THE WEEK THAT WAS Who misses flying?! In fact, sign me up for “flygskam”!

[rooster59]

 

It’s nearly three years since I got on a plane. I miss travel but Boy!, I don’t miss flying. 

 

When it comes to buckling up my seatbelt and preparing for take-off I’m a bundle of nerves, convinced that the grim reaper will be carting me off well before I get my first tray of airline slop.

 

It’s not the thought of being in “coach” that freaks me. More like having not the slightest concept of how thrust works outside the bedroom and being helpless in an aluminium tube. 

 

I took my first flight aged 19 in October 1980 from Heathrow to Paris for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. I didn’t back the winner but got back to South London safely despite being terrified. Next flight was one way to Kabul on Ariana Afghan Airlines. But that’s another story.

 

Since 2018 the furthest I’ve been is Khon Kaen. On the safety of a motorcycle. Yes, I don’t really appreciate the wisdom that says you’re more likely to die on the way to the airport than on a plane. Give me my Honda 250 over a jumbo any day.

 

Rooster was reminded of all these irrational angsts this week - and much more - when Manager prompted my Thaivisa editor about a grim anniversary on Wednesday.

 

It was 30 years since the May 26th, 1991, crash of Lauda Air 004. A total of 223 passengers and crew died after a Boeing 767 broke up in flight over what is now the Phu Toei National Park in Suphanburi, Thailand. 

 

In aviation circles the accident and its investigation became famous for the actions of airline owner Niki Lauda, the former world champion racing car driver who started the Austrian company. Lauda’s work led to Boeing modifying the thrust reverser system that contributed to the accident.

 

But in Thailand it is remembered for a different reason. The wholesale looting of the crash site over many square kilometers of semi-wilderness led to much national soul searching.

 

Locals and foundation rescue staff scoured the site for jewelry, passports, electronics, luggage - anything they could sell to make a quick buck. Few cared about the integrity of the crash site for investigative purposes or the fact it was a graveyard. More than two dozen victims were unidentified and buried in a cemetery 90 kms from the main crash area. 

 

Newspapers and magazines at the time showed the brazen trading in the possessions of the dead on tables at the site. A line of noodle vendors stretched for miles to fuel the gawking and the greedy.

 

Obviously this was a pre-social media, pre-video on demand age and looters were unlikely to be found or personally shamed. But the press and letters to the editor questioned the ethics of Thais and how they would be viewed by the international community. 

 

Have things improved? I don’t know. We are more watched these days that might make us better behaved. But when one hears of looters and opportunists at ordinary crash sites the memories come flooding back. 

 

Many Thais have a ghoulish streak that might have made them immune to the horror of an aircrash. Just look at their press photos and crime mags for proof of that. But I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide if Thais are any more or less moral than they used to be.

 

There have been many other aircraft crashes of note within the kingdom and involving the country’s national carrier outside Thailand.

 

One of the first of note during my time in Thailand was on 21st November 1990 shortly after the opening of the airport on Koh Samui. A De Havilland Canada Dash 8 crashed in bad weather 5 km south west of the airport in a coconut farm killing all 38 aboard Bangkok Airways Flight 125 from Don Muang. Pilot error and spatial disorientation were blamed. 

 

Such causes result in carnage on the Thai roads, just replace pilot with rider or driver. 

 

Much ghoulishness and some public-spiritedness was also associated with the 31st August 1987 crash of Thai Airways Flight 365 from Hat Yai to Phuket that ended up in the sea after an aerodynamic stall caused by concern about another aircraft approaching Phuket International Airport. The pilot and air traffic control were blamed. 

 

Many fishermen were instrumental in the recovery of 83 people and parts of the Boeing 737 from the Andaman, 15 kms from the airport. 

 

But some of the parts became gruesome accoutrements at a restaurant on the island. The huge supports for the wheels became the entrance and airline seats were used to seat the diners. 

 

I never saw it personally but I think I might have brought up my dinner if I did. 

 

On 11th December 1998 an Airbus 310-204 stalled and crashed in a swamp while attempting a landing. Flight 261 started in Don Muang but 101 of the 146 aboard perished before they could disembark in Surat Thani. It was determined that the crew became disoriented in what was Thailand’s second worst air disaster after Lauda Air. 

 

Nearly nine years later it was the turn of Phuket again as One-Two-GO flight OG 269 from Don Muang crashed into an embankment in flames after a failed “go-around”. Ninety of the 130 aboard died, some burned alive in the flames, others killed by flying luggage. 

 

Thai Airways have had several other accidents most notably flight 311 on 31st July 1992 when a “loss of situational awareness” by the pilot and air traffic control led to an Airbus A310-304 bound for Kathmandu from Bangkok crashing in Nepal. All 113 aboard died.

 

Apart from these one of the most notable crashes was one in the Andaman sea about 150 kms off Thailand that was caused by a terrorist bomb left by two North Korean agents aboard Korean Air flight 858 from Baghdad to Seoul via Abu Dhabi and Bangkok on November 29th 1987. All 115 passengers and crew died and wreckage was washed up in Thailand. Ultimately after one of the agents took cyanide and the other, a woman was pardoned, the crime was linked to the then North Korean heir apparent Kim Jong-Il. 

 

For Rooster it’s not just the accidents but the whole process of flying that is scary and miserable. I love travelling and have taken hundreds of flights but these days I prefer to say I’m into what the Swedes call “flygskam” or flight shaming, a movement to restrict unnecessary air-travel that gained traction in northern Europe. 

 

It was started in 2018 by celebrities in Sweden including Malena Ernman, the opera singer who is also the mother of climate activist Greta Thunberg. 

 

Yes, as I have noted in this column before, if I ever go to England again I shall take the train via Russia - and blow the expense in time and money!

 

Other news on Thaivisa this week inevitably concerned the pandemic and the vaccine rollout. Record daily death tolls were recorded. 

 

Record numbers in Bangkok went to places like 7-Eleven to register for a jab - 1.2 million on the first day prompting time extensions.

 

I went to “sewen” to get ice (frozen water) for my Chaba brand Pomelo juice. (Thanks eternally to the reader who suggested it as an alternative to grapefruit juice. I ditched the vodka and got addicted to Cha-Ba….)

 

The Thai bashers on the forum and Facebook page revelled in the continued flip-flopping and delays in the vax rollout. I reckon it’ll all be forgotten come next month.

 

The authorities hope that tourists will be imbued with confidence once 70% of Thais are jabbed. Methinks that international tourists are going to be very reluctant to go far if they even travel internationally. A report that Thai tourism would not recover “fully” until 2026 seemed optimistic!

 

In Pattaya maskless people and drinkers were named and shamed in several stories giving ample scope for click-a-thons. Some said “som nam na” (serves you right) others screamed about civil liberties, denied the pandemic was real or that vaccines were of any use.

 

Big Too gave the former Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn a further slap. After he stole the PM’s thunder doing a good job in the cave drama in 2018, but was subsequently removed, Narongsak became governor of Lampang. 

 

Here - by hook or by crook - he managed to get 223,976 people to register for jabs (compared to 4,587 in neighboring Lamphun). Prayut then changed the rules and directed that vaccinations must be carried out where they were needed most - like Bangkok and Phuket! Bless!

 

Narongsak can’t win unless he is compared to the former general in the credibility stakes, that is.

 

Report cards on Prayut’s seven year anniversary of his grab of power depended on the outlet who produced them. I just want to see a new face - as I told my big brother this week, I’d be bored with him if we had to live together every day.

 

Fallout from the raid at the Phoenix Country Club mansion the previous week in which two members of the RTP were shot, continued. Chinese media showed CCTV from several angles that they claimed showed that the plain clothes Thai cops were a little, er, overzealous in presenting a search warrant.

 

They were shown running at the Chinese suspect who fled to his bedroom and then fired multiple rounds from a high powered gun. He claimed he thought he was being abducted. 

 

Lt-Gen Roi of Region 2 - Roi of the Rozzers if you like - claimed everything was done by the book and the Chinese media only showed selected angles. 

 

Mind you I strongly suspect that “by the book” covers a multitude of sins. The RTP manual is likely to have sections that Cockneys would call “‘ow to get away with porky pies”. 

 

In crime news the word “jealousy” is fast taking over from “brake failure” and “transferred to an inactive post” in frequency of use. A nasty lover unloading his gun into a woman in a taxi outside Big C on Rama 2 being a case in point. 

 

And so to a few highly prized Rooster Awards.

 

The “Put That in Your Pipe and Smoke It” award goes to Somporn, 32, the truck driver who drove from Samut Prakan to Sadao (barely 1000 kms) with his pipes lying sideways. He said he left in the afternoon so other motorists could see the hazard. No charges were laid. 

 

The “Look at me I’m Not a Pirate” prize goes to Uncle Too who was basking in praise from the English Premier league supremo Richard Masters this week for his stance on copyright issues. 

 

As a myriad of posters observed, Mr Masters might like to take a trip to a Thai market to get his favorite footy jersey - he’ll save a fortune and could even take a job lot back to Blighty to flog at the pub.

 

All this reminded Rooster of happy days mailing boxes of Jean Paul Gaultier off to London in the 1980s and telling customs officers at Heathrow that I wouldn’t dream of smuggling while trying not to let the dozen dodgy Rolex in me undies slip down.

 

“Top Video” of the week went to a 24 year old mechanic and shock absorber guy who got the shock of his young life. A wheel came off a truck and nearly sent him to his maker as he played games on his mobile during a lunch break at the repair yard. 

 

The “Fake” of the week, always keenly contested, went to Thanetphon in Don Muang who pretended to be a cop and fired two shots in the air in a road rage incident caught on tape. 

 

Tut-tut Thanetphon. Didn’t your mummy tell you that if you were a real cop the other guy would have ended up shot…..

 

Finally, there was far better news for the much maligned water monitor.

 

My first wife always told me to say “Ah! There’s a ‘tua ngern tua thong’ ” if one crossed my path. This appropriate language will bring untold riches. 

 

Most Thai men just use its more common name when they swear about their first wives. 

 

Apparently, a vet and researcher at Mahidol has been experimenting on the creature’s blood and hopes to find medicines to treat cancer and even Covid!

 

As Thaivisa said, Varanus Salvator (its Latin name) has gone….

 

“From Hia to Hero”.

 

Rooster

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-05-30

 

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[rumak]

Struggling to get through these columns every week brings to mind another phrase :

  " From Hia to Eternity "

 

anyway,  i managed........... so now can go back to poking fun at others .  

[jacko45k]

I miss getting a buzz on in the lounge pre-flight.

[Samui Bodoh]

44 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Report cards on Prayut’s seven year anniversary of his grab of power depended on the outlet who produced them. I just want to see a new face - as I told my big brother this week, I’d be bored with him if we had to live together every day.

What might have been...

 

I have no interest in rehashing the quality (or not) or honesty (or not) of Yingluck's government; that topic has been thrashed out repeatedly on this site and certainly will be again. And again. And again.

 

Imagine if the election hadn't been sabotaged seven years ago and the Thai peoples' will had been respected; what might things look like now? I think that a few assumptions can be made without triggering too much debate on the minutia. As lovely to look at as she was (and still is), I think a general statement that Yingluck wasn't that great at governing is fair, and I think it would have been unlikely that she would have been re-elected with a majority for a third time.

 

What would our counter-factual election of 2018 have looked like? My guess, based purely on my years as a political observer in Asia, is that the Reds would have won the most seats as they had the best political organization on the ground, but the establishment forces would also have done well as they were extremely well-funded. Some kind of deal/coalition would have been made, replete with sleazy side deals, massively offensive corruption, and icky statements of moral purity which masked vomit-inducing amoral behavior. But, an agreement/coalition would have been reached to share the spoils.

 

Then, one of two things would have occurred.

 

The government would have been overthrown in a coup. When a country's modern history includes 13(?) coups, it always must be mentioned as a possibility.

 

Alternatively, it would have been entirely possible that the Thai people, fed up with sleaze, corruption, lying and the all-around vileness of both sides, opted to elect a clean slate of politicians in 2019 (2020?) akin to Future Forward to clean the proverbial 'Aegean Stables'; I believe a coalition of the Reds and Establishment wouldn't have survived much more than a year due to mutual self-loathing and greed.

 

Is/was this possible? Yes. Given the results of the last election where the Future Forward party came a strong third, it is entirely possible to imagine them replacing the two old, tired, nauseating, putrid pack of clowns in a reasonably fair election. And, had they bided their time and allowed the two old combatants to destroy each other in 2018/2019, they could have come in after with a powerful majority and mandate.

 

What might have been...

 

Members will recall in the late 90's that the world was watching Thailand as the 'next big Asian success' and the next Japan/S Korea/ Taiwan to come. The pieces were there, but sadly never were permitted to be placed in the right slots.

 

It is sad. So terribly sad. The Thai people deserve better.

 

 

[DaLa]

Not sure from the above post if this is a flying or political topic. Anyway, I have 3 flights booked for 18 months now not including the ones I had booked for China in May last year.  My view, I hate airports and the way they dress up the role of travelling to be a shopping outing, together with the authoritarianism of most connected with airports.

 

I spent many years in cattle class to finally realise that the crazy up-lift in price for comfort was actually worth it. I love flying 'upstairs' Emirates and the frustration of not having a 'holiday' abroad for the first time in 55 years is something I will never forgive anyone for...as soon as I can find someone to blame that is.

[rumak]

11 minutes ago, DaLa said:

Not sure from the above post if this is a flying or political topic

 

haha   maybe i can start ranting about my dislike of some antibiotics .     OK, OK.......

 

my 2 cents is that I haven't flown since 2004 !    made many longg flights in earlier years but somehow paranoia set in.   I shudder to even think about it.   Long drive down to the beach again next smokey season

[nahkit]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

(Thanks eternally to the reader who suggested it as an alternative to grapefruit juice. I ditched the vodka and got addicted to Cha-Ba….)

Your welcome. 

[Flying Saucage]

The crash of Cathey Pacific flight 700Z from Don Muang to Bangkok on June 15, 1972 is worth to be mentioned as well: A Thai police officer asked a lady from Patpong to accompany his little daughter to Hong Kong, and put a bomb in the daughters handbag, after signing three life insurances for her. The plane crashed over Vietnam, killing all on board. 

 

It became soon clear that this police officer was the murderer of all the people on board, but thanks to connectios he was declared not guilty by a Thai court due to lack of evidence. He got 5.5 million Baht from the insurance companies.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay_Pacific_Flight_700Z_bombing

 

[PaDavid]

I too hate flying, but not because I’m scared, it’s the boredom and queuing that gets me. 

 

My first flight, aged 22, was from RAF Brize Norton to Singapore via Cyprus, Yemen and Ceylon. 
 

Your gory story reminded me of a similar incident. One day at home in Singapore, my wife and I heard a loud bang. There’d obviously been a prang on the main road nearby. We dashed the 50 yards or so to see what was up and discovered a dazed motorcyclist, blood gushing from a head wound,  in the middle of the road with a mangled motorbike close by. It couldn’t have taken us more than a couple of minutes to arrive at the scene of the accident, but in that time the injured guy was circled by a dozen or so bystanders and an ice cream and makan (food) vendor were doing brisk business. 
 

As a adjoint to this, we helped the guy back to our house, sat him down with a glass of water (possibly might not have been a wise move) and phoned for an ambulance. After he’d been dispatched to hospital, we virtually forgot the incident, but a week or so later he turned up on our doorstep. He was really grateful for our help, and as a thank you gesture took us to the Singapura Hotel (at the time, one of the top hotels on the island) for a meal. It turned out he was quite a successful businessman. I think we probably enjoyed much better food than those rubberneckers who had been tucking into ice creams and/or noodles. 

[itsari]

Why would you bring up your dinner at the sight of passenger aircraft seats in a restaurant .?

I realize  what you are leaning to , but i can not ever think you would feel sick at all . I do think it may turn you off eating at the premises. But to make you sick is rather a sick way of making humour out of the deceased that sat in them.

[GarryP]

My flight to Thailand was in October 1982 at the age of 19 on PIA. Cheapest ticket I could find. I had only ever had two previous flights, to and from Mallorca, for a New Years break with my mum, also when I was 19.  

[DaLa]

1 hour ago, rumak said:

 

haha   maybe i can start ranting about my dislike of some antibiotics .     OK, OK.......

 

my 2 cents is that I haven't flown since 2004 !    made many longg flights in earlier years but somehow paranoia set in.   I shudder to even think about it.   Long drive down to the beach again next smokey season

I understand. My view is mixed. I wouldn't be truthful to say that I am not concerned, indeed I'm pretty twitchy until we get to a safe height ( 400 above aerodrome level and safer still at 1500 AAL ). To put that into perspective compared to the road journey to the airport doesn't make sense,  I presume its the finality of air liner mishaps that bring it to mind.

 

Once cruising I'm fine and I just live for visiting new places, thus why I feel so frustrated being restrained here in Thailand. Having said that in the last 18 months we've been to about 8 or 9 hotels in Thailand on short excursions so I haven't missed out entirely.

[Clarkey611]

2 hours ago, DaLa said:

Not sure from the above post if this is a flying or political topic.

For those not flying at the current time and miss it, just to give you an update on the status of the various airlines:

 

Lufthansa and SAS; cabin crew wear a face mask at all times. They wear gloves when cleaning the tables and you can choose from a full range of food and drinks, including alcohol.

 

EVA Air; cabin crew wear a face mask, face shield, full length protective gown, shoe covers and vinyl gloves at all times. You can choose from a limited selection of food and drinks, including one type of red and white wine.  

 

Thai Airways; cabin crew wear a face mask, face shield, full length protective gown, shoe covers and vinyl gloves at all times. You can choose from a very limited selection of food and drinks, but alcohol is not allowed to be served as this is the major cause of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The food is served in the paper lunch boxes.

 

I feel so sorry for my good mate who flew Thai to London and described the very poor Thai service.

[itsari]

4 minutes ago, Clarkey611 said:

For those not flying at the current time and miss it, just to give you an update on the status of the various airlines:

 

Lufthansa and SAS; cabin crew wear a face mask at all times. They wear gloves when cleaning the tables and you can choose from a full range of food and drinks, including alcohol.

 

EVA Air; cabin crew wear a face mask, face shield, full length protective gown, shoe covers and vinyl gloves at all times. You can choose from a limited selection of food and drinks, including one type of red and white wine.  

 

Thai Airways; cabin crew wear a face mask, face shield, full length protective gown, shoe covers and vinyl gloves at all times. You can choose from a very limited selection of food and drinks, but alcohol is not allowed to be served as this is the major cause of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The food is served in the paper lunch boxes.

 

I feel so sorry for my good mate who flew Thai to London and described the very poor Thai service.

Feel more sorry for the Thais that depend on Thai Airways for there income . 

[Black arab]

As i just finished my sunday lunch (,with all the trimmings) up hear in chaiyaphum , i appreciate roosters post , a few good belly laughs accompanied with wine and a G&T.

[DaLa]

1 hour ago, Flying Saucage said:

The crash of Cathey Pacific flight 700Z from Don Muang to Bangkok on June 15, 1972 is worth to be mentioned as well: A Thai police officer asked a lady from Patpong to accompany his little daughter to Hong Kong, and put a bomb in the daughters handbag, after signing three life insurances for her. The plane crashed over Vietnam, killing all on board. 

 

It became soon clear that this police officer was the murderer of all the people on board, but thanks to connectios he was declared not guilty by a Thai court due to lack of evidence. He got 5.5 million Baht from the insurance companies.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay_Pacific_Flight_700Z_bombing

 

It would be interesting to remove all the 'attacks' against aircraft and see how very few mechanical, crew, weather accidents there are. It's already  recognised that it's the safest form of transport., but attacks such as this prey on travellers minds.

 

I was on a BA flight back from Venice Marco Polo airport in the early 90's, shortly after the Lockerbie   incident. We were at cruising altitude and had just been served our light meal when the cabin crew came steaming through the aircraft collecting our meals etc. They were literally scooping everything up into plastic bags. At the same time the plane went into a steep dive and worryingly there was no communication from any of the crew ( the pilots will always alert you to a technical problem).

 

Once on the ground we were shipped by bus into a corner of a German airfield under armed guard and I had no idea what was going on. We were later advised that one of the passengers had contacted the crew and told them she was carrying a suspected B**B.

 

Unfortunately I see it only a matter of time before someone beats security and another tragic  loss of life occurs.

[rumak]

I've been on one flight taking off from the Phillipines that never got more than a few hundred feet off the ground............. before turning back to the airport

 

One flight from Dehli to Katmandu that did a "drop" .   Don't know if that's what its called, but must have hit an air pocket and just boom, the whole plane literally dropped

 

One flight where the cabin crew were kneeling in the aisle holding onto the seats due to extreme turbulence.

 

Many long smoothe trips.............. but after those previous experiences the slightest turbulence has my fingers grasping the seat rails.   

Edited May 30, 2021 by rumak

[from the home of CC]

see that some airlines in the US are banning drinking (in the cattle car sections). About time imo though it will never catch on in some countries - they wouldn't be able to deal with all the cases of DT's mid flight lol..

[DaLa]

5 minutes ago, rumak said:

I've been on one flight taking off from the Phillipines that never got more than a few hundred feet off the ground............. before turning back to the airport

 

One flight from Dehli to Katmandu that did a "drop" .   Don't know if that's what its called, but must have hit an air pocket and just boom, the whole plane literally dropped

 

One flight where the cabin crew were kneeling in the aisle holding onto the seats due to extreme turbulence.

 

Many long smoothe trips.............. but after those previous experiences the slightest turbulence has my fingers grasping the seat rails.   

I thought I had experienced turbulence after several hundred flights until a few years ago. Forgotten where or exactly when but all the oxygen masks were released and I lost contact with my seat, that is I was physically lifted out of my seat by a few inches.

 

Good to know that the wings can't fall off a plane, it's more likely the fuselage will fall off the wings.

[xylophone]

27 minutes ago, DaLa said:

I was on a BA flight back from Venice Marco Polo airport in the early 90's, shortly after the Lockerbie   incident. We were at cruising altitude and had just been served our light meal when the cabin crew came steaming through the aircraft collecting our meals etc. They were literally scooping everything up into plastic bags. At the same time the plane went into a steep dive and worryingly there was no communication from any of the crew ( the pilots will always alert you to a technical problem).

I've had the good fortune or experience to be able to travel on a wide range of aircraft including the DC3, Twin Engine Otter, Fokker Friendship F27 right through to just about every modern aircraft there is, and if you throw in a few different helicopters, then you'll probably understand what I'm going to say next.

 

At one time I used to enjoy flying, but now I don't look forward to it at all, as it's just a pain in the proverbial, crowded and a waste of time, and if you add to that the amount of "scary experiences", then you get the drift.

 

I used to fly in and out of the Sahara desert for a couple of different oil companies (as well as offshore Nigeria, The North Sea and Norway) and once we were flying out on a Fokker Friendship F27 from deep in the desert, to Benghazi and we were supposed to make a scheduled stop in another oilfield (no real runways to speak of) to pick up other oil workers but we didn't, although the plane did do quite a steep descent as if it was going to land and then pulled up again, and this was repeated quite a few times until we got near Tripoli.

 

It was then that the Scots pilot came back down to speak to a friend of his and I overheard the conversation – – there was a problem with the front nose wheel not operating properly and not locking in place, hence the steep descents to try and dislodge it, all to no avail, so they were going to fly over the control tower at Tripoli so that the control tower folk could see what was going on.

 

Turns out they couldn't, so the pilot went round to the few people that were on the plane, telling them to buckle up and prepare for almost a "crash landing", which frightened the beejesus out of me.

 

Anyway we took one helluva dive towards the runway and then the nose was pulled up very sharply so we basically landed on the other wheels and the nosewheel was almost redundant when we landed, apart from the fact that it had then come down and due to the angle at which we landed at, was in place.

 

That was one of many instances, and if you add a DC 3 that had navigation problems so we got lost in the desert for a while, then the many scares on various helicopters, then it's no wonder that I'm not keen on flying any more, but it doesn't scare me, it's just that I don't need the hassle.
 

[rumak]

Just now, DaLa said:

Good to know that the wings can't fall off a plane, it's more likely the fuselage will fall off the wings.

how DO they keep those wings from breaking off ?     ( soon the experts will be here to tell me )   

[rumak]

5 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Isn't it amazing how many people tread through life carefully so that they can arrive at death's door safely.

 

I certainly did not "tread carefully"................... but having made it this far I have decided to stop throwing the dice  ????  

lucky to be alive,  but reaching a certain age one alternates between wondering how much longer it will be........... and if that remaining time is going to be a real pain

 

if someone had told me i was going to spend time farting around on some bitter old men's forum when i was older... i probably would have denied it emphaticially .   God ,  what a way to go !!   ????

Edited May 30, 2021 by rumak

[robblok]

34 minutes ago, rumak said:

how DO they keep those wings from breaking off ?     ( soon the experts will be here to tell me )   

In Thailand.. mainly superglue.. not sure in other countries.

[Pilotman]

Yes, miss it a lot, but up at the front end, not in the cabin, that I can well do without ever doing again. 

[DaLa]

50 minutes ago, robblok said:

In Thailand.. mainly superglue.. not sure in other countries.

Only Elephant brand though.

[xylophone]

1 hour ago, rumak said:

if someone had told me i was going to spend time farting around on some bitter old men's forum when i was older... i probably would have denied it emphaticially .   God ,  what a way to go !! 

But you fit in perfectly!!

[Crossy]

1 hour ago, rumak said:

how DO they keep those wings from breaking off ?     ( soon the experts will be here to tell me )   

 

Pickle forks apparently http://www.b737.org.uk/picklefork.htm

 

[THEN]

1 hour ago, rumak said:

One flight from Dehli to Katmandu that did a "drop" .   Don't know if that's what its called, but must have hit an air pocket and just boom, the whole plane literally dropped

Funny you mention takeoff from Delhi, because this is also where I had my worst experience. "a big free fall inside dark clouds". My flight was from Delhi to Chittagong. 

It was on a Dash 8 twin prop airplane, which has very bad history in my home country and it still had Lufthansa interior. All in all I had a bad feeling when I entered the airplane. 

 

I cannot wait to get on a plane again - the sooner the better and I hope it will be on a Thai Airways flight.

[Crossy]

Once upon a time I did quite enjoy flying, when I was doing several projects in India I had to zip between them.

 

My airline of choice was the now defunct Kingfisher. I got lounge access as a frequent flyer, sadly no booze on domestic by law (but at Mumbai the lounge was landside so you could buy beer at the adjoining bar). Kingfisher was "Bollywood Babes in short red skirts" whereas the competition, Indian Airlines was "Your mum in a saree".

 

If I never get on a plane ever again I am not going to cry!

[ballpoint]

Dave says it far better than I can, and I agree with every word: