Reserve

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.
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.
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.

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.
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.
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.

Day one, of a 5 day is coming to an end. It's still only 6pm, something could come up, but it's unlikely.
I took a walk around to get some exercise. Snapped a couple pictures.


not a very exciting day.

Go Mark

The 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.

Hurry up and wait...again

The 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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.
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.

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.
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.
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

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.
Its the second tallest volcano peak in the world, second to Kilimanjaro in Africa.

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.

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.

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!

DFW

It'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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
There seems to so much movement finally, after several years of furloughs and a stagnant aviation industry.
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.
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.
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.
Later, on return from BTR we passed over Alexandria

Which we will be back to in just a little while for an overnight.
I enjoy the night flying. Smooth air, less radio chatter. It's a nice alternative to the fast paced daytime.

Is it over yet

Chicago ohare waking up, with a b747 departing to Asia. They have a long ride ahead.

Day 5. It's been a long 5 days. The schedule has not really worked as smoothly as previous trips. Nothing has seemed to work as smoothly. Had a day we were supposed to fly syr ORD ind JFK cvg. While enroute to ind we received notice the JFK had been canceled. Now we are scheduled to ferry and empty plane to cvg and overnight there. That's a loss of 4.5 hours of flying. I can say this, empty, the emj145 can climb. You have to be very careful, you can blow right through an altitude assignment in a blink of an eye.

One day Chicago departure held us at 5000 until we got out over the lake.
It was an awesome view. If you look south of downtown, there is a patch of grass that looks like a Island. That was Meigs field. Now, its a patch of grass. Don't even want to get started on that one.

This was out plane on the ORD-IND trip. We gave her to another crew who took her back to ORD. Our plane came in a short time later and we ferried it to Cincinnati.
The only good thing about that was getting some Famous Dave's BBQ. Its pretty good.

This was my view from the back of the plane on our return trip to ORD from Nashville. Yes, Sitting in back. But the stroy really starts at 4am. I get a call from crew scheduling. They have an assignment. I am to Deadhead to Nashville, and pick up an empty plane and ferry it to Chicago. The trip down was ok. I met the Captain I was to fly with on the ferry flight and had some small talk. He was a newly upgraded Captain. Seemed like a really nice guy. I was looking forward to that flight. I had just spent two days with a guy who was not as pleasant. When we got on the ground at BNA The crew who flew us told us they received word that our ferry flight was canceled. Now we are to return to Chicago, again in the back. Deadheading. If your not familiar with that. Deadheading is when the company flys you in the cabin as a passenger, but you are being paid to fly. You are on duty. So they basically paid us to fly as passengers to Nashville and back.
The only problem now is that this is my last day. I want to go home. and Chicago is about to get pounded with Tstorms. This could back things up for days. Not want I want to hear. The view above was on approach in the clouds, and rain and lightning. I do not like looking out the window and seeing lightning. Thankfully it was fairly smooth and the wx we were in was not to bad. We got on the ground and deplaned. Once Inside I called crew scheduling again and they released me. This means I am done and can go home...really? You couldn't release me in BNA where I was already half way home. I could grabbed a flight to DFW and a connection to SAT.
Long story short I made it home, even with the delays and cancellations. Now it's time for a little rest. ONE more day In ORD...Just ONE more, and then I will be DFW based!!! Woohoo. I'm excited 15 flights a day and only a 45 min ride. Compared to 3 flight a day and 2hr and 45 min ride. this is going to make life so much easier!!!

Trip 3

So maybe I don't get to go to exciting places like the international 747 pilots go, but that's ok. I grew up in Missouri, in a small town south of St Louis called Festus. Yes, I'm sure you have heard of it. Haha. I have not gone Many places. I could probably count the states I visited before this on both hands. I have been to Honduras, and that's it for foreign countries. So this opportunity to travel is exciting to me. I have already seen things I have never seen before, and probably would have never seen. This trip is not to exciting. I overnight tonight in champaign IL. Not to far from where I grew up. Tomorrow I overnight in syracuse NY. I have never been there, so I hope to find something to see.
I got another first class seat to ORD this morning, Now that I have had a nice breakfast, it's time for a little shut eye for the last hour and half.

It's nice to have an uneventful flight. No wx or mc delays. I got to Chicago on time and early enough to update my jepp charts.

Jeppessen charts are basically maps. They tell is whereto fly, and sometimes how high or low to fly. They update on a regular basis so we always have the most accurate enroute and airport information. Everyone hates jepp updates, and today's was a large update. Technically we do them on our own time. It's actually really amazing how little of our time spent away from home is paid. A 4 day trip away from home pays us on average 14-19 hours. For being gone for four days. A lot of the work we do is off the clock. Later in your career it equals out in regards to pay. However as a new guy, I could probably make more working full time at mcdonalds.
Today we do a Harrisburg PA turn and we overnight in champaign IL. I did not have a camera ready, but Harrisburg is right next to three mile island. It was a nice view on final. It's funny how overnights are judged by the breakfast. If there is a good "free" breakfast everyone wants to go there. Well apparently cmi has a good one.

So tomorrow will be an even shorter day. Return to ORD and then go to syr for another overnight.

The first trip

This photo was inspired by a comic strip given to me by a friend. When he gave it to my wife at church I was actually already gone on my first trip as a "line qualified" pilot. Little did he how how appropriate it was.

It all started out OK. I took an early flight to Chicago.I got a first class seat which was nice because I also got breakfast.
After that I settled in and tried to take a little nap. It was going to be a long day. It was an uneventful flight, and just about the time we were to start our descent into Chicago the captain comes on to tell us we are going into a hold.

And as you can see we had to hold for a while. Long enough that we had to divert. That last little hook to the left was our descent into Peoria Ill.
Now I'm thinking great, I'm gonna be late on my first day! The turn in Peoria was great. The folks on the ground had us fueled and ready to go in 30 minutes! Before you know it we we're #1 for takeoff. Then we get the message. No realease into ORD. We're not going anywhere. We spent the next hour and half sitting on the taxiway engines off. Finally we get the go ahead. The Captain very quickly brought the old MD80 back to life and we were off. It was so fast I could almost hear him thinking lets get in the air before they change their mind!
I make it it ORD with a little time to spare. I finally meet up with my first Captain. Real nice guy! We head to our plane, and find out it's a no go due to mx. The flight gets canceled. now I'm wondering what crew scheduling is going to do. I'm hoping they will not call and just let me wait for my next scheduled flight. No luck! Within 15 minutes they call and tell me I'm reassigned to do a Indy turn. The only problem here is when we get back I will only have 15 minutes to get to my Chattanooga flight. I really do not want to lose this sequence, I'm really looking forward to it. It takes me through Dallas with a couple good overnites!
We get to Indy to find a plane sitting on the ramp waiting for the gate we are due to arrive in. They had been waiting over two hours for it! This does not look good. Short of the story, we get back to ORD late. My CHA flight has been canceled. Now I sit in Chicago and have to get a hotel, on my own dime.
The good news is that they are going to deadhead me aboard an American flight to Dallas to pick up my sequence. 24 hours later after the storms that caused all the problems I'm waiting to board my deadhead flight and I hear there are 110 people waiting standby. That's nearly an entire plane load of people.
The rest of the trip went well as far as keeping on schedule goes. But, thats where it stops! My performance was awful. It seems like everything just went to pot. My communications, my landings. It was so frustrating! It wasnt to the very last trun, on my last day. I met up with Anthony. My Captain for the last flight to Dayton and back. This guy was relaxed and laid back. Had such a good personality. He just set a good tone for the flight. It really allowed me to relax and recover from my bad performance prior. What a way to end the trip.
It's funny how just someones personality can set a tone for the whole day.
I've mentioned Rand Peck before. He writes a blog, Rand Peck a life aloft. It's linked to the right -->
To me he seems like one of those Captain that are just a pleasure to fly with. If you have not read his blog, read it! It's awesome! I look at these Captains who have a positive outlook on life, and thats what encourages, and inspires me.

Thankfully I got a ride home the same day. I had to sit on the jumpseat from ORD to DFW to SAT, but I got home. Both of those crews were great people too!

After a couple day off, I had to head back for my next sequence. It's was only a three day. It changed up on me as well. I was due to overnight in Memphis. I was hoping to go visit mud island and get some Memphis BBQ. But I end up going to Baltimore instead.
Once in Baltimore I took the light rail downtown and walked around a bit. One of the things I seen was this.



The USS Constellation is a Beautiful ship, with an interesting history! USS Constellation There is a video and some history on her on this site.
The next day was a Jacksonville FL overnight, and then another trip Home for three days off.
This second trip was much better then the first. Thankfully I felt much more relaxed and comfortable with the airplane
So far I have had a good time seeing new things. even ORD is interesting. You see so many different people from ALL over the world. Or the views I get like seeing the smokey mountains in the morning light while doing my walk around
the view out front beginning our descent into Chicago h the view of downtown Chicago the historic Camden Station, with the Baltimore Orioles Camden Yard behinds it It has been very interesting so far. I feel very fortunate to be here. I'm really looking forward to what is in store for me.