Bloody September 11th. Other than a huge and unnecessary tragedy it also cost all aviation enthusiasts the opportunity to visit the cockpit during flight.

I fly a lot now and although I am still uncomfortable with flying I am a lot better than I used to be. Due to my fear of flying in the days pre Sep 11 I would always ask if I could visit the cockpit (generally on long haul 747's on Qantas and Cathay) and without exception I was always allowed in and sat in the cockpit for 20 minutes or so. This would usually alleviate my fears and at the same time it was pretty cool. I believe that this would never happen on a US airline even before Sep 11th as I think it was an FAA violation if there was someone in the cockpit during flight other than the flight crew. I might be wrong but I believe that's the case.

Anyway, the best memory I have was a flight on CX between SYD and HKG (not Kai-Tak unfortunately) in 1999 on a 747. On that occasion I ponied up some cajones to ask the captain if I could sit in the cockpit during landing into HKG - to my surprise he said yes. The FA came to my seat 30 minutes prior to landing and escorted me back to the cockpit where they handed me a pair of headphone to listen to ATC and I experienced landing in a 747 in the cockpit. It was a privilege and something I know will never happen again. Saddens me a little that my son and daughter won’t be able to experience something like that (unless they become pilots) but I understand that it’s for all of our safety. When I think back on those times I’m actually shocked how easy it was to visit the cockpit in those days - makes you wonder!