20,000 feet in a Boeing 737
Just returned from a business trip to Houston, Texas. I flew, but not as a pilot in a Skyhawk. I was a paying passenger on Southwest Airlines.
I can’t remember the exact date I last flew on a commercial airline but I do know it was pre-9/11. My first hint came when the security guard asked me to take off my shoes and run them through the X-Ray machine.
I was lucky. A stone’s throw away I saw passengers - most selected at random -who were getting introduced (or reacquainted?) with the more “thorough” security review.
It was fun to be a passenger on this trip. Fun to be reminded of the awesome power of travel by jet engine. Takeoff rolls pushed you back into your seat….penetrating the low overcast involved blasting through clouds at what seemed like WARP speed…and then there was the landing. The firm return to Mother Earth accompanied by heavy braking and reverse thrust. Wow…quite different from flying the Skyhawk! We cruised at 20,000 feet for the brief, 29 minute flight from KSAT to KHOU.
Climbing to 20,000 feet in a Boeing 737
My hats off to Southwest Airlines and all the folks at the airports that are working to keep our skies safe…
