The Wings Stayed On!: First Local Flight

Friday, July 3, 2009

First Local Flight - in space!?

This story is interesting in that it may be the first ever "local hop" flown in a spacecraft. Earth-bound pilots are familiar with the concept of heading out for a local sight-seeing flight just for the fun of it. Sometimes we'll stop at a local restaurant for a cup of coffee or a "hundred dollar hamburger." Or we'll just motor around the local area on a fine evening to enjoy the experience of flight, then wander back home and tie down for the night.

This sounds like the space equivalent. Albeit there was a purpose - to move the Soyuz lifeboat to another dock. But I can imagine the conversations in the space station leading up to the "flight."

"So, I'm going for a short trip to the other side of the station. Anyone want to come along for the ride?"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: This has been done on almost every expedition, to optimise the use of the docking ports on the Russian segment.; Jul 4, 2009 5:09:00 PM
Grant said...: Cool! I wonder how they decide who gets to ride in the extra seat(s) - presuming it doesn't take three cosmonauts to maneuver this thing around the corner...

Another point of interest. I notice there are six people currently aboard the space station. The Soyuz holds three. They refer to it sometimes as a "lifeboat." ... hmmm... Do they draw straws each morning to see who gets to use it in case it's suddenly needed?; Jul 5, 2009 2:18:00 AM

Post a Comment

What"s this about?

An eclectic series of articles based on my experiences as a commercial pilot. Sometimes behind-the-scenes tales; sometimes more technical descriptions of Jet Transport Aircraft - and the people who fly them. While the stories are based upon actual experiences and real people, I use composite characters and made-up names*. If they seem familiar, they are. They're the people you live and work with every day. The world is full of interesting people - if we only knew!

The title of this blog comes from my first observation after test-flying my home-built aircraft: "The wings stayed on!" And later I realized that life is often like that. We are continually faced with new adventures. And though we study and train and prepare as much as we can, finally we have to launch and put all this preparation to the test. And unexpected things still happen. As the bumper sticker says, Life Happens. And we deal with it - hopefully with a good dose of humour and hope. And if the "wings stayed on!" well at least that's the main thing. And everything else is just details.

My stories are usually drawn from looking back over my career, which thankfully has been pretty dull. Trust me. When flying a commercial airliner, boring is good. You wouldn't like exciting... So don't expect many stories about engines exploding, and wheels falling off, and cabins catching fire. Though that kind of stuff goes on, thankfully, it hasn't been my experience. My stories are the more mundane things, the little things that inhabit real life.

And while mundane is the reality of modern airline flying, still it's an amazing feat, a dramatic and dynamic accomplishment that we shouldn't take for granted. Perhaps day-in, day-out our world-wide airline industry represents our civilizations' most complex achievement. And though it has become mundane we should never forget that the real drama lies in the times when these bigger disasters are too close for comfort. The times when some small factors could produce seriously different outcomes.

Sometimes all the calm around you is an illusion -- a little like the movie Jurassic Park where the investors are touring the not-quite-ready-for-opening facility, while the technicians thrash away at command central, trying to keep everything together - trying to keep up the facade that it's all under control. But if it is, it's not by much.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Like everyone in the airline industry who's blogging, I'm hoping to write a book, and I'm practicing on you folks. I'm always trying to hone my story-telling skills so if you have any comments please leave them. Also, please respect the copyright thing.

Thanks.

Aluwings