A Flight to LA

It was a big day in my airline career... My Dad was going to be my passenger for the first time.  I would be the Flight Engineer on a Braniff 727.

We were flying from San Antonio to Los Angeles late one afternoon.  The Captain of our flight was the Chief Pilot and I considered him the ultimate pilot.  He was very professional at all times, his uniform was impeccable and he had the best radio voice of anyone I had ever known.  If you heard him on the radio you instantly recognized him... Other pilots on the frequency would chime in and say... "Hello Bob".  I was proud to fly with him.  On this day Bob was getting a check-ride from San Antonio to Los Angeles... A "Line Check"... A captain gets one line check per year.  So, instead of a co-pilot we had a second Captain and he was giving the check ride.

When Dad boarded the flight he stuck his head in the cockpit and said hello to all three of us.  I introduced him and told the others he was a fighter pilot in WW II and they all hit it off.  The Captain asked Dad if he would like to ride in the cockpit to LA.  I can still see him glowing as he said "really?",  and later said "Yes!"  Dad may have been the happiest man in the world at that moment.  Soon we were airborne and heading West.  Everyone shared few war stories as the sun set and my Dad was treated like a king with a first class meal.  

It was a perfectly clear night and Dad and I had both flown in to LA before (in small airplanes),  but this night time approach into LAX was the best flight we had ever had together and neither one of us were at the controls.  Dad got off in LA to go visit his brothers and I think the both of us were a couple of inches taller... It was a milestone in my career that before was only true in my dreams... 

It was completely illegal.  You had to be an airline crew member to ride in the cockpit way back then and it is still true today.  There are a few exceptions but in general you have to be an airline pilot to ride up there on a scheduled airline flight that is carrying more than 19 passengers... Kinda...

Years later both Mom and Dad were passengers riding in the back of my aircraft several more times.  I would always make a PA before the flight to announce that my instructors were on board.  I didn't have to point them out... I figured they had probably already told everyone far more already...