Wing Tips

Fly a real airline flight simulator! Go behind the cockpit door! •Learn about airline operations and the challenges Pilots face each and every flight •Discover what it takes for Pilots to 'move the metal' at an international airline •A highly unique individual or team experience brought to you only by Wingman Adventures!

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Wingman Adventures is featured on ABC-TV 7′s, ‘Out & About in Southwest Florida. Host, Jennifer Maher, found her time with us to be a “...Once in a lifetime experience!”

Learn more about how you can fly a professional airline flight simulator with us in Miami at wingmanadventures.com.

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Pilots reveal death-defying ordeal as engines failed on approach to Chek Lap Kok

When both of Flight CX780’s engines failed on approach to Chek Lap Kok, tragedy looked certain to its pilots, who hadn’t trained for such an emergency. However, outstanding airmanship led to a safe – if not smooth – landing for the 322 people on board. Now, for the first time, the unsung fliers talk publicly about their death-defying ordeal, Simon Parry reports

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"Home For The Holidays."

Wherever in the world you find yourself this Holiday Season, may you find yourself a place to call home.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Crew at Wingman Adventures

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Challenge yourself.

Challenge your team.

Fly a professional airline flight simulator. Experience a top-flight and truly unique adventure that will push you to achieve a new level of personal excellence.

Reserve for 2015 now.

wingmanadventures.com

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Ready to graduate?

Challenge yourself. Challenge your team.

Booking for 2015 now. 

wingmanadventures.com

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Wingman Adventures Presents 'Home For The Holidays.'

www.wingmanadventures.com

The well-being of children everywhere belongs at the top of everybody's list every day of the year. At no time is this truth more apparent than during the Holiday season which at its most aspirational embodies what childhood should be for every child — a time full of wonder and possibility, good health and a place to call home.

With the help of donations to the important work of Save The Children around the globe, more kids every day will get the love and care that is ours to give.

Donate to Save The Children here

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Come fly with us!  Learn more about how you can experience life behind the cockpit door at WingmanAdventures.com

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The pilot profession and the airline industry. The following is written by a fellow pilot. For those of you in the profession, you will see the humor. For those that are not professional pilots, most of this is true.   

Airline Pilot Job Interview

This pretty well sums it up. I walked into the interview with a great deal of confidence and enthusiasm. Flying airplanes was my one true passion in this life. This was my big chance to merge my occupation with my love. I would become an airline pilot. "So you want to be an airline pilot?" the interviewer inquired. "Yes, sir, more than anything else I have ever wanted," I replied, realizing I sounded like an anxious adolescent. "Well, great, welcome aboard," the airline executive said. "You mean I'm hired?" I cheered. "You bet, we're glad to have you. Actually, we've had trouble finding good pilots to hire," the exec explained. If I was surprised, it was overshadowed by my joy of reaching my dream. "Let's just go over a few points before you sign on the dotted line," the company man chortled. "We're going to send you to the world's most renowned medical center. They'll spend two days probing your body orifices, draining and analyzing your blood, and administering psychological exams. They'll literally take you apart and put you back together. If they find any hint of current or future problems, you're fired and can find your own ride home." "Gee, I think my health is OK," I nervously choked out. The manager went on, "Good, next we'll evaluate your flying skills in an aircraft you've never been in before. "If we don't like the way you perform, you're fired," I was confident with my flying, but this guy was making me nervous. He continued, "Next, if you're still here, we'll run you through our training program. If during any time in the next 10 years you decide to leave the company, you'll have to reimburse us $20,000, or we'll sue you. Also if you fail to measure up during training, you're fired." The man who had just given me my dream job listed still more hurdles. 

"Each time, before we allow you near one of our multimillion dollar aircraft we'll X-ray your flight bag and luggage, because we don't trust you. Also we'll ask you to pass through a magnetometer each time. If you fail to do so, you'll be arrested and jailed."

"When you've completed your flight, we'll have you provide a urine sample, because we don't trust you to not take drugs. Very soon, we plan to take a blood sample to look for more drugs. "Also if you ever fly with another crew member who may have used drugs or alcohol, you must report to us immediately. If you fail to notice that anyone has used these substances, you'll be fired, have your license to fly revoked, and be fined $10,000." "Every six months, we want you to go back to the medical center for another exam. If they ever find a hint of a problem, your license to fly will be revoked and we'll fire you. Anytime you see a medical person, you must tell us about it so we can see if you need to be grounded and terminated. Also, we need to examine your driving record, and you must tell us if you have even any minor infractions so we can remove you from the cockpit as soon as possible." "At any time, without notice, a special branch of the government will send one of its inspectors to ride in your aircraft. The inspector will demand to see your papers and license; if your papers are not in order, you'll be removed, fined, terminated, and possibly jailed." "If at any time you make an error in judgment or an honest human mistake, you will be terminated, be fined tens of thousands of dollars, and be dragged through months of court proceedings. The government will make sure you never fly again for any airline." "You will be well out of town most holidays, weekends, and family events - half our pilots are always on the job at any point in time. Smiling an evil smile now, the airline exec went on. "Oh, and one last thing to cover. Occasionally, we in management fail to see a trend and screw up royally or the country's economy falls flat on its face. If as a result of one of those events the corporation begins to lose money, you as an employee will be expected to make up the losses from your paycheck. Of course, management will not be held to the same standards. "Finally, if we negotiate pay and work rule concessions from you in the in exchange for a better pension plan, we probably won't fund that pension plan agreement (unlike the management pension plan and golden parachutes) and will likely have yanked it away from you." "Now sign here," he pointed, grinning as he handed me a pen. I faked a sudden nosebleed. Holding my head back and pinching my nostrils, I hurried from his office. When I got to the hall, I began to run. I ran all the way to my car. I figured if I hurried I could still get to the county vocational school before 5:00 and enroll in the industrial welding career program. !! As an alternative to welding, I could become and accountant. 

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This one gave us a good chuckle in particular. 

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This just warms our hearts....thank you!

A review from one of our most recent clients. Thank you Jan!

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Under the category of things you never get tired of seeing:

Sunrise at 51N Latitude 20W Longitude 37,000 feet, 0555Zulu.15 Sep 2014

Remember ROY G BIV? All the colors of the spectrum in order are there if you look closely (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet). How's that for pulling out some knowledge you might have acquired from your high school Physics or Earth Science class? 

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What Is Passenger Safety Worth?

In an earlier post, the Wingman Team wrote about H.R. 1775: Saracini Aviation Safety Act of 2013, a Bill, Ellen Saracini, the widow of Captain Vic Saracini, who was in command of United Flight 175 when it was hijacked on September 11, 2001, is a proponent of.  So are we, and we are not alone.     Thousands of Pilots across the commercial airline industry want these secondary barriers installed on EVERY airplane.  The estimated cost?  $3,500 per aircraft.  Never again another day like 9/11/2001? Priceless.

To support the passage and enactment of H.R. 1775: Saracini Aviation Act of 2013 and to track it's progress, click here to let Congress know where you stand. 

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What Have They Added To The Wing Now? 

Over the years, flyers have gotten used to seeing winglets--those fins at the end of a wing that protrude upwards. The winglets improve fuel efficiency by reducing the drag that occurs at the tip of the wing due to the vortices coming off the wing (vortices, usually invisible, are the swirling 'tornado-like' air masses occurring at the end of the wing). 

Now aircraft designers have added another fuel saving device to the end of the wing--the split scimitar winglet (shown here, the downward pointing winglet). Estimates suggest an additional 2-6% savings in fuel consumption depending on whose numbers you believe. Cost to install we've come across suggest a $500,000 price tag--nothing is cheap in the airplane business!

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The Wingman team had the opportunity to meet with one of the key team members working with Ellen Saracini—the widow of Captain Vic Saracini who was in command of United Flight 175 when it was hijacked on 9/11. 

In short, we heard all the nitty-gritty details going on behind the scenes. Lots of politics behind this to say the least…not going to get into that here. Wingman can tell you that pilots across the industry want these secondary barriers installed on every plane—estimated cost is $3500 per plane. Who is more qualified than the professional pilots of this country to determine what it would take to make our planes more secure? The cost seems pretty nominal in the big scheme of things.

This topic is heating up again in the next week. More to come….

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American chases British Airways at 20 West

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Sometime Pilots ask passengers to relocate to a different seat on an airplane, why is that?

Q:  Flight Attendants are sometimes asked by our Pilots to relocate passengers in the aircraft cabin for weight and balance.  Not surprisingly, our passengers are often perplexed by the need to do so on large aircraft. Could you please explain what this is about and why it’s required?  Thanks!

A:  WingmanAdventrs: The request to re-position a passenger is borne of the need to have the plane in balance. Balance refers to the location of the center of gravity (CG) along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft (nose to tail). The CG is the point about which an aircraft would balance if it were possible to suspend it from that point. There are forward and aft limits established during certification flight testing; they are the extreme CG positions at which the longitudinal stability requirements can be met. Operation outside these limits means you would be flying in an area where the aircraft’s handling has not been investigated, or is unsatisfactory.

A request to re-position a passenger is not often seen on larger jets (B737, MD80, and larger) except for some unusual and relatively rare scenarios. This is mostly seen with the regional airline type aircraft (turboprops and regional jets). The larger jets, being larger, can carry cargo in addition to passengers and their bags—that cargo can be used to ensure the CG requirements are met. 

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Wingman Pilots Dig Paris

When you fly to a city 5 times a month, over the course of the years you really get to know some great places to hang out. 

Here are some of our favorite spots in Paris--both on and off the beaten path: 

Relais de 'Entrecote http://www.relaisentrecote.fr/   Steak and fries, that's pretty much the menu. But the sauce is amazing. Choose from one of 4 spots across the city. I like the one off Saint Germain

La Pomme d'Eve http://www.lapommedeve.com/    A great after hours club over by the Pantheon. When it's closing time for most bars (2AM), most Americans still want to hang out since it is only 8PM or earlier back home. Go find the owner George from South Africa--heckuva' nice guy. 

The Bombardier  http://www.bombardierpub.fr/   I love practicing my French as much as the next tourist. But sometimes you just need to speak English. Great pub also over by the Pantheon...and right across the street are the steps where Owen Wilson would get picked up each night in the movie "Midnight In Paris".

The Reservoir Club  http://www.reservoirclub.com/ Very cool decor with some amazing talent that shows up regularly. The ambiance itself is worth the effort. The entertainment has always been great.