AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2019 - 20

PROFICIENT PILOT

Window or aisle?

BY BARRY SCHIFF

Adventure lies outside closed shades

BARRY SCHIFF

has delivered two
commencement
addresses at
Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical
University, both
at the Prescott,
Arizona, campus.

20 | AOPA PILOT August 2019

MY FIRST RIDE IN AN AIRPLANE was aboard a North
American Airlines DC-4 that whisked me at the age
of 13 from Burbank to Wichita to Chicago Midway to
New York's LaGuardia Airport to visit my grandparents in New Jersey. I had been staring out my window
at the night sky but saw only blue flames streaking
from beneath the metal coverings of those noisy, monstrous engines. Were the pilots aware of those flames? I
wondered nervously.
But then an awesome event began to unfold. The
eastern horizon became visible and the sky became
brighter until a sunburst of light suddenly revealed
the world beneath our wings. I discovered a panoply of farms and rivers and lakes and towns-things
I had never before seen from above. It was mesmerizing, magical. I pressed my nose so hard against the
window that I thought something would break (my
nose or the window).
In social studies class we had been taught about
global overpopulation but from where I sat, such a
concept was impossible to comprehend; except for
the dots of small towns scattered hither and yon, the
land seemed vacant.
As an airline captain many years later, I enjoyed
pointing out interesting sights to my passengers.
But as years passed, I discovered that they weren't
as interested in such things as they had been. These
changing attitudes were highlighted during my last
polar flight from London to Los Angeles. We were
approaching the east coast of Greenland, and that
view was more striking than I'd ever before seen. I
picked up the handset and told my passengers over
the PA system about the spectacle passing below-
something that very few people get to see and that
they likely would never see again, particularly under
these conditions. Then came an insistent, coded
knock on the cockpit door. A flight attendant wanted
to come forward. Once inside the cockpit she said
in a scolding tone, "You're interrupting the movie,
and the passengers are getting upset." Only a few of
them, I was told, seemed interested in looking out
their windows.
When I am an airline passenger-something I generally try to avoid these days-I am torn between the
choice of a window or an aisle seat. The pilot part of
me wants to sit near the window. I still love gazing at
that blue palette upon which Mother Nature paints

breathtaking and constantly changing hues and shapes.
Sometimes, though, her creations can be threatening,
especially the ones that spit lightning. Even as a passenger, I'd often bring along topographical charts to
continue my informal study of physical geography.
On the other hand, I enjoy an aisle seat because of
the freedom it provides. I can get up any time without
bothering or waking a seatmate. What I hate about
an aisle seat, though, is that it prevents me from having control of the window shade, which all too often
is kept closed. I can't stand not being able to see outside during takeoff, and I am uncomfortable when
unable to appraise our surroundings during turbulence or when on an approach. I cannot fathom how
anyone can sit for hours without showing any curiosity whatsoever about the incredible sights hidden by
their window shade. Can people these days really be
more interested in what they can see on their devices
than outside the aircraft?
Airline passengers not only seem oblivious to
the view from above, they've generally become antisocial, ignoring their seatmates. While they used to
introduce themselves to one another and engage in
occasional conversation, today it seems that they prefer the company of their devices.
A few years ago a friend and I were returning from
Page, Arizona, in his V-tail Bonanza, and our track
passed directly over the Grand Canyon. It was nearing
sunset, and the walls of the canyon were ablaze with a
kaleidoscope of reds and magentas. I pointed this out
to my friend's son, who was sitting in back, preoccupied with his iPad. When I called his attention to the
incredible sight below, he took a quick look, returned
to his game, and said, "Yeah, I've seen that."
His father was incredulous. "You've never been
here. How could you have seen it?"
"Aw, c'mon, Dad," he replied. "I've seen it on the
internet."
General aviation enthusiasts have been wondering
for years why more people aren't interested in learning to fly. Some blame higher costs while others point
to increased complexity and regulation. These might
be factors, but I think that other significant culprits are
the internet and related devices that seem to be winning the competition for our time and attention-and
are displacing our sense of personal adventure. AOPA
barryschiff.com

http://www.barryschiff.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2019

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