tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2864052595440250048.post8474264334502457846..comments2024-02-25T08:36:14.759+00:00Comments on Keep Pushing Those Pedals: Last minute holiday in Scotland: Not Scotland and Not HolidayJmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18078208384599353066noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2864052595440250048.post-42916629492440690892014-09-21T20:17:22.803+01:002014-09-21T20:17:22.803+01:00Similarly I never managed Concorde, and Skytrain w...Similarly I never managed Concorde, and Skytrain was the cheapest trans-Atlantic flight by a big margin at the time. The timing worked very well to minimise jet-lag too! My first across The Pond was Air Canada on a DC8 which offered a choice of smoking or non-smoking. The DC8 was single-aisle and the smoking seats were on the port side and non-smoking on the starboard. Very unsatisfactory for a non-smoker. Ah well, I suppose we've all got "I hate all airlines" stories.<br /><br />Sometimes you get lucky though, and one was climbing onto a commuter plane to find I was the only passenger, and the pilot (only one, it was a small aircraft by most standards) was my Flying Instructor. So not only could I sit right at the front but )&*^*$* <br /><br />No CarrierMikeCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2864052595440250048.post-74081923396278281562014-09-21T19:40:48.752+01:002014-09-21T19:40:48.752+01:00Hi Mike,
Sorry about that, another comment caught...Hi Mike,<br /><br />Sorry about that, another comment caught in the Google spam filter. I have also turned off the "word verification" as Google calls it before comments are submitted.<br /><br />I never flew on the Skytrain, mind you I never flew on Concorde either!Jmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18078208384599353066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2864052595440250048.post-78420732666295096452014-09-20T20:46:31.779+01:002014-09-20T20:46:31.779+01:00On the Wick-Glasgow flight the man in the next sea...On the Wick-Glasgow flight the man in the next seat was from the same company; a foreman on the Dounreay PFR construction site. He had a bottle of whisky which he wouldn't give to the cabin staff, and kept handing to me with "Have a drink, Jimmy!". When I next saw him (it took 2 13-hour days to drive the Landrover north) he'd forgotten completely and I'm not sure he remembered being on an aircraft.<br /><br />The best airline for choice of drink was Laker's Skytrain -- you took your own bottle of wine and the CC would uncork it for you at no charge. Just the thing for the 11pm departure from New York ;-) I didn't do the same on the 11am flight from Gatwick though.MikeCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2864052595440250048.post-2652654940365600802014-09-20T12:21:40.253+01:002014-09-20T12:21:40.253+01:00Hi Mike, sorry about your comment went into the S...Hi Mike, sorry about your comment went into the Spam bucket. My first flight was to Brussels with Sabena, the second to New York with TWA. The company I worked for got cheap tourist tickets, although I was travelling for business. We were given shoulder bags and free champagne vouchers. I was travelling with two older hands and they didn't make use of their champagne vouchers so I did. I learnt then that alcohol and flying don't mix well, for me anyway. Fortunately we flew over on a Saturday which gave me the Sunday to recover before meetings on the Monday.Jmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18078208384599353066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2864052595440250048.post-485143367604745752014-09-19T19:23:59.372+01:002014-09-19T19:23:59.372+01:00Hi Jamie,
your aerial photos remind me of my fi...Hi Jamie,<br /> your aerial photos remind me of my first ever flight (in a real aircraft -- I had flown the Fairey Delta 2 in my imagination long before). This was from Wick to Glasgow in a Vickers Viscount. There was an intermediate stop at Inverness, and with such short legs the cruising height was 4000 feet. The air was clear, and over the hills we were close enough to be able to count the sheep. Glorious!<br /><br />My second ever flight was continuing from Glasgow to Elmdon (now Birmingham International). in a BAC-111, This went through a storm and was a very sporty landing with the pilot juggling the throttles as if in an F1 car. I was much impressed.<br /><br />The return trip was in a new diesel Landrover with 1 ton of welding-rods in the back. Defines the word "slow". <br /><br />This was in 1970, but despite searches cannot find the names of the airlines that flew those routes at the time.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />Mike<br /> MikeCnoreply@blogger.com