American 543 Welcome to Dade

Good morning readers! Happy hump day. Instead of taking a nap this Wednesday between classes I've decided to write. So here I am.

I've recently gotten re-addicted to ATC-sim. It's a game/simulation program on atc-sim.com where you take on the role of an approach/departure controller at any airport across the world. It's amazing, but it's fucking stressful. Like pull your hair out, raise your blood pressure type stressful. But then I start to get used to it, and start enjoying it, and then when I'm doing like 3 operations a minute and everyone's doing exactly what they're told and it's working out I just throw my hands behind my head and lean back in the chair with that 'fuck yeah' feeling.

I bet real controllers get that feeling all day long. Especially at places like ORD, ATL, JFK, LAX, MIA etc. Imagine just driving to work, sipping some coffee on the elevator up 20 stories to your beautiful office looking over a Class-B active airport. With your headset on, you feet up on the desk, there's got to be a constant feeling of accomplishment as you solve a never ending puzzle just so hundreds of thousands of greedy travelers can get to their vacation on time. "American 543 cross CIMBA at 2,000ft speed 240 cleared visual 8L aproach contact Miami tower on 123.9 good day welcome to Dade."

That would really be the life: Welcoming pilots into your airspace and clearing them onto your stomping grounds. There's not many occupations I can think of to top Air Traffic Controller, except of course for the airline pilots on the other side of the radio. Instead of drinking coffee from the control tower, I'd rather be on approach in the cockpit drinking my coffee at 2,000ft. Instead of mastering the domain of the airport, it'd be even better to master the domain of the aircraft. I'd be the one getting welcomed to every city just before landing.

There is just nothing better than being in a plane while it's nearing the end of the arrival, and the beginning of the approach. Whether I'm in the cockpit flying or in the cabin looking out the window reluctantly turning my Beats off at 10kft, a good arrival is always a treat. For the longest time, sitting in the plane has been nothing but down time. Playing cards, listening to music, sipping on a hearty cup of your favorite beverage; the time ticks by slowly and blissfully for hours upon hours.

Until FINALLY the engines sputter down from 80% to about 30% and the airplane gently begins settling down to Earth. The excitement of landing in a new place begins to stir, and so does the cabin as it tosses through the turbulent cloud layer. Those with a fear of flying begin to pray while the crew turns on the seat belt sign. Outside the window, visual hints of civilization begin to come into view as the cabin continues to bounce around like a boat in rough seas.

The better the destination, the better the view. Into LAX you cross the Santa Monica Mountains and immediate see an endless sea of buildings and roads, revealing the intense sprawl of the LA basin. Into MIA you cross the everglades for almost an hour. There's nothing to see but swamp and reeds until the national park ends and the city of Miami begins. If you're lucky you get a quick view of the skyline with the big blue Biscayne Bay in the background. You can't fly into Las Vegas without seeing the Strip and you can't fly into San Fran without seeing the Golden Gate Bridge. Wherever you're flying your approach yields a unique and awe-inspiring view to enjoy. Then after ten short minutes your mains touch down and you're within the limits of the fine city you've been admiring from above.

I want to experience that 3 times a day for the rest of my life. Which is ultimately why I'm here...whatever you already know that, I say it like twice a week on this blog. Anyway I'm running out of things to talk about for this blog post. Here's some stuff going on this week:
-Dennis (friend from SimAirline) is coming up and planning on chilling sometime Friday.
-Date party with Karen, this will be my first party in like a month if the Idaho trailer park party doesn't count.
-Jill and Kevin are coming with my parents to watch the UK game. That should be chill.
-I'm pretty stoked to go to Europe/Africa. Needless to say I am NOT at all prepared. Much needs to be done.

Well I'm gonna play some atc-sim until it's time for class. I hope you enjoyed my vivid description of what flying on an airline is like. Until next time...