Great day at the hangar--didn't leave the ground

[ebykowsky]

Let me preface this with the fact that working at an aerospace company these past 2 weeks has been a blast so far. No, I'm not flying planes, but just being able to see a Cessna or Bell fly over and knowing my work helps sell those aircraft and keep the company afloat is pretty cool.

Anyhow, we had the annual company picnic in the Textron hangar today, and I got to sit in the cockpit of a Cessna Citation X and a Bell 429, plus I met one of the Cessna interns who gets to fly around the country all summer showing off his 172 (jealous!). I also got to fly a Level D simulator simulator (yeah, it was a bit of a letdown that wasn't full motion, but I figured that out a few days before.) It was just a seat and pedals and touchscreen controls, but a cool setup nonetheless.

Oh, but the best part was that I convinced my manager's manager today to let me come along with her on a business trip to some airshow she's going to in late July. Never been there before, but supposedly it's taking place in some little town in Wisconsin... I guess that could be fun

 

[ebykowsky]

]Some pics:

 

[Timmer]

Oh, sounds great. The Citation X cockpit looks really nice from the pictures -- and the new Latitude looks like a space ship.

How was it in person?

 

[ebykowsky]

Oh, sounds great. The Citation X cockpit looks really nice from the pictures -- and the new Latitude looks like a space ship.

How was it in person?

Accidentally uploaded 2 of the same pic and none of the one of me in the Bell. Whoops! It's a beautiful plane, but having never been in a bizjet before, I have nothing to compare the cockpit or cabin to. Better than a 172 though! (Although it was a tight fit--comparably difficult to getting in a 152.)