Back In The Saddle

We jumped in to the sim today and it just felt right. Due to scheduling conflicts, we were assigned the CRJ-700 sim, which isn't what I will be flying initially.

The -700 has some nice features not found on the -200 such as FADEC, leading edge slats, one-touch switchover for 10th stage bleed air, single button ignition, better environmental controls and fire detection/suppression system. In addition, the CRJ-700 weighs about 20,000 pounds more than the -200.

With leading edge slats, the -700 has a slower Vref speed. It's a CAT C aircraft whereas the -200 is CAT D. They also land in completely different ways. After one "learning" landing, I managed to get the technique and grease the rest.

It was really a laid back session with a lot of hand flying, ILS approaches and not much else. No emergencies, no single engine approaches or V1 cuts. Two more sessions like today, with a few more challenges hopefully, and it will be time say goodbye to the sims for a few more weeks. Things are going well, very well.

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Tomorrow, my wife and I will be celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary...apart. After Sunday's sims, I have 5 days off and will be heading home to see the family. Being away from them is the most difficult part. This first year will be bittersweet. A dream finally realized mixed with the heartache of being absent from family so much. Next month, I will miss my daughter's 9th birthday and my younger son's 5th birthday. We won't talk about Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years right now.

Thankfully, my laptop has a built-in web cam and we get to have video conversations every few days. Isn't technology great?

Training Update

Well after only 3 days of training, I have an entire day off. Then after 3 more days, I'll get 4 days in a row off. Not a bad start.

Since there have been fewer new hire classes, this one is pretty large at 14. There's a pretty good cross section of people. The youngest is my roommate at 22 and the oldest is 44. Experience ranges from absolute zero to previous military and airline flying. I am surprised that there is only one female, a former flight attendant. Everyone is great and we all seem to get along.

The first day was basically in-processing. B O R I N G was the theme for the day. Company history, HR speaker after HR speaker, acknowledgment of corporate policies, procedures, protocol etc. and company ID badging. At least there were plenty of opportunities for breaks and a nice catered lunch was provided.

The next two days were the introduction to our recently implemented addition to pilot training called "Launch", plus security training in order to receive a CVG SIDA (Secure Identification Display Area)badge. A SIDA badge is required to access secure areas at US airports with air carrier operations. Launch is basically an overview of the the CRJ-200. It consists of 2 days of ground school, followed by 3 days of sims (5 a.m. ouch) that culminate with a basic pass/fail sim evaluation.

I think it is a smart move for the company. For an initial $4,000 company investment in sim time, they have the opportunity to see if you are able to adapt to a jetliner. Since they've started launch, the washout rate for pilots that have passed the launch program has decreased dramatically. Better to invest $4-5,000 in a new hire early than $25,000 later only to find that the pilot isn't ready for prime time.

So today is a chance to relax and study before 3 full days of sims. If all goes well during launch, there will be 4 days off before basic indoc starts. Otherwise, there will be many days off!

Baby, If You Ever Wondered

Wondered, Whatever became of me...

3 days, 2,150 miles, a respiratory infection, intense thunderstorms and a tornado sighting and still managed to get here in one piece. I pushed a little harder than planned, but thought getting here a day earlier than planned would help with rest and recovery before the big day. I already miss my family.

The first day, I woke up with a tickle in my throat. 900 miles later, it was a full-blown infection, with fever and aches. Nice. I decided to get curbside pickup from Macaroni Grill. When I finally got back to the hotel, got comfortable and sat down to eat, I opened the bag to find nothing but my dinner. No fork, no napkin or anything. I though, "No problem. I'm staying at a 300 room hotel." I called the front desk and asked about a fork and napkin. They said that since the restaurant was closed for renovation, all utensils were in storage. Not one fork? Plastic even? Ugh. I walked to a convenience store nearby. Maybe I could buy a pack of gum and get a fork from the food counter. There were no loose forks, knives or napkins so I ended up having to buy a box of utensils...for $4.00! Don't you love convenience stores? By the time I got back to the room, my Penne Rustica was more like Penne Gluesticka. I took Nyquil liquicaps in hopes of falling quickly asleep. No sleep until 3 a.m.

Thursday I felt better. I got started a little later than planned, but made it to Kansas City, MO. I had planned on staying in Topeka, but it was only another 80 miles to KCI where Marriott offered a nice room on the cheap.

Today, I planned doing Topeka to St. Louis. Since I was already in KCMO, I decided to go to Indy. One thing I remembered about St. Louis is that it is the western terminus for White Castle. That is what I was dying to have. Well...um...it really wasn't as good as I remembered. Maybe I'm spoiled by In-N-Out out west. Oh well, it was sustenance.

After my little White Castle letdown, it was time to stretch the legs and and visit the Gateway Arch. I had always admired it from the interstate, but never up close. The closest parking was 1/4 mile away and it was oppressively HOT. I decided against stopping there, but did stop at the President Casino, not really to gamble, but to see The Admiral, one of the largest riverboats ever built. It has a unique Art Deco meets Buck Rogers appearance.



I've always wanted to see it and was let down to see that it's just a shell with a bunch of slot machines and gaming tables. How sad to see something so magnificent be unceremoniously gutted and treated like a garbage barge.

As I was returning to the car, a massive gust of wind hit. A massive tower crane weather-vaned nearly 180 degrees in what seemed like an instant. I have never seen a crane turn that fast. Less than 30 seconds later, it started raining...no it started POURING. This was the beginning of a long line of storm cells that would follow me all the way to Indianapolis.

Despite HEAVY rain and wind from a line of thunderstorms that seemed to parallel I-70, I made it to Indy by 8 p.m. Cincinnati...er...Erlanger was only 125 miles further and I decided to get there tonight. Now I have 2 full days to get well before class. It was another long day, but worth it.

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I met a guy the day of the interview that was hired too. We've been chatting back and forth for a few months now, are like minded and it looks like we're going to be room mates. Not knowing who would be my room mate/study partner was one of my bigger worries. Here are a few interesting photos from the trip. Mostly weather related.

This was taken on I-25, in Colorado Springs following a pretty big thunderstorm. That is Cheyenne Mountain in the background. Where's Michael Landon or Della Reese?

This is approaching The Gateway Arch from I-70. The crane on the left is the one I saw weather-vane when the storm hit.

This is the best photo I could get of The Admiral. From the front, it is obscured by the stupid casino entrance. At the bottom is my trusty Passport 8500 X50. It has helped me remain ticket free for 18 years. I watched a young lady get nailed after passing me. Old 8500 had already told me what was goin' down. I tried to warn her, but she was in too big of a hurry to pay attention. I guess that means she deserved it. By the way, Missouri wins hands-down for the most Ka blaring patrol cars. I lost count after 50 between Kansas City and St. Louis.

I just like the angle of this photo
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It's not obvious from the photo, but this was ripe for a funnel cloud.

Couldn't do 80 here. Visibility was about 150 feet. This was the view on and off for about 250 miles.

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Next up: A post that is actually about flying, or at learning to fly at least.

The Time Has Come

It's been a while since I was hired by XXXair. Almost 10 weeks has passed and it's finally time leave for training.

XXXair has always been good about accommodations during training. Full pay, plus per-diem, plus single occupancy hotel room. Not bad. Other's have no pay, some have double occupancy. We XXXair just came out with a new option. During training, you now have the choice of single occupancy hotel - OR - double occupancy furnished apartment. At first, the apartment doesn't sound so great. After the thought of the same hotel room for 8 weeks, the apartment comes back to mind. Well after looking at what the apartments offer, I wondered why I even considered the hotel option. The apartments are fully furnished, 2 bed/2 bath, digital cable w/HBO, 32" or larger TV in living room, TV in each bedroom, washer & dryer, weekly maid service, telephone, intercom, gated security and more. Having a room mate in a nice apartment is better than any hotel for that length of time.

Who wants to spend 8 weeks away from home without a car? Instead of flying, I've decided to drive. Yeah, 2,000 miles is a long drive, but it would be pretty inconvenient to be without a car for that long. Since class begins Monday, August 27th, I'm leaving Wednesday. That will allow enough time to get there by Saturday night and have all of Sunday to relax and recharge.

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Training will be a busy time with little room for much else. Hopefully, I'll be able to update every few days. From what I understand, the new training schedule is something like this:

Day 1-3: Indoc
Day 4-10: Simulator
Day 11: Orientation Day (wife gets to come to CVG and see the facility!)
Day 12-21: Systems
Day 22-32: Simulator
Day 33: Oral Exam/Check Ride
Then: Observation flights & IOE (Initial Operating Experience) are scheduled.

For anyone wondering...The answer is Yes. The first time a first officer actually flies the plane is on a passenger carrying revenue flight. Of course, said FO is with a line check airman that has MANY years of experience. No worries. This is how every airline operates training. From American to Qantas.

Wish me luck.

Frequency Change

Two weeks ago, I submitted a letter of resignation. Today was my last official day in broadcasting. It has been good to me, but the time to move on has finally come.

I was literally raised around broadcasting. When I was an infant, my parents actually lived at a radio station. My father had a long and distinguished broadcasting career working in major markets as a DJ, then in sales, management and ownership. I followed in his footsteps and stuck it out for 17 years until I realized how much deregulation had changed the industry and broadcasting was no longer fun.

Some of the major changes about to take place are hitting me hard. A new career totally unrelated to previous experience, being away from home and family more often than not at first, an initial pay cut that is hard to swallow and moving from a meritocracy to an industry where performance is expected, but not necessarily rewarded are some of the bricks in the wall which I am headed for at break-neck speed.

I am becoming a number. It is the number that determines where I live, when I work, where I go and ultimately when I become captain. That number begins on day one at the absolute bottom of a very tall ladder. There are only three ways to go up the ladder: 1. Someone falls off 2. Someone jumps off 3. The ladder gets bigger. Here's to hoping that my airline is looking to build a bigger ladder.

If anyone else that has been through this, I'm open to advice on coping with all of the changes. Right now, it's a little suffocating. 9 days until class begins. 5 days until departure.

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On a lighter note...When said goodbye to my staff yesterday, I said the typical and stupid "You too!" thing when they said good luck with you new career. It reminded me of one of my favorite comedians, Brian Regan. I love they way he makes himself look like a doofus without using profanity. If you're in the mood for a few laughs, listen to his "You too" clip:

If you like this, you can get more clips at this fan site.

Sometimes it's good to know that you're not the only idiot in the world.

Night Flight to IFP

Last Friday night, Dana and I decided to take our last flight together. With summer monsoon season in full swing, weather in Arizona can be sketchy. We chose 3 destinations: Flagstaff, Tucson and Laughlin/Bullhead City. I reserved a nice little IFR Archer with GPS, DME and slaved HSI. It ain't fast, but it'll get you there safely. What more can you ask for? I know...constant speed prop, turbo, retractable gear, glass cockpit - but who has the money to be picky.

With a planned departure of 8 p.m., we hoped that at least one of our destinations would be free of thunderstorms. At 6 p.m., a check of the radar showed severe thunderstorms in Tucson and all over Northern Arizona. It wasn't looking promising. By 7:30, Flagstaff and Tucson were still looking bad, but we could see rapid dissipation on the route from Falcon Field to Laughlin/Bullhead City (KIFP). The only activity was a line of storms moving South from Las Vegas that weren't a factor.

At 8:00, we were off the ground. I love flying at night, especially after thunderstorms. The atmosphere was perfectly calm and visibility was greater than 45 miles. ATC was in a particularly good mood, too. Our route took us over Scottsdale, Deer Valley, direct Wickenburg, direct Lake Havasu and then up the Colorado River to KIFP.

The moon was full and I regretted not having my camera as we flew over Alamo lake. With our 8,500 foot cruising altitude and visibility so good, you could actually see Lake Havasu City from Alamo Lake.

After turning North to follow the Colorado River, we started seeing increased lightning in the distance. Apparently, the storms in Las Vegas were pretty strong and traveled further south than expected. They usually die out over Boulder City. The storms were still 25-30 miles north, so it wasn't a factor. We did enjoy the light show.

We landed in Bullhead at 9:50, just before the FBO closed. It's under new ownership and is now Encore FBO, Inc. It's the same nice people that worked for Sun Western Flyers. The Flight Service Station called the FBO to see if we had arrived and told them I had 3 minutes to call. Huh? We landed 5 minutes earlier than filed and hadn't even been on the ground more than 10. 10 minutes after arrival time and a phone call? To the FBO and not me? They girl at the FBO said that FSS calls them sometimes, especially when it's around closing time. When I called FSS, they couldn't even find an open plan, so the caller must have closed it when they spoke with the FBO. Weird.

We took the free shuttle across the Colorado River in to Laughlin and had a late dinner at Outback Steakhouse inside The Aquarius Hotel (Formerly Flamingo Hilton). It's strange to eat at a chain restaurant inside a casino, but it was actually very good. I usually refer to Outback Steakhouse as Steakback Outhouse, but this location didn't deserve it.

I kept temptation at bay and passed the gaming tables as we made our way back to the airport for our return trip home. The flight back was totally uneventful, other than a guy working the Phoenix TRACON that couldn't get anyone's call sign or aircraft type right. He was convinced that we were in a Seneca.

Sky Harbor Approach cleared us through the bravo at 5,000 feet or below, descent at our discretion direct to Falcon Field. Ahh...the joy of flying through Class B airspace after midnight. As we headed towards Falcon, Dana lined us up for an approach to Gateway! She hadn't flown to Falcon at night and couldn't see Falcon from a left base. No big deal, I took the controls and got us lined up on final and gave her the controls back for landing. We touched down at 2 a.m. exactly.

Okay, I have one complaint about Falcon Field. The GA ramp is WAY TOO DARK. You can't see anything. Parking at night is a PITA. /RANT OFF

Well, it was a nice trip and probably the last time Dana and I will fly together for some time. She starts at Air Wisconsin Monday, August 6th.

Thanks Captain Nelson - The Ooooooonly Way To Fly

I was rummaging through some old documents looking for something the other day and ran across my Western Airlines "First Flighter" certificate.

I remember this day. It was the day I decided that I wanted to be a pilot. The big, noisy Western Airlines 727-200 was parked at Terminal 1 at Sky Harbor (gone since 1990, RIP). Captain Ron Nelson invited me to sit in the cockpit and watch them do the pre-flight. He also invited me up for a short time during the flight to LAX. I was hooked. I still have the real metal wings. Captain Nelson probably ended up at Delta and is probably retired by now. I wish he knew how much influence his kindness had on me that day back in 1981. Thanks Captain Nelson.

Western Airlines - The Ooooooooooonly Way To Fly!