I had a chance to sp nd several hours in the cockpit of a Boeing 777 long range simulator here in Atlanta recently. My daughter was in the left seat. I have about 65 hours logged over the years in single engine planes so flying a 14 million dollar simulator had to be a challenge. Or so I thought!
The instructor first set us up for take-off (Hartsfield L27) and although we did not work the radios, nav or engine management systems, achieving rotation speed with flaps at 1 at 150 mph was just too easy!! Climb out was fantastic. Too damn real!!!! He added turbulence and the vertigo set in!
She landed the plane with me on the flaps, gear, speed brakes and wheel brakes. A novice having never flown actually landed this monster!
Alright my turn. I requested a take off from Midway Airport in Chicago (easterly) with a run over Lake Michigan and a final into O'Hare Field. The 777 was amazingly responsive and I managed to land it and taxi off the runway. Too easy.
So, in reality...................are these planes that easy to handle? The old analog instrumentation is gone and the new display systems make it easy to follow everything. I know it even has auto land systems. So are these large modern airliners truely that simple to fly, even land?
