Word: cockpit
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...were about to attack the next hangar, a smaller one, when an efficient Teterboro policeman drove up, a stocky black-leather trooper who politely said that the blue executive had summoned him and that he would arrest us if we didn't quickly disappear. We retreated to Manny's Cockpit Restaurant, with its bicentennial decor, to dry off and plan strategy and punish ourselves with thoughts of condominiums and never-more-than-ten-minutes-of-rain-a-day. Two dozen yards off, Bruce was pumping gas into the Miami-bound Lear jet, and we couldn't look for its pilot...
...water heaters, a sink, color TV, an AM-FM radio, a cartridge and tape stereo system, and an auxiliary generator to run the appliances. The cabin, with 115 sq. ft. of living space, can accommodate eight passengers on comfortable Pullman seats, plus another deadheader beside the pilot in the cockpit. The seats are convertible at mealtimes to make two tables for six. After nightcaps, tall stories and Mary Hartman, the cabin becomes a comfortable dormitory for four (other guests can camp out under the canopy or the stars). With all the demands on its systems, the craft can carry enough...
Whatever his rank, the training never stops. He is constantly practicing instrument landings and emergency procedures, both in the cockpit of a jet and in remarkably realistic flight simulators. Twice a year, the FAA requires the airline to check out his proficiency. In addition, an FAA inspector?completely unannounced?may show up just before takeoff, occupy the jump seat in the cockpit?and "lift" (start revocation proceedings) the captain's license on the spot if he detects a major failing during the flight...
Despite all of these precautions, pilots do occasionally crack up airplanes, and one of the main reasons?a reason that concerns the FAA deeply?is simply that they let their minds wander. In a term of the trade, cockpit discipline breaks down. One chilling example of this occurred on Sept. 11, 1974, when an Eastern DC-9, on a landing approach, hit the ground near Charlotte, N.C. While descending, the pilot?as the flight recorder later showed?chatted amiably about racial integration, Richard Nixon's pardon and the merits of Japanese cars. The pilot and 71 others died...
Precise communication becomes vitally important. To reduce the risk of misunderstanding between tower and cockpit, a controller is forbidden to tell a pilot to "hold for takeoff." The mere mention of "takeoff" could trigger a response in the mind of the pilot and cause him to throw the throttles open prematurely. The correct command: "Taxi into position and hold...