One Eye'd Pilot ?

Back in 2007 I was hired at my airline. On the night after my first day I scratched my cornea. I arrived on day two wearing an eye patch. Lots of stares and glares. A friend of mine said, "Yeah they are getting pretty desperate for pilots, now hiring one eye'd pilots." Nice eh?

It healed. Minor issue.

Yesterday I scratched the cornea on my other eye. I had a suspicion I did it again as it felt like there was something in my eye that I couldn't flush out. I tried over the counter eye wash. Nada.

I hoped it would heal by this morning so I could commute up. No go. Called in sick. Went to the Doctor. Diagnosed with the same issue. Given eye drops.

The good news is this case is much more minor. Last time it was painful for 3 days. I can almost see normally out of it this time. I'm going to see how I feel in the morning and debate calling in sick again.

The problem is my trip leaves my domicile on day 1 and doesn't return till day 4.

To cover the first part of the trip they put a reserve on it. He flies my day 1 and dead heads home tomorrow after my overnight. I am supposed to deadhead from my domicile to meet up with my crew at the out station. As is it will be a 14 hour duty day...down to the minute.

Problem....I don't live in my domicile thus I will commute up tomorrow morning. I will spend 7 hours on airplanes as a passenger before I get to the outstation. It would be nice if I could go straight there....but my kit bag is in my domicile. Boo.

 

Preparing for another 4 day

I have a standard setup for 4 day trips. It works for the most part, but could always use tweaking based on the hotels.

My trip this month has me in two different hotels than the three I stayed in last month. One new one offers free breakfast and a microwave while the other two offer nothing in the way of free food or food prep.

As mundane as I think it is, some might wonder what goes in a suitcase to survive 4 days/3 nights on the road.

I'll start with non clothing since it might be more interesting?

Eight packets of instant oatmeal - easy to make using the coffee maker...I bring my own spoons can be breakfast or a snack

One instant Macaroni and Cheese - cooked at the hotel with a microwave

One tuna lunch kit - for a snack/meal in a pinch

Ten packets of fruit snacks - healthier than Skittles

Four fiber bars  - filling and healthier than Snickers

That ends the food...now for my tech

One Roku XD Box + HDMI cable - new this trip, I don't watch much "real" TV

One Asus WL-330gE router - can take a wireless signal in and rebroadcast another (needed because the Roku box can't click "OK" I will use my Ipad/Phone initially on the connection)

One iHome iHM60 Rechargeable Mini Speaker - better speaker than the Ipad or my phone

Back up alarm clock

Back up headphones - super cheap kind as I break/mispace them often

Backup charging cables for my Zune HD, IPad and HTC Thunderbolt. Main set kept in my messenger style laptop bag

For tolietries I carry

Shaving gel, aftershave and razor

Toothpaste + toothbrush

Deodorant

Enough contact lenses for a week (I wear dailies)

Clothes

One back up work shirt

Jeans

Polo style shirt

Three undershirts

Two "out and about" t-shirts

One workout shirt

Workout shorts

Walk around shorts

Socks and underwear for 5 nights...just in case

Running shoes

Finally I carry an umbrella...didn't know where to place that.

All of this goes into a standard carry on bag.....and it's not overstuffed. It's all about how you pack.

 

Seniority helps

Day 3 and 4 of my trip went normally for the most part. Day 4 was one leg and done. Blocked out early...then tower called. There was something hanging out of our cargo hold. I called company and we waited for the message to be passed down to the rampers. They came out. We shut down the engine and they fixed the issue...luggage strap was hanging out of the door. Now we were late.

We flew fast. Fast enough to be 35 minutes early. Blocked in at 6PM. There was a 6:45PM flight I could commute home on. After my post flight I headed straight to the crew room and stashed my kit bag. On my way up the stairs a Captain I knew stopped me, "If you're trying for the 6:45PM flight don't bother, it's delayed till 8:20PM." Nice. While I was inbound a flight had cancelled. The flights were now all overbooked.

I made my way through the terminal. My phone rang. It was a buddy who is also based here and commutes. He has been commuting for 2 years.

I met him at the gate. He wasn't too happy to see me as I am senior to him by 9 numbers. Same hire date. Being senior meant I had jump seat priority. We chit chatted as we kept an eye on the standby list. Wasn't looking good.

Departure time came. It was a lucky day for the both of us as we somehow scored seats in the cabin. At least two other pilots junior to us had to "duke it out" for the jump seat. Three and a half hours later we were home. Both of us commute back Friday.

The bad part about holding a line

This is my first full month of line flying. I met my crew on Friday. This month I'm flying a larger plane that requires 2 flight attendants. The Captain I knew from recurrent training last year. The front flight attendant looked familiar, she recognized me as well. The rear flight attendant was new to me, and the airplane.

First day was easy. Six and a half hours of flying in just two legs. After the first leg we had a two hour break. I hoped to get dinner at a nifty mexican restaurant I liked. It closed 10 minutes before I got there. Eh. Mc Donalds it was.

On the way to the overnight I mentioned to my number one (front) flight attendant that there was a casino nearby. She got excited and wanted to go with me....when we got there.

Long flight. Chasing the sunset. Tired. I was exhausted by the time we got to the hotel. Thirteen hour duty day plus my 3 1/2 hour commute. Ugh.

The trip is all late starts. Day two started at 3PM. Three legs, another 6 and a half hours of flying. Delayed by 20 minutes. Three flights with 40 minute turns. We made up the 20 minute delay on the first flight. Lined up for 35L. A Southwest 737 came diving in fast enough for 35R to set off a TCAS alert. I looked over my shoulder and saw him. No issue.

On the flight back we were ahead on time and gas. Our ETA was 20 minutes earlier than planned. I hoped to have time to grab dinner. Due to traffic we were assigned the furthest runway from the terminal versus the "normal" one much closer. Eh.

My Captain is a nice guy, former cop who still works part time on his days off. He has one annoying quirk. Brakes. He's brake happy. On his landings...on my landings....taxiing around. I've mentioned it, he says that's just the way he taxis. My number one and him have known each other for years. She gives him a hard time about it as well. It could be worse....he could smell funny.

We blocked out 10 minutes early for the overnight. Captain was ready to go....because he was going home.

He travels very light. Just a backpack and kit bag. He commutes up on day one. We have one overnight then on the second night he goes home. He repacks the backpack on day three for one overnight. Day four ends with his commute back home. I could never travel with just a backpack....works for him.

His leg. We flew extremely fast. Landed 28 minutes early. Short taxi. Shutdown the plane and he was gone. My flight attendants and I found our way to the van.

Speaking of my flight attendants, my number 2 and I don't get along. She just seems to be "right" about everything and expects everyone to wait on her. For example on the first overnight the hotel shuttle is a shared van service. She thinks we should have private transportation. Day two we were 28 minutes early. She thought the hotel van should be waiting on us no matter how early we are. My front flight attendant smokes. She stepped out during a 40 minute turn to smoke. The rear flight attendant came up to me and mentioned how inappropriate and rude it was to step out and smoke without tidying up the front of the plane. Never mind that the front flight attendant has been here for years and knows exactly how much time she needs to do her job. Sure enough she got back, freshened up herself and the area with 10 minutes to spare before boarding started.

The bad part about having a line? I have the same crew all month. Kinda hoping the rear flight attendant trades out of the rest of the trips. Eh.

The Family that travels

Dropped my wife and daughter off at a gate tonight. They are off for a weekend with family. Tomorrow I head out for another 4 day. I would like to have gone with them, maybe next time.

I bid to work weekends to save on day care. My wife has a normal Monday thru Friday job. She took off Friday to have a 3 day weekend and thus can travel. For June I am going to bid weekends off and she is going to move her schedule around to work one weekend day so we can have a little more time together.

We have lost track of how many flights my daughter has been on in her 8 months on this earth. It's over 16 flights. She's visited every corner of the United States. Pretty seasoned traveller. To recognize this I bought her a shirt:



 

In the past I worked for a cable company and got free cable TV and Internet. At the time that was great. Now travel is one of the best perks I can think of.

Done with that overnight

This month I had overnights in a city known for having one of the worst TSA checkpoints in the country. Sure enough it was. I'm glad I only had to go through it twice.

Next month I have a similar trip as this month, but not that overnight!

This month I did 4 day trips starting at 3PM on Fridays and ending at 6:30PM on Mondays.

Next month I start 3PM on Fridays and end at 6:35PM on Mondays.

The 4 day is a 2-3-4-1. Meaning 2 legs on day one, 3 legs on day two, 4 legs on day three and just one leg on day 4.

Once again I bid for late starts and working weekends. I prefer late starts as it helps avoid reduced rest overnights. It does make it harder to enjoy an adult beverage as, by the time I get in, most bars are closed. I don't get drunk mind you, just a beer once or twice during a trip.

For June my wife is going to move her work schedule around a bit and I am going to try to bid for weekends off. Will be interesting.

Easier Trip....and good news

On day 3 on my 4 day. Much easier than last time. No weather and the fact that I did most of this trip last week means a little less stress.

My report time to start my trip was 3PM on Friday. The commute flight is 3 hours long thus I had to leave by noon to make it.

The direct flights were all pretty full. I wanted to play it safe so I decided to take an early flight.

I was going through the motions in the morning getting my bags to my car and getting my daughter ready. I planned on taking a 7:55AM flight. While at her daycare my daughter got a little upset when she saw me leave. I hung out for a few minutes and played with her before leaving. It will only get harder for the both of us as she grows up. She'll be 9 months old next month.

Those extra few minutes meant I missed the 7:55AM flight. I instead planned on the 8:35AM flight. Got a seat, across from another pilot from my airline.

We were both new to commuting. She had been living in base for years and holding a nice line. Now she too was commuting. We both hate it. She didn't have to be there until 2PM, but like me was playing it safe.

I hung out in the crew room, sucked down an extra large Dunkin Donuts coffee....ate breakfast....ate lunch....sucked down another coffee. Finally go time.

I checked the flight details and noticed a crew member was deadheading on my first turn. Odd. Why deadhead to and from ? I check further and realized he was a brand new pilot. Zero flight hours at my airline. The training department had scheduled him to sit on the jump seat and observe a flight before starting IOE the next day.

The Captain was again new to me. When the jump seater arrived I helped him out a bit stashing his bags. I remember what it was like on my first day. Everything moves fast and I was way behind.

Normal flight. Beautiful day. My first time to this outstation. It's part of my line, but I haven't been there this month due to cancellations and vacation.

Normal turn. After push back the rampers disconnected and walked away. When I called the ramp tower to taxi we were told we could not taxi from our current position. The ramp has a line that we must be pulled up to and on to taxi as there is a risk of damaging men and equipment behind the plane. I called the rampers back, they weren't happy, but they pulled us 40 feet up to the line. Done.

During both flights the new hire asked a lot of questions. The sim and the real world are close, but there are a lot of details left out.

Back in base we had a 2 hour break. Dinner.

Long day. We blasted off for the 2 hour flight to the overnight. High winds right down the runway. At 3000 AGL the winds were so strong we had a 80 knot ground speed. That's Cessna slow.

I hit the hotel bed hard at 12:20AM. I woke up 19 hours prior.

Day 2. The hotel buffet looked sketchy. I carry plastic spoons, instant oatmeal and instant mac and cheese as back ups. They pack easy and come in handy often. Oatmeal it was.

That afternoon the inbound plane was late. Thus we were late. Headed west the 100 knot + headwinds meant it would be impossible to make up any time.

The next outstation has a complex STAR that leads right into the approach for the runway. It's still odd to be cleared for an ILS while 100 miles out.

Because we were late it was another quick turn. The next flight was just 98 NM again. The flight is so fast it's just an exercise in running checklist. After the turn was done we had a 2 hour break again. Dinner.

Called my wife and had a video chat with our new phones. We switched from T-Mobile to Verizon. Now using Thunderbolts. We started using Android with the T-Mobile G1, then Nexus One and now Thunderbolt. Video chat worked great. Dinner.

Long day. Light load. Up to FL390. The whole crew was tired. It was an 11 hour duty day, but I had been up for 17 hours.

Today is easy. One leg to the overnight.

During my bidding I requested late starts to avoid reduced rest/short overnights. This seemed like a good idea, but 2 of my 3 overnights arrive after midnight. Makes for bad sleep patterns, especially in different time zones each night.

Finally good news. In September I am scheduled to be back in my old base. Thus this commuting should come to and end.