Flight description

As a rule, the only people invited to accompany a pilot on the last journey of their career are family members and a few close friends. But for Joe Moser’s final command, the whole PilotsEYE community is right there in the cockpit with him.

Joe Moser was still a boy, barely ten years old, when he found his calling. The moment he touched the wing of a glider that had just landed in front of him, he fell in love. “I’m going to be a pilot.”From that day on, aviation became his life’s sole purpose. Even when flying to the places other pilots spend their holidays at, he prefers to be the man in the cockpit delivering passengers to the most beautiful destinations around the globe. “I need to fly like I need to breathe,” Moser says about himself.

Austrian Joe Moser is a true original. When it comes to junior pilots under his wing, he asks for much, but gives much more back. When it comes to his crew, he is both their patriarch and protector. But when it comes to his pilot’s career, from now on, he will be just a passenger. Despite his being “fit to fly”, it’s required by law that a pilot’s commercial career comes to an end the day he turns 65.

A Piece of Joe’s Mind – the Good, the Bad, and the Honest from 32.000 hours in flight

“Flying, it’s not an art, it’s a craft.” That much time in the air doesn’t come without its share of stories to tell – or very defined opinions. For example: “If you want to become a good pilot these days, get your hands on a Cessna and log as many hours as you can, because that’s where you can still learn what it really means to fly.”

We show the best and most entertaining parts of the interviews Moser gave on his layover days.

Belly of the Boeing – A close look at the Lima’s underbelly

How much do wings and fuselage of an airplane warp under strain? Thanks to the new ultra-high 4K definition of the hull camera, our viewers can now see for themselves. Simply breathtaking pictures, from the first opening of the wheel well to touching down with a total weight of 250 tons. ‘Nuff said. And the audience is happy.

Warbirds – Many a veteran pilot’s dream

When asked what kind of aircraft he’d like to fly into the sunset of his retirement, Joe responds with a smile: “A refurbished military plane.”While some might still fondly recall their first assembled model airplanes, from Fokker to Messerschmitt, Joe never lost his passion for the mostly propeller-driven crafts, and he would love to own such a historical plane himself. Unfortunately, he’d need to have a few extra millions lying around, and even for a captain’s salary, that’s just too much.

Lebua SkyBar – Approaching “Hangovertini“-Altitude

“The most stunning rooftop bar you’ll ever see,“the New York Times wrote about this singular hotspot in Bangkok’s skyline. As the sun sets on the 64^thfloor of the State Tower, Joe and his crew indulge in a glass of “Hangovertini” (apple juice, martini, and rosemary-infused honey), named after the international box-office success “The Hangover II”, parts of which were shot in that very bar.

King Khlong – A famous round trip in honor of the Big Man

On their layover days, flight captains often turn into tour guides that show their (young) crew around their stop-over town. An integral part of Bangkok sightseeing is a trip through the “khlongs” (the canals) of the Chao Phraya river. In one of the customary long-tail boats, powered by a roaring truck engine, Moser and his crew pass floating markets, Buddhist temples, and orchid farms.

The tour is also a chance for everyone to reevaluate their definition of traffic noise, as the boat trip literally allows them a glimpse into the lives, and living rooms, of the people of Bangkok.

One more Time – A final outside check of the B777, the love of Joe’s life

Who would’ve thought that a veteran pilot could be almost moved to tears by stroking the side of his plane? It’s just a few seconds, but it turns into the defining moment of the episode, a moment sure to be remembered for a very long time. It’s a heart-wrenching split after a marriage of 45 years above the clouds. And our audience is right there to witness it.

Lost in Transit – Playing Koi in the waiting area

With more than 70 million passengers each year, Singapore counts among the world’s busiest airports (for comparison, Frankfurt sees 64 million). When it comes to popularity, though, Changi Airport has been ranked as the international favorite for the fifth year in a row. PilotsEYE shows the most comfortable, design-oriented, and faunal peculiarities of the “world’s best airport”. And should you ever find yourself standing in front of the resident Koi pond, “please don’t throw coins into it,” urges the lovely terminal manager. “You wouldn’t want people to constantly throw coins into your living room, either.”

Small Kiss – Big Smile

“Joe, is there anything we can do for you to cheer you up?” asks copilot Nora, who turns out to be a perfect mediator between grief and elation. It’s a wonderful testament as to why a duo of pilots will remain the ideal cockpit crew for a long time to come.

Gear Jam – Suspenseful until the end

Not even the experience of thousands of landings can ease the tension during that final touchdown. Nevertheless, Joe’s female copilot adds another last-second scare when the lever for lowering the landing gear refuses to budge. Will Joe have to fly a final go-around?

Hazardous Training – Pulling high gs in a flight simulator

Originally devised for the military, this “g-motion training unit” is by now also used to train civilian pilots. Joe is transported to the spot where, in 2009, the crew of AirFrance flight 447 lost control of their Airbus 330 and crashed into the ocean with all of its 228 passengers. Presented in split-screen, five different cameras inside and outside the simulator capture every action that would have been necessary to prevent the tragedy.

The Flight Path

Leipzig (Germany), Dresden (Germany), Pardubice (Czech Republic), Miskolc (Hungary), Kronstadt (Russia), Black Sea, Tiflis (Georgia), Baku (Azerbaijan), Asgabat (Turkmenistan), Gizab (Afghanistan), Dera Ghazi Khan (Pakistan), Calcutta (India), Bago (Myanmar), // Bangkok (Thailand) // Singapore // Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Medan (Indonesia), Chennai (India) // Bangalore // Arabic Sea, Teheran (Iran), Bafra (Turkey), Black Sea, Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Pardubice (Czech Republic), Leipzig

The PEFB – all original documents as PDF

For everyone interested in „reading along“ with the film, PilotsEYE.tv once again offers all relevant documentation as a free download. From the flight plan with the most important flight data to the load sheet to weather charts: the „PilotsEYE Flight Briefing” is available as a PDF at http://PilotsEYE.tv/downloads

The Wallpapers – Screen Art from the flight

A selection of the most beautiful shots from photographer Timo Breidenstein, specially enhanced for the computer screen and, in a PilotsEYE first, for mobile phones, are available to download for free at: http://PilotsEYE.tv/downloads

Motifs: BLADERUNNER – GEARCANDY – STARBUTT PUSHME – HALLOFSMOKE PILOTSNEST – CHEEKYFACE  PUSHINGMESOFTLY – ONYOURMARKS – UNIQUEHORN BEASTWITHIN – MOONSCAPE – CKOUDOFTHOUGHT  RUNWAYCPTURED – FIRMGRIP – THRUSTFULLY  HEARTBEAT LEADERSHIP – LASTCOMMAND – PAVEPAINTING –MOVINFEET RUBBERDUST – DARKHORSE

A defining moment for the producer as well

“I see it as a tremendous vote of confidence to be allowed to witness such a pivotal event – one of the most emotional days in the life of any pilot – first-hand and capture it on camera,” raves PilotsEYE producer Thomas Aigner.

The episode’s most touching moment for us: Joe sitting all by himself in the cockpit for a while, when it suddenly dawns on him that everything he deemed worth getting out of bed for in the last 45 years will be over in just a few minutes.

Pilots are always prepared. Some even visualize each landing in their mind. The image of that final touchdown was something Joe had continued put off for as long as possible, and it’s the reason those very special moments came to be. What we see here is probably the most honest and the most vulnerable Joe Moser has ever been on camera.