Flight Dispatcher News

Where have I been??!!

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 21:15:00 +0000

I cannot believe the last time I posted anything here was back in 2012!
how time flies!

Going to try again to keep up with this blog as often as I can, but no promises. Many thanks to those who still come and visit and those who follow the blog. The duties of dispatcher and dad keep me pretty busy, but I'll try to find interesting topic to write about. I do miss the blog!

So until my next post...

PASSED!

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:41:00 +0000

Got our test results and glad to say that I passed the systems exam for the ATR 72!

That's a load off my mind! So it's back to my normal schedule of getting up really early and heading into dispatch to handle our Dash 8 aircraft.

Thanks to our instructor, Chief Pilot Ryan Frost on an excellent class as well as to all the pilots in ATR Systems class 72-01. Daniel, Will, Willie, Kyle, Lance, Diana, Chris and Mike! Appreciate all the help with the tough stuff and being patient. Had a great time in class!

"Cowboy boots & tighty-white-es!"

Here comes the TEST!

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:05:00 +0000

Another day of training is wrapping up. Tomorrow, Thursday, 26 July 2012 @ 1830 UTC we will be taking our written exam. Gotta pass by 80% or better. So as it has been all week in class whenever we have a quiet moment, everyone shuffles off to a quiet corner and studies.

After 2 weeks, we have covered the ATR 72 systems pretty thoroughly. This aircraft relies heavily on electrics, so this has become the focal point of everyone's anxiety in class. The Dash 8, I felt was an equal balance of of all the systems. But the 72, relies so heavily on electricity. Beyond that, it's not a bad aircraft. As a dispatcher, sitting in on a pilot training class and covering an aircraft system very deeply, can cause your brain to meltdown. But it's excellent exposure.

So tonight, it's study, study study! Hopefully, it all works out tomorrow and that the information in my currently "overcooked" brain will flow to my hand holding the pen and it turns out alright.

Salut!
Enfin! La formation de nos 72 ATR nouvelle a commence!

Hello!
Finally! The training for our new ATR 72 has begun! After 3 days of systems training, my head is spining! I'm just happy that were moving forward and the process has begun.
The ATR 72 is a new aircraft for me. I've previously flown on the ATR 42 model as a flight attendant and I really enjoyed the aircraft.

So far topics covered in systems has been pnuematics, ice protection, hydraulics, aircraft general and so much other stuff. Our class is made up of 8 pilots and 2 dispatchers. The biggest challenge for us is that were the first group to go though the training and its a big learninig curve. Lots of questions by all, interspersed with moments of humor and gut busting laughter as we cause grief to out 2 instructors.

Over all, it's a lot of fun and I'm excited to be here.

EXCLUSIVE !!!! to Aircraft Dispatcher !!!!!!!!

I can also share with you our new colors, logo and aircraft paint job here for the first time is the NEW look for Island Air.

A press release was put out today 2100 GMT to show the world our new look.
I'm sharing it with you.

Visit http://www.islandair.com/ to see more.

ATR's?? Where???

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 07:46:00 +0000

So here begins my series about the ATR that my company is getting. I will blog about this until the day they become operational with Island Air.

The first of our flt crews are back from Houston. While there they attended ATR ground school and sim training. I was originally scheduled to attend the training. Crews were in Houston for about 4 weeks, but last minute changes by senior management had us sit this session out.

So as we roll into June, we're all wondering where the ATR's are at? The word is they are now delayed and not scheduled to arrive until August. Until then, the returning check airmen are busy putting together the first ground school for those pilots who want to bid into the new aircraft type. Ground school starts 25 June. No date set for dispatcher ground school on the new aircraft. Can't wait to work with the ATR's again, but this time dispatching them.

Changes are afoot!

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:40:00 +0000

I'M BACCCKKKK! After a almost year absence from this blog, I'm finally finding the time to begin posting again. Albeit I'm doing it late at night when the baby and everyone else is asleep. Anyway, I felt now is the right time to make this blog active again. To my original "7" followers of this blog, I say thanks for sticking around. To all those who visit or just happen to see my site, I also say thanks for stopping and reading. I greatly appreciate it.

As the title suggests, things are afoot where I work at. As noted in the local media and on various aviation news blogs, my company, Hawaii Island Air are going to get a "new" aircraft type. Since our aging fleet of Dash-8-100's are getting up there in time, we have decided to invest in ATR's! The company is going ahead and getting both models, the 42's and 72's. I've worked with and on the 42 models in the early '90's with another now defunct airline and i actually love ATR-42. Not to familiar with the 72's, but I'm sure it's not much diffrence.

So, I'll be deep in the transition of this aircraft within our fltops dept so I will do a regular series on this event over the course of the change over. I'll also write about anything and everything else that goes on in dispatch as well as at HNL and in aviation as well. Look forward to writing and taking pictures again and thanks for stopping by. Look forward to your comments on my blog. Till the next post...Aloha!

Busy...Busy...Busy!!

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:03:00 +0000

My sincerest apologies for the tardiness in keeping things fllowing on this blog. Having a newborn in the house just changes the dynamics of life. Not much time to be spent on the blog and other things.

I hope to have a couple of post added to blog in the coming week or so.

Again thanks for visiting my blog.

A bad day...err week...ahhh make that...

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:15:00 +0000

As with all operations a fluid as AIROPS are, we sometimes get caught in a downward spiral of endless delays, mechanical's and all the things that make civil aviation the thing it is today. We, meaning the airline I work for, just went through one of those "rough patches" recently. Now I love what I do and who I work for, but for the the past couple weeks, we in dispatch always seemed to be running an operation in crisis mode.

During one shift, I encountered several mechanical delays running into several hours of accumulated delays for all of our flights, a medical emergency at an out station and almost simultaneously an in flight emergency while the medical was going on, necessitating a return to field of our aircraft adding to the delays. I hate having to have our passengers delayed. Basically, SHIT HAPPENS!

Now, I hope at least for a while, that all this has passed and we can look forward to smoother skies for our airline. But for a while, man, it was a mental marathon with everything going on at once. Just glad to see everyone pull thru and take care of our passengers and get them to where they need to go safely, albeit a little bit delayed.

Wake Island

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:04:00 +0000

One of the pilots with whom I work with also happens to be a flight planner in the U.S. Air Force here in HNL. Recently he was tasked with handling a group of aircraft movements. Major Madson, call sign "Maddog" headed to Wake Island to dispatch the aircraft that were on layover and get them to their final destination.
While on Wake, he happened to take some photo's and sent them to me.
(All photo's, except where noted, courtesy of Maj. Madson)

Here's some background info on Wake. Wake Island (also known as Wake Atoll, pronounced /weik/) is a coral atoll having a coastline of 12 miles (19 km) in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu 2,300 statute miles (3,700 km) west to Guam 1,510 statute miles (2,430 km) east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. Access to the island is restricted, and all current activities on the island are managed by the United States Air Force.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo

The Battle of Wake Island began simultaneously with the Attack on Pearl Harbor and ended on 23 December 1941, with the surrender of the American forces to the Empire of Japan. It was fought on and around the atoll formed by Wake Island and its islets of Peale and Wilkes Islands by the air, land and naval forces of the Empire of Japan against those of the U.S., with Marines playing a prominent role on both sides.

The island was held by the Japanese until September 4, 1945, when the remaining Japanese garrison surrendered to a detachment of United States Marines.

Welcome to Wake Island!

Admiralty Command Post on the beach. The sign in the picture reads:

Historical Site

Japanese Admiralty

Command Post Built

By American Civilian POWS - Completed

1942

Another site built by American Civilian POWs, This sign reads:

Historical Site

Japanese Aircraft

Revetments Built By

American Civilian

POWS - Completed

1943

Maj. Madson standing next to "98 Rock".

The "98 Rock" is a memorial for the 98 U.S. civilian contract POWs who were forced by their Japanese captors to rebuild the airstrip as slave labor, then were blind-folded and killed by machine gun Oct. 5, 1943.

An unidentified prisoner escaped, and chiseled "98 US PW 5-10-43" on a large coral rock near their mass grave, on Wilkes Island at the edge of the lagoon. The prisoner was recaptured and beheaded by the Japanese admiral, who was later convicted and executed for war crimes.

The shell, of what once was the bunker for Major James Devereux, commander of the First Marine Defense Battalion on Wake Island.

Major Devereux fought for the defense of Wake for 15 days before being captured with his men and taken as a POW

The Marine Corps Memorial on Wake Island in remembrance of those who served there during the battle

The Base Operations Building on the airfield

The flight line with it's complement of A-10 and F-18 "Super Hornets" in the early morning awaiting their crews

During this mission, Maj. Madson caught a ride on an KC-10 mid air refuel over and back from Wake to dispatch the A-10 and Hornets. During which time he was able to take some shots of the mid-air refuel of a couple of the aircraft's

A refueling A-10 Thunderbolt, better known as the "Warthog"

And here, a Navy F-18 gets "topped off" by the Hawaii Air National Guard somewhere over the Pacific

Thanks again to Maddog for allowing me share these photo's of a very historic and important part of American History.

Lest We Forget...

God Be With You...

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:06:00 +0000

A tragic time in Japan with the devastating earthquake and then the Tsunami.
My heart and prayers go out to all those affected by this tragedy.

Please consider making a donation to the Red Cross or your local disaster relief agency to help out the citizens of Japan especially those in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, during this time.

Japan Red Cross: http://www.jrc.or.jp/

Charity Navigator - Is a centralized site offering legitimate agencies that are offering help.
http://www.charitynavigator.org

Hide and Seek

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:15:00 +0000

Here's one for the dispatch files. It's a first for me.

So look at the first picture. What do you speculate as to what's going on?

Okay, so we have panels open. Maintenance personnel standing around.

A problem with the nose gear? Or an avionics issue?

Nope! None of the above. This litte guy, a 5 inch long centipede was discovered by the flight crew cralling around. It appeared while the aircraft was on the ground and scurried away before it could be caught. Maintenance was called and they started opening panels looking for it. The aircraft was fumagated and I guess that was too much for it. It came out and was quickly "dispatched"! (no pun intended!)

Well be working with the security department to see how the centipede got onboard and by-passed security!

Dispatching "Con Air"!

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:51:00 +0000

( For security and privacy concers, all photos displayed have been altered to protect the identites of those shown and sensitive infomation has been edited out of all photos and no specific details or information are provided ).

Island Air, has been providing flights to the State of Hawaii, Dept. of Corrections for prisoner transport more commonly known as "ConAir" since late last year. It's nothing like you think or saw in the movie. Prisoner transfer happen everyday all across the country. All are uneventful.

These flights are done and provide a controlled, safe, efficent and economical way of transporting a large number of prisoners between the neighbor islands instead of placing them on scheduled flights.

These flights normally are controlled by the Department of Corrections who advises us on which days they will need a transport and we then provide a crew and aircraft for them.

The ConAir flights are considered by Island Air Supplemental Operations conducted under Domestic Flight Rules.

Under FAR 121.537 Responsibility for Operational Control during supplemental operations, both the Captain of the flight and the Director of Flight Operations are jointly responsible for all aspects of the flight. The Dispatchers act for the Dir. of FLTOPS

As the dispatcher on duty, we monitor the flight and keep track of it. We provide a crew wth a dispatch release and current weather on the day of flight. All other aspects are routine. Crews receive a full briefing from the dispatcher. The aircraft is pre-flighted and then the crew awaits the passengers and guards for the flight.

While all transfer are done, state sherriff deputies closely oversee the operation.

From a dispatching point of view, "ConAir" flights are handled like any other flight.
It's just another day at the office.

Military Aviation in Hawaii

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 20:43:00 +0000

Hawaii has always been a focal point of the U.S. Military. A strategic point in the Pacific. We are a critical link in the defense of the U.S. As some may or may not know, HNL is a joint civilian/military airfield. On any given day you can see a variety of military aircraft coming or going from here.

Here's a look of some of the aircraft that I have seen from my office window.

The U.S. Marine Corps VIP C-20, also known as the "Grey Ghost

A USAF C-40B Executive transport aircraft

A USAF C-130 Hercules aircraft arriving and taxing to Joint Base Pearl Harbor/Hickam, Hawaii

A Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 departing via RWY 22L in HNL

A Navy F-18 Super Hornet after departing 08L in HNL

Followed by a USAF KC-10 airborne refueler

Another refueler, the old but venerable KC-135 departing RWY 22L on a rainy day

A US Navy P-3 Orion turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft. As Ryan, a visitor to my blog pointed out, that Navy P-3 was recently painted in that old seaplane paint scheme in honor of the Centennial of Naval Aviation.
Thanks Ryan!

A USAF C17 based out of Elmendorf AFB in Alaska takes the high speed
after landing on 04R in HNL

And a pair of UH-60 of the U.S. Army practicing the ILS on RWY 08 at HNL

And probably the most recognized aircraft in the world...

Air Force One lands at Hickam Air Force (AFB) with US President George W. Bush on board for his first visit to Hawaii while holding office. On the ground, the second Boeing VC-25A.

(I've seen Air Force One twice, but never had a camera with me, so I got this photo from Wikipedia. Photo credit: CPL Roman Gray, USMC)

Hawaii is proud of it's service to our country and also of it's military personnel. These island will remain an integral part of the U.S. Military and the U.S.A. to ensure that all people and countries of the Pacific region remain a safe place

Hollywood comes to HNL

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:07:00 +0000

I consider myself lucky to have my office right at the airport. I also consider it even luckier that my office overlooks Honolulu International Airport. Even though I'm busy alot, I do have the opportunity to take in the view of the airfield.

So today I was fortunate to have the opportunity of being able to see them film one of my favorite shows on TV, Hawaii Five-0 at the hanger next door.

Cameras roll as two actors portraying U.S. Marshall deputies are seen walking off the Grumman G-II.

In the shot is Officer Dan "Dano " Williams played by Scott Cann standing in front of his silver Chevy that he drives around with and LT Commander Steven "Steve" McGarrett played by actor Alex O'Loughlin. Both actors watch the action from the sidelines.

Cameras roll as the actors portraying U.S. Marshall's escort a prisoner from the aircraft. Actors Scott Cann and Alex O'Loughlin can be seeing standing in the foreground next to the silver car

This shot shows the actors waiting around and taking a break as they wait for the crew to set up. Once they completed with the shoot on the ramp, the cast and crew moved into the hanger for more shooting.

The Hawaii Five-O crew started at 0400L setting things up and cameras were rolling at around 0600L. They completed all filming on location by 1230L. I look forward to watching this unfold when the show airs sometime in the near future.

For more information on the show, go to:

www.cbs.com/primetime/hawaii_five_o

25 Years Ago...

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:36:00 +0000

...on that cold January morning atop the Space Shuttle Challenger, rode seven astronauts. Each member as diverse as the United Sates is. All loved.

Please take a moment to reflect on these astronauts and all those that have gone before to help pave the way for our future in space.

"Their truest testimony will not be in the words we speak, but in the way they led their lives and in the way they lost those lives - with dedication, honor and an unquenchable desire to explore this mysterious and beautiful universe". - President Ronald Regan, Challenger Memorial Service, 1986.

Remember...

Richard "Dick" Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ron McNair, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.

IMC Practice

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:33:00 +0000

Dispatching can be a challenge. Even on good days. But when weather sets in, it's a whole new dynamic.

On the 15th of Dec, This is what The North Pacific Surface Analysis was looking like. A long Low Pressure System extending from around Midway Island in the Pacific Northwest all the way across the Central Pacific and over into CONUS.

This is what the weather normally looks like around here, but as shown in the SA above, things were about to get wetter!

On Sunday morning the 19th of Dec this is what we came to work to. The beginning of 48 hours of weather to contend with (Our shift in dispatch is 9 hours). I myself actually look forward to days like this, it's because we rarely get them. Heavy rains mainly over Kauai to the west, Oahu and Western Molokai in the east. This shot of Doppler from weatherunderground.com show the cells in the area and intensity of moisture in the clouds. Upper level winds were light, but movement was from the WSW (West Southwest) direction.

On the ramp, rain gear is the uniform of the day as the weather makes the early morning preflights for the crews a fun one. Winds with the associated system was light and variable, so this caused having with visibility and ceilings. The wind wasn't there to keep the moisture moving so everything just "sat" around.

Later in the morning, visibility dropped to as low as 1/4 mile with +SHRA (heavy rain showers)and alot of TS (thunderstorms) in EMBD CB's (Embedded Cumulonimbus Nimbus clouds) here in HNL. We held flights going into MKK due to visibility was nearly zero. And LNY was slowly losing it's battle with the weather. Myself and the other dispatcher kept on updating the weather as quickly as it was being amended by the National Weather Service (NWS) and kept the crew well informed.

Now we know it was bad when HNL goes down below and alternates are required for the flights to return. Fuel loads were all increased for all flight outbound from HNL and inbound. By some luck when our flights were legal to depart, they all made it into their destinations on the first shot. No missed approaches occurred.

Due to the instability of the atmosphere over the Hawaiian Islands, we are looking at more continued wet weather into the Christmas weekend as another front approaches from the west.

In the mean time, it's back to blue skies and sunny weather...

...for now!!!

FAA loses track of 119,000 aircraft

noreply@blogger.com (emorris) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 15:36:00 +0000

Nice to see our tax dollars hard at work. Whether it is losing aircraft registration records (reported yesterday), losing airmen certification paperwork (occurs occasionally), losing our school's files dating back decades (as reported to me about 2 years ago), the innocent are always punished for the ineptitude of the guilty.

So the solution appears to be to simply re-register all 357,000 aircraft - that will surely take care of that security gap created by this mess. Here's a really neat idea: check the accuracy of all registry documents on a scheduled basis BEFORE the s**t hits the fan, develop an accuracy checking program, then digitize all documents, then duplicate all data, then repeat, then place all information of separate servers including secured digital "clouds", then repeat entire process again. Any records can be hacked, but based on history, we are our own worst enemy.

I hope no pilot ever lost their life due to an accident in his airplane that had a safety problem NOT reported to him in time (via registry data) because of just-recently discovered aircraft registry problems.

On a brighter note, I'm sure those responsible for this debacle will be punished - as we all know that means a lateral transfer to another department or a decrease in their raise next year. Heck - while the airlines, leasing companies, private aircraft owners, and banks are now losing their time and energy, the guilty parties may, in fact, only receive a minor promotion instead of a major one.

On that warm, fuzzy note I'll sign off.

EM/SS

More Thunderbolts

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 17:37:00 +0000

These three A-10's "A" models are returning from a Maintenance check flight after being sidelined for a few days at Hickam AFB (PHIK)

These aircrafts are from the 25th Fighter Squadron based in Osan, Korea.

Looks like everything checked out

PILSUNG!

Thunderbolts

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:48:00 +0000

Early Friday morning, I was given the opportunity to observe the dispatching of a group of A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft that were relocating from Korea to stateside.

The morning started early at 0030L at the ACC operations building at Hickam AFB. I was given a briefing by the Maj, Madson who showed me what essentially was a dispatch packet for the flight crews. the time spent on the packet was about 4 hours prep time. This included weather, fuels overflight notifications, clearances and coordination with tanker ops which was part of this package.

The flight called a "coronet" by flight planning, is estimated to take 9 hours with an arrival time of around 1535L time stateside. There was to be an initial uplift of 2000 lbs of fuel, and 4 scheduled air refueling en route. Weather for the package was excellent with some storm activity south of the islands and a line of clouds well north of the proposed flight route. The Tanker commander was also briefed. Their call sign for the flight would be "Adobe".

From Hawaii to the west coast of the U,.S. was actually very clear and dry. Refueling times were covered as well as aircraft lead and wingman formations, call sign for this flight is "Zesty". Communication "freqs" and take off procedures discussed. With this done, time to head out to the aircraft!

"Zesty's" A-10's were part of a group which is scheduled for an upgrade to the A-10C models with enhanced targeting and electronic link capabilities, so the squadron was relocating the aircraft back to the states for this. Originally this flight was for 7 aircraft, but due to various mechanical and technical problems, it was lowered to 4 aircraft (this would change once again closer to departure time).

I was allowed to head to the flight line but needed to remain in the mobile air ops van for safety reasons. As I got to the flight line, alot of activity was ensuing. Ground crews were shuttling between aircraft. Crews were dressed in their gear and seated in the aircraft performing pre-flight checks in the cockpit.

As the crews continued to prep, a call came over ground freq advising the AAC of a problem with one of the aircraft. Seems that there was a fuel quantity indicator which had an indifference of 500+ lbs. One of the pilot's requested from "Zesty's" flight leader, call sign "McGruff", to occupy the spare aircraft that was there. He was approved for the swap.

By the time the the pilot had switched aircraft, his "McGruff's" aircraft had too developed problems, so the flight lead bumped the other pilot out of the spare and took it for himself. So one of the crew had an extra day in Hawaii. This now brought the package down to 3 aircraft.

Because of the swap, the flight was delayed an additional 30 min beyond estimated departure time and this was relayed to the tanker commander. But within 20 minutes, the flight was ready to depart Hickam. Time now as 0300L (1300Z). With the A-10's leading and the tanker following minutes behind them, "Zesty" launched from HNL on a clear night via runway 8R heading stateside. Followed 9 minutes later by "Adobe", the KC-10 tanker aircraft.

Thanks to Maj. Madson, call sign "Maddog" and the ACC as well as the flightcrew members of 25th Fighter Squadron for allowing me to "tag" along and observe the operation. PILSUNG!

Selfless sacrifices for our country...

noreply@blogger.com (lono68) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:55:00 +0000

To all of our country's veterans, past and present...

Thanks for all you do for us!

I appreciate the sacrifices that you and your families have made for me, my family and the rest of the U.S.A.

May God continue to bless you all !