Riddler

Position: Over the Center of the Empire

Compass Heading: 264 degrees

Altitude: 32,000 feet

Groundspeed: 462 mph (401 kts)

Pax: 183 plus 2 jumpers

Airborne...

Christmas Lift of 2009 continues above the vast prairies of America. Flying a brand new A321, we are taking the folks back home from grandma's in style. I flew the front half of Christmas Lift 2009, and then had a few days around Christmas off-duty. How did I get Christmas off duty? I used the nuclear option, that is, I sold my freedom to Crew Scheduling, a subsidiary of Mother, for the month of December and agreed to wear a reserve pilot dog collar. In exchange, they agreed to Christmas Day at home.

The wife of my youth was very happy to be together with our family at Christmas, so it was worth it. It was, in fact, the first time in ten years... Such is Life on the Line.

Ahead of us, as far as the eye can see, the Great Plains extend to the western horizon. The sky is a cold blue completely absent of clouds. Every seat is full behind our hardened flight deck door. The lead flight attendant reports that no passenger is trying to light the fuse on their underwear or shoes. For the moment, things are going very well.

Our new A321 is whisper quiet in the flight deck. The LCD screens are crisp, bright, and easy to see for my aging eyes. The mighty V2500 IAE engines are perfectly matched in fuel flow and temperature. This phenomena is only seen in new aircraft, and not for very many hours.

My co-pilot is a 35 year old Embry-Riddle University graduate, or as we call them, a Riddler. I deduced it by the way he handles the aircraft and when I asked him, he confirmed my suspicions. I have no connection with Embry-Riddle, other than flying with their pilot graduates. I have probably flown with 100 or more Riddlers over the years and have yet to see less than stellar airmanship. The common thread that runs through all Riddlers is staying ahead of the aircraft and being aggressive in maintaining a precise flight path. As a captain, I could not be more pleased.

Speaking of being pleased... 2009 has been a good year for me. I have dodged several bullets, so to speak, flying the Line. The upper level of the Chief Pilot's Office still has no idea who I am, which is a personal goal of mine. Dave who? Never heard of him.

As the snow covered fields of Nebraska pass beneath us, Life on the Line continues...

Bleed Air

Position: Over FMG (Mustang) VOR

Altitude: 31,000 feet

Fuel Flow: 5,400 lbs./p/hr

Equipment: A320

Compass Heading: 150 degrees

Pax on board: 134

Airborne...

Two days at home, and then sent back to the cloud mines.

When I was a kid, my mother used to say, "No rest for the wicked." Yikes! I hope that does not apply here. I try to be a good person, even when no one is watching.

We have just crossed over the Mustang VOR on our way to KPHX for a 52 minute stop en route to KDEN. As we were climbing out of the KSEA area, Fi-Fi's diagnostic computers went ballistic when a bleed air line in the left wing ruptured or split. Just like the simulator, it happened at a time when both pilots needed to be concentrating on the flight path, energy state of the aircraft, and other aircraft in our vicinity.

I have been here, done this before... Several times. Reaching over my head, I shut down all sources of bleed air to the left wing, and then isolate the left side pneumatic plumbing. That took my attention out of the flight path for about ten seconds. The co-pilot and I agree that we can deal with the problem down the airway in safer airspace.

Fi-Fi is nervous about the left wing having no anti-ice capability, though. She reminds me (twice) that the left wing has no ice protection and that it would be inadvisable to fly into icing conditions. Gotta love this airplane... Nothing but blue skies ahead.

Climbing out of 25,000 feet, I started the email chain to Dispatch and Maintenance Control, subsidiaries of Mother, advising them of the left wing bleed air leak and my intentions to continue the flight. In a few minutes, my dispatcher says everyone agrees with my plan to continue. Because I closed the left engine bleed air valve, our pressurization system lost some of it's redundancy. Common sense dictates that a lower cruise altitude is in order.

My stubby number two pencil and $10 hand calculator backs up Fi-Fi's twin $5,000,000 navigation computers estimate of a 1200 pound increase in fuel burn at 31,000 feet. We can do that... I send my cheap fuel figures to Dispatch and ask them to please check my math.

The atmosphere is smooth at 31,000 feet. This is an altitude that we do not operate at much, except for climbing/descending. Most contrails are above us and above them is the sun's brilliant white orb. All of this set in a dark blue sky. My God, it is beautiful.

We are probably going to be late arriving KDEN, unless the maintenance techs can find the problem immediately, or, possibly, we get another aircraft. Fingers crossed...

Life on the Line continues...

Outbound Radial

Position: Over the ZIH VOR

Altitude: 9,000 feet and descending

Groundspeed: 260 mph (225 knots)

Equipment: A319

PAX on board: 117

Thanksgiving Lift 2009 is finished. Of course, I flew all four days of Thanksgiving Lift, but was able to take the lovely wife-of-my-youth with me on Thanksgiving Day. Only the top of the seniority mountain gets Thanksgiving and Christmas off-duty; I am not there yet, but can see (and almost hear) the summit flag whipping in the cold, union winds. Someday, maybe...

Now, though, I am grinning from ear to ear as The Electric Jet descends out of the cold blue toward the hot and humid Zihuatanejo airport 9,000 feet beneath us. We are directly over the VOR and have been cleared for a VOR alpha approach to the airport. I am the flying pilot and have turned OFF the Smoke and Mirrors. Fi-Fi is in the Super Cub mode. The wing spoilers are fully extended into the slip stream peeling the lift off the top of the wing like an onion skin. The thrust levers are back at the idle stops.

On my nav display, I select the basic VOR HSI (horizontal situation indicator) and set the outbound radial. The tower controller told us to report the same radial inbound for a landing clearance. Roger that...

The large jet responds quickly and smoothly to manual control inputs. Once established on the inbound course and descending through 4,000 feet with the engines (still) at idle thrust, I push the thrust levers forward (ever so slightly) watching the engine gauges respond, and then pull them back to idle. A touch of paranoia is a good thing in this job. Airport in sight...

We are cleared for the approach and landing on runway 26. I bank away from the airport to intercept the five mile final approach fix at 1500 feet above the ground. Preparing for landing, the wing spoilers are stowed, the flaps and slats start coming out and down, the landing gear is lowered and locks into place, thrust levers forward to 40%, and the landing checklist is completed.

At five miles and 1500 feet, Fi-Fi is descending about 700 feet per minute at 160 mph (140 knots). There is a canopy of palm trees and thick vegetation beneath us. Mentally, I recite the Get out of Dodge procedure: Pitch the nose up toward 18 degrees and thrust levers to go-around thrust, raise the flaps to the first notch, raise the landing gear, fly a heading toward the beach. More paranoia...

Our A319 clears the last stand of palm trees and settles into the long, narrow clearing of the runway environment. The big Michelin aero tires smoke at the 1,000 foot marker. Oh, Lord, is there anything as cool as this, I wonder as the mighty V2500 engines roar into reverse thrust and shove us forward into our five point harnesses.

At least fifteen rampers are waiting with two airstairs as we taxi into the small ramp area and shut down. Even in this heat, the lead ramper is wearing a crisp white shirt and black tie. Amazing! He gives me two thumbs up after the wheel chocks are set. The cabin doors open and 117 Americanos hit the beaches.

No beaches for myself and my crew, though. We have 120 sun burned pax in the little terminal wanting to get on this aircraft and go home.

Life on the Line continues...