Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving Lift 2008
Position: On the ramp, KIND (Indy)Time: 0740 hrs. local time
PAX on board: 139
Outside Air Temperature: -3 C/27 F
I missed having Thanksgiving day off by a few seniority numbers. Oh well, in today's air carrier climate, I am lucky to have a job. It is not as bad as it seems, though. The wife of my youth is in the back and she is happy. I decided to take her on the Line for a few days along with her little overnight bag and a Tide-to-Go spot remover for my uniform. She claims she can tell what I have been eating by the spots on my tie. I ask her not to say that in front of the flight attendants, though.
On schedule, lead ramp asks, via hand signals, if the ground power cord can be unhooked. The co-pilot closes the main electrical relay for the auxiliary power unit, i.e., the little turbine powered generator in the tail. Fi-Fi switches to internal power; lead ramp pulls the ground power cord out of her belly. The number one flight attendant tells me everyone is seated and the overheads are closed. The flight deck door is locked, ground control issues push clearance and we are moving. Thanksgiving Lift 2008 is underway.
A de-icing truck blows the frost from the wings and tail before we start engines. A few minutes later, dripping glycol, we are taxiing toward the runway with 139 Thanksgiving Day passengers anxious to see their loved ones. As the engines warm to minimum operating temperature, we complete the before take-off checklist.
The sun is barely above the eastern horizon as the tower clears us for take-off. Everything that is important to me and 1,000 other people is in the back of this aluminum bird. I say a little prayer as I push the thrust levers forward... Oh, Lord, please do not let me screw this up.
Climbing through 10,000 feet, I retract the wing lights and let go of the reins. Fi-Fi shakes off the restrictive 250 knot speed limit like a dog shaking off water and starts accelerating rapidly.
Go Baby Go...
Indy departure control clears us to turn west as we climb through 15,000 feet. The vertical speed indicator needle is buried. I remark to the co-pilot,"Look at her climb. She must have new engines." Unreal...
We level at 36,000 feet with the sun behind us and the wind in front of us. Fi-Fi is anxious to keep climbing. Mother wants us to cruise at 36,000 feet for 600 miles, and then climb to 38,000 feet for the remainder of the flight. What Mother wants, Mother gets... Less than a minute later, the e-mail alert light begins flashing. Mother is calling; Flight 430 is ahead of schedule. Please slow down to arrive on schedule.
Even so, we should arrive before the turkey is out of the oven. The airline starts feeding us Thanksgiving meals in the hubs at 1100 hours local; just enough time to scarf down some turkey and dressing before we blast off on leg number two.
Life on the Line continues...
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I couldn't agree more. I included this blog in the "things I'm thankful for" post at my blog. Here's some of what I said:
I could thank Dave over at Flight Level 390 for posting some of the most beautifully written articles I’ve ever read. ... He has the ability to snatch you out of your chair, slap you into the pilots seat at 39000 feet and say, “do you see that sky, that’s what I see every day, don’t ask me why I love flying”. ... Thanks for sharing Dave and here’s hoping that Life on the Line continues for a very long time.
I could thank Dave over at Flight Level 390 for posting some of the most beautifully written articles I’ve ever read. ... He has the ability to snatch you out of your chair, slap you into the pilots seat at 39000 feet and say, “do you see that sky, that’s what I see every day, don’t ask me why I love flying”. ... Thanks for sharing Dave and here’s hoping that Life on the Line continues for a very long time.
Nice prayer... I believe that is the Shepards Prayer? Alan Sheppard that is! Perfect use of it... Thanks for sharing your life with us!
# posted by 
: 10:13 PM, November 28, 2008
: 10:13 PM, November 28, 2008
Seen your other holiday posts. Does YoMY get to scarf down on the pilot turkey sandwich too or is that reserved for the cockpit crew?
Happy Thanksgiving and keep on! :)
Happy Thanksgiving and keep on! :)
Great blog Dave, I log in every couple of weeks - sums up why flying is such a special priviledge.
So do you people from across the pond eat turkey at Christmas as well as Thanksgiving? If so, you must get pretty fed up of it by the year end! Thanksgiving is an unknown quantity here in the UK.
Kevin (a simple, but dedicated private pilot).
So do you people from across the pond eat turkey at Christmas as well as Thanksgiving? If so, you must get pretty fed up of it by the year end! Thanksgiving is an unknown quantity here in the UK.
Kevin (a simple, but dedicated private pilot).
# posted by : 2:48 AM, November 29, 2008
: 2:48 AM, November 29, 2008
There's so much to be grateful for!
To Flight Level 390...for instance.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
(Don't know how far that applies to a million turkeys, though)
To Flight Level 390...for instance.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
(Don't know how far that applies to a million turkeys, though)
# posted by : 7:11 AM, November 29, 2008
: 7:11 AM, November 29, 2008
"Everything that is important to me and 1,000 other people is in the back of this aluminum bird. I say a little prayer..."
It's an awesome responsibility, and
I'll bet there's a few more prayers being said in the back of the aluminum bird as you take off. If only they knew how lucky they are to have you sitting up the front!
Thanks for another great story, Dave! Keep safe and enjoying life.
P.S. I hope you got the turkey and dressing spots out of your tie...
It's an awesome responsibility, and
I'll bet there's a few more prayers being said in the back of the aluminum bird as you take off. If only they knew how lucky they are to have you sitting up the front!
Thanks for another great story, Dave! Keep safe and enjoying life.
P.S. I hope you got the turkey and dressing spots out of your tie...
Happy Thanksgiving.
Always love to wait for new update from you blogs.
Always love to wait for new update from you blogs.
# posted by : 8:50 AM, November 29, 2008
: 8:50 AM, November 29, 2008
A belated Happy Thanksgiving to you and the wife of your youth, Dave. Trust all is well in your world.
Indianapolis: Bacco, Italian, 1260 W. 86th St., 46260, 317-582-1362, and also Russia House Restaurant, 1475 W. 86th St., 317-876-7990, the latter for its unusual (to me) cuisine, the former because it's good.
But don't look for turkey on their menus.
Bon Appetite in your travels!
But don't look for turkey on their menus.
Bon Appetite in your travels!
I'm a virtual (VATSIM) controller who works tower at Indianapolis on a regular basis, and I was wondering, what do you think of the new terminal building?
# posted by : 1:31 AM, December 01, 2008
: 1:31 AM, December 01, 2008
Dave, from another Dave, and all the way from across the world, Bangalore, India. Happy Thanksgiving.
and thank you for writing such a nice blog, love reading every word of every article, and look forward to the new ones. A special thanks for finally allowing us to express our thanks via comments.
I have added FlightLevel390 to my Blogroll on my blog Bangalore Aviation.
I am assuming Fi-Fi is an Airbus A320 family.
and finally, a special prayer to all those who had to undergo the Thanksgiving weekend in Mumbai, or in Bangkok, who are still with us, or in a better place.
and thank you for writing such a nice blog, love reading every word of every article, and look forward to the new ones. A special thanks for finally allowing us to express our thanks via comments.
I have added FlightLevel390 to my Blogroll on my blog Bangalore Aviation.
I am assuming Fi-Fi is an Airbus A320 family.
and finally, a special prayer to all those who had to undergo the Thanksgiving weekend in Mumbai, or in Bangkok, who are still with us, or in a better place.
Superb blog Dave, it's right up there on my daily to-check list.
As I understand it even when you've got Fifi in full manual mode if you try to do something that will make the plane fall out of the sky the computers will override your inputs and make things safe again.
If the computers got a bit disoriented and thought you were about to drop out of the sky when you weren't and took corrective action that actually endangered the plane, would there be anything you could do about it without the plane giving you a figurative slap then ignoring your efforts ?
Gary
As I understand it even when you've got Fifi in full manual mode if you try to do something that will make the plane fall out of the sky the computers will override your inputs and make things safe again.
If the computers got a bit disoriented and thought you were about to drop out of the sky when you weren't and took corrective action that actually endangered the plane, would there be anything you could do about it without the plane giving you a figurative slap then ignoring your efforts ?
Gary
Happy holidays to you and yours, Capt. Dave! It's a privilege to read your blog each week, and I look especially forward to your Thanksgiving entries every year. This one certainly did not disappoint. I have a feeling that my flight that morning was probably right behind yours (eating your wake turbulence, as it were :-), as I was one of the hordes heading from the Midwest to the Southwest to be with family for the weekend. Thanks, as always, for sharing your passion with us!
I'm thankful that there are bloggers who can put you in a place you could not be otherwise.
Thanks, Dave!
Keep the pointed end forward and the dirty side down.
Thanks, Dave!
Keep the pointed end forward and the dirty side down.
Dave,
It sounds like you had a good Thanksgiving. A nice flight with the wife in the back of the plane doesn't sound bad relative to four hours of retail and dinner alone at Denny's
It sounds like you had a good Thanksgiving. A nice flight with the wife in the back of the plane doesn't sound bad relative to four hours of retail and dinner alone at Denny's
Gary - I believe the Airbus aircraft have 3 modes of law.
Normal Law - Which is what you were saying, where basically the aircraft computers will protect the aircraft from human mistakes.
Alternate Law - Is what mode the aircraft enters if it detects multiple redundant failures of certain systems. It loses all of the Normal Law protections, bar one. Can also be selected by the pilot if needed.
That is what would be done in the situation you were describing.
Lastly is Direct Law - No computer protections. Everything the pilot wants is sent straight to the control surfaces, no computer checking. Again, is pilot selectable.
I'm not actually an Airbus pilot, but from my memory this is how the flight laws work.
Normal Law - Which is what you were saying, where basically the aircraft computers will protect the aircraft from human mistakes.
Alternate Law - Is what mode the aircraft enters if it detects multiple redundant failures of certain systems. It loses all of the Normal Law protections, bar one. Can also be selected by the pilot if needed.
That is what would be done in the situation you were describing.
Lastly is Direct Law - No computer protections. Everything the pilot wants is sent straight to the control surfaces, no computer checking. Again, is pilot selectable.
I'm not actually an Airbus pilot, but from my memory this is how the flight laws work.
# posted by : 6:34 AM, December 02, 2008
: 6:34 AM, December 02, 2008
I too want to know what you thought of the new terminal at IND. It should have been a nice short taxi to the active.
See if your airline would hire this lady (she pilots with no arms, just her legs) -- http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/12/05/20081205pilot1205.html
Amazing!
Amazing!
That certainly is amazing!
There is a reason she is flying an Ercoupe, though- orginally, the ailerons and rudder(s) are coupled at the yoke. In fact, IIRC, you taxi the plane with the yoke as well. In other words, you don't need to coordinate footwork with handwork. That is absolutely impossible to avoid in the airliner I fly, not to mention the extremely odd series of events that happen during "routine" emergency training (she'd have to be exceptionally limber to hit some of the switches while wearing the 5 point seatbelt).
She is certainly a testament to can-do attitudes, and it appears she'll go as far as she possibly can.
-NOT Dave, Just another captain elsewhere...
There is a reason she is flying an Ercoupe, though- orginally, the ailerons and rudder(s) are coupled at the yoke. In fact, IIRC, you taxi the plane with the yoke as well. In other words, you don't need to coordinate footwork with handwork. That is absolutely impossible to avoid in the airliner I fly, not to mention the extremely odd series of events that happen during "routine" emergency training (she'd have to be exceptionally limber to hit some of the switches while wearing the 5 point seatbelt).
She is certainly a testament to can-do attitudes, and it appears she'll go as far as she possibly can.
-NOT Dave, Just another captain elsewhere...
# posted by : 6:29 AM, December 06, 2008
: 6:29 AM, December 06, 2008
-- as an addendum,
I forgot to mention the notorious V1 cut (engine failure on takeoff at the worst moment possible). There is absolutely no safe way for her to accomplish "driving" the plane in that situation. Further, I seriously doubt she could manage a light twin by herself with an engine failure. Let me rephrase- I doubt the FAA would allow her to do so on her own, no matter how well she can demonstrate it.
Excellent find Ed. Fascinating to watch.
-ND, J.A.C.E.
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I forgot to mention the notorious V1 cut (engine failure on takeoff at the worst moment possible). There is absolutely no safe way for her to accomplish "driving" the plane in that situation. Further, I seriously doubt she could manage a light twin by herself with an engine failure. Let me rephrase- I doubt the FAA would allow her to do so on her own, no matter how well she can demonstrate it.
Excellent find Ed. Fascinating to watch.
-ND, J.A.C.E.
# posted by : 6:37 AM, December 06, 2008
: 6:37 AM, December 06, 2008 << Home
