All of us "Ernie Geeks" were waiting for this moment. Huge congrats to you Big Ern! Thanks for taking us on the UOE. Those four stripes look good on you! Can't wait for the LAX vlogs now.
Seeing you walk off the plane with the 4 stripes was definitely a moment that washed over me (and I am sure may of your other followers) with a deep sense of pride. Have not had the pleasure of meeting you yet but hope some day we all would be lucky enough to shake the hand of our good Captain Big Ern . (I just have to stop scheduling Airbus flights :) :) - Kam P.S what a gentleman and scholar Captain Dave is. You could not have asked for a better mentor/check airman
The professionalIsm of "keeping your head in the game" by only recording between each flight leg really impressed me and stands out among all the content creators. WELL DONE.
@@abdulazizahmed838 u can choose normal jepp fd, but not fd pro( which requires an email activation directly from the airlines) or foreflight, both works great except there’s no amm function.
Congratulations Captain! As a passenger I’m extremely grateful to all the hard work and dedication you (and fellow pilots) apply to this job. You also had an amazing check pilot. Super happy for you
Congrats Captain! So glad you captured this great moment in an airline pilot’s career. It definitely motivates the rest of us to get to this point. Thank you!
Wow.. this is the most awesome and honest video ever. (I am a pilot also.). For pilots that want to know what it is.. This is amazing. I think that your nervousness doing a different seat for the first time, and Dave's confidence of having your back, honestly makes all Southwest Passengers feel better. It shows the human side, and how hard you guys work to keep everybody safe and share the knowledge. I love this video and love Dave!!!
A big congratulations to you Ernie! Well deserved! I'm looking forward to being your First Officer and getting that photo with you one of these days. Anything is possible being that I am a new LAX guy on reserve!
As a fellow pilot (corporate pilot for me) it is inspiring hearing how tired you might be, how exhausted you might feel, but you still set aside time for working out. I try to as best I can but there are many days when I pass on it to sleep and rest in my hotel room. Seeing you push through it encourages me to not let the workouts slip.
You can tell your such a stand up guy. Very experienced, hard working and most deserving of this move to the Captain seat. Those 4 bars look just right on you! Congratulations Cap 🎉✈️
Congrats Ernie from a fellow ‘37 captain. I remember this first flight on left seat. My biggest issue was parking the aircraft at the gate… next one will be the first one with a real F/O. It felt like the first Solo flight back on the SEP at the flight school. You will do just fine. Keep the Nose high and blue skies! (And by the way… I also did 10 years in the left seat. Definently happy to have done that. It helps a lot for the big step) It’s a small step over to the left seat, but a Big step becoming a commander!
Dave was one of the guys who talked to me and inspired me to follow his lead, give up on my Land Rover Defender, my dream car, and to try to get back into aviation. I'm glad I did! Good video, thanks for posting.
I have huge respect for Airline Captains. Their job is full of responsibilities. Safety of the passengesrs, the crew, the plane and finally flight economy. Everything is great on a modern aircraft when all systems are working and weather is great. But it is during crisis that they prove their mettle. And that happens often, crew may have problems, systems can act out. Weather can get nasty. Most of them do long hours. Its a great job flying the world! So many of them have saved so many lives entrusted to their care in the air. Good luck to you Captain Ernie!
I’ve never flown SWA into KIAH. I grew up in the flight path for Hobby and my mother was one of the original Southwest commuters. She flew up and back three days a week from Hobby to Love Field for work. She did this for three years from 1974 to 1977. It was cheap, it was quick, and it was easy. It was an entirely different airline from the traditional airlines back then. It was like a fast bus ride to Dallas. I went with her a few times. After a year, everyone knew her and she knew everyone. It was a pretty small company just flying the intraTexas routes. Good times.
I had to stop at 1:55. And say. You got this brother. God, put you in that seat. Do every thing you have done before. Keep moving, keep smiling and keep learning.
Big congrats Capt. You Ern’d it, deserve it and will be a great Captain. Hope to ride behind you someday. Hey, I’ve had Dave in my right seat a few times. Always a hoot but always an education. Once in a 737-800 sim . Did one Cat 3 landing with the H.U.D. Pretty cool system. Also did an approach with a major wind shear event and one landing with 30 knot direct crosswind. Dave put me through a workout. The sim was reusable after all that so not too bad for a private pilot. Keep learning and enjoy the world view from the left seat.
Big Ern! Congrats bro!! You earned it. I feel like a proud friend. I've been on this journey with you for the past 2 years and to see it come to fruition is amazing! I cant wait to fly with you.
Major congrats to you Sir. I have been following your channel since mid 2020 during the early stage of the pandemic and have watched every episode and seeing your journey to captain as well as observing your professionalism, poise and character has been amazing to see. You have let us into your world and as an aviation enthusiast like myself, you have really made this such a cool experience and grown, even more than I already had, my love for aviation. Congratulations, Captain.
Congratulations, Big Ern. What an awesome moment for to have received that 4th stripe. You have earned it with dedication and experience. I know your family is so proud of you. May God continue to Bless you, give you safe flights, and be with you, as you provide the flight safety for all the passengers under your care. Happy Flying, and Always Safe Landings!!
Proud of you brother Ern, I’ve followed you for a while, met you and the Doc last Fall at The Migration. I’m also a proud Sun Devil. Be blessed and safe Skipper.
It reminds me of that feeling after SIM training and after IOE etc long ago in the L-1011. I’m sure you feel really great; accomplished and relieved. Congratulations Ernie. Much respect
From experience, having a real friend who cares about your success will possibly give you even more of a hard time, not in a bad way but wanting you to be the best you can be, especially as they're not even doing the checkride.
CONGRATULATIONS !!!! SO Excited for You. Great to see a Good Person, who works VERY hard, has a Positive Attitude and presents himself as a Professional Role Model for those coming behind + all of us who sit in the back. Fly High & Safe Captain !!!
Hey Big Ern! Seems like yesterday you were my First Official. You were actually the second guy I flew with when I became a Captain 👨🏾✈️. Life has come full circle for you. Congrats! 👊🏾
"It's an easy aircraft to learn" no kidding, I've learned some of it's systems on my own and flown the 737NGs and MAXs in Xplane, I know simulators aren't entirely right but I think it's a good representation of how the planes work and I mainly use the sim to learn the systems and operations. I take it all with a grain of salt, If I ever decide to become an airline pilot I'll for sure forget or try to get out of habits I've gotten from Xplane and all that
X-Plane is a great tool to learn an aircraft, especially the more simple planes you'll start on like a 172. Obviously the maneuvering isn't that realistic, but if the model is good sims can be extremely helpful to learn systems and instrument flying.
@@hafeya The good thing is PMDG is making great strides on the aircraft and Asobo are working hard on continuing to fully flesh out the SDK. Soon we will have a aircraft that surpasses even P3D in terms of systems and hopefully flight dynamics than in P3D.
@@pilot.sergio4 oh for sure. I've got all the PMDG products on P3D, and I do fly the pmdg 737 on msfs. Just waiting for weather radar and some of the other systems to get built into it.
My son just did his first flights as a new Southwest first officer. Good news he might be able to be a captain in 5 or 6 years. Congratulation on your promotion. I love your honesty as you describe your flights. I hope my son gets to fly with you soon. I feel like I understand so much more about what happens when he is in the air. This is one thankful mom. I have always loved aviation. My father was a pilot in the Air Force.
It has been an honour following you these past few years. Congratulations achieving your captain stripes. Southwest should be proud to have you as a spokes person for them. Congrats again.🇨🇦
Y'all have great chemistry. Love this video not only because you made it to the top but because you show passion and that chemistry. Congratulations sir. If I fly swa (might not be for awhile but we'll see), I would love it if you were piloting.
Congratulations Captain Ernie!!! A ton of hard work put in with the most humble of attitudes, you should be very proud of your major milestone accomplishment! Thank you for taking us along your journey!
My wife was able to fly out to BWI to fly on my final leg to LAS. The check airman made the announcement while she pinned my Captain epaulets on. Highlight of my career. Cheers Big Ern. Congrats!
My first day in the left seat, I just sat there and smiled and took it all in and yes it did feel weird at first. I am now on the rapid downslide of my career thanks to my age and I have enjoyed all the ups and downs in this volatile but rewarding industry, oddly enough I have never transported passengers just always cargo. I wish you all the best ..... congrats Ern.
Congratulations with your promotion to Captain Ernie! Really great video, thanks for taking us along. Thank you Dave for all of the excellence of flight officer training. First class all the way. Great team work!❤️🛫
Congratulations! Maybe one of your colleagues gave you the same advice I got after I passed the Fed ride at the end of IOE. I was told, " the next time you look to your left for advice, all you'll get is a view of your reflection". It was good advice.
Capt. Ern CONGRATULATIONS on officially ranking up to capt. I've been following your channel on Utube for over a year now and I think I've been waiting on this day to come as much as you. Now the time has come, and you finally did it. Left seat jock. Again, congrats, u deserved it.
Fantastic video Ernie, really great, Dave is a bit of a legend, exactly the type of bloke you need along with you. Massive congratulations to you (i know its been a year or so now). Great stuff Captain.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BARS! PRAYING THAT ALL YOUR TRIPS WILL BE LOVELY SAFE AND YOU'LL ENJOY FOR THE NEXT SO MANY YEARS! LOVE YOUR VIDEOS KEEP THEM COMING
One thing I notice, and I have an aviation background, is that I have never seen an ounce of arrogance out of this man. He is always learning and upgrading his tradecraft. Another thing I notice is how he treats other crewmembers with respect. I think a lot of FOs will learn a lot from this gentleman and they should be appreciative. I am sure Big Ern would totally disagree totally with my statements and that exactly why he is in the captain's seat. Humility and respect are underrated. Go Big Ern!
Congratulations Ernie, you're going to be a great captain....All the best in your career, SW is lucky to have you as their "official" spokesman and captain.
My friend just got accepted into the Destination 225 SWA cadet program with zero experience! He’s flown my 737 home cockpit SIM in my garage and he will be reporting to Phoenix in a couple months for a year long training. He’s excited, and I’m actually looking to apply to the same program. I hope to get as lucky as him. No experience however my home cockpit 737 sim in my garage is so awesome, so I have a small leg up! 😜
The HUD is something you use or don't use. It isn't something you wait for a weather day to use. I use it every day on every flight. Congratulations on the upgrade, Ernie!
