Flying, Weather and...Coffee?

It’ll almost certainly comfort you to know that due to extenuating circumstances I once practically piloted an airplane very similar to this one—and I’m no pilot. I haven’t even read a book on pilots. It’s just that there really isn’t much to flying one of these things. Especially if you’ve got the same eye for detail, insatiable curiosity, and experience I have. It’s definitely not easy but, in all honesty, I could get one of these birds up in the air with no trouble at all.

The name’s Hugh Wilde. I’m a seasoned air traveller, a constant observer and an expert craftsman—AKA, a travel writer. Above all, I’m a thinker. Travelling as much as I do affords me an enormous amount of time to think. So I capitalize on that time. I observe actions; I study details. It’s a highly effective method. On several occasions I’ve floored even my most critical peers with the skills I’ve acquired by means of passive observation alone. That I piloted an airplane probably came to them as no surprise all.

There are, as I explained, just three key factors to consider prior to take off: weather, communication and navigation.

Interpreting the weather is just common sense. You need to know what it’s doing currently (look out the window), what it’s going to do (check the forecast), and what it’s doing where you’re going (ask someone). You learn very quickly that with all the weather resources available, all you need to do is ask. I assume you’ve heard of the Weather Channel?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat up front, slapped on the headphones and conversed with the pilots. The only real trick is in understanding the lingo. “Alpha Romeo Tango Foxtrot, this is blah, blah, blah requesting permission to buzz the tower.” I’ve picked up the finer details just speaking with off-duty pilots and hanging out in the bars they frequent.

Of course, you need to know where you’re going. In the past navigation was difficult, but since the invention of the Global Positioning System, or the GPS (industry talk), it’s plug and play. You don’t even need a map. Just bring up the GPS, punch in your destination, and follow the plane on the screen. It’s just one step closer to reality from the simulator on your PlayStation.

With weather, communication, and navigation under control, all that’s left is the flying part – the easy part. Some prior technical training wouldn’t hurt—like knowing the right altitude and what that red light means, but that’s not critical in a pinch. You just need to know how to start it and how to steer it. After that, just get her up to speed, nose up, and climb, baby, climb. Vice versa, to land.

“Coffee, anyone?”