Ever heard of the term Flying Blind?

[Haole Girl]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3D5M0juHAw

Odd... I never knew what it meant.

Interesting story (and I included a GL video and a link for CNN, which may or may not work):

http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/sydneybound-qantas-jet-flying-blind/2008/10/29/1224956143124.html

Sydney-bound Qantas jet 'flying blind'

Paul Bibby and Arjun Ramachandran
October 30, 2008

The Qantas pilot who reportedly told passengers he was "flying blind" after the plane's weather radar malfunctioned during a Sydney-bound flight from Los Angeles had used an "unfortunate phrase", according to the acting president of the Australian and International Pilots Association.

The Qantas 747-400 passenger jet had to be guided by another aircraft for almost its entire journey from Los Angeles yesterday after the malfunctioning weather radar left it at the mercy of the elements, in the first of two malfunctions experienced by the airline in 24 hours.

Qantas Flight 12 was three hours into its journey when the pilot reported that its complex weather radar system was providing faulty readings.

Last night the Seven Network reported that the pilot told passengers he was "flying blind".

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/10/30/robson.aus.qantas.flying.blind.sevennetwork

[REP]

1. Yes; uncle was WWII navigator; know what it means

[old mark]

2. Before radar, flying blind meant you were completely enclosed in cloud

or fog. This is very disorienting - there is no way to tell "which way is up", and there were a lot of crashes in this situation. A cockpit instrument, the "artificial horizon" gave the pilot some indication of the attitude of the aircraft, but flying by instruments alone ws not really well developed till WWII.

mark

[Wapsie B]

3. Yes, but only with regards to life in general, not aviation.

As in you go into a project at work where no one knows what's going on, flying blind is a perfect way to describe the experience.