Thursday, June 30, 2005

Boeing Test Pilot

Boeing has a new blog to follow the development of the new B777-200LR. I especially liked this article, by Boeing 777 test pilot Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann. She is the chief project pilot for the -200LR, and I hope she writes again later with more details on what is tested and what kinds of adjustments her trials lead to. It's very rare to see an aviatrix of her age in the industry. I wonder when and where she started and what she's done along the way.

I agree with her about the beauty of the early morning. It almost seems a crime to slice into the quiet stillness of the dawn by firing up an engine, and the air is so smooth. The earlier I can depart, the better. I made a flight services briefer laugh once by stating my flight plan departure time as "as soon as I can tell the mountains from the sky."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh yes. Taking a plane in the very early morning is something else. The light is amazing, the smell, the pre dawn warmth. Very Mediterranean.

Greybeard said...

Morning air is normally the most stable it is gonna be all day.....
The "engine" that is The Sun has not had a chance to begin its' convective work!

In the helicopter, mornings can be a hoot when there is patchy ground fog. You can swoop down in areas you have checked for wires and other nasty stuff, fly over the fog, then turn and watch the vortices do their work!

I'll still take night flying though.
It's difficult to describe to non-flyers how gorgeous the lights of the city, or for that matter a big airport, really are.
This is as close as I have ever come: To those getting the explanation, ask if they have ever cracked open a Geode. (Geodes are brain shaped rocks with crystals inside.)
If they have, they have some idea of the wonder of city lights at night!
The machine works better at night......cooler air for airfoils and engine. There is less chance of a midair because there is less traffic, and what is there will have anti-collision and nav lights on.
There is less radio traffic, and the radio seems to carry farther.

I'll take flying at night, thank you!
GB