"License to taxi"

In the movie _Airport_ (1971), the airport manager mentions that Joe
Patroni, the miraculous mechanic who gets a stuck 707 off the runway,
is "licensed to taxi." Is there really such a thing as a license to
taxi??

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Mxsmanic wrote:
In the movie _Airport_ (1971), the airport manager mentions that Joe
Patroni, the miraculous mechanic who gets a stuck 707 off the runway,
is "licensed to taxi." Is there really such a thing as a license to
taxi??

As far as the FAA is concerned, no. However the airlines typically
have their own rules. Usually mechanics are authorized to reposition
airplanes in addition to pilots. A 707 of the era of that movie doesn't
have a lot of automation. You need more than just the guy in the left
seat to get it fired up and moving so I'm pretty sure Patroni is just
asking for someone who is qualified to perform the right seat role in
moving the aircraft.

That movie is pretty accurate for the day (the PAR approach at the
end seems pretty word for word right0. The book it's based on is
fabulous as well, you should dig it up. Arthur Hailey writes
"insider" books for a number of fields. This is perhaps his best.

The sequels were pretty much all wacko however.

Ron Natalie wrote
You need more than just the guy in the left
seat to get it fired up and moving so I'm pretty sure
Patroni is just asking for someone who is qualified
to perform the right seat role in moving the aircraft.

Probably a Flight Engineer instead of a 'right seater'.
In that generation airplane, the copilot played almost
no role during the engine start and taxi.

Bob Moore

Ron Natalie writes:

That movie is pretty accurate for the day (the PAR approach at the
end seems pretty word for word right0.

Does PAR predate ILS? Watching the movie I wondered why they didn't
use ILS, so I presume it simply didn't exist in 1971 (?).

The book it's based on is fabulous as well, you should dig it up.
Arthur Hailey writes "insider" books for a number of fields. This
is perhaps his best.

I did read the book (while actually on a TWA plane to St. Louis, in
fact), and it was excellent ... better than the movie. The movie
wasn't too bad, either, at least for the aviation parts. Times have
changed, though!

The sequels were pretty much all wacko however.

I thought _Airplane_ was funny.

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Bob Moore writes:

Probably a Flight Engineer instead of a 'right seater'.
In that generation airplane, the copilot played almost
no role during the engine start and taxi.

Which sends me off on a bit of a tangent again: John Travolta has a
707 of his own. How can he fly it without a copilot and engineer?

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Mxsmanic wrote
Which sends me off on a bit of a tangent again: John Travolta has a
707 of his own. How can he fly it without a copilot and engineer?

He can't and doesn't.

Bob Moore

Bob Moore writes:

He can't and doesn't.

So he has to hire some veteran 707 pilots to go with him every time he
flies? Doesn't sound like much fun. Then again, I don't suppose
there are too many jet airliners that can be flown by one person.

I note also that the real estate development where he parks the plane
has a very fragile runway. I wonder how he manages to take off and
land on a runway that is composed of only two inches of asphalt.

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Mxsmanic wrote
I note also that the real estate development where he parks the plane
has a very fragile runway. I wonder how he manages to take off and
land on a runway that is composed of only two inches of asphalt.

I can assure you that the runway is MUCH more substantial than
that. In the mid-80s. I was employed by the previous owner of
the development, Arthur Jones, inventor and manufacturer of the
Nautalis line of exercise equipment. He owned three B-707s which
we flew from that runway before it was lengthened to its present
length.

Do a 'google' for Terry Jones and Jumbolair....she flew as copilot
for me once. I was hired to train her for a B-707 Type Rating, but
quit before that happened...her husband was impossible to work for.

Bob Moore

Mxsmanic wrote:

So he has to hire some veteran 707 pilots to go with him every time he
flies?

He can afford it. He still get to fly the aircraft, he can go wherever
whenever he wants; and it might actually be a reasonably fun post
retirement job for the copilot,

--Sylvain

Bob Moore writes:

I can assure you that the runway is MUCH more substantial than
that. In the mid-80s. I was employed by the previous owner of
the development, Arthur Jones, inventor and manufacturer of the
Nautalis line of exercise equipment. He owned three B-707s which
we flew from that runway before it was lengthened to its present
length.

AirNav says this:

Surface: asphalt, in poor condition

FIRST 1800 FT OF RY 18 DETERIORATING WITH POT HOLES AND SEVERE
CRACKING.
1 ASPHALT SURFACE IS ONLY 2 INCHES THICK. PAVEMENT STRUCTURE CAN ONLY
SUPPORT LIGHT LOAD SINGLE WHEEL ACFT. HEAVIER ACFT MAY CAUSE IMMEDIATE
STRUCTUAL DAMAGE TO THE DETERIORATED SURFACE AND MAY GENERATE FOD.
RY 18/36 NOT CROWNED OR GRVD CAUSING STANDING WATER DURING AND AFTER
RAIN.

From this I inferred that the entire runway was just a thin layer of
asphalt.

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