Thrills of Navigation

One of my favorite things about flying is visual navigation vs. navigation with the aid of air traffic control centers. Just about every trip I've taken in the air has provided me (if I'm in a window seat) the chance to try to identify my surroundings from the air, particularly if I can see natural and man-made landmarks.

Another thing I like is listening in on Channel 9 to see what the air traffic control centers are saying to my flight and other flights. From DC to Vancouver, for example, I could hear the talk with Indianapolis Center, Denver Center, and Salt Lake Center. Coming across the Atlantic from Europe, I could hear the chat between aircrafts as they reported wind conditions and where the smooth flying altitude was.

Another thing I like which is unique (I think) to United is the little television monitors that show either in the back of the seat or in a pop-up TV monitor which allows you to choose a map of the world, and it shows your progress from the beginning to the end of the trip. There's not only a flat projection of the world map, but also, airplane forward views as one approaches a continent, such as Asia or Europe.

Cool stuff...and why I love flying so much....