I think the best way to describe myself is that I am an aviation nut! Maybe even a fanatic! It's more than a hobby too. It's a passion! Ironically, my true profession has nothing to do with flying. I never pursued a pilot's license because of bad advice in high school. I was told I had no depth perception. Although somewhat true, it wasn't bad enough to disqualify me. But, I gave up the dream. Maybe that's why I am so hooked on FS2002.

I have what I like to call a "split family." My mother is English and my father is American (whatever that means). This meant summer vacations spent overseas. I was only 6 months old when I first flew on a TWA 707.

Boeing 747-200 cockpit

My English uncle dated a flight attendant who was on Concorde during the summer of 1977. It was Concorde's second year of service when I was treated to a tour of the plane at the BA hangar at Heathrow airport. A captain named Leo Budd gave this private tour for my family and me. He was part of the first group of legends to fly the aircraft. Whether he is still alive, I don't know. But, on that day he instructed me to always ask if I could sit in the jumpseat for take-off and landing on any British Airways flights that I would be traveling on. Now, I knew that doing something like that was out of the question on an American carrier. So, I was surprised by the notion. But, BA isn't governed by the FAA.

Back then, it wasn't uncommon to visit the flight deck during flight on British Airways. Up until recently, the door was usually left open and a curtain divided the cockpit and the upper deck of a 747. Anyone could wander in. But, it was never an issue.

It was the return flight to Chicago that I took Captain Budd's advice. When I boarded the plane, I asked a flight attendant to ask the captain if I could sit up front. Next thing you know I was escorted to the cockpit where I took my place right behind the captain. I was even given a headset to listen to ATC. Common sense dictated not to ask questions and only to speak when spoken to. It was a busy working "office."

It is truly an amazing work environment. Everyone has their set duties and it takes quite a bit of effort to get a 747 into the air. My guess is that through the years, I was able to jumpseat at least 7 or 8 times. Each time, I was usually strapped in right before pushback. I always sat in the same seat, which situated me directly behind the captain and right next to the flight engineer. I had a clear view of the throttle quadrant and FO's instrument panel. I also had that side window and was able to look over the captain's shoulder to look out front.

Boeing 747-200 flight engineer's station

Aborted Take-Off

The most exciting experience was an aborted take-off at ORD. I didn't realize that anything was amiss until the captain called to abort. At that point, the FO's digital read-out was 76 knots. More than half way to V1! The flight engineer immediately brought the throttles back to idle as the co-pilot activated the reverse thrust. The captain radioed that Speedbird #269 was aborting and needed to return to the hard stand. As it turns out, the fuel flow to engine #3 was considerably slower than the rest of the engines. The plane could have easily become airborne, but the flight crew wanted to be safe. Even though there were 350 nervous people downstairs, along with a cabin crew that was ready to be given the command to evacuate, I wanted to go back and do it again. After a 2-hour delay, I was back in my seat for another attempt. This time as we pushed back, there was a sudden thud and the plane came to an abrupt stop. I thought we had backed into another plane. It was actually the tow bar that had snapped off the tug. I'm sure that made the nervous 350 people even more nervous.

ORD Landing

There was another time when we were cleared to land on 22R at ORD. This is the shortest runway at O'Hare. A 747 needs to hit the brakes pretty quickly after touchdown. On this particular occasion, the PF was a young co-pilot who had just begun flying this type. I was surprised I was even allowed in the cockpit because this guy was still practically a trainee. After requesting the much longer 27R, ATC responded that we could expect 22R. The "kid" shot the approach pretty smoothly, but touched down a little long. This meant full braking. When we came to a full stop at the end of 22R, the flight engineer reported that the brake temperature was in the "amber." He proceeded to dispatch fire services in case of brake fire. We taxied to the gate without incident though.

Boeing 767 cockpit

Even to this day, I cannot find words to describe the feeling I got sitting amongst all that action. The 747 is an incredible airplane. Each experience was special. I even got a chance to sit in the cockpit on an Air Canada 767 during a visual approach into Toronto in the summer of 1998. I enjoyed that experience because the jumpseat itself is in the middle, right behind the throttle quadrant. I was able to see all of the instruments and had a great view out of the front windows. During flight, I was also up in the cockpit for an hour, mostly talking about flight simulation. I told them that I was a radio broadcaster, which prompted the co-pilot to joke that when he got home, he was going to play on his "DJ simulator."

Sadly, I think those days are over. I thought that after that Nigerian fellow tried to crash a BA 747, the airline would impose restrictions on cockpit access. Then after 9/11, I knew that my cockpit riding days had ended. It's been 9 years since I've flown on British Airways. I live in Phoenix, AZ and BA has daily 777 service to London. If I ever take that flight, I will actually debate asking to ride up front. I don't know if a request would be met with a look of suspicion.

Now that I am an avid "simmer", I could really use another jumpseat opportunity to hone my skills even more. I would love an opportunity to watch a flight crew run checklists and program the FMC. I now have a whole new perspective because of FS2002. Given the realism of most FS panels these days, I may be able to assist a crew in a systems check, or even a start-up sequence.

Or, I could just sit there and only speak when spoken to...

Rob Olson
RockmanO@aol.com