Welcome!

[Passenger Mark]

Welcome Aboard Captain!

You are in for a treat! Thank you very much for joining us and being a part of our community!

I understand you are on a trip... so you don't even get to see the grand opening of your forum! However, we look forward to your arrival!

[Barb-SAN]

Welcome Captain Hutch! We are VERY happy to have you join us here! :)

[aerobat]

Thank you, Captain Hutch!!

We really appreciate your willingness to contribute here! :tiphat: It's a great boon to us.



Barb

[kallieb]

thank you so much for devoting your time and expertise to help ease our worries. Your flying history is very impressive. It sounds like if it can get in the air, you've piloted it! Welcome to TakingFlight, and I look forward to seeing some of your photos and reading your posts!

I thought I would add an edit in case Capt Hutch checks in before I head off on my trip this Thursday.

A first question sir,

I'm flying into Salt Lake City airport on Thursday, slated to arrive around 10:30 local time. I'm a bit worried that it could be a bit bumpy flying in, and then taking off again, as I carry on to my final destination in Phoenix. Care to offer any words on what I can expect of this airport???? Thank you so much for any help you can provide.

[scottr0829]

Welcome Captain Hutch!

[LeslieDEN]

Very glad to have you here, Capt. Hutch. Thank you for joining us.

[Lynda]

Welcome Captain Hutch, I am so glad you joined us.:)

[Captain Hutch]

Hello everyone and thank you for the warm welcome! :tiphat:

Kallie,

Personally I have never flown into the Salt Lake City Airport, but I'll try to give you an educated guess as to what you might expect flying into there tomorrow. First of all, the runways are nice and long, which pilots love--makes it a little easier to set up for visual approaches. The runways are oriented approximately northwest-southeast with a mountainous area to the east, so it would be possible to get some choppy air from a strong easterly breeze coming over mountains. All that being said, I notice the Salt Lake weather report is calling for gusty surface winds from the northwest. Gusty surface winds almost always mean the air just above the surface is gusty also, so the chances are that you will have a few bumps on the approach to landing. But nothing to worry about!

Personally I enjoy talking to the passengers--when you board ask the flight attendants if you can talk to the "front-end" crew and in most cases they will be glad to put you at ease.

I hope that is helpful. Have a great flight--let me know how it went when you return!

Captain Hutch

[kallieb]

Dear Captain Hutch,

Thank you for such a descriptive reply. I appreciate your reference to the weather. I've not flown anywhere in the United States save for trips to Phoenix and back and one layover in Minneapolis. I do admit to a bit of nervousness with this trip because my layover in SLC is in a mountainous area and my thinking is that it will be quite turbulant,

I do plan to post a trip report including photos once I get back home. I am driving back rather than flying, as I am bringing my aunt (with her car) up to her summer home in Bemidji, MN, and then I'll make my way back to my home in Northwestern Ontario!

I'll post a quick check in when I arrive in Phoenix sometime Thursday.

Thanks again for joining us, and for your thoughtful reply to my post.

[kari]

Welcome welcome welcome!

Don't fret, you'll get used to me :)

[Passenger Mark]

Don't fret, you'll get used to me :)


WHAT??? I'm not use to you yet!!! ;)

[UGOBill]

I just wanted to add a howdy and a thank you, Captain Hutch. So glad to have you aboard. Bill

[Captain Hutch]

Howdy to you, UGOBill, thank you for the welcome!

Kari, thankyoux3. Very cool picture! :lol:

Captain Hutch

[aerobat]

hach ki'imak in wool in wilikech waye' Nakom Hutch! :D

[Barb-SAN]

hach ki'imak in wool in wilikech waye' Nakom Hutch! :D
Next thing you know, you two will be writing in glyphs. :D

By the way...I know the four stripes means a captain...what is the star for?

[Jeff California]

Welcome Captain:D

Jeff

[Passenger Mark]

By the way...I know the four stripes means a captain...what is the star for?

That he can navigate as well as fly!

Just joking... I actually uploaded his avatar!

[kari]

WHAT??? I'm not use to you yet!!! ;)

You'll learn :)

"He has flown ... on the ... British BAC-111."
:eek: Rather you than me ... :lol:

[Agne]

Welcome Capt Hutch!

Ciao from Italy !!! :wave:

[Captain Hutch]

This is really an eclectic group of fun-loving folks! :)

[Captain Hutch]

Hey, I was just getting my message started and something clicked it out of here...:)

Hi Jeff, nice to meet you.

Hello Agne--languages and swimming, two of my favourites, too!

Dyos b'ootik, Barb!

Barb-SAN, Mark, I was thinking that the star was for general, but I didn't quite make it that high/far. :lol:

Kari, why isn't your hair dangling down to the bottom of your picture? :D
Yes, I flew the BAC-111 for two years. I am surprised that you recognized it, they haven't been around here in a while. It was quite interesting. As you know, everything is reversed in the UK compared to the US, including the systems and switches on the BAC, but that made it all the more exciting. When I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath for two years, I flew a Cessna-172 for a skydiving club of which I was a participant also. One day we had to hand prop the plane to get it started, and I was astounded to learn that the propeller turned the opposite direction than the Cessnas did in the US. I have many more stories about England--some of the friendliest and most wonderful people I have met in all my travels! :)

Hutch

[Barb-SAN]

Kari, why isn't your hair dangling down to the bottom of your picture? :D
...... One day we had to hand prop the plane to get it started, and I was astounded to learn that the propeller turned the opposite direction than the Cessna's did in the US....

Guess you know the answer to THAT question....:lol: they do lots of things backwards over there!

We'll be looking forward to more of your stories...by being a "participant" of the club...I assume that means you too did sky-diving?

Can you tell us how you felt when you jumped out of the plane? Were you ever nervous, and if so, what did you do about it? It seems that it might be exciting...but very counter-intuitive to every natural instinct we possess. :eek:

[Captain Hutch]

Notice that I was careful to say "reversed", not "backwards". ;)

As to skydiving, which I haven't done for years, I accumulated over 2,300 skydives, and I suppose I was slightly nervous on many of them, though more in contests, since I spent most of my time trying to make the US Parachute team, which I never did! Just for the record, I was extremely conservative and safety conscious. For instance, if I noticed a storm approaching in the distance before the aircraft was about to takeoff, then I would not go--interestingly, I make the same decisions today when confronted with a storm just off the end of the departure runway.

I am not sure how to relate this nervousness to flying nervousness--I am learning so much by reading the posts of nervous flyers, this really is an education to me--thank you everyone for contributing! I do recall very early in my flying career my first solo cross-country trip as a student pilot flying from Fulton County Airport outside of Atlanta to some unremembered little airport to the south. Somewhere in the middle of the flight I suddenly realized that I did not know where I was--never use the word "lost". I had this incredible desire to "pull over to the side of the road, open the glove compartment, and study the map for a while to figure out where I was". There was definitely some "mind over matter", as I realized I could not "pull over", so I forced myself to focus intently on flying basics using time, heading, and common sense, and made it to my destination without incident. So perhaps the element of disciplining the mind would be helpful in conquering the fear of flying. I am sure others on his site would know more about this aspect. :)

Hutch

[Barb-SAN]

So perhaps the element of disciplining the mind would be helpful in conquering the fear of flying. I am sure others on his site would know more about this aspect. :)
Hutch

I think disciplining the mind is precisely what we are trying to learn here...so that the panic doesn't set in and cause all sorts of uncomfortable physical sensations. And if it does creep in...what to do to calm down again quickly.

You gave a good example of what a pilot would do...stay focused on the basics of flying, and what you have been trained to do, and not let yourself "freak out". Perhaps when it is a life or death situation, this helps to focus the mind towards survival. :thumbsup:

[aerobat]

I am not sure how to relate this nervousness to flying nervousness

This is a really interesting point! Let's kick this around. I'll take a shot at it.

People who are into adventure sports often report a little nervousness before taking the big step. I sure felt it clipping into the rope just before I rappelled into some deep hole in the ground--especially when I thought no one had ever gone down there before me. But it was a delicious sort of nervousness, part of the experience that I would not have given up, even though it was sometimes rather uncomfortable. Sounds like an oxymoron, eh...'delicious discomfort'. :lol:

Adrenaline junkies, I believe (I am one) dance the fine line between fear and excitement (they are neurochemically identical) because it offers a chance to indulge a sustained feeling of triumph and accomplishment. It's a classy layer of the thrill. Sports like skydiving and vertical caving also involve serious elements: advanced skills that have to be mastered, objectives to be fulfilled, sober interaction with our compadres (and plenty of hilarity too :woohoo:). That nervous edge is a necessary part. It keeps us alert and holds complacency at bay. I acknowledge this in flying small planes, and especially when doing aerobatics.

Phobic fear is a different animal. It has a devouring, out-of-control quality that concentrates the adrenaline into the fear-and-loathing side of the continuum. The feared situation causes a gut reaction and lots of very uncomfortable physical symptoms. The mind fills with catastrophic images. We want to get away. We cancel flights to stop the anticipatory dread, because it's wrecking our lives. There's very little opportunity for excitement until we start working deliberately on the fear. One of the signposts that we are making progress is the discovery of the excitement. :)

[Invert]

Here is my "shout out" to the Captain!

Welcome aboard, great to have you here.

[kari]

I just like defying gravity :)

I had the pleasure, if one could call it that :lol: of flying on the trusty one eleven as a child years and years ago. I think I'd have been 7. Went on it twice, there and back. LOL, my parents were scared, I could tell. It was probably this one:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1159300/M/ (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1159300/M/)

All I can remember was the most turbulent flight I've ever been on on the outbound journey, and inbound the plane actually rained in (I say it rained in because it only happened once we'd got below the clouds in the actual rain - if it's not rain what is it? :lol: ) and my dad managed to break a rib on that flight I think. Can't remember any more details!

[Lynda]

Kari!! Dan Air that brought back memories, I have flown with them twice many years ago, I just can't remember what model of plane.

They used to call them Dan Dare! :)

[StayingHome]

I had the misfortune of flying with them once. It might have even been the same plane.
The plane was tired looking to say the least and the flight was turbulent. We only saw one FA during the whole miserable 2 hours and she looked like she had been crying.

It was during this flight that my FOF developed.

They must have gone out of business a long time ago.


Welcome from me too Captain :thumbsup:

Tracey

[kari]

Twice?! Argh you went back?! :lol:

I think they went out of business in about 1990 or so.

[StayingHome]

No, I was lucky enough to have only booked one way with them :lol:

[Captain Hutch]

:thumbsup: Thank you for the continuing welcome! I would like to answer more of this thread but I have run out of steam tonight. :cry:

Hopefully another time I will be able add a little more than 2 cents! :sigh:

Hutch

[Falcon]

Pleased to meet you sir. Last time I saw a star on the epalettes the Captain concerned said it represented his qualification to fly across the Atlantic. Nice touch.

[Captain Hutch]

Hi Falcon,

Very pleased to meet you! :tiphat: You guys have a great website here :thumbsup:

Mark put in the epaulette for me--it sure looks good but I don't know what it all means. Maybe if I was a Navy guy I would know.

Hutch