Back to Primary

The first officer I flew with two weeks ago is big into radio controlled (RC) airplanes and talking with him rekindled my interest in this hobby. Things have come a long way since I was flying RC in college and my early years with the Navy. Back then it was all nitro-burning engines and dubious range on the analog radios. Now, over 30 years later, brushless electric motors power the panes and 2.4 gHz radios provide incredible range. I ordered a ready-to-fly (RTF) T-28 done up to look just like the Navy birds I learned to fly in primary flight training. The picture on my den wall is one that hung in the Whiting Field barber shop that Michelle made a copy of for me. It was taken in 1980, the same time I was there. So far, two flights and no crashes...

Cooling off

It's finally starting to cool off in Phoenix and Fort Worth after a long hot summer. Here's a picture of the tube (fuselage) almost loaded. The floor has rollers on it to facilitate loading. The loader broke last night in El Paso, causing a delay getting to Phoenix. One more night for this week's flying.

9/11

I'm deadheading to Phoenix tonight on Southwest. The tone is somber as everyone remembers ten years ago (can it really be that long?). I was mowing the yard in Bryan Texas when our neighbor Kay came running over to tell me a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Everyone still thought it was an accident until the second tower was hit as well. Truly a horrific day seared into every one's minds, changing the nature of travel in this country. As with two World Wars and several "police actions," a little bit of our national naivete slips away, and this little piece was, I think, the romance of easily traveling by air. It's such a pain now that many of us dread what was once fun. And even though Bin Laden is now dead, things will never ever go back to the way they were. That's a shame, but pales in comparison to the lives we've lost in Iraq, but don't get me started...

Evidently, pilots ain't too bright

Thank you Boeing, that's most helpful!

This morning, pleasantly giddy with sleep-deprivation and last-night-of -the-trip anticipation, I found the label on the outside of my sliding side window particularly humorous. The thing is, this warning explicitly means that someone, sometime, somewhere tried to takeoff with the window wide open. How embarrasing that must have been! Also included is a picture of the massive American Airlines depot level heavy maintenance hangar just across the taxiway from our ramp at Fort Worth Alliance.

Hot Birthday in Ontario

Bleak, smoggy and hot in Ontario

I'm back in SoCal, having deadheaded in last night. My First Officer took the scheduled deadhead from Memphis on American, and we were supposed to be on the same flight from DFW to ONT, but I never saw him. When I arrived in ONT, there was an email from him saying his flight from Memphis to DFW was delayed, and he missed the connection in DFW, so the company had to re-write his pairing and put him up in Dallas over night. He'll arrive from there just before showtime tonight. It will be a long night for him, having to go between the DFW area and ONT three times in one duty period (the first time as a passenger).

Early B-day gift

There's a nifty little definition in our contract with the company. A "trip" has to begin and end in the pilot's domicile. My domicile is Memphis, so any time I touch that humid soil when operating a normal bidpack trip, I am, by definition, at the end of a trip. I deadheaded to Ontario, CA Sunday night to begin a week of flying between there and Fort Worth on a trip where I never actually saw Memphis. On paper, though, the deadhead on the front end originated in Memphis, and the deadhead on the back end (Saturday, in this case) would also end up in Memphis. Thanks to our ability to "deviate" we can instead ride on a deadhead from/to our actual home instead of Memphis. All was peachy this week until the Memphis-bound MD-11 broke down in Ontario. We were conscripted to fly just their "P-1" (highest priority) freight to Memphis instead of our normal Ontario to Fort Worth leg. When we arrived in Memphis this morning, we were done for the week, and since it was not our fault any of this occurred, my First Officer and I will be paid as if we had operated the entire week. Sweet deal, huh? I jumpseated home, and since we won't be going to the cabin (Michelle has to work...Summer's over) I will finally get some time to maybe, possibly work on the Stag!

Sweltering in the Desert

A week of night flying: Phoenix to Fort Worth, then return to Phoenix via El Paso. Too hot to take pictures. sorry

Along the Swamp Rabbit Trail

I took a VERY HOT walk today (100 degrees) along the trail. Took a smoothie and 30 minutes of a/c to cool down again. Can't wait to get home to New Mexico tomorrow!

Planes, Vans and Automobiles

Hotel van at 9:30 pm to the ramp

Our ride to Indy awaits

View from the cockpit in Indy at midnight. This bus takes us to security screening outbound 

Bus to the hotel in Indy for a short nap around midnight

Hotel bus again for return to Indy ramp after nap 3:30 am

Crew bus from security screening to flight ops

Crew bus from flight ops out to the airplane after brief

Our ride back to Greenville

I decided to record a night's journey for this particular trip. Missing is a picture of the final limo ride from the ramp in Greenville back to the hotel at about 6:00 this morning, b/c I was too tired to remember. All told, six vehicles, two hotel rooms and two airplanes, every night this week. Of course, the waiting is the hardest part, and that happens at midnight or so, outside of security screening in Indy trying to get to the hotel for the precious hubturn nap. Wears me out just thinking about it.

Housekeeping

One of the activities you might not associate with a professional pilot. We all have to iron our uniforms every day. Think about that; hundreds of guys ironing their stuff in hotel rooms. Kinda flies in the face of the macho image we try to cultivate.

Gullywasher in Greenville

3 hours until showtime and the weather ain't lookin' too good. Gonna be a long night...

Nice Scenery in Greenville

Falls Creek park and the start of the Swamp Rabbit trail in Greenville. The bottom picture is a street concert starting up on Thursday nights near the hotel. After training last week, I had a quickie to Miami and back to Memphis, then caught a US Air flight to Charlotte and on to Greenville, where I rented a car to go see my folks near Asheville for the weekend. Back in Greenville now for the week.

Okay for another year

Well folks, I survived my first annual checkride as a Captain, due in no small part to the excellence of my First Officer. This year's scenario was interesting and very short, which is how we like 'em. Off to Miami tomorrow, and then a weekend in North Carolina with my parents. One more week flying Greenville-Indy, then finally home after three weeks. Man is is hot in the south this summer!

Post Fourth Letdown

Another of my "Soutnern" vices (besides Krispy Kreme): Marble Slab!!

Grandkids on the Cubres-Toltec train

After a great Fourth of July weekend with family and friends at the cabin, I'm back at work. This month's line includes two weeks of Greenville, SC to Indy, one short trip with a Miami to Atlanta live leg, and the dreaded annual sim training (more on that later). I will be away from home for three weeks straight as it doesn't make much sense to zip home and back for just a day between these events. I also plan to visit my parents in North Carolina during one of the weekends, since they live not too far from Greenville. One of the difficult parts of being away on this job is leaving your spouse at home alone. This time was particularly hard not only b/c I'll be gone so long, but b/c our house was broken into while we were at the cabin enjoying ourselves. We have a security system in the house that we never activated when we moved in b/c it had so many false alarms and we never felt threatened, but Michelle wants it now. So, another complication for our lives thanks to the despicable actions of others.

Nice to know I'm wanted

Lead story in USA Today: Demand for Airline Pilots Set to Soar. Better start getting those flight hours, kids! Here's the link:  http://usat.ly/l5eJ5e , which includes a video.

ps: "Psycho-motor skills" no, really?!?

It was a dark and stormy night...

After a great week at our cabin in northern New Mexico, I'm back at work. Last night's flight from Minneapolis to Fort Worth was stormy and we went pretty far east to get around the really bad stuff. After a short nap, I woke up to blue lights flashing on the ramp (meaning lightning was close) and heavy storms. After a delay of an hour and a half, there was a break in the weather and we scurried out the the jet. My First Officer had just enough time to do the walk around when the blue lights came back on and another onslaught of weather occurred. The video is of hail hitting the airplane as we waited for loading to commence. Finally got to bed about 10:00 this morning back in Minneapolis. Living the dream!

Back in the Grind

Well, even though I have a great job, it was tough to come back. We bought a log cabin in Northern New Mexico near our favorite camping town of Chama last week. Getting a mortgage has always been stressful, but let me tell you, it's alot tougher than it was just a few years ago. Out of my three weeks off, we only got to spend one week there, but it was marvelous! We also had a nice trip to Napa and Granite Bay. This week it's back at work flying between Minneapolis and Ft Worth. My FO and I had hoped to catch the aurora borealis early this morning, since there was an extremely strong solar flare 2 days ago. No such luck as the sun was already rising when we got far enough north this morning. Two days ago, the (new record) high tempo was 104, today it's 60 and very pleasant. I walked around Nicolette Mall after seeing the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie and took some pictures. Different city in the spring!

Vacation!!!

So I jumpseated to Memphis last night instead of this morning in order to save the Golf from the imminent flooding. I arrived around midnight and found the parking lot high and dry. So, I missed out on a night in my own bed and had to spring for a hotel room in Memphis. Better safe than sorry I guess. On the way in to fly to Minneapolis, I was rear-ended in an ironic way...this time the perp was in the nice Cadillac whacking my beater car. No damage was done so I told him not to worry about it. I'll be offline for awhile, enjoying some vacation time with Michelle and family. Talk at ya later.

Urinalysis

8th floor "Skygarden" at the hotel during a break in the weather

Rainy when we got back to Minneapolis this morning. Good day for sleeping. My lucky number randomly came up last night at Alliance, so I got to pee in a bottle. It was quite professionally done, but it's always strange watching your urine being lovingly poured out of the cup into two separate bottles, sealed, labeled and sent off to two different labs for independent verification of results. I was tested for THC, COC, PCP, OPI and AMP. The worst part was, it took 30 minutes off of my hub turn nap. It reminded me of my Navy days, when I was the "Piss Control Officer," and got to collect similar samples when we were at sea.

Flooding in Memphis

A nice week of Minneapolis to Alliance flying. It's still pretty chilly. We actually had snow Sunday and Monday in the Sandias! The big event this week was, of course, the killing of Bin Laden. Something that had to be done, I guess, but it was disturbing to me to see the outright celebration of people in front of the White House. That's something I would expect to see a bunch of Muslims doing after the death of an American. Kinda makes me wonder if we're all that different.
Anyway, the big news in Memphis is that the flood waters are coming. The Mighty Mississippi is expected to crest 45' high on the 11th. We have been warned by the company that our cars parked in the Democrat long term lot are subject to being washed away! Now, this lot is right across the street from the airport (just north of Democrat Road), but slightly lower in elevation. I'm concerned about the Golf that is my Memphis car, but will not be able to get to it this week. Keep your fingers crossed.
Map of north end of KMEM, Democrat lot upper center