tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4957403692415213118.post7976395839633115302..comments2023-05-18T06:30:29.483-07:00Comments on Getting There: Is It Safe To Fly ?JIM CAMERONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07619138540116037421noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4957403692415213118.post-87787870102474370432017-06-14T10:02:03.276-07:002017-06-14T10:02:03.276-07:00I am one of the Ancients. I remember back in the ...I am one of the Ancients. I remember back in the 1950s and 60s when you dressed up for a flying trip. It was a rare thing, and you saved your money for that experience. You arrived at the airport 30 minutes before the flight, checked all your baggage (no carry ons except purses and briefcases), and waited for the flight to be called. No security issues back then, and the cockpit was kept open. Pilots or First Officers would invite the children up to the cockpit, and give them a pin on badge as "Junior Pilot". The DC-7 flew at around 250 mph, maybe 12000 feet. Full meals were included with the ticket. The flying time was much longer than today - but you didn't arrive frazzled and stressed. But with today's "arrive two hours before departure", today's total travel time is likely the same as 50 years ago. Except 50 years ago that extra time was spent in a waiting line with your shoes off. It was inside the plane, in a relatively wide seat, with comfortable leg room, and a view from the window that had no equal.<br /><br />Today, just about everyone can fly whenever they want. Fares are much lower, and flights much faster. We fly to wish Aunt Molly a happy birthday. We fly to lie on a sunny beach. We fly to "do the museum". We wear cutoffs, flip-flops, and t-shirts, and we fly wherever we want, in less than comfortable conditions.<br /><br />But do we really need to do all that flying? When I first flew in 1956, it was a fantastic, long-awaited experience to be relished once a year at most. Today it's an all too frequent, and all too uncomfortable, bus trip.<br /><br />Flying is safe - but not necessarily healthy for the soul.<br /><br />Publius<br />Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03430805633445926197noreply@blogger.com