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Sunday, July 18, 2010

Just a Typical Trip: Part III


Orlando, Florida. This trip started out looking pretty good on paper and was relatively pleasant as long as things were going as smoothly as they did on day one and two. Day three was a different story. My alarm sounded at 6:15 am and by 7, I was exchanging pleasantries on the hotel van with a new crew of flight attendants. Security was a typical annoyance - I try to be a nice guy and not jump to the front of the line unless I’m running behind or the line is ridiculously long, but I always, always, always pick the wrong line. From there we took the train to the boarding terminal and headed for the jet with a quick stop at Starbucks. Our gate was at end of the terminal and to my displeasure, from about half way down the corridor I could see a bucket crane suspending what I assumed was a mechanic above the tail of our jet. Strike one.

Apparently, there was an issue with a sensor in the elevator that had been detected on an inbound flight the night before. There are literally hundreds of mechanical items on an aircraft that are allowed to be broken or not working properly. When something breaks, consult the MEL (Minimum Equipment List). If the item is listed, then it can be deferred…that is, deferred to be repaired later. Unfortunately this item was not listed in the MEL and had to be repaired before we could depart on our way home. Strike two.

The part we needed was a few states away, so the airline hired an air taxi service -- at great expense I might add -- to fly the part in overnight. They received the part just about the time we arrived at the airport and informed us that the repair would take hours. Then, as if nothing could go right, the crane broke down and the mechanics were unable to work. Flight Cancelled. Strike three.

This is one of those hated scenarios for airline crews. We generally travel on one of two different types of passes when deadheading on duty. An A1 pass is for a crewmember who is deadheading to cover a revenue flight and will get you on the flight in front of a paying passenger. If you’ve ever been on an oversold flight and wondered why airline employees were put on the jet before revenue passengers, this might be why. On the other hand, a crewmember deadheading home at the end of a sequence travels on an A3 pass. An A3 pass will get you on in front of airline employees traveling for personal reasons, but will not get you on in front of the paying folks. When our flight cancelled, crew tracking scheduled us to deadhead home as A3s on the next flight to DFW along with 140 paying passengers from our cancelled flight. Is there such thing as strike four?

Our saving grace was the fact that the next flight to DFW was a B757. As a result of our cancellation, the flight was seriously oversold and the standby list was mile long. There would be a long list of people from my flight who would not get seats on this one, but the aircraft was equipped with two jumpseats in the cockpit and enough jumpseats in the cabin to accommodate all the flight attendants. Home run.

We were happy and a little surprised to be heading home. Sometimes, even when a flight cancels, they make the pilots stick around to re-position a jet after it has been repaired or even ferry it to a major maintenance base if it cannot be repaired by local mechanics. Pleased that this was not the case, we all got jumpseat assignments and took our places on our ride home. The 757 has a large comfortable cockpit that easily accepts two pilots and two jumpseaters. They even fed us lunch on the way home.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Just a Typical Trip: Part II


You can set your watch by the flurry of activity that occurs about five minutes before departure. The gate agents and crew chief on the ramp are very much in tune with the clock and the implications to them personally if we leave even one minute late. Our “out” times are registered electronically and one minute late is still late. If you’ve ever walked up to the gate five minutes to departure time with the jet sitting there in plain sight and tried to convince a gate agent to open the door and let you on, then you know. Good luck.

The Captain and I were strapped in ready to go as we completed the “before starting engines” checklist and the last of the cargo doors were closed by the ground crew. A ramper tapped on the side of the airplane near my seat to get my attention…he needed me to turn on the right hydraulic pump so he could raise the aft stair door. About five minutes before scheduled departure time, the gate agent stepped into the cockpit and asked if we were ready. “We’re ready as long as the flight attendants are“ is the typical response. The ladies in the back were scurrying around finishing up their last minute duties…overheads closed, everyone seated…I’ll never understand why people wait until they’re on the plane to use the bathroom. What have they been doing in the terminal for the last hour? It’s time to go!

The agent stepped out onto the jet bridge and closed the door and the flight attendant armed the emergency slide on her door then advised that the cabin was ready. The push crew called the Captain and advised “walk around and FOD check complete, cleared to release brakes.”

TAXI

“Ramp 1180, A26 pushback” was my first radio call of the day. ATIS (Automated Terminal Information System) and en-route clearance information was printed out earlier using ACARS (pictured) and didn’t require a radio call. We pushed back from the gate, started engines and requested taxi clearance from ramp control who cleared us to spot 15 where we would wait to be called by ground control. No need to call ground…they see you sitting there and call when time permits. Also, they have new ground based radar that reads our transponder code, so they know who we are and where we’re going before we tell them. “Spot 15?” was the query from ground inviting us to identify ourselves. I responded with “American 1180, information B” and we were cleared to taxi. “American 1180 taxi 17 right, Juliet, Echo-Gulf.”

We pulled out onto taxiway Juliet and headed for the runway, completing taxi and take-off checklists as we went. Closeout information began printing out of the ACARS printer. While sitting at the gate, we entered preliminary weight and balance information into the FMS and set the planned CG and trim settings accordingly. As we taxied to the runway, we received the final weight and balance information via ACARS printout. Once the final numbers were imputed and checklists were complete, we would be ready for departure.

TAKEOFF

As we approached runway 17 right, I dialed 126.55, DFW tower, into the number one radio and we waited for our turn. We were number two for takeoff and as the aircraft ahead of us began his takeoff roll we received our clearance…”American 1180, runway 17R, position and hold.” We completed a couple last minute checklist items as we taxied onto the runway. “American 1180, RNAV NAVYE, runway 17R cleared for takeoff.” It was the Captain’s leg, so he pushed the throttles up and commanded “auto throttle on” as the airspeed indicator came alive. “Power set”…“80 knots”…V1 occurred at 137 knots accompanied by my standard callouts “V1“…“Rotate”…”V2”…”V2 + 10.” As we rotated, the Captain commanded “positive rate, gear up” and we were on our way. We engaged NAV at 400 feet and captured the RNAV track for our assigned departure and contacted departure on 118.55. Retracting the flaps on schedule, leaving the slats extended for the turn ahead., we crossed NAVYE intersection as we began a turn to the east following the magenta line on the NAV display…crossing JGIRL above 5000 at 240 knots as required by the TRISS3 RNAV procedure. After JGIRL we accelerated to 250 knots and leveled off momentarily at 10,000 for traffic at 11,000 on the arrival before we were cleared to 17,000 ft. Climbing through 10,000 we accelerated to 310 knots and received clearance to FL230 followed shortly by a hand-off to Ft. Worth Center and a clearance to a final cruise altitude of FL330.

ENROUTE AND DESCENT

The departure procedure took us up over TXK (Texarkana) where we joined J42 to MOL (Montebello) J24 to FAK (Flat Rock) then direct to the airport while speaking to Center controllers in Ft. Worth., Memphis, Indianapolis and Washington. Our descent began with an early clearance to FL240, probably to get us under arrival traffic to another city. After some time at FL240, we were cleared to cross 15 miles west of FAK at 9000 to get us into the proper arrival corridor for Richmond. The rule of thumb for planning a descent is altitude to lose times 3. In this case we were cruising at FL240 and needed to plan a descent to 9000...15,000 feet to lose times 3 or 45 miles. We had a 20 knot tailwind…add 2 miles, 1 knot for every 10 knots of tailwind…and we needed to slow from 310 knots to 250 at 10,000 feet before descending to 9000...add 1 mile for every 10 knots or 6 miles in this case. All said, we needed 53 miles to get down. The FMS provides this information, but as with any computer, put junk in, get junk out. Doing the math in your head is always a good backup to the FMS.

APPROACH

At the top of descent, I began running the “descent” and “before landing” checklists in preparation for our approach and landing. We received multiple step downs as we were vectored for an approach at Richmond….the weather was good , so we briefed a visual approach to runway 34 backed up with the ILS (Instrument Landing System). We were initially told to expect runway 2, but since that runway is 3000 feet shorter than runway 34, we requested and received clearance for the longer runway. As we approached the airport the Captain began to slow and configure the aircraft for landing. “below 280, slats extend” as we approach the min maneuver speed for a clean aircraft. As we continued to slow he commanded flaps 11 then flaps 15 as we slowed well below the maximum speed for those flap settings. With the airport in sight, the approach controller cleared us for the visual approach to runway 34 and handed us off to the tower. We were turning final about 5 miles from the runway at that point descending through 2000 feet, indicating around 180 knots with flaps 15. “Tower, American 1180, visual runway 34” followed immediately by clearance to land…“American 1180, wind 360 at 13, runway 34, cleared to land.” “Gear down” “below 220 flaps 23” were my instructions from the Captain as we continued to configure for landing. “Below 195, flaps 28...below 195, flaps 40” and I completed the landing checklist. We passed 1000 ft. on speed, established on the glide slope with the power stabilized at about 1.3 EPR…a pretty normal power setting for a fairly heavy MD80 with a slight headwind and continued the approach to a smooth landing, touching down at 130 knots. I announced “deployed” after touchdown, referring to the spoilers and called out “100 knots, 80 knots, 60 knots” as we slowed and exited the runway onto taxiway Charlie. We contacted ground as we cleaned up and performed the “after landing” checklist and were cleared to “cross runway 2, taxi to park.”

After arriving at the gate, we concluded the flight with the “parking checklist,” opened the door and thanked our passengers for their business on their way onto the jet bridge. Success. Another one behind us without a call from the FAA or the Chief Pilot’s office. After a 40 minute sit, we returned to DFW and continued on to Colorado Springs for the night. Pretty good day…good Captain, three good flight attendants…operated on time…seemed to keep most everyone happy. Day two went much the same, departing COS around 1pm and continuing to Orlando, Florida after a short stop at DFW. Day three would not be as successful. Stay tuned for Part III.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Just a Typical Trip: Part I




I got up this morning for my first day of six on reserve. My RAP (Reserve Availability Period) starts at 10 am and ends at midnight. This means that I can’t be called until 10 and any assignment I receive must end by midnight...once called I have two hours to get to the airport. Sitting at the computer, I see that crew schedule has been busy overnight assigning a number of trips. Mine is a 3 day trip, sign in at 11:50 am, three legs today, 8 hours of flying, 12 hours on duty and an overnight in Colorado Springs. Tomorrow I’ll get up in the Springs and fly back home then to Orlando for the night…two legs…we’ll be in Orlando around 8pm. Day three is one leg home. I should be home for lunch. Not so bad on paper.

I suppose there are some benefits to sitting reserve, the best of which is that I could potentially sit on reserve the entire month, never touch an airplane and still take home a full paycheck. Pretty good gig if that ever happened. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, it never does. It’s summer in Texas, thunderstorms rumble through daily and pilots are in short supply, so I max out around 80 to 85 hours every month. The down side to reserve would take pages to explain and I really don‘t have to energy to step up onto that soap box today, so lets just say that reserve kinda sucks and leave it at that.

I leave the house at 10:50, kiss my wife and kids good-by and head out. It’s about a 20 minute drive to the parking lot, but the trip from the parking lot to the terminal can take 10 minutes or 30...no telling which it will be today, so I need to be in the parking lot by 11:20. Traffic is light and I arrive at the lot by 11:15, there’s a bus waiting and by 11:25 I’m walking through security on my way to ops. I stop by operations to check my box and sign in for my trip. Sign in…check. Check trip for revisions…check. Print layover instructions…check. Review flight plan and weather…check. Jepps and manual revisions…check.

The plane is due in at 11:45 and I prefer to meet the inbound crew to get a brief on the condition of the jet, so I hurry off to the gate. When I arrive at the gate, the passengers are deplaning and I check in with the gate agent who checks my ID against the crew list and briefs me on any “specials”…wheel chairs, unaccompanied minors, armed passengers, etc.

After the passengers deplane, I head down the jet-bridge. It’s already 94 degrees in Dallas and the bridge is hot. Thankfully, the inbound crew left the APU running, so the jet is cool and comfortable. I put my bags away and build my nest, that is, I unpack my kit bag and get everything set up the way I like it. Everything out and ready. Everything in place and ready to use.

I do an initial preflight of the cockpit and head out for my walk-around. The ramp is hot and loud and looks a little like an ant mound with people and equipment moving around in what looks like completely random and pointless movements. There are a couple rampers attaching the tow bar to the nose gear and reading the tug for push back. Fuel is being pumped into the right wing. All three cargo doors are open and bags are being unloaded from the last flight. A cleaning crew is walking up the aft stairs to do their magic on the cabin, the lav truck is backing up to the rear access point and catering has already started on the first class galley.

The walk-around yields no issues. This airplane is old and has been used hard. An MD-82 that entered service in 1987. “Ridden hard and hung up wet” as my Dad would say. Tons of little dents and scratches, but they’re all cosmetic and every one is accounted for in the damage log. This aircraft is well cared for and has plenty of life left in it.

Back in the cockpit, I meet the Captain for the first time and we exchange pleasantries and he hands me a printed copy of the flight plan and TPS. The flight plan contains all the information for the flight from take-off to landing. Route, altitude, speeds, weather, destination alternates, etc. Everything we need for the actual fight. The TPS is a departure plan. It contains information about runways, flap settings, power settings, takeoff speeds, engine out acceleration altitudes and planned passenger loads. It also contains information about cargo weights, fuel distribution and expected temperatures at departure time. Everything we need to know to safely takeoff. We enter all this information into the cockpit computers and FMS. Set our speed and altitude bugs and complete all our final cockpit checks as the passenger board the aircraft.
Stay tuned for Part II and the remainder of the trip.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

A Tale of Two Airlines


I took to the sky for the very first time at the controls of an avocado green and white Cessna 172, N4664L. I saw a picture of the old girl recently…hasn’t changed a bit. Same paint job, interior unchanged. The images rekindled positive memories of an outstanding flight instructor and a summer learning the skills that became the foundation of my career in aviation. The date was September 13, 1986...13 years to the day before I landed what I thought was my dream job.

I was a junior at J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas in 1986 when I chose Aviation Science as an elective course. Taught by the varsity golf coach, the class was basically a Private Pilot ground school course and the leaping off point for my career. On a regular basis, our class was visited by a local flight instructor, former Braniff and current (at the time) corporate pilot and photographer for Steak and Ale who volunteered his time and offered to take anyone who wanted go, flying in his little green and white Cessna 172. We went three at a time…each of us getting about 15 minutes at the controls. After flying with the entire class, he chose one person who, in his opinion, possessed the ability and the desire to make a career of aviation, and taught that person to fly for free…well, almost free. It was more of a time swap deal. One hour in his yard for one hour of instruction. He chose me and I spent the summer mowing, trimming, clipping and learning the skills of aviation.

Thirteen years to the day from my first flight, I stepped onto the property at American Airlines as a gainfully employed airline pilot. Dream job obtained. Grey pin-striped suit, burgundy tie, brief case…we all looked the same…pumped up and feeling like we had just one the lottery. But I’d like to back up about 30 days and describe a unique perspective of two career paths. 30 days earlier, after years of preparation and training. Four years of college. One year as a CFI. One year flying cancelled checks single pilot at night with no radar or autopilot. Six years at a regional airline flying the EMB-120 Brasilia and the ATR-72 and years of applications and updates. Then, in one day, I got two calls. One from American and one from Southwest. Here’s what happened.

The airline industry can be a perilous place to hang your hat. My father, retired in 2004, was hired by Delta when the airline was a regional carrier with no international presence at a time when the desirable airlines were names like Pan Am, TWA and Eastern. Leap ahead 36 years and Delta is the largest airline in the world and all my father‘s first picks are fading memories. In 2004, the pay rates at Delta were unmatched anywhere in the world and may never be achieved again in commercial aviation. A B777 Captain at the time could easily bring home something north of $300,000 per year. Who knows what the future holds…another 30 years in the future and Delta could be on the same list as the other bygone greats. No one knows, and that is the most significant pitfall of an airline career.

A pilot is married to an airline for life due to a little thing called seniority. The guy who has been there the longest is number 1 on the list. The guy hired last is at the bottom and everyone hired in between populates the list in a position relative to his hire date. Everything, and I mean everything, is determined by seniority. Monthly schedule, base, equipment, vacation, compensation, the list goes on…everything is based on seniority and you can’t take it with you. As a new hire pilot at American Airlines in 1999, I earned a little less than $24,000. Today, I make 11 year MD-80 FO pay…roughly $100K per year. If American Airlines closed up shop tomorrow, if I was furloughed, fired or just chose to leave and work for another airline, my seniority would reset to day one. I would start over at the bottom in every sense of the word…and that is why pilots are careful about where they work and never leave unless forced to do so.

As soon as I was hired by a regional airline, I put my career plan in high gear. Part of that plan was that moss would never grow on this stone. I would spend every waking moment attacking the idea of working for my airline of choice. I thought I was sitting pretty at the time. I was making descent money, working for a reputable, stable airline and upgrade to Captain was in sight. There was no pressing desire to move to another “stair step” airline. That is, another step to a company where I would not spend my career. I wanted my next step to be my last. So I made a short list of what I thought were the best U.S. airlines and sent my first application to a major before I finished new-hire training at my regional airline. American, Delta, Continental, United, Northwest, Southwest, UPS and FEDEX all made my list. Yours may vary. Mine would certainly look different today.

UPS and FEDEX never responded to me at all. You never quite know why one airline jumps and another gives you the finger and my story was no different. Continental, Northwest and United responded to each of my updates with a pleasant enough postcard inviting me to try again later. Delta was a top choice for me, but my father was a pilot for them and they had a nasty nepotism rule that excluded me as candidate for employment. That would change later when they dropped their little “no family” rule, but it would prove too little too late for me.

So that left American and Southwest. American’s response to my attention was no different than the rest at first. Southwest was different. Their minimums were higher and a little more complex than the rest, so I had been focused on the other airlines for quite some time before I met the minimum requirements at Southwest. At this point, almost 6 years had elapsed since I sent in my first major airline application, but only 2 months since I applied at Southwest. I was astounded by how fast things worked with this great airline and quickly shifted all my hopes and dreams to Southwest. I was hired by Southwest two weeks later and put into a “pool” of available pilots. Sadly, there was no rhyme or reason to the method of pulling pilots from the pool, and I stayed there for months. All that momentum came to a screeching halt.

Then, in August of 1999 in the presence of a good friend and pilot with whom I had a friendly, yet vigorous, competition to see who would be hired first, the phone rang. It was American Airlines calling to offer me a job and unlike Southwest who placed me in a pool of available pilots, American offered me class date. Remember, seniority is everything…and seniority starts on your first day. It can never be taken away and never improved. You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit…as my 9 year old would say. I had always said that I would only apply where I really wanted to work and accept the first class date that came up. So I accepted. Happily…and I won the competition too!

Later that same day, smile still firmly affixed, the phone rang again. It was Southwest Airlines. You’ve got to be kidding me, I thought. My two top picks on the same day. It was the toughest decision I have ever had to make. At the time, American paid more, had a better retirement, flew bigger, more exciting airplanes and flew them around the world. Captains at the time were receiving yearly bonus checks large enough to purchase a new Cadillac and Southwest just seemed like a better paying regional airline job. At least that’s how I rationalize my decision today. Plus, I always said I would take the first job I was offered and never look back, so I stuck to my plan and accepted the job at American Airlines.

I won’t know until the day I retire if I made the right decision. My employment history at AA has been a roller coaster ride. I was hired at a time when the airline was taking on 100 pilots per month. By September 2001, when everything changed, I had almost 3000 pilots junior to me on the seniority list. Since then I have steadily lost seniority due to the shrinkage of this once great airline. When I was hired in 1999, my seniority number was just over 10,000. The pilot ranks at American swelled to over 13,000 with vigorous hiring and the merger with TWA in 2000. At one point I was displaced out of my home airport and forced to commute to reserve in a distance city. A situation that lasted almost 4 years. Today, I am based where I want to be based and have a 20 minute drive to work. But with almost 11 years seniority, the right seat of the MD-80 is the only thing I can hold, I’m on reserve, unable to hold a regular line of time and upgrade to the left seat is at least 10 years in my future…if at all. At Southwest, I would have been a Captain 5 years ago, in the same city where I live now, making double what I currently earn. Did I make the right choice? You may have your own opinion. I know I have mine, but time will tell.