757 (b) Log

Fedex 757 First Flight Video

2012-01-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

I added this youtube video to the permanent links list: http://youtu.be/Hv2bFBdVlI8

Line Check Complete

2012-01-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

I'm good for another year after my double-team line check to Greenville. Actually, the guys were great to fly with and the checkride went very well. Decided to bail out on the weekend layover and come home: live to fight another day.

CMV-1 Complete

2012-01-18T08:27:00.001-07:00

Made it though my CMV-1 last night, although the sim was acting up and at one time it looked like we would not be able to complete the event. That would have sucked b/c it would have meant another day in Memphis, probably next month. Last night's event was a dusting off of old emergency procedures, and an intro to a new type of approach we're going to be doing using GPS with a tighter tolerance (called RNAV (RNP). Tonight, I have my line check to Greenville with a check airman acting as my FO while he watches a new check airman check me. What fun!

Global War on Error #3

2012-01-16T17:10:00.001-07:00

Ground school today, my third year with Noel as instructor. I gave him the link to this blog in hopes he might be able to glean some more info on the life of a Fedex pilot. He actually does a very good job of relating to us as a group and understanding our unique concerns, but more info never hurts, right? A post of particular note might be the Confessional back in October, b/c I applied some of the concepts Noel is teaching. Tomorrow night is my CMV-1 sim, then a day off in Memphis, then my line check to Greenville. Stay tuned!

Jumpseat to Memphis for Training

2012-01-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

Michelle got home at 8 pm last night from Seattle and California, and I had to get up at 2:30 am this morning. Since Jan 2, these 6 hours are the sum total of the time we've gotten to spend together because of her schedule and mine. I won't be home again for another 9 days. Sometimes, retirement sure looks good. I picked up breakfast burritos for the crew and my mechanic friend at Fedex Mike this morning, and then rode the jumpseat to El Paso. We loaded some freight and another jumper and got to Memphis at around 11:00. It took quite awhile for me to locate the trusty Golf in the parking lot, but it fired right up and got me to the hotel which will be my base of operations for the next 4 days. Time to study!

Low Vis Takeoff

2012-01-10T00:24:00.002-07:00

Here's what 1400 RVR (Runway Visual Range) looked like for our takeoff from Greenville last night. Since it was below 1600 RVR, I had to make the takeoff instead of the FO. The little red sign says "22" for the hold short line at runway 22. The blue lights are taxiways and the white lights are the runway.

Union MEC Vote is in

2012-01-04T17:26:00.001-07:00

The Fedex ALPA MEC has decided to continue our present contract for one more year instead of reentering section 6 negotiations. This means a 3% pay raise in March and continued interim discussions with the company on open contract items for 2013. So, we can all get back to work now for another year without the inevitable conflict that surrounds active negotiations.

Quantarids

2012-01-04T17:20:00.001-07:00

We were treated to a nice meteor shower on the flight from Memphis to Greenville this morning. The Quantarids only appear in a two hour window once a year. Here's more info: http://www.space.com/14136-photos-2012-quadrantid-meteor-shower-images.html

Lost Bag

2012-01-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

The offending bag

This happens about once every 5 years or so. I'm one of those pilots who hates to deadhead in uniform and also hates to try to carry on my bag, so I risk my uniform not showing up every time I deadhead. Last night I got into Greenville, SC at midnight and there was no bag for me at baggage claim. The next American flight was not until this afternoon. I finally got the bag at 5:00 pm, so it wasn't even close to my showtime of 9:00 pm, but it did severely limit my day.

Windshear

2011-12-23T16:51:00.001-07:00

A Challenging night last night. One of our three IRUs (Inertial Reference Unit) was bad, so we were restricted from CAT 3 approaches, which are the most demanding of the navigation system. That was not a huge deal since the visibility was good going in to Ontario. The other failure this produces, if it's the left IRU (it was) is that the windshear warning system does not work. We were therefore restricted from going into areas of actual or forecast windshear. Now LLWS (Low Level Windshear) warnings are produced all the time, especially near mountainous areas. Usually they're just that: a warning to be vigilant, but we were legally prohibited from landing anywhere with windshear warnings. Ontario showed a forecast with windshear after we got airborne from Fort Worth. Fortunately we were late enough that the forecast expired and we landed as scheduled. Otherwise, we would have had a dicey little divert to LAX or Vegas with very little fuel to play with since no alternate was planned for in our release. Ho ho ho.

Cross-Country

2011-12-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

I made a few errors on today's flight across the country (Ontario to Indianapolis), but my trusy seeing-eye FO pointed them out to me before I did anything really stupid. After more than 4 weeks off, it was actually remarkable I didn't forget more. Took a couple of pictures flying over Taos: how nice to be aloft during daylight hours! Lots of snow and more on the way.

Sick in Quarters

2011-12-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

Last week, I got a nasty headcold from Michelle starting Saturday night. When I woke up Sunday morning, I knew there was no way I should go to work later that evening. The problem with a head cold is that you might not be able to clear your ears with altitude changes, and this can lead to an ear or sinus block. I had an ear block back in primary flight training in the T-28. We were doing an IFR penetration from 20,000' coming down in a hurry and my ears couldn't keep up with the pressure changes. I was down for about a month and I'm lucky it didn't rupture my eardrum. So, Sunday I called in sick. The problem is that this was to be my first trip after 3 weeks of vacation, and it looks really bad when you do that. I called my assistant chief pilot and spoke to his admin coordinator. She's a real joy to work with and although she could have required a doctor's excuse, she said not to worry about it. I guess I'm not on the bad boy list as a repeat offender. Anyway, I'm on my way to Ontario to see if I can remember how to fly this week.

767 Rumor just gained traction

2011-12-08T17:59:00.001-07:00

It looks like our 757's may have big brothers on the property soon, and brand new ones at that! It will be interesting to see how they outfit the cockpit and if the company will take advantage of the common 757/767 type rating that all we 757 pilots have. Will we be dual-qualified? It would be a first at Fedex and I doubt it. Here's the article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-07/fedex-said-to-plan-purchase-of-30-boeing-freighters.html

11-11-11

2011-11-11T16:32:00.001-07:00

I gave up part of my hubturn nap last night to have a snack with long-time friend from the Navy George. He's been at Fedex for 5 or 6 years, and has been very junior the whole time since we basically stopped hiring when the mandatory retirement age changed from 60 to 65. George and I went through AVROC training together and he ended up flying helicopters while I was in the E-2. We were both on the same cruise on the Kitty Hawk in '83, and I actually got about 30 minutes of stick time in George's H-3 orbiting in starboard delta over the ship one time. George stayed in the Navy and retired, moving to Norfolk with his wife. His experience at Fedex is much different than mine due to the 10 years between our hire dates. Luck and timing have alot to do with this industry. Anyway, it was good to catch up with an old friend and reminisce a little. I hope we'll begin hiring again in earnest so that George can gain some seniority.

Cool tree along the Swamp Rabbit Trail today

I'm looking forward to my wife joining me in Greenville tomorrow for the weekend layover. We will rent a car and visit my folks in Black Mountain. Then, after I get home Tuesday morning, it's vacation time!
PS Happy Veteran's Day

My Kingdom for a Bed

2011-11-10T14:46:00.001-07:00

The first two mornings of this week, we were at least an hour late getting in to Greenville. Finally last night, we were basically on time, so I was looking forward to getting into bed before the evil sunlight touched me and destroyed my melatonin. But noooo. When I went to the assigned room, this is what I saw--->

Nice (meeting) room, but no bed! The phone was ringing, so I picked it up. Mike at the front desk said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you that there is no room for you yet, so we put you in this room to have a place to wait..." Uh huh. And wait I did; for an hour. See, I'm obviously not SUPPOSED to get to bed before dawn this week.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

2011-11-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

I jumpseated in to Memphis last night, leaving home after dark for the drive to the ABQ ramp with snow coming down in the mountains. When we arrived in Memphis, it was 70 degrees! My first mission in MEM was to attach the new registration sticker to my domicile car out in the employee parking lot. It has been quite a while since I left it there, so I had no idea where it was. I spent about 15 minutes crisscrossing the rows of derelict cars and finally found the trusty VW, attaching the sticker to the tag (only 4 months late), thus ensuring it won't be towed away by an overzealous Fedex security Nazi. Mission accomplished, it's back to the library in AOC to wait for the appointed hour (3 am) to arrive. Finally met with tonight's FO and determined the sort was a little late, so we chatted awhile before going out to the airplane. When we arrived at the gate at about 3:10, this (the picture above) is what greeted us. See anything wrong? How would you suggest we get into the airplane? We waited on the crew bus for 30 minutes with repeated calls for help. Finally, the bus driver said she simply had to go b/c she had been at work for 14 hours and could no longer stay awake. We got out so she could leave and waited another 20 minutes before the load crew finally brought the crew stairs so they could start the onload. The freight is all that matters...two guys trying to accomplish their preflight duties do not. Of course, once we finally got aboard, now it was rush rush rush. I made the usual first night errors due to lack of sleep compounded by getting stale while waiting, but it was nice weather and we made it to Greenville with the sunrise without embarrassing ourselves too deeply.

NOAA P-3 and other strange things

2011-11-03T14:03:00.001-06:00

Strange navigational anomaly with our jet this morning. The FMS (flight management system) would not give us ETAs or predicted fuel, even though it was getting time and fuel inputs it needed. Had to actually keep a paper fuel log! Everything else was functioning well, but it niggles when you can't figure out why...

There was a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) P-3 parked near our ramp this morning fairly bristling with various exotic sensors for weather research. I took a quick shot with my phone camera. It reminded me of my Customs days flying P-3's. We once hosted a NOAA bird on our ramp at NAS Corpus Christi after it had the crap kicked out of it flying into a hurricane in the gulf. The guys that fly those missions are a little whacko if you ask me! See http://www.aoc.noaa.gov/aircraft_lockheed.htm for more info.

Crosswind Landing

2011-11-02T13:45:00.000-06:00

This morning, the Santa Ana winds were predicted to be gusting to 60 kts out of the north in Ontario. When we arrived, the surface winds were only about 5 kts, but the ride at altitude had been very rough all the way from Texas. Descending through 600' AGL (above ground level), the winds were still 45 kts out of the north, and we were landing west (out of limits for touchdown, if it had continued to the deck). This required about a 30 degree right crab to keep the airplane on the extended centerline of the runway. Imagine driving your car and having to look out the extreme left side of the windshield to keep the car centered in your lane. Between 600' and touchdown on runway 26 left, the wind died down to the 5 kts reported, so the heading had to be continuously "clocked" toward runway heading of 256 degrees magnetic, in order to touchdown with the longitudinal axis of the airplane in alignment with the runway centerline. If the airplane touches down in a crab, the stress on the upwind mainmount can be enormous, so I try to avoid that when possible. An interesting problem at 4:30 in the morning when you've been up all night. It worked out ok, but the FO and I agreed we had never seen a sheer that pronounced and that smooth so close to the ground.

Oh No, I Forgot...

2011-10-31T18:09:00.000-06:00

Back in Ontario after a great week off. I forgot to pack my laptop's power supply for the first time in 20+ years , and cannot survive without it, so the morning was spent finding a replacement. Radio Shack was just the ticket, but I think the AC adapter cost more than my 2 year old HP laptop is worth! This made me think about all the work-related stuff I need a computer for. Weather, looking at and signing the flight plan (both at the end of the layover each evening and during the hubturn),checking on the maintenance history of the airplane I'll be flying, bidding for vacation, bidding for seat changes, bidding for my monthly line, bidding for training dates, checking on the results of all these bids, getting my paycheck amount, reading safety reports and information files before each flight, reading company email, checking in for a trip when I arrive after a deadhead, entering expense reports, checking open time for trip trades, dropping trips, picking up trips, adjusting monthly lines for vacation or training, calling in sick, calling in well, scheduling jumpseats, reserving deadheads, receiving crew notifications of changes to my schedule, getting hotel and limo info, getting trip info (who I'm flying with, showtimes, etc), performing online annual training, and the list goes on and on. Can't survive without it!

Beauty of Flight

2011-10-20T19:20:00.004-06:00

Speaks for itself:
http://www.dogwork.com/owfo8/

Fog in Ontario

2011-10-19T14:08:00.001-06:00

When I checked the forecast for Ontario this morning in Fort Worth, the weather was predicted to be no lower than 3 miles visibility for our ETA. I noted that the temperature/dew point spread was a mere 2 degrees, and it seemed likely that the temperature would continue to drop. When these two numbers come together, fog is the result. With no wind to mitigate the situation, the final landing of this duty day would probably be challenging, in spite of the not-so-bad forecast. Enroute, as it always seems to, the visibility began to drop. By the time we were in range and ready to start down from our cruise altitude of 38,000', the touchdown zone on runway 26 left was reporting 1200 RVR, or less than 1/4 mile. We switched to a monitored approach mentality in the cockpit. This means that the First Officer is now in charge of flying the approach down to (in this case) 300' above the ground, freeing the Captain to monitor the whole situation without having to actually fly the airplane. As we came down, the lights on the ground were very visible except where the airport was supposed to be. Very dense fog covered the runway. The runway lead-in lights became visible (barely) through the fog at 500'. At 300', I announced "approaching alert height, I have the airplane" and physically displaced the FO's hand from the throttles. At 100', the runway edge lights had just begun to peek out at us. With this type of approach "Cat 3 with rollout" I do not have to see to land as long as the tower is reporting visibility of at least 600 RVR, and the airplane must autoland. There are about 100 things that have to be working perfectly for all this to come together, and we practice it quite often, but when it's for real, you tend to sit up a little straighter in your seat. This ain't a video game! In the final phase of a monitored approach, my job is to initiate a go around if anything short of perfection occurs. This close to the ground, it's better to get some altitude first and ask "what happened" later. The three autopilots did a great job and we touched down right on centerline, ending another routine night of flying the line.

Flying with a neighbor

2011-10-17T18:09:00.001-06:00

This week I'm finally flying with someone I actually know and who also lives in the East Mountains! He just flew his last flight in the reserves before retirement next year, so congrats to Bugsy. We ended up on the same Southwest deadhead to Ontario last night, and we'll be flying from there to Fort Worth every night this week. So far, it looks like we'll actually get to keep the same airplane every night, which is nice b/c we don't have to drag our bags from plane to plane. It's the little things that make a huge difference in the middle of the night.

Down in Norfolk

2011-10-07T09:32:00.002-06:00

Broke the airplane in Norfolk last night. We pushed back, eager to get to Indy and back on our last night (FO waiting to start 24 days of vacation, including a trip to Disneyworld from Michigan). Got the left engine started easily, but the right engine fuel valve indicated a fault and would not open to allow fuel to flow. Tried several suggestions by maintenance to no effect. Pulled back into the chocks realizing it would be a long night. Five hours later, they still couldn't get it fixed and we were finally released back to the hotel around 2 am. I changed my deadhead to Albuquerque to this morning at 6:30 and grabbed a 45 minute combat nap and shower before heading back to the airport. Now I'm drooling on myself at DFW on a FOUR HOUR layover b/c I couldn't get on the better connection due to the Balloon Fiesta attendees grabbing almost all the available seats. Oh well, I'll still get home early afternoon instead of late at night as originally scheduled. Commuting is such fun!

Confessional

2011-10-06T12:31:00.002-06:00

After the weekend layover in Richmond, I've been flying between Norfolk and Indy each night. Last night I made the biggest error of my Captaincy, which really wasn't a big deal, but could have been. I lined up on the wrong runway at Indy. There are two parallel and virtually identical runways there, and we were coming in from a direction that put them on the right side of the airplane. That side is very hard to see from my seat on the left side of the cockpit. Because of the city lights, the airport is hard to see, and I just locked onto the far parallel runway instead of the near one, which was not in view when I looked. The First Officer advised me of my error and I made a correction, thanking him. I was tired, but that's no excuse. You can never get complacent in an airplane or it will bite you. If there had been another airplane cleared for an approach to the far side runway, a midair could have occurred (fortunately, there was not). The thing I did right was to foster a cockpit environment all week which allowed the other pilot to speak right up when he saw my error, and me to admit when I had screwed up. That's why you have two pilots up front ladies and gentlemen; for error capture. The hardest thing after making a mistake like that is to recover your mental attitude and get back in the game. How the other person reacts plays a big role in your recovery, but the bottom line is you can't beat yourself up about it, especially in an airplane b/c you simply don't have the luxury of time. So you learn to let it go and move on. We're all human and we will all make mistakes no matter how good we are at what we do. OK, that's enough of a confession for one day.

Richmond

2011-10-02T11:14:00.000-06:00

Walked around the capitol complex on my weekend layover. Lots of history here.

Back to Primary

2011-09-29T10:59:00.000-06:00

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

2011-09-15T13:57:00.001-06:00

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

2011-09-11T19:32:00.000-06:00

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

2011-09-02T12:32:00.000-06:00

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

2011-08-29T17:42:00.000-06:00

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

2011-08-24T12:45:00.000-06:00

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

2011-08-11T13:47:00.002-06:00

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

2011-07-28T16:07:00.000-06:00

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

2011-07-28T15:55:00.002-06:00

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

2011-07-27T13:39:00.000-06:00

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

2011-07-25T17:04:00.000-06:00

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

Nice Scenery in Greenville

2011-07-25T16:48:00.000-06:00

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

2011-07-20T16:13:00.000-06:00

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

2011-07-12T11:08:00.001-06:00

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

2011-06-21T18:09:00.000-06:00

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...

2011-06-21T17:24:00.005-06:00

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

2011-06-09T15:44:00.001-06:00

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!!!

2011-05-10T18:41:00.000-06:00

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

2011-05-05T15:16:00.001-06:00

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

2011-05-04T13:08:00.002-06:00

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

2011-04-22T19:10:00.004-06:00

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

Milwaukee Riverwalk

2011-04-21T17:55:00.003-06:00

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

2011-04-20T18:00:00.002-06:00

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

2011-04-18T12:41:00.000-06:00

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!

2011-04-14T17:14:00.016-06:00

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

2011-04-13T12:45:00.034-06:00

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.

2011-04-12T15:51:00.001-06:00

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

2011-03-25T10:46:00.000-06:00

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

2011-03-22T02:19:00.001-06:00

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!!!

2011-03-12T10:33:00.001-07:00

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

2011-03-11T15:25:00.002-07:00

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!

2011-03-09T21:13:00.014-07:00

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

2011-03-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-05T08:42:00.009-07:00

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

2011-03-04T07:21:00.002-07:00

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

2011-03-03T15:26:00.002-07:00

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/

Milwaukee Car Show

2011-03-02T15:20:00.002-07:00

All in all, not too impressive. More of a car sale than show. The nap on Monday was a better idea. No Lotuses in sight. The Lamborghini and Maserati were quite pretty (their price tags weren't), and I was glad to see the convertible Camaro is once again on the road. Very few vintage cars, but they HAD to have a '63 Corvette Stingray coupe. Mine was a red roadster. Miss it every day. Waaaa

EEC Failure

2011-03-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

This morning's trip from Indy to Milwaukee was interesting. The fuelers in Indy were dragging their feet again, so we were almost an hour late. On the takeoff roll, the autothrottles kicked off. Not a big deal so we continued and set the thottles manually. As we climbed out the autothrottles re-engaged, but then the left engine began surging intermittently along with pronounced yaw and a momentary thrust limiter indication, followed by the autothrottles disengaging (as they're supposed to). Then everything would go back to normal and I would re-engage the autothrottles. After a couple of times, we got out the checklist and tried deselecting the thrust limiter. The problem reoccurred, this time with a momentary EEC fault. The EEC (Electronic Engine Control) manages thrust by continuously computing the proper power setting. So, the next thing we did was to turn this system off for both engines (because you want them both being governed the same way), and now we were back in the 60's with hydromechanical vs electronic engine governing. We turned the thrust limiter system back on to provide some measure of protection against overspeed/overboost and proceeded to landing with manual throttles. The workload goes up in a modern jet when anything reverts to manual control, especially at 5:00 in the morning, but thankfully the weather was good and my landing was ok. The big question is, will maintenance be able to fix it for tonight's flight? Probably no parts in Milwaukee, so another manual throttles leg is in our future.

Frank Lloyd Wright Exhibit

2011-03-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

My kind of graffiti!

The truly breath-taking Milwaukee Art Museum

Happily, the weather is much improved in Milwaukee this week. Things are looking up. I intended on going to the big car show yesterday after lunch, but when I showed up at the Frontier Center, the doors were closed and the sign said they wouldn't open until 3:00. Rats! So, I wondered around and eventually went back to the room to wait. As 3:00 approached, it became apparent that a nap would be in my future unless I caffeinated myself. I finally decided that sleep would be more important than an auto show since I got in late last night and would be staying up all night. I can hardly believe having to make that choice, I mean really; taking a NAP instead of looking at CARS! For us night-shift types, sleep trumps just about everything else, especially as you get older. Anyway, there's the rest of the week to make it to the show after I get my day sleep pattern established.
So, for today, which was predicted to be the least cold (38 degrees), I decided to make the half hour trek to the Art Museum for the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit, and I'm sure glad I did! Milwaukee has a very interesting architectural presence...kinda whimsical actually. The best thing I saw, though, was some graffiti on the wall of a side alley...it succeeded in lightening my day considerably. Maybe there is hope for us! The museum itself is quite beautiful, and I spent almost two hours enjoying Mr. Wright's work. It brought back memories of visiting Taliesin West with Michelle and the girls, and seeing Fallingwater with my dad.

Sleep roomzzzz

2011-03-01T05:35:00.000-07:00

Your cell is ready, convict.

Y'know, I hate wearing uniforms

Ah, the sleep rooms at Indy. You get in and sign up for a room, then get your linens and go make up your bed. For some reason, they always have queen sized sheets for a single sized bed. The fitted one is just silly! Oh yeah, don't forget to take a leak before napping b/c it's a long walk down a cold hallway to the head in Indy. When you get up, you try to make yourself presentable in the small mirror b/c you emerge from the sleeprooms into the crewroom carrying your stripped linens and everyone turns to look. The facility in Memphis is a little better b/c there are many restrooms interspersed with the sleeping rooms. Although there are alot more rooms in Memphis, it is much harder to snag one b/c you have to get there well before midnight or they're all taken. 757 trips seem to get in after midnight, so there is little hope. At least Indy generally has enough for everyone. And I really shouldn't complain at all about these rooms...UPS has nothing like them.

Pizza brings a Blizzard

2011-02-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

The view out the cockpit window

Pizza Night!

Simple pleasures on the (literal) Deadhead

It was pizza night in Indy...that evening steeped in tradition where the Captain buys his crew a pizza (paid for on Wednesday night) which is waiting for them during the hub turn. Tom and I ate our slices at midnight and celebrated the fact that we only had one more leg to fly this week before going off for a nap until 3:30 am. Little did we know what misery would greet us on the outbound. The sort was actually on time and the fueler showed up in a fairly timely manner. The weather, however, was atrocious, and by the time we finally took off, we were almost 3 hours late. I only had an hour in the hotel before I had to catch the shuttle back to the airport to get on the Eagle RJ and begin the commute home. As I write this, I'm sitting at gate C2 in DFW, waiting to get on the jet for ABQ. What an ugly morning it was. Just think, I get to do it all over again Sunday!
I remembered to bring a sachet of Ahmad's Number 1 English Tea and was able to talk the American flight attendant out of some hot water. At least I had afternoon tea.

One of those mornings

2011-02-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

That's my 757 to the right (just parked). Look at the parade of snow removal equipment on the horizon.

This morning was one of those mornings...We got into Indy late b/c we had to deice in Milwaukee last night and they closed the runway for 20 minutes to plow it just as we were ready to depart, but were still able to grab a short hubturn nap. Things were looking ok for the outbound from Indy at 4:00 this morning and we actually got our fuel before scheduled push time. The paperwork all arrived and the snow had left us alone so we would not need to deice. We pushed about 10 minutes late and my first officer made some comment to the effect of "this ain't so bad," to which I replied "DON'T SAY THAT!" Sure enough, as we tried to start the left engine, the pushback crew started yelling over the headset to cut the air (the starter uses bleed air from the APU to turn the engine). We did so and they pulled us back into our gate. About 5 maintenance guys came running up, and they reported that we had just put on a Fourth of July fireworks show with sparks flying out of the engine cowling. I gave my FO a venomous look...this was all his fault! So, these guys replaced the starter in about 25 minutes, which is a world record, especially in the snow that had begun falling. All the maintenance paperwork got filled out, we closed up and tried it again. No problem this time, but now we had to deice. We were late enough that we got our choice of the nearest runway and proceeded on our way to Milwaukee. As we neared MKE, my FO said we still weren't that late. Grrr, when will he ever learn? As we began our initial descent, approach informed us that it was time to plow the runway again, so it would be closed for 20 minutes. Thankfully, we had plenty of fuel, but listened to a US Air flight that was only just going to able to wait around b/c they did not have sufficient reserves. Misery is having almost enough gas! Finally we landed in a blowing snowstorm, couldn't see to taxi, eventually found the gate and shutdown. Phew, get me to the hotel. But noooo, the van was not there. Over the course of the next hour we called three times, each time assured it would arrive in the next ten minutes. The hell of it was that we had to wait in the hangar, standing on a very cold concrete floor that caused my feet to go numb as it was the only place where we could keep and eye on the parking lot through the window w/o actually being out in the blowing snow. I finally got into bed at 8:00 this morning. And, oh yeah, I almost forgot, when I got to my room, it was dirty (bed unmade, not serviced, etc). As the title of the blog says, "livin' the dream."

Goodbye Borders

2011-02-21T23:38:00.000-07:00

I stayed in the habitrails today; the interconnected covered walkway system that connects many of the downtown buildings. The weather was just too miserable to venture outside. Visited the local Borders book store which is unfortunately on the nationwide list of stores that will be closing due to bankruptcy. The discounts drew a surprising number of shoppers, all of us happy to dance on the corpse of yet another cherished institution that may soon disappear: the bookstore. If we had all been a little more supportive in the past, maybe these people would not now be losing their jobs. Of course, I'm as guilty as any of them, and certainly Michelle uses Amazon to excess for her research needs (having just finished our taxes I can speak with authority about how much she spends on books each year). I was impressed with the general cheerfulness of the staff given the trying circumstances. I'm not sure I could have been so professional as I watched my job dwindle away. I saw the same thing happen in Mississippi last summer as the local video store went under, but the employees there did not handle it so well...

Commuting

2011-02-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

Back in Milwaukee, after recovering from my headcold (and Michelle's, which she brought back from Texas as usual). One of the things that causes stress for the commuter, and especially the commuting Fedex pilot, is deadheading to start a week of flying. Fedex allows you to go on a commercial carrier from home instead of from your domicile (Memphis, in my case). They will pay up to what it would cost for the same ticket from Memphis. Pilots, being the cheap people we are, usually manage to save the company money by scraping around for cheaper fares, and this is why the company allows us to "deviate" and commute from home instead of having to go to our domicile to start every trip. The caveat is that once you deviate, it's all on you to get to where you gotta be. Doesn't matter what the weather is, if there's an earthquake, tornado, whatever. I missed a trip for the one and only time back when Bailey was born b/c I couldn't get out of Albuquerque...I mean they shut down the airport for a record snow. The trip I was trying to get to Memphis for never even operated, but it still counted as a missed trip for me. If you're not in position by 9 hours prior to showtime for the live leg, you will have to go tap dance in front of the long table. So, in a situation like last night with weather moving into Milwaukee, there is alot of stress of wondering if you'll make it. I did make it, but not without being punished as usual. I'm really coming to dislike RJs. When I got to the gate last night at DFW, they were asking for 5 volunteers to get off the jet b/c weather issues in Milwaukee were forcing the flight to carry more gas (less payload...passengers...available). We loaded and sat at the gate for 30 minutes before they finally closed the door. I ended up next to half of a mother/daughter pair who were separated by several rows. The two seats in front of me were vacant, so I moved up to allow them to sit together. At the last minute, the airline recomputed and decided they could squeeze two more pax on, so I got displaced from the seat I had moved to. I told the daughter I would just take her seat, so I went back to find...my usual 300 pounder already occupying his seat and half of mine. Remember the scoliosis poster? No good deed goes unpunished.

Under the Weather

2011-02-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

The result of this week's flying: I came home with a cold. The picture over a coffee shop at the Milwaukee airport is quite apropos, I think. I'm the guy on the left, but with less hair.

Flight Simulator

2011-02-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a youtube video for all you flight simulator pilots (actually pretty realistic):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SheDMhi0seY

Waiting Game

2011-02-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

This week has been a test of patience in the normally-efficiently run Indianapolis Fedex operation. After grabbing a quick hubturn nap, I hurry out to the crew room to get on a computer and look at our flight plan and the weather. After signing the release, certifying compliance with all sorts of FAA rules, we hurry out to wait in the sub-artic cold for a crew bus. We get off the bus at our airplane and hurry through the preflight (in the First Officer's case, he hurries to get inside the relatively warm airplane after his walkaround). Then we wait for all the myriad of things that must occur before we can finally get airborne and free of all the paperwork! This list includes (but is not limited to):
-Latest weather, updated hourly at 54 minutes past
-Pre Departure Clearance arrives from ATC no sooner than 30 minutes before scheduled push
-Dangerous Goods paperwork arrives (supposedly) at least 10 minutes before push
-Fuel Service Form arrives after taking on fuel
-Preliminary and then Final Weight and Balance form after fuel upload and when calc is complete
-Completion of all required cockpit checklists
Then we take all this stuff and try to make sense of it at 4:00 in the morning, combining it into an overall picture of our flight's readiness to go to our destination. The fueling process, normally complete before we even get to the airplane, has been the big problem this week, often more than 45 minutes late. Nothing tires you out quicker than sitting in the cockpit cocked and ready to go, but having to wait for the next piece of paper to arrive. When it does arrive, you launch into a flurry of activity, and then wait for the next thing. Hurry up and wait. Then, the blessed moment arrives when it's just the pilots in the cockpit, the doors are closed the stairs are pulled away, and you ask the ramp tower for permission to turn on your beacon, which signals a pushback crew to hookup their tug to your airplane. But nooooo, you have to wait for that as well, b/c the ramp has to sequence airplanes out of its choke points. You finally get a beacon, wait for a tug to arrive, then you ask for pushback clearance...another wait b/c another airplane is blocking your push. You eventually push and get the engines started, then wait in line for de-ice. Then wait at the ramp throat for taxi clearance, and then you're informed that you get to bypass the runway that's right there and taxi across the airport to the other runway instead. At last, the tower clears you for takeoff...ahh, all is right with the world. Oh, wait, you land and taxi in to your destination, do all the postflight stuff, walk through the icy ramp through the hangar to your van waiting to take you to the hotel as the sun comes up...but THE VAN'S NOT HERE MAN!!!! And, when you finally get to your hotel room, THE KEY DOESN'T WORK!!! Now, try to sleep and get up and do it again tomorrow night.

Windy City

2011-02-09T05:39:00.000-07:00

I finally thought to take a picture of Chicago as we flew over tonight.

Cast Away

2011-02-08T18:16:00.001-07:00

Cast Away was on HBO today. My only comment: The management guy lives and THE PILOTS DIE!!! That's just not right.

Gimme Sun!

2011-02-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

Photon Denial Assembly for day sleepers (prototype 2)

Photon Denial Assembly for day sleepers (prototype 1)

I just don't understand how people can do it! Live in a large city in the north in the winter. For me, it's a one-two punch: no clear view of the daytime sky, and never venturing outside. I spend my few waking hours on a daytime layover wandering around the habitrails connecting various buildings, never going out on the street if possible. It's just too cold and messy with old snow and slush. Your eyes water and your skin freezes. You would jump off a bridge to end it all, but there's ice on the river. Wait, let me shake myself awake.

Okay, I'm better now. Actually, the skies are clearing today, but it's gonna be bone chillin' cold. Last night was the first night in four weeks of flying this trip that I've actually seen Chicago when we passed overhead. We were about an hour late this morning getting out of Indy waiting on fuel. The ramp agent said there would be a second flight to cover all the Packers paraphernalia after the Superbowl win.

Android app to track sleep

Here's my sleep graph for this morning as tracked by my Android phone (based on body movement). Almost 5 hours. Yeah!

Back in Milwaukee-not so old after all??

2011-02-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

Got in late last night after the Superbowl. Slept well and then visited the burger joint I ate at two weeks ago. My purpose was a check on my appearance. You see, last time the person who took my order gave me a senior discount without even asking. Now, I'm only 52, but I decided that I must have looked alot older after several nights of snowy hubturns. Some pilots, who are notorious cheapskates, would probably think this was okay since it saved me 39 cents; but I was depressed. Anyway, I visited the same place today...and NO DISCOUNT! Yes!! It's amazing what little things can mean when you're away from home.

Scoliosis from RJ travel

The PAINFUL deadhead leg from DFW to MKE is unfortunately on a RJ. I joked with Michelle that they always hand-select a 300 pounder to sit next to me, taking up 1/2 of my seat as well as his. This is to ensure that my spine arrives in the shape of an S after 2.5 hours of contortions. The picture is of a poster I seem to always walk past in DFW that fills me with foreboding and dread for the coming flight leg.

Record setting storm

2011-02-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

Today worked out well. Yesterday, I was feeling growing trepidation about the record-setting storm that the forecasters were warning about. It seemed to be boresighting Milwaukee and Indy, the two cities I was scheduled to be flying between all week. My First Officer and I met in the lobby of the Milwaukee layover hotel for the van ride to the ramp, and he mentioned how great it would be if they just sent us to Memphis. Well, that didn't happen, at least not right away. We flew to Indy, and I made it his leg b/c the weather predictions for Milwaukee early in the morning looked worse. After we finished our preflight routine, we had a few minutes in the cockpit, and he happened to check our trip pairing on his I-Phone. Scheduling had revised it to send us to Memphis after we flew back to Milwaukee in the morning! This would mean a long night, but we would be finished for the week (with pay) once we got to Memphis. Yes!! It was a long night, and I had to call the Duty Officer and volunteer to extend our duty day to FAR limits of 16 hours to make it happen, but we did it. I got on the afternoon jumpseat home to Albuquerque and asked my buddy Bob to pick me up in his Land Rover b/c the snow at home was too much for Michelle to go out in. Normally, I have a car at the airport, but she had dropped me off this time, so I was car-less.