Are there any current of former 747 pilots here?

Question

Could you please share your experiences with me?

What does or did it feel like to pilot a huge aircraft hundreds of thousands of pounds, and with hundreds of people thousands of feet high in the sky?

Were you scared or nervous the first time?

What does or did it feel like knowing that you were in control of one of the world's most largest aircraft the Boeing 747?

Is it a powerful feeling?

Did you choose to fly it? Or did you have to gain "seniority" in order to choose to fly it?

Do or did you enjoy flying it?

What does it feel like?

Thank you

Answer 1

I flew the L-1011 which is not quite as big as the "whale" but it was a d**n fine machine. I too, went through the series from civilian single engine piston to  USAF fighter to Civilian single engine piston was a huge lift and huge disappointment.. and then twins, turbines, freight, charter, to the regionals to the majors. It took me 18 years to make it to the L-1011 and it was intimidating to say the least. I went from left seat of an ATR-42 to the right seat of an L-1011 which is quite a leap, the fuel burn of the L-1011 was greater than the GTOW of the ATR. I had a fantastic time, went all over the world... and that was FAST airplane. I saw an answer the other day where someone posted what the airline speeds are... and they put... .6 to .9 mach... HAH!   NOBODY today flies .9  the 727 would do it, the 747 would do it...and the L-1011 would do it...   the 777.. yeah.. but.. it doesn't have the class of the old girls.  737, MD-80... in their DREAMS they wish the had that speed...  

the thing that did it for me... was my first flight in the L-1011.. you get a "fam" ride (familiarization) where you go with a buddy on his trip (f/o)  after you have completed training, but before you started IOE (initial operating experience) and I knew a guy from the old airline that was at the new one now where I was for a couple of years.. so I went with him. After we were in cruise... we traded seats.. I got off one of the jumpseats  (and I have to say.. I love the 747.. but the L-1011 cockpit was about TWICE as large.. we had  7 flight attendants with 3 crew and a jumpseat rider standing/sitting in our cockpit and everyone was ok) and sat in the f/o seat and we started going through the FMS and INS GPS all the different screens etc.. and we are heading out to Las Vegas McCarran  so it comes time to start the approach and we swap seats back and land. We debriefed and shut down.. and then he got this really funny look on his face.. and said.. no come here... I want to show you something...  and he started running  :LEAVE YOUR  STUFF WE WILL COME BACK.. he is hurrying out the airplane and down the jetbridge stairs and heading towards ops there.. and I am trying to catch up to him and he turns around with this huge grin and says  STOP!!!!!     and I did and looked at him stupidly and he points behind me and says.. LOOK !!!!!

I turned around.. and there was a HUGE AIRPLANE on the ramp behind me... I had COMPLETELY forgotten the size of that machine...  I was in the cockpit, learning, reading studying.. and it felt almost as if this HUGE airplane had some how followed me out to Las Vegas.. I had NO concept of the SIZE of that machine... and it was actually quite shocking to see almost a half-million pounds of airplane sitting there.. and he looked at me and said... "You just flew that out here..."    it was a moment I will never ever forget.

I am lucky that I was able to say  "Heavy" over my flight call sign.. because more than 90% of the pilots that get a license never will be able to do that.  You don't get assignments based on your skills or hard work the way you should.. they are based on seniority.. if you have been there long enough.. and they have enough slots.. you get one. Simple as that. If you are in a smaller outfit.. non-union.. that's different, the military.. WAY different... there you are graded (but doesn't always get you what you want)

There is definitely a "pecking order" in the aviation industry.. and when one of the guys driving you home asks you what you fly.. and you say..  Oh I'm on the L-1011 and they whistle and say.. wow... nice!!!   it is a great feeling.

Oh and FWIW... the L-1011 next to DC-10 is a Rolls Royce next to a Chevy Impala.

Answer 2

Thanks, David S.  Actually I think there are several regular answerers on here who fly or have flown 747s, in addition to me.

One comedian said that flying the 747 is like being chased down the street by an apartment building.  There is a distinct sense of the massiveness of the thing, especially if you have just been walking through the cabin and around the airplane on the ground, and sensed it towering above you.

One thing to realize is that by the time you sit in the command chair of the 747, you will have transitioned up through a series of steadily larger and heavier aircraft.  There's a sense of transition each time.  The biggest and heaviest airplane I had flown was a Piper Aztec when I first sat in the front row in a Convair 220.  That's a 1950s airliner with two radial engines.  It was the first airplane I had ever touched that was big enough that you could walk under it.

It felt like a seagoing ship to my inexperienced hands.  Next I went to a Douglas DC-6 (C-118 cargo plane), which seemed much bigger.  Then I transitioned to a Boeing 727.  The big transition there was to the much more complex systems of the jet airplane, and the very, very different flight procedures in the pure jet.

For a long time, I just wanted to go back to my big old oily radial engines, and the procedures that were more like what I had first learned in single-engine trainers.  But as I transitioned on to the 747-200, then the -300, and finally the -400, I grew accustomed to the antics of jet airplanes, and finally admitted they were very nice in certain ways.

Scared or nervous?  Yes; I'd say there is some stage fright each time you move up.  There is a feeling of "what is this thing?  Do I belong here?"  But after you have done it a few times, it's just a manageable change in routine.  As I mentioned, the most nervous transition was the first move to a large airplane after flying nothing bigger than a light twin.

That Convair felt like a Federation Starship after having flown nothing heavier than about 5,500 pounds.  The takeoff weight for the Convair 220 is about 48,000 pounds.

As for the feeling of being responsible for all that huge aluminum overcast and the wellbeing of all those people, most pilots really do feel very good about it.  It is a source of professional and personal pride.  My parents lived long enough to see those Captain's wings on my jacket, and that was a very proud and happy moment.

Yes, the responsibility makes you proud of many things, if you are doing the job well.  Is it a "powerful" feeling?  Yes.  Starting at the coccyx and going all the way up your back.  We used to make light of it, but we were all pretty impressed with the airplane.  We used to use "Star Trek" jargon, calling the flight deck "the bridge," and talking about the transporter room, the photon torpedoes, and saying things like, "go to Warp 7"  But seriously we thought the world of our big tin kite, and wouldn't have traded places with anybody in the world.

(Except for the couple of times we would have traded places with anybody in the world...)

There is no choosing what to fly in the airlines.  As you get more seniority, you have more freedom to move up or stay put.  What happens is you get a letter from the crew executive (used to be called the Chief Pilot) saying, "I need a certain number of pilots to move up to the new WhizBang 80s we have acquired.  Would you like to be evaluated for the position?"

So you call his secretary and try not to sound like you are drooling when you say, "Sure, I'd like to go out for the WB-80."  It's a pay increase, and a chance to feather your logbook somewhat.  But you do have to get the seniority before you start to get those letters.

Enjoy it?  Does a wild bear spit in the woods?  Does a cat have an tail?  Is the Pope Catholic?  It's the most fun in the world.  That's in full earnest.

A perfect landing in a big shiny kite like the 747-400 feels better than a bubble bath, any night.