Good, Better, Best

This is a grading system we are all familiar with and we use it quite often for varying reasons. Since I recently went on vacation, and had to fly, I am grading our pilots, as we had 4 separate flights with 4 separate experiences. I am also slipping in a few pictures of the amazing views.

I think we can all agree that all pilots are good simply because they get us front point A to point B safely…relatively speaking. But some just have a little more finesse with the controls.

For instance, leaving home from a smallish midwest airport, the pilot seemed to think he was driving a sports car, throwing down the throttle for quick lift sending the passengers to the insides of their seats. Lift was easily obtained, passengers were safe but good giggly wiggly. We were told that weather ahead could be bumpy as the storm fronts were moving across the western US.

From the picture above we could see why it was a bumpy flight to Dallas but seriously, did the landing need to be that hard or sudden by slamming on the brakes. However, we did get to Dallas safely so we had a good pilot.

We board the connecting flight to San Francisco and smiled to ourselves as this was a much bigger plane, therefore possibly a smoother ride…hahaha. Again we have a race care driver throwing our g-force to the back of the seats. My daughter was with me and she said, “maybe this is how they train them now.” Maybe I though since it had been over 8 years since I had flown. The flight in the air was smoother, either from higher altitude or bigger plane – what ever, it was a better ride and the clouds below were beautiful. Coming into San Francisco at night, we waited to see how he would land. The initial touchdown was smooth like butter. I looked at my daughter and said “That’s a nice landing but before I got it out of my mouth, he slammed on the breaks like you could stop a plane of that size on a dime. And immediately we started fish tailing down the runway. He regained control quickly but it made for a questionable landing. Again we get the grade of a good pilot.

San Francisco and Bay at Night

On our return flight on Tuesday back to Dallas, we had the same size plane as from Dallas so we were hoping for smooth flight. The weather was better so hopefully not as bumpy. The pilot addressed the passengers in a manner I was used to, so my hopes were up as he was more friendly and informative. His takeoff – smooth as butter. Ah, a season pilot. And the flight was less bumpy but the weather had a lot to do with that. But out landing, almost smoother that our takeoff. I told the stewardess to please thank the pilot for a wonderful experience. He got a grade of best pilot.

We had a 3 hour layover in Dallas before coming back to the midwest. I knew again we would be in a smaller plane so maybe this last leg may not be as smooth. The plane seemed a little smaller that the one we left from the midwest in and it was an older plane. I was a touch concerned. The takeoff was a little bumpy but the flight was smooth. I had put up my camera thinking I had enough pictures from the plane but I missed an amazing sunset with bright reds and oranges streaked with a few purple clouds. The landing was smooth and the overall experience was good so we give this pilot a grade of better.

So our vacation travel was good and added to the wonderful vacation experience. I have many picture to share that I will post in the coming weeks. Have a wonderful weekend and remember to always be kind.