Flight Level 390
- Advising Test PilotsPosition: Runway 34 Right, KSLC (Salt Lake City)Altitude: Six feet above the asphalt; first bounceGroundspeeed: 150 mph (130 kts)Equipment: A319Pax-on-Board: 120Airborne, briefly...I had not made a bad landing in months, and was starting to think maybe I really am the landing King in the Electric Jet. Bad weather, high winds, heavy aircraft, no problem... I […]
- Snow CloudsPosition: 30 west of KIND (Indianapolis)Altitude: 18,000 feet and climbingIndicated Airspeed: 356 mph (310 kts)Compass Heading: 250 degreesEquipment: A320PAX on board: 148Airborne...Day number three of a four day trip is underway. It is one of those yeah baby moments as we punch through the snow clouds into the morning's white light. The Electric Jet is […]
- A Vision of CancunPosition: Thirty miles east of Albuquerque, NMAltitude: 31,000 feetGroundspeed: 517 mph (450 knots)Pax-on-Board: 123Equipment: A319Airborne...My real mother told me, constantly, idle minds are the devil's workshop. Company mother tells me, constantly, the same thing, but in a different way... Busy pilots are happy pilots. Lately, I have been putting tha […]
- 451 miles to the alternatePosition: Over Idaho FallsAltitude: 36,000 feetGroundspeed: 484 mph (421 kts)Compass Heading: 352 degreesEquipment: A319PAX-on-board: 123Destination: CYEG (Edmonton)Airborne...The long day continues beneath the canopy of stars. World famous night pilot, Captain Dave, is at the controls. Well, OK, the wife-of-my-youth tells me that with a straight face. Funny […]
- Zeus in a 737My first landing as a young and green co-pilot candidate was a disaster. The 737-100 Steam Jet bounced ten feet before falling back to the concrete with a thud. The training Captain looked at me across the dark cockpit and asked, "You have a pilot's license, correct?" Total humiliation! Thoughts of explaining to my wife how I was unfit to be a […]
Blogging at FL250
- Two Letters[address redacted]5 March 2010The Honorable Al Franken320 Hart Senate Office BuildingUnited States SenateWashington, DC 20510Dear Senator Franken:I am writing to you in regard to Senate Bill S.3048, recently introduced by Senator DeMint. As an airline captain and professional pilot with 16 years of flying experience, I have very grave reservations concerning […]
- Deep South"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, where the local time is 9:07AM and the temperature is 31 degrees Fahrenheit...."I was already wearing long underwear, a thick sweater, and my leather riding jacket with the removable lining in place in anticipation of the cold ride ahead, but I still involuntarily shivered at the flight a […]
- End of the LineFor the second time in ten years, I was present to witness the death of a storied old name in aviation. On January 31, Northwest Airlines - the airline I referred to here as "RedCo" - ceased to exist after 84 years of continuous service. Overnight, the airwaves at Minneapolis Approach went from being dominated by the Northwest callsign to that of i […]
- The FedI first noticed him as I strolled up to our gate in Pittsburgh at 5:30am, bags in tow. He was wearing black polyester pants, a leather jacket with epaulet loops, and a plastic ID card on a lanyard; I mistook him for a jumpseating Southwest pilot. He was fourth in line to speak to the gate agent, so I just waved and motioned that I'd talk to him on the a […]
- Somewhere in the Middle of NowhereAfter I finished the Portland to Los Angeles leg of my Round-the-USA motorcycle trip in December, I left my BMW in the parking garage at LAX and hoped for the best. I actually ended up returning the next week to hunt down a leak that I "discovered" at the last second when stashing the bike; it's too bad I didn't spend five more minutes lo […]
Aviatrix
- 406 MHzWhen you get in my airplane, part of your safety briefing includes me telling you where in aircraft the Emergency Locator Transmitter is installed. (It's in the vertical stabilizer, marked on the outside with a sticker, and can be reached by tearing off a panel. You don't need tools to get it off if you're willing to destroy it in the process, […]
- Tie-DownsWhen you put cargo in an airplane, it needs to be tied down. Not so much so it doesn't fall over and break, but so that it doesn't move around and kill you, either by falling on you or by shifting the centre of gravity such that the airplane becomes unflyable. And kill you. Securing the load in an airplane is important. When the load is people, th […]
- Kicking ItI started this post when I ran into this quotation. "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." — Bruce Lee Commenter Frank Van Haste added this one. "...there's them that's flown a thousand hours, and there's them that's flown the same hour a t […]
- Ominous SignsI probably blogged about this the first time I installed iTunes, but it makes me laugh every single time I see it. THE APPLE SOFTWARE IS NOT INTENDED FOR USE IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS, LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES OR OTHER EQUIPMENT IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF THE APPLE SOFTWARE C […]
- Runway 88Recently I learned an air traffic control code that hadn't known before. I saw some movement statistics for an airport that included the column "Runway 88." This looks as odd to a pilot as a reference to the 21st hole would to a golfer. (Cue eleven readers telling me that some golf courses go past eighteen holes). Runway numbers correspond to […]
i try to click on latest questions on light sport powered parachute and nothing comes up. why? i really need them and can’t find any on faa site. thank you for any help you can give me. brett