Air Brett

2007-01-26T09:56:00.000-08:00

There is nothing quite like preflighting an aircraft at 5:30 in the morning when the temperature is -14 degrees celsius, with the wind blowing snow in your face, and forcasters severe windchill warning not to be outside with exposed skin. Especially, when it is first flight of the day so you have to opean all the panels and bay doors for inspection. What makes it even more fun is when it is after a continuous duty overnight, the hotel does not have breakfast that early, and you get the spot with no jetbridge. In fact, it is so much fun that I got to do it twice since we had a mechanical requiring us to deplane, cancel the flight, and get a ferry permit several hours later. Ahhh yes, living the dream... living the dream.

2006-10-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to update this blog much due to how busy it has been. I have been wanting to though. I am studying for the first simulator session tomorrow, so I have to make this entry pretty short. Here has what has happened since my last post:

Ground school finished up and I passed all three written tests (98 and 100 percents), got through Cockpit Procedure Training (CPT's) and passed the oral yesterday.

CPT's consisted of something that is halfway between a paper mockup and an FTD (flight training deviced). Here we were tested on all our FO cockpit flows, checklist usage, knowing what indications to look for, callouts and profiles for different phases of flight, abnormal starts, and some of the captain flows and checklists (each off us will be left seat for half of the sim training after all). It was anything but easy. My sim partner and I would study for hours on end with the cardboard mockups, and we still felt that the pace was fast. They do not hand you anything on a platter here. You need to be very self-disciplined for studying on your own or you will get behind fast.

The oral was no easy either. After passing CPT's, we had 2 days before the oral and during that time reviewed what seemed to me a mountain of material. Everything from indoc, ground school, CPT's, performance, W&B, releases and MGL's, etc. was all fair game. The examiner was a great guy, but was not easy. The fact that I overprepared myself was enough to get through with confidence. Of course, they will always go a little deeper in the oral than your knowledge base so you can learn even more.

Now, I'm off to review my Fly the Wing book as well as procedures, approaches, callouts, FMS, et. al. for tomorrow's "fun" simulator flight.

2006-09-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well, the firehose has been turned on high. In the last week and a half we have gone through how to do all the performance and weight and balance by hand, assuming there was a major computer failure. Normally these numbers come from dispatch via ACARS (a very cool system that works much like text messaging on a cell phone). We also covered weather radar and had someone who was a military pilot in another life come in and teach us about aerodynamics unique to high altitude flight, swept wing aircraft, and how do recover from unusual attitudes.

This week we have started systems. Yesterday and today was the start of this portion of the training where we covered EFIS (Electronic Flight Information System) which basically means "glass cockpit." I now realize that being an instructor on the G1000 glass cockpit was great experience and will help me immensely. The CRJ even uses a similar way of getting its air data as the G1000 - a solid state AHRS unit. We have also delved deep into how the AFCS (Automatic Flight Control System) works operationally and integerates into the other systems. This is a long way to say "autopilot/flight director". Today was hydraulics and the landing gear system.

Along with all this material, we have started learning the FMS. The airline uses a computer simulator that shows the FMS, the PFD/MFD screens (the main flight instruments), and the autopilot. You can program the FMS like you would in real life based on the flight release, and have the autopilot fly it. The guy who teaches it is a real character that isn't afraid to say anything he wants. This is a good thing, because we need something to wake us up every morning.

Along with all this, has been the self study of flight profiles in the cockpit procedure trainer, the memory items from the checklists, and a whole slew of limitations. Tonight my sim partner and I were in the CPT (see above) and felt like we had just started the morning flight after a continuous duty overnight. For those that don't know the lingo, this is where your duty day starts the preceding night and you do not get a normal rest period between that night flight and the early morning one the next day. Also called a highspeed, this kind of trip is notorious for fatigue. After I finish this sentence, I'm going to sleep!

2006-09-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

Day 4:
Today was mostly spent reviewing rules for IFR flight, limitations for approaches, etc. What was a real exercise was figuring out duty time limitations given different scenarios. It can really make your headspin with all the exceptions and rules for "Duty Periods" vs. sliding 24-hour limitations, reduced rest and compensatory rest, etc. We haven't even learned our contract rules yet that will change some of those figures. We also went through exercises involving company alternate minimums, the People's Express exemption, etc. Fun stuff!

Day 5:
Passed my first test written test... Indoc! Most of the ground school today involved weather and weight and balance. It was interesting to hear about the different weather patterns at the domociles during different seasons. I think we may have gone through more than a thousand slides over this past week. One thing that I have come to grips with is that much of my learning is going to be self study. They are about to change the whole training program and we are the last class that is using the old slides. I get this feeling that they don't like that they have to do one more class with these and they tend to go through many of them without saying much. That is ok though, because I'm learning a lot more than I expected by having to dig up most of the information myself.

Today we got to see the actual aircraft for the first time as well. It was very cool to walk around it, knowing that it won't be long before I will be at the control of this sexy jet. We learned a lot about different exterior items and got to stick our heads into the compartment where the APU is, as well the the avionics bay. The cockpit was exactly as I expected. It was pretty cool to realize that I already knew where the majority of switches were from studying flows in the CPT (Cockpit Procedures Trainer).

This weekend was mostly spent sleeping in, getting exercise, watching football, studying, and going into the CPT with my sim partner at least once a day. We have finally got through the profiles for a normal takeoff, rejected takeoff, and engine failures/fires after V1. We also had a Starbucks study group going today for limitations and memory items.

2006-09-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

I finally got to the hard part. Training for a part 121 airline. I am a first officer candidate for the Canadair CRJ-200 in a class totalling 27. I will not be able to post every day due to the busy schedule but I will try to update when I can.

Day #1:
Two days ago I drove from Dallas to Memphis and checked in to my hotel. It isn't too bad as it has a kitchenette so I can save a lot of money by getting food at the grocery store and eating it. The downside is that we have two to a room. I am pumped up and ready for the biggest challenge of my life. Now its Monday and we walk into the training room where there are several binders and papers over a small desk, each with a name tag. I take my spot and we all start putting together our flight manuals, operating manuals, and systems manuals. Most of the day is spent learning about the airline. It was pretty much a parade of people coming in and telling us who they are and what they did in the company. It was pretty cool in that we got to meet the COO, VP of Flight Ops, and several other big wigs. It also turns out that of all the memory items I had been studying, they now only have 1/3 of them. Oh well. :-) I also picked out a sim partner. We both have the same study habits, so it will work out very well I think.

Day 2:
This was primarily an HR day. Those who hadn't been drug tested before arriving at training did so, we watched some videos on culture, etc., and filled out a multitude of forms for benefits. We also put in our bids for our base preferences (which we should find out about in a week) and learned about our travel and jumpseat benefits. In the evening, a group of us studied our memory items, limitations, and some cockpit flows. Group study is very helpful and I think will be a major part of my successful completion of training here. There is something about hearing someone else say something that makes you learn it better. We also spent time figuring out the locations of some of the cockpit switches that are part of our memory checklist, even though we haven't covered this yet in training.

Day 3:
Today we reviewed some of the basic FAR's that apply to IFR flight, ATC communications, and how our op-specs relate. Much of it was a review of stuff we should already know from the ATP written, but some was also company specific. Another theme of the day was how dispatch and the crew communicate and the responsibilities of both parties. This is an aspect of the 121 world that will be completely new to me. We also had our first experience doing revisions. What you would think would be a simple task turned into a circus of 27 students and an instuctor going crazy trying to figure out pages to remove, replace, etc. I thought it was quite amusing how a room of us "accomplished" pilots had so much difficulty in putting papers in 3-ring binders.

2006-08-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

T-minus 14 days: I am going to be very busy over the next couple months, but I'll attempt to post when I can. For those that are wondering what it is like to go through a Part 121 training class, you may be interested in checking back. I am currently packing up my stuff into boxes to go into storage until I figure out what city... actually what state for that matter I will be living in.

It has been an amazing 7 months as an instructor at Skymates, Inc. I got my commercial, multi, and CFI ratings there and could not be where I am today so quickly without them. Now comes the really tough part. I already have the flash cards made, and will spend the next couple weeks either moving my stuff or studying. Right now I will try to live and breathe CRJ200 memory items and limitations.

2006-07-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

Update: I have not posted in a while because I have been very preoccupied. I will soon post a more detailed account, but here is the short version of it. I went to Skymates in Arlington, Texas, got my ratings, an now am a busy flight instructor there. I currently have about 760 total hours and 120 multiengine. Stay tuned for the pictures and details.

2005-08-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm still busy at work. I have been studying hard for the Commercial written and plan to take it within the next week or two. I have also been considering doing my training full time sooner rather than later. I will post more when my plans are more concrete. But for something non-aviation related (and because this is the easiest place for me to post this on the net), I would like to present some pictures of the pre-production 2006 Honda Civic, to be released next month sometime. Across the stree from me, there was a promotional party for the car and the new CD release for the band Jack's Mannequin and I was able to snap these pictures until one of the promo guys asked me to stop. It was in a public place though, the parking lot of tower records, so here it is for anyone who is into car news. There were three cars there, and this one had navigation, but no sunroof. The audio system showed support for XM, WMA, and MP3 etched on the top of the screen border.

2005-08-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

New 2006 Civic (Pre-production)

2005-08-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't updated this in a while because nothing very noteworthy has happened in my training. Right now, I am practicing maneuvers solo now and then and studying the Gleim in my free time. Unfortunately, there is not much of that since it is crunch time at my corporate job. I probably won't be back in the air until the weekend, in fact, and I didn't fly this past weekend. :( Well, I got to pay the bills and flight training counts as a pretty large bill so I can't complain that now and then my job has to take priority. I will still get my ratings done much faster as long has I have a good income coming in.

One thing that I noticed on my solo flights is that I seem to have good days and bad days for no apparent reason. One day I will nail every maneuver and land right at my intended touchdown point, and other days well... as my former air force flight instructor used to say during my PPL training, "I fly like a Navy pilot." LOL. Actually, I wish I did because they tend to be able to land on a point pretty consistently, even if the runway is bobbing up and down in heavy swells. Another thing I notice is that the 172RG likes to float further when there is only one person in the cockpit (I only way about 160 lbs). That took some adjusting.

My next step is to complete my long solo cross country. For this you need to travel at least 300nm, land at three airports, and at least one leg needs to be 250nm. I've thought about Grand Canyon/Las Vegas or Oakland. The problem is that my flight school charges a 3 hour minimum per day, and if I stay the night somewhere the timing will work out to count as 2 days (6 hours). At today's prices this is significant. I really want to used the opportunity to visit a friend up in the bay area, or meet some friends in Vegas, but I may just do a day trip and get it done for cheap. I'm leaning to the Bay Area trip, especially since I won't have to fly at 5:00am to dodge 110 degree temperatures. Updates coming soon!

2005-07-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

I got back from my trip to the Northwest last night and though I'd post a few pictures of the experience. I never got a change to check out San Juan Airlines, but I did get up close to some of the planes that Kenmore Air operates.

Some of the scenery in the Washington cascades is surreal. Above, this is glacier-fed Diablo Lake. It would be pretty challenging to get a float plane in an out of here, even in good weather.

On the ferry between Anacortes and Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Interstingly, we had an escort of the coast guard and border patrol on either side of the vessel. Whenever another craft approached, they would circle themselves between them and us. I'm not sure how effective this would be if they wanted to bomb us like the USS Cole, but it was an interesting security gesture.

Kenmore Air is one of the coolest flight operations I've seen. It is a mostly float plane airline that goes from Seattle to the San Juans, Victoria, Vancouver and many other Northwest destinations. I took a picture of this sign posted on the dock at Friday Harbor. The line in the second to last paragraph reminds you that life is at a different pace here, "... sometimes we arrive early, at other times late."

Here I am next to one of the De Havilland Beaver's of Kenmore Air. Flying for them would be a great life. One of the pilots I met was in his 40's or 50's and the other was in is early 20's. I wouldn't mind building my time and living this kind of life for a while, even if there is no prospect for twin time. The hard part would be getting that sea plane time to qualify.

And finally, a few of Friday Harbor with one of the Beaver's taxing for departure in the distance.

2005-07-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

The Northwest is one of the most beautiful parts of the country in my opinion. One thing I notice when I'm there is that aviation plays a much greater role in day to day life. Driving down Interstate 5 north of Seattle, you can see personal and passenger seaplanes taking off and landing alongside you in one of the many offshoots of Puget Sound. Its a beautiful sight at sunrise with the Seattle skyline in the background, a snowcapped Mt. Ranier out in the distance, and rugged pine-tree covered terrain all around. The flying I'm sure is challenging, given the weather and terrain, but you can't beat the view from the air. Months ago I took a Horizon Air flight at dawn from Bellingham (KBLI) to Seattle. It was amazing seeing the activity down in the Puget Sound below. Tankers, trawlers, seaplanes, making there way around the San Juan Islands. When I was a kid, I went to Orcas Island with my mom and her friend, and remember seeing orcas (killer whales) from the ferry. They seem so majestic out in the wild compared to seeing them at Sea World. Maybe I'll go kayaking out in the Sound someday and see them a little closer (but not too close).

I would love to get a flying job up in the Northwest someday. The experience I gain would be amazing, and the views even more so. One of these days I want to take a San Juan Airlines flight out to one of the islands and see how the operation works.

I will be up in the Northwest until Tuesday, so this blog will probably not be updated until then. Stay tuned though.

2005-07-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if this was done on purpose for testing, but my father just forwarded me these images of the main landing gear on the A380. If anyone as any info to add, please comment. I'm sure the engineers will fix this... this is what flight testing is for. Yeah, its not the prettiest of aircraft but as soon as they are flying to LAX, I will probably be in line to get a ticket on one. I wish I had miles on Virgin Atlantic.

2005-07-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

Vondelpark in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

2005-07-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

Well here it is... my first blog posting ever. After reading some great blogs from other pilots, I got motivated to do the same. I've never been much of a writer so I don't imagine this will be nearly as much fun to read as journals such as Freight Dog Tales and House of Rapp. I'll do my best though.

First, here's the Cliff Notes on me. I was born in 1974 and raised in San Diego, CA by my mother and father. My dad is a retired airline pilot who after flying as a forward air controller in Vietnam got out of the Air Force and was hired by PSA. During the period of his career that I can remember, he flew the 727, MD-80, 737, and 757/767, the later models coming after the merger with US Air(ways). Needless to say, I was exposed to aviation since birth, and even with virtually no pressure one way or the other have always loved everything having to do with flying. It must be genetic.

I was taught to fly by another PSA/US Air captain who's family has been very close to ours since before I was born. He didn't let me get away with much of anything and taught way beyond standards. I believe I will be a much better and safer pilot for the rest of my career because of his teaching and am forever grateful. My first solo was in a Cessna 150 out of Gillespie Field (KSEE) in San Diego, rented from a great flying club called Plus One Flyers that has planes at several of the airports in the county. I moved on to the 172, and managed somehow to pass my Private Pilot test with the examiner. I then moved on to get my instrument rating at a more formal Part 141 school at Montgomery Field (KMYF), American Flyers. The training was very thorough and professional, including the stressful hours in their Frasca simulator and before long I touch and puncture clouds legally. I was very happy with the training and the planes, but unfortunately that school got way too expensive compared to other options out there and I stopped after a few commercial lessons.

At this point, my life took a different track for a while. I continued to rent airplanes on my own and fly now and then, but it was time to go off to college at the University of California, Irvine and get a four-year degree that the airlines would eventually want to see. I choose Computer Science because I had to choose something and was pretty good with computers. Something very intersting happened around that same time... the internet boom. I found a flight school at John Wayne Orange County airport (KSNA) called Sunrise Aviation and started my commercial training there. I unfortunately got way to busy with school, work part time, and the other distractions of college student life and did not finish my training. I graduated with latin honors and was even accepted into the PhD program with an offer of a research assistant scholarship. At the same time I had multiple job offers in the $50k-60k range.

Now I would have been the first person in my family to be a "doctor" :) if I went into the PhD program, but I knew that my dream was to fly planes and that 5+ years of intense study with little pay would not be compatible with flying airplanes. I declined the offer, realizing that maybe the reason I applied was to know that I could have done that if I wanted to. Now those lucrative offers with stock options in 1998 were to good to turn down, and I moved back to San Diego to work at a big name wireless company. I reasoned that with the money I made I would be able to put myself through flight training, then switch over to being a CFI after a year or two. It turns out that working was just as time consuming as school, and I flew infrequently over the next 5 years. Financially it was great. I put a down payment on a house with my profits from stock options, and managed to keep employeed even through the dot-com bust. I even lived in Germany for 6 months as part of a work assignment. I did go back to flying in 2003, driving up to Sunrise Aviation on weekends trying to finish up my commercial. My training was interrupted when I got hit from behind by an 18-wheeler truck on the way back to San Diego from one of my flight lessons and was out for a few months. I didn't get back into the groove very quickly because I was working on transition to a new job (the one I'm at now) in the Los Angeles area.

Well, there is only so long you can be doing something else when what is in your blood and soul can no longer be contained. Reading blogs from other pilots and community sites such as Jet Careers makes that desire burn even stronger. I have been in Los Angeles for about 10 months and have started my commercial training again at a Part 61 school, Vista Air, at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima (KWHP). This airport is north of Burbank at the northeast edge of the San Fernando Valley. It is towered, but a sharp contrast to John Wayne. It does not have an ATIS and a single controller handles ground and air traffic. I have had a couple flights in the 172RG and feel right at home again. Today during a long lunch :) we practiced lazy-8's, chandelles, steep spirals, and short field landings. I was a little rusty on all of them at first, but its all coming back fast. Those d$@n lazy-8's not quite as fast as the others.

I won't be able to fly until the middle of next week because of my instructors schedule and that I am going out of town for a long weekend. Time to hit the books since my commercial written expired long ago! Stay tuned.