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Anyone care to recount one?
I have been flying all of my life, an airline brat since I was 5 when my mother started working for Allegheny Airlines.
We used to go to the US Virgin Islands quite often.
Flying into St. Thomas was a unique experience b/c of the lie of the runway, right between two mountains.
So often in the 70's, instead of jet transportation, if you wanted to fly in and out of St. Thomas, you'd find yourself on a wide variety of prop jobs dating back to WWII leftovers.
Well, we found ourselves flying on a DC-3 back to Puerto Rico, where we would transfer onto an Easter L-1011.
I was a bit apprehensive to fly on this piece of history, but being a 12 year old, I didn't have any choice.
Taxi, take off and ascent went well, everything was going fine.
All of a sudden about half way to Puerto Rico, the pilot begins to feather the port prop.
Sput sput sputter, no more port engine.
Gasp!
I could envision shark heads popping out of the water.
Rosary beads in hands, prayers in my mouth,
My dad began to console me, "Son, he said, the DC 3 is the best twin engined airplane in the world if you have to fly on one engine."
I was little comforted.
Then, the pilot speaks over the intercom, he said, in a heavy Spanish accent:
"Folks, don't worry, dees happen all the time"
I was little comforted.
The reason I was little comforted was that not only was the port engine stopped, but oil was leaking out of the starboard engine!
Ever so slowly, Puerto Rico came into view as our stricken DC-3 came limping to San Juan Airport.
As we landed, it looked like a star studded version of "Emergency" was being filmed.
Thankfully, the landing was uneventful.
Dad was right...If there was one twin engined airplane that I would want to fly on with one engine, it was the venerable DC-3.
Anyone else have an interesting airplane experience?
I have been flying all of my life, an airline brat since I was 5 when my mother started working for Allegheny Airlines.
We used to go to the US Virgin Islands quite often.
Flying into St. Thomas was a unique experience b/c of the lie of the runway, right between two mountains.
So often in the 70's, instead of jet transportation, if you wanted to fly in and out of St. Thomas, you'd find yourself on a wide variety of prop jobs dating back to WWII leftovers.
Well, we found ourselves flying on a DC-3 back to Puerto Rico, where we would transfer onto an Easter L-1011.
I was a bit apprehensive to fly on this piece of history, but being a 12 year old, I didn't have any choice.
Taxi, take off and ascent went well, everything was going fine.
All of a sudden about half way to Puerto Rico, the pilot begins to feather the port prop.
Sput sput sputter, no more port engine.
Gasp!
I could envision shark heads popping out of the water.
Rosary beads in hands, prayers in my mouth,
My dad began to console me, "Son, he said, the DC 3 is the best twin engined airplane in the world if you have to fly on one engine."
I was little comforted.
Then, the pilot speaks over the intercom, he said, in a heavy Spanish accent:
"Folks, don't worry, dees happen all the time"
I was little comforted.
The reason I was little comforted was that not only was the port engine stopped, but oil was leaking out of the starboard engine!
Ever so slowly, Puerto Rico came into view as our stricken DC-3 came limping to San Juan Airport.
As we landed, it looked like a star studded version of "Emergency" was being filmed.
Thankfully, the landing was uneventful.
Dad was right...If there was one twin engined airplane that I would want to fly on with one engine, it was the venerable DC-3.
Anyone else have an interesting airplane experience?
The instructor cut the engine and the failed engine horn sounded. As I came too. I thought it was my alarm clock waking me out of bed and instead of grabbing the throttle and getting the engine going again, I was just in a daze. Needless to say, the instructor saved the day. He let out a real loud string of choice words to me that I will not post. 