This only happens when SFO has an ATC GDP, which is 90% of the time anyway. Actually, this is a Lufthansa 747-400 and a United Airlines 757-200 on simultaneous landing approaches on the parallel runways 28L and 28R at San Francisco.
Actual separation is about 225 meters. But it sure looks tight when seen from the side!
did you take this? Great shot!
No way.
That’s funny. We refer to 747s as “whales” in our business.
“Actual separation is about 225 meters. But it sure looks tight when seen from the side!”
I make the SNA/SFO trip on a regular basis. You should hear the squawking from people who are having their first time!
Big K
As you know being attached to NWA, you get this at DTW somewhat frequently during peak traffic hours. The space is a bit more at DTW.
RB
Some good pilot sayings–
Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death …I Shall Fear No Evil.
For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing!
(Sign over the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Japan).
You’ve never been lost until you’ve been lost at Mach 3.
(P. F. Crickmore - test pilot)
The only time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire.
Blue water Navy truism: There are more planes in the ocean than
submarines in the sky. (From an old carrier salt)
If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it’s probably a
helicopter – and therefore, unsafe
When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have enough
power left to get you to the scene of the crash.
Without ammunition, the USAF would be just another expensive flying
club.
What is the similarity between air traffic controllers and pilots?
If a pilot screws up, the pilot dies;
If ATC screws up,…the pilot dies.
Never trade luck for skill.
The four most common expressions (or famous last words) in aviation
are:
“Why is it doing that?”, “Where are we?” “Oh Shit!” and " Hey, watch
this"
Weather forecasts are horoscopes with numbers.
Progress in airline flying: now a flight attendant can get a pilot
pregnant.
Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to successfully
complete the flight.
A smooth landing is mostly luck; two in a row is all luck; three in a
row is prevarication.
I remember when sex was safe and flying was dangerous.
Mankind has a perfect record in aviation; we never left one up there!
Flashlights are tubular metal containers kept in a flight bag for the
purpose of storing dead batteries
Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a
person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about
it.
When a flight is proceeding incredibly well, something was forgotten.
Just remember, if you crash because of weather, your funeral will be
held on a sunny day.
Advice given to RAF pilots during WWII:
When a prang (crash) seems inevitable, endeavor to strike the softest,
cheapest object in the vicinity as slow and gently as possible.
The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; … it can just
barely kill you.
(Max Stanley, Northrop test pilot)
A pilot who doesn’t have any fear probably isn’t flying his plane to
its maximum. (Jon McBride, astronaut)
If you’re faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the
crash as possible. (Bob Hoover - renowned aerobatic and test pilot)
If an airplane is still in one piece, don’t cheat on it; ride the
bastard all the way down. (Ernest K. Gann, author & aviator)
Never fly in the same cockpit with someone braver than you.
There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime.! (Sign
over squadron ops desk at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970).
The three best things in life are a good landing, a good orgasm, and, a
good bowel movement. The night carrier landing is one of the few
opportunities in life where you get to experience all three at the same
time. (Author unknown, but surely someone who’s been there)
If something hasn’t broken on your helicopter, it’s about to.
Basic Flying Rules:
Try to stay in the middle of the air. Do not go near the edges of it.
The edges of the air can be recognized by the appearance of ground,
buildings, sea, trees and interstellar space. It is much more difficult
to fly there.
You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full
power to taxi to the terminal.
Another interesting thing is that the AOA is very different given that they are on an identical landing trajectory. 747s must be pigs to fly!
RB
Does that stand for ‘attitide on approach’ ??
Trev
Angle of Attack
.
I was a shameful Air Cadet… I didn’t even get the ‘of’ in that…good thing I didn’t persue my life long dream of flying !
That pic reminds me of “Maverick” bringing “Cougar” into the carrier in one of the classics of the 80’s!
Don’t worry…I started day dreaming in ground school when they described the basic six pack.
My grandfather had a Cessna 150 when I was growing up. I had a lot of yoke time and was focused on a military career…then I discovered women.
RB
hey big kahuna, where in hawai’i are you? i got a long stretch of time off at the end of jan. and might jump out to oahu for a few days to visit cousins. and who do you work for out dere’?
peace out-y’all
The only time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire.
The three best things in life are a good landing, a good orgasm, and, a
good bowel movement. The night carrier landing is one of the few
opportunities in life where you get to experience all three at the same
time. (Author unknown, but surely someone who’s been there)
Both of those had me crackin’ up. Thanks for the post.
**hey big kahuna, where in hawai’i are you? i got a long stretch of time off at the end of jan. and might jump out to oahu for a few days to visit cousins. and who do you work for out dere’? **
I live on Oahu, on the Windward side. I run the station for Northwest Airlines out here in Honolulu. I’m back in Minny-hopeless (Minneapolis;-) and Detroit, though, for a couple weeks at the end of Jan. Conferences and our annual “You guys aren’t doing enough to help us turn a profit” beating ;-))
Tony
747’s are faster than almost anything out there,
a citation 10 is faster,
and my kc-135 is faster!
cool picture, it shows how screwed up the united guy is, he is diving for the runway, the bigger the airplane the easier it is to fly.
The bigger the pane the easier to fly…does that also hold true when landing?
The bigger planes are easier to land, they are giant cessna 172’s, the biggest ive flown is the airbus 300 and it was easy to land, Im currently flying the 727 and sometimes you have to push the yoke to get the plane to land, but the smaller planes are a lot more fun to fly, the bigger planes are so full of automation it takes the fun out of it.
