Views From The Left Seat

Should We Divert?

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Several months ago I wrote about a passenger issue concerning a child traveling with a severe peanut allergy. The flight was ultimately operated without incident and everybody seemed pleased with the outcome.

A recent flight of mine brought all that allergy business back into play.

Departure: Madrid, Spain
Destination: Dallas/Ft Worth, TX

Typically when we arrive at the aircraft, one of the first things we do is look over the logbook for any write-ups made by the inbound crew or any items that are currently inoperative and awaiting repairs. We also look back over several days or more worth of write-ups just to get a general idea of what has been going on with the maintenance on that particular aircraft.

This day our aircraft had just arrived from Miami and was one of the newer 767's. It had all the newer nav equipment and some other bonus features.
A check of the logbook revealed some nuisance cabin issues that were being corrected prior to boarding. The only cockpit item that was inoperative was the SatCom (satellite communication) radio system. It had been inop for a couple of days so we knew it wasn't going to get repaired in Madrid. A visit with the mechanic on duty confirmed this as well.

The SatCom allows us to communicate with our dispatchers and maintenance technicians from just about anywhere in the world. The quality of the communication is outstanding. It is a favorite among the pilot group. We hoped we wouldn't need it this day.
After a lengthy delay for departing traffic, we finally launched and headed west for the ten hour leg to Texas.

It was business as usual for the first hour and a half of flight.

Then the cockpit chime rang.
The purser was calling to advise us that a lady passenger was having an allergic reaction to the pesto sauce in her meal. The lady reported that she always travels with Benadryl (for this very reason), but she somehow managed to forget it this time and she inadvertently ate the pesto sauce.

The lady was asking the flight attendants if we had any Benadryl on board that she could take. Now that might be a good solution to the problem, but I couldn't possibly condone any of our cabin crew dispensing any kind of medication without the proper authorization! Not in today's society! So my answer was a definite "NO.....but Standby."

By now we were getting close to the Azores so I asked the first officer to check with Santa Maria on our HF radio for the latest Lajes weather (just in case).
It was marginal....the other options would be to turn around and land in Lisbon or return to Madrid.

So this is where the SatCom would have come in handy.

My employer has a program in place just for situations like this. There is always a physician on call available to answer any questions or to assess a passengers condition via radio voice call or phone patch. It's not perfect but it is far better than having an untrained airline crew attempting to diagnose an ailing passenger.
The only problem with this program is that we have to be able to contact them via radio! So that wasn't going to be an option this day so we had to find another solution.

I was in almost constant communication with our purser and she was reporting that the lady was beginning to have difficulty breathing.

All of our planes carry a medical kit on board with basic first aid and certain other medical supplies. But the only one authorized to dispense any of the medicine is a qualified physician.

So the next option was to make a PA announcement asking if there was a physician on board that would assist.
With over 200 passengers on board this day we were lucky to have a Spanish physician answer the call. He assessed the lady's condition and administered the equivalent of Benadryl that was in the onboard medical kit.

Her condition did not seem to be improving as we pushed westward, but it wasn't worsening either. We were now well past the Azores and our next suitable divert option was Keflavik, Iceland. However, the physician seemed to be of the opinion that she was going to be okay so we pressed on towards home.

Another hour passed and she was now improving. Her breathing was back to normal and the physician seemed happy with her condition.

We would soon have VHF radio capability and would be advising our dispatcher of our situation. By the time we passed Gander, Newfoundland, all was well in the cabin and the remaining hours passed without any further issues.

Typically an Atlantic crossing consists of a few radio position reports, some basic map plotting, a crew meal, a bathroom break, and maybe some other mundane tasks. This crossing would prove to be far different. I can't remember ever having been so busy on any given leg.

Thankfully this day we had the good fortune to have a physician on board and we were grateful for his services. I personally thanked him when we landed and he was very gracious about the entire incident. A good guy for sure!!

That SatCom would have been a great help.....Good thing that we didn't have to divert!

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

Mt Poas, Costa Rica

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:08:00 +0000

With all the recent natural disasters in the world making headlines, I'm pretty content to be steering clear of them and enjoying the mostly sunny skies of the Caribbean and Central America.

However, on a recent trip to San Jose, Costa Rica, as I was unpacking my suitcase in my hotel room, the entire building began to shake and I immediately knew it wasn't the icemaker down the hall!
Yes, it was a small earthquake....enough to knock the pictures off my wall and kill the electricity for a couple of hours but no real damage that I heard about.

The next morning's ride out to the airport had me riding shotgun in the crew van next to our driver. I can speak some limited Spanish so I asked him about the earthquake the previous afternoon. I understood him to say that "oh, we get those all the time...no big deal" or something to that effect. That would make sense since Costa Rica is right smack in the middle of a chain of volcanoes (with it's associated seismic activity) running right down the Pacific coastlines of the Americas.

Then we started discussing the volcanoes in the general vicinity of San Jose. I asked him about any major eruptions and how often they might occur. He said that about every thirty years or so they get an eruption out of one of the nearby volcanoes.

"So how long has it been since the last one?" I asked.

"About thirty years!" he said laughingly!

So with all that to think about we launched our fully loaded 757 for the 2.5 hour leg to Miami.

In a previous post I talked about the departure procedure in San Jose. This day was no different. Takeoff was on runway 07 with a steep climbout to the south, then west, and then an eventual turn to the north.

The POAS SID (standard instrument departure) takes air traffic right by Mt Poas, which lies not too far from San Jose. Typically the peak is obscured by cloud cover, but this was our lucky day. Clear skies prevailed and we would get to look straight down into the semi-active crater.

No ash cloud to worry about though. This volcano was only spewing small amounts of steam and sulfur. Let's hope it stays that way for a long time.

Looking off towards the southeast in the direction of Panama, we could see a more active peak spewing what looked like an ash cloud. Best to steer clear of this one!

No, it's not nearly as impressive as the eruption in Iceland, but it was still fun to see an active volcano from a safe distance. Volcanoes are just not something you get to see that often and if I ever get to see an eruption like the recent one in Iceland, I hope that the ash cloud and I are moving in opposite directions!

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

Port-au-Prince (After The Quake)

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:45:00 +0000

A trip I flew to Haiti, "Third World Operations", was worthy of a post way back in early December.

That was the last time I had been back to Haiti until just recently. My employer has resumed service back into Port-au-Prince and I had the opportunity to re-visit PAP on a recent trip.

My first officer that day was new to PAP so I would be the tour guide. Our preflight duties included a complete review of the temporary restrictions governing commercial aircraft operations in and out of Haiti. We were carrying a complete packet of the latest procedures, communications frequencies, arrival and departure profiles, parking instructions, and anything else relevant to the airport. We were departing Miami in a fully loaded 767.... 223 passengers and a crew of 13.

Shortly after the quake, the United States came in to provide air traffic control services as well as medical and humanitarian aid on a massive scale. The US has been slowly returning ATC control back to the Haitians and today we were in Haitian controllers hands. That would prove to be a detriment to our goal of operating a uneventful flight!

We launched from MIA behind an arriving World Airways MD-11 and climbed eastbound across the Bahamas chain.

It was business as usual until we had to switch over to Port-au-Prince tower.

Descending in, we were cleared for an ILS to runway 10 with a circle to land on runway 28. But we were only given a clearance to descend to 5000 ft and to report inbound on the ILS. OK fine...So we continued on in and reported inbound but the controller was apparently too busy or distracted to hear us. We kept calling until he finally answered us and asked where we were? "We're overhead the field at 5000 ft" was our answer! He seemed surprised and promptly cleared us back to the initial approach fix and gave us instructions to hold and await further clearance.

20 minutes later he cleared us for the same approach and for us to call the field in sight and to enter a downwind for runway 28. So we did all that and set up for the landing. Meanwhile he cleared a Canadian Air Force C-17 to back-taxi for takeoff on runway 28. As we turned final, the tower amended the C-17's enroute clearance which resulted in them not being ready for takeoff. With us now on short final and the C-17 still on the runway, we had to execute a go-around and get back in the pattern.

So now we're back on final and the tower has cleared the C-17 for takeoff. It all was looking good until the C-17 aborted their takeoff with some sort of mechanical issue. We had no choice....another go-around!! We broke off to the right and started a climb. Just then we received a traffic alert on our TCAS with instructions to "CLIMB, CLIMB". I looked out and saw a Cessna Caravan doing a steep turn to avoid us as we were climbing and turning in the other direction. That was close!
We asked the tower for instructions and all he could tell us was "go hold east of the airport somewhere". He was completely flustered and not in control of his airspace. Now a clearance like that in the real world is just unheard of! We were clearly on our own this day.

After several minutes of us circling low over the city, he told us to come on in and land. By then we had lost sight of the airport so we had to rely on some basic VFR skills and dead reckoning to re-acquire the airport.

The third time was a charm and we actually made a landing.

Taxiing in we could see the massive amounts of relief supplies and equipment all over the airport. It must have been a huge undertaking getting all these supplies in right after the quake.
They even brought in a temporary control tower since the PAP tower was destroyed.
Sorry that it's blurry.
On the bright side, we were able to use a jet bridge and keep our passengers off of the ramp area like in the past.

After the First Officer and I finished the parking checklist we just looked at each other in disbelief and breathed a sigh of relief. That was a flight to remember!

So off with 223 passengers and on with 223 more heading back to Miami.

The takeoff and climb went smoothly. Climbing out over the bay we could see several US Navy ships anchored. Two of them were Landing Helicopter Assault ships that were helping with the relief effort.It will most likely be years before Haiti gets back on it's feet after such a disaster. But the recovery goes on and life is very slowly returning to Port-au-Prince.
Two hours later we were on final to runway 30 at Miami.

Once again it was nice to be back in US airspace.

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

Pass The Peanuts

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:14:00 +0000

Very seldom does a cockpit crewmember have to get involved directly with a passenger in order to settle a particular issue.
In all these years at this airline, I can count on one hand the times that I've had to step in and attempt to diffuse a passenger problem.

After 9/11, the interaction between the cockpit crew and the passenger cabin has become even more insulated. If there is any kind of passenger problem inflight, the cabin crew is expected to deal with it and that's that! The cockpit door will not be opened under any circumstance. If it's a security issue, the pilots will defend the cockpit as necessary and continue to fly the airplane. If the particular situation in the cabin cannot be resolved and requires an unscheduled landing, then the pilots will proceed accordingly. If it seems like the cabin crew is left hanging, that is absolutely true. But the objective is to get the airplane safely on the ground as quickly as possible.

Medical situations are the most common form of inflight irregularity. Quite often a passenger will become ill and require immediate medical attention. If the attention they receive inflight doesn't correct or improve their condition, then sometimes an unscheduled landing is called for.

So with all that in mind, whenever there is a possibility of a potential inflight problem, the best course of action would be to deal with it before getting airborne. In other words, REMOVE the potential problem!

That was the case recently when we were just about ready to push back from DFW with a full boat headed for Maui. Five minutes prior to pushback the purser advised that we had a first class passenger that was traveling with his family and that one of his children had a peanut allergy. This passenger was insisting that he had advised the airline when he purchased his ticket of his child's condition, and that he was supposedly told that no peanuts would be served on the flight. The passenger was apparently making a scene.

The purser said that the passenger manifest showed no such information and that he was catered with cocktail nuts for the entire first class cabin. The purser also advised that the passenger was getting unruly and demanding that the cocktail nuts and any peanuts be removed from the aircraft.

OK....now what? You'd think that the captain would have the authority to make a decision right then and there, but that's no longer the case. At this airline, the captain only gets to make captain-like decisions once the flight is underway. It's ridiculous, but that's how it is. So I just stayed put in my seat for the time being.

So the first thing to do was to call the gate agent down to the plane and get her involved. Big mistake. All she did was infuriate the passenger even more. I know gate agents have an insufferable job and I sympathize, but her people skills were lacking this day. She and the passenger were having a shouting match on the jetbridge.

Next step was to call in a supervisor. No help there either. I could hear the shouting from the cockpit. The supervisor was rudely telling him that he and his family could get off the plane or basically take your seat and "shut up". The passenger was countering that he was a million mile customer and that the airline should do whatever was necessary to protect his child without regard to the rest of the first class passengers. This was going downhill in a hurry!

So by now we were 15 minutes late when the purser asked me if I would talk with this guy and see if I could influence him at all. The beach in Maui was waiting so I gladly accepted the challenge.

For emphasis, I put on my hat and walked out to meet this guy. I introduced myself and explained to him what the options were. I politely told him that I was expecting to operate the flight without any passenger issues and if there were going to be any, that they had to be resolved right then and there. I offered for him and his family to get off the plane and be re-booked or to stay on but with the assurance that if he caused any more problems, that we would be landing somewhere between DFW and the west coast to have him removed. He seemed to understand and was calming down.

It was then that he mentioned that he was traveling with an emergency epinephrine injection just in case his child had an allergic reaction. Seems like he could have mentioned that earlier!! So I asked him "Sir, are we going to have any more problems today?" He quietly said "no" and went back to his seat.

So I don't know if he was just intimidated by having the captain have to come out and talk with him or if he just wanted someone with a little authority to hear him out. Who knows. But the gate agent, supervisor, and purser all commented on how the mans demeanor changed dramatically when I came out to speak with him.
Perhaps it was my charming personality? Or maybe it was just the hat!!

So off we went!

Several times enroute I asked how the peanut family was doing and was told "no problems".

Amazingly, after we landed and everyone was getting off, the peanut guy approached me and apologized (sort of), and even thanked me for a good flight.

I think it was the hat!

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

Third World Operations

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:20:00 +0000

Our usual day to day domestic operations are pretty much routine in that we fly from point A to point B, ATC communications are always available, we enjoy radar coverage the entire way, we can expect a full ILS approach at our destination to be available in case it is necessary, and generally the entire leg is pretty easy.

Even most of our international flying is pretty much routine nowadays. Gone are the days of VOR and ADF navigation. Even VLF and Omega type navs are gone. For the most part, the airline world has transitioned to GPS navigation. Sure there are some air carriers that are still operating with older equipment, but the vast majority are using some form of advanced navigation.

Our older 767's and 757's are still using Inertial Reference Systems but the newer ones have been outfitted with satellite based GPS type navs. Both are more than capable.

Then every once in a while we get to fly into a destination that is a real eye opener and we can really appreciate having those advanced navigation systems on board with us.

Today's destination would be Port Au Prince, Haiti.

A two hour late start from Miami meant we would be arriving at PAP just after sunset. The forecast was calling for good weather and winds favoring runway 10 which has an ILS approach. Good!

The climb up to FL 370 was uneventful. 600 miles later and approaching Haitian airspace, we said "goodbye" to Miami Center and gave Port Au Prince Control a call.

No response.

Five more calls and they finally answered. Had they not answered we would have been forced to hold at the boundary of their airspace. Glad they answered since we had a small thunderstorm to contend with right along our route.

While descending, we passed an opposite direction outbound airliner 1000 ft below us and wondered why we weren't advised? A call to Approach Control about that went unanswered.

Without radar coverage we would have to make position reports the entire way in to PAP. The charted approach requires us to fly a DME ARC to intercept the ILS to runway 10. No problem today, we had GPS capability and the "box" tracked it perfectly. Several position reports later we were tracking the ILS inbound as Approach Control handed us off to PAP Tower.

Then Tower advised us that the winds had shifted and to fly the ILS runway 10 approach and circle to land on runway 28. Good thing we had briefed this possibility and were prepared.

"Cleared to land on runway 28, caution for Cessna traffic in the pattern" came the call from Tower in a French Creole accent.

The sun had already set and the high terrain was obscured with smoke and haze. We spotted the runway at about 3 miles out and commenced the circling approach. The FO was flying and flew a right downwind as a left downwind is not permitted due to terrain issues. Keeping the runway in sight was paramount since there was no approach available for runway 28. He did a fine job and greased the 767 in the touchdown zone and we were stopped with room to spare. We never did see that Cessna.

PAP has no parallel taxiways and the runaway is too narrow for an airliner to do a U-turn on so we had to taxi to the end where there is a turn around area for bigger planes. Meanwhile, the runway was closed for any other traffic while we were taxiing. So every time an airliner or any other plane is on the runway, the airport is essentially closed to all other traffic until the runway is cleared. This can lead to some lengthy delays.
So we finally cleared the runway and taxied to our parking spot. No gate, just a parking spot on the ramp.
We parked, set the brakes and once the ground crew had positioned the boarding stairs, the cabin crew opened two cabin doors. Out flooded the passengers onto the ramp with wild abandon! They all knew where to go but it was almost comical to see so many unattended people on an airline ramp with absolutely no security concerns whatsoever!
I would do this same trip two weeks later in daylight conditions and was able to photograph this craziness. It was unbelievable to see all these folks walking across the ramp.You would never see something like this in the States.

No layover here, just a quick refueling and we launched back to Miami and enjoyed smooth skies at 40,000 ft.It's always nice to be back in US airspace and to hear those two words from Air Traffic Control...."radar contact".

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

The Flight Deck Of The Future

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:19:00 +0000

It seems that not a day goes by anymore that you don't hear about the airlines cutting back on service or charging ridiculous fees for the most basic of services.

In these difficult times in the airline industry, my employer has not been exempt from those practices.

Every single day all of our employee groups are reminded of how many ways we can save our company money. As pilots, we our constantly being asked to save as much fuel as we can whether it be by taxiing on one engine, not running the APU as much, asking for shortcuts from ATC, etc.

The two largest expenses at an airline are typically labor costs and fuel.

There's only so much we can do about saving fuel....but apparently some upper level managers at my employer have found a new way to cut labor costs.

Yes, that's right. They have eliminated the First Officers position!

This is the flight deck of the future. A single pilot Boeing 757.

My "View From The Left Seat" just got a lot better!

But I will miss having someone to talk to.

With the extra space freed up in the cockpit, we have begun placing baggage where the FO's seat used to be. Of course the passengers will have to pay an added fee for that too. But what a great source of extra revenue for the company!

Okay, Okay....It's not true. The entire post is just a joke.

But if the airlines could get away with something like this, I'm sure they would.

Thanks for visiting.

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

A Step Back In Time

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:47:00 +0000

Well, my last two posts chronicled a flight sequence over to London and back.

Now it's time to share the layover experience.

Similar to an earlier post from a couple of months ago, this one is all about the photos.

I had always wanted to visit the Royal Air Force Museum in North London. It is located on the historic site of the London Aerodrome at Hendon.

So instead of a nap upon arriving at our hotel, I hopped on the "tube" and in 45 minutes I was in North London. A short walk later and I was there.

Once inside, out came the camera and here are some samples of this fine museum's collection.
DeHavilland Gypsy Moth
Vickers Wellington
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
Royal Aircraft Factory FE2b
Royal Aircraft Factory BE2b
Avro Lancaster
Gloster Meteor F8
DeHavilland Vampire F3
British Aircraft Corporation Lightning F6
Bristol F2B
Hawker Tempest II
Curtiss Kittyhawk III
North American P-47 Thunderbolt
Bristol Bulldog (note the wind generator on the wing)
DeHavilland DH9A
Supermarine Stanraer Flying Boat
McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom

Of course there were many more beautiful aircraft to see and photograph, but these were a few of my favorites.

I would highly recommend a visit to the RAF Museum. I spent several hours there and could have stayed longer, but fatigue from the previous night's flight was interfering so it was back on the tube, dinner with some of the crew, and then a much needed 8 hour nap.

The next day would bring another set of photo opportunities as mentioned in the preceding post. I definitely filled up the memory cards on this trip!

I'm looking forward to another visit to London.

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

The Scenic Route

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:35:00 +0000

The layover having been a great success (a future post), it is time to return to the States.

223 Dallas bound passengers are in their seats, doors closed, checklists complete, and we're pushing back on schedule. Heathrow Ground Control has cleared us to runway 9R. We pass the British Airways terminal #5 on the way. Nice looking fleet of heavies over there!

Kind of busy today, we are number 7 in the lineup behind Iberia.

"Line up and wait" says Heathrow Tower. The First Officer is flying this leg. We are flight planned for a 10 hour 20 minute leg. It will be a long day.

I notice a Qantas A-380 on the parallel taxiway as we pull onto the runway. That is one BIG airplane. UGLY too!"Turn left heading 040 degrees, runway 9 right, cleared for takeoff" says Tower. Takeoff weight today is 401,000 lbs...Liftoff speed will be 168 knots.
We quickly reach takeoff speed, I call "V1", then "rotate", then "V2". We're airborne!

The takeoff is a success...gear in the wells and we're on our way. Flaps are coming up, speed is increasing, we say goodbye to Tower and call Departure Control.

We are now climbing to the Northeast. I can see Wembley Stadium in Northwest London.Soon we are given a turn to fly heading 350 degrees. This takes us directly over Luton Airport.

Not long after, we are cleared on course and find ourselves pointed towards Northern Ireland. Belfast will pass below but no photos as the clouds have interfered.

Again we have a datalink equipped aircraft today so the workload is somewhat reduced. London Control has now said goodbye and we are in the hands of Shanwick Radio. Our oceanic clearance has now been received and confirmed, Selcal checks are complete, the routing has been verified for the third time, climb and cruise checklists are complete, the PA has been made...must be time to eat!

Sure enough...the cockpit chime rings....The choices today are chicken, pasta, or fish.

Initial cruise altitude is FL 320 for the oceanic crossing. The headwinds are lighter towards the Northern latitudes today and we are flight planned to pass just South of Iceland and directly over the Southern portion of Greenland. It is rare to get a look at Greenland due to there always being cloudy skies this far North....but we have our fingers crossed.

As we pass Iceland with solid cloud cover below, the FO has now left and the Relief pilot has taken his place.

Greenland is approaching. It looks like the clouds are breaking.

We have lucked out. The view is fantastic! Look at that glacier.

We press on towards Northeastern Canada. It's cloudy again so no more photos.

But wait, the TCAS shows traffic approaching us from behind and 2000 ft above us. We are cruising at .80 Mach but these guys are passing us quickly! As they pass directly over us we see that it's a Qatar Airways 777. They are clearly in a hurry. Fuel is probably cheap where they come from!

I manage to get a few shots before they're gone.

Several hours to go and soon I get to take my rest break. I try to watch a movie but a nap seems like a better idea. When the purser wakes me up we have already started a slow descent for DFW.

I report back to duty...DFW is reporting clear skies, warm temps, calm winds, and they're landing South. I ask for and receive a clearance to runway 18R on DFW's West side. The FO makes a nice landing and before long we are parked and running our post flight checklists.

We all shake hands, say goodbye, and head for Customs.

Another successful mission....

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

London Calling (Part Two)

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:13:00 +0000

When we last left off, we were cruising along at FL330 over the Northeast US having our crew meals and preparing for the oceanic crossing. Both the First Officer and I are having steaks. Ice cream will follow!

Tonight we are operating one of the newer 767's that is equipped with SatCom datalink capability. That means less work for the cockpit crew. Typically we have to request an oceanic clearance from ATC via voice call and then once received and out of radar control we have to make regular position reports all across the North Atlantic until almost reaching landfall. These reports are usually made on HF radio frequencies which are a pain to use at best.

But tonight the datalink will do all the work for us. All we have to do is plot our course along a plotting chart and generally monitor our progress....fuel checks and times over waypoints, etc.

Approaching Albany it is time for my break. Tonight's break will be 2 hours and 30 minutes long. The break times are computed so as to be equal for all three pilots and for all three of us to be in the cockpit for the last 30 minutes of the flight.

The Relief pilot will now take my seat while I go for my rest break. Our enroute alternates tonight are Gander, Keflavik, and Shannon. Gander comes first and then once we pass a certain mileage from Gander, Keflavik will be primary, then finally Shannon will be primary. I brief the guys to wake me up if anything goes wrong, and we'll formulate a plan of action depending on the problem at hand.

Seems like I have just fallen asleep when the Purser wakes me up to tell me that break time is over. It is now the First Officers turn to rest. So back to the cockpit for the rest of flight I go.

Entering the cockpit I see that it's getting light in the East. My watch says it's 1 AM in Dallas. The two guys did a good job during my absence...they have climbed us up to FL360, we are still pointed East, we're on course, on time, fuel remaining is right on, and all is well.

The First Officer has left and now the Relief pilot has moved over to occupy his seat.

Three hours to go...we will soon be calling Shannon Control on VHF and will be under radar contact. The sun is rising.

One hour to go...the cockpit chime rings again. Time for breakfast!! Seems like all we do is eat. Steak and eggs or cereal is the choice.

Pressing on, the GPWS overlay on the nav display is showing land ahead!! It's Ireland. We pass over the coastline, the city of Cork will follow, then a short overwater stretch again before reaching the English coast.

We're now talking to London Control. No delays are expected for Heathrow. They ask us to keep our speed up...we are number one. We are now descending, the First Officer has returned, it's getting a little busy. The ATIS is reporting scattered clouds, good visibility, 15 degrees Celsius (59F), calm winds and runway 9 Left in use at LHR.

I make a goodbye PA to the passengers as we descend over the cities of Cardiff and Bristol. The three of us do a quick briefing of the arrival and approach procedures and what we'll do in the event of a missed approach.

15 minutes prior to landing I make the "Flight Attendants prepare for landing" PA.

We are handed off to Heathrow Approach Control..."expect vectors for a visual approach to runway 9 Left". We call the runway in sight at about 10 miles. Time to slow down and get dirty.

Landing weight will be 283,000 lbs with a Vref speed of 136 knots. I call for flaps 1, then 5. We're handed off to Heathrow Tower and given our landing clearance. Flaps 15, then gear down followed by flaps 20. The gear is verified down with three green lights. Autospoilers armed...flaps 25...flaps 30. At 1000 feet we crosscheck our instruments, "before landing" checklist is complete, landing lights are on, the localizer is centered as is the glide slope, we're on speed and configured for landing. The automated radar altimeter voice callouts are all we'll hear until touchdown. 500ft...100...50...40...30...20...10.

I make a nice landing, the autospoliers deploy, reversers deployed....we are decelerating nicely. At 100 knots I begin braking...at 80 knots I stow the reversers, we make the high speed turnoff at taxi speed...Tower says to call Ground Control.

"Cleared to your gate" says Ground.

It is now 4 AM on my watch. It's nice to be in the "Mother Country".

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

London Calling

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:17:00 +0000

All servicing complete, security checks OK, flight plan and routing reviewed, logbook onboard, international documents checked and onboard, ATC clearance confirmed, catering is complete, flight attendants briefed, cargo doors closed, passengers seated, entry doors closed, before starting engines checklist complete. We are ready for pushback!

We're all loaded up...217 passengers, 111,000 lbs of Jet-A, a payload of 55,000 lbs, ramp weight of 380,000 lbs, and a crew of 12. This 767 is ready to go to work.

Destination...London, England.

Tonight we are operating one of three daily flights from DFW to London, Heathrow. The early flight is operated with a Boeing 777 and the later two are Boeing 767's.

DFW Ground Control clears us to taxi to runway 35L. Approaching the runway with all before takeoff checklists complete, we switch over to Tower frequency and await our turn.

The " flight attendants prepare for takeoff " PA is made and then DFW Tower clears us into position on the runway. We line up on the runway and crosscheck our headings. I mentally review our emergency procedures for an aborted takeoff or an engine failure right after takeoff. We have already briefed this at the gate but I like to review it one last time before takeoff.

I have briefed my crew that in the event of an emergency requiring an immediate landing that we will plan a right downwind back to one of the East runways at DFW. Both of the other pilots already know their duties in an emergency but the Captain has the last word on what runway to use and how to get there. I have also briefed the relief pilot to begin dumping fuel immediately if we have to return for landing, otherwise we would be way overweight and could experience structural damage upon landing. I jokingly tell him to aim the fuel at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium if possible! (I'm not a Cowboys fan)

And then comes the clearance for takeoff...

The throttles are smoothly advanced. The engines spool up and begin to develop their takeoff thrust. Autothrottles are engaged and the engines are now producing roughly 60,000 lbs of thrust per side.

Takeoff weight is 379,000 lbs. V1 is computed at 155 knots, Vr is 158, and V2 is 165 knots.

I'm now steering the jet with the rudder pedals as the tiller is now way too sensitive to use for directional control. The 80 knot call is made by the First Officer and all is well.....the engines are producing their rated power, N1's and N2's are good, EGT's are good, and we are accelerating rapidly.

155 knots is reached and the FO calls V1 and then calls "rotate"....I gently pull back on the yoke and the nose lifts off followed by the mains a few seconds later. I verify on the VSI that we are climbing and call for "gear up". At 400 ft the LNAV is engaged, at 1000 ft VNAV is engaged and the engines are set for climb power. We are accelerating towards a climb speed of 250 KIAS below 10,000 ft. As our speed permits we retract our flaps and slats and soon our wings are clean and 250 knots is attained. We're on our way...

DFW Tower has switched us over and we're now talking to DFW Departure Control, but soon they will hand us off to Ft Worth Center. Passing 10,000 ft we accelerate to a computed climb speed of 330 KIAS to a crossover speed of .80 Mach. Passing FL 180 the relief pilot is off to begin his rest break and now it's just the FO and me.

We have now reached FL 330 and have leveled off until we burn off enough fuel to reach a higher flight level. All climb checks are now complete, our actual fuel burn is checked against our fight plan and our time over one of our multiple waypoints is also checked. So far so good. I make a PA to the passengers..."We will be arriving on time and London is reporting good weather, etc".

The sun has set as we aim towards the Northeast.

The first few hours are relatively quiet in the cockpit with little to do except monitor our progress and make a number of radio calls as required. It will get a little busier once we begin the oceanic part of the leg. Memphis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Albany, and Bangor will all pass below. We are under radar contact with ATC the entire way through the Northeast US as well as Northeastern Canada. VHF radio frequencies will be all we'll use this leg.

The cockpit chime rings.....it's our Purser calling to advise us that it's time for dinner!

Hooray!!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story.

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

Seaplanes Anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:30:00 +0000

There wont be much substance in this post. Even less than usual!

This one is all about the photos.

My second trip to Anchorage this summer resulted in a perfect day for a bike ride. Temps started out in the 50's with no wind and sunny skies. The bike rental shop hooked me up with a nice road bike and pointed me towards one of the nicer trails around the town.

First stop...the train station...where I got a shot of this GP-40 ready to go to work.

Then back on the trail.

This particular trail runs along the coastline and winds up back near the Anchorage airport.

And what a fine trail it is!! Very scenic.

I couldn't pass up a great day like this without visiting the Lake Hood seaplane base. It is the busiest seaplane base in the world. It is co-located at the Anchorage airport.

I had to so a double take when I saw this one! How many general aviation people have ever seen a Cessna 195 on floats? This was a rare sight.Cessna U206Piper PA-14 Cruiser Some of these are a little blurry. Remember, I was shooting from a bike.Piper PA-18 Super CubDe Havilland DHC-2 BeaverPiper PA-18 Super CubAnother rare sight was this Helio Super Courier H-295Cessna 208 Grand CaravanYes, I know it's not a seaplane but what fun this must be to fly and land just about anywhere off the pavement.

I could have remained for hours. The action on the lake was very entertaining, but it was time to return. So back to the trail I went with a watchful eye for any wildlife.

With the bike returned to the shop, all that was left was a short rest-up and clean-up before leaving on the all-nighter back to Texas. The days are starting to get a little shorter now, but the first hour of flight still allowed for some great sightseeing just before darkness fell.No more Alaska trips for me this year. Service from DFW will cease at the end of September only to resume again next spring. I'm looking forward to another trip North next year.

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

We're Out Of Fuel!!

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:11:00 +0000

A few weeks back I had just returned from my morning pool duty at the hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica and was online checking to see if we would be running on time for that afternoon's departure to Miami. Well, the inbound flight was showing on time into SJO but when I checked a little deeper, it showed that our flight would be departing SJO on time but arriving into MIA over 90 minutes late.

What was up with that? Didn't know and didn't really care....these things always work out in the end.

So a little later I'm sitting in my room when my phone rang. It was the station manager at the airport calling to tell me that we were going to have to make an unexpected fuel stop on the way to Miami. It seems that the local jet fuel supply in San Jose was very limited due to a delay in the weekly shipment. Apparently all the airlines were having to either cancel some flights or as in our case, plan a fuel stop enroute.

I asked the manager if we could stop at Havana for fuel.....she wasn't amused.

"So where would we be going" I asked?
"Managua, Nicaragua" was her answer.

A little later on when the entire crew met for the ride out to the airport, I gave them the news. Groans from the flight attendants, but the first officer was pleased as was I. You see, we get paid only when the plane is away from the gate....and any more flight time than scheduled during a given trip means more pay for us! Also, Managua would be a new destination for both of us and that is always fun.

All our passengers had been informed about the fuel stop and they all seemed to be accepting of it. There wasn't much they could do about it anyhow but I still made an onboard announcement about the extra leg and that there would be no extra charge for it! They weren't amused either. We pushed back just as this Iberia A-340 was arriving.

Then off we went for the 35 minute flight to Managua.

We climbed up to 24,000 ft and enjoyed the view.

Managua's radar was out of service that day so we had to fly a full instrument approach until we spotted the runway and were able to proceed visually.

The terrain here was pretty impressive. Very green and lush. Notice the crater in the foreground and the distant volcano.

Final approach was right over the city. The runway is in the top left area of the photo. Kind of hard to see.

The ground crew at MGA was outstanding. We parked at the gate, the fuelers immediately hooked up, the first officer did his walkaround, the agent came on board to deliver some paperwork, and in less than 20 minutes we were airborne for Miami.

Cruising over central Cuba at 40,000 ft we passed around this monster cell. It was topping out at well over 50,000 ft. Havana ATC was nice enough to let us go around it.
Bad press about Cuba notwithstanding, their air traffic controllers are quite good. They are always accommodating and very easy to work with. Their English is also easily understood.

So on to Miami and then back home to DFW. What an interesting day.

I still think that Havana would have been a good fuel stop!

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The Midnight Sun

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:11:00 +0000

Once again the opportunity came along to trade a Caribbean trip for something different. That something different happened to be a 757 trip up to Anchorage, Alaska.

Never having been that far north I was looking forward to a new destination and setting foot in a new state. I had asked around among the pilot group about the trip and all the reports were positive. There's plenty to do up there. Great fishing, hiking, biking, sightseeing, camping, etc. The only negative to the trip was that it involved a dreaded all-nighter on the way home. And that all-nighter was with a two man crew, not three!

Nevertheless, I made the trade and away we went.

DFW - ANC is a seasonal 757 flight that AA operates from June until September. I don't know why they don't use a larger plane on it because they could easily fill it up all summer long. But that's a question for the bean counters.

We were fully loaded with a butt in every seat for a 4 PM launch from DFW.

A short delay for wake turbulence from the heavy Singapore 747 taking off and then we were airborne. Today our 757 was close to maximim gross weight but you would never know it. It climbed like it always does...beautifully. I wish I had my own personal 757!!

We were flight planned for a 6 hour 35 minute flight. On any flights over 8 hours duration we have to have a third pilot, but today it was just the two of us.

For the first three hours it was non-stop deviating around thunderstorms along the eastern slopes of the Rockies. There was plenty of turbulence to go with that also. But by the time we reached the Canadian border just south of Calgary it started to clear up and smooth out.

Just about then we started receiving the first of the phone calls from the flight attendants: "How much longer? Are we there yet? When will we be there?"
My standard answer is, "We're almost there...just a little bit longer."

After passing Calgary and turning slightly northwest, the scenery starts to get interesting. We crossed over the border from Alberta into British Columbia and started seeing some glaciers down below.

As we progressed, the glaciers became more prevalent. By the time we reached the Alaskan border, the glaciers were commonplace. They were everywhere.

On and on we went. You would expect the sun to be setting before long but at these northern latitudes in the summer, that just doesn't happen.

Off to our right in the Yukon Territory we could see Mt Logan. This is the highest point in Canada at 19,550 ft.

Finally Anchorage Center gave us our clearance to descend to the mid twenties. They kept us up pretty high until clearing the mountains east of the city and then out came the speedbrakes as we reported the runway in sight and were then cleared for a visual approach. A pretty steep descent ensued but I doubt that any of the passengers minded. They were probably ready to be there many hours ago. We landed and made the short taxi in and I noted that it was 10:30 PM in Texas. It didn't feel like it though with the sun still up and not about to set anytime soon.

To top it off, on the ride in to the hotel we saw a large moose just off the side of the road having some dinner. You don't see that in Dallas!

So that was it. Six and a half more hours in the logbook with some truly great memories of my first trip to the 49th state. I'll be headed back there again at least once more this summer. It should be a good time!

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

All Is Well In Paris

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:21:00 +0000

The opportunity came along recently to trade one of my Caribbean trips for a Paris trip. Not having been there in almost a year and thoroughly enjoying my previous visits to the city, I made the trade.

Departure from DFW is in the late afternoon with an arrival in Paris the following morning.

All loaded up and ready to taxi...get that MD80 out of the way!! We had a mission to accomplish! (they probably did too)

Takeoff weight this day was close to 400,000 lbs. Every seat had an occupant. Our liftoff speed was close to 170 knots with a climb speed of 330 knots above 10,000 ft.
Not a problem for the Boeing and it's General Electric powerplants.

Before long we were pointed Northeast and cruising at 33,000 ft under clear skies as the sun was setting in the West. In just a few hours we would be staring a sunrise in the face and putting up our sun visors.

Paris in the summer seems to bring out the crowds. I don't know if I have ever seen the city quite so busy.

The French have an excellent idea at work in Paris. Bikes for rent. You can rent a bike from a multitude of locations throughout the city. All you need is a credit card and off you go. Then you can drop off your bike at any of those locations....you don't have to go back to where you rented it. What a great concept. And they are relatively inexpensive also. I intend to try it someday.

Naturally I had to visit the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. Always an impressive sight.Then a walk through the Latin Quarter.

Kind of busy today.

Is that lady picking her nose?

So then back to the hotel for some rest. The next morning our crew of 13 was up early for the leg back to DFW. Departure from Paris is before Noon with a mid-afternoon arrival time in Texas.

Charles de Gaulle airport is a very busy place. But there's always something interesting to see. Look at this Air France A320 in retro colors.

Next up was this Air France B-747-400 and then it was our turn.

The headwinds were brutal this day. The leg took just over 11 hours. Our individual rest breaks were extra long and allowed for a nap and a movie!

All is well in Paris.

Next up, a trip to the 49th state.

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple .

Caracas Re-Visited

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:14:00 +0000

It's been a while since my last post. A multitude of issues have kept me busy of late.

Recurrent training came and went uneventfully and the summertime line flying is just as busy as ever.

It has been almost one year since I moved over to 767 / 757 international flying and the change has been well worth it. I should have done it sooner. The MD-80 is a worthy machine but I sure don't miss it.

A recent trip took me back to Caracas, Venezuela. As you may recall, the ATC service there is rather slow and the local workers have an affinity for sitting around and doing the minimum required of them. Sometimes they seem to do even less.

The inbound leg went without a hitch. Maybe it was because our arrival time was at 11:00 PM at night. After leaving Curacao's airspace we contacted Maiquetia Control and were promptly cleared directly to the outer marker for runway 10. A maximum gross weight landing with autobrakes and full reverse had us stopped with plenty of room leftover. A smooth trip through Customs and Immigration and off to the hotel
we went.

The smoothness continued the next morning. We sailed right through the three (yes three!) security checkpoints and arrived at our gate to find our inbound flight from Miami had arrived early.

No maintenance issues today so we were all set to launch for Miami.

Our call for clearance from ATC was almost immediately answered with "cleared as filed". That was amazing....what has happened here? Has Caracas ATC joined the rest of the world with their efficiency? Hope so.

Next up was to get all our passengers and their luggage on board, and the door shut for an on time departure. Would it be possible? Amazingly, yes. In fact we pushed back a few minutes early and we given a prompt clearance to taxi to runway 28.

Along the way we spotted a Cubana Ilyushin Il 62. We don't see these Russian planes very often. Very interesting! Click on the photo to get a larger view and you can see that this airliner has a tailwheel.

A takeoff from runway 28 and a turn to the north and we were on our way.

I could soon smell our crew meals cooking in the galley. Or was that the smell from the lavatory?

Not long after takeoff we passed over the Dutch island of Bonaire in the Lesser Antilles. Supposed to be some great diving there I hear.

Two hours later the gear was down with full flaps on final approach to runway 9 at Miami. An approaching thunderstorm was threatening but we made it just in time.

This visit to Caracas went quite well. No issues and no complaints. Let's hope it continues this way in the future.

Business As Usual In Costa Rica

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:02:00 +0000

Back in San Jose, Costa Rica again.This time it would be a non-stop flight back to home base in Texas. A 4.5 hour leg.

Our ground personnel at SJO are fantastic. They typically have everyone boarded and bags loaded at least 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure time. I have never seen a delayed departure there. Today was no different.

Our call for ATC clearance to DFW was immediately answered with "cleared as filed". What a contrast from my last post concerning the ATC difficulties in Caracas, Venezuela.Numerous airlines outsource their planes to Costa Rica for maintenance. This is a huge issue for several US airlines and their unions, but I'll save that for another post. Apparently the labor is less expensive there. This MD-80 was having some repairs done there as we taxied by.

A very short delay for a landing Navajo and then we were rolling on runway 07.

The Rolls Royce engines on the 757 deliver so much power that most of our takeoffs are made using less than full power. But SJO rests at an elevation of just over 3000 feet and the terrain around the airport requires some delicate climb procedures so we often use maximum power for takeoff.

The runway slopes uphill so we did indeed use max power for takeoff. Additionally we were fully loaded and carrying extra fuel for some potential destination weather.

The climb procedure from runway 07 requires a very steep climb and a hard right turn not too far off the departure end of the runway. If the turn is not made in time, the surrounding terrain can interfere with your flight path! Bad times...

The First Officer was flying this leg today. He lifted off at 135 knots, called for "gear up", and pitched up into a 25 degree nose up climb attitude. At the appropriate distance from the field he rolled into the right turn while still in the steep climb with flaps still extended. Once headed back away from the mountains he called for flaps up, climb power, and away we went. A perfectly executed takeoff and climb.

The tower switched us over to departure control and my call was quickly answered with "climb to Flight Level 380 and cleared on course". That's great service....unlike some other place that I know of.

Our routing this day initially took us over the countries of Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Approaching the city of Managua, Lake Managua was clearly visible.

Further down the road we could see a small volcano. I believe that it was in El Salvador but I'm not positive. Nevertheless, it was pretty cool!
We then turned to the north up over Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, and finally back in US airspace as we made landfall over the city of Galveston, Tx.

A smooth descent and perfect landing followed. Total flight time was 4 hours 27 minutes.
An early arrival to the gate, a run through customs and immigration, and the day was over. 188 seemingly satisfied customers......you'd think.

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple.

Standby For Clearance

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:01:00 +0000

Traveling to different countries always give you a good perspective on the lives of others and how they perform their respective jobs.This was evident on a recent trip I worked to Caracas, Venezuela. Normally we call for our clearance from Air Traffic Control about 10-20 minutes before departure when we are departing a foreign country. But our flight manual has a special page for the city of Caracas. It says that we should call for our clearance up to one hour prior to departure because of anticipated delays with ATC. What does that mean? Who knows?

This day we called about 30 minutes prior and were told to "standby for clearance". OK...No problem, we'll standby.

So there we were at the gate completing our checklists while our passengers were still boarding. Sure enough, departure time came and our gate agent came up to say goodbye and then shut the entry door and there we sat awaiting our clearance.

While we sat there at the gate, we had a good view of the ramp area below the terminal. We could see what was going on, or in this case, what was not going on down below.

Just look at all of these people doing absolutely nothing!

How does any work ever get done?

All this took place over the course of the 58 minutes we waited for our clearance!

So we finally pushed back and made our way to the runway. Not a single other flight was departing or arriving! So what was the delay all about? We never did find out.

I haven't noticed this apparent apathy in any other country. Maybe it's just a Venezuelan thing. But it now makes sense why we need to call for our clearance up to one hour early....because it takes every minute of that hour to get it!

The rest of the day was was an easy one. Two legs back to base...first stop Miami. The Bahamas were looking nice this day as we neared Miami.A run through Customs, a change of planes and then on to DFW. A nice shot of a contrail over Louisiana and then a great sunset at DFW and the trip was over.Another one in the logbook.

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple.

Puppy Breath

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:06:00 +0000

In keeping with the animal theme from my last post, a recent flight from Tulsa, Oklahoma to DFW provided some interesting passenger comments and a few unique photos.

Before takeoff on every single leg, we are provided with what we call a "closeout". That is simply a record of what we are carrying on that particular flight. It includes total fuel, passengers, cargo weight, trim settings, flap settings, takeoff weight, any restricted articles, and live animals. This "closeout" comes to us via our onboard printer after the crew chief, gate agents, and load agents have closed out the flight after we push off the gate. We cannot takeoff without a closeout.

With that being said, we were in the process of being pushed back from the gate at Tulsa when our closeout came over. It said we were carrying 47 live animals!! It's not uncommon for us to carry live animals, in fact it's an everyday thing. But 47 seemed odd. So I asked our tug driver over the interphone what was up. She nonchalantly said we had 47 puppies onboard! She went on to tell us that this is a regular occurrence on the weekends. Apparently there is a puppy mill somewhere near Tulsa that ships out puppies all over the country on a regular basis. Very interesting we thought.

I made a quick call to our crew to advise them about the dogs just in case any passengers were to complain about the barking, and then off we went to DFW. 188 passengers, 5 flight attendants, 2 pilots, and 47 dogs.

Almost all the newer planes these days have automated pressurized cargo compartments so there is no need to worry about carrying live animals in the belly. But that wasn't always the case with older jets. I remember that the 727's had a switch for shutting off pressurization to one of the cargo compartments. It was normally left in the "on" position. But in case there was a pressurization problem with the airplane, the first thing to do was to turn off that switch so as to maintain sufficient pressurization for the main cabin. Unfortunately that would suffocate and freeze any live animals that had the bad luck that day to be in the cargo compartment. We sometimes called that switch the "freeze the dog" switch, or the "pupsicle" switch. Fortunately I never had to use it!Upon arrival at DFW we taxied up to our gate and a rather large crowd of rampers were waiting for us and the dogs. Several small pickup trucks and baggage carts were standing by for the transfer.These dogs weren't just going to Texas, they were being transferred all over the country.

I had to go outside and take a look. I had my earplugs ready!

All these guys seemed pretty well behaved. In fact they were probably better behaved than some of our passengers at times.

Their first airplane ride was a success!
I sure hope they all went to good homes....

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple.

I Need Some Earplugs

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:29:00 +0000

To continue the story, I finally made it to bed in San Juan at 3:30 AM after an interesting evening in Miami with some fuel issues.

At first I thought I was dreaming, but I was slowly roused from my deep sleep by the sound of a multitude of roosters crowing!

I had stayed at this hotel on previous trips but I was always in a different wing. This time I was on the noisy side. I got up and looked out my window and this is what I saw.
That's right... "Cockfights".... My room was overlooking the Cockfight Club of Puerto Rico! And judging by the noise coming from inside, all the contestants were up and about and ready for their breakfast.I wonder what the place sounds like when there's a fight going on? It's interesting that something like this would never be allowed in the States and you'd be arrested for participating, but in Puerto Rico this is just like any old sporting event.

It was several hours until our next leg and since I was up already I took a walk out to nearby Carolina Beach. At the entrance to the beach I came across this seemingly ferocious little mutt.
He was tied up to a beach chair and apparently all alone. He acted fearless and he must have thought that he was standing guard as he was barking at the top of his lungs!

Next stop would be Miami and then on to Aruba. We arrived to Aruba very late...I hit the sack well after midnight again. The hotel was very nice and located right on Palm Beach.

But once again I was awakened by some unusual noises. It sounded like a bunch of birds squawking. I looked out my window but saw nothing. So I got up and went outside to investigate and then look for some breakfast.This is what I found downstairs by the pool. A bunch of birdcages with exotic birds in them!

All of them were quite vocal!

After breakfast and a workout it was time for a visit to the pool before heading back to the airport.But what's this? Who is that on the rocks?
Well, at least these guys were quiet.

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple.

Check Those Fuel Gauges Carefully

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:11:00 +0000

I'm still flying the Caribbean skies and enjoying the weather immensely. I haven't had to fly an instrument approach in months. My recurrent training is coming up in a couple of months and I'm sure to be a little rusty.
A recent trip took me down to San Jose, Costa Rica. I hadn't been there in almost 20 years. It sure has grown. AA operates four flights a day in and out of there and they usually are full.

The return leg took us right over Cuba. Years ago we would fly around Cuba so as not to enter their airspace but nowadays we pass right on through it provided we contact Havana Center and receive the appropriate clearance.

The Florida Keys would be up next as the sun was setting. If you look closely you can see the bridges on US #1 connecting some of the keys.The next leg was to be from Miami down to San Juan, Puerto Rico. A one hour delay for maintenance passed by and we finally took off from runway 26L. Passing through 5000 ft I glanced at the fuel panel and noticed that our right wing tank fuel gauge and the fuel totalizer where both blank! The left and center tank gauges were still showing the correct amount but that wasn't good enough. It was the first officer's leg so I had him take over ATC duties and then I pulled out our procedures manual to see what could be done. Well, it turns out that nothing could be done since the specific problem that we were having wasn't even listed.

A night flight over the Caribbean without operable fuel gauges didn't seem like anything we wanted to do nor was I interested in any further troubleshooting or a radio call to our maintenance folks in Tulsa, so I quickly made the decision to return to Miami ASAP. A call to the Purser, a quick PA to the passengers, a call to the company, and then my attention was back to the cockpit as we switched from climb mode over to approach and landing mode.

I told Miami Approach about our situation and they were very helpful and offered any assistance we might need. I asked for the nearest available runway but that was all. It wasn't exactly an emergency so I didn't ask for the rescue equipment but even so, we were given priority handling and our clearance to land came right away. Those guys at ATC are great!

Our Miami approach charts were still out as we had not even had time to put them away yet so we did a quick approach briefing, ran through the landing checklist and before we knew it the FO was clearing the runway and the flight was over. Total time in the air was only 17 minutes.

Approaching the gate I could see a couple of mechanics waiting on the jetbridge for us. And as luck would have it, as soon as we parked at the gate the fuel gauges came back to life. It never fails! But they ended up taking the plane out of service anyhow.

To end the story for now, they finally found us a new plane. We were re-catered, luggage transferred, fueling completed, pre-flight done, angry passengers boarded again and away we went only three hours late. I finally hit the sack in my hotel room at 3:30 AM only to be awakened in just a couple of hours.

Details in my next post.....

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What Are These Things Called "Doubles"?

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:52:00 +0000

Flying in the Caribbean is always enjoyable. The weather is almost always VFR, the beaches are nice, the people are friendly, and the food is good.

This last couple of months I have been making numerous trips to the city of Port-of-Spain on the island of Trinidad.

One time we even carried the Prime Minister of Trinidad on board.

Unfortunately sometimes we have to carry passengers on their final flight to their resting spot. It's a little sad to see a coffin being unloaded from the belly. This person was being flown to Trinidad for their burial.
When I first started going there, I would always hear from fellow employees that had been there saying, "did you have some doubles?" or, "make sure you try some doubles!"

So it became my mission to find out what these "doubles" were all about.

I asked around and was led to the "doubles lady". She has her own little stand at the POS airport just outside the baggage claim area.

She has now educated me on the basics of "doubles". I didn't get her name but she was kind enough to pose for a few shots in between customers.

So what are "doubles" anyhow?

They are small sandwiches made with two pieces of flat bread. Inside you will find curried garbanzo beans or chick peas. The filling is topped with any variety of sauces...some sweet and some very hot. They are supposedly the most popular street food in Trinidad & Tobago. She said that they are mostly eaten at breakfast but are still available throughout the day.

There are vendors all over the place in the islands. She works every single day from dawn till dusk. Business is very good she reported.

They must be eaten quickly as evidenced by what happens to the bag after only ten minutes. It's not grease, it's just the sauce that is a little messy.

They sure are good and at $2 for three of them it's a pilots dream come true!
So now every time I go there I must go see her for my fill of "doubles". I highly recommend them. Preflight is complete and our 767 is full of customers and a crew of 12. The two guys in the cockpit are full of "doubles" and ready for pushback. So back to Miami we go.
We get a nice look at the island as we launch to the east. In 3 1/2 hours we'll be there and probably will be hungry again!

For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple.

What's Up In Cancun?

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:04:00 +0000

So how many people do you suppose would be eager to get on an airliner first thing New Years morning? Judging by the crowds at DFW I would say that number would be large.

My New Years Eve activities would be very limited due to my early morning departure the following morning. The 6 AM traffic on the freeways was very light....I was able to keep the cruise control engaged almost the entire 55 miles to the airport.

The day's trip was an easy one. Just a turnaround from DFW to Cancun and back.

The customers seemed slightly subdued as they filed past the cockpit door on the way to their seats. No doubt the effects of the prior evening were taking their toll.

Nevertheless, the plane was packed and we would soon be southbound at 41,000 feet over the Gulf of Mexico.

Halfway there we reported in with Merida Center and were promptly instructed to slow down as much as possible due to arriving traffic. No problem....we get paid by the minute!

The view was pretty good as we descended over the Yucatan Peninsula.

Number eight for the approach under mostly clear skies and we were slowed down to 170 knots on a 20 mile final. Crazy! They have a new runway under construction and they sure need it.One look down the flightline at all the airliners would seem to indicate that the tourism business in Cancun is alive and well.We'd say goodbye to these folks and soon would welcome another 188 for the return leg back home.

Brakes released and cleared for pushback and engine start....
Our call for taxi was answered with a clearance to runway 12 and to expect a delay due to outbound traffic as we were number nine in the lineup.Air Transat would be next after the arriving Jet Blue airbus and then us. But wait....another arrival. This one was an Iberworld A-330. We both remarked how low they seemed to be on final and we hoped they wouldn't land short of the runway. (Airline pilots are trained to cross the runway threshold about 50 feet high and to land in the first 1500 feet of the runway) Luckily they didn't land short but it was pretty close as the photo shows them about to touch down on the numbers. ( I saw a TWA 727 land short once in Palm Beach....it wasn't pretty)So we finally launched and turned northward back to Texas. The beautiful shoreline slowly disappeared behind us and we settled in over the gulf for the afternoon leg back to base.Cancun....What a busy place.

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Winter Ops

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:07:00 +0000

Anyone that has been following my posts recently would probably think that I'm pretty spoiled with all this nice Caribbean and Hawaiian flying. And they would be right.

But I was jolted back to reality the other day when I had to dust off the leather jacket... Destination Vancouver.

Looking out my hotel room window in the morning revealed a fresh layer of snow. The news was reporting temps in the low teens! That's nothing for some parts of Canada but it's a little cold for Vancouver. Even the locals were complaining!

From our slow drive to the airport to the slow security process to the slow boarding, everything seems to move slower in the winter.

It has been quite some time since I have heard an ATIS broadcast referring to runways and taxiways being plowed and sanded and to use caution for snowbanks. All taxiways were reported to be icy. So I guess we'd taxi slow also!

De-icing complete and we were ready to pushback and startup. But even the Rolls Royce engines were slow to wake up. And then while taxiing out ( at a snails pace), we had an engine limiter computer failure message. OK...so we ask ATC if we can pull over somewhere and work it out. Ten minutes later we have it fixed and are finally ready to launch for Texas.

Runway 08Right....Cleared for takeoff. Call departure control airborne....Have a good flight eh!Vancouver looks like a nice city. I wish we had more time to spend there. (In the summertime).
Very soon we were in US airspace and Mt Baker was approaching. Quite a sight in the morning sun.The Cascades would soon pass behind us...three and a half hours remained to DFW. Then a short break and on to Miami for the night. The cold weather ops were now behind us.
I wouldn't be needing that leather jacket in Miami.

Merry Christmas to everyone.

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Fire Down Below

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:15:00 +0000

Cruising high above the earth provides for some interesting sightseeing at times.

Much of my flying recently has been at night, so the photo opportunities have been limited. But a recent daytime leg from San Juan to DFW, along with clear skies, allowed for a few good shots of the landscape below.

Due to some major cutbacks in service from AA, the congestion at the San Juan airport has decreased dramatically. The airport is a virtual ghost town as compared to recent years when it was booming. The lines at security used to be endless.....nowadays you can get through in a matter of minutes.

Taxi times are short as well. We were airborne only five minutes after pusback.

Workloads in the cockpit are relatively easy on this leg. Radio communications are all VHF. The ATC controllers at San Juan Center speak impeccable English, and there is radar coverage along the entire route so no position reporting is required. And the sights along the way are pretty good too. It doesn't get much easier.

Weather permitting, routings from San Juan are almost always direct to Miami and then across the Gulf of Mexico to Louisiana and then on to DFW.
We climbed unrestricted up to 36,000 ft and settled in for the five hour leg to Texas. The island of Hispaniola with the neighboring countries of the Dominican Republic and Haiti were first in view. Then along came Turks and Caicos. After that came the Bahamas with it's countless islands and clear water.A few hours later we had burned off enough fuel to climb up to 40,000 ft and were passing over the city of New Orleans and the Mississippi River.Shortly after passing New Orleans we could see a multitude of smoke plumes coming from the fields down below. Having seen this many times over the years I knew that it was harvest time in the sugar cane fields.

Apparently part of the process of harvesting the sugar cane involves burning the fields of all the unwanted leaves and unusable parts but it leaves the stalks and roots unharmed. I hear that it smells pretty bad!Not long after that, one of the cabin crew called up and reported that many of the passengers were wanting to know what was on fire down below and would I please make a PA to that effect.

I prefer not to make unnecessary PA's inflight since it interrupts the movie that is playing (and also wakes up many people) and some folks don't like that, so I just told her what was burning and asked her to relay that information directly. Shortly after, I heard her make a PA anyhow!
Not much to see after that. The sightseeing was over for the day and all that was left was the descent and landing at DFW.

Another good trip in the logbook.....

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Another V.I.P. Movement

noreply@blogger.com (Len (Barfbag)) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:29:00 +0000

In a recent post I discussed how a certain VIP aboard Air Force One could foul up the entire hub and spoke operation of any given airline in a single afternoon.

To contrast that episode, I flew a trip the other night that had a different VIP in question. In fact that person would be onboard our flight.

As we sat parked at the gate in Miami watching our passengers board for the city of Port-of-Spain in Trinidad, one of our flight attendants came up and told us that the Prime Minister of Trinidad would be on board tonight. It was interesting that neither our gate agent nor our dispatcher notified us about this. You'd think that they would want the cockpit crew to know about a high profile passenger being aboard. Sometimes we're the last to know!

So then off we went with Mr Patrick Manning and his entourage aboard for the 3 1/2 hour leg to Port-of-Spain. As we pushed back from the gate, we could see only one local Miami police officer on the jetbridge waiting to make sure that we departed safely.

I've flown numerous celebrities and athletes around before and it's always curious to hear from our flight attendants how they behaved while inflight. Occasionally these passengers expect preferential treatment due to their celebrity status. And when then don't get treated as such, they can get ugly.

I'm happy to report that Mr. Manning behaved like the true gentleman that I'm sure he is.As we descended for POS, Piarco Control ATC facility handed us off to POS tower and asked us to say "hello" to the President. "Consider it done" we replied. Then after landing, the tower controller asked us to "give our regards" to the President!

Sounds like a popular President we both thought.

As we finished up our shutdown checklists and were putting the plane to bed for the night, we saw Mr Manning and his entourage heading for Customs and Immigration along with the rest of the passengers. It was as if he were just a regular guy!

We both found it a little unusual that a Prime Minister of a nation (no matter how small), would be flying aboard a commercial airliner. Perhaps that's their policy...I don't know.

It was an interesting contrast as to what must go on behind the scenes of an Air Force One mission. Our flight was just business as usual even though we were carrying a head of state onboard. An Air Force One mission must take some intricate planning and coordination. The security details must be endless.

I'll bet the food is better too!

Coincidentally, on the return leg to Miami the next day, we heard Air Force One calling in a position report on the radio. They were headed from Lima to Washington. Good thing they weren't headed for Miami again.

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