Quick Jet Intro

A student called me this afternoon, bursting with excitement. He's always bursting with excitement when it comes to flying.

"I've got a chance to ride up front in a jet tomorrow," he said, "What should I look for?" I could hear that he was grinning from ear to ear.

Wow, what a question! Most of his flying has been in two-seaters; that's a big leap. Those of us who have made it know how far behind the airplane he's going to be.

Here's what I came up with:

• Listen to how ATC and professional pilots are clear but concise, and use standard phraseology.
• Watch the groundspeed readout from the FMS (I think it has a UNS-1 system). Convert the speed to miles-per-minute. This is important for everybody: planning a 50 mile descent at 360 knots is hard; planning a 50 mile descent at 6 miles/min is a lot easier.
• Study the arrival chart to get an idea of courses, speeds, and altitudes in the terminal area.

And, two more things:

• Make sure to get a good look at the Grand Canyon!
• Tell the captain that his instructor (me!) is available for copilot duties!

Did I miss anything?