Originally Posted by CalIahFo

My last post was getting a little long winded so I wanted put a separate thought here (I am not jacking up my post count I swear!).

I have seen several posts in this thread stating what a great thing a cockpit visit can be. Since 9-11 many passenger think they can no longer visit the cockpit while on the ground but that is not true. You can't just rush into the cockpit when you board or you'll find out the hard way if the are Air Marshalls on board! Ask the FA closest to the CP if you can go up for a visit (having kids with you helps but is not required, borrow some from another PAX if you wanna make sure ) and they will make sure we are not too busy. Showing off our office and talking with aviation enthusiasts is a great thing for us as well. I have not run into a captain yet that will refuse a cockpit visit unless there is a serious time constraint (and sometimes not even then-picture an FA standing in the cockpit entrance tapping on her watch and an irate GA holding the entry door half open). Cameras are welcome and most capts will let you try out one of the front seats (certain poses might not be allowed, see previous closed thread). So come on down and bring the family next time you fly!

On a semi-related subject, do any of you carry a log book of your flights? Passenger log books used to be pretty common but I haven't seen one in two years. About 2 years ago the FA brought up an older gentlemen who had a log book and was wondering if the captain would sign it. The captain did and then handed me the log while he chatted with our visitor. I flipped through his log and was blown away! The book itself was obviously very old (as was our visitor) but when I flipped to the first page I saw entry number one was from 1933! A quick trip through the book showed this guy had been on just about every major or national airline that had ever existed. Quite a few of the earliest flights were barnstormer rides on WWI era biplanes. This guy had never been a pilot only a passenger. As he was leaving I told him how impressed I was with his experience and his ability to keep a log for that long, to which he replied, "that's my second one!" The first was lost in a plane crash! A two-seater, him and the pilot walked away fine then the wreckage caught fire. Just wondering if anyone out there is still doing this (keeping a log, not crashing and burning airplanes).