The View From Here

Every once in a while, I have a view that I just can't resist getting a shot of. Sometimes, I take pictures of things I already have shots of, but Mt. Hood and Crater Lake look different from season to season, even day to day depending on light conditions, snow accumulation, etc. This is one of my favorites--Mt. Hood on January 10, 2011, in the late afternoon light.

The View From Here will be series of shots, old and new, from my "mobile office." Enjoy!

Lufthansa 747 operates first transatlantic biofuel flight to US | ATWOnline

Lufthansa 747 operates first transatlantic biofuel flight to US | ATWOnline

Favorite things

I did a short "favorite things" post a couple years ago, but it's time to share more. These are things that make life on the road (or in the air as the case may be) easier and more enjoyable.

• Smartphone. In my case, the HTC Evo. In the year since I got it, I've learned to do most everything mobile: banking, email, text, news, weather, music, navigation, Netflix, and on and on. It means using my laptop less frequently which lightens my roller bag quite a bit and saves time.
• Kindle. This was a Christmas gift last year and I was reluctant at first to stray from the tried and true paper of a good book. Although I still love the aesthetics of a book, I have come to appreciate the convenience of the Kindle for traveling. I can see a future of reading magazines and newspapers on a device as well. Sure cuts down on the paper I carry around!
• Smartwool kneesocks. Hey, it's the little things that brighten your day sometimes! After two winters freezing my butt off in the flight deck of the frosty Q400, I hunted high and low for good black kneesocks. Finally found a 3-pack of Smartwools on line and have been flying comfortably ever since!

Unfortunately, I can't afford to give all my viewers a goody bag of my favorite things like Oprah used to do, so you'll have to enjoy from the sidelines!

Flying Lessons

When I learned to fly, back in the dark ages of 1991 when airspace was still classified as ARSAs and TRSAs, we didn't use RNAV, GPS, or even headsets. In fact, when I think about it, it's rather a miracle that I learned to fly at all. My instructor, Jim Harrigan, was British, and not from London, either. He was from the sticks and it showed in his accent that I struggled to understand as he shouted at me through a cloud of Marlborough smoke over the engine noise of the 1978 Piper Warrior.

This was a lark for me, something I decided to try after a couple months of regular skydiving and when I won a last-minute scholarship that covered my final semester of college, freeing up the cash I had saved over the summer to pay for school. My coach learned of the skydiving (I was on the cross country team) and threatened to revoke my running scholarship if I didn't quit jumping out of airplanes tout de suite. So I signed up for my first lesson. It seemed like something I could basically treat as an extra class, so I purchased the student pilot kit complete with textbooks and plunked down my cold hard cash for a pre-paid Private Pilot program.

Next thing I knew, Smokey Jim was climbing out of the airplane while the engine was still running. I looked at him curiously and asked, "Where are you going?" I couldn't understand what he said, but he made some hand motions that appeared to indicate his desire for me to make three touch-and-goes. By myself??

Jim abandoned me in early December to go back to the British sticks for Christmas, leaving me in the capable (and much more understandable) hands of a female instructor named Kim. She was somehow under the impression that I was nearly ready for my check ride. Hindsight suggests this was due in part to the "pre-paid" aspect of my program, meaning if I required more hours of instruction than allotted, the school didn't get any more money.

The day after I graduated college, Kim and I were enroute from KRMG to KGAD, where I had precisely 40 hours (the bare minimum required) of flight time under my belt when we landed. Kim introduced me to the examiner who would administer my test then threw me to the wolves. That night with a fresh license in my pocket, I boarded a plane to Montana, gazing in awe at the pilots, wondering if some day I could be like them.

Flying Career: Overrated?

Last week, carreercast.com named the 12 most overrated jobs of 2011. Both flight attendant and pilot made the list. To most people, the thought of a flying career conjures up images of a dapper Leonardo striding the concourse in a crisp uniform, flanked by a throng of young, pretty, and immaculately groomed stewardesses. This glamorous stereotype is perpetuated by the new TV series "Pan Am."

The more likely scenario is a rumpled first officer who slept in the crew room because her shift started early and she had to commute from home in Boise/San Diego/Denver the night before accompanied by a 50-year-old flight attendant who sold her insurance agency to pursue her lifelong dream of flying and doesn't care that she only makes $12,000 a year because she has flight benefits for herself and her husband.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KosfmCMIGhA&feature=related

There are great things about an airline career. I generally have 3-day weekends. The hours are somewhat flexible. With creative bidding, I can sometimes have a 5-10 day stretch of days off without burning precious vacation time. Frankly, I can't imagine going back to an 8-5 routine five days a week. Not to mentions the views from the "office!"

So why does CareerCast think flying is overrated? Perhaps because flight crews are away from home for days on end. And unlike the crews in "Pan Am," we aren't dancing in Paris night clubs on generous layovers. Maybe it's because we work odd hours, sometimes finishing a shift after midnight and beginning another at 3 a.m. in the same week. It could have something to do with the stress induced by weather, company policies, passenger issues, fatigue, etc. Work-life balance and compromised health are two of the issues the Huffington Post pointed out in its version of the story. It's difficult to maintain friendships and regular social outings when you travel four days a week. Irregular sleep patterns, questionable nutrition, and poor ergonomics of flight deck seating cause frequent visits to the doc.

And the $106,000 average salary for airline pilots is a bit misleading. A captain at a major airline may earn well above this figure, but a first officer at a regional earns far less, often starting at $15k or less and topping out around $40k. Moving up is largely a function of seniority and movement comes to a grinding halt right along with with the economy.

Perhaps they think an airline career is overrated since moving from job to job comes with a price--typically large pay cuts and time at the bottom of the seniority list--whereas other professionals can leverage their experience to land better paying jobs at another company.

Don't get me wrong. I love my job and the benefits it affords. I just wouldn't encourage you to quit YOUR job to pursue the "glamour" of flying.

Pet Peeves

Airline flying equals lots of repetition. You do the same things over and over again, several times a day, several days a week. This includes going through security at the beginning of the day and walking through a terminal full of the Traveling Public. Behavior that is only mildly annoying when encountered occasionally becomes practically unbearable when faced with it repeatedly, day after day.

Pet Peeve #1: Standing on the Moving Sidewalk
First of all, the original intent of the moving sidewalk was to expedite travel down long corridors such as those found in airports. When one simply stands on the moving sidewalk, it actually slows the pace compared to walking at a decent clip and causes traffic to pile up behind you. Solution: If you must stand due to a physical handicap, laziness, or carrying too much luggage, at least do it to one side. I know most west coasters have never heard the phrase "walk on the left, stand on the right," but I guarantee that if you don't comply in places like Washington, DC, you will be shoved aside, run over, or shot.

Pet Peeve #2: Standing On or Blocking the Escalator
Escalator protocol is similar to that of a moving sidewalk with one notable exception: if you are towing luggage (as is common at airports) you get a pass on walking. This does not, however, mean that you can stand on one side of the escalator with your luggage on the other side. Solution: Put it behind you so others can walk up the escalator on the left side (see above).

Pet Peeve #3: Stopping at the End of the Escalator or Moving Sidewalk
Escalators and moving sidewalks seem to cause a lot of problems; here's the third annoyance related to these modern marvels. The same people who stand with belongings sprawled across the width of these devices tend to step off and stop, looking around bewildered trying to decide where to go next. They seem not to understand that a stream of people is coming off the contraption behind them like a 20-car pile-up with nowhere to go. Solution: Walk at least five feet in any direction to allow traffic to continue moving behind you.

Pet Peeve #4: Blocking the Security Exit
The exits from airport secured areas tend to be narrow as they have to be guarded by a TSA agent to prevent terrorists from entering. And since non-traveling family members can no longer meet arriving parties at the gate, they tend to congregate outside security watching for great-granny to come out. Arriving flights tend to cause a steady throng of passengers exiting to the baggage claim and transportation areas. This leads to a blockade of sorts as the people who aren't being met weave their way around the throngs of greeters who are craning their necks, waving flowers, or jumping up and down screaming at their arriving guest. It gets particularly challenging when a family of five surrounds great-granny in the exit hallway, leaving only single-file room on either side for others to escape. Solution: Some airports (thank you, Vancouver) solve this dilemma with fencing to force the greeters to one side while arriving passengers are directed unobstructed to the exit. The Traveling Public could try to maintain some small awareness that others exist and also need to function within the limited space provided. Let granny get into a more open area before closing in on her, or escort her off to the side before surrounding her.

When I'm finishing a four-day trip exhausted and eager to get home, it seems that all of these things conspire against me to slow my progress to the exit.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

We just got word that 12 of our 96 furloughed pilots are about to be recalled. After hearing the news, I felt that a load had been lifted off my shoulders. Although I haven't personally been affected in a significant way, I still feel the effects in tougher schedules and the inability to get time off or trade trips.

Of the 12 to be recalled, some have been out for almost a year now. Not only are jobs nonexistent in the industry, competition is fierce for those few opportunities outside our field of expertise. These guys have been making a go of it with unemployment benefits, part-time work, and savings if they have any.

A year and a half after the first round of layoffs, morale is at a low point. It feels we've been walking down a road without knowing where the end is, carrying a pack that just keeps getting heavier. At the outset, we remained upbeat with a can-do attitude, but have become weary, dejected, and beaten down. I'm reminded of adventure racing, only this time, instead of a finish line, we are handed another set of maps and told to keep going. We have no idea for how long or what awaits us.

Finally, we have some glimmer of hope, a dim light at the end of the long tunnel.