long as I have a legal alternate.............They do it on a daily (nightly in my case) basis. Ever flown into a 3rd world country?? Controllers speak marginal english and airports and nav equipment are unreliable.
Those situations I mentioned happen on every trip..............not all at once but individually. It is just routine( loss of engines is an exception) We consistenly are flying in and around typhoons throught out Asia..............Gusty crosswinds are the norm everywhere. It is just routine.
Cat 3 approaches..................try SEA/TAC at 400am or anywhere in the San Jacquine valley in the winter. again just routine
I am not tooting my own horn.............it is what we (ALL) professional pilots do on a daily basis. Yes it becomes common place for us...................................by the way, a apindectomy or open heart surgery is routine.......for a qualified surgeon.
In fact I have done the cat3 approach into SEA. I was an airline pilot. I am not saying that there are not a few brief moments where some attention is required. However we all know that 98% of the time you are sitting there trying hard not to slip into a boredom induced coma. You guys should be apologizing for how good you have it instead of trying to project yourself as steely eyed professionals. From 1000' after rotation to 500 feet before touchdown the plane is on auto pilot. Just last week a local night piston twin crashed during an approach to below minimums in an old piper seneca. The pilot was 48 years old and worked in the summer as an airshow pilot. Sometimes your comments make me think that guys like you have never had a real flying job if you think that piloting a modern jet is difficult. If you had you would realise that you have got it pretty good.
SkyHigh