My Dream Job No Longer Includes FedEx

No, there's nothing wrong with FedEx. They're a great company.

The problem is that I don't care if I ever fly to Memphis Int'l. For some reason, it is the airport of choice for sim training and it's getting a bit long in the tooth.

If I have to hand fly a circle to land Runway 27/18, with an MDA of 940 with 1,000' ceilings one more time, I'm going to lose it! It starts with a standard non-precision localizer approach for runway 27, then about the time you get to the final approach fix and get comfortable with the configuration you get the clearance revision. "XYZ 123, continue on the localizer approach and circle to land runway 18R when you have the visual. Ceiling overcast 1,000, winds 090 at 15 G23."

From there all hell breaks loose. When you have the runway lights in sight for 27, take the flight director out of VOR/LOC mode and change to Heading mode. Bug 315. Start the turn. Look for the FedEx facility. With FedEx in sight, bug 271 until the approach lights are in sight for 18R. Then bank 20 degrees left and make the following call outs: Flaps 45, Flight Director OFF, before landing check below the line, set missed approach course, altitude and NAV1. This all happens in about 5 seconds. If all goes well, you roll out lined up with 18R and try to land. I say try because in training you never get to land. It's either a go-around, balked landing, V1 cut or something fun. At the very least, it's a go-around and fly the missed. Circle to land missed approaches are always a barrel of laughs.

One thing I will say about the jet training is that the briefs and profiles, no matter how difficult they are to memorize and master, really do improve you flying. I started briefing maneuvers in the Seneca and am amazed how much better they are. My steep turns are now +/- zero and Vmc demos are always perfect. Talk it out before you do it and things go much better.

Speaking of the Seneca, still no check-ride date. The DE is supposedly available next Saturday. So if the planets are in alignment, one of the available Senecas is up and the weather cooperates I can finally get the multi add-on completed and have a commercial license that is actually worth something.

---

Today we took and exam from chapters 5 & 11-13 from the Gleim ATP test prep. It was a tough test. Those chapters cover aerodynamics and ATP performance. The 50 question test took all of 2 hours to take. 30 of the questions were those long, drawn out performance charts for a DC-9, 727 and 737. They really try to trick you and some of the questions take 10 or more steps to figure out the correct answer. I got an 80. I was surprised because I forgot about calculating CG using MAC and LEMAC. The last test was on Part 121 regulations and I got a 94. Oh well, 80 is passing. I'm going to try to take the ATP written next month. Hopefully I can get my average score over 90 by then.

---

Yesterday we had an interesting incident in the Seneca before takeoff at Gateway. We were cleared for takeoff on runway 30L. Both of us double checked final, it looked clear and we started to position on the runway. Just before we line up the radio came to life and we heard, "Seneca XXX, takeoff clearance cancelled. Clear the runway immediately!" Luckily there was another taxi way right there and it was easy to get off. Apparently there was a 172 on final and they had cleared it to land on 30L thinking they said 30C. An minor argument ensued between the tower and the 172 pilot while the 172 continued to land. When he got off the runway, he was instructed to copy the tower's number. They sounded pissed.

Fast forward to today. It was the tower's mistake after all, not the 172 pilot. They reviewed the tape and filed an incident report with the FAA. They asked me if I wanted to be involved in the report. My reply: "What report? There was an incident? Where was I? I sure don't recall anything." Nobody got hurt, I sure didn't want to raise a stink and if I'm ever in the bulls eye someday, hopefully I'll catch a break.

Did I Mention D.O.E.?

D.O.E. - depending on equipment. I should have known. I've finally learned my lesson and realize how overrated optimism is.

The Senecrap is down again. I didn't get to fly today. There is good news, though. The other Senecrap that I squawked three weeks ago for blown prop seals is supposed to be up again tomorrow, if the new prop is delivered. I actually prefer that plane anyway. It has a 430 and a functioning DG.

The check ride is also a no-go for Saturday. The DPE has to work at his real job. Better luck next round.

I have to say that my instrument currency is pretty darn good right now. Flying approaches in the jet simulator is the only type of flying I've been able to do lately. Today, I hand flew a localizer approach for runway 27 at Memphis with a circle to land on runway 18R. That was interesting. Other than to see if the crew can stay ahead of the aircraft, why on God's Green Earth would an airliner do a localizer approach and circle to land on another runway? At least I didn't bust MDA and landed on center line.

Right now, I feel like I play video games. I need to fly a real plane. Soon.

160 Days...

...is all it took to get my Commercial Multi Engine check ride scheduled. Saturday morning 9 a.m. D.O.E. (Depending on equipment). Finally.

I'm still a little concerned about the fragmented nature of my multi engine time. The bulk of it was back in October. I have only flown 2 1/2 times since then (the half time was this last Saturday when a bout with the stomach flu decided to make its presence known at 7,000'). It's really not rocket science. I have it all down. The PTS says I have to know multi engine aerodynamics (critical engine factors and Vmc), systems (engines, electrical, fuel, props and landing gear) for ground knowledge. The flight will probably include an engine failure on takeoff, engine failure in flight, feather, shut down and restart, simulated emergency including emergency descent, steep turns, Vmc demo and a single engine ILS approach.

There are a few concerns. The DG in this particular aircraft is CRAP. It spins against me more than a Vegas roulette wheel. Now I know that technically I am capable of doing the ILS without a DG, but who needs the stress on a single engine approach?

Another concern is the DE. I got the "oh $hit" look when they told me it was scheduled. He apparently owns his own Seneca and is an A&P, making him intimately familiar with the flying malfunction...er...Piper Seneca. Maintenance and systems need more focus.

He's also an Airbus captain and supposedly a pretty neat guy. I hope he bid a good line this month!

With FOS being as intense as it is, I'm concerned that I won't be able to devote enough preparation time for the check ride. FOS isn't a career critical event and it can be repeated if necessary. Failing a check ride can be, especially when you're preparing to find the first job. Therefore, I am going to forsake some of the FOS schedule to maintain critical focus. I have yet to fail a check ride and I don't want Saturday to be the ice breaker.

So, five days and counting. I love pressure.

Any suggestions for success would be greatly appreciated.

A Little Sleep Deprivation Goes A Long Way

Full time job. Family. FOS and Commercial Multi Engine add-on. Trying to close on a mortgage. There are a lot of balls in the air right now. The is no one but myself to blame.

FOS schedule this week: Jet simulator 6a-10a, class 10-Noon and 1-3. Instructor brief 3-4. Each day there is at least one test. So far this week, we've been tested on about 25% of the immediate actions, Part 121 instrument regulations and CRJ-200 limitations. Immediate Actions must be memorized verbatim. There are 30 immediate action items for the CRJ-200. Each one has from 3 to 10 steps. The ones in red have been memorized and tested so far.

1. Passenger Evacuation
2. Loss of All AC Power
3. Aileron System Jammed
4. Elevator System Jammed
5. Rudder System Jammed
6. STAB Trim Runaway
7. Brake OVHT Msg
8. MLD (main landing gear) BAY OVHT Msg
9. During Landing - Excessive Asymmetry or Loss of Braking
10. Configuration Warning
11. Engine Hot Start
12. Interrupted Start
13. No Lightoff
14. N2 Stagnation
15. NO STARTER CUTOUT Msg or Engine Starter Fails to Cutout
16. Rejected Takeoff
17. L or R ENG Fire Msg or Severe Engine Damage (In Flight)
18. L or R ENG Fire Msg or Severe Engine Damage (On Ground)
19. L or R JETPIPE OVHT Msg
20. Post Shutdown Engine Tailpipe Fire
21. Double Engine Failure
22. L or R REV UNLOCKED Msg
23. Uncommanded Acceleration or ENGINE OVERSPEED Msg
24. Flight Compartment Smoke Removal Procedure
25. Air-Conditioning Smoke
26. Electrical Smoke or Fire
27. SMOKE CARGO Msg
28. CABIN ALT Msg or Emergency Descent Procedure
29. APU FIRE Msg
30. Ditching or Forced Landing Imminent

The fun part of FOS training is the sim time. Of course there are many things to memorize there:

1. SAFETY CHECK
2. ORIGINATING CHECK/FLOW
3. COPILOT
4. TAKEOFF BRIEF
5. BEFORE START CHECK
6. CLEARED TO START CHECK
7. AFTER START CHECK/FLOW
8. FLAPS (20) TAXI CHECK/FLOW
9. BEFORE TAKEOFF CHECK/FLOW
10. CLIMB CHECK
11. APPROACH BRIEF
12. IN RANGE CHECK
13. 10,000 FOOT CHECK
14. BEFORE LANDING CHECK/FLOW
15. AFTER LANDING CHECK
16. SHUT DOWN CHECK/FLOW
17. TERMINATING CHECK

Some of the items are silent checks, some are Pilot, some are CoPilot and some are challenge & response items. All must be memorized. Where will it all fit? My brain is like a computer running Windows 95 with a full hard drive.

One thing's for sure, instrument currency isn't an issue. I have logged a ton of approaches, holds and intercepts. ILS Cat II down to minimums, Localizers, back-course, LDA, RNAV and VOR approaches galore. It's exceptionally fun to hand fly a precision approach. Vref is usually around 140kts and about 50 kts faster than anything I'm used to flying!

---

As I learn more there will hopefully be time to blog about information on the CRJ.

Spare time is at a very big premium and sleep even more so. I've been averaging 5 hours every night. There's just too much information in my head. My wife say's I've been doing approach briefs in my sleep. She puts up with a lot!

What A DIfference A Week Makes

Still no flying as of today, but it has been remedied. The Senecas are all up and flying now. The new priority system for scheduling Senecas is by seniority and that puts me at number one. Now the scheduling problem is mine. I started FOS class this week and it is a little intense. Class is from 8-3 each day with sim sessions nearly every day too. So far, I've spent 11 hours in the jet trainer.

Memorizing procedures and flows is grueling. There is so much to learn. The last two days have started at 8 a.m. and ended at 11 p.m. Plus, I still have that pesky thing called a full-time job to keep up with. My wife is simply amazing. She is the reason all of this is able to happen.

I'm pretty sure that I only need about 2 more flights in the Seneca before I'm ready for the multi add-on check ride. If all goes well, I'll schedule the check ride for next Saturday and be done with that. Weeks 1 & 2 of FOS are busy, but weeks 3-5 are really intense so I need to get the multi add-on out of the way.

Things finally feel like they are moving fast. The next several months are going to be very interesting.

Sorry for the boring post. There's not much time to write so posts will be few and far between for a while.

Canceled. Again.

That's all I got to say 'bout that.

Ramping Up

It's been 10 days since I've flown a multi engine aircraft and that was the first since just after Halloween. All three Senecas have been down at once. All for annuals. I had made arrangements to fly one last Friday before it went down for the annual, but the night before, someone that didn't know I had it the next morning squawked nearly 15 things.

Yesterday one plane was finally up but the weather wasn't cooperating. Cancelled. Today I showed up 30 minutes early only to find that the ELT had malfunctioned. They expected it to be an easy fix and that I would be the only one affected. Well yay for me!

As of right now, it looks good for Saturday and Sunday. All I really need is two more flights and I'll be ready. I just want to make sure that I'm ready for the check ride because next week is the start of Flight Officer School. FOS is an intense 5 week course that covers everything Part 121. CRJ systems, 121 Regulations, CRM, high altitude training, airline policies and procedures, jet transition training/sims, FMS training and much more. From what I understand, you really don't want to be doing anything other than FOS.

So here I stand, not yet ready for the multi add-on. I should have been done with it a week ago. It's not that difficult. All I need is the flight time, review complex systems, aerodynamics and approaches. Weekend tasks: Study. Fly. Study. Fly. Study. I need to get that out of the way. NOW.