Finally Some Fun

The last few days, I've actually been able to get to the airport and do some plain old VFR flying. On Thursday, I had to go to Wickenburg to do some work and decided to fly up. My 6 year old had been asking me about flying for weeks and he tagged along.

We headed over to Falcon Field (FFZ), grabbed my favorite little Diamond DA20 Katana and headed out. The trip to Wickenburg was smooth and fast. With the tailwind, our ground speed was 155 knots and it didn't take long to get there.

We wrapped things up in just a few hours and my son informed me that he was hungry. Hmmm...same crappy Wickenburg fast food or something else? We decided to go to Prescott for lunch. They have good greasy food with a nice big window to watch the traffic come and go. Prescott has a pretty busy airport.

The flight from Wickenburg to Prescott was also quick and easy. We did hit some heavy turbulence over the Bradshaws approaching Prescott. As usual, it was WINDY. Winds 280 at 16 gusting to 25. No big deal, the Katana eats crosswinds for breakfast. A little extra speed to compensate for the density altitude and we were on the ground taxiing to transient parking.

After lunch, we headed back to FFZ. Other than some mountain wave turbulence, it was an uneventful flight home.

We witnessed a forest fire that ignited just as we were taking off. When we landed at Falcon, one of the guys that worked at the FBO asked if we saw the fire. He said his house was less than one quarter mile from it. The good news is that no structures were lost and the fire was contained quickly, thanks to USFS aerial tankers that are stationed on call all across Arizona.

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Yesterday, my friend Kevin called me. He's had his private license since the late 80's. He is a CPA who does our company's books and used to take me flying on occasion. We've been talking about going flying together for about a year now and last night it finally worked out...sort of. He isn't current and asked if I would arrange for a plane. I obliged and made a reservation while I was at Circuit City with my 3 children, who just happened to be very rambunctious last night. I made a reservation for a G1000 172 at 7 a.m.

We met at Angel Air this morning at 7 a.m. to head to points north for cooler temperatures and some $100 pancakes. When I arrived the check out the plane, the dispatcher mispronounced my last name, something that happens about 100 times a week. No big deal. He gave me the keys and we were off. We both decided on Prescott. Cooler temperatures, control tower for busy Saturday morning breakfast traffic and a good restaurant.

We did the West Transition over Sky Harbor and then went GPS direct to Prescott. Nice, smooth and enjoyable flight. I called Prescott tower about 10 miles out and he said to report a 2 mile 45 for the downwind to 21 left. No problem. We descended to traffic pattern altitude (6,000 feet MSL) and then heard "Cessna N20984, you're number two behind an Archer, altitude 8,000 feet. Report the Archer in sight and follow him. Umm, ok. Why the heck is he 2,000 feet above TPA?

Finally we made visual contact and tower reported him at 7,000 feet when he was mid-field downwind. OK. We follow him past the approach numbers, he finally starts descending, but is 1,000 feet too high. Then he keeps flying downwind, nearly 3 miles. Finally, I call tower and ask if the Archer plans on landing today. The tower say's "HE'S LANDING" and the guy finally gets the message and turns base.

Meanwhile, a King Air is approaching from the opposite direction. Tower instructs him to report a 6 mile base. The King Air pilot acknowledges it and just as we're turning base at 3 miles, there's the King Air 1,500 feet away from us turning final. Is it just me, or is it pretty easy to visually tell the difference between 3 and 6 miles when you're 1,000' AGL? I query the tower and they tell the King Air to do a right 270 for spacing. We turn final, airspeed 65 knots just a little above the PAPI. When we're on short, short final we hear the tower call the King Air and tell them they are not cleared to land and are about on top of us. The King Air pilot says "they landed". Um, no we haven't. Tower issues them a go-around. I couldn't believe the pilot wasn't asked to copy a phone number.

When we landed, we parked next to the Archer. It was some scared European kid on his first supervised cross country. I can understand his altitude issue, even though his instructor pilot should have had a little better situational awareness. What I can't understand is the behavior of the King Air pilot. WTH?

All that matters is we landed safely and enjoyed a nice breakfast and a good flight back. Stellar was very busy this morning and the pattern was a little crazy, but that's all in good fun.

Now the funny part.

When we turned the plane back in, we found out there was a scheduling issue. The plane had actually been scheduled for a guy who's last name is very close to mine. When I checked in this morning, the dispatcher said his last name, which sounded like the way my last name is always mispronounced. I corrected him and he dispatched the plane to me.

Right after we departed, the guy who was actually scheduled for the aircraft showed up...for his first solo. No plane. They started panicking and actually thought a terrorist might have gotten the plane. It's amazing how the human mind thinks sometimes. Anyway, they did a little research and figured out what had happened. Our last names are off by just a few letters! I really felt bad for the guy since it was to be his first solo flight. They gave me his phone number and I called him to apologize. He was a good sport about it and realized how everyone involved made an honest mistake. Thanks Darrel.

What Do You Think?

Here is a video of a guy that used a mini camera on board a CRJ recently at JFK. The flight was delayed for about 4 hours due to severe weather. The flight was finally cancelled when the crew timed out.

I'm curious about opinions on this. There seem to be a lot of negative ones from the general public who have a difficult time understanding why a passenger can't just disembark from an aircraft at will, even if the plane has built-in stairs.

Another interesting tidbit. The guy that shot the video used a new video camera that he is marketing. It just so happens to be going on the market in a week or so. I don't personally care for the manner in which he conducted himself and don't want to provide the name of his company. I think he acted like a child and that the captain showed great restraint in dealing with this guys aggressive tactics. I personally think he was right on the line of violating the law by interfering with and intimidating a flight crew.

Did the guy really think the crew wanted to be sitting there for that amount of time, not being paid block time? Did the captain appear to be enjoying keeping the passengers on board? Was it the captain's fault that they couldn't depart or deplane? Does it seem like self promotion that the guy has appeared on The Today Show?

The Cognitive Test - a.k.a. - You're An Idiot And We Can Prove It

Things have been a little busy the past week. I took the family to a local resort that has its own water park. It's called the Pointe South Mountain and it's a great retreat from the heat here on The Surface of the Sun. While we were there, temperatures in Phoenix reached 114. (eye roll...but it's a dry heat). My paying job has kept me busy too.

So here's the best I can do with describing the cognitive evaluation.

It's a series of computer based modules that test some basic math, problem solving, visual acuity, hearing, hand-eye coordination, short-intermediate-and long term memory and a few other things. Anyone that takes this test will walk away doubting their ability as a basic functioning human being. In retrospect, now that the pressure is over, it was pretty fun.

It first does a series of math problems. Nothing earth shattering. Time & distance story problems and stuff like that.

Then it showed some symbols that correspond with numbers:

Now, these aren't the correct symbols, it's just an idea of what it's like. A character will flash on the screen for a second or two, and you use the light pen to choose the number that corresponds with it. The next test uses the same characters, but then puts a bunch of them in sequence and gives you an unspecified amount of time to do as many in a row as you can. The exercise ends with the screen going blank and introducing the next exercise.

Next, it shows all of the symbols in random order without any numbers. It asks you to put the corresponding number with the correct symbol...STARTING RIGHT NOW!

One that I can't really re-create is showing a ramp dude with a flag. You have to determine whether the flag is in his left or right hand. However, sometimes he's facing you and sometimes he's facing away from you. Sometimes he's upside down too.

Another one I can't show an example of is the hearing test. It plays a series of tones ranging from 5 or 6 tones to 12 or more. It plays them two at a time and you have to determine if they are the same or different.

The test would give one fairly simple test, then another fairly simple test and then combine them for a real crap storm. In the example below, the combination of tests includes identifying character sequences as same or different while centering a "glide slope-like" line every time it enters the red area, but not before. The line moves up and down rapidly and teases you near the red area.

The colors and direction test was also a fun one. From what I can remember, it showed 4 boxes on the bottom of the screen. Two that were squares with either colors or no colors and two with arrows that were facing right and left that were different colors. There were multiple exercises in this one too. For example, the computer would say "direction" and you would touch the corresponding box. Or it would say "color" or "shading". For the last one you have figure out what the computer was looking for without being prompted, then keep doing it until it "bonked" at you. Then you had to switch to another pattern that it was looking for and continue until the "bonk" and so on. Big fun. After that, I felt like I couldn't reason my way out of a cardboard box.

Next, refer to the symbols from earlier in the test and place the number with the correct corresponding symbol. Crap! I can't remember what I had for breakfast and this test expects me to remember a bunch of random symbols?

The last "fun" exercise was another combination. One exercise was to touch the number that flashed previously on the screen. For example: If 3 flashed on the screen and the next number was 1, when 1 came up you were to touch 3. Pretty easy when it's the sole exercise. Next was a line with two perpendicular lines in the middle and a triangle on top. The triangle moves to the left and right very rapidly, like a rabid rabbit. Your job is to keep it centered by rapidly pressing the right and left arrow keys on the keyboard. You are penalized if the arrow goes off of the line. Again, by itself it's pretty easy.

Last, do both of them at the same time. If you get a number wrong, it "bonks" at you and it makes a "bonk" if the triangle goes to full deflection. Though it lasts only a few minutes, it seems like an eternity. It's much more difficult than it appears, at least for me.

There were a few other exercises, but these were what I found the most significant. I made the drawings on my computer. They are just representations from memory. Please do not rely on them.

It doesn't really matter. There is no way to study for a cognitive test. Get a good nights sleep and don't drink coffee or Red Bull before hand.

I walked away from the test sure that I had failed it, second guessing almost everything I did. The benchmark was set by having 300 line pilots take the test and then set the median. I think most people do well enough to pass this, it's just nerve racking and a little intimidating.

In the words of Forrest Gump, who I feel I have much in common with after taking the cog test, "That's all I got to say 'bout that".

Why I Feel Safe

From SNL -

ATP Written - Out Of The Way

The ATP written exam is now out of the way. I took the Part 121 version.

I drew the short stick on tests. Out of 80 questions, there were over 10 of the long-form performance questions like Cg on a 727, several of the time consuming time/speed/distance/fuel burned questions and stuff like that. The guy next to me had 4 total. I focused my studying on the things that apply to me and didn't spend much time on the old DC-9, 727 and 737 performance questions, which lowered my score just below 90. I really wanted to do better than 90, but am still satisfied considering the content of my test.

At least the score remains valid as long as you're employed by a Part 121 carrier and don't expire in 24 months like other tests. I'm glad I'll never have to take it again. There will be plenty of other things to look forward to such as proficiency checks. A pilot's butt is always on the line.

ATP Written Time

I was instructed to bring the results of the ATP written exam with me to day one of class. Now that's several weeks away but, I don't want to waste any time.

I'm taking the ATP at ATP. Huh? ATP Flight School has a one-day cram study/test taking session that costs a little bit more, but I have yet to run into anyone that has scored lower than 90 from ATP Flight School.

It starts at 8 a.m. They have a special bank of questions that eliminates CFR Part 135 questions. You basically spend 8-10 hours cramming on a computer and then take the test.

I've never scored lower than 90 on a rating exam. Hopefully the trend will continue.

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When I get time, I want to post about the cognitive test. It was interesting to say the least.

One Year, Two Months, Fourteen Days

441 Days to be exact since I decided to change my life. To go for the job I've always wanted. Well it happened. Today, I was officially offered a position as a first officer.

If anybody is ever feeling good about themselves, may I suggest taking a cognitive test? It will take you from hero to zero in 1 hour. After completing the test this morning, my self esteem hit a new low. I felt stupid, uncoordinated and a victim of memory loss. The guys taking the test with me said that I was hitting the keyboard so hard that it was shaking the entire cubicle pod. I guess that anxiety and an intense type-a personality really came out. However, the baseline must be low because I passed.

After the cognitive test, we were all given lunch vouchers for the company cafeteria (very nice and great food). After lunch, it was time for the other guys to interview. The pilot recruiter that was handling the group came in and told me in front of everyone that they were offering me a position with the company. It was a little embarrassing, since the others had yet to interview. To make matters worse, they were informed that they wouldn't have an answer for a few days due to timing. Everyone was gracious about it and offered congratulations, but it was still a little embarrassing.

I some ways it seems like it's been such a long journey. In reality, it's been a blink of an eye. It's time to pause and realize how quickly this happened and how fortunate I am to be in this position. Just a few years ago, becoming an airline pilot in one year was pure fiction. There are thousands of people that spend years upon years paying dues to get where I am now.

My goal is to be the very best pilot that I can be while continuing to learn with every flight. A friend told me that a good First Officer 1. Gives the Captain accurate, useful information 2. Enjoys flying with a passion 3. Is always in training to be a Captain.

As it stands, the official class date is August 27th. There's a strong chance of starting earlier. I'll be flying Bombardier CRJ-200, 700 and 900's primarily in the East and Northeast. Training is about 90 days, with the ground and simulator portion lasting about 6 weeks and IOE (Initial Operating Experience) another 4 to 6 weeks. Flying in the Northeast will be great experience. It doesn't get any more difficult than that.

I would like to stay current over the summer and spend as much time with my children as possible. The next year is going to be a busy one and time away from family will be the hardest part.

Fly safely.

The Final Hurdle - For Now

Well here I sit at Sky Harbor in Phoenix waiting for a space available seat on a flight that is terminally oversold. The airline I'm flying has only two daily flights to Cincinnati. Right now, the flight is oversold by 4, which leaves me here to wave goodbye from the terminal.

Oh well, there are other less convenient ways to get there. No complaining. I chose this and had better get used to traveling non-revenue status. The benefits far outweigh the inconveniences.

Wait, I think there's a chance I may get on board after all. The just announced that they don't need volunteers to give up seats. Maybe there will be one seat for me? Maybe?

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I've spoken with as many people as possible about the cognitive test and the concensus is that there is no way to be prepared for it other than having a good night's sleep. The goal of the test is to find out if a prospective pilot is capable of multi tasking in the cockpit of an ailiner.

Nerves are tense...relax...just breathe.

Well, Thanks For Coming Out

We appreciate your interest in XXXair ...























and would like to invite you to our corporate headquarters for the final hiring process!

Seriously, the HR guy that called me gave me the news with a Simon Cowell delivery that went something like this: "Mike, first of all I want to thank you for coming out today. We appreciate the effort you made. That being said, there's really no easy way to tell you this ... ... ... (big dramatic pause) ... ... ... we think you did a great job at the interview and would make a great addition to our team and we'd like to invite you to Northeastern City for the final stage of the hiring process. Congratulations."

I had been doubting my performance all day long and was really dreading the phone call. I honestly thought they were going to pass on me. The Simon Cowell bit actually worked as I sank into the couch only to be followed by total elation.

It's hard to believe how much has happened and the progress that has been made in just a little more than a year. One thing is for sure, without the support of family and friends it would have never happened.

My wife has been the pillar in our home during the last year. Her strength and love has made all of the difference.

So, in the next week or two, I'll be headed to company headquarters for a quick overnight. The final stage involves a cognitive computer assessment, background check etc. If all goes well, I should be starting class on July 30th.

If you want to become an airline pilot, NOW is the time to do it. There hiring conditions out there right now will not last forever and could take decades to repeat. The brass ring is closer than ever.

BTW - This is what my daughter drew for me and left outside of her bedroom last night. She is the sweetest thing in the whole world.