Get Lost

[Foobar]

How many of you are bad drivers and lousy land navigators. I can get to the airport by air, in fact I've never once been lost in an airplane. Once I get in the crew car though, yikes! I get lost, I run over curbs, yes, I am a very bad driver. My wife drives everywhere. Am I less of a man? Do other pilots have this dark secret?

 

[mar]

"I'm an excellent driver"

Ten points to identify the movie quote above

Actually I have an excellent sense of direction but, man, I drive like an old woman in the rain and snow.

I've had my car in the ditch a couple of times. I'm a much better pilot than driver.

Fly and drive safe.

 

[Lrjet23]

Who is Dustin Hoffman, in Rain Man, Alex!

 

[Typhoon1244]

My only problem is that my flying sometimes bleeds over into my driving. Sometimes while my wife and I are running errands, I catch myself flicking my thumb at an imaginary interphone switch on the steering wheel before I talk to her.

One time at a MacDonalds drive-thru, the girl told me via the speaker, "that'll be three ninety-five at the first window."

And without thinking I replied, "three ninety-five at the first window, Candler Seven-Ninety-Eight."

(It'd been a long day... )

 

[Jason_CFI]

I am still laughing

nd without thinking I replied, "three ninety-five at the first window, Candler Seven-Ninety-Eight."

OMG.

That is the funniest thing I have ever heard of!

 

[HAZ-MAT]

I feel like Typhoon's saying sometimes... I get in my truck and my right hand goes up in the air... like i am reaching for the fuel selectors... ahh.. time for a frosty BEvERage to forget about it..
Have a good weekend all.

 

[Typhoon1244]

Re: I am still laughing

OMG. That is the funniest thing I have ever heard of!

You'd be amazed what happens to the human brain whe you're doing four stand-up overnights in a row...

 

[Vladimir Lenin]

I always thought good driver meant a good pilot, only flying adds another dimension and a few more switches. Even before I started flying, I'd always picture my route from bird's eye view, complete with S, W, N and E cardinal points. That carried on into flying, and has worked rather well. But then again, I still drive more than 35,000 miles a year (while I should fly more often)

BTW, what's a bad driver? A person who gets caught a lot or one who speeds constantly without getting tix?

 

[furloaded]

How about reaching over your shoulders with both hands to look for the shoulder straps or reaching for the the throttle to slow the car down down

 

[Typhoon1244]

How about reaching over your shoulders with both hands to look for the shoulder straps...

Yup...used to do that all the time. One guy I used to fly with would instinctively reach for the radar whenever he drove through a rain squall.

For you DC-9 drivers: my dad used to announce "out of a thousand" whenever the microwave finished cooking something..."beeeeeep!"

 

[midlifeflyer]

My in-laws cam for a visit and we were going to fly to Santa Fe. Unfortunately, the rental airplane went down for maintenance at the last minute and we drove. On the way back home, I made a wrong turn somewhere in New Mexico and ended up 150 miles in the wrong direction. Said my father-in-law: "I hope you don't =fly= like that!"

 

[FSB99]

i feel your pain, man! i get so lost so easily. i get lost in the hotels at overnights.. i have to make a conscious effort to remember my path from the front desk to my room, especially if there's more than one turn to the room. i constantly lose my car in parking lots. i have to drive somewhere at least 4 or 5 times before i remember how to get there, when in a new area.
my wife's parents live on a farm. it took me 3 years to figure out how to get there myself, being there are no street signs on gravel roads. however, i found that same darn house on the first attempt, while flying a light twin.

and the only thing i've noticed myself doing in my car that carries over from the airplane is, when i am approaching a stop, as in pulling into a parking spot, or the window in a drive-thru, if the car is getting too slow to coast the last few inches, i find myself reaching for the gear shift, trying to nudge it forward to get a little more thrust....

 

[Foobar]

This sounds strange, but as a CFI I'm really used to pulling back at around 60MPH. In the car as I accelerate if I'm not thinking I will pull back.

Once while painting a room in our house I made a goof up and my brain started thinking press ctrl + z. That was weird.

 

[Barberpole]

You are all nuts. I drive just fine unless of course my wife is in the car, then I'm useless.

 

[WrightAvia]

I hear what you guys are saying about mixing your driving with your flying and the "forgetting where you are" thing. It happens to the best of us.

Sometimes I get in such a hurry to be at work, that instead of pulling my flight bag out of the trunk, I accidentally grab the duffel bag with the flexi-cuffs, hefty bags, chainsaw, duct tape and compact utility shovel in it.

It's almost as embarrassing, if I whip out a bag full of jepps, when I need the other stuff.

 

[hagen]

Yeah I'm known for getting lost while driving. There are times I still can't make it to my house from the crew lot without making a wrong turn.
How many of you have driven on the middle of the lanes after work?
Before turning out asking clear right/left?
Asking the g/f for vectors somewhere?

Hell I should put a checklist in my car.

 

[New2Flying]

Ok, how many do this...

How many of you do this?

You are so used to driving to the airport, that no matter where you are going, you zone out and your automatically drive to the airport? I cannot tell you how many times I have had to take a freeway exit to turn around! I think the car has an auto pilot to the airport parking lot!!

 

[AV1ATRX]

After a long day of teaching instrument students, I was at home talking with my husband about getting the registration to his truck from the DMV. Well, I'm sure some of you have guessed by now, I couldn't call it DMV to save my life, and every time I said DME he just laughed and laughed. It's a good thing he's a pilot so he knew what DME was...

 

[crash-proof]

This sounds strange, but as a CFI I'm really used to pulling back at around 60MPH. In the car as I accelerate if I'm not thinking I will pull back.

Once while painting a room in our house I made a goof up and my brain started thinking press ctrl + z. That was weird.

When my wife rambles on too much I'd like to hiy ctrl + alt + delete

 

[Typhoon1244]

Re: Ok, how many do this...

You are so used to driving to the airport, that no matter where you are going, you zone out and your automatically drive to the airport...

About the time we get abeam the beacon on highway 114 on the north side of DFW, my wife will ask me, "where are you going?" After looking around, I reply, "the airport, of course. Yeah, I know we're supposed to be going to Babies 'r' Us, but now, apparently, we're going to the airport." As the pilot in the family, Im supposed to be the good navigator...but it never seems to work out that way.

 

[T-Gates]

Hey I am a good navigator! It just ALWAYS take the "scenic" route....

And I second what Typhoon said, I almost always make a right out of my apartment to get to the airport or anywhere else.... But those times when I need to go left, somehow I end up near employee parking...

 

[Cardinal]

During a panic stop in your car, lifting up on the shift lever and frantically trying to pull it backwards, as if into reverse.

When arriving at your car or home, instead of reaching for your keys to unlock the door you instead grab your badge and look for a place to swipe it.

I've also tried to make broad, well rounded, standard rate turns once I jump in the car - only to discover the curb, boulevard or ditch rudely intervening.

FlyChicaga - I feel your pain. Three sheets to the wind, gotta piss like a racehorse, and absolutely cannot remember your room number. I found the situation so amusing at the time that I soiled my pants in the hall - while using the trial and error method with my key on every door on the floor.

 

[T-Gates]

I thought of another one....

Realizing that you have developed "flows" for your car...

And I second the grabbing the shifter for a "reverse-range" when you need to stop....

It's scary how theese are all common pilot-isms....

 

[Typhoon1244]

No joke: I once landed on 11L in TUS, turned left off the runway, and started back on the parallel to the ramp. A few seconds later, I noticed a police car parked about fifty yards to the right of the taxiway. So, I got on the brakes and eased my taxi speed down a bit...before realizing "what the hell am I doing?"

I guess that's an American phenomenon...see a cop, slow down. I'll bet people even try to do it on rollercoasters and bicycles...

 

[dsee8driver]

Are any of you guys glad there is only one brake pedal and it's on the left side? My wife has softenned the passenger side flooring I bet. Everytime she is in the car I get to watch her nervous self try to stop the car from the right side. I guess that says something about my driving...

 

[210FR8DOG]

here's one kinda backwards: taxiing in SGF last summer when they were rebuilding 2/20, a work truck nearly pulled out in front of me. Since I was taxiing WAY too fast to actually try to stop, I just swerved to the left and as I passed him, I was trying to check the rearview mirror to see if he was tailgating me!! DOH!!

Also, sometimes I drive down the street in my truck making jet noises!!!!

 

[210FR8DOG]

Come to think of it, sometimes I drive around in my Baron making jet noises!!!

 

[WrightAvia]

o.k. all kidding asside...

I can't say I mix levers between cars and planes...and since I go to the same airport every day that I fly and I lay over in the same exact hotel room every day(room number 410) I don't get lost in the hotel or get lost going to the hotel...

But here is the one thing I do brain dead, every time. Should I have to dial 1-800-WX-BRIEF to get a wx briefing or file a flight plan...I accidentally call the company 1-800 number instead. It's almost a given...even if I tell myself to not do it...I still do it, cause I'm used to getting my briefing over duats.

 

[Barberpole]

My normal cruise speed in the car on the interstate is .75 to .79, maybe the decimal point goes at the end.

 

[Maria]

I once watched a flight school owner try to explain to his group of CFIs where they were supposed to go for a "Wings and Wheels" event. The school was flying in one of their R22s and wanted us CFIs there to sell flying.

None of us had any comprehension about what roads led there or which direction north was after what left turn.

Finally the chief CFI spoke up, "It's on the 210 Radial from the Bank of America Building at 5 miles." We all caught on immediately.

With no further directions, all of the instructors arrived on time without getting lost. I still don't know the street names.

Now when I get directions it has to include things like "turn right at the Burger King and go that way until you see the Motorcycle shop, then turn right at the Starbucks."