A Virgin Atlantic pilot today revealed what life is really like for pilots in the cockpit. Senior first officer Bernice Moran appeared on Instagram for Virgin as the popular airline launches the “Virgin Atlantic Flight School” to keep those in lockdown entertained. Virgin Atlantic is hosting 15-minute lessons each lunchtime with a key aviation expert – from pilots to engineers, cabin crew to aircraft designers.
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In today’s session, Moran divulged what pilots really get excited about when they fly.
The Virgin pilot flies a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and has been with the airline for 12 years.
She revealed that there’s one thing all pilots love – and one thing she, in particular, looks forward to.
First up it’s the sound the engines make and the anticipation of taking off into the sky.
“Once we are cleared for takeoff this is when the adrenaline is pumping and this is when the true passion of flying comes into play,” Moran explained.
“Once for we’re clear for takeoff, we stand up those thrust leavers and you can hear the engines purring like pussycats beautifully.
“And this is when every pilot gets super excited and absolutely adores the job.”
The plane then accelerates downs the runway, the nose of the aircraft goes into the air and it takes off.
The aircraft then continues to climb up to its cruising altitude.
“[This] is totally dependent on what weight the aircraft is but it’s normally about 35 to 37,000 feet,” explains Moran.
It’s at this point the pilots can relax.
“So once we’ve reached our cruise altitude, that’s when we can actually settle in them for the long flight ahead of us,” explained Moran.
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The pilot shared that next up it’s the promise of food which is most exciting.
“The only thing I’m looking forward to then is the menu,” Moran said.
However, fliers needn’t worry that the pilots will be distracted at this time.
“Just bear in mind the autopilot is engaged while I’m reading the menu,” the pilot clarified.
She continued: “So once we’ve settled in and we’ve done all our checks and monitoring, we are on our merry way to one of many of Virgin Atlantic exciting and exotic destinations.”
The Virgin Instagram class is the first of four this week.
Over the next three days, one can find out about Cabin crew medical training and crisis management, designing a world-class aircraft cabin and what goes in to keeping an A350-1000 flying?
Virgin Atlantic said of the sessions in a statement: “With thousands of families learning at home this Easter, we are proud that our experts can provide unique insight, behind-the-scenes knowledge and a fun learning opportunity.”
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