"50 Secrets Your Pilot Won't Tell You"
Oct 14, 2010, 12:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: SEA/YVR/BLI
Programs: UA "Lifetime" Gold, AS MVPG100K, OW Emerald, HH Lifetime Diamond, IC Plat, Marriott Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 9,489
"50 Secrets Your Pilot Won't Tell You"
It appears somebody, ah, borrowed the expression Gate Lice from FT. 
No, "What they told us" (breathlessly) will not really change the way I fly at all.
We asked 17 pilots from across the country to give us straight answers about maddening safety rules, inexplicable delays, the air and attitudes up there—and what really happens behind the cockpit door. What they told us will change the way you fly.
http://www.rd.com/home-garden/50-sec...cle186583.html
No, "What they told us" (breathlessly) will not really change the way I fly at all.
We asked 17 pilots from across the country to give us straight answers about maddening safety rules, inexplicable delays, the air and attitudes up there—and what really happens behind the cockpit door. What they told us will change the way you fly.
http://www.rd.com/home-garden/50-sec...cle186583.html
Last edited by Fredd; Oct 14, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Oct 14, 2010, 12:55 pm
#2
In Memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Easton, CT, USA
Programs: ua prem exec, Former hilton diamond
Posts: 31,801
“Some FAA rules don’t make sense to us either. Like the fact that when we’re at 39,000 feet going 400 miles an hour, in a plane that could hit turbulence at any minute, [flight attendants] can walk around and serve hot coffee and Chateaubriand. But when we’re on the ground on a flat piece of asphalt going five to ten miles an hour, they’ve got to be buckled in like they’re at NASCAR.”
That's from a US Airways pilot quoted in it.
Really, Chateaubriand on US Air?
That's from a US Airways pilot quoted in it.
Really, Chateaubriand on US Air?
Oct 14, 2010, 4:41 pm
#4
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SNA
Programs: Bonvoy LTTE/AMB, AmEx Plat, National EE, WN A-List, CLEAR+, Covid-19
Posts: 4,964
Nobody's giving my "new" home airport of late any love:
Eh? "Takeoff like ya stole it" is what makes flying outta there so great!
I wonder how many times he got to get in there; WN does a decent enough job, but there's been times I've wanted to ask if we'd landed, or were shot down instead. But I guess that would run contrary to:
“[SNA] is especially bad because the rich folks who live near the airport don’t like jet noise, so they have this noise abatement procedure where you basically have to turn the plane into a ballistic missile as soon as you’re airborne.”
“At some airports with really short runways, you’re not going to have a smooth landing no matter how good we are: [SNA] ...”
“Most of the time, how you land is a good indicator of a pilot’s skill. So if you want to say something nice to a pilot as you’re getting off the plane, say ‘Nice landing.’ We do appreciate that.”
Oct 15, 2010, 3:28 pm
#5
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Seattle, Washington USA
Posts: 972
The "lingo"
Loved:
Blue juice: The water in the lavatory toilet. “There’s no blue juice in the lav.”
Crotch watch: The required check to make sure all passengers have their seat belts fastened. Also: “groin scan.”
Crumb crunchers: Kids. “We’ve got a lot of crumb crunchers on this flight.”
Deadheading: When an airline employee flies as a passenger for company business.
Gate lice: The people who gather around the gate right before boarding so they can be first on the plane. “Oh, the gate lice are thick today.”
George: Autopilot. “I’ll let George take over.”
Landing lips: Female passengers put on their “landing lips” when they use their lipstick just before landing.
Blue juice: The water in the lavatory toilet. “There’s no blue juice in the lav.”
Crotch watch: The required check to make sure all passengers have their seat belts fastened. Also: “groin scan.”
Crumb crunchers: Kids. “We’ve got a lot of crumb crunchers on this flight.”
Deadheading: When an airline employee flies as a passenger for company business.
Gate lice: The people who gather around the gate right before boarding so they can be first on the plane. “Oh, the gate lice are thick today.”
George: Autopilot. “I’ll let George take over.”
Landing lips: Female passengers put on their “landing lips” when they use their lipstick just before landing.
Oct 16, 2010, 5:15 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SNA
Programs: Bonvoy LTTE/AMB, AmEx Plat, National EE, WN A-List, CLEAR+, Covid-19
Posts: 4,964
Nov 11, 2010, 8:00 am
#8
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: AA 1.6MM EXP; UA GS; SPG LTG,Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,477
Had an SNA landing many years back on WN that was unusually bumpy (even for SNA). FA began the post landing announcment with "Captain Kangaroo and the crew would like to welcome you to Orange County..."...
Don't seem to have as much fun on WN these days - have they tightened up the amount that FA's get to deviate from the script?
Don't seem to have as much fun on WN these days - have they tightened up the amount that FA's get to deviate from the script?
Nov 11, 2010, 10:45 am
#9
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: SAT
Programs: Hilton Honors, AA Gold, Delta Silver Medallion, UA Premier Executive
Posts: 113
The "Gate Lice" just cracked me up. I'm sure that's what it looks like from a distance. Pilots are good people, I'm sure they don't mean that in a demeaning way