Groundschool that is.  I’m probably crazy for this but I signed up to take a pilot course for the T-33 Silver Star jet trainer put on by the Jet Aircraft Museum.  The course is compulsory for pilots wishing to fly the museum’s jets but is also available to others who plan on riding the backseat or are just interested. 

I fall into the last 2 categories which is why I’m willing to subject myself to studying all the documentation, writing 2 exams and attending 2 days of instruction next weekend.

I will never fly one of these on my own – I dropped out of my training for the Private Pilot License but they say any learning is good and this certainly qualifies as something different.

What’s a CT-133 Silver Star you ask?  They look something like this

(of course most are either silver or grey)

That’s a term used to suggest that you sit back and enjoy something instead of spending time picking holes in the content.  It’s most often heard in regards to movies or TV shows.

Case in point.  Pan Am is now showing on North American TV on Sunday nights.  I’ve watched parts of a couple of episodes and have real trouble suspending my disbelief.  Why?  Let me show you.

Here we have a publicity shot of a Pan Am 747 crew.

Seasoned crew.  Very proud, very professional.

Now let’s jump to the land of make believe.

Really?  This is the crew that flies a Boeing 707 on international routes?  Seeing that most line officers came to the airlines from the military, I think the Captain must have lied about his age when he dropped in to see the recruiter.  Or maybe the numbers were down that month.  The FO I can almost buy.  The FA’s look a little on the young side but certainly wear the uniform well.

Of course, there is some “historical” precedence for this.  I give you Leonardo DiCaprio in “Catch Me If You Can” from 2002.

Perhaps the producers of Pan Am went back into the archives but not quite far enough.

Suspend disbelief?  Sorry can’t quite do it.