Monday, June 8, 2009

Phoenix - Las Vegas / Boeing 747-800 (SWA964) / IFR

This flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor to Las Vegas McCarran airports went very well. I'm more used to the 737 than I am to the 767, and I didn't forget too much (I know I should read checklists, but it's difficult when you're the only pilot and you already have your hands full flying the aircraft).

This was CHILY1.IGM.TYSSN2 at FL280, just like the real-world flight. The real flight, however, was delayed and had a gate change, whereas I left on time. The weather was nice, apart from the blistering heat in Phoenix that makes it such a dump to live in (although it looks nice at night from the air). In fact, I was at the gate in Las Vegas at just about exactly the time that the real flight should have been there, had it not been delayed.

I hand-flew the approach from about 5 miles out. Despite some slight gusts in the wind, I landed pretty smoothly. I heard no applause, though (in Europe, passengers often applaud a landing, which shows how totally backward and clueless they still are with respect to commercial aviation).

My photo was taken from the captain's seat at the gate, right after I came to a complete stop, with engines still running.