Today has been one of those refreshing fall days that make you feel glad to be alive. The fall colors here in the east have been spectacular, and the sky has never been so blue. It's chilly, in fact tonight I could see my breath when I walked out to my car. It's brand new, a 1967 Ford Mustang fastback right off the Detroit assembly line. And tonight it's being driven by TWA's newest 707 captain. Yep, I just passed my line check and tonight I'm making my first flight as captain in TWA's newest airplane, the Boeing 707-331B. Tonight I feel like the King of the World!

I've been flying for the company now for 7 years. Started out in the right seat of Martin 202 and 404's. Lots of up and down flying, short hops with many flights to get your monthly hours in. I jumped at the chance to fly DC-4's as copilot on overseas routes. The hours build up faster and I got to spend more time at home with my wife and three daughters. Then I upgraded to right seat in the Connie, the best "three engine" airplane flying! I like the airplane, it's big and comfortable, but very complicated and the engines are subject to failure. I can't tell you how many times we landed on three engines, and once finished an ocean flight on just TWO! We had to make an emergency landing in Gander! For the past two years I've been 'co' in the 707. Talk about space age! It's big, fast, quiet, smooth, flies above the weather we had to slog through in props, and best of all reliable. Those jet engines never seem to fail; in fact in two years I've never seen one quit running in flight.

Let me tell ya, the plane may be space age, but this traffic sure isn't. Driving to LaGuardia is never easy. Even tonight at eleven o'clock the traffic is dreadful. They call this Mustang a 'muscle' car; you could never tell by the way we're poking along! My flight doesn't leave until 2:30 a.m. so I've got plenty of time. I want to get there early to go over things carefully for my first flight as a certified Pilot in Command. That has a nice ring to it. I'm excited about the flight, but a little nervous at the same time. I feel the weight of responsibility that goes with it.

Finally I get to LaGuardia and check in at dispatch. Fred has been working behind that counter since I can remember. He hands me my paperwork for the flight describing the route, cargo, weight, fuel, all the little details I need to know. Let's see, take off at 0230, fly east to Hartford (HFD), Boston (BOS), Yarmouth Canada (YQI), then north to Halifax (YHZ), Sydney (YQY), and the end of North America, St. Johns (YYT). Then it's out over the North Atlantic to Shannon Ireland (SHA), across the southern part of England, hit the coast of France and land at Orly field in Paris in the early afternoon. All total that's 3189 miles and will take us just over 6 hours. I've landed there a hundred times before, but this time I'll be in charge.

Tonight my copilot is Jerry. He's fairly new and I'm glad he's flying with me tonight. I don't want some experienced copilot who may think he should be in the left seat instead of me, second-guessing my flying. Jerry's already crunching the numbers for our takeoff and cruise data, which according to the plan is FL350. We say hello, exchange a few pleasantries then I'm off down the hall to the weather shop.

Dave, our weatherman, has been working there I think since the airplane was invented. He always has his eye toward the sky, and you couldn't ask for a more professional guy.

"Tonight you're looking at clear skies out of New York. As you get into Canada you'll catch up with a slow moving front around Nova Scotia". (I think to myself so what else is new). "May get a little bumpy".

The Atlantic is always a bit of educated guess work, but Dave knows his stuff. He tells me to expect a low to medium level undercast and a few isolated thunderstorms all the way to Ireland. Shouldn't give us too much trouble. He predicts 60-80 kts of tailwind pushing us along, so that's good news.

"Weather should be clearing as you get near Paris".

That weather report should make the hostesses and passengers happy. Now I'm off to grab a quick bite to eat and a hot cup of coffee to warm me up, then off to the airplane. I drag my black suitcase and my "brains in a bag" (the briefcase with all the publications we need to safely fly the airplane) through the airport. It includes the 'dash-1' (or everything you always wanted to know about the 707 but were afraid to ask), the approach plates and maps for our entire flight, checklists, etc. I'm a little self conscious because this is the first time I've walked through an airport with four stripes on my sleeve instead of three. I feel a lot of eyes stare at me and a sense of pride and accomplishment as well.

At the gate, I'm met by the agent and we go over the passenger list. The plane can seat 219 passengers, but we don't pack 'em in like some airlines. Ours seat about 147, and tonight we're full. This will be a heavy flight with all the passengers, their baggage, cargo and fuel for the trans-Atlantic flight. I'm greeted by a few of the passengers and I think I see them sizing me up, wondering what kind of pilot did they get to take them across the Atlantic to France.

Our ride for tonight, TWA Boeing 707-331B, N18710.

I walk out onto the bitter cold, dark ramp (remember not many gangways in 1967) and climb the stairs into the plane. I greet the hostesses who are already on board getting the meal service ready, checking the cabin to make sure pillows, blankets, emergency gear etc. are all in order. We briefly talk about the flight, the weather, and the passengers. I think they appreciate this and it makes them feel more a part of the team.

I turn around after a brief cabin inspection myself and enter my office. Nothing fancy up here. This end of the plane is no frills, all business. This airplane N18710 is practically brand new. The cockpit is small but comfortable for the two-man crew. The seats are plain gray but fairly well padded, they haven't had time to be worn out yet from hundreds of bottoms and thousands of hours of constant use. The panel is impressive. Lots of gauges and switches in front, overhead and on the sides for both crew members. (Still doesn't have as many as the DC-4 or Connie though).

The plane has been sitting a few hours so the cockpit is cold. I can't wait to get it cranked up just to get some heat. The 707 is truly comfortable for the flight crew, unlike the Connie or Douglas airplanes that fried you in warm weather or froze you in cold. This will not be a bad place to work for the next eight hours or so. A quick look through the maintenance log shows nothing more serious than a burnt out cockpit light. No major concerns for our long over water flight.

Jerry comes in after finishing his pre-flight walk around, and we hear the passengers start to board back in the cabin. Even though jet travel has dropped the cost of flying, it's still a big event and passengers get dressed up for the occasion, even at 2:30 in the morning. We continue with our checklists and a short time later, the senior cabin attendant tells us everyone is on board and all is ready in the back. Preflight checks complete, emergency procedure briefing complete, we get a final salute from dispatch signaling OK to go.

Jerry gets our clearance: "Clearance Delivery, TWA flight 806, IFR New York to Paris, clearance on request, ready to copy".

They come right back. Must not be too busy tonight. "TWA 806 you are cleared to Orly as filed, fly runway heading to 3000 feet, expect one zero thousand ten minutes after departure, squawk one-six-three-five".

Jerry repeats the clearance and is told his 'read back' is correct. Then we call ground and let them know we are ready to start.

I have to admit I am giddy with excitement and a bit of nervousness as I start the engines. I just keep reminding myself that I'm qualified to do this, it's just a plane and I've flown dozens of different kinds of planes for thousands of hours. I've been there and done it before. And besides, everything is going smoothly. Jerry checks ATIS then I call:

"LaGuardia Ground, TWA 806 ready to taxi, IFR to Orly with information Foxtrot".

Just two planes ahead of us for takeoff out of LaGuardia at 2:30 a.m.

We're cleared to taxi to runway 31. I turn on the seatbelt and no smoking signs, push up the throttles and we begin to roll, right on time... Pilot in Command. We follow a smaller jet and a turboprop (yes I know that's a 737-400 and a DeHavilland Dash 8 up ahead. No I didn't change my AI for 1967 traffic). We'll be off in no time, unlike last week when we were number 15 in line for takeoff out of LGA! The two planes ahead of us take off quickly and now it's our turn.

"LaGuardia Tower, TWA 806 number one for takeoff runway 31".

Cleared "On to hold runway 31".

We get cleared "On to hold" while the turboprop clears the departure end after taking off. Clearance comes quickly. Our last takeoff check complete, takeoff configuration confirmed, a glance at the clock (3:02 a.m.) I smoothly push up the throttles and release brakes. The cockpit is relatively quiet and smooth compared to the old prop planes, but still shakes and rattles as we accelerate. I concentrate on keeping it on the runway; Jerry has his eye on the airspeed and engines. We accelerate slowly. I get a little concerned. We're heavy and a reassuring glance at the engine instruments confirms everything is OK. This is going to be a long take off roll. Jerry calls out "V1" (the airspeed where we have just enough runway to stop the airplane if we need to). "V2" (the speed we can loose an engine and still climb). "Vr". I pull firmly back on the yoke and set 15 degrees nose up on the ADI. The rumbling of the tires stops as they leave the runway. Altimeter increasing, VVI showing climb, I call "Gear UP" and Jerry retracts the gear and the flaps as we continue to accelerate. I breathe a sigh of relief. I always feel more comfortable once we leave the ground. Once airborne this really IS just another airplane and now she's in her element.

Rotate after a long heavy takeoff roll.

Takeoff and landing are the busiest and most critical times in the cockpit. Number one: we are slow and in close proximity to the ground. Two: there are lots of other airplanes aiming for airports just like me. Three: emergencies that happen here are complicated by one and two. I constantly go over in my head what if... I lost and engine... caught fire...blew a tire...hit a bird. I go over the take off numbers and keep a close eye on the gauges. This is where we earn our pay!

The ride really gets smooth as our P&W JT-3D-3B engines push us quickly through 200 kts. I pull the power back slightly to stay below 250 kts and 3000 feet when we get cleared to 10,000 feet and a right turn to 3-0-0 by departure. New York's skyline disappears as I bank the plane to the right and climb at an impressive 3000 feet per minute. I didn't notice them before, but the sky is full of airplanes going in every direction. It makes me think I'm glad I'm not an air traffic controller!

New York skyline slips behind as we turn right after takeoff.

Departure clears us on course with a couple intermediate altitude restrictions as we get handed off to the different controllers. Each controller quickly clears us to a higher altitude so we never have to level off (they know we hate to burn the extra gas) and soon we're cleared to our final altitude of FL350. These jet engines need to get high to save gas. I would like to fly at FL390, but that altitude was used by another flight making the Atlantic crossing. Oh well. The quicker I get to altitude, the better off I feel. An old pilot adage says: "You can never have enough runway ahead of you, air below you or gas in the tank".

It's 4 a.m. I'm sure most of the passengers are sleeping, or at least trying to. I also know the attendants are serving their every need with food, conversation, whatever it takes to make their flight enjoyable.

It's black out ahead and I can see billions of stars. That means it's clear and the flying smooth. This changes before too long as we approach Nova Scotia. In the moonlight I see a wall of clouds, but we should be on top of most of them.

There was plenty of traffic leaving New York and through the Boston area. Now in Canada it seems like we're the only plane in the sky. Approaching Newfoundland I see the lights of two small planes well below us through breaks in the clouds. To the south, I see the lights of two flights making landfall; their Atlantic crossing over, ours is just beginning. Ahead 1692 miles of rough, inhospitable, cold North Atlantic Ocean! Once we put that last chunk of land behind us, we're alone again. I hear Delta, United and Landmark on the radio, but they're far away. I don't even see their lights in the cold clear sky.

Clouds over Nova Scotia. Just a few inbound planes from Europe as traffic.

Leaving St. John's behind we hit some turbulence as the front and clouds below disturb the air. I put the 'fasten seat belt' sign on. I wonder if there are any 'white knuckle fliers' with us tonight. The turbulence quickly stops as we get farther from land, racing through the blackness at 35,000 feet at .82 mach. My IAS shows 280 kts while TAS indicates 520. That tail wind is there (as predicted) and our ground speed is over 570 kts! I know from the map that somewhere in the darkness to our north is Greenland and Iceland, and to our south the Azores, too far away to be seen. We continue to fly along on top of a carpet of white illuminated by a brilliant moon.

Suddenly, almost imperceptibly, the sky is just a shade lighter. Is it my imagination? No, the sky is definitely lighter, and now there is a faint glow coming from the east. Racing along at over 500 kts the night comes and goes quickly. I wonder how many of the passengers are even awake to notice.

Sunrise over the North Atlantic. Night goes by quick racing east toward the sun.

With the sun comes clearing skies. We go from overcast to broken to layered-scattered clouds. Only bad thing, our tailwind has become a head wind. Rather than the 60-80 on the tail, we have 40-50 on the nose! I push up our speed to .84 mach to try and get through it as quickly as possible. We can afford to. Because of the tailwind, we've made good time and we're fat on gas. It's to no avail however, the headwind stays with us the rest of the trip.

The weather clears and we pick up more traffic...

Along with a head wind as we approach Ireland.

Sitting in the seat now for over 4 1/2 hours I'm tired, a little stiff, and would love a shower. We're coming up on the coast of Ireland. Unfortunately, the cloud cover is also coming back as we approach land. The hostess brings me yet another cup of coffee and a sandwich; brain food for the flying to come. We scoot across Ireland with only a glimpse of the green land below. Soon we're over England. The skies are clearing again right on cue as we approach the English Channel and the White Cliffs of Dover.

As soon as we're over the channel, we're handed off to DeGaulle Approach. "TWA 806 descend and maintain FL230".

"Roger, TWA 806 out of FL350 for FL230".

The coast of France and clearance to descend.

There is real anticipation at our arrival. I sense the excitement of our awakening passengers in the cabin (and I'm looking forward to two days off with the crew before our return trip home). There are some restaurants, museums... but for now I have to fly this airplane.

Since our approach to Ireland, traffic has picked back up. From the air, everything looks the same wherever I fly. One thing that stands out in my mind that confirms I am traveling to different places is the call signs. In the US it's United, Delta, Northwest, TWA, Pan Am (in 1967). In Europe it's Speedbird, Air France, Lufhansa, KLM. We're definitely not in Kansas anymore!

"TWA 806 fly heading 255, descend and maintain 13,000, altimeter 3012".

After 5 1/2 hours flying, the cockpit needs to be tidied up a little. Empty coffee cups, note pads and papers, maps and approach plates clutter the cockpit. Jerry and I complete our before landing checks and calculate our approach speeds. I slow to 230 kts below 10,000 feet and passing 220 drop some flaps. I turn the landing light on below 10,000 feet. Approach continues to give me vectors to maneuver around traffic and a busy Charles DeGaulle airport and align us with runway 25 at Orly.

Vectors around traffic and a busy Charles DeGaulle airport.

"TWA 806 fly heading 220, descend and maintain 2300 feet until established on the localizer, cleared for the ILS approach runway 25".

Get configured and vectors for landing at Orly.

Once again we get busy in the cockpit, Jerry and I working well as a team. We slow down and 'get dirty', flaps and gear below 180 kts. There's one aircraft on final in front of us (a turboprop) and several lined up behind us. The passengers and crew are all strapped in. We slow to approach speeds, Jerry monitors our altitude and traffic, I monitor runway alignment and airspeed.

Cleared to land runway 25.

"TWA 806 you are cleared to land runway 25".

Over the numbers after a 3189 mile flight.

The turboprop clears the runway in plenty of time and I bring her in over the numbers, hold her off, and make a nice landing, deploy speed brakes, reverse thrust, get on the brakes and make a quick turnoff so the traffic behind doesn't have to go-around.

"TWA 806 contact ground and welcome to France".

"TWA contact Orly Ground on 121.6. Good day and welcome to France".

We clean up the airplane (raise flaps, retract speed brakes, turn off the landing lights) and taxi to the terminal. We're told to park at C-15. We have to hold as an Air France A319 taxis in front of us. A few moments later I coast to a stop at the terminal. We're chocked and I cut the engines.

Hold for an Air France A319.

I sit for a second savoring the moment, exhausted, relieved, ready to fill out the paperwork. Jerry and I quickly finish our after landing and engine shut down checks. This airplane will be at work again in a couple hours when another crew boards her to take her to Frankfurt, Madrid, Athens and Cairo.

I slip on my coat and greet the passengers as they deplane. "Thanks for flying with us today". I wonder if they have any idea that this was my first flight as Captain?

End of the flight at Gate C-15, Orly field, Paris France.

Software Used:

G70732V1.ZIP, Boeing 707-331B by Lou Volland.
PG7072K2.ZIP, Boeing 707 Panel by Paul Golding.
Default scenery and sound.
AI traffic: default and Project AI.

Rick Malmsten
Rickmalmsten@attbi.com