Friday, April 30, 2010

Check gear down?

Boring week. Back on morning airport reserve.

Tuesday started like always....sleeping in a recliner while listening to various tech podcast. A few hours in I was called for a quick turn.

The flight was originally scheduled to be flown by another regional carrier. For whatever reason they couldn't do it.

The crew was all reserves. The Captain and I both weren't really in the mood to fly. The flight is short. My record time was 16 minutes off to on.

Only 24 people on board, away we went. Captains leg. We made great time initially until we entered the airport area. Problem was it was a military base and there were military aircraft doing pattern work and practice approaches. Lots of miltary aircraft. My TCAS screen was filled with targets.

The tower controller worked us into the pattern. The military aircraft were doing right traffic and so we were on a left downwind to stay clear.

Tower called our base turn and advised we were number 4 for the airport and be advised there is traffic on our right practicing a VOR approach who is number 3.  The tower then said something I haven't heard in while, "Cleared to land, check wheels down."

I looked at the EICAS screen.....no the wheels were still up, we had not gotten that far. Then a light bulb clicked, "Cleared to land, check wheels down." I replied.

I'm not former military. All civillian flying. For whatever reason military aircraft advise the tower when they lower the landing gear. Guess he was used to saying it. Not hard for me to work it into my communications. Similar things happen when I fly international and I hear, "Line up and wait" versus "Taxi into position and hold".

Once the gear was down I simply replied, "Tower, 802 wheels down." Easy. As the military trainer (aircraft similar to a Beechjet) executed a missed approach, we were finally next for the runway.

This runway is really bowed.....really bowed. The whole area is hilly. The taxiways are so hilly that the terminal disappears while taxiing in.

Everything was looking great until about 10 feet. That's when we both remembered just how bowed the runway is....whump! No doubt we landed. Pretty sure it's in the top 3 firm landings I have experienced.

Twenty-five minutes later we were holding short waiting to be worked into the flow. Away we went.

On final we were behind a 777. Windy day. I clicked off the autopilot and stayed one dot high on the glideslope. VFR day.

I have to keep a constant reminder going of why I am flying slightly high as it's natural to fly on glideslope. At least twice during the approach I sank bank down to the glideslope. With the steady crosswind the wake turbulence wasn't much of a factor as it was being blown away.

Light airplane and windy, I floated for a bit. Long runway. Touched down nicely and was released from flying for the day.

Since then I have been like an office worker. Coming in at 6AM...leaving at 2PM. Looking forward to next month being on plain reserve.

Seriously considering trying to get out of my current position. There are buddies of mine who are junior to me holding hard lines (with 16 days off!) elsewhere in the system. I just need to get displaced. That's the hard part.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Day 4 of the 4 day

This was the longest overnight....over 16 hours. On top of that I was able to sleep in as the airport van didn't depart until 7AM.

We arrived at the airport at 7:15AM to find our plane wasn't at the gate. This is a maintenance base.....it was still in the hangar.

Fairly full load at 49 passengers on board at 7:50AM for an 8:00AM departure. During the preflight my flight attendant couldn't find her O2 tool. The O2 tool is used to both test the emergency oxygen mask and release them in case of emergency. Being a piece of emergency equipment we thought we needed it. Everyone from mechanics to ground personnel left to find the tool. It's really a glorified paper clip.

We finally borrowed a tool from another plane.

My leg home. We blocked out at 8:10AM and took off at 8:20AM. I was trying to fly fast. Enroute congestion killed the plan.

The flight was blocked at 1 hour 15 minutes. At 9:07 AM I ended my flare and the main landing gear screeched onto the runway....they all can't be soft.

Blocking in at 9:18AM I was hoping to be done. After the post flight I didn't see an "crew chasers" waiting for me. I checked my schedule and gave a quick call to scheduling. Done. My awesome wife was waiting for me outside.

Day 4 done. Total flying over the 4 day trip, 20 hours and 1 minute. More than I flew on reserve last month.

Off for a 5 day vacation.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Day 3 of the 4 day

Day 3 was really rough. We had a 5 AM van which meant waking up at 4:30AM....which is really 4AM as I wake up early on my own.

I pack my bags the night prior to I have just a little extra time. At 4:55AM we were all sitting cheek to cheek with other passengers in an overcrowded hotel van. At most overnights we are the only people in the van.

This outstation, like most, doesn't have a "crew only" security line. We cleared the first TSA agent then went up the exit lane to the front of the line and cut back in.

There were was 1 mainline flight leaving at 6AM along with us. My crew had the plane ready more 40 minutes prior for only 18 passengers. This outstation isn't happy to have lost a mainline flight and are more than happy to let us know is subtle ways. They didn't have the 9 passenger bags loaded in the aft cargo until 2 minutes past 6AM. The mainline flight pushed out 4 minutes early. We pushed out 9 minutes late.

After joining the conga line for takeoff away we went. Even at 6AM the airspace was busy. No RNAV departures here. After taking off from runway 6R, turn right heading 080 until reaching 1500 feet. Then turn left and proceed direct to the VOR and cross it at at least 3000 feet but no higher than 5000 feet. Then track the 290 radial outbound. No time for autopilot use. Once level at 5000 we simply waited for ATC to call us.

We were initially behind a 737 and another CRJ headed to the same airport. The 737 was in the lead and doing Mach.74 at FL340. We were assigned no faster than Mach .74. Hmmm....we requested FL400 and once there, were allowed to go as fast as we wanted to. Set at Mach .80 we slowly caught up the to planes and passed them. Even leaving 9 minutes late, I touched down 10 minutes early and we blocked in 3 minutes early. Block to block was 2 hours 11 minutes.

Breakfast. An hour later I was back in a cockpit pushing back for the next leg. The Captain and I were trading flying at the outstation versus trading each leg. This way one guy didn't always land in base and the other guy didn't always land at the outstation.

The base we were flying from is busy....busier than my base for sure. The ground controller would rattle off instructions to 5 planes before taking a breath. No time for us to respond. If a plane didn't get an instruction the would have to try and chime in or wait till the ground controller noticed a lack of movement and repeated the instructions. I did my first flight out of this airport, I remember only getting the runway assignment during the taxi instructions. I couldn't comprehend the taxi instructions to get to the runway.

An hour and twelve minutes later I was floating over runway 23. Touchdown. We were back to being an on time machine as we blocked in 9 minutes early. Block to block was 1 hour 18 minutes.

Thirty minutes later away we pushed out 6 minutes early. This time we had no choice but to fly Mach .72 for the entire flight. No weather, just airspace saturation. This base has lots of intersecting runways, and the uses most of them. It's an odd sight and sensation being lined up for runway 9 and seeing planes takeoff from runway 33. Spacing was getting tight again causing the Captain to slow to approach speed early. Glad we left 6 minutes early as we blocked in right on time. Block to block was 1 hour 46 minutes.

No chance of keeping the plane to the overnight. Fifty minutes was scheduled between arrival and departure. Hungry, but not in the mood to eat real food. I grabbed two diet cokes from the galley and snacked on some peanuts I had in my flight kit.

A whole 12 people on board we pushed out 5 minutes early. Being the hotel leg the Captain flew fast. For reasons not known to us ATC left us high at FL400 for a long time. Finally they began to descend us. The Captain dialed in 4,000 feet a minute down to be at 10,000 feet 30 miles out. Coming down like a rock. ATC then requested us to expedite through FL280. I replied, "Is 4,000 feet per minute not enough?" No reply. We surmised the equipment they were using wasn't updating fast enough to show how fast we were coming down.

Even though it's "spring", it's still cold enough to require anti-icing when coming down through the clouds. Cowls on, Wings on....just for a bit.

We broke out of the clouds and saw the most magnificent runway (runways always look better on hotel legs) ahead. We landed 25 minutes early and blocked in 20 minutes early. Block to block was 1 hour 25 minutes.

Tired. Really tired. So tired that when I got to my hotel room I just sat quietly for a bit before getting food.

One of my favorite hotel chains is the Hyatt Place. I love the rooms. Stretched back on the L-shaped couch I played a little baseball.



Total flying for the day 7 hours 16 minutes which I think is a record for me. Day 3 done.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Day 2 of the 4 day

Four day trip done. I was worn out. I forgot how it is to fly tired. Sure I had long overnights, but time zones and early van times got to me.

The first overnight was in a Marriott. I love Marriott's. They have the best beds ever.

After arriving at the hotel via a deadhead flight I took a few moments to relax and call my wife. Hungry. Food choices amounted to the gas station across the street, Denny's next door or the hotel restaurant that, while very nice, is beyond my pay grade. Denny's it was.

I've found that by being just a little nicer than normal the the Denny's waitstaff, the service goes up 10X. Little things like when they ask how I'm doing I genuiely turn the question around and ask how they are. It's the little things. After a decent Denny's meal, I retired to my room. Early morning van the next day.

As always I woke up an hour early. Happens every time....no matter how long the overnight is.

This hotel doesn't offer breakfast. Flight crews often have to pick between sleep and food. Either you sleep in and eat later or give up sleep and head to the airport earlier. I've never lost sleep.

After clearing security we made our way to the gate. A later flight to another hub cancelled and many passengers were rebooked on our flight. We went from 1/3 full to overbooked.

The first leg was mine. Only a cup or two of coffee in my stomach we were number 4 for takeoff. Two of the planes ahead of us were going to the same city. One was an RJ one and the other a 737. This is normal when going between two big cities...or heck any cities. Lucky for us both planes ahead were flying fast, otherwise we would have been slowed down. Which happened later in the trip.

Mach .80 at FL390 I sipped the stiff black coffee and tried to not think about the busy day ahead.

Morning rush in full effect, the approach controller was rattling off instructions like an auctioneer. Before long we were in a conga line for runway 8R. On my MFD I could see the spacing at about 2 ½ miles between each plane. We were assigned 170 to the final approach fix as were all planes.

This spacing works for the most part, except when someone slows to early, slows too late, or has a really high approach speed. The spacing between us and the plane ahead was shrinking and there was still 4 miles to the FAF. I had to slow down. Already at flaps 20 I called gear down and flaps 30 then 45. At the same time tower advised we were over taking the aircraft ahead by 20 knots and that S-turns were approved. Ugh. I pulled the power back and stayed just a little high. At 500 feet the plane ahead was still on the runway. Thankfully they cleared just in time and I landed uneventfully.

Somehow we were keeping the same plane all day. I grabbed breakfast and headed back to the plane.

Three more legs to the overnight........(to be continued)

Four day trip done. I was worn out. I forgot how it is to fly tired. Sure I had long overnights, but time zones and early van times got to me.
The first overnight was in a Marriott. I love Marriott's. They have the best beds ever.
After arriving at the hotel via a deadhead flight I took a few moments to relax and call my wife. Hungry. Food choices amounted to the gas station across the street, Denny's next door or the hotel restaurant that, while very nice, is beyond my pay grade. Denny's it was.
I've found that by being just a little nicer than normal the the Denny's waitstaff, the service goes up 10X. Little things like when they ask how I'm doing I genuiely turn the question around and ask how they are. It's the little things. After a decent Denny's meal, I retired to my room. Early morning van the next day.
As always I woke up an hour early. Happens every time....no matter how long the overnight is.
This hotel doesn't offer breakfast. Flight crews often have to pick between sleep and food. Either you sleep in and eat later or give up sleep and head to the airport earlier. I've never lost sleep.
After clearing security we made our way to the gate. A later flight to another hub cancelled and many passengers were rebooked on our flight. We went from 1/3 full to overbooked.
The first leg was mine. Only a cup or two of coffee in my stomach we were number 4 for takeoff. Two of the planes ahead of us were going to the same city. One was an RJ one and the other a 737. This is normal when going between two big cities...or heck any cities. Lucky for us both planes ahead were flying fast, otherwise we would have been slowed down. Which happened later in the trip.
Mach .80 at FL390 I sipped the stiff black coffee and tried to not think about the busy day ahead.
Morning rush in full effect, the approach controller was rattling off instructions like an auctioneer. Before long we were in a conga line for runway 8R. On my MFD I could see the spacing at about 2 ½ miles between each plane. We were assigned 170 to the final approach fix as were all planes.
This spacing works for the most part, except when someone slows to early, slows too late, or has a really high approach speed. The spacing between us and the plane ahead was shrinking and there was still 4 miles to the FAF. I had to slow down. Already at flaps 20 I called gear down and flaps 30 then 45. At the same time tower advised we were over taking the aircraft ahead by 20 knots and that S-turns were approved. Ugh. I pulled the power back and stayed just a little high. At 500 feet the plane ahead was still on the runway. Thankfully they cleared just in time and I landed uneventfully.
Somehow we were keeping the same plane all day. I grabbed breakfast and headed back to the plane.
Three more legs to the overnight........(to be continued)

4 day trip done

Landed at 9:15AM. Home at 9:50AM. Repacked my suitcase and back at the airport by 10:50AM for an 11:30AM flight. First class. A couple of cocktails and a nice lunch later...arrived.  Long drive to my in laws. Used my Nexus One for GPS and a hotspot for my laptop. Life is good.



Will update the site tomorrow....

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Didn't see this one coming

I arrived in the crewroom at 5:45AM...early. The computers were down in the entire terminal. I was going to head to the sleep room when I decided to just call crew scheduling and check in. Glad I did.

Scheduling :"Good Morning First Officer, my you're early."

Me: "Yeah, just wanted to call and be the first to let you know the computers are down."

Scheduling: "We now, you're second, did you get my email about your trip at 7:20AM?"

Me: "No, the computers are down."

Scheduling: "Oh yeah, well I have you on a 4 day trip covering all your reserve days."

Me: "Is that legal per contract?"

See I'm a "line holder" in that I have standby all month. They can't take me off standby unless:

1) There is no one else available

2) The trip is prebuilt and has legs that are out of base

I fell into #2. No First Officers available until 10AM. None available for the entire trip. Days 2 and 3 are thru another domicile. I was the only pilot available.

I haven't had a 4 day trip in a long time. My overnight bag for airport standby is packed for 2 days...sometimes 3. Quick to the geek car!

Thankfully I live close. On the way home I called my wife...who wasn't happy as she was still sleeping. I needed her to drive me back to the airport. I made it home, tossed some additional clothes in my bag, swapped computers (I had initially taken my Netbook, wanted my Macbook Pro for a 4 day) and headed back to the airport.

My wife dropped me off at 6:35AM. With only 4 passengers for the first leg we blocked out 10 minutes early. My leg.

During climb out we got a Rudder Limit Fault status message. The rudder was still working fine, but something was wrong. Nothing major as the out station had contract mechanics.

Halfway to the outstation the weather dropped below mins fast. Not forecasted. We slowed down and stayed high. Eighty miles out still at FL290 we realized we couldn't land. If we diverted to an alternate we would be stuck as the alternates we had don't have contract mechanics. The Rudder Limit Fault is a no dispatch item. We had plenty of fuel to simply return to base. That's what we did.

After getting back, the mechanics cleared the fault and out we went again.....3 hours late. My leg again. I managed a surprisingly smooth landing (light weight plus gusty wind no less!).

The outstation only had one gate...which was occupied. Thirty minutes after landing we pulled into the gate. My flight to the overnight was supposed to leave at 11:35AM. We blocked into the out station at 11:42AM.

We arrived back in base at 1:17PM and were now scheduled to dead head to the overnight at 2PM. I hate deadheading. At least on my own airline I can board with the crew and get settled...which is what I did.

Instead of a scheduled 15 hours I have 12. Not horrible.

Tomorrow starts with a 5:40AM van. Here's the rest of my 4 day trip

Monday:

Flight :

Depart City A at 620AM arrive City B 640 AM (different time zone)

Depart City B at 720AM arrive City C 840AM

Depart City C at 910AM arrive City B at 1025AM

Depart City B at 1110AM arrive City D at 225PM

Tuesday

Depart City D 0600AM arrive City B 725AM

Depart City B at 840AM arrive City E 1105AM

Depart City E 1135AM arrive City B 1215PM

Depart City B 105PM arrive City F 2:45PM

Wednesday

Depart City F 800AM arrive in MY domicile 9:15AM

At least this trip has decently long overnights. Monday night I have 14 1/2 hours while Tuesday night I have 16 hours.

Originally this trip had 19 hours of flying, due to the deadhead it's down to just over 16. As of right now I have 1135 hours at my airline and 1690 hours total time. Not a lot...especially considering I started flying almost 4 years ago. My anniversary is May 5....I started ATP May 5 2006.

Now for sleep.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The Interview

I still remember the day I interviewed. Nervous doesn't even describe it.

Left my house super early. The drive was only 15 miles...but I wanted to play it safe.

Before I took my Private Pilot check ride I bought a McDonalds Bacon, Egg and Cheese McGriddle. I passed that check ride the first time. Since then I engorged myself with the same breakfast before each and every check ride. Superstitious? Yes. But I passed each check ride the first time.

The days leading up to my interview were spent reviewing Jepp charts, checking my logbook and reading through "Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot" (worth the $60!). I had previously purchased a nice suit and requisite (though I have no idea why) red tie.

Jepp charts are slightly different than FAA charts. Getting your hands on Jepp charts can be a little tricky if you don't know an airline or corporate pilot. AllATPs gave every career pilot Jepps. This is a nice advantage as I was already used to them.

Because I am a geek and love tech, I transferred all my flight time to Logbook Pro prior to my interview. It didn't take too long, and I found some mathematical mistakes in the process. Once transferred, I pony'd up the money for a very nice leather bound binder and program specific paper to print out my logbook pages. When I went to the interview I brought both my original logbook (which had all my endorsements) and the logbook pro logbook.

The morning of my interview I had the same fatty McDonalds breakfast. I sat in the parking lot 20 minutes early. My nerves were so high I didn't want to eat, but not wanting to screw up a good track record of success I finished off the salty/sweet McGriddle.

I walked in and met with security. After getting a badge I made my way to the waiting room which was filled with 15 or so other pilots. The age range was vast. I was 30 at the time. There were pilots as young as 22 and as old as 54.

Not a whole lot of talking at first. Right on time a representative came out and led us to another room....the holding room.

We all loosened up a bit. There were a few other pilots who went to ATP in my group. One was very cocky. He was talking bad about ATP and how they screwed him over (I later looked up his records....he had a lengthy notes section with "bad attitude" and "lack of motivation" scattered about). He continued to say how he was more than qualified for the job (he had 1/2 the time I did!) .

The pilot next to me was in his low 50's. He had been a CFI in Arizona for a few years...flying a King Air on the side. He had just over 5000 hours...almost 10X my time. A bit intimidating.

Shortly after arriving in the room, pilots were being called out for interviews. They had already collected our logbooks and other documents. I sat for about 35 minutes before I was called.

I was lead to a small room with just 3 chairs, a desk and bookcase. Behind the desk was an older gentleman. When I sat down he greeted me and tried to make me feel at ease. Eh. He then opened up a Jepp book to a random airport and asked me to brief the departure procedure. Seemed simple enough.

My adrenaline shot up. I rattled out the procedure at full speed (I can talk VERY fast). When I was done he gave me a blank stare. "I have no idea what you just said," he replied. "Brief the departure as though WE are getting ready to fly it."

My first attempt at briefing the departure was like me telling a student. I was in CFI mode. I took a deep breath and then stated, "OK, this is the Mozie3 departure. ATIS states we will be taking off from runway 23. Our first fix is the OBK VOR. After takeoff we have to climb to 1200 FT before making the initial turn to heading 300 and expect RADAR vectors from there. There is a mountain range to the left of the runway center line that curves around that we need to be mindful of in case we have any problems. The initial altitude is 8000 feet so we should expect that. " He looked down at the chart and said I could have done better and that I talk way too fast. I left that room not feeling so good. "Did I just blow it?" I thought to myself.

Back to the holding room. When I arrived I learned a few pilots had already been sent home. Ugh. There was one pilot about 23 who was already at his second airline.

His first gig was on a Saab 340. He was realized the time to upgrade was too long and jumped ship to a charter company that flew 727's. When he hired on there the time to upgrade was just 2 years. Initially he sat sideways as a Flight Engineer. Upgrades stopped. He wanted out....which is why he was there interviewing.

My next interview was personality. I have loads of personality. This interview went much better. I did have one perplexing question, "Name something about yourself that you could improve on." Hmmm what flaw should I expose? I can be hard headed....no that's not a good thing to expose. I went with, "Well I do have the tendency to talk fast." He gave me an odd look and wrapped up the interview.

Once again in the holding room. More pilots gone, including the previously mentioned cocky pilot from ATP. Not surprised. I was happy to still be there.

An airline rep came in with a sheet up paper. She began calling out names. When she was finished, mine wasn't one of them. Was I done? Those who were called were led out of the room. Another rep came in. "You all have a break for lunch. Come back in an hour." I was still in!

I ate lunch with a few pilots around my age. One lady had about 2500 hours. She flew cargo out in Florida. The stories she told made me to never want to fly cargo. Sketchy planes. Demanding schedule. Lots of bad weather. It was kind of odd hearing these stories from this 5 foot 5, slender, redhead  lady. I picture cargo pilots as gruffy men who smoke and have tattoos.

After lunch we were handed back our logbooks and sent to a simulator evaluation.

We were all given the same approach chart and told the brief it. The instructor gave us hints about what many pilots screw up on. I made notes on the approach chart. When it was my turn I put the approach chart on the yoke clip. He took it off. "What do you need this for? You already briefed it right?".

The sim evaluation went fine. My years of playing Microsoft Flight Simulator plus the ATP Regional Jet Course made it easy. We were all sent home and told to expect a phone call or letter.

In the mail came "the letter"...I was hired.

Monday, April 12, 2010

This morning stuff...eh

I have flown more by the 12th of this month than I did all of March. I flew 16 hours on reserve last month. When I go to bed tonight I will have flown 18 hours. The difference? Morning standby and planes needing maintenance.

Getting up at 5AM got old on day one. The morning rush of airport employees is much greater than the afternoon. Fighting for seat space on the bus with the rampers, gate agents and everyone else sucks. The buses that are used for employee buses have room for about 4 employee bags. The rental car buses have more room for bags! The rest of the bags are stacked on chairs or in the aisle. Nice eh?

Had an interesting flight yesterday. Flew a plane that I Ferry'd out of maintenance last week. When we picked it up we had a problem with a main cabin door indication. It showed closed, but when we fired up the engines we got a main cabin door master warning. After the mechanics cycled the door a few times it was fine. Never gave us another problem.

Sunday morning a buddy of mine flew it in and mentioned the same issue with the same plane. It was written up and checked out fine. Hmm.

When we departed everything was fine. Mid-flight at FL380 we got a PAX DOOR HANDLE caution. After running the checklist, no action required beyond monitoring cabin pressure. The main cabin door is a plug type door meaning as the plane pressurizes, it helps seal up the door. A few minutes later the caution went out.

At the outstation we loaded up passengers, closed the door, started the engines....and were assaulted by master warning lights and the word "door! door!" booming over the flight deck speakers. After a inspection by a mechanic...we were on our way. A sensor on the outer handle was just slightly out of alignment. Problem solved.

Sitting ready this morning I was hoping to not go anywhere....I still have to do our taxes. No luck. Deadheading out to a maintenance base, ferrying a plane back, sitting around and then ferrying another plane back to the maintenance base for an overnight. At the but crack of dawn (5:50AM departure....5:00AM van) I deadhead back. Hopefully I will be done when I get back.

The reason for all the maintenance? Many airlines do major maintenance/upgrades in April/May to get ready for the summer travel season.

Bidding for May opens soon....sure would like my afternoon standby line back.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Her look was priceless

Yesterday was a long day.

Up at 4:55AM. Out the door at 5:15AM. On the bus at 5:35AM. Sign in at 5:55AM. Morning airport standby.

Thought it would be a boring day. Nah. Called at 9:30AM for a 9:40AM deadhead to a maintenance base to ferry a plane back. Told the scheduler I would be there as quickly as a I can. I'm through rushing for scheduling. No thanks. They should have planned better. Improper planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on my part. Made it fine along with the standby Captain.

After walking from the terminal to the hangar we were not surprised to learn the plane wasn't quite ready. Short delay we were ready to leave. With just us on board we had to close the main cabin door ourselves. Something we don't normally do. The door markers indicated closed as did our cockpit door monitoring system. After starting up the second engine we got red flashing warning lights accompanied by "Door! Door!" being announced over the speakers.

I hopped up and made sure all the door closed marks were lined up. They were. I tried cycling the door a few times. No joy. Not fixed. After a visit by the lead mechanic it seemed it was an anomaly. Couldn't reproduce it. Away we went.

I took the leg back to base. There was 10,000 pounds of fuel on board. Takeoff weight was a scant 56,000 pounds.

A 2009 Chevrolet Z06 does o-100 in about 11 seconds. I didn't time it, but we went 0-130 (150 MPH) knots in under 3000 feet..had to be less than 12 seconds. Being so light I had to be careful not to over rotate. The second segment climb at 200 knots equated to 4500 feet per minute sustained. Our clearance was to 5000 feet. Prior to takeoff I requested higher and was given 12000 feet. This was better than a roller coaster as I was in control. Awesome.

Of course the landing was little tricky. Even on speed it floated. Not bad.

Once back in base we were assigned to sit for 2 hours then ferry another plane back to the maintenance base and dead head back.

This time there was only 7000 pounds on fuel on board. Captains leg. We both had goofy smiles on our faces.

The departure had a 6000 foot minimum crossing altitude restriction. Normally we cross the fix at 7000-8000 feet. On this trip we were at 13000 feet. Awesome.

After parking the plane we at 3:05PM we sat around until 5:30PM for a deadhead home. Long day. I ended my duty day at 7PM. Thirteen hour work day. On the employee bus I saw a flight attendant I've worked with a few times. She was happy as she finally got a hard line. When I told her about my day and that I had to be back at 6AM she looked at her watch and said, "wait, really?" Priceless.

Home by 7:30PM. Tired. Bed at 10PM. Up at 4:55AM. Back again today at 6AM. Glad I don't commute. Could be very expensive as morning airport reserve crews don't normally get overnights.

Monday, April 5, 2010

QC2 + UFlyMike.....4 months later

I've been flying with my UFlyMike and Bose QC2 combo for a few months now. Overall I am very happy. They aren't much quieter than my previous Telex ANR 500. The biggest difference is weight. The Telex was heavier. Also the Telex used the odd ball 9 volt battery while the Bose QC2 uses a more common AA.

[singlepic id=426 w=640 h=480 float=center]

Battery life has been very good. It helps that I fly a fairly quiet plane. I get about 50 hours of use with name brand batteries.

I've gotten used to having the FAA TSO required headphones under the Bose QC2. The Captain's I fly with all give me a double take thinking I have a MP3 player and my headset. Once I explain it they either get it or think it's too much trouble.

Once I'm up at cruise I take off the headphones and use just the QC2s. My company manual only requires headphones and booms mikes below FL180.

Another perk is being able to change out the microphone for the stock cable during deadheads and enjoying regular music.

Would I buy it again? Yes. The Telex 500 ANR can be had for about $450-$510. A Bose + UflyMike setup cost a little over $600. Being able to use AA batteries is a huge plus in my book.

Bose doesn't sell QC2's anymore. The QC15's I also own sounded a little off when I first used them. Could have been my headset, not sure. UFlyMike has great support and mentioned no issues when using the QC15s. For those who require a TSO'd headset, to my knowledge the QC15 isn't TSO'd yet.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Free coffee

The alarm went off at 4:45AM...for the first time in a long time. Time to start my month.

I repacked my overnight bag last night. It's packed for 4 days of being on the road. Not that I think I will use it.

Out the door at 5:15AM. I could have been earlier, but I couldn't find my glasses for the life of me. Had them last night. Gone this morning. Contacts it is .

I parked my car in the employee lot at 5:31AM. Quiet...no departures or arrivals yet. Lot filled with literally hundreds of airport workers. The employee buses are doing the equivalent of quick turns. They stop, quickly load up and go. The buses aren't designed for flight crews. Very little luggage space which is annoying. Sometimes I will flip up a seat for more luggage room.

After walking down the dimly lit hallway I reached the crew room, signed in, grabbed my Zune HD (way better than an Ipod!) and headed to the quiet room to try and sleep.

After finishing my daily dose of Mac OS Ken, I gave up. Can't sleep. Back into the crew room.

Buddy of mine came in from an overnight. We discussed current going on's. The latest rumors. Good times.

His current girlfriend used to be a student of mine when I was at ATP. She is currently at Lynx Aviation (regional for Frontier) but is getting let go along with all the other Lynx pilots. Her dad was with Southwest for, if my memory serves, more than 25+ years. If she can get the turbine PIC she is almost a shoe in (she is a very good pilot). She has inverviews at a few regionals, one with a quick upgrade. The problem is the base is across the country.....long commute. She could simply stay put and get on with our airline, but the upgrade won't come for a while. Tough situation. Tough problem.

While we were sitting there an email came out. Looks like the powers that be decided to not close my small base. Nice. If I decide to stay put I will be the most junior for a long time. I could take the choice to commute to a base and easily hold a line. Choices.

I last had morning airport reserve as a line in February 2009. I am getting back into my routine. A bagel shop has free refills on coffee in another terminal. I used to go there in the morning and tap away on the computer while sucking down coffee. Glad to see it's still here. Gonna be a long month.