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The most dramatic moment I have had in 56 years of flying was when the wing of the aircraft was struck by lightning as we were climbing out of Bombay Santa Cruz (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International) Airport in the middle of Monsoon back in 1966. It was a very bright flash and loud bang, and then an announcement by the Captain as to what happened. We just continued on to our destination Delhi Palam (now Indira Gandhi International) Airport. The aircraft was a 707 (Dhaulagiri), the airline was Air India then the first all jet airline in Asia. JRD Tata was still Chairman, though it had been nationalized.

The aircraft was manufactured in 1962, a -437 meaning that it had Rolls-Royce engines. I found a photo on airliners.net via pintrest which is linked below:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ed/15/a2/ed15a26c6e161bff7adb6643e7842e86.jpg
 
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JIS those bangs can be very loud. Did you notice the static discharge antenna looking wicks on the trailing edge of the wings? Lightning usually does very little damage to an airplane except the radar electronics and radar dome. Sometimes at night when flying thru snow that did not see static will start to flow in front of the airplane several hundred feet. You duck under the glare shield so if it discharges you will not be temporary blinded.
 
Most of the time I'm fine with bumpy flights and rough landings. Even when people are crying or praying I'm usually just listening to music or watching the clouds, but there have been a few flights that spooked me.

1. Exceptional Engine Sounds - It's not uncommon for aircraft engines to sound off or to vibrate more than usual but one flight was so loud with so much vibration you could not even hear the PA announcements. This was really unusual for a high bypass turbofan in my experience and I was uncomfortable for most of the flight. (WN B737).

2. Zero Visibility Landing - I've been through some rough landings but one had so much rain you could not see anything outside the window and we could feel the aircraft hydroplaning on the runway. I have never had a landing like that before or since and I feel the pilot made a mistake by landing in those conditions. (WN B737)

3. Unexplained Reaction - Nothing was rough or wrong with the last flight but for some reason I had a sudden unexplained feeling of acrophobia and claustrophobia as I left the lavatory and returned to my seat. For about fifteen minutes I felt extremely uneasy but then the feeling seemed to vanish almost as suddenly as it appeared. If that is what it feels like to be afraid of flying then I can see why some people avoid it like the plague. (AA MD80)

TaseMeBro said:
I'm not as much of an "avgeek" as some - I have done a couple of inaugural flights for the experience, and flying on a new acft type for the first time is interesting, but I can't say I've travelled just to check out a particular plane.
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Exploring new aircraft, airlines, and airports is most of the attraction for me. The act of flying itself lost most of its appeal many years ago. For me the ideal business trip is a same day return with no overnight while the ideal tourist trip is falling asleep shortly after the main service and not waking up again until landing. My longest flight was 16:30 and I simply cannot comprehend how people can enjoy ultra-long-haul flights no matter the cabin or service.

jis said:
It was a very bright flash and loud bang, and then an announcement by the Captain as to what happened. We just continued on to our destination Delhi Palam (now Indira Gandhi International) Airport.
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Only had one lightening strike and remember every window getting crazy bright followed by all the lights going out and the engines changing pitch. After a few long seconds the lights came back on and the flight continued landing.
 
Devil's Advocate said:
Most of the time I'm fine with bumpy flights and rough landings. Even when people are crying or praying I'm usually just listening to music or watching the clouds, but there have been a few flights that spooked me.

1. Exceptional Engine Sounds - It's not uncommon for aircraft engines to sound off or to vibrate more than usual but one flight was so loud with so much vibration you could not even hear the PA announcements. This was really unusual for a high bypass turbofan in my experience and I was uncomfortable for most of the flight. (WN B737).

2. Zero Visibility Landing - I've been through some rough landings but one had so much rain you could not see anything outside the window and we could feel the aircraft hydroplaning on the runway. I have never had a landing like that before or since and I feel the pilot made a mistake by landing in those conditions. (WN B737)

3. Unexplained Reaction - Nothing was rough or wrong with the last flight but for some reason I had a sudden unexplained feeling of acrophobia and claustrophobia as I left the lavatory and returned to my seat. For about fifteen minutes I felt extremely uneasy but then the feeling seemed to vanish almost as suddenly as it appeared. If that is what it feels like to be afraid of flying then I can see why some people avoid it like the plague. (AA MD80)
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Those are perfect and not limited to one airline or aircraft. I'd add two to your list:
4. Flights where the captain announces that the flight attendants will remain seated and belted for the entire flight. That never bodes well. (several AA RJ flights)

5. Sudden drops in altitude, especially those that result in dropping air masks, things breaking in the galley or an FA injury. Somewhat disconcerting even for an experienced flyer. Add over water for additional discomfort.
 
I liked flying in the brief window after smoking on planes was banned and before insane TSA harassment became the norm. The late 90s, in other words.

My favorite thing about flying -- the view from overhead -- is quite adequately satisfied by Google Maps now. So I do not miss flying.
 
neroden said:
I liked flying in the brief window after smoking on planes was banned and before insane TSA harassment became the norm. The late 90s, in other words.

My favorite thing about flying -- the view from overhead -- is quite adequately satisfied by Google Maps now. So I do not miss flying.
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It would be even more realistically realized using the 3D mode of flightradar24, for a specific chosen flight on a particular day even ;)
 
There is something really exciting about crazy maneuvers, but of course, being able to look straight out ahead can really help with sickness/nervousness.
Most of the time, people overreact to whatever may be happening on any given flight. I get it. It can be scary. That said, a real emergency situation would be far more obvious that anything disconcerting that I've witnessed.

I was flying through some pretty rough weather yesterday.
We were landing a Pilatus PC-12 at Santa Rosa KSTS and we had some trouble intercepting the ILS without blowing altitude, and had to do some serious G force stuff to quickly adhere to ATC instructions.
 
neroden said:
I liked flying in the brief window after smoking on planes was banned and before insane TSA harassment became the norm. The late 90s, in other words.
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It's hard to believe how good we had it in the late 1990's these days. Parking thirty minutes ahead of departure before clearing security and boarding the aircraft with a simple drivers license. Even with Clear and PreCheck you simply cannot replicate that experience today. Maybe some day.
 
Devil's Advocate said:
It's hard to believe how good we had it in the late 1990's these days. Parking thirty minutes ahead of departure before clearing security and boarding the aircraft with a simple drivers license. Even with Clear and PreCheck you simply cannot replicate that experience today. Maybe some day.
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Flying today is perhaps the most unattractive travel experience, especially with connection to regional jets. I can't tell you how much I hate regional jets. The whole point of flying is a one and done quick trip, but all this connection business really doesn't make things attractive. Distances under 1000 NM are better on the train for sure.
I really don't like to to do it at all unless I can manage to upgrade cheaply, which never happens.
 
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Do I like flying? Only if I can have one of the two front seats...

In the late '90s I was employed (as an HVAC mechanic) at Hobby Airport in Houston, back when Fletcher Aviation still was running their flight school off the south ramp. I had toyed with the idea of taking lessons all my life, and now I finally took the plunge. I couldn't afford a "total immersion" experience, so instead I went part 61, one bite at a time...get a paycheck, take a lesson. Took me a full year.

But I didn't want the plain vanilla experience (i.e., Grumman American Tiger/Cheetah); I wanted to know what an airplane could do. At the time Cheetah rentals were going for $58, wet; just before I started they took their little-used aerobatic Super Decathlon and marked it down from $80/hr to $65/hr. I could afford a $7 premium. So I took my primary flight training in a taildragger. I think my instructor (Bob McDaniel, Vietnam Wild Weasel vet) was trying to scare me off (on my first lesson he had me fly a split-S starting from 3200 feet), but I took to it like a duck to water. I even learned to fly under the hood on needle, ball, and airspeed; was able to pass my private checkride in a no-gyro airplane. My last checkride prep lesson was spins and recovery, under the hood, at night.

Sadly, a year after I passed (and was working on my commercial/instrument), the doctor put me on medication which caused me to lose my medical. :(
 
jis said:
The aircraft was a 707 (Dhaulagiri), the airline was Air India then the first all jet airline in Asia. JRD Tata was still Chairman, though it had been nationalized.
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They just sold Air India back to the Tata family earlier this year (or last year) right?
 
jiml said:
The A340 is an underrated airplane, sacrificed on the altar of lower costs. I believe Lufthansa and Swiss still have a few. Fly them while you can.
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One of my favorite planes to fly in recent years was Lufthansa's A340-600 that they flew on the ORD-MUC route. They have a layout that has a group of five bathrooms downstairs surrounding a small room (and the access to the crew quarters seems to be down there too. It is a great space for stretching your legs and they even kept a counter stocked with glasses of juice and water down there. The bathrooms are also very roomy. I don't know if any other airlines have that same set-up.
 
Cal said:
Recently I was researching flights to get on a 767 or 757 before they’re retired. But the cost seems too much for domestic flying. When I next fly overseas I will 100% be trying to get on a 747 or an a380. All for the experience. :)
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While doing some preliminary planning for a potential trip to Germany this summer I noticed that Lufthansa is using a 747-800 for one of their ORD-FRA flights.
 
As an infrequent air traveler since retiring, I’m always curious about the aircraft I’m on. Guess it goes back to my first flight as a kid on a DC-3 and then later as a frequent business traveler on Alleghany puddle jumpers or Eastern in it’s dying days then Piedmont/USAir.

Still remember blasting back from the gates in reverse at ATL on Eastern’s aging DC-9’s usually with smoke and occasional backfire. Reminded me of Alcos! I guess that was cheaper than using the tow to push us back.

In the days of airline timetables I would always be interested in the type of aircraft being used. Is there an easy way to do that today? Since our move to Florida I often check out Flightradar24 to check out flights overhead as there’s lots of air traffic.
 
neroden said:
In truth, though I swore off US flights, when Harbour Air in BC introduces its electric seaplanes, I am going to be taking a fan trip. I am a fan of electric transportation.
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I know Cape Air is supposed to be the Eviation Alice twin-motored fully electric 9-pax aircraft launch customer in the near future. They've ordered 90 of them. Weird looking airplane! Sorry I'll stick with the tried and true Cessna 402!
 
Deni said:
While doing some preliminary planning for a potential trip to Germany this summer I noticed that Lufthansa is using a 747-800 for one of their ORD-FRA flights.
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They have flown a 747-8 on that route for quite a while now. It is not something that started recently. I remember flying it some five or so years back when I flew back from Delhi on an A380 to Frabkfurt and then a 748 to Chicago. Specifically booked that slightly roundabout route to Orlando to catch the 748. Ironically now LH flies Frankfurt - Delhi and Frankfurt - Mumbai using 748s.
 
Palmland said:
As an infrequent air traveler since retiring, I’m always curious about the aircraft I’m on. Guess it goes back to my first flight as a kid on a DC-3 and then later as a frequent business traveler on Alleghany puddle jumpers or Eastern in it’s dying days then Piedmont/USAir.

Still remember blasting back from the gates in reverse at ATL on Eastern’s aging DC-9’s usually with smoke and occasional backfire. Reminded me of Alcos! I guess that was cheaper than using the tow to push us back.

In the days of airline timetables I would always be interested in the type of aircraft being used. Is there an easy way to do that today? Since our move to Florida I often check out Flightradar24 to check out flights overhead as there’s lots of air traffic.
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Funny you mentioned EA backing out of the gate at ATL. I was transferring from MIA to BOS at ATL the first time I saw it - freaked me out. I actually stood up and moved back away from windows. Then shortly after seeing that I had a Beech 99 captain for Executive Airlines that I worked for that loved to back into his parking spot on the ramp at MIA. Made for a quick departure. He also enjoyed doing "hot starts" on the B-99s at night. I could see him grinning from ear-to-ear so I knew what was coming. He'd load the engine with fuel and then throw the igniter. Huge flame would shoot down the side of the aircraft for a second. Then all you would see is big wide eyes opened in terror in every window.
 

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