Finally recovered from my last 3 day trip...of course I start the same trip again today. I hope it goes better than last week.
The trip is a 3-4-3. Three legs on day one, four on day two and three legs on the last day.
The trip started well enough. Pushed out 5 minutes early. I took the first leg and landed at the outstation 15 minutes early.
The next two legs were the Captain's legs. We were doing the normal , "trade at the outstation" flying.
Day one ended one minute early to the overnight. Not a long duty day at just 7 hours 30 minutes. Of course I spent the morning with my daughter, so I had been up for 17 hours.
Day two looked long before I left the hotel. Weather....lots of it.
Sure enough when I called to get our clearance I was told to, "Call back 10 minutes to push as there are flow delays." Nice.
I called back 10 minutes prior...no delays for us. Nice!
Gusty, crosswind takeoff. My leg.
I hand flew the plane through 15,000 feet as there were quite a few build ups I was navigating around. Cleared up to FL220...normally we are given FL230. Hmmm.
Once level we were told to expect a hold at the next VOR. Ugh.
"Hold as published," was what we were told. EFC time was 40 minutes away.
The Captain looked for the hold on his low en-route chart. Not there. I transferred control of the plane to him and looked at my high en-route chart. Also not there. He queried ATC...."Ah....just hold on your inbound course." Fine.
Around and round we went. Thankfully the dispatcher loaded us up with fuel.
This was my first time holding in my "new" plane. Took my time programming the FMS. Done.
After 20 minutes we were released from the hold....but were speed restricted heading to the hub.
Weather. Bumps. Turbulence. Heavy rain. Ugh.
Blocked in 45 minutes late. Instead of a 70 minute sit we had 28 minutes. We had wheelchair passengers leaving the plane and coming back on to the plane for the next flight. This meant my flight attendants could not get off the plane for food or anything else. I asked if they wanted anything...they were ok.
Pushed back 10 minutes late. The wheelchair passengers + weather just added on to make things go slowly. My leg again.
Back through the same weather. Rain, turbulence and more turbulence. Blocked into the outstation 29 minutes late.
Originally we were told our return flight was delayed by 45 minutes. Fine with us. We all wanted a break.
I did my post flight and walked over to the base of the terminal and called my wife. I wanted some peace and quiet. No hurry as I thought I had 45 minutes. Then I saw bags being loaded.
Call done. Back up to the plane....they were boarding. Hmmm.
Headed up to the terminal for a restroom...I hate using the one on the plane.
Back on the flight deck I called clearance. No delays. Hmmm k.
Pushed back 28 minutes after we blocked in.
Captains leg. We were given 3 reroutes for weather.
The first was 300 miles LONGER. Not enough fuel. Thankfully the second reroute was only 90 miles longer. The dispatcher reworked our alternates to make it work.
This was the leg where I recorded the video for "The Light Show" post.
Blocked in 41 minutes late. Next flight was to leave in 4 minutes. Delayed for weather...and gum removal.
During the previous flight a passenger got air sick. They put their gum on the outside of the air sickness bag, then used the bag, then set the bag down on the seat next to them. The gum stuck to the seat. Nice eh?
Pushed out 43 minutes late. No amount of short cuts and flying fast would help. Blocked into the outstation 47 minutes late. Total of 8 hours and 52 minutes of flying on day 2 thanks to the delays. All of that in an 11 hour 42 minute duty day.
Same overnight as the previous night. Same hotel room even.
I slept halfway decently.
The next morning I checked on the status of the inbound. Delayed. Big time.
My Captain commutes from the out station so he was at home. I called the flight attendants and let them know about the delay and that we should take a 1PM van instead of a noon van. Done.
Pushed out of the outstation 80 minutes late. We only had an hour connect to the next flight...and it was on a different plane. We all hoped they would pull us from the flight and use reserves.
Rainy approach. Around 30 feet the wind picked up and pushed the plane up and over. I had to quickly add power and add more wind correction to avoid a nasty touchdown. Every now and then the squirrel gets the nut....I recovered perfectly and greased it on.
Blocked in 90 minutes late. We were all still working the last turn. There were zero reserves available. Fine.
Swapped gates. We all walked quickly to the next plane. The waiting area was full of upset passengers. If they only knew what we'd been through!
Thirty five minutes after blocking in...we were blocking out. That is very efficient if you consider we had to deplane, shutdown the first plane, gather our bags, walk to the next gate, stow our bags, preflight, board passengers and luggage, setup the plane , run checklist and then block out...all in 35 minutes.
Tired.
I bounced it onto the runway 2 hours later...blocked in exactly one hour late. We were all ready to be done. Twenty nine minute turn and we were out.
Captain's leg. He flew fast and also bounced it on. We both blamed the plane for our landings. Still arrived 50 minutes late.
The 3 day trip is supposed to have 19 hours 30 minutes of flying. I ended up with 21 hours 5 minutes worth of flying.
Not much weather this week. I hope for a much smoother trip.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
The light show
On day 3 of my 3 day. Day 2 was brutal. Scheduled for 7.5 hours flying. Ended up flying 8.9 hours. Four legs. All quick turns. Never had a real break for a meal. Weather, turbulence and reroutes were the words of the day.
Today is just 3 legs.
This video will be boring to 99.9% of the people out there. Just a few minutes I spent watching the beautiful yet destructive forces of nature. Cruising along at FL360 after a number of reroutes. Smooth ride as the lightening was nearly non-stop.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYUf70gVkeI
More later.
Today is just 3 legs.
This video will be boring to 99.9% of the people out there. Just a few minutes I spent watching the beautiful yet destructive forces of nature. Cruising along at FL360 after a number of reroutes. Smooth ride as the lightening was nearly non-stop.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYUf70gVkeI
More later.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Flat, featureless terrain
Two day trip. Kinda rough.
Scheduled for 9.5 hours of flying. Just two cities. A 1 and 5 trip meaning one leg on day one and five on day two.
The trip started at 1:35PM. Late arriving inbound meant we pushed at 1:50PM. I took the outbound leg.
I used to be apprehensive about taking the first leg with a new Captain. I always wanted to see how HE operated. Now I don't care. I know what I'm doing. I fly within the safety margins of my flight manual. Nothing special....well a little special.
Normal takeoff. The overnight was at a city in the middle of nowhere. Literally.
The airport is surrounded by flat, featureless, sandy terrain. The runways are light grey. Sunny day.
Winds were at 220@20G30. Landing runway 28.
I loaded up the GPS approach as there was no ILS.
Thirty miles out I was at 10,000 and just waiting for a descent. Cleared to 3000 and given a heading to intercept the final approach course for a visual approach.
I spun the VS speed down and idled the thrust levers. Nice 250 knot descent. I then began looking for the airport. Nothing.
Five miles from the FAF I slowed to 200 knots. The plane was on a 20 degree intercept....the runway was just 10 miles away. I saw nothing.
Finally as I was allowed to be vectored through the approach course the runway was in sight. Way down there. Hmmm.
The Captain advised we had the airport. Off went the autopilot, out went the spoilers, flaps and gear. I got to do some of that crazy pilot stuff.
Five miles out I was just about 2800 feet AGL. Normally I like to be about 2000 feet AGL. Thankfully I slowed early.
Semi-steep descent. Engines were idled until 900 feet AGL when I finally slowed to approach speed. Decent landing. Rolled out a little long as I didn't feel like jamming on the brakes. Done.
Boring 15 hour overnight. Literally nothing around the hotel except for a 7-11.
Next two flights were for the Captain. The first was normal. The second was back to the same featureless airport.
Another regional was coming in to the same runway I landed on the day prior. They were being vectored in for a straight in approach.
We heard approach asking if they saw the airport, "12 miles at 12 o'clock."
Nope.
At 10 miles.
Nope.
"If you don't call the airport by 8 miles I will have to turn you off and give you vectors for the GPS approach."
At 8 miles they called the airport. Funny how that works.
Similar winds.
Next up was a Cessna Cardinal...then a military T-1 (looks like a Beechcraft biz jet) then us.
The Cardinal was cleared for a visual and asked to keep his speed up as long as practical.
The T-1 was advised to slow down.
We were told to slow to 170 and expect to be vectored through the final approach course.
Short vector and we were cleared for the visual.
The Cardinal switched to tower.
Approach advised the T-1 the Cardinal had slowed to 70 knots on a 4 mile final.
My Captain heard this and slowed to approach speed while on a 8 mile final.
The T-1 was told to go around as it had 80 knots overtake on the Cardinal and just 3 miles behind.
Fine with us.
We were switched to tower just as the Cardinal cleared the runway.
We were then cleared to land while on a four mile final BUT, "traffic 11 o'clock , 2 miles T-1 on a tight left base."
WTF?!?!?
Sure enough we looked over and saw the T-1 wing high. This was just stupid. There were several T-1s in the pattern.
The T-1 was cleared only for a low pass. Why they couldn't go behind a jet carrying passengers?!?!?!
Gusty wind. The T-1 was blown well off centerline.
We reached 500 feet when it finally crossed the threshold and began a low pass....being tossed around.
The Captain and I were just astonished at how dumb this was. If we had to go around it could get ugly fast.
Thankfully it ended well....I am still here to type about it.
Next two legs were mine. Double plane swap at the hub.
The first plane was going to be late. Given a new gate and plane.
The Captain had printed the release before the swap. But neither of us thought about it.
New plane still late. Tried to turn it as fast as possible. Already scheduled for a 12 hour 30 minute duty day. I didn't want it any longer.
Preflight done I began setting up the plane and began going over the paperwork and maintenance log as did the Captain. Tail number didn't match the paperwork due to the plane swap. He left to reprint the release. I kept setting up the plane. Done. Pushed back 20 minutes late.
Right before taxi the Captain took a moment to re-examine the logbook. Glad he did. There was an error in a sign off by a mechanic.
A repair was done earlier in the day. The mechanic failed to put down how long it took him to do the repair. A minor mistake, everything else was correct. The problem is our flight manual states that the box stating how long the repair takes must be filled out. Pilots have been pulled into the training center for additional training for flying planes with such small discrepancies. Just a single digit was causing the issue.
Mechanic called. Ten minutes later he was standing on the flight deck with us. Thankfully we were able to get everything taken care of without returning to the gate. Took off 20 minutes late.
Decent tailwind. Vectored in for a visual. Called the airport on the downwind. Another gusty crosswind approach. Put the nose down about 1 foot downwind of centerline....which annoyed me.
More issues.
It was a VFR day at the outstation and the hub. No weather in between. Somehow we were weight restricted. More specifically runway limited.
Every airport is unique. Various obstsacles on and around the airport factor into how heavy a plane can takeoff and still meet all performance requirements. People a lot more intelligent than I (engineers with pocket protectors are what I see in my head) work the numbers and print them on a chart for me to use.
The runway was a decent 8000 feet long. Not terribly hot outside. Yet we were runway limited.
It really blows to be sitting on the flight deck and hear a gate agent call passengers names off. I knew what was going on. The passengers likely did not.
Four passengers were pulled off the flight. One man was from another country and spoke poor english. He was very confused about why he couldn't go on the flight. He asked why they couldn't ask someone else. Someone "heavier" as he was a "small man". That's not how it works.
My airline assumes all adults weigh the same. All kids weigh the same. Kids are roughly half an adult. Addtionally a 2 year old kid as a lap child weighs nothing. But the same 2 year old kid with a paid ticket weighs as much as a 10 year old kid. Fuzzy math.
In the end 4 passengers and 7 passenger bags were left behind. I called VR with 3000 feet of runway left. I'm guessing there were vertical obstructions causing the weight restrictions.
Blocked in 30 minutes late. Flew exactly 8 hours. Tired.
Off until Wednesday when I start my nice 3 day trips for March.
Going to the zoo with my daughter today. Hopefully I'll find time to type up a blog this weekend about the small dots I've noticed on my right arm. The arm closest to the window while flying 40,000 feet closer to the sun.
Scheduled for 9.5 hours of flying. Just two cities. A 1 and 5 trip meaning one leg on day one and five on day two.
The trip started at 1:35PM. Late arriving inbound meant we pushed at 1:50PM. I took the outbound leg.
I used to be apprehensive about taking the first leg with a new Captain. I always wanted to see how HE operated. Now I don't care. I know what I'm doing. I fly within the safety margins of my flight manual. Nothing special....well a little special.
Normal takeoff. The overnight was at a city in the middle of nowhere. Literally.
The airport is surrounded by flat, featureless, sandy terrain. The runways are light grey. Sunny day.
Winds were at 220@20G30. Landing runway 28.
I loaded up the GPS approach as there was no ILS.
Thirty miles out I was at 10,000 and just waiting for a descent. Cleared to 3000 and given a heading to intercept the final approach course for a visual approach.
I spun the VS speed down and idled the thrust levers. Nice 250 knot descent. I then began looking for the airport. Nothing.
Five miles from the FAF I slowed to 200 knots. The plane was on a 20 degree intercept....the runway was just 10 miles away. I saw nothing.
Finally as I was allowed to be vectored through the approach course the runway was in sight. Way down there. Hmmm.
The Captain advised we had the airport. Off went the autopilot, out went the spoilers, flaps and gear. I got to do some of that crazy pilot stuff.
Five miles out I was just about 2800 feet AGL. Normally I like to be about 2000 feet AGL. Thankfully I slowed early.
Semi-steep descent. Engines were idled until 900 feet AGL when I finally slowed to approach speed. Decent landing. Rolled out a little long as I didn't feel like jamming on the brakes. Done.
Boring 15 hour overnight. Literally nothing around the hotel except for a 7-11.
Next two flights were for the Captain. The first was normal. The second was back to the same featureless airport.
Another regional was coming in to the same runway I landed on the day prior. They were being vectored in for a straight in approach.
We heard approach asking if they saw the airport, "12 miles at 12 o'clock."
Nope.
At 10 miles.
Nope.
"If you don't call the airport by 8 miles I will have to turn you off and give you vectors for the GPS approach."
At 8 miles they called the airport. Funny how that works.
Similar winds.
Next up was a Cessna Cardinal...then a military T-1 (looks like a Beechcraft biz jet) then us.
The Cardinal was cleared for a visual and asked to keep his speed up as long as practical.
The T-1 was advised to slow down.
We were told to slow to 170 and expect to be vectored through the final approach course.
Short vector and we were cleared for the visual.
The Cardinal switched to tower.
Approach advised the T-1 the Cardinal had slowed to 70 knots on a 4 mile final.
My Captain heard this and slowed to approach speed while on a 8 mile final.
The T-1 was told to go around as it had 80 knots overtake on the Cardinal and just 3 miles behind.
Fine with us.
We were switched to tower just as the Cardinal cleared the runway.
We were then cleared to land while on a four mile final BUT, "traffic 11 o'clock , 2 miles T-1 on a tight left base."
WTF?!?!?
Sure enough we looked over and saw the T-1 wing high. This was just stupid. There were several T-1s in the pattern.
The T-1 was cleared only for a low pass. Why they couldn't go behind a jet carrying passengers?!?!?!
Gusty wind. The T-1 was blown well off centerline.
We reached 500 feet when it finally crossed the threshold and began a low pass....being tossed around.
The Captain and I were just astonished at how dumb this was. If we had to go around it could get ugly fast.
Thankfully it ended well....I am still here to type about it.
Next two legs were mine. Double plane swap at the hub.
The first plane was going to be late. Given a new gate and plane.
The Captain had printed the release before the swap. But neither of us thought about it.
New plane still late. Tried to turn it as fast as possible. Already scheduled for a 12 hour 30 minute duty day. I didn't want it any longer.
Preflight done I began setting up the plane and began going over the paperwork and maintenance log as did the Captain. Tail number didn't match the paperwork due to the plane swap. He left to reprint the release. I kept setting up the plane. Done. Pushed back 20 minutes late.
Right before taxi the Captain took a moment to re-examine the logbook. Glad he did. There was an error in a sign off by a mechanic.
A repair was done earlier in the day. The mechanic failed to put down how long it took him to do the repair. A minor mistake, everything else was correct. The problem is our flight manual states that the box stating how long the repair takes must be filled out. Pilots have been pulled into the training center for additional training for flying planes with such small discrepancies. Just a single digit was causing the issue.
Mechanic called. Ten minutes later he was standing on the flight deck with us. Thankfully we were able to get everything taken care of without returning to the gate. Took off 20 minutes late.
Decent tailwind. Vectored in for a visual. Called the airport on the downwind. Another gusty crosswind approach. Put the nose down about 1 foot downwind of centerline....which annoyed me.
More issues.
It was a VFR day at the outstation and the hub. No weather in between. Somehow we were weight restricted. More specifically runway limited.
Every airport is unique. Various obstsacles on and around the airport factor into how heavy a plane can takeoff and still meet all performance requirements. People a lot more intelligent than I (engineers with pocket protectors are what I see in my head) work the numbers and print them on a chart for me to use.
The runway was a decent 8000 feet long. Not terribly hot outside. Yet we were runway limited.
It really blows to be sitting on the flight deck and hear a gate agent call passengers names off. I knew what was going on. The passengers likely did not.
Four passengers were pulled off the flight. One man was from another country and spoke poor english. He was very confused about why he couldn't go on the flight. He asked why they couldn't ask someone else. Someone "heavier" as he was a "small man". That's not how it works.
My airline assumes all adults weigh the same. All kids weigh the same. Kids are roughly half an adult. Addtionally a 2 year old kid as a lap child weighs nothing. But the same 2 year old kid with a paid ticket weighs as much as a 10 year old kid. Fuzzy math.
In the end 4 passengers and 7 passenger bags were left behind. I called VR with 3000 feet of runway left. I'm guessing there were vertical obstructions causing the weight restrictions.
Blocked in 30 minutes late. Flew exactly 8 hours. Tired.
Off until Wednesday when I start my nice 3 day trips for March.
Going to the zoo with my daughter today. Hopefully I'll find time to type up a blog this weekend about the small dots I've noticed on my right arm. The arm closest to the window while flying 40,000 feet closer to the sun.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Looking forward to going nowhere
Quick weekend getaway with my family. My 18 month old daughter has now been on 42 if not 44 flights. We've gotten lazy about updating her logbook.
I finished my trip last week on Thursday night. Flew 8 hours. Tired.
Arrived home at 8:15PM. Left Friday morning to drive the family back to the airport at 5:20AM. Nice weekend. Went to a wedding. Stayed with family.
On the way back we had an interesting experience with the TSA.
I always travel in uniform. There are just perks to being in uniform that justify it's use.
While walking my wife and daughter into the regular security line we were given a short cut by an airport employee. Not a TSA screener, but just an airport employee who directs passengers to various security lines (First Class, Premium Passenger, Regular line). We were given a short cut to the front of the regular line. Okay with me... I didn't ask for any help.
Then a TSA employee asked if we wanted to use the employee line for even faster service. The TSA employee escorted us out of line and then directed us to a door which lead to the private, employee only, area. The door wasn't in a SIDA area, just a private area. I reminded him I had my family and I wasn't based at this airport. "No Problem" he stated.
We went through the door. It was a nice, quiet area.
Interestingly enough the employee line was not staffed by TSA, but by private screeners. One could only tell if you looked closely at their badges, patches and epaulettes. Same processes though. They were nicer than most TSA personell.
We travel standby so we often take the first flight out. We took the first flight from our home on Friday and we took the first flight back Monday morning. We all got a row together. It's only been a handful of times (in the single digits) that we have been seated separately.
Speaking of traveling with a newborn/toddler here's our system:
A super lightweight Combi Car Seat (here's the one we bought on Amazon)
and a
GoGo Babyz Travelmate (again I'm an Amazon person )
The Combi car seat is super light weight. Our normal car seats (super nice Britax car seats) are super heavy. The first few times we traveled we used them. It was a chore to lug it through the airport and onto the plane.
The Britax didn't fit down the aisle. I had to raise it above my head.
Our little system fits down the aisle of any plane. My daughter is in the seat which is attached to the GoGo Babyz wheels. It has fit down every plane we have been on (ERJ 145, CRJ200, 737, 767 and 757s) without a problem. We each have a backpack. My wife carries a backpack with baby stuff and her Ipad. I carry a backpack with my Ipad, my daughters Touchpad (running Android...but she prefers the Ipad) , snacks and a magazines.
That being said....I'm looking forward to going nowhere for a while. I'm kind of like a mechanic who has no desire to fix a car when he gets home.
We have a trip planned for March (heading to Vegas) but nothing for April. I'm looking forward to April.....looking forward to going nowhere.
I finished my trip last week on Thursday night. Flew 8 hours. Tired.
Arrived home at 8:15PM. Left Friday morning to drive the family back to the airport at 5:20AM. Nice weekend. Went to a wedding. Stayed with family.
On the way back we had an interesting experience with the TSA.
I always travel in uniform. There are just perks to being in uniform that justify it's use.
While walking my wife and daughter into the regular security line we were given a short cut by an airport employee. Not a TSA screener, but just an airport employee who directs passengers to various security lines (First Class, Premium Passenger, Regular line). We were given a short cut to the front of the regular line. Okay with me... I didn't ask for any help.
Then a TSA employee asked if we wanted to use the employee line for even faster service. The TSA employee escorted us out of line and then directed us to a door which lead to the private, employee only, area. The door wasn't in a SIDA area, just a private area. I reminded him I had my family and I wasn't based at this airport. "No Problem" he stated.
We went through the door. It was a nice, quiet area.
Interestingly enough the employee line was not staffed by TSA, but by private screeners. One could only tell if you looked closely at their badges, patches and epaulettes. Same processes though. They were nicer than most TSA personell.
We travel standby so we often take the first flight out. We took the first flight from our home on Friday and we took the first flight back Monday morning. We all got a row together. It's only been a handful of times (in the single digits) that we have been seated separately.
Speaking of traveling with a newborn/toddler here's our system:
A super lightweight Combi Car Seat (here's the one we bought on Amazon)
and a
GoGo Babyz Travelmate (again I'm an Amazon person )
The Combi car seat is super light weight. Our normal car seats (super nice Britax car seats) are super heavy. The first few times we traveled we used them. It was a chore to lug it through the airport and onto the plane.
The Britax didn't fit down the aisle. I had to raise it above my head.
Our little system fits down the aisle of any plane. My daughter is in the seat which is attached to the GoGo Babyz wheels. It has fit down every plane we have been on (ERJ 145, CRJ200, 737, 767 and 757s) without a problem. We each have a backpack. My wife carries a backpack with baby stuff and her Ipad. I carry a backpack with my Ipad, my daughters Touchpad (running Android...but she prefers the Ipad) , snacks and a magazines.
That being said....I'm looking forward to going nowhere for a while. I'm kind of like a mechanic who has no desire to fix a car when he gets home.
We have a trip planned for March (heading to Vegas) but nothing for April. I'm looking forward to April.....looking forward to going nowhere.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Longest overnight....ever
Day 3 of a 3 day. Easy trip.
Day one started with a 5:30PM departure to the overnight. Kinda odd spending all day with my daughter and then leaving for work when my wife arrived at home.
The line Captain called in sick. Reserve Captain was called in.
Nice Captain, but once again he's younger than I am. A little odd. I look a little old. He looks very young.
He flew it out. We were number 3 for landing behind two other regional jets.
We all walked out too see a crew member standing by the hotel van in the distance. We walked over (normally the van is at the curb) and hopped in. Then we waited.
The crew member was from another airline. The rest of his crew was lost in the airport. It's not a very big airport. Only 10 gates....but they were lost.
The hotel van driver left on foot to find them. No joy. About eight minutes later they came walking around a corner. They apologized for holding us up.
Kind of a long drive. While my flight attendant filled out the sign in sheet for my crew, I found out we would be sharing the morning van with the other crew. We had the same arrival and departure time.
Crappy Holiday Inn. Well...not crappy...but it hasn't been updated in at least 9 years. Old TV....worn furniture. Just way too lived in.
Ten hour overnight. In the morning I saw the other crew...plus another crew. All of us loaded up into the van. Glad it was one of the larger hotel vans.
Hotel van drivers make bank when they transport multiple crews at once. I typically tip a dollar if they are on time, courteous and don't drive like a maniac. By taking three crews at once I bet he doubled his hourly pay...maybe tripled.
At 5:50 AM we pushed from the gate...with 7 passengers....4 of them non-revs.
My leg. Uneventful. Flew a little fast as I was hungry. The Holiday Inn doesn't offer free breakfast and the breakfast they do offer doesn't start until 7AM.
I had another smooth descent until flare and then a last minute yank to grease it on. Light weight meant no thrust reverse was needed...just smooth easy braking.
We were scheduled to keep the same plane for the next leg. I had just enough time to get my Dunkin Donuts coffee and a breakfast burrito before departure.
Blocked out 7 minutes early. Nearly full. High tailwinds meant a super early arrival time.
Approach vectored us in for a left downwind. Level at 4,000 AGL I began to wonder when we would get lower. Finally cleared to 2500 feet. Right when I spun the vertical speed wheel down we got a "traffic" TCAS caution. A plane was just 500 feet above and less than 6 miles away. I previously heard the controller giving vectors to a Piper Seneca at 4500. WTF?
Even though it was just a caution I clicked off the autopilot and made a steeper descent. Caution went away.
Gusty winds at 220@15G30. Landing runway 29. Around 20 feet I began kicking the nose over. I chopped the thrust a little early and thought I would slam it on. Thankfully mother nature intervened and a gust of wind softened the landing...greased again.
Blocked in 20 minutes early. The overnight was now 23 hours 40 minutes. Longest overnight ever.
Decent Marriott branded hotel suite. Mall and restaurants nearby.
Had a nice (and early) grilled fish dinner with a salad...and two light beers. Back to my hotel by 6PM. Departure isn't until 11:40AM.
Three legs today. Seven hours Fifty minutes of flying. Just a thirty five minute turn on the first and a thirty minute turn on the second.
Tomorrow I head off with my family for a wedding near Sacramento, California. We wanted to go tonight...but after almost 8 hours of flying in one day....I doubt I will have any desire to hop on another plane and fly further.
Day one started with a 5:30PM departure to the overnight. Kinda odd spending all day with my daughter and then leaving for work when my wife arrived at home.
The line Captain called in sick. Reserve Captain was called in.
Nice Captain, but once again he's younger than I am. A little odd. I look a little old. He looks very young.
He flew it out. We were number 3 for landing behind two other regional jets.
We all walked out too see a crew member standing by the hotel van in the distance. We walked over (normally the van is at the curb) and hopped in. Then we waited.
The crew member was from another airline. The rest of his crew was lost in the airport. It's not a very big airport. Only 10 gates....but they were lost.
The hotel van driver left on foot to find them. No joy. About eight minutes later they came walking around a corner. They apologized for holding us up.
Kind of a long drive. While my flight attendant filled out the sign in sheet for my crew, I found out we would be sharing the morning van with the other crew. We had the same arrival and departure time.
Crappy Holiday Inn. Well...not crappy...but it hasn't been updated in at least 9 years. Old TV....worn furniture. Just way too lived in.
Ten hour overnight. In the morning I saw the other crew...plus another crew. All of us loaded up into the van. Glad it was one of the larger hotel vans.
Hotel van drivers make bank when they transport multiple crews at once. I typically tip a dollar if they are on time, courteous and don't drive like a maniac. By taking three crews at once I bet he doubled his hourly pay...maybe tripled.
At 5:50 AM we pushed from the gate...with 7 passengers....4 of them non-revs.
My leg. Uneventful. Flew a little fast as I was hungry. The Holiday Inn doesn't offer free breakfast and the breakfast they do offer doesn't start until 7AM.
I had another smooth descent until flare and then a last minute yank to grease it on. Light weight meant no thrust reverse was needed...just smooth easy braking.
We were scheduled to keep the same plane for the next leg. I had just enough time to get my Dunkin Donuts coffee and a breakfast burrito before departure.
Blocked out 7 minutes early. Nearly full. High tailwinds meant a super early arrival time.
Approach vectored us in for a left downwind. Level at 4,000 AGL I began to wonder when we would get lower. Finally cleared to 2500 feet. Right when I spun the vertical speed wheel down we got a "traffic" TCAS caution. A plane was just 500 feet above and less than 6 miles away. I previously heard the controller giving vectors to a Piper Seneca at 4500. WTF?
Even though it was just a caution I clicked off the autopilot and made a steeper descent. Caution went away.
Gusty winds at 220@15G30. Landing runway 29. Around 20 feet I began kicking the nose over. I chopped the thrust a little early and thought I would slam it on. Thankfully mother nature intervened and a gust of wind softened the landing...greased again.
Blocked in 20 minutes early. The overnight was now 23 hours 40 minutes. Longest overnight ever.
Decent Marriott branded hotel suite. Mall and restaurants nearby.
Had a nice (and early) grilled fish dinner with a salad...and two light beers. Back to my hotel by 6PM. Departure isn't until 11:40AM.
Three legs today. Seven hours Fifty minutes of flying. Just a thirty five minute turn on the first and a thirty minute turn on the second.
Tomorrow I head off with my family for a wedding near Sacramento, California. We wanted to go tonight...but after almost 8 hours of flying in one day....I doubt I will have any desire to hop on another plane and fly further.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Next month
I preferenced weekends off, 3 day trips and that's exactly what I got. I could have had it this month as well....bleh.
I start my trips on Wednesday afternoons and finish late Friday night. Same overnight two nights in a row....one I like even!
The overnight is at a Holiday Inn Express which has a nice supermarket next door. I get my cinnamon rolls for breakfast and can buy a healthy meal for lunch and dinner.
March is going to be a good month. I turn 35 and celebrate my 7th wedding anniversary,
I start my trips on Wednesday afternoons and finish late Friday night. Same overnight two nights in a row....one I like even!
The overnight is at a Holiday Inn Express which has a nice supermarket next door. I get my cinnamon rolls for breakfast and can buy a healthy meal for lunch and dinner.
March is going to be a good month. I turn 35 and celebrate my 7th wedding anniversary,
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Twelve legs ended up being 11......
Done with this crappy 3 day. Twelve legs worth 13 hours. Lots of short hops.
Day one was 5 legs. Nothing crazy. All on time. Tiring...but a 13 hour overnight helped out.
Caught a Rainbow during the descent to an outstation;
[singlepic id=502 w=320 h=240 float=]
Day 2 was just two legs. Really crappy weather. Inbound 45 minutes late. I thought I might get pulled from my overnight. Nope...we just flew it late.
A common practice is too swap flying duties at the outstation. Otherwise one guy is always landing in base one guy is always landing at the out station.
Day one started with the Captain flying. I picked up legs 2 and 3. He flew legs 4 and 5.
On day 2 there were just two legs. I flew them both.
First flight was to the hub. VFR. Easy flight and landing.
The next flight was to the overnight. The outstation was barely VFR. I picked up the airport 6 miles out breaking out of the clouds. Off went the autopilot.
I'll stop here to discuss a pet peeve of mine....pilots who slam on the brakes upon landing just to exit early. I hate that.
The runway was over 13,000 feet long....I could land, take off...land...take off....you get the idea.
I greased it on....and then it happened. I became "that guy".
Max reverse, heavy braking....all to make an early exit. I didn't realize it until after I did it. As the passengers got off a few said, "geez way to hit the brakes guys!". Hopefully I won't do that again.
I hadn't been to this airport in 2 years. Nice older hotel. At dinner with my crew.
Day 3 was long...5 more legs.
Captain took the first leg. Watched the sunrise and the moon fade.
[singlepic id=503 w=320 h=240 float=]
The Captain is fairly senior...likes his paycheck...thus flying slow. An extra minute or two over block here and there adds up for him. For me it's pennies.
Being vectored for an ILS. Early in the morning on a weekend. Not very busy.
The controller gave us a tight turn to join right before the FAF. It was marginal IFR....meaning a thin layer of clouds.
We could tell due to wind we would join final AFTER the FAF. The controller asked if we were okay with that. We stated we were. All good right?
Switched to tower. Cleared to land. Then another voice came on, "8722 approach clearance cancelled. Turn left heading 210, climb and maintain 3000". The final monitor decided it wasn't okay for us to join after the FAF. The final monitor is a guy who watches over every single approach and can over ride an approach clearance or landing clearance. Every now and then the monitor jumps in to give a speed correction due to distance between arriving planes.
Back to approach control. Tight circle and we were lined up for a longer final.
Blocked in 6 minutes late.
Weather moving in. Next leg was also his. We blocked out...and then he had a 10 minute discussion with the dispatcher over the weather. Understandable....but we had an hour sit time before the flight.
I looked at the weather. At the out station the weather wasn't great...rain (with heavy rain in the area), light winds and 600 foot ceilings. We had an alternate that was VFR including the route to the alternate. We had 25 minutes hold fuel in addition to a 45 minute reserve after arriving at the alternate. Just a 45 minute flight from the hub to the oustation. Fine with me.
The Captain was very apprehensive about weather from the first time I flew with him on day one. I can pick up on vibes from Captains sometimes. Some are very worried about being in the correct plane (tail number) after having been violated in the past (it's easier than you think to get in the wrong plane). Others are antsy about having more than enough fuel after being put into a corner in the past. Everyone has their hangups. Many have hangups on weather.
I've been through crap weather before. So bad the autopilot clicked off and all I could do was grab the yoke and fly straight and level, unable to read a single gauge. It sucks. But I never broke rule #1 (always come home).
Smooth at FL310. As we began the descent it was moderate chop. The Captain was discussing turning back to the hub. Here was the weather I pulled up for the out station:
27004KT 3SM RA BR FEW006 BKN015 OVC042 09/07 A2998 RMK AO2 P0032
Not horrible.
Descending through 17000 we hit moderate turbulence. The Captain was not comfortable with it. The RADAR was showing moderate rainfall ahead. We had 6200 pounds of fuel. About 600 more than planned at the point of the flight due to lighter than estimated winds and a light load.
At 14000 the Captain said, "Tell ATC we're climbing up. And returning to our departure airport." That second part surprised me.
It was smooth above FL220. We had plenty of fuel on board. The route to the alternate was fine. But I'm the First Officer.
I complied. Up and away we went.
Once we got back the flight cancelled. Had we gone to the alternate we would have later delivered the passengers and picked up the one's waiting. Had we held we could have done the same. Now the passengers were going to wait several hours for maybe a chance to get where they wanted to go.
I then had a 2 hour sit. The next two flights were mine.
Ironically there was a last minute plane swap. The flight release didn't match the tail number of the plane we were sitting in. Thankfully the paper work was wrong and we were in he correct plane. New release printed...away we went.
A little weather.
First out station was VFR. The approach controller must have fallen asleep or gotten busy as he vectored us right through the localizer without stating he would be doing so. Only after we questioned him did he turn us back.
I pulled the power back a little early in the flare. The Captain said, "uh oh....sink rate." I quickly pushed the nose forward and goosed the power. Greaser.
Quick 25 minute turn.
On the return flight the weather we diverted (and subsequently cancelled) for was heading to the hub. The Captain was once again planning for the worst. I was flying. He was pulling up weather for airports in case we had to divert again.
I looked at the weather before we left. Just moderate to heavy rain. No high winds. One thousand foot ceilings.
There was moderate chop reported in the descent. I just planned to drop through it quickly. The Captain asked the controller if any flights had gone around or diverted. The controller stated flights from the opposite direction were changing course for weather but everyone was getting in.
Assigned to cross a fix at 10000. I programmed the VNAV to give me a 3000 foot descent. Done. Minimal bumps.
ILS approach. Heavy rain. Greased it on. Happy to be done.
Off for 3 days. Go back Tuesday night for a quick 3 day trip.
Day one was 5 legs. Nothing crazy. All on time. Tiring...but a 13 hour overnight helped out.
Caught a Rainbow during the descent to an outstation;
[singlepic id=502 w=320 h=240 float=]
Day 2 was just two legs. Really crappy weather. Inbound 45 minutes late. I thought I might get pulled from my overnight. Nope...we just flew it late.
A common practice is too swap flying duties at the outstation. Otherwise one guy is always landing in base one guy is always landing at the out station.
Day one started with the Captain flying. I picked up legs 2 and 3. He flew legs 4 and 5.
On day 2 there were just two legs. I flew them both.
First flight was to the hub. VFR. Easy flight and landing.
The next flight was to the overnight. The outstation was barely VFR. I picked up the airport 6 miles out breaking out of the clouds. Off went the autopilot.
I'll stop here to discuss a pet peeve of mine....pilots who slam on the brakes upon landing just to exit early. I hate that.
The runway was over 13,000 feet long....I could land, take off...land...take off....you get the idea.
I greased it on....and then it happened. I became "that guy".
Max reverse, heavy braking....all to make an early exit. I didn't realize it until after I did it. As the passengers got off a few said, "geez way to hit the brakes guys!". Hopefully I won't do that again.
I hadn't been to this airport in 2 years. Nice older hotel. At dinner with my crew.
Day 3 was long...5 more legs.
Captain took the first leg. Watched the sunrise and the moon fade.
[singlepic id=503 w=320 h=240 float=]
The Captain is fairly senior...likes his paycheck...thus flying slow. An extra minute or two over block here and there adds up for him. For me it's pennies.
Being vectored for an ILS. Early in the morning on a weekend. Not very busy.
The controller gave us a tight turn to join right before the FAF. It was marginal IFR....meaning a thin layer of clouds.
We could tell due to wind we would join final AFTER the FAF. The controller asked if we were okay with that. We stated we were. All good right?
Switched to tower. Cleared to land. Then another voice came on, "8722 approach clearance cancelled. Turn left heading 210, climb and maintain 3000". The final monitor decided it wasn't okay for us to join after the FAF. The final monitor is a guy who watches over every single approach and can over ride an approach clearance or landing clearance. Every now and then the monitor jumps in to give a speed correction due to distance between arriving planes.
Back to approach control. Tight circle and we were lined up for a longer final.
Blocked in 6 minutes late.
Weather moving in. Next leg was also his. We blocked out...and then he had a 10 minute discussion with the dispatcher over the weather. Understandable....but we had an hour sit time before the flight.
I looked at the weather. At the out station the weather wasn't great...rain (with heavy rain in the area), light winds and 600 foot ceilings. We had an alternate that was VFR including the route to the alternate. We had 25 minutes hold fuel in addition to a 45 minute reserve after arriving at the alternate. Just a 45 minute flight from the hub to the oustation. Fine with me.
The Captain was very apprehensive about weather from the first time I flew with him on day one. I can pick up on vibes from Captains sometimes. Some are very worried about being in the correct plane (tail number) after having been violated in the past (it's easier than you think to get in the wrong plane). Others are antsy about having more than enough fuel after being put into a corner in the past. Everyone has their hangups. Many have hangups on weather.
I've been through crap weather before. So bad the autopilot clicked off and all I could do was grab the yoke and fly straight and level, unable to read a single gauge. It sucks. But I never broke rule #1 (always come home).
Smooth at FL310. As we began the descent it was moderate chop. The Captain was discussing turning back to the hub. Here was the weather I pulled up for the out station:
27004KT 3SM RA BR FEW006 BKN015 OVC042 09/07 A2998 RMK AO2 P0032
Not horrible.
Descending through 17000 we hit moderate turbulence. The Captain was not comfortable with it. The RADAR was showing moderate rainfall ahead. We had 6200 pounds of fuel. About 600 more than planned at the point of the flight due to lighter than estimated winds and a light load.
At 14000 the Captain said, "Tell ATC we're climbing up. And returning to our departure airport." That second part surprised me.
It was smooth above FL220. We had plenty of fuel on board. The route to the alternate was fine. But I'm the First Officer.
I complied. Up and away we went.
Once we got back the flight cancelled. Had we gone to the alternate we would have later delivered the passengers and picked up the one's waiting. Had we held we could have done the same. Now the passengers were going to wait several hours for maybe a chance to get where they wanted to go.
I then had a 2 hour sit. The next two flights were mine.
Ironically there was a last minute plane swap. The flight release didn't match the tail number of the plane we were sitting in. Thankfully the paper work was wrong and we were in he correct plane. New release printed...away we went.
A little weather.
First out station was VFR. The approach controller must have fallen asleep or gotten busy as he vectored us right through the localizer without stating he would be doing so. Only after we questioned him did he turn us back.
I pulled the power back a little early in the flare. The Captain said, "uh oh....sink rate." I quickly pushed the nose forward and goosed the power. Greaser.
Quick 25 minute turn.
On the return flight the weather we diverted (and subsequently cancelled) for was heading to the hub. The Captain was once again planning for the worst. I was flying. He was pulling up weather for airports in case we had to divert again.
I looked at the weather before we left. Just moderate to heavy rain. No high winds. One thousand foot ceilings.
There was moderate chop reported in the descent. I just planned to drop through it quickly. The Captain asked the controller if any flights had gone around or diverted. The controller stated flights from the opposite direction were changing course for weather but everyone was getting in.
Assigned to cross a fix at 10000. I programmed the VNAV to give me a 3000 foot descent. Done. Minimal bumps.
ILS approach. Heavy rain. Greased it on. Happy to be done.
Off for 3 days. Go back Tuesday night for a quick 3 day trip.
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