I thought I would take time to appreciate a few of the things that make life on the road easier and more enjoyable. Just a couple to start with:
Podcasts
This wonderful little invention allows me to keep up with the news and random things of interest. But my very favorites are yoga podcasts--from Dave Farmar and yogadownload.com in particular--that let me practice yoga on my time in my hotel room.
eBags cooler
My crew cooler from eBags lets me take four days worth of meals with me, saving money and allowing me to eat what I want when I want. I'm no longer dependent on scheduled (or unscheduled) breaks to get a meal.
Feel free to share some of your favorite things!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
A new take on biathlon
Last "bid" (five-week schedule period) I flew with a captain who is an avid runner and recently took up golf. On several of our layovers, he would run to a nearby golf course (sometimes as far away as 4 or 5 miles), play a round of golf orhit balls in the driving range, then run back to the hotel. I know he had to move quickly through the golf course at times to avoid getting cold in his running shorts and t-shirt. I half-joked that he just started a new version of the Biathlon (running and shooting) that will soon be an Olympic sport! I always appreciate fellow crew members who get out and explore rather than join the ranks of the "slam-click"-ers.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Life is Precious
Yesterday afternoon, word was going around at work that one of our pilots had passed away while on a layover. Tom was one of the most respected pilots at the company and recently celebrated his 20th anniversary here. I did not know him, but find myself saddened all the same. People who did know him all have incredible things to say about his character, professional demeanor and personality. He apparently suffered a heart attack while running and was found by a passerby. We really just never know when our time is up; a great reminder to live life to the fullest and make the most of each and every day!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Geocaching in YLW
Today, as I set out on my usual run in Kelowna in Mission Creek Park, I saw our flight attendant Peggy. GPS in hand, she was in search of two geocaches located in the area. I've heard of geochaching, but didn't really know much about it and asked if I could tag along. It took us about 20 minutes to locate the first cache using the GPS and a description from the internet. Partway up a hill, at the base of a tree, under some logs and leaves, was a small ammo box containing a note pad and a few miscellaneous items that the founders of the cache site and other cachers installed. Canada was the theme of the cache; among the items was a mini Canadian flag. Peggy signed the log and left a "travel bug," a key ring with a numbered tag on it that she registered on line. The idea is that someone else takes the bug and leaves it somewhere else. It can be tracked on line to see how far it goes. A fun detour from my scenic run!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Common Misconceptions about Airline Pilots
Countless conversations with friends and strangers alike have led me down the path to this blog post. When you do a job every day, it comes to seem like common knowledge even though most people really don't know exactly what it is that you do. Hopefully this will put some of your questions to rest.
I am a first officer for a regional airline. That's what most people think of as the co-pilot. I'm actually qualified to fly the airplane; I'm not a "junior pilot" or anything like that. The captain (left seat) and first officer (right seat) share flying duties; while some tasks may be seat specific, many are designated as "flying pilot" or "monitoring pilot" duties. Typically, we take turns flying--so if we fly six legs today, I fly three and monitor three (that includes the takeoff and landing!).
The captain bears legal responsibility for the safety of the flight and is the ultimate decision maker, although most decisions are made as a crew. Captain and First Officer both receive the same training and qualifications, except the captain takes an additional flight test to earn a "type rating" that is specific to the model of aircraft she is assigned. There's no reason the FO couldn't take the same test except that it's expensive and not required by the FAA.
"Making captain" is simply a matter of having the appropriate seniority and going through several weeks of training in seat-specific tasks and leadership skills (unless the candidate is upgrading into a different type of aircraft than he previously flew--then more lengthy aircraft specific training is required; this occurs when an airline flies several different planes--say a 37-seat turboprop and a 70-seat jet. Pilots are typically paid according to the size of aircraft flown and will move to a larger aircraft as seniority permits. As a senior FO, a pilot will be in the jet; when upgrading, he is now the most junior captain and will be put back in the turboprop).
In some cases, an FO may even have more flight experience as a captain but got hired at the airline later. The airline industry relies heavily on the seniority system rather than merit. I mean, how exactly would you determine merit? This guy crashed a lot less than that one? We all nearly always get every flight safely from A to B or abandon the flight if we deem it isn't safe.
I do not have a designated route that I fly. The jet is normally assigned to certain routes while the turboprop is designated for others. Since I fly the turboprop, I fly to all the cities served by that aircraft. The company publishes schedules, or "lines," each month. Pilots bid for the lines they want which are then awarded by seniority (here we go again!). Most of our trips are four days, laying over each night in a different city. That means I leave home each week on, say, Tuesday, and come back home on Friday. Even though most of our destinations aren't very far away, I still have to stay in a hotel--this accommodates late arrivals and early departures for those cities. We fly between one and eight "legs," or flights, each day--usually somewhere in the four to six range.
The company pays for our hotels and we earn an hourly "per diem" to help cover meals and tips while away from home. Captains complete recurrent training and "pro checks" (proficiency checks in the simulator) every six months, while FOs go every 12 months.
Before applying for a job at a "major" airline, a pilot must typically be a captain for a period of time at a regional airline to earn "PIC," or pilot in command time. Majors usually pay more than regionals, but as you can see, it's basically a waiting game on the seniority list to be able to move up. Even then, job availability fluctuates wildly with the economy and the state of the industry.
So next time you have a conversation with a pilot, you can avoid the pitfalls of the most commonly asked questions that drive us all nuts and can probe more deeply to fully satisfy your curiosity. Feel free to post questions here and I'll try to answer them!
I am a first officer for a regional airline. That's what most people think of as the co-pilot. I'm actually qualified to fly the airplane; I'm not a "junior pilot" or anything like that. The captain (left seat) and first officer (right seat) share flying duties; while some tasks may be seat specific, many are designated as "flying pilot" or "monitoring pilot" duties. Typically, we take turns flying--so if we fly six legs today, I fly three and monitor three (that includes the takeoff and landing!).
The captain bears legal responsibility for the safety of the flight and is the ultimate decision maker, although most decisions are made as a crew. Captain and First Officer both receive the same training and qualifications, except the captain takes an additional flight test to earn a "type rating" that is specific to the model of aircraft she is assigned. There's no reason the FO couldn't take the same test except that it's expensive and not required by the FAA.
"Making captain" is simply a matter of having the appropriate seniority and going through several weeks of training in seat-specific tasks and leadership skills (unless the candidate is upgrading into a different type of aircraft than he previously flew--then more lengthy aircraft specific training is required; this occurs when an airline flies several different planes--say a 37-seat turboprop and a 70-seat jet. Pilots are typically paid according to the size of aircraft flown and will move to a larger aircraft as seniority permits. As a senior FO, a pilot will be in the jet; when upgrading, he is now the most junior captain and will be put back in the turboprop).
In some cases, an FO may even have more flight experience as a captain but got hired at the airline later. The airline industry relies heavily on the seniority system rather than merit. I mean, how exactly would you determine merit? This guy crashed a lot less than that one? We all nearly always get every flight safely from A to B or abandon the flight if we deem it isn't safe.
I do not have a designated route that I fly. The jet is normally assigned to certain routes while the turboprop is designated for others. Since I fly the turboprop, I fly to all the cities served by that aircraft. The company publishes schedules, or "lines," each month. Pilots bid for the lines they want which are then awarded by seniority (here we go again!). Most of our trips are four days, laying over each night in a different city. That means I leave home each week on, say, Tuesday, and come back home on Friday. Even though most of our destinations aren't very far away, I still have to stay in a hotel--this accommodates late arrivals and early departures for those cities. We fly between one and eight "legs," or flights, each day--usually somewhere in the four to six range.
The company pays for our hotels and we earn an hourly "per diem" to help cover meals and tips while away from home. Captains complete recurrent training and "pro checks" (proficiency checks in the simulator) every six months, while FOs go every 12 months.
Before applying for a job at a "major" airline, a pilot must typically be a captain for a period of time at a regional airline to earn "PIC," or pilot in command time. Majors usually pay more than regionals, but as you can see, it's basically a waiting game on the seniority list to be able to move up. Even then, job availability fluctuates wildly with the economy and the state of the industry.
So next time you have a conversation with a pilot, you can avoid the pitfalls of the most commonly asked questions that drive us all nuts and can probe more deeply to fully satisfy your curiosity. Feel free to post questions here and I'll try to answer them!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Dissed in the Flight Deck
This is a funny story that my training partner told while we were in ground school a few weeks ago.
We often have visitors to the flight deck in the form of small children, either before or after the flight. We welcome them into our office with varying degrees of enthusiasm, depending on the child and how much sleep we got at the hotel the night before.
Mac shared the story of a 12 or 13-year-old girl who was urged to see the flight deck by her parents, who then waited for her outside the airplane. An experienced air force pilot and now a captain and instructor pilot at our airline, Mac is generally eager to give kids a fun and educational experience. In the usual fashion, he showed the young girl, who was smacking a piece of gum, around the control panels and pointed out what various switches and levers do. After each tidbit of information, she would roll her eyes and say "whatever" as she continued to smack her gum. A the end of the session, she declared "Whatever, take a picture, double loser, DUH!" complete with the hand motions that go with the phrase. As she said "duh!" she whirled around and sashayed out the flight deck door and down the stairs to her waiting parents.
Mac had no idea what hit him. His first officer informed him that he had just been dissed in a big way and the two of them spent the next 20 minutes practicing the skit until they had it down pat. He performed it for us in ground school when he thought we needed to lighten the moment. Fantastic!
We often have visitors to the flight deck in the form of small children, either before or after the flight. We welcome them into our office with varying degrees of enthusiasm, depending on the child and how much sleep we got at the hotel the night before.
Mac shared the story of a 12 or 13-year-old girl who was urged to see the flight deck by her parents, who then waited for her outside the airplane. An experienced air force pilot and now a captain and instructor pilot at our airline, Mac is generally eager to give kids a fun and educational experience. In the usual fashion, he showed the young girl, who was smacking a piece of gum, around the control panels and pointed out what various switches and levers do. After each tidbit of information, she would roll her eyes and say "whatever" as she continued to smack her gum. A the end of the session, she declared "Whatever, take a picture, double loser, DUH!" complete with the hand motions that go with the phrase. As she said "duh!" she whirled around and sashayed out the flight deck door and down the stairs to her waiting parents.
Mac had no idea what hit him. His first officer informed him that he had just been dissed in a big way and the two of them spent the next 20 minutes practicing the skit until they had it down pat. He performed it for us in ground school when he thought we needed to lighten the moment. Fantastic!
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