ForgotPassword?
Sign Up
Search this Topic:
Forum Jump
Posts: 859
Aug 13 08 5:02 PM
Hi Jesse -- Your trip is probably already completed, if I'm interpreting things correctly. Still, I'd like to add a few comments about night flying.
I have flown extensively at night, over many years. First, as a pilot for a cargo airline (mostly flying at night, when cargo usually moves.) Then, flying red-eyes at AA, generally between the U.S. West Coast and Chicago. I find night flying to be generally tranquil and peaceful. The weather is usually pretty benign. Of course, thunderstorms can -- and often do -- occur during the overnight hours. But - they are easily detected, both on radar and visually (via lightning strikes). Easily avoided. They often tend to die out around mid-morning, possibly re-firing in the mid-to-late afternoon. The view is great. If there are no clouds underneath the airplane, the ground looks like a giant map. Cities can be picked out over 200 miles away. The view of the heavens is superb. Astronomical phenomena, often invisible from the ground, particularly in the bright lights of a city, can stand out prominently at 30,000 feet and higher, where there is essentially no atmospheric pollution. There is a lot less air traffic. So, flying even into a normally busy airport like O'Hare or JFK or Newark won't entail any delays. In short, I find night flying to be quite enjoyable. (As I tell fellow crewmembers, I think that red-eyes have a "certain charm." Not all agree, but many do.) Certainly, night flying is nothing to dread. To the contrary, it's often quite appealing. Cheers. Cap'n Steve
Share This