Going into a cockpit (And Cockpit Pictures)

[drummer_tom]

I remember once when I was little being able to go and have a peek in the cockpit and was amazed - have seen it on tele since but it's not the same. Was a 747 and it's times like that I wish I was up there flying the thing. It was a transatlantic flight to Logan INTL from Heathrow.

Such a shame what the world has come to now and that pilots I believe lock them selves in and don't allow visitors

[C]

Such a shame what the world has come to now and that pilots I believe lock them selves in and don't allow visitors  :-[

Anyone else agree?

Don't blame the pilots. It's the law, and they will lose their job if they break it. Had 11/9 not happened, the world would be a different place, and young chaps and chapesses with dreams of the future would still be able to go and admire the best view in the jet.

[EGNX]

It would be great if we still could...   :-/

You can still go into the cockpit once the aircraft is on the ground... The pilots usually don't mind letting you sit in the captains seat and a giving you a quick tour of the instruments if they're not too busy.

I'm guessing you wanted to visit the cockpit in flight, then you would need special permission from the airline and captain in advance and probably a background check to who you are. But airlines will only do this for as TV crews or other such reasons...

[RitterKreuz]

If your at the gate and parked, you can ask to see the flight deck, most visitors are accommodated if the situation permits.

[drummer_tom]

[quote][quote]

Such a shame what the world has come to now and that pilots I believe lock them selves in and don't allow visitors

[Fly2e]

[center][size=16]
Nowadays the only way I get a shot is to ask the pilot after the plane has landed.
This was taken this weekend. I flew down to Florida on a Southwest 737-800. The pilot even removed himself from the flight deck for the shot!



To be honest, I am very happy knowing that cockpit door is locked!
I do not see any reason for strangers to be able to enter the cockpit when so many lives are at stake!

I did have a nice view of the wing"let"

[a1]

Wing let shot is great.


I agree...I am happy the cockpit doors are locked and secured. It is a shame to not go in a cockpit but it is for the good. Always safetly first.

[drummer_tom]

Fly2e they're cool shots!

I'm guessing the aircraft was powered down as there is nothing on the displays?! Seems to be less switches than I remember, although last time I went into the cockpit was probably about 8 years ago when I was little, and that was a 747!

I am in two minds. I like the fact that strangers can't enter the cockpit, but at the same time I think it is a shame as many little children, and even adults, love to see it all working and what goes on. Ah well.

I was told that the cockpit doors where also made bullet proof? Can anyone confirm this?


Tom

[todayshorse]

On a flight to tenerife in 1986, as a young lad, i sat in the cockpit with the pilots for going on two hours. Its a memory ill never forget!  The captain gave me a packet of KP ready salted crisps from his lunch box and as i looked on amazed they showed me all sorts..

It was on an orion Boeing 737-200 gatwick to las palmas or somthing or other in tenerife (not los rodeos)!

The airline Orion was swallowed up by Britannia i think in the late eighies/early nineties. I still have the boarding passes and other various items from the flight.

I guess 737-200's are getting thin on the ground now with your average airline!

I guess things like that will never happen again. And it is sad but thats the way things are now

[expat]

I was told that the cockpit doors where also made bullet proof? Can anyone confirm this?

I'm guessing the aircraft was powered down as there is nothing on the displays?

I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you

The aircraft is not powered down. It is very difficult to get a good snapshot of a cockpit. Unfortunately as a rule that is all you will get, a quick snapshot, the crew need to turn the aircraft around or get off for crew change etc. The MPCD's are very difficult to photograph in most light conditions. If you use a flash, they just reflect the light and appear black. I have a folder of failed shots, day and night and I have the time to set up a tripod and take my time.........once all the work has been completed of course I am still hunting that perfect night shot, cockpit lit, displays on and the ramp in the back ground and all nice and sharp and clear.
If you have the chance to photograph the cockpit on the fly and your camera is more than a point and shoot I would go to shutter priority and set a low speed 100th to 150th, and let the camera choose the aperture, or set it to a night setting. Either way you will need a steady hand. Flash unfortunately just bounces off everything and make the cockpit look dead. One tip for aircraft such as the 737. You could ask the crew to pull out the jump seat. It takes five seconds to swing it out and brace yourself against the headrest, but it is a time thing, and today, time is money.

Matt

[an-225]

I have had several cockpit tours, in flight, pre 9-11. The first time was on the way from Amsterdam to Greece (around '94 or '95, was a 747, with a blue cockpit I think, did KLM keep their 747-200s and use them around this time period?), the second (at least, that I can remember) was in 2001, with Impulse, from Sydney to Brisbane, in a Boeing 717 or MD-95.

On the above, I had to go back to my seat (I guess it is best to be sitting down if you cannot handle pressure change) while my dad stayed behind to get video footage of the landing (GPWS is audible, I will see if I can find it).

Post 9-11, I was allowed into an A320 flight deck Ted airlines on the KLAX-KLAS route (2005 to be exact), after we had landed. A few days later, on the KSFO-YSSY route I was allowed into the United 747-400, again, after we had landed.

In the 90s, I also had a flight in a Bell Jetranger over the USS Kittyhawk (I think...) while it was docked in Sydney. Needless to say, today, I would have a CIWS shoved so far up my....

[Wii]

[quote][center][size=16]
Nowadays the only way I get a shot is to ask the pilot after the plane has landed.
This was taken this weekend. I flew down to Florida on a Southwest 737-800. The pilot even removed himself from the flight deck for the shot!



To be honest, I am very happy knowing that cockpit door is locked!
I do not see any reason for strangers to be able to enter the cockpit when so many lives are at stake!

I did have a nice view of the wing"let"

[C]

Another gratuitous cockpit/flight deck shot...



New camera, haven't fiddled with the settings yet. That isn't a cloud. Or fog. It was on the ground too.

[Tom...]

VC-10  8-)  any chance you could do some circuit bashing at Wattisham  ::) all i ever see are thoes annoying apaches that fly past and shake the house till 3 in the morning  ;D

[EGNX]

Another gratuitous cockpit/flight deck shot...



New camera, haven't fiddled with the settings yet. That isn't a cloud. Or fog. It was on the ground too.

Now that's what you call a flight deck! Magnificent! 8-) You're a lucky bugger to get to sit in that!  ;)
More shots please Charlie!  :)

I get this...  ::) :-/