The significance of flight: time, geography and science, the natural observation of poet pilots who explore the mysteries of heaven and earth

Geography is a way to divide the world, which can draw the boundaries of political entities, the lines of per capita income, or the precipitation that can best illuminate the surface of spherical hometown, and can also draw the characteristics of civilized entities with noisy voices on the ground. Flying will write down its own geography, reflecting ancient physics, and so will every aviation worker and traveler.

I have sat in some places and I have not sat in some places. Before I became a pilot, I never thought that I would look at the earth like this; But the more you travel, the more important it is, not the less you care. On the world map of long-distance pilots, some cities shine with the light of recent frequent visits, some places are not so obvious, and some places are completely dark. As a relatively junior pilot, my map is more sporadic than many colleagues. Once or twice a year, I will fly to an airport I have never been to. The reason may be that the route is new, the airport is new, or I switched from other models I used to drive to 747. A few days before this flight, I will check the charts of this airport and other airports nearby, or the flight information prepared by the previous flight. We met colleagues before the flight, and the captain often asked: Have you been there recently? Or have you been there before? We will share each other's maps.

I draw the boundaries between places in the way that I have been and have never been. In addition, the most basic boundaries in the world may not be as clear as land or water, clouds or clear skies, day or night. The simplest division of the sky is the area covered by radar and the area not covered by radar. On the ground of some airports, the tarmac and taxiway that the tower personnel can't see directly will be clearly drawn in our table. Similarly, the whole world can be distinguished by whether radar covers or not. Surprisingly, a large part of the world lacks civil aviation radar. Once away from the coast, there is no radar on the sea. There is no radar in Greenland, most parts of Africa, large areas of Canada and Australia. When I am within a certain distance of a radar station or radar equipment-the thing that will rotate to detect our position is the "radar seeker"-the airflow controller can "see" me directly. Without radar, they can't see. We must tell our position through more and more complicated electronic instruments, or read our time and altitude by radio. They must repeat the "position announcement" carefully to ensure that the report they hear is correct.

The feeling of being seen and not being seen can also be used to distinguish the world. Being out of radar range is different from being in a place where there is no cell phone signal, because we will still communicate with air traffic controllers. This is different from losing GPS positioning after driving into a tunnel, because the pilot knows where he is. This is not the same as being observed and feeling uncomfortable. Pilots prefer air traffic controllers to stare at them. If the air traffic controller says that we can be "recognized by radar", it will make us feel that we have crossed a less desolate journey section, or that we are close to the end of the journey.

Mountains over a certain height separate the sky from another world and another realm. When the altitude exceeds 10000 feet, if the engine room loses pressure, it is necessary to wear an oxygen mask. Therefore, the general outline of the mountain peak and the extra safety margin required may be the easiest map for pilots to memorize, just like the sudden rise of sea level by two miles. On this picture, there are two obvious ribbons left in the world. A long Eurasian belt starts from Spain, passes through Alps and Balkans, extends eastward from Turkey to China and Japan, and passes through Iranian, Afghan, Indian and Mongolian plateau countries, forming the core of the map. Another long red line on the chart represents the lowest flying altitude, along the western United States, from Alaska to the Andes, from the North Pole to the Antarctic Ocean.

On this map of world height, you can't see the east of the Mississippi River in the United States. Africa, Brazil, Russia, most parts of Canada and Australia as a whole do not exist. The peaks of the Himalayas are also covered with similar gaps, but the height is just the opposite. 1933, just 30 years after the Wright brothers first sailed in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the plane "flew" over Mount Everest, even though a photographer on board fainted due to lack of oxygen. Nowadays, there are not many navigation channels above the Himalayas. The reason is not that passenger planes can't easily fly over Everest, but that the terrain below is not conducive to the plane landing when it encounters mechanical problems. So many pilots have become the people who have the least chance to see the highest mountain on earth.

* * *

People fly for many reasons. Their calendars and reasons for leaving are all concentrated on a specific flight. Planes are like narrow waterways between lakes in two cities, where social activities in daily life in two distant cities agitate and converge. Sometimes this phenomenon is quite extreme. For example, holding a seminar, half of the passengers are computer engineers, physicists or archaeologists. There may be a large group of noisy students on the plane, which may be their first time to fly far away; There may also be a group of old people flying to Venice, Vancouver or Oslo to visit the wonders of the world. There are often members of the royal family on some routes; Some airlines often have celebrities, employees of oil companies, religious pilgrims or rescuers. I didn't expect that my work could clearly see the population movement in this era and see all kinds of strong motives that prompted people to embark on a journey across the earth, regardless of whether that motive existed since ancient times.

One of the reasons why I like long-distance flights is that many passengers seem to realize, like me, that most of such journeys are of great significance. In these flights, people usually have stronger reasons to travel, because long-distance flights consume more life time and are more expensive. Even before the departure of the terminal and the plane, it is easy for us to feel how much long-distance travel is valued in people's minds, whether it is an excited honeymoon couple, a newly retired couple, or even the behavior of seasonal business travelers. Like pilots, they seem to put the importance of sitting in their seats in direct proportion to the flight mileage afterwards.

There are thousands of reasons for passengers to travel. I think the most touching issue is immigration. Perhaps because my father immigrated from Europe to the United States, I reversed this long journey. I imagine that on most flights, there is always a passenger going to live in a new country; Maybe he was the first person in the family to start, or maybe he joined the family who had already left. After several generations of family evolution, there will be a turning point because of the decision of immigration. The strange metal space of the plane also strings up the history of a family in two places.

The frequency of interaction between pilots and passengers may be far less than that of flight attendants, but we know how important people are in this journey. Pilots of large aircraft are the least likely to interact with passengers. Although they carry more passengers, they can see fewer passengers. The first time I drove 747, I walked into an aerial plane, walked up the stairs and walked to the cockpit. After forty-five minutes of busyness, the flight attendant told us that boarding had been completed. She took the signed document, shook hands with us, walked out of the cockpit and closed the door. There were 330 passengers on board, but I didn't see any.

However, there are always exceptions, just like I have thousands of colleagues, but I can still establish precious friendships with some of them. Before taking off or after landing, passengers will visit the cockpit, and not just children. If you are interested, please ask if you can go and have a look. Sometimes the pilot may be too busy before taking off, but there is always time after taking off. Parents often take pictures of children sitting in the driver's seat; If I let my parents sit in the driver's seat and volunteer to take pictures of them, no one has ever refused.

Sometimes I will show my guests around the simulator, which is the only chance for non-pilots to see the core of my work and experience the scenery, sounds and feelings of the cockpit during the flight. The technology of simulator is wonderful. It can make unforgettable personal contact between pilots and passengers, which is indescribable. At the same time, flight attendants interact with people of many different cultures on the plane and go to foreign cities more often, even more than pilots. After all, pilots only visit cities that their planes can reach. Few jobs have the opportunity to explore human society from a broader perspective like flight attendants.

Occasionally, passengers feel uncomfortable on the plane. At this time, it is the flight attendants who are responsible for handling, not the pilots. Flight attendants try to make the deepest connection to save lives, which is reminiscent of the early connection between nurses and flight attendants (born in Allen, Iowa? 1930, Church (﹝Ellen Church﹞) became the first female flight attendant employed by an airline. She is a registered nurse. Later, many nurses followed in her footsteps until the outbreak of World War II and a large number of nurses were recruited to other places. Pilots are only indirectly involved in this medical situation ―― hurry up, ask for advice, or transfer to other places before reaching their destination. Pilots can call the unified management office via satellite for medical consultation. There are doctors here to evaluate passengers' condition for planes or ships at the ends of the earth, which is the most indispensable virtual medical treatment. Sometimes, the crew will look for medical staff from the passengers. Doctors are frequent visitors; If I need to find a doctor on a long-distance flight, I can never find one.

I have a friend who is the captain of an American passenger plane. He once told me about his early flights. He flew a small plane for the person who paid him at that time. He often carries bodies alone in the middle of the night and is responsible for sending people who have died in a foreign land home. At that time, the bank would cash a personal check and return it to the person who signed it, so sometimes he would fly alone at night with a body and several bags of cash. When I first saw the list of bodies on the plane in the file, I remembered this story. It is particularly sad to die in a foreign country. Perhaps this kind of sadness is more primitive, even in today's era when fallen leaves can take root and sprout. Those of us who are in charge of this grand event don't know the name of the deceased or any details, which may best symbolize the connection and disconnection with the modern world.

Once I was preparing to take off in the cockpit, a commercial vehicle came straight to the plane at high speed, and the warning light kept flashing. The driver sent something that looked like a picnic ice bucket to the cockpit. He said there was a human cornea in it for transplantation. This action, like lifting the body, is anonymous. We don't know any details about the donors and recipients, and our role in this donation process is completely accidental. But then, whenever I face organ donation, such as applying for a driver's license, or my parents died, I will think of that plane and who will get the cornea; I will remember where they are and how their eyesight is. I remember we carefully tied the box in the cockpit and flew to London as soon as possible.

I have carried many passengers and occasionally met people I know. If my relatives and friends are on the plane, it will be a little strange for me to broadcast something, because I know that some people in the cabin will think that my voice is different, and I am not used to people I know hearing me. Then they will tell me that my voice sounds different when I broadcast. Friends who live together will look at the face they know and the uniform on me over and over again when they see me wearing a uniform to work or just coming back from work.

I once found a neighbor who was a passenger on a flight. She didn't know I was one of the pilots. I went downstairs to say hello and told her that it was a surprise to meet her at seat 747 on the other side of the Atlantic instead of in the stairwell of our building. Her expression changed from a puzzled wink to a smile, because I changed from a uniformed pilot to a neighbor who often helped cook dinner.

Once I flew to Berlin. At that time, I was busy all day. The captain and I traveled back and forth between London and Madrid, and now it is late at night. We will soon descend to Tegel Airport, and then go to the hotel to sleep. I announced to the passengers that the weather at the destination was fine and told them the arrival time, so that passengers on the plane side could enjoy the night view of the city on a clear night.

A few minutes later, a flight attendant said on the intercom that a passenger had just heard my broadcast and said that he knew me. But they forgot the name of that person, so I still don't know who that person is during the descent.

We landed, taxied and stopped the plane, and the doors of the cabin and cockpit opened. He came to me from the aisle with a bag on his shoulder. I recognized him immediately. He is my hometown, my high school classmate, for at least ten years. He doesn't even know I'm a pilot. "I vaguely remember that you like airplanes," he laughed. He went to Berlin to find friends. We exchanged phones, which made us laugh. We met in such a distant place and found ourselves walking with each other at the end of the journey.

Sometimes, the pilots of passenger planes fly empty planes. Cargo planes are not responsible for carrying passengers, and it is common to have no passengers, but passenger planes without passengers are unusual. This rarely happens, because the weather may cause the plane to stay at an airport that should not stay for too long, or the plane needs to go in and out of the maintenance base. I've only been on an empty airliner a few times. Just thinking that there were no passengers with me before we left, I couldn't help feeling lonely, and the dispatcher would shrug when he saw us. Without passengers, their work is certainly much easier, but they are obviously not excited.

There are no passengers on the flight, and there are generally no flight attendants. The pilot should close the door of the empty and quiet main cabin by himself, and then go upstairs to the cockpit to fly with his colleagues. It is not that simple to open or close the door of an airplane safely. Before flying an empty plane for the first time, I only practiced closing the doors that didn't lead anywhere with the flight attendants during the annual training exercise. The empty plane is different when it takes off, and it feels surprisingly light. There are only dozens of metric tons left in the plane without passengers, which rarely reminds us of the size of the plane and highlights the physical mechanism that makes the plane fly high.

When flying empty, the pilot must get up and walk to the engine room to carry out the safety inspection carried out by the flight attendants on weekdays. On July 47, this means that one or two colleagues who are far away from the cockpit will go downstairs, pass hundreds of empty seats that have been arranged, and then go upstairs. There are magazines, toothbrushes or headphones on those seats to prepare for passengers who are not here.

I flew from San Francisco to London by air. Among the three pilots, I was assigned to the first rest group. I decided to go downstairs to the engine room instead of entering the cockpit, because I have never dozed off in the empty 747 engine room. I hummed, spread a luxurious bed (actually more like a nest) on the nose of the plane, and supplied unlimited blankets and pillows. I remember that the huge cargo hold below is almost full of computers and biotechnology instruments tonight, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. These are the fingerprints left by the California Valley and Science Park that we set out tonight. At dusk, I saw the snow-covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada sliding out of the window. However, rest time is precious, so I lie down and fall asleep when I have no time to enjoy the scenery.

The next sound I heard was the sound that woke me up after the break. When flying on weekdays, I was awakened by the sound of * * * from the sleeping cabin, which was started by other pilots by remote control. Although it is pleasant to the ear, it will still go through every long-distance pilot's head and disturb their dreams. This is the last sound they want to hear. But on this empty flight, it was the on-board broadcast system that woke me up. My cockpit colleagues broadcast to me from hundreds of empty seats, just to wake up a lonely pilot and make him jump suddenly in the front corner of the cabin.

It took me longer than usual to realize where I was. The plane flew north and east towards the dark night. It was dark outside and almost dark inside. The floor of the engine room is littered with oval Leng Yue pools, which fluctuate with the plane in the strong wind. The curtains between the cabins were not opened, so I could see the end of the main floor. There are only a few light spots on the dark abstract walkway.

Another co-pilot told me that he once flew a big plane that was still under test, and the plane had not been fitted with interior-there was no seat, no kitchen, and the cabin was not separated from the floor. He said that you can see the fuselage bending and twisting from the inside of the plane with ordinary flight control. It is impossible for me to see this spectacle tonight, but in this almost dark situation, I looked at the end of the empty plane and wanted to see this phenomenon.

In my pajamas, I sat on the cabin floor listening to the white noise of the engine and staring at the straight length of the ghost ship. Here, it is like a strange library composed of numbers and letters, flying from the low world and struggling to advance to the Arctic Ocean.

I thought of the word "soul on board". This outdated word is occasionally heard in flight. For example, air traffic controllers want to know the total number of people on the plane, including passengers and crew. This plane has already carried thousands of passengers and crew, and will carry hundreds of thousands of people in the future; These people are scattered like stars in all directions of the earth at the moment. Who would have thought we were on the same plane? I changed my pajamas in front of two rows of uncovered windows, and the night sky outside the window was as lonely as in the cabin.

I went upstairs and walked carefully through the dark aisles upstairs. The cockpit door is open all night, so there is no need to close it. From a distance, the cockpit screen at the end of the upper cabin emits soft light, as warm as a fireplace. I walked past the empty seat and entered the open cabin door. My colleague made me a cup of hot tea and put it on the cup holder on my seat. I walked into the cockpit and asked, guess who I am? The captain smiled ―― who else will be there tonight?

?

This article is authorized to be published from Facebook/Mark? Van hornak's The Uprooted Meaning of Flying: Time, Geography and Science is a natural observation of the poet pilot exploring the mysteries of heaven and earth.

Integrity in flight: natural observation of time, geography, science, poets and pilots exploring the mysteries of heaven and earth. Author: Mark? Van hornak

Publisher: Facebook