Like many pilots, I can get pretty sentimental about airplanes. That's why I jumped at the opportunity to fly one of my airline's DC-9s to its final resting place in the Mojave Desert and have a chance to say goodbye to an old aluminum friend. That trip, which took place three years ago, seems especially significant now in the post 9/11 world, where my airline, US Airways, has released over 30 percent of its employees and is now flying under the protection of bankruptcy laws. Back in 1999, we were upgrading our fleet Computerized wonders of the 21st century―jets that you can fly from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles just by turning knobs, pushing buttons and moving the gear handle twice―were replacing our faithful, aging airplanes. I knew I'd have to learn to fly by keeping an eye on tele- vision screens instead of on gyros and dials and eventually say adios to my instrument scan. That's called progress.
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