As a Pole, I can't stress it enough - please don't drive your aircraft into us, we already have it hard enough

When we brought our KC-135 tanker, to Nellis AFB, the base weren’t used to large aircraft. Frequently, they directed two tankers head on, on the same taxiway. When the pilots would complain to the tower, they were told to just pass by them, just like the fighters would do. We had to keep reminding them we aren’t a fighter.

Hey Kelsey, Congratulations on ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBERS!!! I'm sure many of us on the 74Crew are toasting 🥂 to your success .... and thankful for the perfect reason to grab an early prime before the Super Bowl.

The tower language reminded me of my student pilot days in '77. Back then, I taxied to the curtain and told the tower I was there. The tower only said "OK". I thought he was saying OK to enter the runway and take off so I started to make the turn. As I did, the radio started going crazy, so I looked out to the inbound side and saw a freighting sight of a plan on final. That plane did a go around and I did a hard left rudder. Now Towers say "Hold Short"...A much better solution.

I go on field trips to replace A/C engines and after replacement the norm is for my 5 technician crew to fly back to home base with the pilots. An open cockpit door and just mechanics is a wild takeoff and steep banking ride home. The best aircraft for climbing I have experienced is the MD80. The pilots are real comfortable knowing the crew replacing the engine are willing to fly with them.

Spent many hours helping get that Qatar bird back in the air. Hats off to the Boeing AOG team and the Qatar engineers. They did a spectacular job. As far as climbing, I’ve been on several ferry flights in a 57. One night we took off out of MDW and got off in 1500 ft and got to FL390 in 11 minutes.

My son is one of those maintainers that gets flown up, or in some cases drives out, to work on aircraft. Fortunately, he handles business jets, not commercial. When you say wildly expensive, you're not kidding. He's certified and already makes a decent living, plus there are always two people, plus travel and accommodations if it turns into a multi-day gig. I would say he's living the life, but as you know, every person that works on an airplane knows they are responsible for the lives on board if they don't nail their job every time. So, yea, lots of money in the aircraft industry and just about any position, but there's an equal amount of stress and responsibility that goes with it.

One of my biggest "Brown Pants" moments came while doing pattern work shortly after getting my private certificate. I was in a 172, using the shorter GA runway 35. Normally right traffic. Due to several inbound aircraft for 35, the tower asked if they could transition me to the larger parallel runway 36 until they cleared the arrivals. Sure. So they instructed me to make left traffic and enter the left downwind for 36, cleared for the option, traffic departing prior to your arrival is a regional jet. 18/36 is a 12,900 foot long runway. As I was crossing the departure end, east to west, they cleared the CRJ for takeoff with a right turnout to the northeast. There was a moment of panic as I'm watching this regional jet barreling towards me and begin to rotate before I had even entered the downwind. In hindsight I was never in any danger, but in that moment I was feeling pretty vulnerable and in the way!

Every time , days before a flight , I would check and try to keep in my head , arrival procedures - way point names and learn almost by heart the taxi routes ... I would taxi Slowly and Ask for Any thing ( sensible ) I had doubts about . They paid me Very Good money to Command these beautiful airplanes , my job was to be Up to that Responsibility Every Time! Many and Sincere Thanks to My Qatar Airways F/O's who helped me stay out of trouble. Giancarlo Garlaschi Podesta Qatar Airways B 777 Commander ( Ret .) Kindest Regards

Kelsey As a retired controller in Chicago center I can tell you I have used visual separation many times. I checked with some of my still active colleagues and they say it is still an option. That being said I will give you some facts and some realities. Visual separation can only be used up to 17999ft. If FL 180 isn’t available due to altimeter settings then descending visual through traffic at 17000ft is unavailable. The pilot maneuvering can accept the clearance and assume full responsibility for separation or reject it out of hand. The other aircraft must be told, but does not need to see the traffic. A non maneuvering aircraft can volunteer to maintain visual separation but then assumes responsibility regardless of what the other guy does. While it is a tool there is some reluctance amongst many controllers for various reasons. 1. Often the other pilot will complain like this guy did. In this example the pilots complaint must be made against the other aircraft not the controller. 2. In a very crowded environment it is possible to see the wrong aircraft. I would point out the PSA crash in San Diego 1978 where this was a contributing factor. 3. Some airlines have rules against their pilots using visual separation. 4. In the event of a TCAS RA the non maneuvering pilot will most likely respond to the RA which in the case of a scheduled carrier and a non scheduled carrier could result in both aircraft getting closer not farther. Scheduled air carriers are required to follow RA’s, civil aircraft are not. 5 controllers as a whole do not care about your companies bottom line, your schedule, your passengers comfort (to a degree), or anything other than having as hassle free day as possible. Using visual separation will at the least having some manager call them at the scope and ask them what they did. If tapes are pulled and even one small insignificant part of the clearance OR read back are wrong then the controller buys the error (we call them deals). As a result of all this visual separation has fallen out of favor except in the tower environment where often it will be used to increase efficiency on parallel runways.

1 Million! Fantastic! So happy for you! Now for the video. On the MD-80 and the Lear you could hear the annoyance in both pilots' voices even before the near miss. Crazy directions from ATC. Have a great week everyone!

Dad was an American Airlines pilot in the 1970’s - I remember when he came home telling how on the taxiway he had run the outboard engine of his 707 into a Delta baggage cart they had left in the wrong place.

This story made me think of something a friend of mine told me once. My friend is ex-Airforce. Apparently someone in his unit screwed up an order once. They were supposed to order a small part for an A-10 wing, but they ordered a whole A-10 wing, and their supervisor missed it. They didn't figure out the mistake until the wing showed up. Fortunately, they had storage space, so they took the part off the wing and used it, and over time they cannibalized the rest of it. Minus the storage cost/lost space, over time, the mistake actually ended up saving them money.

I'm so happy to see this channel reach over 1 million. Kelsey is a complete badass and deserves all the success in the world. This has been one of the best channels on KZfaq for a long time.

Hitting a pole while taxiing .... now that happened to my late father, as a private Cessna pilot, at the tiny Welshpool airport in the UK over 30 years ago. He'd been supplied with a ground chart of the airfield (a much smaller one than Chicago O'Hare, it must be said) that didn't reflect changes made to it within the preceding year, one of which was a set of poles adjacent to the taxiway. He exited the runway and drove the plane straight into them - fortunately he was uninjured but the aircraft had to be written off. Incidentally: congratulations on achieving 1 million subscribers, Kelsey! You deserve such a massive following, with this channel that offers genuinely interesting content, educational yet delivered with good humour.

Phrases like "we have the thrust to do that"☺ are part of why you now have 1 million subscribers. Congrats! You are one of my favourite KZfaqr pilots and, of course, you fly my favourite plane. The Queen of the Skies, long may she reign.👑

Hi, Kelsey! Congrats on 1 million subscribers! I've been watching you for 1 year+ now and I'm always looking forward to your Sunday videos. Congratulations, you deserve it! :)

Congrats on one million subs. As a retired corporate pilot I can honestly say I never ran into anything on the ground. In flight the occasional bird. Kind of unavoidable. I’ve had several hangar rash incidents where a tug or something ran into a plane I was flying, but that was about it. Those were tough calls to make, tell the boss we can’t make the trip because someone ran into his plane. But there is a story of a incident at EWR, where I was based, back in the 80’s. I was based in the same hanger as a corporate 727-100, company will remain anonymous. He taxied out and made a left onto a roadway instead of a taxiway. Well the left wing was then introduced to a light pole just like the one in this video. Happened not more than a half mile from the hanger where they were based. Could never look at those crew members the same again. So it doesn’t matter if it’s a crazy busy airport like Ohare or right in your own front yard, It happens.

Congratulations for reaching the legendary 1 million subscribers Kelsey! Looking forward to your channel hitting 7.47 million subscribers one day.

"Yes, I'd like to report a non-near-miss."

My favorite takeoff was on a Lockheed 1011 and it only had about 50 people on board and after being stuck in St. Lous, gave it everything had to make up time. The funny thing was right before he hit it, he told us he was going to get us to Abergurky as fast as possible. The look on all of our faces was priceless! "Where?"

“NOTAMs are just a bunch of garbage that nobody pays any attention to,” U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Robert Sumwalt said at a 2018 hearing on an Air Canada near-miss incident.

The MD80 could well have wanted the Tower's number for a near miss not because he was pissed with the Lear Jet but because he was pissed with the way ATC handled the clearance. It sounds nuts to entirely expect another pilot on another plane to miss you and no control of any of that.

I'm what they call as "nervous flyer", I got really nervous ( or scared) when I fly. People like you and mentour pilot are the sources that really help me overcoming my fear of flying, I can't thank you enough.

So, several years ago I went to the Chino Air Show and their "special" plane was a C-17 Globmaster. In the past they have had an A-10, an F-16, and other "performance" aircraft, so I was a little disappointed all they could get was a big bus. BUT, let me tell you, the crew of the C-17 must have had a blast showing off their empty aircraft because they really did some crazy stuff that you wouldn't ever expect from the Globmaster. It was very cool to see (and hear!). Thew crowd really enjoyed the show, and the pilots had a great time pretending to be fighter pilots‼

He did it! Hit the big 1M! Congratulations Kelsey!! So happy for you!! 🎉🎉

In our airline, we have the AMM charts as in the one you are showing. We choose the aircraft type and it automatically shows the red line on unaccessible taxiways due to wingspan. Really helpful. It also shows in the NOTAMS that these taxiways are unaccessible to a certain wingspan in our case, the A350. So i think these guys did not check them unfortunately.

Can you make a video about some of the crazy simulator stories you had? That would be interesting to hear! Like what situations you were put in and how you solved them, etc.

A similar situation, but this time a”near miss”. An ATC clip I viewed had a ground controller direct an Emirates 380 down a specific taxi way and the pilot questioned that route, saying “ his aircraft will not fit” that taxiway. Too heavy, I think was the reason. There after ensured a short discussion but the A380 was adamant they were not going that way. Reinforce’s your comment that as pilot in control, situational awareness should not be abandoned to external instructions

Back in the 90's this happened twice in EWR. back when the ATC tower wa in "The Ball Park". The area in the middle of the airport that also had a gate holding area. First time was Continental Tech Ops Taxi, when they got into the ball park and did 180 to park. Hit the light pole. The Mech said he was on the line properly and NYNJ PA said was his fault. Second time, TWO MONTHS LATER! Same thing with Virgin 747 live flt w/ people and took the wing tip right off. YES the CO mech was ecstatic and saying told you so. Enjoy to pod!

Congratulations on 1 mil!!!

Well done Kelsey on the 1 million subscribers!! 🎉 keep the blue side up ❤

I know you’ve recently got a new editor and I love what they’re doing!! I’m not a pilot and have actually only flown twice but I love planes. My grandpa’s best friend was a twa 747 pilot (New York tk Paris for years) and I loved listening to his stories. He is now in hospice with ALS so he can’t tell the stories anymore. So I watch your channel. Anyway, the work your new editor is doing has made it so much easier for a non pilot to understand what you’re talking about.

I’ve been following your channel for years, I was here for 1 million! Congratulations Kelsey and keep the blue side up ✈️

I was on a 767 out of LaGuardia going to Boston, last flight of the day and there were something like 17 passengers on board. The pilot decided to take advantage of the limited pax and fuel and firewalled the throttles...he came on after takeoff and said we were airborne in 1500 feet! Everything slammed to the back of every compartment...fun flight!!

Congrats on the big 1 million Kelsey! You and your videos are the reason why I love aviation so much! You deserve it more than ever!!!

Huge congrats on 1 million, I hope your channel, like a plane after it lifts off from the ground, keeps climbing higher and higher (in subscribers, views). Keep up the great vids ✈️🥂🎇

Congrats 🎉 on the 1 mil! So deserved! Look forward to your next travel blogs! Love the new format btw

So many folks appreciate your videos. Congrats on 1m! Keep going if you possibly can. Regards from UK!

Thank you Kelsey for another awesome video you make my Sunday morning great. Congrats on 1 million subscribers I can't think of a person who deserves it. Thank you for what you do. Have a great week. A fan from IN.

Congratulations! Your sense of humour and keeping it real makes you my favourite aviation youtuber! :) You are so calm, cool and funny! :)

I was flying out of ATL going to JAX in an MD-80 a few years back. As soon as we were airborne, we went up at over a 45 degree angle. It was fun and also a bit scary as a passenger not expecting to be glued to my seat for what felt like 2 or 3 minutes. I have no idea what the pilots were doing.. I just figured he wanted to get out of there really fast.

Congratulations on 1 million dude! You’re a big inspiration for me, I’ve wanted to fly airplanes since I was four years old and I’m finally pursuing it thanks to the confidence I’ve gained watching you and Mentour’s videos! Thanks again!

OMG 1MILLION SUbS…. Congrats Kelsey. I usually never comment on videos but this time I had to comment and acknowledge your hard work and sacrifice . I believe nobody deserves it more. Hope u have many more milestones and many more years on this platform. Good luck on your future endeavors…Cheers😊

Hey Kelsey, congrats on 1 million subs! Truly well deserved for your well made content.

O'Hare is a very complex airport. Just a few months ago a Viva Aerobus pilot got lost at night (even though in good weather), and was about to take off from a taxiway when the controller stopped her. I think that every pilot using it should be briefed in detail about its complexities.

Congrats on 1M subscribers, well deserved. Your discussion was perfect on the trust but verify with ATC. I’ve always seen taxiing as one of your max vulnerabilities. Two people have got to be looking outside with long winged aircraft. Too many hazards that can bite you. Great video as always!

About the "Zulu Time" that Kelsey mentions at 2:36 or so: Zulu is for Z here, and Z is a reference to the letter that was reserved for the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time zone. Zulu time is actually UTC±00:00 (for Coordinated Universal Time), pretty much the same as GMT. The advantage of using Zulu time everywhere is that there is no ambiguity regarding the time zone. If it says 1100Z then you can convert it into your own time zone if you want but no one will wonder if it means 11am Eastern or Pacific or wherever else. It's common in other industries as well.

Congratulations on a million! I didn't think your videos were impacting me. I usually fly once or twice annually and I usually sleep through take off, the flight and landing. But, I have to say, I found myself being more patient and more understanding when we taxied back to the terminal and waited forever for ground crew to fix the plane, only to be switched to another plane. There was only one loud, mouthy guy on his phone complaining about it. Everyone else must also watch your videos!

A friend was FO on United 747s and had one of the stubbies (the shortened 747 version) on a deadhead from LAX to SFO. It was his turn to fly; they had minimum fuel, nothing on board, a captain who was looking forward to some fun, and requesting maximum rate of climb, received permission and clearance to take off with the proviso to stay below 250kts. He opened those turbines up to 100% with the brakes on, released the brakes, and rotated at the correct airspeed. He said that the plane was at 3000 feet before the end of the runway and he had to throttle back when they were 70 degrees nose up and 250 knots. ATC asked if they had special engines and he said no. I forget how long it took them to get to FL350 but it was less than ten minutes. Cancer took him some years back, but not before he got his Captain seat on both 757 and 747. He told marvelous stories. I miss him. What is not to love about zoom and boom? But stay off the ground-based poles.

1M subs!!! Wow...Congratulations Kelsey!!

One million! Congratulations, sir. Well deserved👍

Hey Kelsey... congratulations on ONE MILLION subscribers!! 🍾🥂 You are one of the few people here on KZfaq that I have an alert set up for bc I absolutely love your videos!! I wish aviation and especially 747 lovers, like myself, could get a ride on one of your charter flights! It would be amazing to meet you and have you as a pilot!! Thank you for continuing to bring us these awesome videos! Praying for safe flights for you always 🙏✈️

Awesome vid as always!

I love the faux-serious look on Kelsey's face when he listens to ATC. If he actually looks like that in the cockpit, his pilot is liable to call a medical emergency: "my co-pilot is constipated and liable to explode at any time. Request emergency descent so we can depressurize the cabin as soon as possible."

Hi Kelsey. CONGRATS for the 1M subs!!!! Cheers from Argentina.

You make great videos your ways to explain something , your personality and everything is just spectacular I love your Pilot Life videos,Viral Debriefs ETC. Thank you For making such good videos .❤💙

Will they let you display your gold KZfaq plaque on the flight deck? High fives for the one million subscribers 🙌🏻 Thanks for always teaching us something - I look forward to my Sunday mornings with you.

Congrats on 1mil subscribers! I’m so glad I found your channel!

Hey kelsey!! Loved the video. I can't wait for more of the travel adventures. You go to so many amazing places. As for someone who has never been on a plane, I always look forward to your videos!

Way to go Kelsey on 1 million! Good video as always!!

Hey 74gear, congratulations on 1 mil subs! If you don’t know us, our name is 74crew and we are 747 enthusiasts. Your channel 74gear is all about aviation. And we all enjoy your content.

Congrats on 1 million. I've been a fan for 3 years. It's nice to see how far you've came.

Your videos are ALWAYS very informative. Thanks 👍

Hi Kelsey @74 Gear, regarding the conditional clearance, as you say "line up and wait behind landing traffic", it is explicitly explained in CAA CAP 413... "BIGJET 347, behind the landing 737, line up Runway 26 behind"... Notice the emphasis on the use of "behind" twice given in the instruction, at the beginning and at the end of the instruction. The pilot MUST readback the FULL conditional clearance, stating "behind" twice. If there is any doubt that the pilots have not understood the instruction, the controller will issue a "hold position" instruction. Personally I don't see a conditional clearance a safety concern. However, I personally think it is absurd that the FAA allow controllers to "clear" multiple aircraft onto the same runway. For example, multiple aircraft can be "cleared to land" on the same runway at the same time. Take the recent Fedex 767 and Southwest 737 runway incursion in Texas, the Fedex was cleared to land, but then the Southwest was cleared for takeoff on the same runway. In Europe, the Fedex would have been given "continue approach" instruction, and the SWA takeoff clearance. If the SWA dawdled on the runway, and the Fedex had not been given a landing clearance 200ft above the runway (not necessarily MDA/DH), the Fedex should have gone around much sooner than it did. The Fedex didn't have any DH because it was doing a CAT3b autoland. Technically the airfield was operating in low visibility procedures, and the SWA should not have been given takeoff clearance with the Fedex so close on the approach. The ILS signals have to be protected, especially if the Fedex is doing a CAT3 Autoland. I would suggest this incident should/could/would be discussed on your next video. Keep up the good work, safe flying, and keep the blue side up! Kind Regards Craig

Congrats on a million subs Kelsey!!!🎉

Congrats on the 1 million, sir. Keep it coming!

ADS-B track of both should show what happened and I would think ATC has and saw the tracks. With only one mile separation when atc called the Lear it’s crazy atc didn’t give him an immediate heading away from the md80! Going into KCOS recently I was given “N…. 737 on 4 mile final , report 737 in sight, … maintain visual separation from the 737, number two cleared to land , caution wake turbulence. We were way too close and numerous aircraft inbound behind. Choices: go around, ask for parallel runway 35L , which is what I did.

Congratulations on 1 million 🎉🎉 Happy Valentine’s Day 😊

Glad there was no fuel leak, that would have really changed the situation. Congrats on 1M!!!

Congratulations Kelsey on 1 million subscribers. So glad you're seeing success 🎉 🥳

Congratulations on 1 million! 💜

congrats on the one mil, thx to you i want to be a pilot in the future your the best

Wow! 1,000,000 subscribers! Congratulations. Well done, you.

1 MILLION!!! Wooohoooo! Congratulations Kelsey! 🥳

Thanks for the great explanation Kelsey.

i got to fly my first plane yesterday in a introductory flight lesson and i got to fly all but landing and was so cool. it was an amazing experience

"we have the thrust to do that" was said with great pride😌

Congratulations on the 1 million 😊keep up the good work Kelsey....keep the blue side up !

Congratz on the 1mill subs Kelsey & keep the sunny side up n the video coming.

Congratulations for 1M

Flying airliners in MFS is a wildly different experience from a lot of other types because you actually have to be careful not to overspeed *while you're climbing on takeoff*. It's really just incredible how much power they have, especially something like a 747.

Wow! 1 million subscribers! Congratulations Kelsey! Well deserved! Proud of you. Respect to you. Warm South African regards to you. 🤗🤗

Way to go on 1M subs Kelsey! Congratulations! The quality and editing in your content just keeps getting better. Best wishes.

Is it still airworthy? Let’s take a “pole”

AA didn't say if they had a TA or RA. I don't care for that phraseology on the clearance to the Lear either but they did maintain visual separation. When I flew Lears in the early '80's we always wanted that climb asap due to fuel burn.

You rock buddy......!!!!Great job!!!! Love watching!! I know it might be getting old for you. Most of us can't get enough!! Thank you!!

Wow, 1 Million subscribers! Congratulations! I'll keep sharing your videos and telling people about you. Soon we will see you climb to 2 million!

Kelsey, because of you, I finally scheduled my discovery flight. I am so excited. Congrats on 1M subscribers!

Thanks Kelsey. Yeah, I remember once I was flying from Perth, (Aus) to Singapore on a 747-SP and this thing was empty! I honestly could not see another passenger.... When we took off, WE TOOK OFF - like a rocket! (Not that I've been on a rocket) I could hardly move for a good minute - well it seemed like a minute. I actually remember saying to myself, "shitting hell"! I know it might sound weird but I actually had a headache afterwards - and I NEVER get headaches! But I tell you what as soon as the no smoking went off I lit one up and ordered a couple of Vodkas! Hey, it was 1991...lol. Flying was still fun back then! And Qantas Pilots were mainly ex-Air Force jockeys! Ciao.

congrats on 1mil kelsey and thank you for all of the quality content over the years! here's to a million more👊

Congrats on the one million! And I can't say this enough, THANK YOU for no music during your narration. I wish all YT hosts would learn the fact that music is not helping their cause when used during the narration. We're not watching music or dance videos.

The lightposts are relatively new in that area of the airport. ORD created a deiceing pad in the area of Z-J-J1-K1-K and that pad area was under construction for some time. Since the area and the surrounding taxiways only started to get used a short time prior to this event the pilots and controllers had not yet memorized the restrictions. I am sure all involed will remember from now on.

Congrats on 1MIL subs, Kelsey!

1 million!!!! That is AWESOME! Congrats!!!

You write instructions just as I do with the slash 😊 Although imagine if they changed the system to the same in Incheon or Changi when you vacate the runway and all you hear from ATC is the magical words “Follow The Greens”!

Hey I love your channel and I was wondering if you have to get your private pilot license before becoming a a 747 pilot

Proud to be part of the first 1 million subs. Congrats Kelsey ✈️

At Oshkosh, there was a 747 cargo plane that did a empty + low fuel full thrust take off. (low fuel being, enough to get to ORD+loiter) It was insane seeing the 747 jet doing a spiraling accent Over the airport before heading off to ORD.

Is that a new fitness exercise, Pole Taxiing?🤔😂