Training is always being tired

 Day 3 sim. Another 6:15PM show time for a 7:45PM-11:45PM simulator and a debrief that could end as late as 12:15AM.

This being my 3rd one...lack of quality sleep is setting in. This all started day one. Let's rewind for a second to that day.

I took a nap in the middle of the day to prepare for my sim session that day. I arrived back home after the session just past midnight. We debriefed quickly. I live just a few miles from the training facility. My head hit the pillow around 12:20PM. Since I was hopped up on caffeine it took a bit to fall asleep.

A few hours later it was 6AM and that was my normal wake up time. I couldn't sleep anymore. Breakfast, morning activities and I went back to bed at 10AM and woke up again just prior to 12:30PM. 

Lunch, treadmill, and study. Quick dinner with the family and I left home at 5:50PM arriving at 6:00PM. 

Another sim session.

Arrived home again just prior to Midnight and did the same thing again. 

I was a little more groggy the morning after the second sim session. I tried to stay awake longer but went to bed at 10 AM and slept until 1PM. Tired. 

This being the third sim session it was leg day.....AKA V1 Cut day.

For those that don't know, a V1 cut is the most over taught maneuver in aviation. The set up is to have an engine fail at the worst possible time....and survive. The worst possible time is the speed so high you can't stop on the runway anymore. 

So there you are at 170 MPH in a giant jet with one engine failed and you have to get airborne. The one remaining engine is pushing that wing forward yawing the plane to the opposite side. If you don't correct the yaw you will crash. Once you leave the earth that friction of the tires goes away requiring even more of a corrective action. Mess it up....crash. 

Your leg on the good engine side is pushing forward to keep the nose straight. Failure to do so adds a lot of drag...and you will crash. The bigger the engines generally the more force is needed.

My first aircraft type rating was a CL-65 for the CRJ-700. That plane is over powered. The V1 cut in that plane was busy. From what I recall I had to do several things when the engine failed like adding rudder trim to take pressure off my leg,  watch my altitude and call for a level off once clear of danger, watch my airspeed to know when to start retracting flaps and then keep climbing once clean. If a turn was needed I might need to press a button for a half banked turn. That's from memory.

Still here? 

If taking off from an airport with high terrain, buildings or other obstacles in the way there is a special engine out procedure we must follow. This is airline designed and ATC likely has no idea. In order to fly this special engine out procedure, while doing all the above, I have to tell the flight computer to execute that procedure. It's a few extra key stokes in every other plane I have flown...until now.

So...here I am in a 777.....I have a failed  engine. There are GIANT engines under the wings producing massive amounts of thrust. You would think I would need to really push hard with my leg to keep the plane straight...and not crash. Nope.

The 777 has a feature called Thrust Asymmetry Compensation. 

This TAC saw the engine failure before me....it started adding rudder pressure right away. If on the ground I have to add a little...but just enough to keep my head in the game. Once in the air.....I add nothing. I can easily turn the autopilot on at 200 feet. From there the plane will automatically level off and start accelerating. I just call for flap retraction on schedule....once clean I press one more button and away we go. 

There's almost no stress. This is the easiest V1 cut across my 5 other type ratings.  

That was what day 3 mostly involved. Having engine failures on takeoff, climb out and even on final. We then would practice landing the plane and going around on just one engine. The 777 has so much available power.....so much AUTOMATION......it's easy. All of my pilot skills and knowledge are cross checking and verifying everything is going as I expect....and it is. 

I feel guilty this is so easy. A good thing as I was tired...exhausted. I kept eyeing my EFB for the time. 

Finished at 11:35PM. We debriefed in the sim and I headed home. 

Today....2PM show for a 3:45PM-7:45PM sim. Earlier. 

After sim 5....2 days off. I then have just 2 more sim events until check ride. 

Dusting off the blog

 Taking a video production break. 

Currently the morning of day 3 of the 777 simulator. 

For those that have never experienced airline training...flying a simulator is similar to learning to fly any plane. 

Day 1 sim was a "get to know the simulator" sim. We did a normal preflight. I went through all the buttons while the Captain loaded the FMS. This was a flight from JFK to BOS. Not realistic in a 777 but it's VERY rare to sit straight and level in a simulator. Simulator time is expensive. Straight and level teaches you nothing thus....it's rare. 

Normal pushback, start, taxi and takeoff. We did some basic FMS changes (direct to, intercept a route, and holding). 

There were some examples of high speed and low speed protections, bank angle protection and throttle wake up. Those are all ways the airplane protects the flight in case things aren't going normally.

We then did a little hand flying. Another about a simulator...it's just a computer. I have never flown a simulator that was exactly like the actual airplane. They are close...but it's just a computer.

Things like winds are almost always constant. In the real world winds can change drastically during an approach as topography changes which changes the velocity of wind. Anyways we did a few visual approaches. I took my Airbus 321 landing technique and used it for the 777. At 50 feet I thought about flaring...but didn't flare.....at 40 feet I thought "hmmm....sure looks like maybe I should flare....No!" When 30 feet came my brain told my right hand to get ready to flare.....at 20 feet it was a gentle flare....at 10 feet...a little more....then hold it....contact. Smoother than I expected...again...it's a computer.

All of that took 4 hours. 

Day 2 was more training based and less situation based.

We started in BOS with engines running already pushed back in snowy conditions. We did a few rejected takeoffs. The Captain is a former 737 Captain. He knows Boeing but also has muscle memory from the last 11 years as a 737 Captain. The reject on a 777 is different than the 737. The procedure we use here is to idle the thrust levers, disconnect auto throttles, full reverse, pull speed brake handle and stop the plane. We did both high speed and low speed rejects. 

Once off the ground we did NON-ILS approaches. In the real world almost every approach is an ILS. In the training environment we do a lot of NON-ILS. This can be a VOR, RNP, LOC, GPS etc...anything without a traditional land based glideslope. 

The way a NON-ILS is done in a 777 is nothing like an Airbus. Way more work to get the same result. It's not hard....just different. The Airbus seems more cohesive while the 777 is more...."hey pilot....figure it out and land". This is not about physically flying but getting the automation to do what is expected. After several types of approaches we each did an approach to landing stall, windshear and missed approaches. 

Going missed in a 777 is stupid easy....even compared to the Airbus. To initiate a go-around I just press TOGA on the thrust levers, pitch up, call "flaps 20"......Captain states positive rate.....I say "gear up!". At 1000 feet I press VNAV or Flight Level Change...that's it. By comparison going around in a CRJ was much more complicated. 

Almost everything in the 777 is easier compared to my previous 5 type ratings. So much of the time I feel like I should be doing something....but there is nothing to do. Some of this comes from experience in knowing what needs to be done regardless of plane but  a good chunk of it is....automation.

We finished the required task early and had time for one V1 Cut each. The V1 cut is the most over taught maneuver in my opinion. 

A V1 Cut is having an engine fail right at the V1 (go/no go speed) and continuing the takeoff. 

The 777 has a TAC....Thrust Asymmetry Compensation. On the ground when the TAC senses an engine failure it quickly adds rudder trim to compensate. The system doesn't fully compensate on the ground just so the pilot can still "feel" the failure...but it makes it very easy. My first V1 cut in most aircraft is a busy and humbling experience. In the 777.....I looked like a pro. 

More on that next time. 

So....Year 5 pay coming up

 I'm still here. Tiktok has been my primary blogging platform of sorts. It takes WAY more time than this site....but it's a visual experience vs words and a few photos. 

I start year 5 pay in a few weeks. If I had bid LGA CA 737 I would soon be making $263 an hour....but I didn't...so I will be making $169 an hour. Those that have been following this from the beginning will remember when I made $24 an hour. 

Those not in the industry assume everyone wants to be Captain and make money. I am and have always put quality of life over money. Being at mainline I make plenty as a First Officer. No need to rush to Captain. I will likely head over to the 787 as a First Officer before bidding Airbus Captain anyway.

Beyond that...I'm happy. I am doing what I love. My goal was to one day be an airline pilot for a major airline. I have met my goal. 

The road here wasn't easy...but I am glad I took the jump. 

Questions? Fire away...but again...way more interaction on Tiktok. 

Fourteen Years

 At the end of the month I will mark 14 years as an Airline Pilot. This career has been interesting. I've lost count of how many hotel rooms I've stayed in....how many cups of airplane coffee I've slugged down....how "well crap" statements after a not so great landing. 

I still love what I do. 

Each time I pre-flight a plane I look up in amazement....."I get to fly this thing". 

That said it hasn't all been roses. 

Long time readers know I spent 10 years flying regional jets...8 1/2 of those years in the right seat...unable to upgrade. 

This blog used to be my main focus. As time has gone on I updated less and less....over the last year I've been making more updates...but just via video on TikTok. I'd like to say that will change...but I don't see it. 

I will be starting a YouTube channel. It will be updated more than this site but less than Tiktok. Just a different avenue. 

Beyond that...life is good. I haven't regretted changing careers for a moment...all the unknowns....all the stress...all worth it. 

I’m still here

 I’m still here. 

The last year has been interesting. Flights went from nearly empty to every seat being full. 

I was fortunate to survive furlough and have steady flying the entire time. During the fall I was the second most junior pilot in my status. This summer…I’m 50% in base meaning half the pilots in my status are below me. 

With the increase in flying I’ve scored a few 150% pay trips. These are the trips my wife and I would talk about while I was making $40 an hour as a RJ First Officer. One 150% pay overnight pays more than. I took home in a month my first year flying back in 2007. Even a regular pay 4 day pays more than I made in a month as a 8 year RJ First Officer. I am lucky to be where I am.

While planes are full, I am not doing to same flying I used to do. I miss Colombia and Ecuador. My Bogota flights from DFW are now flown by a 777. No flights to Ecuador have returned yet. 

This Thursday I fly to Honduras for the first time since 2019. Toncontín airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras is one of the most difficult airports to land at in the world. There’s a lot of prepartation prior to landing. I’m looking forward to a change of scenery.

Beyond that…life is good. Kids are healthy. Wife and I are vaccinated. Waiting for the world to recover. 

Almost daily updates ok TikTok

Back to the Line

 After surviving furlough by 27 numbers I'm back to being a line holder next month. I didn't want a line....I wanted reserve. Why ? Numbers.

I was awarded a week of vacation next month over my kids Spring Break. Normally great...but the whole pandemic thing going on. 

At my airline a week of vacation is worth slightly more than 25 hours. Due to the way reserve is calculated I can bid short call reserve and get almost 85 hours of pay while working 15 days. It's some convoluted math. 

I tried to bid reserve but I put in to many restrictions and not enough options thus I got a line. I will be paid 82 hours with 20 days off though...not bad. I have 2 4 day trips and 1 2 day trip. I'm still ahead. 

Of note my 2 day trip goes through Tegucigalpa Honduras....AKA one of the most difficult commercial airports to land at in the world. I haven't been there since...hmm....maybe last March. It's been a while. 

Beyond that life is good enough. I could complain because all pilots complain...but I won't. I'm happy to have job...be based where I live and have enough to support my family. 

Sorry for the inactivity here....I'm much more active over on the Tik that Toks. Link is here

From 52% to 98%

 With the furloughs and reduced flying I've gone from middle line holder to second from the bottom. Long time readers might recall when I was THE bottom back in 2008. I've been here before. Thankfully there's no more airport standby. I've been short call reserve for 3 months in a row. 

December I was in the right spot all month...I only worked 5 days...and just 2 overnights. 

I'm thankful to still have a job. I'm not complaining. 

January I have a week of vacation. January vacations go very junior as it's not a very desirable vacation month. I have no plans. 

I'm currently on a 4 day trip. This was a surprise trip as when I saw it go into open time the math showed I was barely legal for it. Turns out I was the ONLY pilot available. Thus I got it. I was legal by 13 minutes.

The trip isn't bad. It's a 1-2-2-1 trip. One leg to PHL on day one...then back to DFW then ATL on day two. Day three is ATL to DFW to LAX while day four is a deadhead home. 

There were a few pre-boarding delays and it wasn't looking good for me getting out before I timed out. While finishing the pre-flight stuff and ACARS message printed out. 

I was about to erupt before I saw it was from a friend of mine. He happened to be 

the Dispatcher for my flight.

I pushed up the thrust levers with 8 minutes to spare.

Long flight to Pittsburgh. Airport hotel. 

With this trip and my vacation  I should be done for the month. 

February has the return of many pilots below me. I might be able to bid a line. 

Hoping 2021 is going to be legen......wait for it....dary.