Friday, August 27, 2004
Please note all Emergency Exits
This is crazy.
Living in St. Croix; or any island in the West Indies for that matter; it is very inexpensive to travel between the islands in the Caribbean. You get a USVI resident discount and, well, everything is just kinda close together. Traveling at low altitudes coupled with the inexperience of the pilots lend to some very interesting, if not down-right scary, situations. The first time I flew off the island, I was flying on an American turbo prop to the Dominican Republic. We're doing the hairpin turn to get on the runway to take off when the pilot slams on the brakes. Threw us all out of our seats. Literally. Right in front of us mid hair-pin turn; a much bigger plane lands. Call me stupid, but when driving my car; I tend to look left when making a right hand turn. To see if another plane; I mean car, is coming my way. Pilots that do the island-hop routes are on the bottom of the "pilot-food-chain". I've actually been on an island-hop plane that was piloted by a guy that, four hours earlier, I was kicking out of my bar cause we were closing.
Anyway, we land in Santo Domingo and everyone applauds. Now I'm thinking we're just clapping because the take-off was dicey & we appreciate the fact that the pilot saved our lives back there. It took me at least 3 more off-island flights involving various heart-stopping episodes ending with applause to realize that the applause is always actually warranted. And this is a tradition. Imagine my embarrassment the first flight I take back to the states, we land in Atlanta & I'm the only one clapping. OMG, we have a real pilot?
But never ONCE did the door fly open. I guess I should give those island-hopping-fly-boys some props for that.
Peace
Living in St. Croix; or any island in the West Indies for that matter; it is very inexpensive to travel between the islands in the Caribbean. You get a USVI resident discount and, well, everything is just kinda close together. Traveling at low altitudes coupled with the inexperience of the pilots lend to some very interesting, if not down-right scary, situations. The first time I flew off the island, I was flying on an American turbo prop to the Dominican Republic. We're doing the hairpin turn to get on the runway to take off when the pilot slams on the brakes. Threw us all out of our seats. Literally. Right in front of us mid hair-pin turn; a much bigger plane lands. Call me stupid, but when driving my car; I tend to look left when making a right hand turn. To see if another plane; I mean car, is coming my way. Pilots that do the island-hop routes are on the bottom of the "pilot-food-chain". I've actually been on an island-hop plane that was piloted by a guy that, four hours earlier, I was kicking out of my bar cause we were closing.
Anyway, we land in Santo Domingo and everyone applauds. Now I'm thinking we're just clapping because the take-off was dicey & we appreciate the fact that the pilot saved our lives back there. It took me at least 3 more off-island flights involving various heart-stopping episodes ending with applause to realize that the applause is always actually warranted. And this is a tradition. Imagine my embarrassment the first flight I take back to the states, we land in Atlanta & I'm the only one clapping. OMG, we have a real pilot?
But never ONCE did the door fly open. I guess I should give those island-hopping-fly-boys some props for that.
Peace
