tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70359810651497003322024-03-05T19:37:52.966-06:00Another Mid-Lifer Story37,000 feet
Destination...UNKNOWN!Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-6678183219001182772018-08-31T08:45:00.001-05:002018-08-31T08:48:33.961-05:00Chapter 4I never have been a very good writer, and I have also not been very good at journaling. It’s been 4 years since I’ve posted here. Honestly I wasn’t even sure the blog was still here. It was never an attempt at becoming a “blogger” it was more of a way for me to journal about my new career endeavors.<br />
Aviation was a second career for me. I’ve always had a passion for aviation, literally since I was a toddler. I did not actually start flying until I was in my 30’s and that was just as a private pilot and for the fun of it.<br />
At 40 I acquired my commercial license and began my aviation journey. After a short time flight instructing I accepted a job with American Eagle airlines. A wholly owned subsidiary of AMR Corp.<br />
things were going great until the bankruptcy. Eagle (now called envoy) went from 3000 pilot to a low of around 1500. I had my fill, and moved on. I was offered a corporate job and jumped at it. It was amazing. For some reason my journaling/blogging got side tracked there.<br />
I’m not sure why, because the last 5 years have been amazing. I’ve been fortunate to have seen and been to so many places I think your average person would never see in a lifetime.<br />
My wife often went with us, sitting in the back with the owner who treated her like family. We’ve visited many a Christmas season in Manhattan. Gone to our nations capital together and many other great places around the country. I joke that the last 5 years have been early retirement.<br />
The only problem with private part 91 is the job is directly related to the success or health of the owner. In my case both business and health issues have caused changes that required me to start the next chapter in my aviation life. So, here we go again. The picture is just a hint.<img src="webkit-fake-url://67c75554-a491-47f1-915f-a1703ee6fb64/imagejpeg" /><br />
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<img src="webkit-fake-url://edb334a4-f47f-4630-abb1-0725abb57922/imagejpeg" />Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-3024158421172556222014-06-05T13:36:00.001-05:002014-06-05T13:36:42.738-05:00Big easy<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">We spent an evening in New Orleans last night. I've only been here one other time but the first wasn't an over night. We brought two planes over for a board meeting. So the other crew went out with us. We stopped at drago's for dinner. The charbroiled oysters are awesome. After dinner they all decided a trip to the river boat casino was in order. I'm really not much of a gambler but eventually I joined them on the craps table. I walked out $97 in the positive so I suppose it was a pretty good evening. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Switching to the corporate would has been a great move. There might even be much better news coming soon. We'll see</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Z6Y1M9Qnc3wmITSlBfA649890YdmLHDV_mBSiSCkzlAqAB4Adayfv8QDsHGzJBCYXN12PsNJAhyGgnC2MgwRX1NXVyBfpNYLfxxTMSNSKU5GvDYPbrKCe4iEN0IWkhyphenhyphenhDMeDSal7quQ/s640/blogger-image--2086361775.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Z6Y1M9Qnc3wmITSlBfA649890YdmLHDV_mBSiSCkzlAqAB4Adayfv8QDsHGzJBCYXN12PsNJAhyGgnC2MgwRX1NXVyBfpNYLfxxTMSNSKU5GvDYPbrKCe4iEN0IWkhyphenhyphenhDMeDSal7quQ/s640/blogger-image--2086361775.jpg"></a></div>Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-81408406700123718082014-04-06T00:46:00.001-05:002014-04-06T00:46:41.072-05:00What's new<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Some things have changed in the last year and 4 months. Of course one of my last post was about my leaving the 121 world. Things at eagle had starting going south very quickly. What should have been a 3-4 year up grade turned back into 7+ years. Of course that is if eagle (no longer named eagle) still exists. My bid status had dropped to a level that may have been lower when I first became line qualified. Even though I had a short commute, it became to much with me being on reserve. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's really such a shame that management just has no respect for the flight crew. In not going to go into details, but I could never recommend anyone go to eagle, or any regional for that matter. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So I went back into the part 91 world. I was doing flight instruction, and flying a 182, and Baron for a couple business.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Then out of the blue I received a phone call. Someone I knew, asking me if I might be interested in flying a citation XLS. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Hmmm, uh. YES! It wasn't to difficult a decision. It's been so long since I've posted to my "journal". I'll have to start posting again. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyAzgd2WqEwozXcR5sIpFyI2_qBXn_gPU50Hq1BF-9bu0sUsSkdhY5AbI8h3bvTFIOQfjh45BV1mpEp9N73uxyXFBmf92mv2nnZr6SUNcFFrbFldLp72PP17-Az3GVSotZbaSyF3NRhg/s640/blogger-image-1690234282.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyAzgd2WqEwozXcR5sIpFyI2_qBXn_gPU50Hq1BF-9bu0sUsSkdhY5AbI8h3bvTFIOQfjh45BV1mpEp9N73uxyXFBmf92mv2nnZr6SUNcFFrbFldLp72PP17-Az3GVSotZbaSyF3NRhg/s640/blogger-image-1690234282.jpg"></a></div>Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-1532011959789863192013-06-14T09:06:00.001-05:002013-06-14T09:06:14.346-05:00Now Where?So it's been a while since I last visited. Of the few who read this I'm sure are all gone. Why stick around when nothing new has been added. As I mentioned airline life has come to an end for me. My wife and I decided to bring that to an end and the end on last year. It was a great couple years! I had a blast. The Emb-145 was a fun plane to fly even if it was a bit doggy. I found that once I got comfortable with the plane hand flying to a visual was a lot of fun. <div>What I found was the airlines were NOT a job. It's a life style, and you have to want to live that lifestyle. In another life, I would have lived it. Where I'm at now living that lifestyle was not what me and my family needed. Of course things could have been better, but in many ways it seemed so many went out of their way to make the job miserable. The vast majority of the flight crew I worked with were great. Just good people to fly with. My "do not fly with" list was pretty small, and yes I had a list. Lol. </div><div>I'll come back and revisit airline life again, but what I need to focus on now is the future. I have been focusing on getting back into the local aviation scene. I have a few leads for corporate jobs and that's what I'm focusing on. We also started a business in January, so the plate is once again full, keeping me very busy. </div><div>Aviation has not been at all boring so far, so who knows what excitement it will bring me in the future. Here is a neat looking airplane I seen recently. I have to say it looks MUCH better as a tail dragger!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcpHlUeB80XvH2INNa7S8o7aeaoBda6yeua3AaqwH0bcYXHiJzMWR8BeFOB1M3MKtvkZhkNhf4QKyO3jzHMwhXZLyxLzvRf3aEnnzM0dHi1CVTOHHJWDGxkKEWJCKN6yOiZ-i3AGOpiMk/s640/blogger-image--42777012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcpHlUeB80XvH2INNa7S8o7aeaoBda6yeua3AaqwH0bcYXHiJzMWR8BeFOB1M3MKtvkZhkNhf4QKyO3jzHMwhXZLyxLzvRf3aEnnzM0dHi1CVTOHHJWDGxkKEWJCKN6yOiZ-i3AGOpiMk/s640/blogger-image--42777012.jpg"></a></div></div>Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-34021396394023888632012-12-21T08:36:00.001-06:002012-12-21T08:36:40.363-06:00The end.It's 12/21/12. Is it going to be the end? Yes! At least the end of airline life, for me. It was a short run. Just under two years. I really enjoyed the flying. However what I learned was airline life is NOT a job, it's a lifestyle! You have to give up a lot to do it. I'm sitting in Dfw waiting on my ride home. More details to come. Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-22570523436429294972012-08-27T23:47:00.001-05:002012-08-27T23:47:21.875-05:00Just a little weatherWe had just finished a cvg turn and back at DFW when I first noticed this little cell just east of the field. On our way to cvg we had not received a single report of bad wx. However, once we got in range of cincinnati we started getting vectored for storms. It went from landing to the north, to landing from the south, to reports of wind shear on final. Lucky for us we did not experience any bad weather during the approach.<br />
We had to dodge a couple cells on the way back to DFW as well. Fortunately the wx in the picture above was the only wx we seen on our way to FWA. <div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WhwG835i3zffLCHD_Fu5jd3alcyd50gzu1pUIdLehYcAqICOOW41-3ysAWgWET3lPuMqamoY_izUqw6wM9Mzreh_RfkO9dJ_4oeKygmYgyjss2XCUr346ymqjd24n8puAxfQTFg_UPI/s640/blogger-image-245625703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WhwG835i3zffLCHD_Fu5jd3alcyd50gzu1pUIdLehYcAqICOOW41-3ysAWgWET3lPuMqamoY_izUqw6wM9Mzreh_RfkO9dJ_4oeKygmYgyjss2XCUr346ymqjd24n8puAxfQTFg_UPI/s640/blogger-image-245625703.jpg" /></a></div>Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-54211099765673945892012-07-27T10:08:00.003-05:002012-07-27T10:08:24.950-05:00Really?I wonder when we as a society decided it was ok to revert back to being a bunch of two year olds. I spend a lot of time riding on airplanes in the back with the passengers. Sometimes I really wonder how the flight attendants do it(their job). I probably wouldn't last a week. On a recent flight there was a guy behind me who the FA had to tell 6 times to shut off his phone! REALLY? A grown man who cannot follow a simple request. This is an FAA regulation! It is not up for debate. Say what you will about whether it really is dangerous or not about having electronic devices on, or not during flight, it doesn't matter. It's a rule!<br />
Another trip the guy next to me (again another middle age man) sat with his headphones on and thought he was being sneaky trying to hide his phone. Uhh, yeah we can hear it, and see you bouncing around like a little kid to the beat. Just today the FA's where doing trash pick up, they had come up and down the isles several times. At one point stopped as asked the guy are you done with your paper? No I'm still reading it he say. So the FA says, ok so your gonna take it with you?! After landing a PA is made asking people to please close window shades, open air vents, and turn off reading lights to help keep the airplane cool. So, what does the guy do? Left his paper, left the light on, window shade open and vent closed? REALLY? I wonder if this 50 something man still lives with mommy?<br />
When did we lose all respect for our fellow man, when did we become so self absorbed in our own person that we have to act like spoiled children?<br />
Speaking of children. A recent flight had to go around and not land because sone parents refused to make their child sit in their seat for the landing. This was not a lap child, but a child enough to require their own seat! The plane has to go into a hold and people ended up arriving late, because two people had now an ounce of respect for the rest of the people on board that flight. There have been two profile cases recently of flight attendants going "crazy" on their flight. People pointed fingers and talked about them like it was some issue of their own. I can't say why they did this, but I can say I can see enough reasons , enough issues that these people put up with flight after flight that I can understand their eventual breakdown. Everyone has their own point. <br />
What about just basic common courtesy and manners. I can stop at a gate to check my schedule and within seconds people start walking up with questions. Now I do try to help with I can, but on average most people don't even attempt courtesy. A person will walk up, throw their boarding pass on the counter and say "where is that". Not excuse me can you help me, may I ask you a question. I had one just put his boarding pass on the counter and just look at me. Never said a word. <br />
I guess I'm just a part of an old generation. A time gone by. I still say please, thank you, yes sir, no sir. I still open a door for "lady" which I rarely get a thank you. I know we complain as a culture sometimes about poor customer service. Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-56242323677552419192012-07-27T10:08:00.001-05:002012-07-27T10:09:40.354-05:00Blogging at 350It was a beautiful morning in grand junction co. The hotel had a nice breakfast which is rare. It was a short van ride to the airport. Once there it was nice and cool, and the sun was just starting to pop up over the mountains. it was a very quick preflight as crew scheduling would only give us 25 minutes to get our plane ready. That is another story, which is related two a three hour weather delay the previous day.<br />
Checks complete, ready for push. The mountains are glowing in the morning sun. A short taxi means we'll stat #2 pulling out of the ramp. There were some really cool planes to look at on th way out. A twin otter on tundra tires. That looked like fun! An aero commander, a couple of turbo prop ag planes. I bet those are a blast to fly. <br />
Ok enough day dreaming, we're at the end of the runway, times and temps are all good, tower clears us for takeoff. We pull onto runway 11 and what is right in front of us. A mountain. Hmm that's the reason for the 150* hdg after takeoff. <br />
The winds are calm, we start our roll and everything is moving so smooth. Wheels up, gear up, turn on course. Auto pilot on shortly after. It was to beautiful a morning not to relax sit back and just soak it up. There is a lot of cons to this business, but there are a lot up pros as well. I'm blessed beyond what I deserve! :-)<br />
Below are a couple pictures I found of the grand junction area.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ1fLDfvKuw4ybuvYa9xVPGQrBBer-_B4wmAv2LFbAKYLgL92l7fzs7r2egwUSJ0Pnt2GSbIs9B77cKObex5umQ1rCB0RwjnraVEcFjNVvsT7fA63w7wSj9A5qW_S5q8ix-CyhAeP_c-U/s640/blogger-image-1721494753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ1fLDfvKuw4ybuvYa9xVPGQrBBer-_B4wmAv2LFbAKYLgL92l7fzs7r2egwUSJ0Pnt2GSbIs9B77cKObex5umQ1rCB0RwjnraVEcFjNVvsT7fA63w7wSj9A5qW_S5q8ix-CyhAeP_c-U/s640/blogger-image-1721494753.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58FGl824FSElkrVmE0xh0IbhrpTNnqcWcg7_UlxHI7FUHhy4oE-yN-zyStObD04du4jsrQcp3cRa-2ZUZ3REt4paEYjUo0lLCFVhyphenhyphenhWK0BLlTlSi8gWpeJy0f31G2A1INFIBZ4gBLsF0/s640/blogger-image--635429703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58FGl824FSElkrVmE0xh0IbhrpTNnqcWcg7_UlxHI7FUHhy4oE-yN-zyStObD04du4jsrQcp3cRa-2ZUZ3REt4paEYjUo0lLCFVhyphenhyphenhWK0BLlTlSi8gWpeJy0f31G2A1INFIBZ4gBLsF0/s640/blogger-image--635429703.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Sb-DZNXnBMEdC2a1b3o-xBYehKDgg6boCNRJlolk0UUpRL7ihEDV_D5GTNZ2sDov0sB2nk_ABPnkh2pw5MtpOhiNIzwElcK7OLXV8oefsfmSTHbgmgvtry1PBMyEsJNlYyj66YDEUAw/s640/blogger-image--2013158035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Sb-DZNXnBMEdC2a1b3o-xBYehKDgg6boCNRJlolk0UUpRL7ihEDV_D5GTNZ2sDov0sB2nk_ABPnkh2pw5MtpOhiNIzwElcK7OLXV8oefsfmSTHbgmgvtry1PBMyEsJNlYyj66YDEUAw/s640/blogger-image--2013158035.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7T04SVbszvLonVh70lw0QeJzk_8ENdRvbhXvTsZ_L5LfdKua5x7IeUoxO8iUQITJeLdg5Uaag1Pvrn1lyVhslS7dGRUa-Hdixd_-1lpbjgpJ07Bqr_WZWmrAOLNcNC98rdTAxwAOnO3w/s640/blogger-image--1288641522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7T04SVbszvLonVh70lw0QeJzk_8ENdRvbhXvTsZ_L5LfdKua5x7IeUoxO8iUQITJeLdg5Uaag1Pvrn1lyVhslS7dGRUa-Hdixd_-1lpbjgpJ07Bqr_WZWmrAOLNcNC98rdTAxwAOnO3w/s640/blogger-image--1288641522.jpg" /></a></div>Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-15295711596272810682012-07-19T18:28:00.001-05:002012-07-21T09:22:07.475-05:00Planes trains..., and buses?I know a lot of people look at the airline industry and being an airline pilot with a certain romance. Well, I guess it might still have a little, but really it seems it has lost it's shine. <br />
I won't go into a lot of of details on that right now, but one thing I will talk about right now is commuting. I'll take a short diversion from my 4 day trip. <br />
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Commuting is what a pilot (or flight attendant) does when they live in a different state or city than the state/city they work in. <br />
I'm based in dallas DFW. I live in San Antonio tx. I have to fly to work. Normally it is not an issue. Today it was. For July our parent company decided to reduce the number of flights due to "lack of crew". That's another story, for another time. Well today we're 280 seat shorter then normal. Sat on a normal day is usually very full. Take away that number of seats and you really compound the problem. Customer service at it's finest.<br />
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I realized early on that there was going to be a possible problem getting on the flight I wanted, so I decided to go in two flights earlier. That allows me 5 flights to get to work. I arrive to the airport, get through security and walk to the gate. Then I see another pilot out of the corner of my eye walking towards me. "are you Tim" he ask. "I'm sorry I seen your name on the list but I had to come in early to get to work", nice since he was not on the list. Great! Now the Jumpseat is taken. That was my only chance.<br />
Each airplane has a Jumpseat. It's an extra seat in the cockpit. Only pilots, or in some cases FAA can sit on it. <br />
I already know that the next flight has two more pilot jumpseaters. The md89 only has 1 Jumpseat. So now I know I won't catch a flight for at least the next 3 flights. <br />
My options are getting limited. Southwest has a plane leaving soon, but unfortunately it's going to Dallas love field. Sounds great, except the city of Dallas has NO transportation between these two major airports! My options are a shuttle between the two at $25 (do you know how much a regional pilot makes? This is a little old, but you'll get the point. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RayMaswju1A&feature=youtube_gdata_player). Or public transportation with MULTIPLE transfers and stops. <br />
From love field, you take the #39 bus to the first train stop. Go upstairs take the train downtown (away) from Dfw. Get off at victory station, wait 30 min for the next train back to centerpoint station. Get off and take two more bus' to Dfw. 2 1/2 hours later you arrive. <br />
Yes, I should have paid the $25. I arrived at Dfw at 3pm. My sign in was 310pm. I had just enough time to grab my jeppessen update, throw it in my case and get to the plane to start my day. <br />
I do have to say Thank You to southwest airlines! For giving me a seat(out back even, not the Jumpseat) and treating me so well! That was the best part of the whole day! It's amazing what a little customer service will do for a company. One of the few if not the only airline that has always been profitable. The funny thing they are always called the "low cost" airline. Prior to me getting into the airline industry, I rarely flew southwest. Because they were never cheaper! I guess people will pay a little more for a good product. <br />
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The rest of the day went pretty well. No other issues. No visit from the FAA who have been out frequently lately. <br />
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Now back to the romance of flying thing. I'm sure it still exist. I never imagined working at a regional would be the same as a major airline pilot flying to some exotic foreign location. It has it's moments. Watching the sun rise or set from 37,000'. a perfectly smooth air early departure where it is so smooth you can barely tell your moving. <br />
<br />
I've mentioned my friend Rand before, who writes the blog "a life aloft". His flying and writing is inspirational. He does help keep the aviation romance alive. <br />
Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-81247888623738361782012-07-17T11:07:00.003-05:002012-07-17T12:16:40.243-05:00Another testI'm trying yet again another mobile app for blogging. I have yet to find one that is even remotely worth using. I would lol to find one that would allow me to more easily post, add pictures and videos. I just found the blogger app for iPhone. We'll see how it does.<br />On a recent flight heading east. We had the privilege of watching the moon rise. It was a beautifully clear night and the moon was clear and bright. There are moments this job has it's rewards. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHHiNXqpXV3F1s-NTDufV-wBKEyvQWS8fKXhGVSjHk7CHa50tx1ab-gk0Apo-nLh0YfZJqMt1io42v9yBXet85Aqh-9ClaiY5VGGNiOrcwwW8jVRMAO6WDj1St20cKGCOK6eb9YmQuso/s640/blogger-image-585896761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHHiNXqpXV3F1s-NTDufV-wBKEyvQWS8fKXhGVSjHk7CHa50tx1ab-gk0Apo-nLh0YfZJqMt1io42v9yBXet85Aqh-9ClaiY5VGGNiOrcwwW8jVRMAO6WDj1St20cKGCOK6eb9YmQuso/s640/blogger-image-585896761.jpg" border="0" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br />Another recent trip was down to corpus Christi Texas. They had us descend early, so we had a great view of the new wind farm.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn6Usj5daaU2Ne1v7PKXsnPLQYtGO2oBXU0fTN9hQBUeeLuf77T-b1R6HNQMv7TSuMhpjyXihADzWBtltb3W9mewIZhQ_PZQ_2JfcpSAh05g4IHFnlG9PncWuvviuTHZZxCVf0zQtFH30/s640/blogger-image--363038101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn6Usj5daaU2Ne1v7PKXsnPLQYtGO2oBXU0fTN9hQBUeeLuf77T-b1R6HNQMv7TSuMhpjyXihADzWBtltb3W9mewIZhQ_PZQ_2JfcpSAh05g4IHFnlG9PncWuvviuTHZZxCVf0zQtFH30/s640/blogger-image--363038101.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div another="" recent="" trip="" took="" us="" to="" after="" seeing="" what="" was="" parked="" all="" over="" the="" i="" see="" now="" why="" of="" out="" flight="" are="" so="" full="" a="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeMqtv6IIBVH6c6eCbrMlDCif_LICJWDYadAphFxeOMcrxwTupFAQDL9GHo1Z1gBm9TVF8HSI0rJYVnmvLG0iTYjGXxPFuW2XqgDFTj_UfleCLBEvLzVvmz0e2uX0YkzhHh51CbKrYK8/s640/blogger-image--1941575371.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />On another trip I went to Roswell. I did not see any aliens, I did however discover the reason why our planes are always so full.<br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeMqtv6IIBVH6c6eCbrMlDCif_LICJWDYadAphFxeOMcrxwTupFAQDL9GHo1Z1gBm9TVF8HSI0rJYVnmvLG0iTYjGXxPFuW2XqgDFTj_UfleCLBEvLzVvmz0e2uX0YkzhHh51CbKrYK8/s640/blogger-image--1941575371.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><br />Ok, so there are three test pictures and some text. Now we'll see how it turns out.<br />Hopefully this one will work. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-84874038770224416912012-07-11T12:32:00.003-05:002012-07-17T11:27:09.537-05:00Day 2OK, so this is a day two, just not the same day day two when I started this. I figured this was more about information and things that might be of interest. I just had an even happen that I would imagine some might wonder just what goes on up front during problems.<br />
We came out of the hotel in Waco Texas (yes we overnight in Waco, and 18 min flight from dfw) and everything appeared to be just another Texas summer day. The sky was partly cloudy, typical fair weather cumulus clouds, normal for this time of year. Once at the airport we work our way to the gate. Luckily some of the smaller out stations we bypass security. Honestly it still amazes me we (the flight crew) have to go through security, but that is another (hot) topic altogether. We get our paper work and board the plane. Stow our bags, and start making our "nest" in the cockpit. Once the kitbag is in its place, headset hooked up and charts and note paper in place you begin setting the plane up for pre flight. I have to get the atis, and clearance and then usually about that time head back out side to perform the preflight inspection. Since this is an early afternoon flight the plane had just arrived from DFW. Back inside I finish up my preflight duties just in time to hear over the radio there is a ground stop in Dallas. A ground stop? now I'm confused. After a little checking I find out there are storms over DFW. At least and hour before the next update. Then another hour. Now we hear an AA MD80 is on approach to Waco, diverting to refuel and wait out the weather. A short time later a couple Eagles join us. Then another, which had been en route from Mexico, unfortunately for them there is no customs there. They are all stuck on the plane! There is some chatter on the radios. Someof the passengers on the MD80 want off the plane. They actually made a good decision, and rented a car and drove the rest of the way.<br />
Later the Captain I was with started talking about being hungry. He decided he wanted to order a pizza. About the same time another crew chimed in on the radio and was asking for phone number to a local pizza place. So yes, very important stuff being discussed. Just before we ordered we got word that the ground stop was about to be lifted. I quickly suggested we load the passengers up and make sure we are one of the first to take off. I let the ground personnel know and we very quickly loaded and ready to go. It worked out well, we were one of the first planes off the ground. we're now 3 hours late.<br />
Finally off, climbing out we can see there is still a lot of weather around. The flight was a little bumpy but we managed to get around most of the bad stuff. Finally, after 3 hours on the ground and 40 min in the air we are on the ground in DFW. Now the gates are just a short taxi away, we're almost there...then we get the word. RAMP CLOSED! ugh. We cannot pull into the gate when the ramp is closed.<br />
You may have heard this before. most large airports have a rule, if there is ligting within 5 miles of an airport they close the ramp. this is to protect the ground worker. We are given instruction to taxi to and hold at one of the holding locations of the airport. Again, luckily we are up front, so when the ramp opens we should be one of the first cleared in. About 20 minutes later ramp opens, here we go. we make it to our gate, we're 150 away from the bridge, but there are no rampers. Then it happens, a flash of lightning...no, No again. Then we hear it over the radio, ramp closed, again. so now we wait, again. more time goes by finally it opens we quickly get to the gate and let these poor people off. so hour "20 min" flight took two hours, gate to gate. Today we fly two legs, and you can imagine we are obviously late for our next flight to Springfield MO. We rush to the next gate to find that our plane isn't even here yet. As a matter of fact, it shows it hasn't even taken off.<br />
Yes, when it rains it pours, and the day isn't even half over.<br />
The ramp opens and closes a couple more times, finally our plane shows up and we make a dash for the plane, in hopes of getting out before it closes again. No such luck, it closes just as soon as we finish out prefilght duties and just prior to boarding.<br />
the ramp stays closed for a while, but then opens again, we talk about boarding, I suggest we do so quickly, and just about the time we finish boarding, yes ramp closed! I know it might seem a little compassionate trying to get people on and there is a chance we may not go any where, but then you wouldn't be at the airport if you were not trying to get somewhere. This whole time we're looking at our radars on our phone and we are seeing this weather is about to move off, but then we hear ops calling everyone asking if the have people on board. If they say yes they say take'em off. We hear this one after another. They never get to our number, but the Captain say, What do you think, should we deplane? We both pull out our phones, we both look and I say that this last cell will be gone (outside the 5 mile area) in about 5 minutes or less, let keep them on. Not 2 minutes later we hear Ramp open! My finger is waiting next to the push to talk button, as soon as they stop talking I make my request for fuel. Again, being ready at the right time helped us get out quickly. Had we had to re board it would have taken longer. So now we're off, very late to SGF.<br />
We get into the hotel very late and rush to bed, hoping our next day wont be messed with to bad.Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-17314747938094782422012-05-08T23:58:00.002-05:002012-05-09T01:47:19.220-05:00Day 1 A day in the life of a Regional jet pilotI was thinking I should try to journal a trip. I typically work four day sequences. They vary is number of legs per day, and total flight time.<br />The one I have this week is really not very desirable. The only reason I have it, is because I traded into it because of the days off. My original bid for the month included 4, 4 day sequences. They started on Saturday and would end on Tuesday. We have a system that allows us to trade our trips. It's automated, so we go into the computer and simply trade for a trip in open time. This month (and last) I managed to trade away all my trips for trips that gave me weekends off, or partial weekends.<br /><br />This trip was not the best. It will only pay me 14 hours, and about 70 hours’ time away from base; we get per Diem for this time.<br />Second it was a lot of legs and short trips. Like today, 5 legs, mostly very short flights. <br /><br />I commute to DFW, so my 1st day starts at the San Antonio Airport. I typically spend 3 hours getting to and from DFW. I'm fortunate actually, my commute is pretty easy.<br />So I catch the 1050am flight and arrive in Dallas by 1150. My first flight is at 220pm.<br />This allows me time to head to the crew room, check in for the flight, check to see what new publications might be waiting for me, and to make sure all my manuals, and trip book are ready for the week.<br />After all that it's time to relax a little before it’s time to fly.<br />I try to get to the gate a little early that gives me a chance to check the computer again, and meet the rest of the crew. The first trip is DFW to LAW. Lawton OK, or Ft Sill. 42 minutes, gate to gate. We get 30 minutes in Lawton to turn the airplane. Unload people and bags, clean the plane, pre flight it again, fuel it, and re load it. 30 minutes really does not give you a lot of extra time.<br />Next is Law-DFW. It’s my leg. We usually switch at out-stations. this way everyone gets a chance to fly into a hub, and into the smaller out station airports.<br />This flight is 41 minutes, again gate to gate.<br />We track two times. The FMS shows it as OOOI. Out, Off, ON, In. Time out is when break is released at the gate, off is wheels off the ground, on, wheels on and In, main cabin door open at the gate. We are only paid for this time, We don’t get paid for doing pre-post flight, for updating charts and anything else.<br />It's 430 and we're back in DFW. Now we have a 1hr and 20 minute sit.<br />Next up is a Ft Hood turn. Another quick flight, we're scheduled for 50 minutes gate to gate. <br />We made it back to DFW by 756 pm. Now we're down to one more leg. I'm ready for this day to be over. Little do I know its far from over. After a 55 min sit we're ready to go once again. This time to Lerado Tx. Still not a long flight, but at least long enough to climb to altitude. 1 hour and 20 minutes later we're on the ground, and ready to get to the hotel. After we post flight the plane, we head outside to wait for the hotel shuttle, which tonight was not there. Long story short our third party hotel service sent message to our hotel we were not coming. I wish they would have told us. Now the hotel is full, and we're on the phone with crew scheduling trying to find out where to go. Now its 130 am, I’m in a room it’s been a very long day. It's time for sleep. Tomorrow it will be a four leg day.Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-71181325965916863192012-05-07T12:22:00.001-05:002012-05-07T13:46:08.471-05:00Caution Wake TurbulanceIt was just another nice spring afternoon in the Dallas Fort Worth area. The weather was nice, skies clear, winds mild out of the south at about 8-10 kts. We had to Taxi to runway 17c for take off. This is an east side runway, we park on the west side. You have to taxi across one of four bridges to access the east and west sides. After crossing the top of the zulu bridge we could see there was only a couple of planes ahead, so we started the number two engine.<br /> a couple minutes later we reach the end of runway 17c. We don't even stop as the tower controller clears us to "line up and wait Runway 17c". An MD80, or super 80 is on the takeoff roll ahead of us. Again the controller calls with take off instructions and we don't stop. <br /><br />It's my leg, the caption hands over control of the aircraft to me I advance to takeoff thrust and moments later we're airborne. This whole time I'm very aware of the close proximity to the 80. This whole time I'm considering things like his flight path, where the winds are and how close I am to him. SO whats the big deal? well wake turbulence is turbulence that forms behind an aircraft as it passes through the air. <br /><br />Wingtip vortices occur when a wing is generating lift. Air from below the wing is drawn around the wingtip into the region above the wing by the lower pressure above the wing, causing a vortex to trail from each wingtip. Wake turbulence exists in the vortex flow behind the wing. The strength of wingtip vortices is determined primarily by the weight and airspeed of the aircraft. Wingtip vortices make up the primary and most dangerous component of wake turbulence.Wake turbulence is especially hazardous in the region behind an aircraft in the takeoff or landing phases of flight. During take-off and landing, aircraft operate at high angle of attack. This flight attitude maximizes the formation of strong vortices. In the vicinity of an airport there can be multiple aircraft, all operating at low speed and low height, and this provides extra risk of wake turbulence with reduced height from which to recover from any upset. <br /> The MD80 is not as notorious as larger aircraft like the 757, and 767 for creating wake turbulence. However it still creates it. I have experienced wake turbulence being created by another regional jet a CRJ 700.<br />When we think about wake turbulence I think its most commonly thought of during the landing phase. However the strongest wingtip vortices are created when an aircraft is clean, heavy, and slow. <br />Clean meaning flaps up gear up. The take off climb phase is where this happens. Landing is Dirty (flaps, gear out) slow, and light (compared to take-off weight).<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXdYuPGpCt-ov3a52HCDrV70Q60Guy80yLf8ifD7j6gJg4MaipadYI47ejcDbOIVwIGWoBP3eArZR5TlL4tViqNnZ1vP4c5igPOD0KIylDYC_BWui3W6ytAcs3ZrZXtHAsP6YHGs6cNac/s1600/wingtip_vortices_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="214" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXdYuPGpCt-ov3a52HCDrV70Q60Guy80yLf8ifD7j6gJg4MaipadYI47ejcDbOIVwIGWoBP3eArZR5TlL4tViqNnZ1vP4c5igPOD0KIylDYC_BWui3W6ytAcs3ZrZXtHAsP6YHGs6cNac/s320/wingtip_vortices_lg.jpg" /></a></div><br />This image shows exactly what it looks like. This can be a very dangerous event. Shortly after 9/11 an airbus A300 crashed in New York. the CVR (cockpit voice recorder) recorded the FO who was the flying pilot say he was in the wake turbulence of a Boeing 747. Unfortunately he over controlled his aircraft to the point he caused structural failure to the aircraft, and they crashed. <br />A few Years before that a twin engine Baron was on approach to Indianapolis In airport, he flew the plane all the way to the runway, and moments before he would have touched down, his airplane rolled over and impacted in an inverted position, killing the pilot. He was following a B757, and caught the 757's wake. <br />In 1972 a Delta DC9 crashed after following a heavy DC10 into GSW Greater Southwest Airport killing the three occupants of the DC9. That crash prompted the FAA to create separation standards for aircraft following "Heavy's".<br />Now you know why my mind is focusing on this MD80. Just about the time I think we should be clear...bam, there it is. It was a light hit which caused the right wing to drop. Next your mind tries to think OK which part of the wake was that. remember it flows in a circular motion. Did we catch an edge that was moving away, or is that the leading edge entering into the whole circle. I believe that was the downward spiral of the wake and in a split second its confirmed.<br /> Now we're inside the wake, we have the left wing drop and the right wing raise, we're starting to roll in the wake. It's time to get busy, It all happens very fast but seams like its an eternity. You want to maintain control, but not over control. Wingtip vortices drop towards the ground, so you don't want to level or go down, you want to continue your climb. Hold the plane level, climb and finally smooth air once again.<br />The great thing about flying, you always have to be prepared. <br />As I continued my climb up and away from DFW I couldn't help but think how the phrase Caution wake turbulence is so incredibly appropriate for aviation, and a career in aviation. I just finished my first year as an airline pilot. Honestly it has taken a lot to get used to. I am very fortunate, I have held a set schedule (Line) for several months now. However the schedule is still a little tougher on me then I thought it would be. I have been working 4 days trips, and have learned spending half the month in a hotel is the not most glamorous way to spend your time. Especially at the regional level. We do not have 24 hour overnights in Miami, Or LA or New York. <br />We have overnights as short as 9-10 hours. Last week I had an overnight in Monroe LA (I can feel your jealousy) we had 9hrs 59min from the time we got out of the airplane, to the time we took off the next morning. In that amount of time we had to catch a taxi to and from the airport to the hotel, check in, eat, shower, iron clothes, and lets not forget TRY to sleep, get up preflight the airplane and get ready to go again.<br />That is one reason the blog has suffered. Now when I'm home I have found the my Family time is of utmost importance. It does and will come first. I'm so blessed that I have a wonderful wife who supports me 100% and makes life on the road bearable. <br /><br />Also in my Looooong one year career I have already entered in my first airline bankruptcy. Someone I have never met, yet I would consider him a friend and hope to meet in person someday Rand Peck (A life Aloft, if you do not read his blog you should. it inspired me to do this crazy airline adventure) gave me advice and tips before I ever went to airline training. One was to expect ups and downs (like bankruptcies). <br /><br />I Don't even know where to start on this subject.In reality there is no where to start. we have NO information. The parent company, our company and our union will not tell us a thing. I believe the reality is it could easily go both ways. Either we come out a strong company and we grow, or they chop us off like we were just an unwanted parasite they never wanted and ALL of us start looking for a job. Either way, it's all good. I am a believer that when one door closes another opens. I'm already thinking about other doors anyway.<br /><br />So where have I been in a year. Experience wise I have now been through two part 121 checking events. I have 550+ hours in a jet and I have learned a great deal about life as a airline pilot.<br /> I do miss flying the smaller stuff.I do not regret making the move to the airlines, it has been an experience. Another chapter in my book of life. speaking of books, I think maybe its time to read Earnest Gann's "Fate is the hunter" again.Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-78936978712480806172012-02-08T11:26:00.004-06:002012-02-29T09:13:14.441-06:00TimeIs there ever enough? I realize now that I had a little more time to myself before I got into this new crazy business.<br />So much has happened I could probably write for a week and not get it all in print.<br />My last post I talked about being in recurrent ground. My probationary check ride followed that.<br />It was a horrible experience! the Oral exam went well, but then the Captain didn't show up. The examiner had to sit in the left seat with basically a big remote control that he could program the Simulator with. It was all thumbs for both of us, and was a very poor performance on my part. I passed, but I was not pleased with it.<br />I got out of the sim about midnight and got on the highway about 1am. I drove straight back to San Antonio. What A long drive.<br /><br />I have been very fortunate since I have been here. I held a comp line in November. December I went back to a reserve line, But that was by choice. It allowed me to be home with my family on Christmas. January I held a line, which had most weekends off. I actually held a hard line for the month of January. February I was back on a comp line, and now I have another hard line for March.<br />Having a line is so much nicer. no calling crew scheduling asking "mother may I" go home. When the plane lands on the last day of your flight sequence, you just pack up your stuff and walk off the plane and go home.<br /><br />Of course all this could come to a screeching halt and any moment. Since AMR has filed for chap 11 bankruptcy. I'm sure I will have more to say about that soon as I try to catch back up with the blog.<br /><br />Ive said it before I'll say it again, when I started writing this crazy blog it was just a place to "journal" my little journey into commercial aviation. I never really thought about people reading it. I have found though, that a lot more people are reading it then I ever would have imagined. So on that note I would like to apologize for not being very good at keeping it up to date. Being gone for 4-5 days at a time is tough. When I get home it seems there is just not enough time to catch up. So, as I become acclimated to this life style I will work on being better at posting updates. If nothing else maybe they will be just short updates, more often.<br />On that note I will close again. I just got home again, and as usual I have a lot to do. Including trying to find out information on a plane crash here in San Antonio. One of the pilots on board was a good friend. Unfortunately they both died. I will talk more about this later.<br /><br />I would like to thank everyone reading this, and thank you for putting up with my horrible writing skills, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and lack of everything...lol.<br /><br />Maybe I should rename it, Ramblings from the mind of a pilot.Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-8839130541055564332012-01-11T21:04:00.002-06:002012-01-11T21:11:24.363-06:00TrainingJust a short update. I tried posting some pictures with an app called mobile me. I do not really like the way it works. I wanted to get a couple pictures posted. Recurrent training doesn't last as long as initial, but it covers a lot of the same things. You just do it in 4 days, as apposed to 6 weeks.<br /><br />Todays we finished the 3 days of ground, I have one more to go. Tomorrow is checkride tomorrow. The thing I hate about that is we do not get any sim training at all. we just get ion the sim and take a checkride.<br /><br />There is a lot more to talk about, I have a lot I need to write, Ill have to find some time later. Time to study for the oral, and sim.Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-41608621196199506582012-01-11T10:47:00.001-06:002012-01-11T10:47:14.734-06:00Airline Life<div style="overflow:auto;"><table><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8FuKolt90JuaRBZYhFjCPG7HiFreT24cOwmPdRfbfmoyr2W8nA7XYVK5emEWnB2m09l0YGUBocStjUdyC6bLtjoAXQ-1_j9uo4fa1d634Cm846L1whbCvLPf-6qAtDRxZGumI8Fnz0U/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8FuKolt90JuaRBZYhFjCPG7HiFreT24cOwmPdRfbfmoyr2W8nA7XYVK5emEWnB2m09l0YGUBocStjUdyC6bLtjoAXQ-1_j9uo4fa1d634Cm846L1whbCvLPf-6qAtDRxZGumI8Fnz0U/s288/Photo%252520Created%2525202012-01-11%25252016%25253A46%25253A41%252520%25252B0000.jpg" alt="photo" /></a></td><td align="left" valign="bottom"><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=32.834705,-97.064853&markers=size:big%7Ccolor:orange%7C32.834758,-97.064879&sensor=true&size=640x640&zoom=16"><img src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=32.834705,-97.064853&markers=size:big%7Ccolor:orange%7C32.834758,-97.064879&sensor=true&size=150x150&zoom=14" alt="map" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br />checkride tomorrow. not excited about spending another 4hrs in tbe box<br />Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-23268126340610152962012-01-11T08:59:00.002-06:002012-01-11T20:52:01.733-06:00Airline life<div style="overflow:auto;"><table><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YVsAZfmDLh4X_eN_mQKnxJIYxFQ2yWO_g1X0-Xm9uEsGvcrazf6zSf_KqqBOPXr68wha_o7V_93OtKlTZS1MCMmAe-PkrL-91OghrQzQw8i2EHOLzsLW9j6VZZt8XeYQVk9zEK5PXrI/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YVsAZfmDLh4X_eN_mQKnxJIYxFQ2yWO_g1X0-Xm9uEsGvcrazf6zSf_KqqBOPXr68wha_o7V_93OtKlTZS1MCMmAe-PkrL-91OghrQzQw8i2EHOLzsLW9j6VZZt8XeYQVk9zEK5PXrI/s288/Photo%252520Created%2525202012-01-11%25252014%25253A58%25253A00%252520%25252B0000.jpg" alt="photo" /></a></td><td align="left" valign="bottom"><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=32.836724,-97.065711&markers=size:big%7Ccolor:orange%7C32.836779,-97.065745&sensor=true&size=640x640&zoom=16"><img src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=32.836724,-97.065711&markers=size:big%7Ccolor:orange%7C32.836779,-97.065745&sensor=true&size=150x150&zoom=14" alt="map" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br />cabin trainers. allows us to open emergwncy exitsTim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-88707903398503697912012-01-11T08:30:00.002-06:002012-01-11T20:56:30.223-06:00Airline Life<div style="overflow:auto;"><table><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlF_RBx2A48DtdHcaaWSRCRii66i1BMWQ2rwIdUO8PShWJhU8c7r49lDwP_384VDcwQ9FIaX9cfhw51b7wfQQuWClJdOqrluw39hEh4XA5Dj_GnmQnNPicV6xfqHQrcODgrUWONbZdYQ/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlF_RBx2A48DtdHcaaWSRCRii66i1BMWQ2rwIdUO8PShWJhU8c7r49lDwP_384VDcwQ9FIaX9cfhw51b7wfQQuWClJdOqrluw39hEh4XA5Dj_GnmQnNPicV6xfqHQrcODgrUWONbZdYQ/s288/Photo%252520Created%2525202012-01-11%25252014%25253A29%25253A25%252520%25252B0000.jpg" alt="photo" /></a></td><td align="left" valign="bottom"><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=32.832974,-97.064295&markers=size:big%7Ccolor:orange%7C32.832985,-97.064331&sensor=true&size=640x640&zoom=16"><img src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=32.832974,-97.064295&markers=size:big%7Ccolor:orange%7C32.832985,-97.064331&sensor=true&size=150x150&zoom=14" alt="map" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br />Flight attendants where doing cabin training across the water survival training pool.Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-10122359758383939882012-01-11T08:27:00.002-06:002012-01-11T21:02:08.637-06:00Airline Life<div style="overflow:auto;"><table><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYevbewB5-oMrqipcvm4-CH__p6vHojl5djQcU67JNG6kBtHGPBG2H0Dov91RgkQwYuAV9KnhbdegzM9EZknbSRYsrk0epaJxYXvSIBauc_46aRcAXs6QBkZH-nn8uDOv9m9ogsYLjfkU/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYevbewB5-oMrqipcvm4-CH__p6vHojl5djQcU67JNG6kBtHGPBG2H0Dov91RgkQwYuAV9KnhbdegzM9EZknbSRYsrk0epaJxYXvSIBauc_46aRcAXs6QBkZH-nn8uDOv9m9ogsYLjfkU/s288/Photo%252520Created%2525202012-01-11%25252014%25253A27%25253A09%252520%25252B0000.jpg" alt="photo" /></a></td><td align="left" valign="bottom"><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=32.832974,-97.064295&markers=size:big%7Ccolor:orange%7C32.832985,-97.064331&sensor=true&size=640x640&zoom=16"><img src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=32.832974,-97.064295&markers=size:big%7Ccolor:orange%7C32.832985,-97.064331&sensor=true&size=150x150&zoom=14" alt="map" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br />putting out fires! requalified on fire extinguisher. Oh yeaah...excitingTim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-71500680507777743242012-01-11T08:09:00.002-06:002012-01-11T21:03:35.369-06:00Airline Life<div style="overflow:auto;"><table><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilklTh8FEETpn-HP1C8th8SSLHFdPFdTkBass8sgjK6RA_wA3zGg8e_vCgwSa_3kc9eETCapZGoAoPYGuSh2cmtwaTWNVbZ61T5lktdlgwZu1w91lXKDMt3tOlXLBrmRpii1JEQ6Txz-A/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilklTh8FEETpn-HP1C8th8SSLHFdPFdTkBass8sgjK6RA_wA3zGg8e_vCgwSa_3kc9eETCapZGoAoPYGuSh2cmtwaTWNVbZ61T5lktdlgwZu1w91lXKDMt3tOlXLBrmRpii1JEQ6Txz-A/s288/Photo%252520Created%2525202012-01-11%25252014%25253A08%25253A41%252520%25252B0000.jpg" alt="photo" /></a></td><td align="left" valign="bottom"><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=32.835859,-97.064338&markers=size:big%7Ccolor:orange%7C32.835900,-97.064363&sensor=true&size=640x640&zoom=16"><img src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=32.835859,-97.064338&markers=size:big%7Ccolor:orange%7C32.835900,-97.064363&sensor=true&size=150x150&zoom=14" alt="map" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br />time for training again. ugh. details laterTim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-19795098878384483322011-12-09T15:18:00.006-06:002011-12-09T17:10:48.574-06:00Reserve, Off Reserve, Reserve.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkONZ5uvLy8DwcvwAYrcun9N72L3diFkWOhYzW4bZ8qtwgSrFlO_2n236KZ-C3NM3ovABTXr3mWq4qiCYx3_VK0bRQceVmqpbUZSIHgXNtWQ9IYHzEu924wuxqNJIGOGemomWhRSJ9MOQ/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkONZ5uvLy8DwcvwAYrcun9N72L3diFkWOhYzW4bZ8qtwgSrFlO_2n236KZ-C3NM3ovABTXr3mWq4qiCYx3_VK0bRQceVmqpbUZSIHgXNtWQ9IYHzEu924wuxqNJIGOGemomWhRSJ9MOQ/s320/010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684249147738004658" /></a><br />It has been an interesting couple of months. After transferring to DFW on August 31 things have been moving pretty quick. I spent September and October on Reserve. The Month of November I was awarded a Comp Line. A composite line is basically a mix of a hard line and reserve. A hard line is on that the entire month of flying is scheduled. A comp line you could have a whole month scheduled, or it could be be 3 sequences scheduled and the rest being reserve. This is what my month looked like. The other thing about a comp line is that you send an email and give a "wish list" of what you would like. I requested thanksgiving off, and the weekend of the 18th. I figured that wasn't much to ask for. I did get the weekend of the 18th off, but I was scheduled to work a 4 day trip that would have had me sitting in Montgomery Alabama for 30 hours. I have yet to overnight there, but it's my understanding that there is a waffle house (which i hate) a subway, and a gas station that sells fried chicken. This is NOT how I wanted to spend my thanksgiving!<br />I learned real quick a wonderful benefit when you are a line holder. You can "trip trade" for any open trip. Of the three trips I was assigned, I only flew one, the other two I traded out of. I had a total of 4 trades. The first I traded because it had 3 Mexico trips, with two Mexico overnights. I try my best to avoid these. Obviously the next was the Montgomery on Tday. I ended up trading 3 times before settling on one that had an overnight in Houston. My daughter lives there, so I was excited that I would be able to have thanksgiving with her.<br />After my experience with a comp line in November, I decided to go back to a reserve line for December. I figured it would be my best bet for getting Christmas off.<br />The way they seem to assign flying if I was a comp for Dec. I would end up in Fargo on Christmas.<br />As far as reserve lines go, It's not bad. Thursday, Friday , and Saturday off most of the month. Except the weekend end of Christmas then it will be Sat, Sun, Mon off. <br /><br />Things are also coming along on the airplane. I'm at 250 hours on it now. I'm finally starting to feel pretty comfortable with it. We have been getting several ifr days lately as well, so it's good to get some ILS practice. <br /><br />One morning they were calling for fog, and very low ceilings. It was a short flight back from Houston, so I kept the speed up trying to beat the fog. I ended up seeing a very cool image as we flew the downwind at dfw. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-GpXFr6nb6OpY8QSRfCKMvpb1DJT71Rzgv8fhifmDG5Zpbj1ZimxaH5xkWRGhw5E3_6g090cYCFqGwpbJi4cv7HKWr_r17JZ5APWdP9ujzZEnbKsBoEe_X4AnKceTjqsd4PHEGWKsMU/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-GpXFr6nb6OpY8QSRfCKMvpb1DJT71Rzgv8fhifmDG5Zpbj1ZimxaH5xkWRGhw5E3_6g090cYCFqGwpbJi4cv7HKWr_r17JZ5APWdP9ujzZEnbKsBoEe_X4AnKceTjqsd4PHEGWKsMU/s320/004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684261454383052290" /></a><br />Have you figured it out?<br />That is downtown Dallas, the skyscrapers sticking up out of the clouds/fog.<br />Now here is were it get even cooler.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArUZmxYAOOAHRt774-igB-53hrApbf9n-hWRY1u7aqYS8a7ax0YvVCU72eAQcq5BnzyBJ5iF6pTH1s7mJoaj8W3z_BEcHEW6kgIiYFcEIu0zuIv7TwQqMspjfq2rzc7DsVcLJezB8W24/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArUZmxYAOOAHRt774-igB-53hrApbf9n-hWRY1u7aqYS8a7ax0YvVCU72eAQcq5BnzyBJ5iF6pTH1s7mJoaj8W3z_BEcHEW6kgIiYFcEIu0zuIv7TwQqMspjfq2rzc7DsVcLJezB8W24/s320/007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684266413214041506" /></a><br />The city split the fog as it moved in from the southwest.<br />I have never seen anything quite like that. And yes we made it in before the fog, it started rolling across the north side of the field as we were pulling into the terminal.<br />I have learned there is one major side affect to being an airline pilot. You easily get sick. I got a cold my first trip off IOE, and now I'm home with a pretty good flu or something. I do attribute it to the profession, because I have not had a serious flu/illness in probably 10-12 years. So that being said, It's time to finish this post, and go sit back down for a bit. More to come soon.Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-39952502436257153722011-10-09T19:07:00.000-05:002011-10-10T18:05:51.585-05:00Reserve<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBuNmpeV5Pk6S2QjHYmeX7wbSuvSPC7vbVTK8tWs_KFZrkxZNbA2L2Tyws9f8iubQzE2NZ_WzeiLJYACfhaB4BEJXrDaQIq8hIBmq8OryU0ME1c-xvxTE1uf5NbsAM1P7U_uI9yEm4yU/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBuNmpeV5Pk6S2QjHYmeX7wbSuvSPC7vbVTK8tWs_KFZrkxZNbA2L2Tyws9f8iubQzE2NZ_WzeiLJYACfhaB4BEJXrDaQIq8hIBmq8OryU0ME1c-xvxTE1uf5NbsAM1P7U_uI9yEm4yU/s320/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662003507707699586" /></a><br />The Life of a reserve pilot. Being on Reserve simply means you have no set schedule. You do not know where you are going far in advance. What you do know is your basic schedule for the next month, about two weeks before the month stars. When I say basic schedule I mean, what days you are required to be available and what days you have off. Whether you will work or not on your scheduled reserve day is an unknown, at least until that day arrives.<br /><br />There are a couple types of reserve schedules. One is called a RAP. Reserve availability period. The RAP has a 120 min call out period. Once the phone rings you have 15 minutes to respond, and then 2 hours (from the initial phone call) to sign in at the airport. We have a RAP 1 and a RAP 2. Rap 1 begins at 0400-1900 and RAP 2 is 1000-0100. You can be called at any time during that period. If you live in base, this may not be so bad. If your senior on the reserve list, it's entirely possible you may not work at all if you don't want to. <br /><br />The next type of reserve is Ready Reserve. If you have ready reserve you are required to be at the airport ready to go immediately. The ready reserve is a much smaller time period. 8 hours of duty. <br /><br />As I said before we have little control over our schedule while on reserve, and it's not real easy to plan ahead for an actual flying schedule. We do have one option available to us. It's called proffering. It's actually a really great system, when it works.<br />The day before your scheduled reserve day you log onto the company system to see what flight sequences (if any) are available. If there are some available, between 11am and 3 pm you can "proffer" for the open trip. After 3 pm crew scheduling awards the open trip based on seniority.<br />Let's say you are awarded a 4 day sequence. Once you have verified you have received your assignment, it's as if you are no longer a reserve pilot. at least for the next 4 days. Once you sign in for the trip you no longer have to contact crew scheduling, at least until the trip is over, or they reassign you. It really is nice when this happens.<br />However as I said before, when it works! I have already noticed many problems with the system. Once the proffer window opens 11-3pm they are NOT supposed to remove any open trips, but they do. When they assign open trips, they are supposed to award them in most senior order. There has been at least one occasion I did not get a trip I proffered for and a JR. reserve pilot got it.<br /><br />So what is life like for a reserve pilot. Lets look at tomorrow. I'm on a rap 2. They can call me starting at 10am. The earliest I have to arrive at the airport will be noon. Since I commute to DFW from SAT I will take a morning flight Dallas. Once I arrive I'll check my messages to see if they have called. If Not...I'll find a comfy chair somewhere and sit down, and wait.<br />Last week I had a day where I arrived in DFW about 1130am. I sat all day, and around 1900 i was headed to D terminal to catch a ride back to SAT. Right at 1900 I got a call, They had an overnight in Jackson Mississippi. The next day we got up and returned to DFW. It was supposed to be a return and there was no additional flying. Once we got back to DFW we found out they added additional flying. A Laredo TX turn, and Cincinnati Oh. overnight.<br />The fun part, you just NEVER know what expect next. Sometimes you might keep a crew for 4 days, other times you might go through 3 Captains and Flight Attendants a day.<br /> <br />Day one, of a 5 day is coming to an end. It's still only 6pm, something could come up, but it's unlikely.<br />I took a walk around to get some exercise. Snapped a couple pictures.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxz-pjBY5DbpGwZnTspTorf9NbKrK6DwdoG9osBso_s44DyYPc5rplyryiDHZyJ5vU0NbTJSjTVXHgdHQrugUSeFSM-QB0vZ_Wc0HFdExOAWDTenIlI-jXpQ3z6o0plzU_11CSUr1ZQHc/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxz-pjBY5DbpGwZnTspTorf9NbKrK6DwdoG9osBso_s44DyYPc5rplyryiDHZyJ5vU0NbTJSjTVXHgdHQrugUSeFSM-QB0vZ_Wc0HFdExOAWDTenIlI-jXpQ3z6o0plzU_11CSUr1ZQHc/s320/002.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662002703044156514" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1a8qOjYlV5qnCfHT4gnztTo7CwJFbDw2jwDFQjRhR3SEu0CNqKzAsmaOXEpHQvGI6BvEUlzZWL1kDIpJf1P2Qoi0V8XN5lAxCY3HMpPnn_5hL1pXZ7hkZ4mhiuY57N-boD545AAejUDo/s1600/009.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1a8qOjYlV5qnCfHT4gnztTo7CwJFbDw2jwDFQjRhR3SEu0CNqKzAsmaOXEpHQvGI6BvEUlzZWL1kDIpJf1P2Qoi0V8XN5lAxCY3HMpPnn_5hL1pXZ7hkZ4mhiuY57N-boD545AAejUDo/s320/009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662002214730307858" /></a><br />not a very exciting day.Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-40368100494391998542011-10-08T12:17:00.001-05:002011-10-08T12:20:22.939-05:00Go MarkThe new title Picture is another of my terrible iphone pictures. It is my friend mark in the right seat getting ready for a corpus christi texas turn. Mark was in my new hire class, and roommate for the first couple weeks.Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-9904276177898766592011-10-04T14:11:00.000-05:002011-10-08T12:13:08.657-05:00Hurry up and wait...againThe first month of being dfw based has come to and end. It's October, where has time gone. I was surprised to find that DFW flying was slow for the month of November. I'm currently at about 150 hours in the Embrear. Things are beginning to come together for me. I'm starting to feel like I know what I'm I'm supposed to be doing. I have made two Trips into Mexico now, does that make me an International Airline pilot?<br /><br />The first was an overnight to Leon Mexico. Located in the State of Guanajuato. It was late when we got in, but I woke up early and went outside to enjoy some very cool morning temperatures. It was a beautiful morning.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPL26VAeOKGguYVKZgaOT1bWgm9ZRae-i24sVfLpHirT6vo2pf5d_-XkAea2BCMoNqeMkm5zGqBTFg0OqBT5ZdGNUMQnyNcb331NLs3xF6I2XgnrKqPFYzhgCkA3-l1YHfMAT8l08aLOA/s1600/100.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPL26VAeOKGguYVKZgaOT1bWgm9ZRae-i24sVfLpHirT6vo2pf5d_-XkAea2BCMoNqeMkm5zGqBTFg0OqBT5ZdGNUMQnyNcb331NLs3xF6I2XgnrKqPFYzhgCkA3-l1YHfMAT8l08aLOA/s320/100.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659722413715814178" /></a><br />I noticed something on the tallest peak, to the left in the picture. We didn't have enough time to go there, but i knew it was a structure of some type.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7I-bwk3MFJ-mp-wQD57ofIFNOy0YGqNrNJgzUQhzoZlSb9MwC9mk9_QJ2KnbONoiV9SKE1kVh3sQ5hwde1A0JWwvhQyulidEyajnDf4Pajd0nqR_07W-bJfDse_r6hAbtwGb7lMxXsYA/s1600/cristo+rey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width 241px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7I-bwk3MFJ-mp-wQD57ofIFNOy0YGqNrNJgzUQhzoZlSb9MwC9mk9_QJ2KnbONoiV9SKE1kVh3sQ5hwde1A0JWwvhQyulidEyajnDf4Pajd0nqR_07W-bJfDse_r6hAbtwGb7lMxXsYA/s320/cristo+rey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659725541090492626" /></a><br />Since I didn't have time to visit it, I looked it up. Turns out it's called Cristo Rey, or Christ the King. It stands 20 meters tall, its a bronze statue of Jesus Christ set atop the summit of the mountain Cerro de Cubilete. It is located in the geographic center of Mexico. For the Christ followers in Mexico, that is significant as it shows That Christ is in the Heart of their Country. This monument was built in 1950, just after a smaller version was destroyed at the end of the Mexican revolution.<br /><br />Just this week, I picked up a Vercruz Mexico trip. I was not to excited about, as Veracruz was just in the news when 35 headless bodies were found in the city apparently on a major road or highway in the center of the city.<br /><br />On the way down as we began our descent through 18,000 we were handed off to VER approach. Which did not have radar. To top that off the last weather we had indicated low visibility, and 1200' clouds. I did not like that, since there was only VOR approaches available, and their minimums were 1200'. The Atis was inop so we did not have the most current wx. Luckily it was uneventful. we broke out of the last layers around 6000' and the rest was all visual. It was interesting to have to make position reports to approach control. <br />Finally. we are on short final things are looking good, we're visual, everything is OK...maybe. I was looking down at the approach chart when out of the corner of my eye I see something go past the windshield. I looked and before I could say anything the captain jumped and said wow. what the? About then another went by, and another. At 140kts I couldn't make it out, other then just a bunch of large birds! We are do to take the same plane back to DFW in the morning, I do not want to ingest a bird right now! Finally, on the ground, it doesn't appear we had any bird strikes, and its off to bed, for a very short overnight.<br />The next morning came way to early. It's very difficult to just walk into a hotel and go to sleep. It takes time to relax and get ready for bed. next thing you know it's midnight and you have to wake up at 5am. 5 hours of sleep is just not enough. That is one reason the faa is trying to update rest rules for pilots. I would say most of the time it's not an issue, but all it takes is one tired pilot, and mistakes can be made.<br /><br />It's my turn to fly. After some computer issues we're finally ready to go. Mexican airports are unusual. Unlike US airports many of them do not have taxiways, which means you must "back taxi" or taxi down the runway you plan on departing from and do a U turn at the end and then take off.<br />While we were boarding and being delayed due to computer issues I was watching outside. I could see weather building of the coast. I was hoping it wasn't to bad. <br />Finally we get our close-out. It's time to go. The weather wasn't bad, we flew through some heavy rain for a bit, but then broke out on top and seen this just off our left side<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExU46W_VdGCEo8TW4gospTYYah2wGrqLL9Qmd38q3dZQzTuG4h8_IOU6RLpmtAxGJnh8grDT_IghFHkJvqKvXi69XRzKEMH5xEXOJVDXIufTkVfWHXEisLgR_Gi6sbzbOtLhYjeA5M-Y/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExU46W_VdGCEo8TW4gospTYYah2wGrqLL9Qmd38q3dZQzTuG4h8_IOU6RLpmtAxGJnh8grDT_IghFHkJvqKvXi69XRzKEMH5xEXOJVDXIufTkVfWHXEisLgR_Gi6sbzbOtLhYjeA5M-Y/s320/012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659746341527015090" /></a><br /><br />The Pico de Orizaba. The highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest in North America. It rises 5,636 meters (18,491 ft). The volcano is currently dormant but not extinct with the last eruption taking place during the 19th century. <br />Its the second tallest volcano peak in the world, second to Kilimanjaro in Africa.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnjXtWU-GdVoa5YoyfcTQxCLR1D1mAk30WZRzNHh_WkUk4N-wBUT3Ti8MfhrIou_E3MBf1RoX5of332Ia8kN-Nzxy8NThgfqBmqcY-TD2GTQ6o_qKTe7CwUuhVAhDv-Ti9KIvqHoLSIw/s1600/ver+valc..jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnjXtWU-GdVoa5YoyfcTQxCLR1D1mAk30WZRzNHh_WkUk4N-wBUT3Ti8MfhrIou_E3MBf1RoX5of332Ia8kN-Nzxy8NThgfqBmqcY-TD2GTQ6o_qKTe7CwUuhVAhDv-Ti9KIvqHoLSIw/s320/ver+valc..jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659748064956761010" /></a><br />it was an amazing sight to see. Just after we broke out on top, to see this towering mountain all covered in snow, still well above us.<br /><br />For the most part this new adventure has been exciting. I like most aspects of it. The one thing that has turned out to be not so nice, is how trips are assigned when your on reserve. I'll talk more about reserve later.<br /><br />It's sometimes still very surreal to me. Especially when I jump out after we land and do my post flight inspection. Standing in front of the plane and looking back at this 100' long jet and thinking...I just landed this! Yeah, I still have those moments!Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7035981065149700332.post-60679829395332377032011-09-09T15:01:00.001-05:002011-09-09T15:59:23.634-05:00DFWIt's a new month. I'm finally DFW based. I'm so happy to be here. I really enjoyed Chicago, but the stress of having so few choices to get to work and back and the longer flight just did not out weigh the choice of having 15 flights a day, and only 45 minutes away. Unfortunately there does not seem to be as much flying. If you sat reserve in base I guess it wouldn't be bad. Get paid to sit at home. I would rather be flying, after all that is why i applied to work here.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MhLVWk93uzN9i6NEmps0qaIKp3NACVfuXzILtHZ8SdgwKBbAFlWVYknLS5fLAFLnNdSbHvxRuGYeYiicCVa5kiTOjWrNdmgrcZQEnuOCMxKWQ5nbKw7Mk5pIKpfibI1RF1MRTZkIsaI/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MhLVWk93uzN9i6NEmps0qaIKp3NACVfuXzILtHZ8SdgwKBbAFlWVYknLS5fLAFLnNdSbHvxRuGYeYiicCVa5kiTOjWrNdmgrcZQEnuOCMxKWQ5nbKw7Mk5pIKpfibI1RF1MRTZkIsaI/s320/007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650453770350669954" /></a> My first trip out of DFW was so easy, it was not even like work. I had a 1550 flight to CVG, and then to bed on day one. The next day was CVG to DFW and a JAN turn. Then a flight back to CVG for another over night. The next morning we had an early flight back to dfw. It was a beautiful morning. cool temps, clear sky's. We took off, I hand flew up to about fl180 and kicked the auto pilot on. About the time we hit cruise, our flight attendant called and asked if we wanted dome of the famous Cincinnati coffee. The Embrear cannot brew it's own coffee, We have it brought on board prior to the flight.<br />Of course we both took a cup. Not much had been said prior to that. The Captain seemed content with keeping his hot-mic off. I'm not really like that, I tend to be a talker. If I typed as much as I talked I would have endless new post here.<br />Anyway, after a cup of coffee I felt refreshed, and ready to go. I started some conversation with the captain and I apparently hit his hot button. we talked non stop all the way back. Which was a good thing, because the air was smooth, the radios were quite, and I would;d have been sleepy in the early morning light.<br />I'm finally starting to get comfortable with the airplane. My landings and approaches are getting better. I'm really looking forward to getting into the airline life.<br />There seems to so much movement finally, after several years of furloughs and a stagnant aviation industry. <br />After a very nice early morning flight even after I pulled the power back and cruised slower then planned we still got into DFW early. I was off the plane by 0730 and on my way to C terminal where an AA flight was about to depart at 0750. A quick call to crew Scheduling and I was released and on my way home. I was in San Antonio before 9am.<br />After a nice weekend at home I was off for another 3 day. This one was not as smooth, but still not bad. Had an overnight in Alexandria LA, and a Baton Rogue turn. Heading east bound we soon saw what we thought was a cloud layer in front of us. Closer inspection revealed it was actually wild fires. One very large one and several small ones. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SQe0a42SYNeAyH9Ae4DJrbq2UHn2dsL83mdSgaY1YgnbLi7spkguvNOxa8u-4aZz-YKkU42hxHSnnn2QvYt6qk1vJ3MMr8QAve-8ZXCKNMe4L5QpWHt33qb2RjygYSvWjFHHZReuncU/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SQe0a42SYNeAyH9Ae4DJrbq2UHn2dsL83mdSgaY1YgnbLi7spkguvNOxa8u-4aZz-YKkU42hxHSnnn2QvYt6qk1vJ3MMr8QAve-8ZXCKNMe4L5QpWHt33qb2RjygYSvWjFHHZReuncU/s320/002.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650460847357150162" /></a><br />Some day I will carry a nice camera, the picture above I was trying to get a shot of the smoke after we passed it.<br />Later, on return from BTR we passed over Alexandria <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoC2GW821c8dP8S-KIl5Uy72GpcXKd7eY_4wTyAP-igcHsKb-j5S67oWC7raMj7oU-BpcoGCqTrQtPIqezdgTiPr-AvPJG7G4O05QB3CxZ9AsNAVYRmgAu4CEFQ9HXekKWq60n9wI-kdE/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoC2GW821c8dP8S-KIl5Uy72GpcXKd7eY_4wTyAP-igcHsKb-j5S67oWC7raMj7oU-BpcoGCqTrQtPIqezdgTiPr-AvPJG7G4O05QB3CxZ9AsNAVYRmgAu4CEFQ9HXekKWq60n9wI-kdE/s320/003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650463129519754498" /></a><br />Which we will be back to in just a little while for an overnight.<br />I enjoy the night flying. Smooth air, less radio chatter. It's a nice alternative to the fast paced daytime.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8pwwodotm2anp5eUvdxl7_VQYKtXJ7tauhWomJsFuEW316eruPc-qR5GiKfr4KhtI_dKqFB6Yy_UWH_1kTGcpAUkY3J-AIsen6mPNgwz9Pxu-l2Bqq_dxcGyCnBsyIokWRXzaHGm9MA/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8pwwodotm2anp5eUvdxl7_VQYKtXJ7tauhWomJsFuEW316eruPc-qR5GiKfr4KhtI_dKqFB6Yy_UWH_1kTGcpAUkY3J-AIsen6mPNgwz9Pxu-l2Bqq_dxcGyCnBsyIokWRXzaHGm9MA/s320/005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650467104523886130" /></a>Tim Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573765101343319355noreply@blogger.com2