I am putting this in GT instead of trip reports as I think it will share some good tips on how to score a ride in the cockpit.

Earlier this month I visited Berlin. My flight back to the States was on a NW ticket with the flight being operated by KLM. I thought this would be a good chance to visit the cockpit of a 747. Here is my story:

While waiting in Schipol I saw the pilot and copilot walking toward the gate to board the plane. Summing up my courage, I walked up and introduced myself. They were both a bit taken aback but smiled and introduced themselves to me and we shook hands. I said that I was extremely interested in aviation and asked if I could visit the cockpit for a few minutes once we were enroute. The Captain (who I think should remain nameless) said, "Would you like to be my guest during the take off procedure?" I practically did a back flip and exclaimed, "Yes!" They advised me to board through the front part of the plane and to tell the purser that I was to be the guest of Capt (Name.)

I was escorted by her upstairs and into the cockpit. They were just wrapping up the preflight stuff and I looked around.

The cockpit on a 747-400 is pretty spacious. There were four seats with the right rear seat (the one I occupied) having access to a table and some radio equipment. All of the seats had 5 point harnesses for seatbelts and each one was motorized.They moved left and right, up and down, and had adjustable lumbar supports.

To make a long story short, I was briefed on what to expect, given a radio headset to wear, shown how to switch my headset between ground control, ATC, crew telephones, and the PA. I was advised NOT to touch the transmit button!

The take-off was awesome! The loaded plane lumbered down the runway as the copilot flew and the pilot called out "V-1" and other things. Visibility from the cockpit was great and I could see lots of other air traffic around the airport.

Once we were up to cruising altitude they [the pilot and copilot] asked if I had any questions. I kept asking and they kept answering. Once you are at crusing altitude and on auto-pilot the cockpit is actually a very mellow place.

As we chatted they asked what I did. When it came out that I work in IT they started asking questions! I answered their computer questions for a while and then said, 'I don't want to overstay my welcome. Should I be leaving now?' They said I could leave if I wanted but that I was welcome to stay for the remainder of the flight if I wanted! I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

In the interests of brevity, I'll abbreviate the next 5 hours to simply say that I learned how flight maps, weather maps, TCAS, and all sorts of other cool things work. The FA's served my meal to me in the cockpit along with the pilots meals. Once the pax had been served and the movie had been started the FA's would come by and flirt and chat for a few minutes at a time. (That must be where they are when you want a drink!) One FA commented to me that she had never seen anyone who was not a pilot stay in the cockpit for more than a few minutes. The Captain said that I was a 'future pilot in training" and winked at her.

About an hour before we were to land, the guys briefed me on what would happen. They explained that during landing I needed to be quiet and keep my hands to myself.

The landing is probably one of the top 5 neatest things I have EVER experienced. It was gusting wind so we didn't land on autopilot. A female computer voice was calling out our altitude "500" "100" "50" "40" "30" "20" "10" and then bump!, we landed.

As soon as we had slowed on the runway and begun turning towards the taxiway to get to our gate in MSP, the pilot had me jump up and go through the door in the cockpit to the crew rest area. He had explained earlier that sometimes the FAA is waiting at the gate to perform breathalyzer tests and to check paperwork. He said it wouldn't be good if they saw 3 people in the cockpit.

The crew rest area had a bunk bed and two first class seats. It wasn't super plush but I am sure it would be decent on a long flight. The crew also had their own lavatory.

Anyway, after we landed, I hung around for a bit and said my goodbyes and thank yous. The captains parting shot was "Don't thank me! Someday you may be cursing the d--n dutchman that showed you the cockpit and turned you into a pilot!" The copilot said, 'next time you fly KLM see if either one of us is crew and if so, you are welcome back anytime."

It seemed like my bag took forever to arrive at the carosel, the customs officer was extremely curt, and I had a long layover until my flight to SLC. I couldn't have cared less. I was on cloud 9.

The moral of this story is:

1. You won't get to visit the cockpit during flight on a US airline so don't bother asking. (It's against FAA regs.)

2. If you are especially polite you may very well get a visit to the cockpit on non-US airline.

3. If you are really lucky you may get to fly the whole flight in the cockpit.

4. It NEVER hurts to politely ask . . .

ps. I know this is already way too long. I tried to keep it as short as I could. If anyone is interested though, I will be glad to answer questions as best I can about the flight or the procedures or the cockpit as best I remember/learned them.