Trip to Atlanta

I am on a business trip in Atlanta. The trip out was very fun. I got a ride on David's jet. The plane is a Citation Encore. The interior is very plush, with burled wood everywhere. There are 7 passenger seats plus the pilot and the co-pilot. David was the co-pilot most of the way, so there was only two of us in the passenger section. The seats were very comfortable, plush leather seats. The seats would rotate 180 degrees, up and down, and forward and reverse. They would also lay out flat like a bed.

Our first stop was in San Diego. About 30 minutes into our second leg, David came back and talked to us for awhile. After about 10 minutes, he asked me if I wanted to climb up into the co-pilot's seat. It was really cool, the view is great from up there. Jill, the pilot, gave me an overview of the gauges and the controls. The plane was on auto-pilot and pretty much flew itself. The jet flies high above the commercial airliners, so the flight was very smooth.

After about 10 minutes, Jill asked me if I wanted to fly the jet. HUNH? My eyes get pretty large and I whimper, "uhhhhh, okay". Very exciting. The biggest surprise to me is that it takes constant monitoring and adjustments. Jill told me that at 45,000 feet the air is thin enough that the plane will not fly straight and level by itself (unless you use auto-pilot). Luckily the plane did not go too far off course, I only needed to make minor adjustments. Later, the passengers were sure to let me know that they could tell when I was in control of the plane.

We stopped to re-fuel at Clinton-Sherman airport in Burns Flat, Oklahoma. About 45 minutes away, Jill tells one of the passengers to use the satellite phone to order pizza for our stop. David lands the plane and there is no one around. No other planes, no cars, no people, no one at all! The buildings even look deserted. The building below is the "Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority". Hmm, maybe this explains why you don't hear of much Space Industry in Oklahoma! :-)


After a few minutes, a guy drives up with a pizza. He turns out to be the one worker at the airport on the weekends. He is the guy who pumps gas, the guy on the runway who directs planes on where to park, the guy who gets the pizza, the guy who mans the guest desk at the airport, the guy who ...

He was very nice and helpful. He actually lives 2 hours away and drives to the airport on Friday nights and spends the weekend at the airport. We arrived mid-Sunday afternoon and we were his only customers that day. Man, what a lonely job. As we were leaving, he was grumbling that he wished the owner would install a shower. We later learned that the airport is more busy during the week, it is used by Air Force planes during training.

The last leg to Atlanta was uneventful (they would not let me even close to the cockpit!) All in all it is a great way to travel. I can see why CEO's are very fond of their private jets. I have let Barbara know what I want for Xmas. She didn't say no!