Being airborne is so surreal. I mean, I’ve done it plenty of times throughout my life (starting at 3 1/2 :-D), but it hardly gets old. I love looking down at the landscapes of earth or even just getting lost staring at the vast ocean. The scale that we’re used to living our lives in falls away and suddenly it’s like being a giant looking down at tiny creatures. It’s fascinating and I get such a kick out of it. I always request a window seat on the plane because I could sit and gaze out for hours on end, lost in my own thoughts and random observations. In fact, I almost never get up if my flight is 5 hours or less. I’d much rather snuggle up in my seat and admire the view. Pollution has marred it over the years, but it’s still a great sight to behold.
Pilot communication styles
I like captains who give updates during the flight and today I experienced the best one yet! I don’t recall what he said prior to takeoff since I was absolutely exhausted and dozed off, but at various points throughout our cross-country journey, he shared little tidbits of information. I loved knowing when we’d reached cruising altitude, when we were flying over various places, and why it was taking longer than usual to get to the gate. This captain was so well-spoken that he really put me at ease and made our trip a lovely experience (of course getting that first class upgrade also helped! ;)).
Oftentimes, pilots will only check in briefly at the beginning and end of the trip, divulging very little. I always wished they’d say a little more when some interesting mountain was visible or a particularly large city. It’s nice to get an idea of how much ground you’ve covered and what you’re actually looking at when you stare down at earth. Whenever I do international flights, I usually don’t bother with the movies offered, but keep my screen tuned to the flight stats screen. I love checking in on our altitude, ground speed, progress, and other facts.
I know some people may not care or want to be disturbed during their flight, but I’m a fan of more communication! I like when the pilot checks in every hour or two with a brief update. Usually it’s no longer than 20 seconds, so surely you could handle that interruption, no? For my inquisitive mind’s sake, I sure hope I get on more flights with captains who are as warm and informative as mine today. It totally enhanced my flying experience!
Our pilot let us know when we were passing over Sedona, Arizona and got a view of Red Rock State Park.
Thanks to the captain, I can identify this area as Big Bear.
