This the Boeing 747 400F. Weighing in at 910,000 lbs, a wingspan of 211.5 ft, and an overall length of 225 ft 2inches. It is powered by 4 Pratt and Whitney PW-4056 turbofan jets, if I understood it right, each produce 60,000 lbs of thrust.Moving on...
This is the cockpit of the 747. All I can say is that I have a new found respect for what a pilot has to do to fly one of these things. This is the entrance to the flight simulator that is used by UPS pilots. From the outside it looks more like a boat then a plane. But let me reassure you that once you walk into to this $15,000,000.00 video game you very quickly forget that you are in a "simulator"


Meet Vincent. Vincent's job is to make sure that the simulator is working properly. Apparently, and I will vouch for this, this simulator is so realistic that pilots can log flight time on it as if it where an actual jet. I met Vincent through Nancy's Canadian connections. Vincent is from Quebec, so he has one of those really cool French accents.
And this is Jill...my co-pilot, also known on the flight deck as "Iron Eagle". The importance of the co-pilot was proven during take off when the pilot, aka "Slider", almost throw up all over the cockpit. Luckily, the very capable hands and stable inner ear of "Iron Eagle" was there to ensure a safe flight.
It is also worth mentioning that Jill is also from Canada. Aside from the normal peppering of "EH!' throughout her speech, her accent really isn't as cool as Vincent's.

1 comment:
Are you learning to fly or was this just a "field trip?" Looks like you had fun!
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