Position: Over KCMH (Columbus)Altitude: 34,000 feet
Groundspeed: 414 knots (475 mph)
Equipment: A319
Pax-on-Board: 123 + 3 jumpers
Airborne...
Fi-Fi's nose is fifteen degrees into the quartering headwind of 120 knots to maintain the course line. In our six, the sun is barely above the horizon. Our cockpit is filling with early morning light... The kind of light that, along with Starbucks Christmas blend, pulls you out of an early morning circadian funk.
This is the biggest day of the year for the air carrier business... Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I was incredibly busy this morning dealing with captain's administrative work. That would be dispatch, maintenance control, operations, gate super, and flight attendants.
The co-pilot was busy with a last minute re-route, talking to clearance delivery, and trying to find the new airways on a hi-altitude chart.
A couple of kids wanted to see the flight deck, so we made time for them. Otherwise, I had an iPhone in my left ear, a pen in my right hand, and two large aircraft manuals open in my lap.
Every few minutes, a flight attendant would come into the flight deck with a pax seating problem, a broken thing-a-ma-jigee over row nine, overhead bins filling up and need to call the gate, coffee-maker forward galley not brewing yet, toilets not flushing yet, need more ice...
OK- yep- got it- yes- I just called- OK- yes mam- they know about it- OK- roger that- on the way...
Finally, the ducks lined up and quacked in the correct sequence three minutes before push; L-1 door closed and we pushed on-time with every seat full.
I called for gear up nine minutes later... The houses got smaller very quickly as the Electric Jet buried the vertical speed indicator at the top of the instrument case. Moms, Dads, and many kids are on the way to Grandma's... Again. How many times have I done this? Not sure... Can't remember anymore. The years run together into a 450 knot neuron stream.
Tomorrow, (hopefully) I will pick up a 100 pound non-rever, the wife-of-my-youth, for the eastbound transcon. The company will feed us turkey and dressing along the way. They are very good about catering excellent food on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Food delivery teams make sure every crew is fed somewhere, somehow.
But, for now, Thanksgiving Lift 2011, day two, is underway.
Life on the Line continues... Compass heading 272 degrees.
31 comments:
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones. :)
Happy Thanksgiving Captain Dave. Thanks for the good words.
Happy Thanksgiving, Capt. And especially thanks for the great view from your seat.
Happy Thanksgiving Captain Dave!
You were flying over my home town for that post, thanks for thinking about us on this busiest of travel weeks. Hope the week is smooth for you and all your co-workers on the line. You know how much we all appreciate your efforts, hope you and your wife have at least a little time to enjoy the eastbound trip tomorrow.
You never really do get a 'real' Thanksgiving day do you. Well, we'll be think of you tomorrow. Good journeys and fair weather Captain.
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope they cater enough to let you have 2nds.
Clear skies and soft winds.
Always makes my day when you post. Thank you!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Captain Dave. You continue to amaze.. :)
I hope you and your wife have a happy Thanksgiving Captain Dave. Be safe out there.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I know you're not at Grandma's with the rest of the crowd, but I'm jealous of the view out your window during dinner. Glad the wife is with you.
May this day be a very special one that you and your sweetheart look back on fondly. I hope you see something wonderful up there today. I'm sure while blessings are being counted today some may think of their safe travel to/from Grandma's house ... others may smile at the grace and grit demanded from a Captain of the airways as it's chronicled here. What a very cool thing that you can't remember how many Thanksgivings you've spent flying your bird getting to a time when you may count with your wife how many are left til you're just carving your own turkey and wondering what to do with all the leftovers! Be blessed (as it's said here in the Deep South) today! ~D
Happy Thanksgiving, Captain!
Capt Dave, Thank you for all you do! Fifty years ago on Thanksgiving day I was a young sailor flying to my first duty station in JAX. I dont recall the airline now, but the plane was a Super Connie and I was grateful to a wonderful crew who made my first holiday away from home seem less lonely. So, many thanks from all of us passengers to all you hard working airline folks for making holiday travel possible. Here's to you Captain!
Happy Thanksgiving Captain and to yours as well!
Thank you for being such a professional pilot and a pretty entertaining writer as well... ~S~
Finally, the ducks lined up and quacked in the correct sequence three minutes before push...You made me laugh out loud, again!
My Wednesday, day before Thanksgiving, started early in Hong Kong and seemed endless on the leg from Tokyo. I thought of you as the engines revved up in Hong Kong (an Airbus 330). The pilots on the last leg of the flight (a small commuter plane) seemed awfully young to me. I just hoped they were as competent as you are...
I love your writing, and I saw you had a new post this morning (well actually I didn't get up until noon). I delayed reading it until I could have uninterrupted, awake time to savor every word. I must say, I didn't think about it being the day before Thanksgiving until I was stateside and noticed more people than usual in the airport.
And I remembered fondly when my own dad was flying his nonrev family somewhere and I got to visit the flight deck. That was in the days of DC3s and Connies.
Thanks again, Captain Dave, for warming my heart. And a happy Thanksgiving to you and the wife-of-your -youth.
Thank you for the Thanksgiving post! Yep, that would be like you, to give some young kids something they will remember all their lives, a look in the cockpit complete with the pilots preparing for the flight.
Blessings to you and your lovely wife for special memories this Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving and warmest wishes, Captain Dave!
Wow, cupholders built into the A-320 family! Happy Thanksgiving and good flying.
Captain Dave, A Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and many of them. Please keep writing.
Captain,
Great post!
Last month I knocked off my instrument rating and the hours are ticking off till I take my commercial and CFI check rides.
Next week, Thursday, I am flying a Mooney M20J from N87 to TUS. I think that is your homebase. If I see you, I'll buy you a cold frosty one in return for all the inspiration and support your words have provided.
Blue side up,
Steve
Captain Dave:
Although it must ALL seem so routine to you by now, and being away from family on "special" days is really not fair, let me be amongst the thousands of airplane "geeks" who relish EVERY word you write, live in real time through your climb outs and routings, and most of all, are VERY happy that there are talented, skilled, and passionate people like you at the pointy end. Cheers from here!
Hi Dave,
Just flew on a (seemingly( brand new A321 from CLT-BOS...it is VERY obvious why you enjoy flying the stretch-Fifi. As a passenger, it was a very comfy and enjoyable a/c. Fly on, sir...fly on...
-B
Interesting blog Dave, Happy "late" Thanksgiving from sunny South Africa, or should I say at this very moment very bleak and disturbing !!
I have tried repeatedly to wish you a Bless'd Thanksgiving Captain Dave....but I am jinxed.
Also my computer crashed.
Nevertheless...
Here's trying for the umteenth time, somewhat belatedly, and quite without hope....
Kindly
Bev
C.T.
Cant wait for the next update! Great blog
Hi Capt Dave, here's an incident which clearlt demonstrates there is no substitute for competent cockpit crew, no matter how clever the aircraft.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/pilot-pressure-caused-errors-20111212-1ori8.html
Congrats on the new 321, from a fellow bus(young F/O) pilot in Europe!
Read you're posts everytime and I can really relate to them, thank you!
Not so subtle hint....
Sure could use a Capt Dave fix soon! :-)
One day soon, I hope, there will be a star by my favorite site, Flightlevel 390, indicating that there is a new post. I will think "Yippee!" pour myself a huge cup of coffee and open the post to savor. Hope things are going well for you, Captain Dave!
I'm beginning to worry......
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