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Scott Bateman MBE

@scottiebateman • 106,429 subscribers

Man Slave to Millie 🐕 | Times Best Selling Author | TV Producer | Speaker on Decision Making and Military Aviation | Fly Big Jets | Personal Acct & Views

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There aren’t enough expletives to describe this. Looks like this aircraft run out of air and decided to do a wing over to prevent a crash into the mountain. No idea of the circumstances but it appears that they, whoever they are, got away with it. 🍀

There aren’t enough expletives to describe this. Looks like this aircraft run out of air and decided to do a wing over to prevent a crash into the mountain. No idea of the circumstances but it appears that they, whoever they are, got away with it. 🍀

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This is apparently a delivery flight of the Argentinian version of air force one. I’m not sure what situation has necessitated this. 🤷🏼‍♂️ #Argentina #flying #AvGeek

This is apparently a delivery flight of the Argentinian version of air force one. I’m not sure what situation has necessitated this. 🤷🏼‍♂️ #Argentina #flying #AvGeek

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An interesting video for a #Sundaymorning. What would you do if you were the landing aircraft in this video.? Do you go around and have a potential conflict in the air or stay the course and land? Or do you look ahead and do something else? Answers below.

An interesting video for a #Sundaymorning. What would you do if you were the landing aircraft in this video.? Do you go around and have a potential conflict in the air or stay the course and land? Or do you look ahead and do something else? Answers below.

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Forget the Red Arrows and Blue Angels in South Africa they do it bigger….much bigger. 😳🙌🏻 Your thoughts on this ? #WePilots #aviation #avgeek

Forget the Red Arrows and Blue Angels in South Africa they do it bigger….much bigger. 😳🙌🏻 Your thoughts on this ? #WePilots #aviation #avgeek

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Tonight’s track bends gently away from the straight line, and there’s poetry in that. An eleven-hour crossing to São Paulo in the A350, departing the edge of Europe at Land’s End and slipping quietly into the Atlantic night. South past the Canary Islands, down the long western shoulder of Africa, skirting Cape Verde before turning west toward Fortaleza on Brazil’s northern coast. From there, a vast, dark canvas beneath us, the Amazon rainforest, before dawn breaks and a summer sun rises over São Paulo. Long-haul flying is rarely about drawing a ruler line across a map. Extended-range operations (ETOPS 180) mean every oceanic route is carefully sculpted around diversion airfields, weather, fuel planning and resilience. The result is not inefficiency, but elegance, a demonstration of just how much thinking goes into making intercontinental travel both safe and routine. By morning, while Europe sleeps under winter skies, Brazil wakes to warmth and light. Another reminder of how aviation quietly stitches seasons, continents and lives together. A privilege, as always. #A350 #LongHaul #ETOPS #AviationLife #FlightDeckView #FestiveTravel #SeasonalJourneys #GlobalAviation #PilotLife #TravelDiaries #AvGeek

Tonight’s track bends gently away from the straight line, and there’s poetry in that. An eleven-hour crossing to São Paulo in the A350, departing the edge of Europe at Land’s End and slipping quietly into the Atlantic night. South past the Canary Islands, down the long western shoulder of Africa, skirting Cape Verde before turning west toward Fortaleza on Brazil’s northern coast. From there, a vast, dark canvas beneath us, the Amazon rainforest, before dawn breaks and a summer sun rises over São Paulo. Long-haul flying is rarely about drawing a ruler line across a map. Extended-range operations (ETOPS 180) mean every oceanic route is carefully sculpted around diversion airfields, weather, fuel planning and resilience. The result is not inefficiency, but elegance, a demonstration of just how much thinking goes into making intercontinental travel both safe and routine. By morning, while Europe sleeps under winter skies, Brazil wakes to warmth and light. Another reminder of how aviation quietly stitches seasons, continents and lives together. A privilege, as always. #A350 #LongHaul #ETOPS #AviationLife #FlightDeckView #FestiveTravel #SeasonalJourneys #GlobalAviation #PilotLife #TravelDiaries #AvGeek

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Heathrow → Dallas/Fort Worth Taking the A350 across the pond today to DFW Airport, a new destination for the fleet, but one I know well from my 747 days. Always a great feeling bringing a new aircraft type onto a route you’ve flown before. Same sky, different wings. A few Dallas facts while we cruise across the Atlantic: ⭐ Home to the massive Lockheed Martin plant where the F-35 is built, aviation heritage runs deep here. 🤠 Dallas has more restaurants per capita than any other U.S. city (bring an appetite). 🎨 The Dallas Arts District is the largest urban arts district in the United States. 🌆 And fun fact: the city’s skyline is consistently ranked among the most beautiful in America. Looking forward to touching down in Texas again… see y’all soon! 🤠🇺🇸 Top tips for tomorrow’s adventure greatly appreciated. #A350 #DFW #FlightDeckViews #Dallas #PilotLife #Aviation

Heathrow → Dallas/Fort Worth Taking the A350 across the pond today to DFW Airport, a new destination for the fleet, but one I know well from my 747 days. Always a great feeling bringing a new aircraft type onto a route you’ve flown before. Same sky, different wings. A few Dallas facts while we cruise across the Atlantic: ⭐ Home to the massive Lockheed Martin plant where the F-35 is built, aviation heritage runs deep here. 🤠 Dallas has more restaurants per capita than any other U.S. city (bring an appetite). 🎨 The Dallas Arts District is the largest urban arts district in the United States. 🌆 And fun fact: the city’s skyline is consistently ranked among the most beautiful in America. Looking forward to touching down in Texas again… see y’all soon! 🤠🇺🇸 Top tips for tomorrow’s adventure greatly appreciated. #A350 #DFW #FlightDeckViews #Dallas #PilotLife #Aviation

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Seen over Canary Wharf in London a few nights ago. When these choppers turn up… someone is gonna have a bad day. “The government negotiators from Wales have arrived!”… #London #BlueThunder

Seen over Canary Wharf in London a few nights ago. When these choppers turn up… someone is gonna have a bad day. “The government negotiators from Wales have arrived!”… #London #BlueThunder

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Another night, another long arc east… London Heathrow Airport to Hong Kong 🇭🇰, the Airbus A350 settling into cruise while the world slides quietly beneath us. Lately there’s been plenty of noise about GPS jamming and spoofing, so here’s the calm, practical version from the flight deck. Jamming is simply interference, other electronic noise overwhelming the GPS signal so a receiver can’t hear it properly. Spoofing is more mischievous, that’s nefarious actors broadcasting a false signal that tries to convince the receiver it’s somewhere it isn’t. Both can be inconvenient. Neither is new. And neither is a show-stopper for modern aviation. Airliners were navigating oceans long before satellites were part of the picture, using inertial reference systems, radio navigation aids, dead reckoning, time, distance, and a healthy respect for cross-checks. Today’s aircraft layer all of that together. If one element like the GPS becomes unreliable, the system doesn’t panic, it recognises it swiftly, dumps it, and reverts to one of the other systems. Crews verify, cross-reference, and carry on. That’s the quiet strength of modern aviation and aircraft, redundancy and judgement. No single sensor gets a veto. No single failure defines the outcome. The airplane doesn’t need GPS to fly safely; it uses it when it’s trustworthy and ignores it when it isn’t. From the cabin, the night looks serene. From the flight deck, it’s deliberate, systems monitored, assumptions questioned, margins protected. Just as it’s always been. If you’d like to learn more about GPS jamming and spoofing, and the tragic event that released this military system for civilian aviation, you can preorder my book JUMBO on Amazon or at any good bookstore. Hong Kong by morning. Same principles. New technology. Calm continuity. #A350 #PilotLife #AviationSafety #AvGeek #FlightDeckView #LongHaul #Navigation #GPS #ModernAviation #AirlineLife #AboveTheClouds #SystemsThinking #GlobalAviation #JUMBO #JUMBObook

Another night, another long arc east… London Heathrow Airport to Hong Kong 🇭🇰, the Airbus A350 settling into cruise while the world slides quietly beneath us. Lately there’s been plenty of noise about GPS jamming and spoofing, so here’s the calm, practical version from the flight deck. Jamming is simply interference, other electronic noise overwhelming the GPS signal so a receiver can’t hear it properly. Spoofing is more mischievous, that’s nefarious actors broadcasting a false signal that tries to convince the receiver it’s somewhere it isn’t. Both can be inconvenient. Neither is new. And neither is a show-stopper for modern aviation. Airliners were navigating oceans long before satellites were part of the picture, using inertial reference systems, radio navigation aids, dead reckoning, time, distance, and a healthy respect for cross-checks. Today’s aircraft layer all of that together. If one element like the GPS becomes unreliable, the system doesn’t panic, it recognises it swiftly, dumps it, and reverts to one of the other systems. Crews verify, cross-reference, and carry on. That’s the quiet strength of modern aviation and aircraft, redundancy and judgement. No single sensor gets a veto. No single failure defines the outcome. The airplane doesn’t need GPS to fly safely; it uses it when it’s trustworthy and ignores it when it isn’t. From the cabin, the night looks serene. From the flight deck, it’s deliberate, systems monitored, assumptions questioned, margins protected. Just as it’s always been. If you’d like to learn more about GPS jamming and spoofing, and the tragic event that released this military system for civilian aviation, you can preorder my book JUMBO on Amazon or at any good bookstore. Hong Kong by morning. Same principles. New technology. Calm continuity. #A350 #PilotLife #AviationSafety #AvGeek #FlightDeckView #LongHaul #Navigation #GPS #ModernAviation #AirlineLife #AboveTheClouds #SystemsThinking #GlobalAviation #JUMBO #JUMBObook

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New year. First flight of 2026. Westbound again. Today’s flight arcs away from London and bends north, following the geometry of the planet rather than the flatness of a map. The great-circle route pulls us toward Greenland’s 🇬🇱 ice and the far northern reaches of Canada 🇨🇦, places so vast and sparsely inhabited that distance still feels absolute. Town names like Iqualuit, Yellow Knife, and Crazy Woman, all part of this northern adventure. From altitude, the scale is humbling: ice, rock, forest, and very little else. There’s method behind today’s routing though. Over the North Atlantic, aircraft don’t simply choose a line and go. We fly along daily-published “roads in the sky”, tracks that are repositioned every 24 hours to account for the atmosphere’s moving parts. Eastbound traffic rides the jet stream’s tailwinds for speed and efficiency; westbound flights step away from that river of air, trading distance for fewer headwinds and a smoother, more economical crossing. The sky itself is the variable, and the routes adapt to it. It’s a reminder that aviation is less about conquering nature and more about cooperating with it, listening to the winds, respecting geography, and letting physics do its quiet work. Looking forward to starting 2026 with a day in Vancouver and perhaps seeing some Harbour Air seaplanes. Happy New Year everyone I hope 2026 is a great one. See you on the other side of the Atlantic… again. #A350 #PilotLife #AvGeek #GreatCircle #NorthAtlantic #FlightPlanning #JetStream #AboveTheClouds #NewYearFlying #GlobalAviation #VancouverBound #AirlineLife #vancouver #Canada #heathrow #HappyNewYear2026

New year. First flight of 2026. Westbound again. Today’s flight arcs away from London and bends north, following the geometry of the planet rather than the flatness of a map. The great-circle route pulls us toward Greenland’s 🇬🇱 ice and the far northern reaches of Canada 🇨🇦, places so vast and sparsely inhabited that distance still feels absolute. Town names like Iqualuit, Yellow Knife, and Crazy Woman, all part of this northern adventure. From altitude, the scale is humbling: ice, rock, forest, and very little else. There’s method behind today’s routing though. Over the North Atlantic, aircraft don’t simply choose a line and go. We fly along daily-published “roads in the sky”, tracks that are repositioned every 24 hours to account for the atmosphere’s moving parts. Eastbound traffic rides the jet stream’s tailwinds for speed and efficiency; westbound flights step away from that river of air, trading distance for fewer headwinds and a smoother, more economical crossing. The sky itself is the variable, and the routes adapt to it. It’s a reminder that aviation is less about conquering nature and more about cooperating with it, listening to the winds, respecting geography, and letting physics do its quiet work. Looking forward to starting 2026 with a day in Vancouver and perhaps seeing some Harbour Air seaplanes. Happy New Year everyone I hope 2026 is a great one. See you on the other side of the Atlantic… again. #A350 #PilotLife #AvGeek #GreatCircle #NorthAtlantic #FlightPlanning #JetStream #AboveTheClouds #NewYearFlying #GlobalAviation #VancouverBound #AirlineLife #vancouver #Canada #heathrow #HappyNewYear2026

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Last flight of 2025. São Paulo to London. One final Atlantic crossing this year… This year asked more than I expected. There were extraordinary moments, stars over the ITCZ, dawn breaking across continents, the quiet privilege of a flight deck at night, but also periods that were heavy, uncertain, and quietly hard. Some of that showed. Some of it didn’t. Not everything needs to. Aviation has a way of holding a mirror up to you. On good days it amplifies confidence and joy; on tougher ones it demands humility, discipline, and support from the people around you. I leaned on that support more than once this year, colleagues, friends, family, and conversations that arrived at exactly the right moment to help me navigate life’s turbulence. Their wise counsel has kept me ‘grounded’ when needed and for this I’m extremely grateful. To everyone else who followed along, reached out, challenged me, or simply stayed for the avgeek nonsense, thank you. Genuinely. This space is often polarising but for me it’s more than photographs of aeroplanes. It became somewhere to reflect, to question, and occasionally to admit that things weren’t simple. That mattered. As the year closes, change feels close. New projects are forming. New conversations are waiting. A new book, Jumbo, launches in the early new year, and perhaps a different flight deck lies ahead, maybe a return to Boeing is on the cards. The curiosity is back, and so is the excitement. Some of the best conversations don’t happen on frequency. They happen when the door’s closed and the crew room is quiet. I hope to share more of these conversations with you in 2026… Thank you all for being part of the journey. See you on the other side of the Atlantic, and into whatever 2026 has planned. Have an amazing New Year!! #PilotLife #AviationJourney #LongHaul #AvGeek #FlightDeckView #EndOfYearReflection #AirlineLife #AboveTheClouds #AviationPhotography #GlobalTravel #NewHorizons #WhatsNext #NewYear2026

Last flight of 2025. São Paulo to London. One final Atlantic crossing this year… This year asked more than I expected. There were extraordinary moments, stars over the ITCZ, dawn breaking across continents, the quiet privilege of a flight deck at night, but also periods that were heavy, uncertain, and quietly hard. Some of that showed. Some of it didn’t. Not everything needs to. Aviation has a way of holding a mirror up to you. On good days it amplifies confidence and joy; on tougher ones it demands humility, discipline, and support from the people around you. I leaned on that support more than once this year, colleagues, friends, family, and conversations that arrived at exactly the right moment to help me navigate life’s turbulence. Their wise counsel has kept me ‘grounded’ when needed and for this I’m extremely grateful. To everyone else who followed along, reached out, challenged me, or simply stayed for the avgeek nonsense, thank you. Genuinely. This space is often polarising but for me it’s more than photographs of aeroplanes. It became somewhere to reflect, to question, and occasionally to admit that things weren’t simple. That mattered. As the year closes, change feels close. New projects are forming. New conversations are waiting. A new book, Jumbo, launches in the early new year, and perhaps a different flight deck lies ahead, maybe a return to Boeing is on the cards. The curiosity is back, and so is the excitement. Some of the best conversations don’t happen on frequency. They happen when the door’s closed and the crew room is quiet. I hope to share more of these conversations with you in 2026… Thank you all for being part of the journey. See you on the other side of the Atlantic, and into whatever 2026 has planned. Have an amazing New Year!! #PilotLife #AviationJourney #LongHaul #AvGeek #FlightDeckView #EndOfYearReflection #AirlineLife #AboveTheClouds #AviationPhotography #GlobalTravel #NewHorizons #WhatsNext #NewYear2026

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When you’re going west at 40,000 ft and another Airbus A350 crosses behind you a thousand feet below. Can anyone guess the airline without freeze framing the video ? #aviation #aviationdaily #Pilot #pilotlife #avgeek

When you’re going west at 40,000 ft and another Airbus A350 crosses behind you a thousand feet below. Can anyone guess the airline without freeze framing the video ? #aviation #aviationdaily #Pilot #pilotlife #avgeek

203,861 просмотров

There’s been lots of talk about the RAF holding the nuclear deterrent again, instead of the Navy. I think it’s a great idea, but only if we can bring the Avro Vulcan back. This sound alone … would put the fear of god into our adversaries. Have you ever heard ‘the howl’? #avgeek #aviation #nuclear #UkraineRussiaWar

There’s been lots of talk about the RAF holding the nuclear deterrent again, instead of the Navy. I think it’s a great idea, but only if we can bring the Avro Vulcan back. This sound alone … would put the fear of god into our adversaries. Have you ever heard ‘the howl’? #avgeek #aviation #nuclear #UkraineRussiaWar

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This afternoon I point west… back across the Atlantic to Dallas. It’s been a while. There’s something quietly special about a North Atlantic crossing. On a map it looks simple, a straight line between continents. In reality, it’s anything but. Each day, a set of invisible highways is drawn across the ocean: the North Atlantic Track (NAT) system. These tracks aren’t permanent. They move. Every 24 hours they’re rebuilt to align with the jet streams, eastbound flights riding the tailwinds for efficiency, westbound flights stepping north or south to avoid punishing headwinds. It’s choreography between aircraft and atmosphere. Instead of fixed airways, we fly along these daily-published tracks, spaced carefully to maintain separation in a sky with no radar coverage. Position reports, time estimates, datalink messages, precision layered over thousands of miles of water. It’s aviation at its purest: planning, physics, trust. Somewhere along that great circle route the sun will slip beneath the horizon ahead of us. And by early evening, local time, Texas. I’m looking forward to catching up with Doug Dunbar. Familiar laughter. And some properly done BBQ, the kind that requires patience measured in hours, not minutes. Brisket that yields rather than resists. So Dallas friends… DFW Airport DFW Tower here we come 🙌🏻✈️ #PilotLife #NorthAtlantic #NATTracks #LongHaul #AvGeek #A350 #FlightDeckView #DallasBound #TexasBBQ #AirlineLife #GreatCircle #AboveTheClouds

This afternoon I point west… back across the Atlantic to Dallas. It’s been a while. There’s something quietly special about a North Atlantic crossing. On a map it looks simple, a straight line between continents. In reality, it’s anything but. Each day, a set of invisible highways is drawn across the ocean: the North Atlantic Track (NAT) system. These tracks aren’t permanent. They move. Every 24 hours they’re rebuilt to align with the jet streams, eastbound flights riding the tailwinds for efficiency, westbound flights stepping north or south to avoid punishing headwinds. It’s choreography between aircraft and atmosphere. Instead of fixed airways, we fly along these daily-published tracks, spaced carefully to maintain separation in a sky with no radar coverage. Position reports, time estimates, datalink messages, precision layered over thousands of miles of water. It’s aviation at its purest: planning, physics, trust. Somewhere along that great circle route the sun will slip beneath the horizon ahead of us. And by early evening, local time, Texas. I’m looking forward to catching up with Doug Dunbar. Familiar laughter. And some properly done BBQ, the kind that requires patience measured in hours, not minutes. Brisket that yields rather than resists. So Dallas friends… DFW Airport DFW Tower here we come 🙌🏻✈️ #PilotLife #NorthAtlantic #NATTracks #LongHaul #AvGeek #A350 #FlightDeckView #DallasBound #TexasBBQ #AirlineLife #GreatCircle #AboveTheClouds

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✈️ Off out for the longest Indian takeaway run ever… flying my Airbus A350 to Delhi tonight! 🇮🇳 Once I land, I’ll be heading out to Daryaganj restaurant, which proudly claims to be the birthplace of the legendary Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani). The story goes that in the 1950s, chefs at the iconic Moti Mahal in Delhi accidentally created the dish by simmering leftover tandoori chicken in a silky sauce of butter, cream, and tomatoes. The result? A global classic. 🍗🍛 But like many famous dishes, there’s a bit of controversy… some say different chefs and restaurants have their own rightful claim to the invention. Whatever the truth, butter chicken has definitely earned its place as one of the most loved meals worldwide. So, that’s my dinner sorted. What about you, what’s on your plate, and what’s your go-to takeaway meal? 🍴 #Delhi #ButterChicken #AviationLife #TravelAndFood #AirbusA350 #AvGeek #FoodieTravels #PilotLife #GlobalCuisine #TravelGoals #London #India

✈️ Off out for the longest Indian takeaway run ever… flying my Airbus A350 to Delhi tonight! 🇮🇳 Once I land, I’ll be heading out to Daryaganj restaurant, which proudly claims to be the birthplace of the legendary Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani). The story goes that in the 1950s, chefs at the iconic Moti Mahal in Delhi accidentally created the dish by simmering leftover tandoori chicken in a silky sauce of butter, cream, and tomatoes. The result? A global classic. 🍗🍛 But like many famous dishes, there’s a bit of controversy… some say different chefs and restaurants have their own rightful claim to the invention. Whatever the truth, butter chicken has definitely earned its place as one of the most loved meals worldwide. So, that’s my dinner sorted. What about you, what’s on your plate, and what’s your go-to takeaway meal? 🍴 #Delhi #ButterChicken #AviationLife #TravelAndFood #AirbusA350 #AvGeek #FoodieTravels #PilotLife #GlobalCuisine #TravelGoals #London #India

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Every flight begins with a question: what might the weather take from us today? After a few quiet days, a belated Christmas stolen back from the calendar thanks to work. I’m off again this morning from London Heathrow Airport to Delhi, flying the Airbus A350 east into a long winter’s day. It’s a blustery start in London, the kind of wind that keeps crews alert and aircraft honest. At the other end, Delhi may wake under fog, the sort that doesn’t just reduce visibility, but reshapes decisions hours before arrival. This is the part of flying few people ever see. Airline pilots aren’t just drivers of machines; we are risk managers and practiced decision makers. Before a single engine turns, we assess weather trends, probabilities, alternates, fuel burn, holding times, and the quiet “what ifs” that sit between forecast and reality. Fuel isn’t just about getting there… it’s about resilience. Options. Time. Margin. Add a little more for contingency. Plan for what might be waiting. Hope to use none of it. At 35,000 feet the aircraft will look serene, slicing cleanly through the sky, but every smooth arrival is usually the result of decisions made long before pushback; calm, deliberate, and sometimes deliberately conservative. From wind in London to fog in Delhi, today’s flight is a reminder that aviation isn’t about eliminating risk. It’s about understanding it, respecting it, and thinking ahead to ensure it’s accounted for. Right… coffee, weather charts, fuel figures. Let’s go. #PilotLife #AviationLife #RiskManagement #FlightPlanning #AvGeek #A350 #LongHaul #AirlinePilot #FlightDeckView #AboveTheClouds #GlobalAviation #WeatherMatters #BehindTheScenes

Every flight begins with a question: what might the weather take from us today? After a few quiet days, a belated Christmas stolen back from the calendar thanks to work. I’m off again this morning from London Heathrow Airport to Delhi, flying the Airbus A350 east into a long winter’s day. It’s a blustery start in London, the kind of wind that keeps crews alert and aircraft honest. At the other end, Delhi may wake under fog, the sort that doesn’t just reduce visibility, but reshapes decisions hours before arrival. This is the part of flying few people ever see. Airline pilots aren’t just drivers of machines; we are risk managers and practiced decision makers. Before a single engine turns, we assess weather trends, probabilities, alternates, fuel burn, holding times, and the quiet “what ifs” that sit between forecast and reality. Fuel isn’t just about getting there… it’s about resilience. Options. Time. Margin. Add a little more for contingency. Plan for what might be waiting. Hope to use none of it. At 35,000 feet the aircraft will look serene, slicing cleanly through the sky, but every smooth arrival is usually the result of decisions made long before pushback; calm, deliberate, and sometimes deliberately conservative. From wind in London to fog in Delhi, today’s flight is a reminder that aviation isn’t about eliminating risk. It’s about understanding it, respecting it, and thinking ahead to ensure it’s accounted for. Right… coffee, weather charts, fuel figures. Let’s go. #PilotLife #AviationLife #RiskManagement #FlightPlanning #AvGeek #A350 #LongHaul #AirlinePilot #FlightDeckView #AboveTheClouds #GlobalAviation #WeatherMatters #BehindTheScenes

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🎙️ BING BONG ✈️ Good morning everyone, this is your pilot speaking. A warm welcome aboard our Airbus A350 service from Delhi to London Heathrow. We’ll be cruising in daylight today, which means some spectacular sights along the way… so keep those window blinds up. As we depart India, our route takes us across Pakistan and into Afghanistan, where we’ll be crossing the historic Khyber Pass, once the pathway of armies and traders, today a corridor beneath our wings. Ahead, you’ll see the towering ridges of the Hindū Kush, dramatic, snow-capped, and a breathtaking reminder of why pilots still glance outside the cockpit with awe. Further west, as we pass Azerbaijan, we’ll be near the Caspian shore where the legendary “Caspian Sea Monster” rests. That Soviet ground-effect giant once skimmed the waves at jet speeds, part aircraft, part ship, and now lies as a relic of Cold War engineering. Crossing into Georgia and Turkey, the Black Sea sparkles below, tracing routes as old as history itself. Then it’s north through Europe, with patchwork landscapes unfolding as we line up for our descent into London. 🌍 Flying isn’t just about getting you from A to B — it’s a journey through the story of our planet, stitched together by clouds, peaks, and coastlines. 👨‍✈️ Sit back, relax, and enjoy the view, we’ll share some window-seat moments from 40,000 feet in today’s stories over the next few days. Enjoy being along for the ride. #AvGeek #PilotPA #FlightDeckLife #AirbusA350 #ProfessionalPilot #FromTheFlightDeck #FlyingTheWorld #PilotEyes #AviationLovers #JetLife #AvgeekCommunity #SkyHighViews

🎙️ BING BONG ✈️ Good morning everyone, this is your pilot speaking. A warm welcome aboard our Airbus A350 service from Delhi to London Heathrow. We’ll be cruising in daylight today, which means some spectacular sights along the way… so keep those window blinds up. As we depart India, our route takes us across Pakistan and into Afghanistan, where we’ll be crossing the historic Khyber Pass, once the pathway of armies and traders, today a corridor beneath our wings. Ahead, you’ll see the towering ridges of the Hindū Kush, dramatic, snow-capped, and a breathtaking reminder of why pilots still glance outside the cockpit with awe. Further west, as we pass Azerbaijan, we’ll be near the Caspian shore where the legendary “Caspian Sea Monster” rests. That Soviet ground-effect giant once skimmed the waves at jet speeds, part aircraft, part ship, and now lies as a relic of Cold War engineering. Crossing into Georgia and Turkey, the Black Sea sparkles below, tracing routes as old as history itself. Then it’s north through Europe, with patchwork landscapes unfolding as we line up for our descent into London. 🌍 Flying isn’t just about getting you from A to B — it’s a journey through the story of our planet, stitched together by clouds, peaks, and coastlines. 👨‍✈️ Sit back, relax, and enjoy the view, we’ll share some window-seat moments from 40,000 feet in today’s stories over the next few days. Enjoy being along for the ride. #AvGeek #PilotPA #FlightDeckLife #AirbusA350 #ProfessionalPilot #FromTheFlightDeck #FlyingTheWorld #PilotEyes #AviationLovers #JetLife #AvgeekCommunity #SkyHighViews

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Was observing a chemtrail dispersal functional test on another aircraft earlier this week. Thankfully all working satisfactory 😜🙌🏻

Was observing a chemtrail dispersal functional test on another aircraft earlier this week. Thankfully all working satisfactory 😜🙌🏻

76,820 просмотров

Yesterday morning U.K. time, I embarked on the longest flight I’ve done for many, many, years and one that puts a new airport in the logbook although not a new destination. When I’d normally be climbing into bed… this was the view from the flight deck. What’s my destination?

Yesterday morning U.K. time, I embarked on the longest flight I’ve done for many, many, years and one that puts a new airport in the logbook although not a new destination. When I’d normally be climbing into bed… this was the view from the flight deck. What’s my destination?

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Off again to Tokyo, this is becoming my second home ✈️ On long flights like this, we normally plan great circle routings, the shortest distance between two points on the globe (think of stretching a string across a globe rather than a flat map). But current airspace restrictions mean our routes aren’t quite as direct as we’d like, adding some extra planning challenges (and a little more flying time). Oh and weird routing squiggles. The real fun, though, comes at the other end. Tokyo Haneda’s Runway 22 LDA approach is the showstopper here. An LDA (Localizer Directional Aid) approach is a precision-like procedure that guides you towards a point offset from the runway. In this case, the final track is about 55° off the runway centreline. Why? To keep aircraft over Tokyo Bay as long as possible before turning final, reducing noise pollution for the millions of people who call Tokyo home. It’s a 2D or non-precision instrument approach leading you to a point near the runway, but not aligned with it meaning the final segment is flown visually. The pilots also control the rate of descent (not an electronic glide path). Think of it as Tokyo’s answer to Hong Kong Kai Tak’s legendary checkerboard approach, except here you swap the skyscrapers for water, and the turn onto final is a little less dramatic! And the go-around? That’s the unusual part. Instead of powering straight ahead like most airports, you swing into a 180° turn and head back the way you came, not your everyday missed approach procedure. Tokyo Haneda itself is a gem, one of the busiest airports in the world, located just 15 km from central Tokyo. For passengers it means quick access to the city, and for us pilots it means some of the most interesting flying anywhere in the world. Flying into Tokyo never gets old — it’s challenging, rewarding, and absolutely beautiful on a clear day. 🌅 #A350 #TokyoHaneda #PilotLife #AviationDaily #GreatCircle #AvGeek #FlyingHigh #Airbus #LongHaulPilot #FlightDeckViews #AviationPhotography #AvGeekery #PilotsofInstagram #CockpitViews #Approach #JapanAviation #TravelJapan #HanedaAirport #AirlinePilot

Off again to Tokyo, this is becoming my second home ✈️ On long flights like this, we normally plan great circle routings, the shortest distance between two points on the globe (think of stretching a string across a globe rather than a flat map). But current airspace restrictions mean our routes aren’t quite as direct as we’d like, adding some extra planning challenges (and a little more flying time). Oh and weird routing squiggles. The real fun, though, comes at the other end. Tokyo Haneda’s Runway 22 LDA approach is the showstopper here. An LDA (Localizer Directional Aid) approach is a precision-like procedure that guides you towards a point offset from the runway. In this case, the final track is about 55° off the runway centreline. Why? To keep aircraft over Tokyo Bay as long as possible before turning final, reducing noise pollution for the millions of people who call Tokyo home. It’s a 2D or non-precision instrument approach leading you to a point near the runway, but not aligned with it meaning the final segment is flown visually. The pilots also control the rate of descent (not an electronic glide path). Think of it as Tokyo’s answer to Hong Kong Kai Tak’s legendary checkerboard approach, except here you swap the skyscrapers for water, and the turn onto final is a little less dramatic! And the go-around? That’s the unusual part. Instead of powering straight ahead like most airports, you swing into a 180° turn and head back the way you came, not your everyday missed approach procedure. Tokyo Haneda itself is a gem, one of the busiest airports in the world, located just 15 km from central Tokyo. For passengers it means quick access to the city, and for us pilots it means some of the most interesting flying anywhere in the world. Flying into Tokyo never gets old — it’s challenging, rewarding, and absolutely beautiful on a clear day. 🌅 #A350 #TokyoHaneda #PilotLife #AviationDaily #GreatCircle #AvGeek #FlyingHigh #Airbus #LongHaulPilot #FlightDeckViews #AviationPhotography #AvGeekery #PilotsofInstagram #CockpitViews #Approach #JapanAviation #TravelJapan #HanedaAirport #AirlinePilot

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Tonight I’m flying my A350 to Hong Kong, and honestly, it still feels like one of those routes that never loses its magic. There’s something about heading east into the night, knowing you’re about to drop into a city that’s part skyline, part harbour, part mountain, and completely unforgettable. My Hong Kong top 3? 1.The approach. Few arrivals in the world feel as cinematic, water below, hills in the distance, and then that incredible moment when the city starts to glow. 2.The food. You can have the fanciest dinner in town, but sometimes the best Hong Kong memory is still a simple bowl of noodles after landing. 3.The energy. It’s fast, elegant, and full of life… the kind of place that gets under your skin and stays there. But the slow pace of a Star Ferry ride is unbeatable. Hong Kong has my first commercial airliner destination and it’s grown to be my favourite. I love how it blends aviation, travel, and pure atmosphere into one place. Some cities you visit. Hong Kong feels like one you return to in your head, long after you’ve left. #aviation #travel #hongkong

Tonight I’m flying my A350 to Hong Kong, and honestly, it still feels like one of those routes that never loses its magic. There’s something about heading east into the night, knowing you’re about to drop into a city that’s part skyline, part harbour, part mountain, and completely unforgettable. My Hong Kong top 3? 1.The approach. Few arrivals in the world feel as cinematic, water below, hills in the distance, and then that incredible moment when the city starts to glow. 2.The food. You can have the fanciest dinner in town, but sometimes the best Hong Kong memory is still a simple bowl of noodles after landing. 3.The energy. It’s fast, elegant, and full of life… the kind of place that gets under your skin and stays there. But the slow pace of a Star Ferry ride is unbeatable. Hong Kong has my first commercial airliner destination and it’s grown to be my favourite. I love how it blends aviation, travel, and pure atmosphere into one place. Some cities you visit. Hong Kong feels like one you return to in your head, long after you’ve left. #aviation #travel #hongkong

Scott Bateman MBE

392,416 просмотров • 1 месяц назад

Time for a timeline cleanse with some C-130 action. Some people do cats, some puppies, for their cleanse… but me… I prefer dirty smelly propeller types.

Time for a timeline cleanse with some C-130 action. Some people do cats, some puppies, for their cleanse… but me… I prefer dirty smelly propeller types.

Scott Bateman MBE

143,165 просмотров • 20 дней назад

Well….I’m not sure if this angle makes it better or worse. 🫣🤷🏼‍♂️

Well….I’m not sure if this angle makes it better or worse. 🫣🤷🏼‍♂️

Scott Bateman MBE

7,596,336 просмотров • 3 лет назад

A beautiful morning to be pushing off on a Far Eastern adventure to Tokyo. It’s been a long time and my last for quite some time. What’s a Scottish skinned pilot to do on a free day in Tokyo when the sun is brutal?

A beautiful morning to be pushing off on a Far Eastern adventure to Tokyo. It’s been a long time and my last for quite some time. What’s a Scottish skinned pilot to do on a free day in Tokyo when the sun is brutal?

Scott Bateman MBE

63,227 просмотров • 11 дней назад

An exceptionally well handled abnormal by this pilot with a safe outcome. The shock and startle of it was short and then followed by immediate action to slow and recover the aircraft. Cannot have been comfortable though. I can now understand why some would wear a helmet for this kind of flying. Good job. #WePilots #avgeek #flying

An exceptionally well handled abnormal by this pilot with a safe outcome. The shock and startle of it was short and then followed by immediate action to slow and recover the aircraft. Cannot have been comfortable though. I can now understand why some would wear a helmet for this kind of flying. Good job. #WePilots #avgeek #flying

Scott Bateman MBE

3,967,697 просмотров • 2 лет назад

This is a video of an aircraft that is evacuating due to a fire incident. YES AN EVACUATION down slides. This decision is never taken lightly by colleagues and I am aghast at the potentially illegal behaviours here disregarding crew instructions. Jeepers!

This is a video of an aircraft that is evacuating due to a fire incident. YES AN EVACUATION down slides. This decision is never taken lightly by colleagues and I am aghast at the potentially illegal behaviours here disregarding crew instructions. Jeepers!

Scott Bateman MBE

2,489,970 просмотров • 2 лет назад

This video has been doing the rounds today. Many saying the landing was scary and the pilot would be getting a coffee-less chat with their Chief Pilot. None of these people know what they’re talking about!! High winged aircraft use a different crosswind landing technique when compared to other airliners. They fly using a ‘wing down’ technique and not one where the aircraft flies nose into wind. This technique means that often the upwind wing is lower than downwind, and the upwind main gear often touches down first. In my view, and I’ve done a few of these, this is a text book wing down landing. Good job. #aviation #pilotlife #pilot #FactsNotClickbait

This video has been doing the rounds today. Many saying the landing was scary and the pilot would be getting a coffee-less chat with their Chief Pilot. None of these people know what they’re talking about!! High winged aircraft use a different crosswind landing technique when compared to other airliners. They fly using a ‘wing down’ technique and not one where the aircraft flies nose into wind. This technique means that often the upwind wing is lower than downwind, and the upwind main gear often touches down first. In my view, and I’ve done a few of these, this is a text book wing down landing. Good job. #aviation #pilotlife #pilot #FactsNotClickbait

Scott Bateman MBE

371,064 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад

This trip is an around the world adventure. A westerly routing home would mean fighting headwinds and a flight time of around 16:00… going east, with a little push from the wind, it’ll be nearer 14:00. So it’ll be daylight in my world today for a very long time as we leave Tokyo in the morning and land in London in the afternoon. 14 hours travelling 6 elapsed on our watches. 🤯… Just in time for a BBQ at home. Can’t wait. 😛

This trip is an around the world adventure. A westerly routing home would mean fighting headwinds and a flight time of around 16:00… going east, with a little push from the wind, it’ll be nearer 14:00. So it’ll be daylight in my world today for a very long time as we leave Tokyo in the morning and land in London in the afternoon. 14 hours travelling 6 elapsed on our watches. 🤯… Just in time for a BBQ at home. Can’t wait. 😛

Scott Bateman MBE

30,584 просмотров • 9 дней назад

Cruising at FL390 in the A350 over the Iceland–Greenland gap when I spotted something wild… Two massive icebergs out in the middle of the North Atlantic—each one trailing its own little cloud on the downwind side. Had to grab the iPhone 16 Pro and catch it on video. Shot it handheld at 500+ mph… not bad for a phone! This part of the world is always a bit special. No radar, middle of nowhere, but a key stretch of the North Atlantic tracks. You’re flying between Iceland and Greenland, halfway between continents, and then nature drops this kind of scene on you. So, what’s actually happening here? The icebergs are so big, they’re messing with the air. Moist marine air hits them, cools rapidly, and condenses into clouds—on the leeward side. It’s called orographic lift—same idea as clouds forming over mountains, just… floating ones. A few fun facts: •Most of an iceberg is underwater (~90%) •Some rise over 150 ft above the surface •These likely calved off a Greenland glacier Oh, and yes— my new iPhone 16 Pro held its own at FL390. 📱+✈️ = 🤓 #A350 #FlightDeckViews #PilotLife #IcelandGreenlandGap #AvGeekStuff #Icebergs #CloudNerds #OrographicClouds #FlyingTheBus #AviationScience #iPhone16Pro #FL390 #NorthAtlanticTracks

Cruising at FL390 in the A350 over the Iceland–Greenland gap when I spotted something wild… Two massive icebergs out in the middle of the North Atlantic—each one trailing its own little cloud on the downwind side. Had to grab the iPhone 16 Pro and catch it on video. Shot it handheld at 500+ mph… not bad for a phone! This part of the world is always a bit special. No radar, middle of nowhere, but a key stretch of the North Atlantic tracks. You’re flying between Iceland and Greenland, halfway between continents, and then nature drops this kind of scene on you. So, what’s actually happening here? The icebergs are so big, they’re messing with the air. Moist marine air hits them, cools rapidly, and condenses into clouds—on the leeward side. It’s called orographic lift—same idea as clouds forming over mountains, just… floating ones. A few fun facts: •Most of an iceberg is underwater (~90%) •Some rise over 150 ft above the surface •These likely calved off a Greenland glacier Oh, and yes— my new iPhone 16 Pro held its own at FL390. 📱+✈️ = 🤓 #A350 #FlightDeckViews #PilotLife #IcelandGreenlandGap #AvGeekStuff #Icebergs #CloudNerds #OrographicClouds #FlyingTheBus #AviationScience #iPhone16Pro #FL390 #NorthAtlanticTracks

Scott Bateman MBE

844,863 просмотров • 11 месяцев назад

This morning’s flight takes us from Heathrow to Toronto, climbing northwest over the Atlantic, Newfoundland and Labrador before turning inland toward one of North America’s great cities. If you watch the route on Flightradar24, it will appear to curve dramatically north. Before plunging back south to #Toronto. But here’s the interesting part… It’s actually the closest thing to a straight line. Aircraft fly what’s known as a Great Circle Route, the shortest distance between two points on a sphere. Because maps flatten a round Earth onto a flat page, that shortest path appears curved, even though it’s the most efficient way to travel. So while it looks like we’re taking the scenic route via Newfoundland, we’re actually doing the opposite. Going as straight as we can. And speaking of Toronto, the city is enjoying its moment on the world stage as one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, I’m looking forward to being part of that, even for 24H. Toronto by lunchtime. 🇨🇦✈️ #PilotLife #A350 #Toronto #GreatCircle #AvGeek #FlightPlanning #WorldCup2026 #FlightDeckView #AboveTheClouds #AirlineLife

This morning’s flight takes us from Heathrow to Toronto, climbing northwest over the Atlantic, Newfoundland and Labrador before turning inland toward one of North America’s great cities. If you watch the route on Flightradar24, it will appear to curve dramatically north. Before plunging back south to #Toronto. But here’s the interesting part… It’s actually the closest thing to a straight line. Aircraft fly what’s known as a Great Circle Route, the shortest distance between two points on a sphere. Because maps flatten a round Earth onto a flat page, that shortest path appears curved, even though it’s the most efficient way to travel. So while it looks like we’re taking the scenic route via Newfoundland, we’re actually doing the opposite. Going as straight as we can. And speaking of Toronto, the city is enjoying its moment on the world stage as one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, I’m looking forward to being part of that, even for 24H. Toronto by lunchtime. 🇨🇦✈️ #PilotLife #A350 #Toronto #GreatCircle #AvGeek #FlightPlanning #WorldCup2026 #FlightDeckView #AboveTheClouds #AirlineLife

Scott Bateman MBE

81,364 просмотров • 1 месяц назад

Holey hell. A French Rafale landing on a carrier at night. I watched the radar altimeter (top right) count down and I still couldn’t see the carrier until touchdown. NOT A CHANCE I’d do this. Ever. #WePilots #aviation

Holey hell. A French Rafale landing on a carrier at night. I watched the radar altimeter (top right) count down and I still couldn’t see the carrier until touchdown. NOT A CHANCE I’d do this. Ever. #WePilots #aviation

Scott Bateman MBE

2,014,273 просмотров • 2 лет назад

I have just watched this video of an engine failure in a 172? from Australia. I found myself thinking “go on…go on” as the shadow of the aircraft gets bigger on the buildings below….stretching that glide. It seems that the last second decision to go for the taxiway was the right one…resulting in a safe outcome. What’s your thoughts on this approach and what would you have done differently? I have some thoughts but let’s see what you think.

I have just watched this video of an engine failure in a 172? from Australia. I found myself thinking “go on…go on” as the shadow of the aircraft gets bigger on the buildings below….stretching that glide. It seems that the last second decision to go for the taxiway was the right one…resulting in a safe outcome. What’s your thoughts on this approach and what would you have done differently? I have some thoughts but let’s see what you think.

Scott Bateman MBE

1,394,607 просмотров • 2 лет назад

Ever wondered what we see at 35,000ft as we go along? This was my view earlier this week of going north through Pakistan, crossing the Kyber Pass and then turning left into Tajikistan. The mountains here are pretty high and with K2 visible it’s absolutely beautiful. Very privileged to get these views. #pilot #flying #avgeek

Ever wondered what we see at 35,000ft as we go along? This was my view earlier this week of going north through Pakistan, crossing the Kyber Pass and then turning left into Tajikistan. The mountains here are pretty high and with K2 visible it’s absolutely beautiful. Very privileged to get these views. #pilot #flying #avgeek

Scott Bateman MBE

1,560,678 просмотров • 2 лет назад

A350 to Nashville today, a new route, and the long quiet stretch over the ocean. Out there, radar fades away and the world gets very still. No voices stepping on each other, no busy frequencies, just distance. We go back to fundamentals. HF radio — long-range voice, bouncing signals off the ionosphere when we need to speak. But we rarely do!! ADS-C — the aircraft quietly reporting its own position via satellite, no pilot input required. CPDLC — clearances and requests sent as text, precise, deliberate, no ambiguity. WhatsApp for air traffic control. It’s aviation at its most elegant. A network you can’t see, holding aircraft exactly where they should be, separated not by sight, but by time, fixed speeds, and discipline. From the ground, it looks like empty sky. Up here, it’s anything but.

A350 to Nashville today, a new route, and the long quiet stretch over the ocean. Out there, radar fades away and the world gets very still. No voices stepping on each other, no busy frequencies, just distance. We go back to fundamentals. HF radio — long-range voice, bouncing signals off the ionosphere when we need to speak. But we rarely do!! ADS-C — the aircraft quietly reporting its own position via satellite, no pilot input required. CPDLC — clearances and requests sent as text, precise, deliberate, no ambiguity. WhatsApp for air traffic control. It’s aviation at its most elegant. A network you can’t see, holding aircraft exactly where they should be, separated not by sight, but by time, fixed speeds, and discipline. From the ground, it looks like empty sky. Up here, it’s anything but.

Scott Bateman MBE

141,131 просмотров • 2 месяцев назад

I love departing Heathrow Airport as a passenger. Terminal 5 feels spacious and. not really WW2 feeling as described by the Emirates CEO earlier. As a passenger the most beautiful and serene airport that I’ve departed from is Fagerness Airport in Norway. What’s your favourite? #Airports #paxex #aviation

I love departing Heathrow Airport as a passenger. Terminal 5 feels spacious and. not really WW2 feeling as described by the Emirates CEO earlier. As a passenger the most beautiful and serene airport that I’ve departed from is Fagerness Airport in Norway. What’s your favourite? #Airports #paxex #aviation

Scott Bateman MBE

1,100,072 просмотров • 2 лет назад

Crossing Eastern Europe this morning, a USAF C-17 passed above us, its contrails dark against the rising sun. Despite the conspiracy theories, contrails aren't "chemtrails." They're simply ice clouds. At cruising altitude, the air can be colder than -50°C. The hot, moist exhaust from jet engines mixes with that freezing air, and the water vapour instantly condenses and freezes into tiny ice crystals, creating the white trails we see stretching across the sky. Some disappear within seconds. Others linger for hours, depending on the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere. Nothing mysterious. Just physics. A reminder that some of the most beautiful things in aviation are often the easiest to explain and don’t let the conspiracy theorists tell you otherwise. #avgeeks #aviation #pilotlife #military #C17

Crossing Eastern Europe this morning, a USAF C-17 passed above us, its contrails dark against the rising sun. Despite the conspiracy theories, contrails aren't "chemtrails." They're simply ice clouds. At cruising altitude, the air can be colder than -50°C. The hot, moist exhaust from jet engines mixes with that freezing air, and the water vapour instantly condenses and freezes into tiny ice crystals, creating the white trails we see stretching across the sky. Some disappear within seconds. Others linger for hours, depending on the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere. Nothing mysterious. Just physics. A reminder that some of the most beautiful things in aviation are often the easiest to explain and don’t let the conspiracy theorists tell you otherwise. #avgeeks #aviation #pilotlife #military #C17

Scott Bateman MBE

67,971 просмотров • 1 месяц назад

I’m not an expert but I’m really not sure how this was ever going to work. What was the plan ? Always have a plan…and a plan B and sometimes C. #aviation #avgeek

I’m not an expert but I’m really not sure how this was ever going to work. What was the plan ? Always have a plan…and a plan B and sometimes C. #aviation #avgeek

Scott Bateman MBE

1,113,408 просмотров • 3 лет назад

London to Hong Kong once took a week. Tonight we’ll do it while most people sleep. This evening I’ll push the A350 away from Heathrow and point it toward Hong Kong one last time for a while before my flying turns westward next month. It’s easy now to forget just how extraordinary this route really is. Tonight we’ll cross half the planet in a single sweep: Europe, Central Asia, and on toward the South China Sea. Even with modern geopolitics bending our track around closed airspace and conflict zones, the journey is still measured in hours. But when this route first opened in the 1930s, London to Hong Kong wasn’t a flight. It was an expedition. The old Imperial Airways flying boats crept east in stages, London to the Mediterranean, on through the Middle East, across India, then down through Southeast Asia. Passengers slept in hotels between sectors while aircraft were refuelled and prepared for the next leg. What we now fly overnight once took a week or more. The geography hasn’t changed, deserts, mountains and oceans still lie between Europe and Asia, but the scale of human possibility has. What once required patience and persistence now requires only a long night and the quiet reliability of a modern aircraft. One more crossing of this remarkable corridor before my compass swings west for a while. Different destinations ahead. Same sky above.

London to Hong Kong once took a week. Tonight we’ll do it while most people sleep. This evening I’ll push the A350 away from Heathrow and point it toward Hong Kong one last time for a while before my flying turns westward next month. It’s easy now to forget just how extraordinary this route really is. Tonight we’ll cross half the planet in a single sweep: Europe, Central Asia, and on toward the South China Sea. Even with modern geopolitics bending our track around closed airspace and conflict zones, the journey is still measured in hours. But when this route first opened in the 1930s, London to Hong Kong wasn’t a flight. It was an expedition. The old Imperial Airways flying boats crept east in stages, London to the Mediterranean, on through the Middle East, across India, then down through Southeast Asia. Passengers slept in hotels between sectors while aircraft were refuelled and prepared for the next leg. What we now fly overnight once took a week or more. The geography hasn’t changed, deserts, mountains and oceans still lie between Europe and Asia, but the scale of human possibility has. What once required patience and persistence now requires only a long night and the quiet reliability of a modern aircraft. One more crossing of this remarkable corridor before my compass swings west for a while. Different destinations ahead. Same sky above.

Scott Bateman MBE

146,142 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад

They call it a red-eye for obvious reasons, a night flight that steals sleep, compresses time zones, and leaves passengers stepping into morning with bodies still convinced it’s the middle of the night. For crews, though, there’s something strangely beautiful about it. Apart from staring at the sun obviously! Departure in darkness. Cabin lights dimmed. The continent slowly falling away behind us as the aircraft settles into the long eastbound crossing home. And tonight, like most west-to-east Atlantic flights, we won’t take the shortest route. We’ll drift further south to meet one of aviation’s greatest allies… the jet stream. High above the ocean, fast-moving rivers of air circle the planet from west to east, sometimes exceeding 200 knots. By shaping the route to intercept those tailwinds, we let the atmosphere do part of the work, reducing flight time, saving fuel, and hopefully smoothing the crossing. Eastbound flights chase the wind. Westbound flights avoid it. Hence the more northerly route outbound. It’s a reminder that even modern aviation still depends on something ancient… learning to work with nature, not against it. Somewhere over the Atlantic tonight, while most of the cabin sleeps, we’ll quietly surf an invisible river of air toward dawn and home. 😊 Nashville you were awesome, but there’s no place like home.

They call it a red-eye for obvious reasons, a night flight that steals sleep, compresses time zones, and leaves passengers stepping into morning with bodies still convinced it’s the middle of the night. For crews, though, there’s something strangely beautiful about it. Apart from staring at the sun obviously! Departure in darkness. Cabin lights dimmed. The continent slowly falling away behind us as the aircraft settles into the long eastbound crossing home. And tonight, like most west-to-east Atlantic flights, we won’t take the shortest route. We’ll drift further south to meet one of aviation’s greatest allies… the jet stream. High above the ocean, fast-moving rivers of air circle the planet from west to east, sometimes exceeding 200 knots. By shaping the route to intercept those tailwinds, we let the atmosphere do part of the work, reducing flight time, saving fuel, and hopefully smoothing the crossing. Eastbound flights chase the wind. Westbound flights avoid it. Hence the more northerly route outbound. It’s a reminder that even modern aviation still depends on something ancient… learning to work with nature, not against it. Somewhere over the Atlantic tonight, while most of the cabin sleeps, we’ll quietly surf an invisible river of air toward dawn and home. 😊 Nashville you were awesome, but there’s no place like home.

Scott Bateman MBE

86,611 просмотров • 2 месяцев назад

Whilst at security with Mark Smith Heathrow Airport yesterday, we met a lovely crew that were off to JFK in their lovely little 777. Little did we know that our paths would cross again over #Canada as we whizzed past them. The A350 cruises at Mach 0.85 (85% of the local speed of sound), the 777 is normally nearer M0.83…hence the overtake. I love seeing aircraft like this…it reminds me just how beautiful and complex flying machines really are…whilst looking so graceful. #aviation #aviationdaily #aviationlovers #pilot #pilotlife #avgeek #avgeeks #Boeing #Airbus #flying

Whilst at security with Mark Smith Heathrow Airport yesterday, we met a lovely crew that were off to JFK in their lovely little 777. Little did we know that our paths would cross again over #Canada as we whizzed past them. The A350 cruises at Mach 0.85 (85% of the local speed of sound), the 777 is normally nearer M0.83…hence the overtake. I love seeing aircraft like this…it reminds me just how beautiful and complex flying machines really are…whilst looking so graceful. #aviation #aviationdaily #aviationlovers #pilot #pilotlife #avgeek #avgeeks #Boeing #Airbus #flying

Scott Bateman MBE

698,036 просмотров • 2 лет назад