Adventure of ISB-LHE in cockpit

[innovative]

‘Will I make it to Chaklala before 7.15am?’ ‘Its already 6.50 and I am somewhere in Rawalpindi sitting in van which is bound for Sadr … God knows where I am’. Last night, I was to fly at 2000, but I couldn’t reach airport in time and missed the flight. That was tiring, but I am determined to be in Lahore this morning. At last, one phase of my journey has successfully completed and I am now in the process of checking in. Believe me! It’s a full fledge phase when you have to travel for more than 1 hour 30 minutes just to reach check-in counter.

Well … flight is full and now my only bet is jump seat. Got it!! However, the counter in-charge has asked me to stay here for some time. Jump seats are meant to be for cabin crew and they can be given to passengers only if flight is full and cabin crew is short. Someone else has also got a jump seat on this flight; so I guess they’re deciding where will each of us sit. After some coordination on his walkie-talkie set, he has asked me to go and see Mr. K H Awan in cockpit and he’ll in turn let me sit in there. Oh really??? Am I going to sit in cockpit and not just that do the whole flight in there … wow!! I asked him if what I’ve heard is right and reply I got was ‘Mazay mein jaao’. Dreams do come true I guess!!! It was the best thing I heard since I woke up. I was praying for a window seat and see what I ended up with – Cockpit!!!

First thing I did after climbing into plane was to head for cockpit. I introduced myself to Mr. K H Awan, and he went ‘Fine … you can sit anywhere you like’.

Boeing 737 is a small aircraft, as is its cockpit. I could hardly stand there and sitting wasn’t easy either. There was no place for my legs, but as they aren't detachable, therefore had to make some place for them. I felt like sitting in the middle of staggering amount of flight controls. Knobs, buttons, numbers, gauges were all I could see. Soon I realized, how sophisticated this aircraft was and also the contrast between cabin and cockpit’s atmosphere. This sophistication is what makes our journey so comfortable that we are totally oblivious of the effort that is being put in to make it all work. It is definitely one of most complex machine man has ever devised. Pilots were busy in preflight checks and communication with ground staff. Before long, I gave up my endeavor to understand what they were doing. An array of C-130s was parked with a chopper flying in the background. I think they’ve divided airfield for military and civilian aircrafts. On the other side, two PIA 777s were parked for one of them had the same departure time as ours – 8.00am. British Airways and South African airways’ 747s could also be seen.

Doors closed … ready to taxi. We are now being towed to the taxiway but the captain isn’t happy with the path plane is being towed on. It is unsafe as the right wing just missed 777!!! Another 777 is being towed for it is ready to go. After turning on both the engines, we are now taxiing for runway. An A310 has just landed and it will take it some time to clear the runway, as you have to turn 180 degrees and taxi on runway for some time because of no taxiways at the end. In the meantime, we were about to go when ATC instructed us to hold short of runway because the triple seven is ready to start its take-off roll. It was so dim that captain had to open the cockpit window and go half out to find the hold position. ‘Cleared for take-off’, captain acknowledged ATC instruction. Now we are taking 180 degrees turn at the runway end. My heart was beating fast as take-off roll is what I was waiting for since I got in.

Captain smoothly increased throttle to full and with a big push, jets were screaming all over and plane was accelerating at an amazing rate. After being airborne and going around 1500 feet above the ground, plane banked right and the first thing I could see was Faisal Mosque. In a few minutes we were out of 10,000 feet for our assigned altitude of 19,000. I was wondering why are we flying so high for such a short hop but later on, I came to know that it is basically to avoid air-resistance at the lower altitudes. I could see salt range, rivers, as weather was clear and perfect for flying. Our ground speed was 0.70 Mach, seven to eight times faster than the fastest vehicle on motorway!!! It seemed like pilots had some time to relax during cruise, as they were quite busy earlier. Undoubtedly, flying is a very serious job and one must have an active mind to function properly.

Seventy miles to Lahore, we were instructed to descend to 7700 feet. It was really short … just 5/6 minutes or a little more we stayed at 19,000 feet. At around 4800 feet, we entered Lahore where Badshahi Mosque, Minar-e-Pakistan passed on our left side. Now I was eagerly looking out to find landmarks so that I could know the exact path. I could see Ferozpur road, Gaddafi stadium, Model Town Park on our descent to 2,800 feet. We were in the traffic pattern now and had to go at the edge of Lahore to turn left 090, and now we were over DHA. Base leg was short and soon, we were ready to turn left 030 to intercept ILS as we were cleared to land at runway 36 Right. In the final leg, we were quite slow and plane was descending, making everything visible on ground. It is really enjoyable to fly over your own city when you can recognize the places. Our touch down was far from smooth because plane wasn’t aligned with center, we landed on our left gear with the throttle going reverse and speed brakes being applied, it reached the far end soon when we turned to head for parking. I could see the Russian Antonov on right side near the Haj terminal and a PIA 747 which was getting ready for Frankfurt. Coming from Chaklala, Lahore International really looked like an international airport; I had some reason to praise Allama Iqbal International.

As the plane parked, adventure came to an end. After bidding a goodbye to pilots, I came out of cockpit. It was truly amazing journey and a lifetime experience. I look forward and pray that I get cockpit seats in some 747 or 777.

Sheikh Usman N.

[smarties]

nice. i remember as well about 6 years ago i also went on a trip in a F-27 from Karachi to Nawabshah and Sukkar and back to KHI and the whole time in the cockpit. wow, its truly an amazing experience to sit in a cockpit, it is such a different feeling. Even though i had to stand up most of the way it was just awesome. When the F-27 takes off just before it does the whole plane shakes and vibrates like mad, anyone who has sat in a F-27 will know what i mean! ALso you have to "look for" the runway at nawabshah and sukkar which i found really weird and they were looking at maps to find the runway! One thing i remember standing up while it was taking off and it is the most weirdest feeling in the world! even though i was exhusted by the end it is an experience i will never forget! I forgot i have photos somewhere of my trip and ur post reminded me i have them.

[malpensa26]

South African airways’ 747s what for

[flyingsystem]

Really nice article Usman! It is very well written and I liked to read it.

[innovative]

The South African airways had a charter flight to chaklala that morning ...

otherwise they dun fly pakistan

[AirBlue]

charter of a B747 ? they werent any UN troops in there right /

[Abbas Ali]

Very well written, enjoyed reading it. Thank you for sharing your experience.