The flight

My trip to America took around 24 hours. I flew from Perth to Brisbane and then Brisbane to Los Angeles in the USA. We flew with Virgin AU.

Virgin Australia were amazing! I asked Virgin to see the cockpit, but I never imagined that they would offer for me to be part of all the pre-flight checks.
We were asked to come to the gate 2 hours before boarding time.

At the gate, I met Captain Rob and he introduced me to the 3 other pilots (Jonathon, Peter and Shane).
We boarded the Boeing 777-300ER a couple of hours before everyone else and started with a very detailed tour. I had a look upstairs in the pilots private rest area where there were 2 beds.

They then started the flight planning stage. They went through the weather maps, communictions and the maximum zero fuel weight, they explained everything to me.
Then we moved to the cockpit where we went through the auto pilot check list and the pre flight checks. It was SO interesting to talk to the pilots. They were so full of information and happy to share it. They explained everything they did and Jonathon the pilot showed me the instruments, and how to feed the numbers into them. It was incredible!!
We went through the way-points and the emergency landing runways. At the end of the flight checks, Captain Rob gave me real Virgin Australia pilot wings and 4 stripes captain rank!
I was so amazed by how nice and welcoming the pilots were. Especially how Captain Rob allowed me to be part of the team and even letting me sit in his place.

It was a really long flight and the landing was so smooth, I could hardly feel the wheels touching the ground. The pilots did a great job.

Got to LA so tired but can’t believe how lucky I am.