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

Astro Jet

Cool retro American "Astrojet" I saw in DFW on the way home.

Milwaukee Riverwalk

The weather finally allowed me to do the modest riverwalk today. Along the way I encountered the "Bronze Fonz," a resolute mother mallard and about a dozen Irish Pubs. The little one in the picture may not be long for the program though, and it looks like the crane will attempt to hoist it to another location ;-o Heading home tomorrow for a week off, then back to Minneapolis.

A Day for Daly's

Finally, a break in the weather in Brewtown!

Last night was an ugly one. It sleeted all day in Milwaukee and a very nasty front moved through Indy just as we took off. We actually had to deice in Indy on the outbound this morning. Finally, the clouds have parted right before sunset, and I briefly saw the sun for the first time this week!

Because the weather has been so miserable, I've been confined to the habitrails during the layovers. I first noticed a little shop along the walk back in January, but never thought to go in. It's called Daly's Pen Shop and deals exclusively in--you guessed it--pens! Today I finally went in out of curiosity, and met the proprietor Judy. Daly's is, in fact, America's oldest pen shop, started in 1924! The original store was one floor down from the current location. Judy began working there over 30 years ago as a "favor" to her aunt, and is now the boss. We had a delightful conversation, and I chose a LAMY pen to use when signing all the paperwork in the cockpit. The visit was well timed b/c my cheapo plastic pen leaked all over my hand last night (fortunately not on my white shirt). Anyway, here's the website:  http://dalyspenshop.com/home/

The official Capt Kells pen...LAMY dialog 1

Back in Milwaukee again

This month's odd week of flying is Milwaukee to Indy. After less than two days at home, Michelle drove me to the airport for my deadhead up north. I was thinking things were looking up b/c American took the RJ off of the DFW-MKE trip and replaced it with an MD-80. And, I finally reached Gold elite level, so I was getting upgraded to first class. However, the 300 lb guy found me even in first class! You would think I would still have room for my elbows, but this guy needed a seatbelt extension, and I think they upgraded him b/c he wouldn't have fit in a normal coach seat. On top of that, he was obnoxious, so much so that the one flight attendant he had been picking on while on the ground told him to "give a hard time" to the first class flight attendant, just to get away from him...and this guy took it seriously! He was merciless. I tried to discourage him from interacting with me, but he was too big to get his tray table down, so he used mine! It was over 2 hours of hell. And then, when we got to Milwaukee, it snowed! In mid April! I'm earning my vacation next month.

I Won at Bidding!

I got my first choice for the May bid month. It will enable me to protect the carryover week from April (ie: not lose money), work a very short second week, and have the rest of the month off. I was able to slide the remaining days into June, so I should get at least the first week of June off as well. To celebrate, I explored the habitrails here in downtown Minneapolis. It's one of the best connected systems of pedestrian walkways I've seen anywhere. Nice today, since the weather is turning cold. All of the red lines in the map above are elevated walkways connecting various buildings. Bad weather looms over the nation's midsection tonight and it looks like we'll have to pick our way around it to get to Ft Worth and back.

Bid time

So far it's been a pretty easy week flying between Minneapolis and Alliance Field (Fort Worth). I haven't been back to Alliance in many years, but it's always a pleasure. In the 90's, Fedex put in a major automated sort facility there, and the thought was that it would become like Indy, a major hub...maybe even a pilot domicile. Since we were living in Texas at the time, a pilot base at AFW would have been a great thing. Unfortunately, the idea fizzled as the business model changed. We now only have 15 flights a night turn through there, so it's very under-utilized, but always a pleasure compared to the hustle and bustle of Memphis or Indy. The flight time is a little longer than I've been accustomed to lately at about 2 hours. We were the first (and only) 757 in there on Monday night, but I believe the 757 is taking over the Ontario (California) to Alliance run next month from the 727.

I worked on my monthly bid for May during the layover. The picture is BID-X, the software created by one of our pilots that many of us use to accomplish this monthly task. I've got to balance several factors next month including a long carryover week of flying from April and vacation in May. It's always a challenge, but especially so when you start throwing in extracurricular activities. Wish me luck! Additionally, our first seat movement bid for this year just closed. It's a big one with lots of training coming. I'm staying where I am, and getting a little more senior as more guys are bidding in behind me than in front. When it all shakes out, I'll be bidding at about 23% for my seat. Not bad. Seniority, of course, is everything: it determines your place in the pecking order for monthly bidding, vacation bidding, and seat movement.

Long time no see. I had two nice weeks off to plant 100 trees and finish up the garage wiring and lift. Now I'm in Minneapolis on day two of this week's flying. I only saw Michelle briefly in DFW as I was flying out and she was flying in from an Atlanta conference. We met at my gate for a minute, and we only got to see each other b/c her flight to ABQ was cancelled. Such is love and marriage in the new age of working spouses.
Last night, for the first live leg of this week, I did the thing I always feared...I was late for the hotel pickup. The First Officer lives here, so he was already at the Fedex ramp. The limo driver got tired of waiting for me and called her dispatch, who called Fedex Global Operations Center (GOC), who called the FO. He advised that they should call the hotel desk (duh). They called my room and let me know the limo was waiting out front. At first, I argued that my pickup time was still 30 minutes away, then realized I had the hour wrong. So, now the rush began. Fortunately, I was mostly ready. I was very grateful that the limo driver waited for me, and tipped her well. I signed the release online using my smartphone on the way to the airport, and called the FO to let him know I was on the way. We still pushed early, so all was forgiven. It's not so bad being late if you're the Captain!

Today the weather in Minnie is gorgeous, so I got a Jimmy Johns sandwich and had a picnic in this little downtown park. Rain tomorrow, snow by Friday.

48 Hours Later

I actually ended up spending about 48 hours in Memphis. My biggest accomplishment while there was getting some WD-40 to lube the squeaky wheels on my roll aboard suitcase. My FOs will no longer be embarrassed to be seen (heard) with me in hotel lobbies! It was an ugly winter and the bag was dragged over much snowy/salty tarmac causing wheel bearing corrosion.
I've heard two explanations why we were taken off the TLH trip. One was that the company just ran out of 757s in "up" status and the Tallahassee trip was the easiest to replace with a 727. The other was that the forecast foggy Tallahassee weather and lack of nearby stations equipped to handle a 757 weather divert, since it's a relatively new airplane to Fedex, severely limited operational options, forcing the dispatcher to use a 727 instead. Whatever the reason, it cost me $135 in Memphis hotels. Bygones. We've flown the trip the last two nights, and it's been uneventful (which is aviation-speak for no big problems). I'm getting bumped for the Saturday trip/deadhead for training and my FO gets to crew for a new 757 Captain's activation ride, which is his final trip in training, while I get to go home on the am jumpseat. I'm looking forward to some time off (at home) for good behavior.
Oh yeah, while I was stuck in Memphis, our pilot group voted "yes" on a Tentative Agreement for up to two years which includes some nice safety enhancements and a small pay bump. We'll still be in negotiations for the rest of the contract sections, but this gives the company some flexibility in opening new domiciles abroad and some time to digest the forthcoming new FAA scheduling rules. I think it was a win-win. Very few airlines are even considering pay raises for their pilots nowadays.

Stuck in Memphis part two

AOC crew briefing area with 100 computers

One of my two hero airplane line drawings: Customs P-AEW

Game room

Dead guy plaques in the Greenway Memorial Library

Greenway Memorial Library

Lockers for 4000

Lockers

TV room...reminds me of the ready room on the carrier

Crew buses lined up to take you to your jet

I had to deadhead in to Tallahassee a full day early (Sunday) to make the required check-in period 9 hours before my active leg Monday night. No way to get there in time on Monday from Albuquerque. This meant paying for my own hotel room as well as leaving home much earlier than I wanted. Have to remember this when it's time to bid again. The trip last night from Tallahassee to Memphis seemed to be going smoothly right up until the ramp agent brought out the weight and balance at 20 minutes prior to push. That was my first indication that we were much heavier than planned; 9000 lbs to be exact. Now lifting this much extra weight up to 32,000' and carrying it 540 air miles to Memphis takes more fuel. The weather was very nice which meant the dispatcher did not have to give us fuel for an alternate, or very much extra fuel at all. I determined that we would need some more fuel to safely fly our route, and after some hemming and hawing the dispatcher agreed, but there would be a considerable delay in getting the fuel truck back out. Fedex takes any delays in its schedule very seriously, so I had to write an email once we got to Memphis explaining my actions (we were 35 minutes late). Then, shortly after checking in at Memphis for our return leg to Tallahassee, we were notified that the trip back was cancelled due to lack of 757s. Same thing that happened two weeks ago. They put a 727 on the trip and we went into substitution again, but with no airplane. This will cost me another hotel room in Memphis. Grr. So, I made use of my time in the hub by taking some pictures.

Spring Break YES!!!

The Captain has left the bridge. I'm heading home as soon as American can get me there.  Michelle and I are heading off to Chama, NM for Spring Break, so I won't be posting for awhile. I want to leave you with an example of the finest Daylight Exclusion Device I've ever seen, and it's only available at our layover hotel in Tallahassee. Two styrofoam-cored precisely cut to fit the main window and window arch, covered with black cloth. It is, indeed, a beautiful thing to behold. The pictures don't do it justice because it's so dark! Cheers, and I'll talk at you later.

My FO for the month with "Piper"

Nice weather finally

Lard and Sugar...what could be better?

The last two days have been cool and crisp, with no major flying challenges. I finally got to walk around a little on the layover. Went to see Tron at the local discount movie theater and was generally unimpressed. Unfortunately, I also found a Krispy Kreme and ate an undisclosed number of fresh hot fat-pills along with a hot chocolate. I'm very lucky the KKs in Albuquerque went under or I'd weigh alot more!

It's always interesting being in Memphis. I had time to do a little maintenance on the Golf, which is my Memphis car with 150,000 miles on it. I have an isolator on the battery that keeps the juice from draining since I only drive it once every few months. Saw a statue of liberty in front of a huge local church holding a cross instead of a lamp. How would that make anyone but a Christian feel? I guess it doesn't matter b/c only that particular church knows exactly what is best for everyone.

Stuck in Memphis

Weather today looks just like last night. TLH is where the red box is.

The saga of this week continues. When we showed last night for the Tallahassee to Memphis leg, the weather was ominous but GOC (Global Operation Control...our dispatchers) gave us almost an hour of extra contingency fuel, which does wonders raising the comfort level. On the way out to the airplane, I took these pictures b/c this was the cleanest airplane I've seen in a long time, having just come from a "C" check in JAX. Sure is a pretty beast! Anyway, just a minute into the walkaround, things started to go south. You see the red lights on the wingtip? Just like with a boat, the other side should have green lights, but they were not working. That's a no-go item at night. The mechanic did not see a quick  way to fix the problem b/c the circuit breaker kept popping. Not a good feeling, a short somewhere out on the wing which is full of gas! GOC re-routed a 727 into Tallahassee to pick up the freight and we thought we were done for the night. The nightly haul out of Tallahassee is worth several million dollars b/c there is a firm in Dothan that deals in refrigerated oncology shipments that MUST get where they're going without fail...something like $30,000 per box! By the time the 727 got to us, the mechanic had come up with one more bright idea; he checked the cannon plug for the lights ...basically a wiring harness plug in the wing...and found it to be loose. He tightened it and that seemed to fix the problem, so now the ramp had to reload us again. We ended up being about 1 1/2 hours late, and the 727 had to land for gas anyway. We plowed through the weather getting the crap beat out of us and finally landed in Memphis just in time to check in for the return trip to Tallahassee. Oh, and the circuit breaker for the right wind lights popped on landing. Hmmm.
Next chapter; the sort was and hour and a half late, but we went out to the new airplane and they started loading freight, so we were looking ok. Then I noticed the lights in the cockpit kept flickering every couple of minutes (pretty good considering how tired I was). It reminded me of what happens when the electric hydraulic pumps are first turned on. I figured that the ground power unit was about to go out, so I started the APU (our little jet-powered onboard generator) and switched the electric power source to it. Still flickering. I finally  checked the hydraulic pressure and found that the right hydraulic pump was cycling on and off. Strange and not good. The quantity was also a little low, maybe a leak? Called maintenance. We're getting a rep as a crew now! Airplane was hard down with no spare 757 in Memphis. They had to transload the freight to a 727. Back into substitution for us. I got to my favorite Memphis hotel about 5:00 this morning only to find that they had raised the Fedex corporate rate from $43 to $59. What a day (night). My first hard down airplane as a Captain, and one of only a handful ever for me at Fedex in over 15 years!

Grueling Night

On Saturday, I received a crew notification that my deadhead trip for Sunday had been cancelled...they put a 727 on Tallahassee instead of the 757. When this happens, the affected crew goes into "substitution" where the company can assign a different trip. I was pretty sure they would not have anything for me b/c it would have to be a deadhead, and they're usually held pretty tightly by pilots. So, I maintained my availability (by having a phone with me) and got paid for the trip that they cancelled. Cool, but there's always the piper to pay. Monday, I was notified that my trip for Tuesday morning (02:00 showtime in Memphis) was "revised." Trip revisions are usually bad news, and this was no exception. We were supposed to have a nice easy one-legger to Tallahassee, but no; we flew to Tallahassee, offloaded the freight, took the empty plane to Cecil Field in Jacksonville, swapped airplanes to one that had just come out of heavy maintenance (it took three test flights to get it flightworthy last week), then flew that plane back to Tallahassee, landing at about 10:00 in the morning. Ugh, the sun was up and it was very hard to get to sleep. The plane acted a little strangely as well, and we'll have to try and do some more extensive troubleshooting tonight on our way to Memphis when we're a little more awake. I did get a glimpse of the Jacksonville Customs air branch (now Homeland Security), and some of their P-3s like I used to fly, which are stationed there. Sorry, no pictures, or they'd have to shoot me. At least it's warm in my birth state of Florida!

Mitchell Gallery of Flight

On my way out of Milwaukee yesterday, I found a nice little aviation museum right in the airport. It covers the life of General Billy Mitchell as well as astronaut Jim Lovell, both native Milwaukee sons. Here's the link: http://www.mitchellgallery.org/default.asp. There was also a model of a Fedex Airbus on display.

Farewell to Milwaukee

Things again went smoothly at Milwaukee last night as well as Indy this morning. We had a little glitch with the autothrottles right after takeoff that caused them to go to idle in the climbout (not exactly what you want them to do close to the ground, slow and 20 degrees nose up), but we sorted that out and continued on our merry way to an early arrival at MKE. I got a few zzz's and now it's off to the Eagle RJ for the long trip home.

Gloomy morning for farewells

I received a notification that my deadhead trip to Tallahassee on Sunday with a live leg to Memphis on Monday night had a change of gauge. For some reason, they put a 727 on the trip instead of my 757. This means I'll be in "substitution" under our contract. I must be available for a new trip assignment from 3 hours prior to the original showtime until 8 hours later in order to be pay protected. Since the only thing they can realistically assign me is another deadhead, I will get another day at home. If skeds calls with a trip, I can refuse it, but I'll eventually lose the pay unless I make it up. I scheduled a Fedex jumpseat for Monday night to join up with the rest of my Tallahassee trips for the week. We'll see if they change the gauge on those as well. This actually works out well b/c getting to TLH from ABQ was not easy, and I was going to have to take a much earlier flight that I wanted just to be in position by the required 9 hours prior to showtime on Monday night, and pay for an extra night in the hotel out of pocket. Stay tuned for more ...
On the rumor front, the mechanic in Milwaukee this morning said that he heard Fedex was in negotiations with Boeing for 767 ER freighters to replace the MD-11s. Since my type rating is for 757 and 767, this would be great news! I had previously understood that the 767 would not work with our belly can configuration, but I guess anything is solvable if you throw enough money at it. As the saying goes, "Don't believe anything until it's painted purple and sitting on the ramp." See http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/flightblogger/2011/03/boeing-and-fedex-eye-767-400er.html

Hubble

Last night went so smoothly it was scary. We were early out of Milwaukee and Indy, and the weather was great.  I'm sure we'll have to pay the piper tonight, since it's going home time when we get back to Milwaukee in the morning. They're predicting freezing rain so we'll see.
Today I took in the IMAX Hubble show at the Natural History Museum. All I can say is WOW! SEE IT IF YOU CAN! I think most pilots have entertained the idea of spaceflight as something they would like to try, at one time or another. Growing up in Florida in the 60's and 70's, I sure did. This 45 minute film about the Hubble repair missions is absolutely breathtaking, and in my case, tearjerking. It was particularly poignant considering Discovery is on her last voyage as I write this. It's very sad to me that our country will be losing its leadership in space very soon. The pursuit of pure science and discovery on the last frontier is one of the areas where we once  could actually and truly claim exceptionalism, but no more. What grand unifying dreams will our kids aspire to now? To be on American Idol? To Dance with the Stars? I think a voyage to the stars would be so much more fulfilling...
http://www.imax.com/hubble/