noise."Signal Boosts: Dash Stalls a 737, Reveille,The Spy Who Hugged Me · 1:05am Mar 16th, 2021
Who likes stories about ponies?
Who likes stories about airplanes? With ponies?
If you answered yes, I’ve got a not-a-contest entry for you by none other than the talented Penguifyer:
I’ll admit that I’m not a pilot, although I know a thing or two about airplanes, and I do know that the switch described in the story does exist on at least some 737 models, and it works as described in the story.
For those of you not in the know, there is indeed an automated voice (as well as a stick-shaker and various alarms) to warn the crew of certain unsafe conditions. Some aircraft also have automated features to help get the pilot out of a bad spot, however, they can have undesired side effects; a well-trained and situationally-aware pilot will probably know better than the airplane what needs to be done in a particular situation. That’s something that could probably be debated to death in the comments.
Would a pegasus make a good pilot? I don’t know. I think that their flight instincts would be good, but I also know that an airplane can’t do things a pegasus could, nor would it react as quickly as a pegasus might, and excessive control movements can rip parts of the airplane off.
A steady hoof on the controls, though, and an understanding of what the machine is able to do, though. . . .
I certainly think that pegasi would do better with weather conditions and IFR than some human pilots do.
One thing that AShadowOfCygnus does very well is paint a detailed picture.
One thing I do not do well is give proper reviews of his stories, because they hit me in places where I simply lack the words to put on paper what the story meant to me and what it might mean to you, so I instead present his description:
Time passes quickly in a beautiful world, and Twilight Sparkle knows it all too well: the sun is warm, the skies are bright, and Ponyville a richness of wonder and opportunity. The friends, the roads, the food and drink are all in their place, little dramas come and go, and her reports to Celestia proceed apace.
It’s imperfect perfection, and all things proceed exactly as usual until exactly the moment they don’t anymore.
I will say that I wasn’t expecting it to turn out like it did, and I’m still not sure I get it. At least I got one reference he put in there.
Finally, to really lighten things up, GaPJaxie recently foolishly asked his audience for story suggestions, and since he has basically dared me to write a few stories such as Practical Difficulties, I figured I’d turn the mirror around and give him basically the same prompt he gave me.
My chapter is Will it Blend? but I encourage reading all of them, ‘cause they’re all fantastic.
Aww, and here I was actively trying to be straightforward for once! ;P Maybe the next one. Either way, thank you.
Definitely gotten a lot of feedback to the effect of 'Cripes, yeah, I know exactly what she's talking about' for the early parts, which may be more worrisome than strictly affirming. xP
Silly, spinning bird-pone.
I think in some ways and on certain aircraft Earth Ponies would be better pilots... No, not just because Cherry Berry.
Many small aircraft have control surfaces controlled not by hydraulics but by muscle, and with larger aircraft responses can feel slow making the stereotyped steady and patient earth pony a much better choice. It also means that the impulsive and rapid changes we see from the more flight oriented pegasi would be highly dangerous.
That being said there are always exceptions and I'd expect Fluttershy in particular to be an amazing pilot.
Well, two out of three I put on a short list to look at when I get a chance, and the third isn't on there only because I already read it. :)
Thanks!
5476517
This bird-pone wanted to work at an airport, so she asked for a job.
They told her to watch for incoming planes by using the radar.
She recognized instantly how the radar would help her to watch in all directions simultaneously.
After the first day the humans told her she did an excellent job and gave her a permanent position.
5476407
<spoilered part>
Like, for me there were vibes of being locked down in quarantine and finally getting out, at least on a psychological level. (Like, the idea that she stopped caring about her home because nopony came over any more). Also the grocery scarcity. Which might be completely off the mark, I dunno.
5476517
She has done nothing productive all day.
5476531
But she is a good example.
I think that their instincts would work both for and against them. The advantage of knowing the air and how to fly instinctively, big advantage. Unlearning flying like a bird and instead flying in a machine, big disadvantage. Like, some years ago I did a one-day rally school, and I’m an old rear wheel drive on dirt guy, and what works in a RWD car does not work in a FWD car, so 20-some years of experience were entirely useless and in fact had to be unlearned.
(I got pretty okay at it by the end of the day, so there’s that.)
Also, if pegasi can lighten whatever they’re carrying/in (which is my headcanon), that would possibly make light aircraft perform better (it could also make them perform worse, admittedly).
Really? I wouldn’t, honestly. I’m curious what your reasoning is.
5476737
Huzzah!
5476830
....
Seems legit!
5476893
Not at all off the mark. On at least one level, very much an "Oh, fuck, look what the last year's done to us" sort of story.