5 ms·

This reminds me of a story I read in PCGamer long ago (I tried searching for the article, but I don't even know if it was published online). The author got into

This reminds me of a story I read in PCGamer long ago (I tried searching for the article, but I don't even know if it was published online). The author got into their seat for a flight, next to someone with a gaming laptop running a flight simulator. They chatted about video games for a while, and the gamer explains that they like to set up the simulator to play the same flight they are currently taking, and try to take off and land at the same time. About halfway through the flight, the gamer remarks that the pilot is wrong, and not taking the best route for the flight. The flight sim path and real plane are going in slightly different directions. They try to tell a flight attendant who assures them know "the pilot knows what they're doing." The remaining half of the flight they complained to either the author or other attendants, acting like they knew more than the staff. They never got to finish their flight-sim though, because the real plane landed 20 minutes ahead of schedule. I guess the pilot did take a different path after all!

squeaky-clean 10y ago
Actually I just remembered an even more relevant funny story. One of the services I maintain at my job is a list of airport locations and their names in various languages (for airlines to use) among other details. I get so many requests to change things from airlines that don't understand basic geography or even where they fly. My favorite is when a customer was raising hell because London International Airport (YXU) wasn't appearing under the city listing for London, UK and demanding it be added immediately. I had to tell them you don't fly there... it's located in Canada.
- protomyth 10y ago
  Perhaps they had watched a bit too much MST3K https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqrJOdWdJFo&feature=youtu.be&t=8m53s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqrJOdWdJFo&feature=youtu.be... 416- Fire Maidens of Outer Space
- Pxtl 10y ago
  Hah. The Y prefix alone should've been a tip off. I don't know a darned thing about air travel but I know Canada is stuck with the Y.
  - Zombieball 10y ago
    I think technically Canada is stuck with the "C" prefix (vs. "K" for USA) eg. CYVR, CYUL, CYXX We also have airports with "CZ" (eg. CZBB). I am not sure what the difference (if any) between CZ vs. CY codes is. Probably just sticking with convention (begin with Y or Z because everyone else does).
    - agrahul 10y ago
      Yes, the entirety of C is currently allocated to Canada[1]. The parent comments were talking about IATA codes, though, which aren't allocated by prefix. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Civil_Aviation_Organization_airport_code#Prefixes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Civil_Aviation_O...
      - Pxtl 10y ago
        While IATA codes do not require a consistent prefix, all the Canadian airports start with Y: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_by_IATA_code:_Y https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_by_IATA_code:...
        Zombieball 10y ago
        Interesting. I still see Canadian airports starting with Z. But Y is heavily Canadian. We should all just start our own airport. Sounds like a good way to learn about naming. I imagine we will want an airport code staring with YC, so it'll have to be in Canada :P
- bigiain 10y ago
  I used to work in travel - and there's always stories of people who think "Sydney NS" and "Sydney NSW" are near enough - the first is in Nova Scotia in Canada, which is quite a long way from the Sydney in New South Wales in Australia... https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/03/31/dutch-teen-ends-up-in-the-wrong-sydney.html https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/03/31/dutch-teen-ends-...
- mabbo 10y ago
  > I had to tell them you don't fly there... it's located in Canada. The worst part is that after you land at YXU you're in London, Ontario. (I lived near YXU for three years).
Kubuxu 10y ago
Very frequently high altitude winds are used by airlines. It means that you are taking a path that looks sub-optimal for still air perspective but with wind added it is better.
- jacquesm 10y ago
  This is even taken into account when loading fuel. The savings are enormous compared to ignoring this. It's both fuel saved to burn and fuel saved to haul.
freehunter 10y ago
I can't imagine the kind of person who would try to argue with an actual commercial pilot in-flight based on their assumptions about a video game.
- ska 10y ago
  Lucky you - I find it only too easy to imagine!
loco5niner 10y ago
If I was that pilot and had somehow heard of that going on, I would have made sure to land 20 minutes early... somehow
CWuestefeld 10y ago
I've flown between the USA and China several times, and each time it seems the route is at least slightly different. I've seen the Shanghai->Newark flight range from directly over the north pole, then coming down over upstate NY; to going over Japan, just south of Alaska, and paralleling the Canadian border. So there's clearly not a single correct route. My neighbor at the time was a commercial pilot, and I asked him about the difference. He says that anything else that the airline or anybody else tells you ahead of time is only tentative. The final call on the route is made by the pilot on departure. He's considering things like wind speed and direction along the way, weather along the route, and weather at potential intermediate airports should an emergency arise. Bonus fact. He told me that he dislikes flying the newer Boeings because of the location of the cupholder. On other planes it's closer to the plane's major axis, but these planes put them farther away. This has the effect of magnifying the plane's motion, and leads to coffee spills.

squeaky-clean 10y ago

Actually I just remembered an even more relevant funny story. One of the services I maintain at my job is a list of airport locations and their names in various languages (for airlines to use) among other details. I get so many requests to change things from airlines that don't understand basic geography or even where they fly. My favorite is when a customer was raising hell because London International Airport (YXU) wasn't appearing under the city listing for London, UK and demanding it be added immediately. I had to tell them you don't fly there... it's located in Canada.

protomyth 10y ago
Perhaps they had watched a bit too much MST3K https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqrJOdWdJFo&feature=youtu.be&t=8m53s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqrJOdWdJFo&feature=youtu.be... 416- Fire Maidens of Outer Space
Pxtl 10y ago
Hah. The Y prefix alone should've been a tip off. I don't know a darned thing about air travel but I know Canada is stuck with the Y.
- Zombieball 10y ago
  I think technically Canada is stuck with the "C" prefix (vs. "K" for USA) eg. CYVR, CYUL, CYXX We also have airports with "CZ" (eg. CZBB). I am not sure what the difference (if any) between CZ vs. CY codes is. Probably just sticking with convention (begin with Y or Z because everyone else does).
  - agrahul 10y ago
    Yes, the entirety of C is currently allocated to Canada[1]. The parent comments were talking about IATA codes, though, which aren't allocated by prefix. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Civil_Aviation_Organization_airport_code#Prefixes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Civil_Aviation_O...
    - Pxtl 10y ago
      While IATA codes do not require a consistent prefix, all the Canadian airports start with Y: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_by_IATA_code:_Y https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_by_IATA_code:...
      - Zombieball 10y ago
        Interesting. I still see Canadian airports starting with Z. But Y is heavily Canadian. We should all just start our own airport. Sounds like a good way to learn about naming. I imagine we will want an airport code staring with YC, so it'll have to be in Canada :P
bigiain 10y ago
I used to work in travel - and there's always stories of people who think "Sydney NS" and "Sydney NSW" are near enough - the first is in Nova Scotia in Canada, which is quite a long way from the Sydney in New South Wales in Australia... https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/03/31/dutch-teen-ends-up-in-the-wrong-sydney.html https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/03/31/dutch-teen-ends-...
mabbo 10y ago
> I had to tell them you don't fly there... it's located in Canada. The worst part is that after you land at YXU you're in London, Ontario. (I lived near YXU for three years).

Kubuxu 10y ago

Very frequently high altitude winds are used by airlines. It means that you are taking a path that looks sub-optimal for still air perspective but with wind added it is better.

jacquesm 10y ago
This is even taken into account when loading fuel. The savings are enormous compared to ignoring this. It's both fuel saved to burn and fuel saved to haul.

freehunter 10y ago

I can't imagine the kind of person who would try to argue with an actual commercial pilot in-flight based on their assumptions about a video game.

ska 10y ago
Lucky you - I find it only too easy to imagine!

loco5niner 10y ago

If I was that pilot and had somehow heard of that going on, I would have made sure to land 20 minutes early... somehow

CWuestefeld 10y ago

I've flown between the USA and China several times, and each time it seems the route is at least slightly different. I've seen the Shanghai->Newark flight range from directly over the north pole, then coming down over upstate NY; to going over Japan, just south of Alaska, and paralleling the Canadian border. So there's clearly not a single correct route. My neighbor at the time was a commercial pilot, and I asked him about the difference. He says that anything else that the airline or anybody else tells you ahead of time is only tentative. The final call on the route is made by the pilot on departure. He's considering things like wind speed and direction along the way, weather along the route, and weather at potential intermediate airports should an emergency arise. Bonus fact. He told me that he dislikes flying the newer Boeings because of the location of the cupholder. On other planes it's closer to the plane's major axis, but these planes put them farther away. This has the effect of magnifying the plane's motion, and leads to coffee spills.