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Two things really caught me about this story besides the security implication. First, the skill Russell deployed from (only?) having used a PC flight simulator

Two things really caught me about this story besides the security implication. First, the skill Russell deployed from (only?) having used a PC flight simulator surprised me. If Russell in fact never had any flight experience outside a simulator, well, I'm just stunned at what he was capable of doing. (Linked in article, here for convenience.) [0] Second, and more importantly, Russell's demise is tragic, pure and simple. He seems relatively smart, had loved ones who cared about him, and was well-liked and well-regarded by his peers and co-workers. Yet, something was very broken for Russell. I won't speculate about what may have caused Russell's despair, but I can't help but feel his demise could have been avoided. I wish this story had a different ending. [0] https://twitter.com/CameronThomsen/status/1028157648158568448 https://twitter.com/CameronThomsen/status/102815764815856844... EDIT: readability

AmVess 8y ago
There are flight simulator packages available for many different planes, including the Q400. They feature fully functional cockpits. Here's a tutorial of the Q400's sim cockpit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl7mMDBamvw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl7mMDBamvw
chrisper 8y ago
I have put many hours in flight simulators (the ones you can install on your own PC). One day I decided to take a real flying lesson. It was almost the same as in the simulator. Obviously the controls are a bit different because of different feedback, but you get used to it quickly. I think what helps a lot is that there are so many very detailed plane packages out there you can buy for the simulators. Too bad the community is kind of toxic, so I stopped playing these games. Obviously it's not enough to get a pilot license because there are some things that you just can't do in a simulator.
- close04 8y ago
  There's one thing that really bugs me: why is everyone so surprised that an airport worker who was familiar with the planes managed to take off? The reason this bugs me is that the 9/11 investigation concluded that multiple people with 0 flight experience can be taught to accurately steer a large commercial jet after just a short time training on small aircraft. In this frame of reference managing to take of in a small turboprop in good weather conditions shouldn't surprise anybody. P.S. OK, I missed the part where "the plane was doing deep dives, broad loops and at least one upside-down roll"... But the "bug" is still there. If it's generally accepted that you can learn your way in a 747 cockpit on relatively short notice, doing dives and loops with a small plane shouldn't be that unbelievable. And I say this as a person who can comfortably take off and land a Piper Cherokee but was pretty dumbfounded when sitting in the captain's seat of a 747 for the first time.
  - darkhorn 8y ago
    9/11 is not a good example. http://arabesque911.blogspot.com/2007/07/pentagon-flight-path-map-perfect.html?m=1 http://arabesque911.blogspot.com/2007/07/pentagon-flight-pat...
- deleted 8y ago
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deleted 8y ago
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tajen 8y ago
> Yet, something was very broken for Russell. That’s why Men’s Rights Movements are important, yet constantly under attack by women and male feminists. Facilities for men to speak and discuss their problems are notoriously absent from society, and of course, since they’re mostly shut down/defunded/deplatformed, the only ones that remain are groups like Incels (who, to my knowledge, prone mass murders against Stans & Staceys, ie incontrollabe reactions to aggressive femimism). Example: There is only 1 shelter for beaten husbands in all of USA vs 2000 for women. Other example: We fund more money towards dog shelters than homeless men shelters. It’s not that this guy could have been saved by that, but in society we care so little about men’s problems that they just go straight from shutting up about their problems to full-on suicide. As a reminder, men commit 3x suicide of women, with a 10x success rate at killing themselves.
Rapzid 8y ago
Taking off and flying a plane in calm conditions is actually not that hard. Getting where you are going safely, without running out of fuel, and landing are the tricky parts.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
  Taking off and cruising aren't hard, but low altitude loops and rolls certainly are.
  - afterburner 8y ago
    Not if you don't care if you die.
prolikewh0a 8y ago
>First, the skill Russell deployed from (only?) having used a PC flight simulator surprised me. If Russell in fact never had any flight experience outside a simulator, well, I'm just stunned at what he was capable of doing. (Linked in article, here for convenience.) [0] Taking off and simply flying around are the easy parts. Playing a couple hundred hours of simulators would get you a nice feel for hand flying, especially if you had a PC yoke and rudder pedals. You could download a good plane model and know where absolutely everything is in the cockpit as well.
Turing_Machine 8y ago
Russell grew up in Alaska. More people there than might be commonly imagined have experience flying (small) planes from an early age without licenses or formal lessons. I don't know that this was the case with him, but I would not be at all surprised.
deleted 8y ago
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skellera 8y ago
Being a mechanic, he was probably used to the pre-flight checklist (pretty much how to get the plane ready to fly). Then there's the takeoff checklist. It's checklists all the way down. It's really not that hard. It's just consistency, talking on the radios, and years of experience to know how to handle anything unexpected that makes the pilot. Even then... there's probably a checklist for it.

AmVess 8y ago

There are flight simulator packages available for many different planes, including the Q400. They feature fully functional cockpits. Here's a tutorial of the Q400's sim cockpit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl7mMDBamvw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl7mMDBamvw

chrisper 8y ago

I have put many hours in flight simulators (the ones you can install on your own PC). One day I decided to take a real flying lesson. It was almost the same as in the simulator. Obviously the controls are a bit different because of different feedback, but you get used to it quickly. I think what helps a lot is that there are so many very detailed plane packages out there you can buy for the simulators. Too bad the community is kind of toxic, so I stopped playing these games. Obviously it's not enough to get a pilot license because there are some things that you just can't do in a simulator.

close04 8y ago
There's one thing that really bugs me: why is everyone so surprised that an airport worker who was familiar with the planes managed to take off? The reason this bugs me is that the 9/11 investigation concluded that multiple people with 0 flight experience can be taught to accurately steer a large commercial jet after just a short time training on small aircraft. In this frame of reference managing to take of in a small turboprop in good weather conditions shouldn't surprise anybody. P.S. OK, I missed the part where "the plane was doing deep dives, broad loops and at least one upside-down roll"... But the "bug" is still there. If it's generally accepted that you can learn your way in a 747 cockpit on relatively short notice, doing dives and loops with a small plane shouldn't be that unbelievable. And I say this as a person who can comfortably take off and land a Piper Cherokee but was pretty dumbfounded when sitting in the captain's seat of a 747 for the first time.
- darkhorn 8y ago
  9/11 is not a good example. http://arabesque911.blogspot.com/2007/07/pentagon-flight-path-map-perfect.html?m=1 http://arabesque911.blogspot.com/2007/07/pentagon-flight-pat...
deleted 8y ago
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deleted 8y ago

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tajen 8y ago

> Yet, something was very broken for Russell. That’s why Men’s Rights Movements are important, yet constantly under attack by women and male feminists. Facilities for men to speak and discuss their problems are notoriously absent from society, and of course, since they’re mostly shut down/defunded/deplatformed, the only ones that remain are groups like Incels (who, to my knowledge, prone mass murders against Stans & Staceys, ie incontrollabe reactions to aggressive femimism). Example: There is only 1 shelter for beaten husbands in all of USA vs 2000 for women. Other example: We fund more money towards dog shelters than homeless men shelters. It’s not that this guy could have been saved by that, but in society we care so little about men’s problems that they just go straight from shutting up about their problems to full-on suicide. As a reminder, men commit 3x suicide of women, with a 10x success rate at killing themselves.

Rapzid 8y ago

Taking off and flying a plane in calm conditions is actually not that hard. Getting where you are going safely, without running out of fuel, and landing are the tricky parts.

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
Taking off and cruising aren't hard, but low altitude loops and rolls certainly are.
- afterburner 8y ago
  Not if you don't care if you die.

prolikewh0a 8y ago

>First, the skill Russell deployed from (only?) having used a PC flight simulator surprised me. If Russell in fact never had any flight experience outside a simulator, well, I'm just stunned at what he was capable of doing. (Linked in article, here for convenience.) [0] Taking off and simply flying around are the easy parts. Playing a couple hundred hours of simulators would get you a nice feel for hand flying, especially if you had a PC yoke and rudder pedals. You could download a good plane model and know where absolutely everything is in the cockpit as well.

Turing_Machine 8y ago

Russell grew up in Alaska. More people there than might be commonly imagined have experience flying (small) planes from an early age without licenses or formal lessons. I don't know that this was the case with him, but I would not be at all surprised.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

skellera 8y ago

Being a mechanic, he was probably used to the pre-flight checklist (pretty much how to get the plane ready to fly). Then there's the takeoff checklist. It's checklists all the way down. It's really not that hard. It's just consistency, talking on the radios, and years of experience to know how to handle anything unexpected that makes the pilot. Even then... there's probably a checklist for it.