Today I learned

"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
04/09/2019 at 19:41 • Filed to: THE ASPIRING ENGINEER S.A.

I used to own an airline, and I sold this jet to, ultimately, Donald Trump.

Before you ask: Yes, a Boeing 752 was registered XA-TAE, I think it looks like this now:

TAESA was a fascinating airline, the only Mexican airline ever to order a Boeing 747... But the 1994 economic crisis and a crash killed them.

DISCUSSION (13)

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Spanfeller is a twat
04/09/2019 at 19:51

I have a friend that had probably flown that very aircraft. She finally moved on from flying CRJs to 757/767 first officer. Sure, she’s no longer a captain, but that promotion will come in due time.

Spanfeller is a twat > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
04/09/2019 at 19:52

Donald Trump’s jet or the FedEx one?

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Spanfeller is a twat
04/09/2019 at 20:00

She works for FedEx now. As a native Chicago resident I think she wouldn’t have a thing to do with Trump, regardless of the money promised.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to work a few Air Force one flights when Bush was in office but thought it best that I decline. I still did all of the setup and arrangements, i ncluding multiple meetings with the secret service, but didn't actually meet or service the flight. It's probably for the best as I suspect my middle fingers would have been in the full upright and locked position.

Spanfeller is a twat > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
04/09/2019 at 20:03

Flying cargo jets is harder than flying commercial ones, no? That was my interpretation from MSFS.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Spanfeller is a twat
04/09/2019 at 20:25

Working for cargo airlines can be more difficult than passenger airlines, but once you’ve made it to a major, like FedEx or UPS, you’re set. Lots of pilots get their initial hours flying cargo, but that’s usually with seedy companies with worn out, poorly maintained aircraft. The aircraft fly the same whether it’s boxes or self-loading cargo, but it’s the airline that makes the difference.

We used to have a saying on the ramp when working cargo flights — BDB — which stood for ‘boxes don’t bitch’. Freighters were not exactly known for adhering to a rigid schedule, like passenger flights, so sometimes we had quite a wait until our ‘plane arrived. When it did finally show up we did our thing and got it on it’s way as expeditiously as possible, but there wasn’t the stress and drama of working a passenger flight because, well, BDB...

Spanfeller is a twat > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
04/09/2019 at 20:36

It sounds like a lot more fun to work for a big cargo carrier, I would love to pilot this plane ... and only cargo airlines use them.

I still want to get a private pilots license...

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Spanfeller is a twat
04/09/2019 at 21:01

They might be nice to fly, and they do have a very spacious cockpit as compared to a 747, but on the ramp we loathed those things. The APU blasts the ramp instead of being deflected upwar ds, the cargo door is in front of the wing instead of behind, and very few had full powered cargo handling systems. Too much extra work to make sure it didn’t fall on its ass, and thus despite being smaller than a 747 it took more time to offload and load even when the nose door on the 747 wasn’t used. The nose gear is at an angle, making pushback extra tricky lest you snap off the towbar in tight radius turns. Hateful, hateful things, and it's no wonder McDonnell Douglas is no longer around.

Kinja'd!!!