I haven't flown since September 6th...seems like longer than that.
Each day I am on standby it looks like I will fly. Many times I am the only First Officer available....but each night I go home. Once again tonight I am thinking I might fly. I watch the outgoing flights to see if crews will connect to them on time. Right now there is a 6:45PM flight to a short overnight where the crew will misconnect by at least 25 minutes.
It's been a really boring month. I've flown all of 11 hours. Of those 14 hours, 10 of them were on overtime. If I had not picked up overtime I would have flown just 4 hours. Ouch.
The powers that be selected me for Jury duty next Monday. In order to get paid and not have a mark on my record I have to bring my jury summons to my Chief Pilot. No biggie. It would be more complicated if I were a line holder though.
Beyond that....welcome to boring town. Population 1...me.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Rushing gets you no where fast
I have said many times in this blog that rushing gets you no where fast. When at work I practice that rule. I need to start using that in my personal life as well.
This morning my wife and I left the house at 5:15AM to catch a 6:30AM flight. Flying is like driving to the store for us.....just another mode of transportation. But of course today isn't just another normal day....
I have gotten lax about preparing for a personal flight. This morning showed me I need to prepare for personal flights the same way I do for my work flights.
My wife woke up at 4:30AM. I stayed in bed. She has three dogs that I don't care to interact with. If I stayed in bed then she would get to them in a few minutes.
Just past 4:50AM she was out taking care of her dogs...I rolled out of bed.
First stop was getting my computers ready. I copied over several video episodes of Diggnation to my netbook from my server. We were just going out for a day trip...no need for a full laptop.
I then got my clothes out of the dryer and turned on the iron. Time 4:58AM. My wife was busy feeding her dogs and getting ready herself. When I am on an overnight I iron my clothes the night before. I am going to start doing that for personal flights as well.
While the iron was warming up I began searching for my employee ID, cell phone charging cable and GPS for the rental car. I was done ironing at 5:09AM. I still had not found my employee ID. I stashed my netbook and cables into my mini messenger bag and slipped my shoes on. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my ID.
We rushed out the door at 5:16AM. I tossed my bag and items into the backseat and drove away. Halfway to the stop sign I reached around my neck like I always do when heading to work to make sure I had my ID. I didn't feel it. Turn around.
I ran back inside to hunt for the ID. Not in sight. Once back in the car I saw it around the strap on my messenger bag. Nice.
Now we were 4 minutes late. We reached the employee lot at 5:38 AM. I saw the employee bus approaching. I still had not learned my lesson from 20 minutes prior and rushed myself and wife out of the car and across the lot. Once seated...another missing item. My cell phone.
As soon as I realized it was not in my bag or on my belt the bus pulled away. Crap. I told my wife to go ahead and go through security and I would meet her at the gate. At the next stop I got off and walked the 1/3 of a mile back to my car. I searched for my phone, which of course was in a black case......which was hopefully somewhere inside my car. Oh yeah I have a completely black interior. I searched and searched. No phone. Crap. Time is 5:49AM.
Figuring it is in my driveway (having fell out when I went back to look for my ID) I got in my car and started driving to the terminal. I then remembered my prepaid cell phone I carry for my side business. I grabbed it out of my messenger bag (glad I packed it in there last week!) and called my wife. We discussed our options. I then had a bright idea...have her call my cell phone to see if it was in the car. She did...and saw her phone number pop up on my radio screen. Thankfully my blue tooth was on...my phone was in my car...somewhere.
I answered and told her to go to the gate and that I would princess park (parking right at the terminal) and meet her at the gate. Parking at the terminal is expensive....but I had no choice. I had put myself into this situation.
Once parked I turned off my car and called my phone again. I saw it...it was under my brake pedal. Nice spot.
I cleared security and headed to the gate. Time 6:05AM. Flight made I needed coffee. We boarded the flight at 6:20AM. I wore my ID around my neck to make sure the flight attendants know I am here if they need me. I don't always wear it as they can also look on the passenger manifest to see I am a crew member. Today was different.
After I took my seat the crew prepared the cabin. To my astonishment and disgust a man across the aisle wasn't complying with the simple request to turn off his IPhone. Not airplane mode...off. The reason? The FAA says devices have to be off....they don't mention “airplane mode”. The flight attendants enforce the FAA policy that electronic devices must be off. Don't be an ass...just turn it off.
The flight left on time. One flight attendant felt a little sorry for me as I was sitting in a middle seat next to another large guy (hmm did I just call myself large?) and told me after takeoff I could snag an exit row aisle seat. Sometimes it pays to wear my ID.
For now on I'm going to treat personal flights just like work flights. I don't rush for them because I prepare ahead of time.
We had a great day. We are some of the hands down best BBQ I have had in my life.
[nggallery id=23]
For the flight back we were going to take the last flight of the night. At the last minute we decided to head home early. Good thing we did. Due to weather the last flight of the night cancelled. We would have been stuck. Not good.
Back to work in a few hours.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Random
Buddy of mine from ATP stopped by today. I am cleaning out my closets...(yes plural) of a lot of computer parts. I am tossing out computer cases, motherboards, cables, monitors...lots of stuff. I mentioned my clearing on Facebook. He needed network cabling. I was tossing out A LOT of network cabling. I gave him at least 75 feet of cabling...I think it might be closer to 100 feet.
While he was here we talked about the industry. He is getting furloughed in a few weeks from his current airline. He's pretty young and is looking forward to some time off. He has been living in base in an apartment for more than a year. Not a great apartment...but an apartment. His schedule allowed for very few days to come home and see his parents. He sees the furlough as time off. He figures the unemployment checks will be about what he would take home after paying rent and bills. There's a mutual friend that is a CFI at a local flight school that he might get a gig with. The school needs someone with turbine time.
Prior to flying I spent almost 8 years in the computer field. Fixing both hardware and software issues. I've been a computer guy for over 20 years. Over that time I have amassed a lot of computer parts. I've tossed out quite a bit over 20 years....but I've kept a lot as well. Time to clean house.
My mother in law, sister in law and niece are all coming in town for a week next month. Their arrival is my deadline.
Tomorrow my wife and I are flying out for the day. Just a day trip. Should be fun.
Back to reserve on Saturday.
While he was here we talked about the industry. He is getting furloughed in a few weeks from his current airline. He's pretty young and is looking forward to some time off. He has been living in base in an apartment for more than a year. Not a great apartment...but an apartment. His schedule allowed for very few days to come home and see his parents. He sees the furlough as time off. He figures the unemployment checks will be about what he would take home after paying rent and bills. There's a mutual friend that is a CFI at a local flight school that he might get a gig with. The school needs someone with turbine time.
Prior to flying I spent almost 8 years in the computer field. Fixing both hardware and software issues. I've been a computer guy for over 20 years. Over that time I have amassed a lot of computer parts. I've tossed out quite a bit over 20 years....but I've kept a lot as well. Time to clean house.
My mother in law, sister in law and niece are all coming in town for a week next month. Their arrival is my deadline.
Tomorrow my wife and I are flying out for the day. Just a day trip. Should be fun.
Back to reserve on Saturday.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Another milestone done
Snow Leopard (I think of it as Snow Job) has a new feature that will automatically figure out what time zone you're in and set the clock accordingly. This can be very useful for those who travel. Well....
The flight to the overnight was pretty normal. There was one minor restriction on the plane, "Flap Halfspeed". This meant literally that due to a minor mechanical issue the flaps only extended/retracted at half the normal speed. The first time I had this a year or so ago, it through off my timing during the approach. I was a little too far ahead of the aircraft as I waited for the flaps to extend.
With a light load we flew at FL390 to save fuel and get above the bumps.
[singlepic id=314 w=320 h=240 float=center]
The moon was full and bright heading to the east.
[singlepic id=315 w=320 h=240 float=center]
The outstation airport is kinda small. Two runways in the typical North/South and East/West configuration....crossing in the middle.
Descending into the area I was on the radios as pilot not flying while the Captain guided the plane. I heard one other airline in the area, another regional jet. The airport was landing runway 10. We were coming in from the west and figured we would be able fly straight in. The other RJ was coming in from the east. They were about 5 miles north east of the airport (rough calculation based on my TCAS information). At the same time we were 20 miles out.
The approach controller was being very cautious and advise us "flight 9103 left turn heading 010, vector for sequence, following regional jet, just north of the airport at your 1 o'clock". This caught us off guard...why not just slow us down? Whatever...left turn from heading 100 to heading 050. In the turn the Captain slowed down to avoid having to fly way out. He called for flaps to be extended. The other RJ was turning a base turn when approach told us "flight 9103 further left turn heading 330". Wow. Okay. Halfway through the turn, "flight 9103 right turn heading 130". Interesting.
Once established we clearly saw the anti-collision strobes of the other RJ as well as the airport beacon, and approach lighting system. The controller cleared us for the visual. At the time The RJ was on a 7 mile final. We were still doing 200 knots. Not incredibly fast.
I switched to the tower and said, "Tower, flight 9103 visual runway 10." They came back with, "Flight 9103 cleared to land number two, be advised you are overtaking traffic ahead by 80 knots." What? He's on a 7 mile final and already slowed to approach speed? Wow.
The Captain clicked of the autopilot and began slowing. The plane was at flap 45 and the spacing had been reduced to 5 miles. The tower came back and said spacing looked "good". At many busy airports I am typically just 3-4 miles behind another plane while landing. We could only guess the controllers in the area aren't used to jets coming in so close, even though it's perfectly safe.
During the approach a "lifeguard" helicopter was coming in to land. Apparently he was unfamiliar with the airport. The tower controller kept advising and quiering the pilot to make sure to stay south of runway 10 to avoid landing traffic....us. The pilot sounded a bit confused and the tower ended up holding him off the airport a bit until we landed. Good thing.
The hotel van pulled up just as we stepped up to the curb. Within 30 minutes of landing I was in my awesome hotel room. Too bad it was a short overnight.
[singlepic id=316 w=320 h=240 float=center]
[singlepic id=317 w=320 h=240 float=center]
I set my alarm clocks (I set at least 3....I'm never late) and went to bed. Some time during the night my Macbook Pro switched from the correct time zone to the time zone where I am based. When I woke up in the morning I had a bit of confusion. My phone and personal alarm clock said 5:50AM while my laptop said 4:50AM. The Snow Leopard auto time zone function failed. Boo Snow Leopard.
The van time was set for 6:45AM. I was munching down on an awesome breakfast at 6:25AM. This hotel rotates their menu every so often. I was here just a few weeks ago and had an awesome breakfast. This most recent visit was even better.
At 6:45AM we were all in the van. By 6:48AM we were all stepping into the airport. I love short van rides.
The TSA only had one lane open. There was a family of 4 ahead of us including 2 boys around 3-5 years old. The parents were very well versed in going through security. They were faster than most people traveling alone. Word to parents...when traveling with kids...check EVERYTHING except what you need to take care of your kid. It's worth it.
This family breezed through. The father turned around and apologized for going so slow. I told him, "no problem, you guys are way faster than most parents." I then figured they might be non-rever's. Sure enough they were...and on my flight.
We blocked out at 7:35AM...right on time. We were assigned runway 10 with an initial turn to heading 330 and 3000 feet. As the Captain turned onto the runway another airline was announcing they were ready to go runway 18...which crossed our runway. I could see the other plane holding short. I don't like airports where trees or buildings restrict seeing crossing runways.
With takeoff power set we were rocketing down the runway. Just 48 people on board. At 400 feet I began the left turn to heading 330. I love taking off. I love the feeling of power in my hands. VFR takeoffs with headings are one of my favorites. I have time to look outside and enjoy the view. Rounding out the heading the Captain was sent to contact departure. They cleared us to 11,000 feet. I then began calling for flaps to be retracted. Due to class C airspace restrictions I kept the speed at 200 knots (which allowed a for a very high climb rate) until 4 miles away. I used the FMS to simply draw a 4 mile circle around the airport. Easy.
Eventually we were settled in at FL400. Moon was still there....heading westbound.
[singlepic id=318 w=320 h=240 float=center]
The front flight attendant was a very nice lady. She has been a flight attendant (at various airlines) for almost as long as I have been alive. She is absolutely professional and nice. I can never say enough about how nice it is to fly with experienced flight attendants.
About 30 minutes out the Captain sent our ETA to the airline. They then sent back our gate and crew assignments. Since we were all reserve...we were all up for more assignments. When the printer began rolling....only he had an assignment. Of course between now and arrival they could still find stuff for the rest of us.
Descending into the area we were assigned the runway closest to our gate. With FMS/GPS planes fly through the exact same air on air routes. Even though we were more than 10 miles behind the plane ahead, we hit his wake during a turn on the arrival. The smooth flight turned bumpy for a few seconds. Wake turbulence feels very different than turbulence caused by thermals/weather. This wake felt like driving on ice as the plane yawed a bit.....kind of sliding...while bumping around a bit.
I turned final 4 miles behind a 737. Unlike the other airport...nary a word was said. I used the TCAS and my eyes to make sure I was at least 3 miles behind him. Just over 700 feet AGL he cleared the runway. I clicked off the autopilot and then called for my Flight Director to be turned off. Keeping with my new technique I waited till 20 feet for power reduction and flare. The 56,000 pound plane kissed the runway and I smoothly applied reverse thrust. Nice way to officially pass 1500 hours total time.
After pulling into the gate I called and was released. My awesome wife was already at the terminal waiting to pick me up. I had the rest of the day off!
I have airport standby today and reserve tomorrow. My wife and I are planning to go somewhere Friday, September 11. I have yet to fly on September 11. I did visit a 9/11 Memorial a few years ago and took some photos.
[nggallery id=22]
We will never forget.
The flight to the overnight was pretty normal. There was one minor restriction on the plane, "Flap Halfspeed". This meant literally that due to a minor mechanical issue the flaps only extended/retracted at half the normal speed. The first time I had this a year or so ago, it through off my timing during the approach. I was a little too far ahead of the aircraft as I waited for the flaps to extend.
With a light load we flew at FL390 to save fuel and get above the bumps.
[singlepic id=314 w=320 h=240 float=center]
The moon was full and bright heading to the east.
[singlepic id=315 w=320 h=240 float=center]
The outstation airport is kinda small. Two runways in the typical North/South and East/West configuration....crossing in the middle.
Descending into the area I was on the radios as pilot not flying while the Captain guided the plane. I heard one other airline in the area, another regional jet. The airport was landing runway 10. We were coming in from the west and figured we would be able fly straight in. The other RJ was coming in from the east. They were about 5 miles north east of the airport (rough calculation based on my TCAS information). At the same time we were 20 miles out.
The approach controller was being very cautious and advise us "flight 9103 left turn heading 010, vector for sequence, following regional jet, just north of the airport at your 1 o'clock". This caught us off guard...why not just slow us down? Whatever...left turn from heading 100 to heading 050. In the turn the Captain slowed down to avoid having to fly way out. He called for flaps to be extended. The other RJ was turning a base turn when approach told us "flight 9103 further left turn heading 330". Wow. Okay. Halfway through the turn, "flight 9103 right turn heading 130". Interesting.
Once established we clearly saw the anti-collision strobes of the other RJ as well as the airport beacon, and approach lighting system. The controller cleared us for the visual. At the time The RJ was on a 7 mile final. We were still doing 200 knots. Not incredibly fast.
I switched to the tower and said, "Tower, flight 9103 visual runway 10." They came back with, "Flight 9103 cleared to land number two, be advised you are overtaking traffic ahead by 80 knots." What? He's on a 7 mile final and already slowed to approach speed? Wow.
The Captain clicked of the autopilot and began slowing. The plane was at flap 45 and the spacing had been reduced to 5 miles. The tower came back and said spacing looked "good". At many busy airports I am typically just 3-4 miles behind another plane while landing. We could only guess the controllers in the area aren't used to jets coming in so close, even though it's perfectly safe.
During the approach a "lifeguard" helicopter was coming in to land. Apparently he was unfamiliar with the airport. The tower controller kept advising and quiering the pilot to make sure to stay south of runway 10 to avoid landing traffic....us. The pilot sounded a bit confused and the tower ended up holding him off the airport a bit until we landed. Good thing.
The hotel van pulled up just as we stepped up to the curb. Within 30 minutes of landing I was in my awesome hotel room. Too bad it was a short overnight.
[singlepic id=316 w=320 h=240 float=center]
[singlepic id=317 w=320 h=240 float=center]
I set my alarm clocks (I set at least 3....I'm never late) and went to bed. Some time during the night my Macbook Pro switched from the correct time zone to the time zone where I am based. When I woke up in the morning I had a bit of confusion. My phone and personal alarm clock said 5:50AM while my laptop said 4:50AM. The Snow Leopard auto time zone function failed. Boo Snow Leopard.
The van time was set for 6:45AM. I was munching down on an awesome breakfast at 6:25AM. This hotel rotates their menu every so often. I was here just a few weeks ago and had an awesome breakfast. This most recent visit was even better.
At 6:45AM we were all in the van. By 6:48AM we were all stepping into the airport. I love short van rides.
The TSA only had one lane open. There was a family of 4 ahead of us including 2 boys around 3-5 years old. The parents were very well versed in going through security. They were faster than most people traveling alone. Word to parents...when traveling with kids...check EVERYTHING except what you need to take care of your kid. It's worth it.
This family breezed through. The father turned around and apologized for going so slow. I told him, "no problem, you guys are way faster than most parents." I then figured they might be non-rever's. Sure enough they were...and on my flight.
We blocked out at 7:35AM...right on time. We were assigned runway 10 with an initial turn to heading 330 and 3000 feet. As the Captain turned onto the runway another airline was announcing they were ready to go runway 18...which crossed our runway. I could see the other plane holding short. I don't like airports where trees or buildings restrict seeing crossing runways.
With takeoff power set we were rocketing down the runway. Just 48 people on board. At 400 feet I began the left turn to heading 330. I love taking off. I love the feeling of power in my hands. VFR takeoffs with headings are one of my favorites. I have time to look outside and enjoy the view. Rounding out the heading the Captain was sent to contact departure. They cleared us to 11,000 feet. I then began calling for flaps to be retracted. Due to class C airspace restrictions I kept the speed at 200 knots (which allowed a for a very high climb rate) until 4 miles away. I used the FMS to simply draw a 4 mile circle around the airport. Easy.
Eventually we were settled in at FL400. Moon was still there....heading westbound.
[singlepic id=318 w=320 h=240 float=center]
The front flight attendant was a very nice lady. She has been a flight attendant (at various airlines) for almost as long as I have been alive. She is absolutely professional and nice. I can never say enough about how nice it is to fly with experienced flight attendants.
About 30 minutes out the Captain sent our ETA to the airline. They then sent back our gate and crew assignments. Since we were all reserve...we were all up for more assignments. When the printer began rolling....only he had an assignment. Of course between now and arrival they could still find stuff for the rest of us.
Descending into the area we were assigned the runway closest to our gate. With FMS/GPS planes fly through the exact same air on air routes. Even though we were more than 10 miles behind the plane ahead, we hit his wake during a turn on the arrival. The smooth flight turned bumpy for a few seconds. Wake turbulence feels very different than turbulence caused by thermals/weather. This wake felt like driving on ice as the plane yawed a bit.....kind of sliding...while bumping around a bit.
I turned final 4 miles behind a 737. Unlike the other airport...nary a word was said. I used the TCAS and my eyes to make sure I was at least 3 miles behind him. Just over 700 feet AGL he cleared the runway. I clicked off the autopilot and then called for my Flight Director to be turned off. Keeping with my new technique I waited till 20 feet for power reduction and flare. The 56,000 pound plane kissed the runway and I smoothly applied reverse thrust. Nice way to officially pass 1500 hours total time.
After pulling into the gate I called and was released. My awesome wife was already at the terminal waiting to pick me up. I had the rest of the day off!
I have airport standby today and reserve tomorrow. My wife and I are planning to go somewhere Friday, September 11. I have yet to fly on September 11. I did visit a 9/11 Memorial a few years ago and took some photos.
[nggallery id=22]
We will never forget.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Colgan pilots say many felt pressure to work while ill : Home: The Buffalo News
Calling in sick should not subject a pilot to additional scrutiny and hassle. I've called in sick twice. So far no issues. Word around the cockpit is new FAA rest rules are going to be announced at the end of the month. The scheduled reduced rest overnights should be a thing of the past. The new rules (if they are anything like the rumors I hear) could bring back those on furlough as more pilots would be needed.
Colgan pilots say many felt pressure to work while ill : Home: The Buffalo News Shared via AddThis
Colgan pilots say many felt pressure to work while ill : Home: The Buffalo News Shared via AddThis
Saturday, September 5, 2009
It's all about the breakfast
On an overnight. Kind of surprised I got it. The crew that was supposed to fly it misconnected by just 5 minutes. Oh well....this way I don't have airport standby tomorrow.
This is my new favorite overnight .The hotel is extremely nice. Two rooms suites, LCD's on the wall....and the best part...the flat out best breakfast of all the hotels I stay in.
I haven't flown much this week. The first two days on airport standby ended with me going home. I had a feeling I would fly today as I was the only First Officer available. As is I arrive back in base tomorrow at 9AM and will hopefully be released. It would be nice to spend a weekend day with my wife.
Once a year I go back to the training center for a check ride. This should be occurring in the next two months. I am going to dust off the flash cards I made during my initial training and go over them once a day starting Monday. You can never start preparing too early.
Pretty slow time right now blog wise. Guess I should get around to publishing that crosswind blog. Still working on getting Facebook Connect to work. Feel free to shoot a question my way via the comment system or email.
It's 10PM now....6:45AM van....time for bed.
This is my new favorite overnight .The hotel is extremely nice. Two rooms suites, LCD's on the wall....and the best part...the flat out best breakfast of all the hotels I stay in.
I haven't flown much this week. The first two days on airport standby ended with me going home. I had a feeling I would fly today as I was the only First Officer available. As is I arrive back in base tomorrow at 9AM and will hopefully be released. It would be nice to spend a weekend day with my wife.
Once a year I go back to the training center for a check ride. This should be occurring in the next two months. I am going to dust off the flash cards I made during my initial training and go over them once a day starting Monday. You can never start preparing too early.
Pretty slow time right now blog wise. Guess I should get around to publishing that crosswind blog. Still working on getting Facebook Connect to work. Feel free to shoot a question my way via the comment system or email.
It's 10PM now....6:45AM van....time for bed.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Better than on-time....early
Something amazing happened during my two day trip. Every flight I flew left on time and arrived early. All four flights. The contract states I am paid "block or better". So even if the flights are early I still get the scheduled flight time.
I was supposed to fly 6 legs. Due to a minor mechanical delay the crew would have misconnected to the overnight flight. Scheduling pulled my entire crew off the flight and put on a crew consisting of people sitting airport standby. I then had over 5 hours till the next flight. I went home.
The flight to the overnight left 5 minutes early. Due to an aircraft limitation we were not allowed in RVSM airspace (28,001-41,000 feet). This was unfortuneate as we could have saved a lot of fuel. There were only 28 people on board. We could have easily flown at FL410 and sipped fuel. Instead we were down at FL270.
The Captain took the leg outbound. He made a beautiful visual approach which got spoiled by the effects of a light plane. He floated a bit before putting mains down to avoid having to go around. It happens.
The hotel was nice. They have free dinner each night....at 6:30. The flight arrived 25 minutes early at 7:55PM. By the time we arrived the dinner was gone. I used the kitchen in my room to cook up Mac & Cheese. Ah fine dining at it's best.
I was planning on eating a big breakfast to tide myself over until late in the afternoon. The last time I stayed here the kitchen attendant had the breakfast area setup by the time I arrived at 5:30AM. Well apparently she no longer works there. When I arrived all that was out was fruit. I ate a banana. The rest of the crew arrived in the dining area and also grabbed what was there. At 5:43AM there were eggs out. We all grabbed a plate for a quick bite before loading up in the van at 5:45AM.
I took the leg back. The initial altitude was just 3000 feet AGL. We used a flex power takeoff to both save fuel and help reduce the climb rate a bit as the initial altitude would come up in a little more than a minute at max power. The takeoff was uneventful and we were cleared up to FL280 right away.
Without even trying (i.e. flying faster than planned) the FMS projected the flight to be 35 minutes early. The expected headwind wasn't there. To save even more time ATC assigned us the runway closest to the gate.
I have had nothing but crosswind landings lately. This is a good thing as I prefer them. I let George (the name for the autopilot) guide the plane down (following the ILS) till 1500 feet. With a push of the big red button, the plane was in my hand. The winds were blowing 50 degrees to the left of the nose at 11 knots. Most of the time I start flaring at 50 feet while reducing power. I decided to change things up a bit and not begin my flare until 20 feet. Doing so would use up less runway and *could* make for a smoother landing. If done wrong then it could result in a much rougher landing if the descent isn't arreseted quickly enough.
The plane I fly has a very nose down attitude during landing. I've gotten used to it although I've seen jumpseaters get a little uneasy during the landing as they are used to a nose high attitude.
When I heard "50" announced from the ground proximity system I resisted making any changes. At "40" I still held steady. When "30" was announced I slowly started taking out the power. As soon as "20" was heard I closed the thrust levers and began arresting the descent while aligning the nose with the runway with the rudder. By "10" feet the descent was arrested. With a little aileron to the left I had the proper crosswind correction in. I slowly added increasing back pressure. The mains kissed the runway so softly that it took me a moment to realize we had indeed landed. After easing the nose down I deployed the thrust reversers and gently applied to brakes. The Captain took over and exited the runway. We were 30 minutes early! Even being so early there was an open gate. I then had 4 hours till my next flight. Back home I went. Sitting at the airport tires me out.
Once back at the airport I met the next crew and we departed 4 minutes early. The Captain I flew with on this leg is a great guy. I've only flown with him a handful of times, but always have a great time. He let me take the leg out. Once again we were light, but this time we had no RVSM restrictions. Before long we were cruising in smooth air at FL390. There was an Air Canada jet ahead of us also at FL390 on our same route. ATC queired his Mach number...it was .74. We were filed for and flying at .79. ATC was getting ready to descend the Air Canada when my Captain advised we were capable of FL410. Problem solved.
The outstation was using runway 3 which would allow a straight in approach to runway. The runway in use is 10,000 feet long. When landing runway 3 only 8500 feet are available as the first 1500 feet is only available for taxi or during a rollout when landing on runway 21.
I tuned in the ILS to help keep me from descending to land at the end of runway 3. There was only a slight 5 knot crosswind during the landing. Crossing the displaced threshold was an odd experience. Once again I cut the power at 20 feet and settled in for a very nice landing.
We parked 15 minutes early. As I rounded the nose during my post flight my eyes went straight to the right wing. There was a dark patch.....I had hit something during landing. As I got closer I saw a green watery substance covering an indentation. The indentation in the wing had been there during the pre-flight. I just happened to hit something in the exact same spot.
I finished the post flight an alerted the Captain to the impact. He inspected it and called to my attention how much brighter the metal was in the area. This area had recently been polished/repaired. He and called our mantanence operations who verified that a bird strike had been repaired on the right wing last week. As a precaution we had a contract mechanic reinspect the area. No further damage. Whatever I hit wasn't a bird as no blood or feathers were found....just a really big bug.
Even with the inspection we left on time. Once again we landed in base 22 minutes early. The Captain pulled into the gate 15 minutes early. Done.
Of the 14 hours of overtime I only flew 9 hours. I will get paid full pay for 14 hours and an overtime bonus on the 9 hours I actually flew. Not bad.
I'm off today. Back on airport standby starting tomorrow for 5 days followed by 1 day of reserve. Going to be rough. Today will be spent upgrading my Macbook Pro and my wife's Macbook to Snow Leopard. Fun.
I was supposed to fly 6 legs. Due to a minor mechanical delay the crew would have misconnected to the overnight flight. Scheduling pulled my entire crew off the flight and put on a crew consisting of people sitting airport standby. I then had over 5 hours till the next flight. I went home.
The flight to the overnight left 5 minutes early. Due to an aircraft limitation we were not allowed in RVSM airspace (28,001-41,000 feet). This was unfortuneate as we could have saved a lot of fuel. There were only 28 people on board. We could have easily flown at FL410 and sipped fuel. Instead we were down at FL270.
The Captain took the leg outbound. He made a beautiful visual approach which got spoiled by the effects of a light plane. He floated a bit before putting mains down to avoid having to go around. It happens.
The hotel was nice. They have free dinner each night....at 6:30. The flight arrived 25 minutes early at 7:55PM. By the time we arrived the dinner was gone. I used the kitchen in my room to cook up Mac & Cheese. Ah fine dining at it's best.
I was planning on eating a big breakfast to tide myself over until late in the afternoon. The last time I stayed here the kitchen attendant had the breakfast area setup by the time I arrived at 5:30AM. Well apparently she no longer works there. When I arrived all that was out was fruit. I ate a banana. The rest of the crew arrived in the dining area and also grabbed what was there. At 5:43AM there were eggs out. We all grabbed a plate for a quick bite before loading up in the van at 5:45AM.
I took the leg back. The initial altitude was just 3000 feet AGL. We used a flex power takeoff to both save fuel and help reduce the climb rate a bit as the initial altitude would come up in a little more than a minute at max power. The takeoff was uneventful and we were cleared up to FL280 right away.
Without even trying (i.e. flying faster than planned) the FMS projected the flight to be 35 minutes early. The expected headwind wasn't there. To save even more time ATC assigned us the runway closest to the gate.
I have had nothing but crosswind landings lately. This is a good thing as I prefer them. I let George (the name for the autopilot) guide the plane down (following the ILS) till 1500 feet. With a push of the big red button, the plane was in my hand. The winds were blowing 50 degrees to the left of the nose at 11 knots. Most of the time I start flaring at 50 feet while reducing power. I decided to change things up a bit and not begin my flare until 20 feet. Doing so would use up less runway and *could* make for a smoother landing. If done wrong then it could result in a much rougher landing if the descent isn't arreseted quickly enough.
The plane I fly has a very nose down attitude during landing. I've gotten used to it although I've seen jumpseaters get a little uneasy during the landing as they are used to a nose high attitude.
When I heard "50" announced from the ground proximity system I resisted making any changes. At "40" I still held steady. When "30" was announced I slowly started taking out the power. As soon as "20" was heard I closed the thrust levers and began arresting the descent while aligning the nose with the runway with the rudder. By "10" feet the descent was arrested. With a little aileron to the left I had the proper crosswind correction in. I slowly added increasing back pressure. The mains kissed the runway so softly that it took me a moment to realize we had indeed landed. After easing the nose down I deployed the thrust reversers and gently applied to brakes. The Captain took over and exited the runway. We were 30 minutes early! Even being so early there was an open gate. I then had 4 hours till my next flight. Back home I went. Sitting at the airport tires me out.
Once back at the airport I met the next crew and we departed 4 minutes early. The Captain I flew with on this leg is a great guy. I've only flown with him a handful of times, but always have a great time. He let me take the leg out. Once again we were light, but this time we had no RVSM restrictions. Before long we were cruising in smooth air at FL390. There was an Air Canada jet ahead of us also at FL390 on our same route. ATC queired his Mach number...it was .74. We were filed for and flying at .79. ATC was getting ready to descend the Air Canada when my Captain advised we were capable of FL410. Problem solved.
The outstation was using runway 3 which would allow a straight in approach to runway. The runway in use is 10,000 feet long. When landing runway 3 only 8500 feet are available as the first 1500 feet is only available for taxi or during a rollout when landing on runway 21.
I tuned in the ILS to help keep me from descending to land at the end of runway 3. There was only a slight 5 knot crosswind during the landing. Crossing the displaced threshold was an odd experience. Once again I cut the power at 20 feet and settled in for a very nice landing.
We parked 15 minutes early. As I rounded the nose during my post flight my eyes went straight to the right wing. There was a dark patch.....I had hit something during landing. As I got closer I saw a green watery substance covering an indentation. The indentation in the wing had been there during the pre-flight. I just happened to hit something in the exact same spot.
I finished the post flight an alerted the Captain to the impact. He inspected it and called to my attention how much brighter the metal was in the area. This area had recently been polished/repaired. He and called our mantanence operations who verified that a bird strike had been repaired on the right wing last week. As a precaution we had a contract mechanic reinspect the area. No further damage. Whatever I hit wasn't a bird as no blood or feathers were found....just a really big bug.
Even with the inspection we left on time. Once again we landed in base 22 minutes early. The Captain pulled into the gate 15 minutes early. Done.
Of the 14 hours of overtime I only flew 9 hours. I will get paid full pay for 14 hours and an overtime bonus on the 9 hours I actually flew. Not bad.
I'm off today. Back on airport standby starting tomorrow for 5 days followed by 1 day of reserve. Going to be rough. Today will be spent upgrading my Macbook Pro and my wife's Macbook to Snow Leopard. Fun.
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