Mourning.

I am currently mourning the loss of my pepper and cucumber plants.

Damn you late frost.

Though I should have known better.

GRRRRRR.

Something airplane related soon, promise. ;)

What is your moment?

I am willing to bet that every pilot has that moment some days. That one where they know that there is nothing else in the world that they'd rather be doing.

That moment doesn't happen everyday. It might not happen for weeks, months even. But then there it is again, and you remember why it is you get paged out of bed at 3am in the middle of a blizzard....

Anyway, for me that moment always seems to be this.

It has been crappy for days, and I have been on the ground. And finally I get called to work. And it is still crappy. No one has seen the sun for days and days. The drizzle continues. And you get into the plane, and taxi to the runway.

Taxi to position...

And you push the throttles forward, and start rolling down the runway...

105, rotate.

Into the cloud almost immediately.

Positive rate, gear up.

On instruments.

120 and 3, flaps 5.

150, flaps up.

Then it starts to get brighter.

And then what was dark grey is now bright white, and you know you are almost there.

And then you break out. Into the sunshine. And you look at the entire province covered with its wet blanket of cloud, and know that you are the luckiest today. Because today you see the sun. And they do not.

I just love that.

So anyone want to share?

Happy Birthday to me.

It's my birthday today, so I am taking the day off.

So yeah, Happy Birthday to me.

I wish I had that cake.

LMFAO

A must read...

Naked Lost Airline Pilot.

BY FRANK COZZOLI
Of The Patriot-News

Jeffrey Paul Bradford and Adrianna Grace Connor should have just gone back to their motel room Sunday night, according to Lower Swatara Twp. police.

Instead, Bradford, 24, a pilot for Pinnacle Airlines Inc., and Connor, a flight attendant for the airline, left Angies Diner on Eisenhower Boulevard and walked to nearby woods along Richardson Road.

"They told the officer they wanted to go do it in the woods, essentially," said Sgt. Richard Brandt. "That's the best answer they had."

Bradford, of Moon Twp. in the Pittsburgh suburbs, wound up naked and wandering in the woods, triggering a search that involved a state police helicopter with body-heat-sensing gear, authorities said.

The pilot -- who police found shortly before midnight -- had been scheduled to fly out of Harrisburg International Airport to Detroit at 7:30 a.m. Monday, a Pinnacle Airlines official said.

Instead, Bradford and Connor, 24, of Belleville, Mich., appeared before a district judge Monday and were released on $10,000 bail each.

"We would have a zero-tolerance policy for actions of the type alleged in this instance," said Joe Williams, a spokesman for the Memphis-based airline.

Bradford and Connor have been suspended pending an investigation, he said.

The search began after Robert Furlong, the township fire chief, heard noises outside his Richardson Road home sometime after 9 p.m. Sunday and found Connor in his duty vehicle, police said.

"She said the reason she got into the [vehicle] was to look for a flashlight to find her friend," Brandt said.

Police found Bradford's clothes in the woods behind Furlong's house, arrest documents state. But they didn't find Bradford until shortly before midnight, soon after he confronted a woman on Summit Ridge and asked her for a pair of shorts.

The woman, who had just arrived home from work, called 911.

Just as the helicopter joined the search, police found Bradford hiding behind a shed wearing nothing but a wristwatch and flip-flops, the documents state.

Bradford was arraigned before District Judge Michael Smith on charges of indecent exposure, open lewdness, public drunkenness, loitering and prowling at night, and disorderly conduct. Connor was arraigned on charges of theft from a motor vehicle, public drunkenness, and loitering and prowling at night.

During Bradford's arraignment, he told the judge he'd been a pilot for Pinnacle for 31/2 years. Connor told the judge she'd worked for the airline for about a year.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said any pilot is prohibited from flying with a blood alcohol percentage of 0.04 or higher. However, pilots are not randomly tested unless suspicions are raised, according to the agency.

While the FAA requires eight hours between a pilot's last drink and the time he or she goes behind the controls, Pinnacle has a 12-hour restriction, Williams said.

"And that applies not only to the cockpit, but if you're in uniform and on duty for Pinnacle," Williams said. "It could be a jump crew heading to another airport to pick up their flight."

Bradford is required to report the offense to his employer, Peters said. But for alcohol offenses, Peters said the FAA revokes a pilot's certificate only upon a conviction of driving under the influence of alcohol or driving while intoxicated.

Peters said it would be up to Pinnacle Airlines to take action, and then report that action to the FAA.


All I have to say is...


Bahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Minimum Fuel

There are some pilots that like to take lots of gas. There are some that like to take the 'needed' amount and no more. Now I know that many different factors come into play here.

If you fly corporate you would want to get fuel where the prices are the best, and of course the lighter you are the less fuel you burn, so flying light is probably the most cost effective anyway. (or so I would imagine, I don't fly corporate)

Flying medevacs you never know where you are going next, and if that 'next' place will even have fuel, so you generally keep your tanks topped off to a 'standard fuel' amount.

But anyway, having enough fuel to do the trip based on available weather data is generally how I would operate, plus extra.

So, my story.

It was a beautiful morning. I was flying with another captain that day, so the combined hours in the cockpit was probably just shy of 10 000 hrs. Not that that means anything. But just giving the background.

The weather was forecast to be awesome. It was clear. Calm. Sunny. What could go wrong?

It was just a short hop. 137NM each way. We had less than standard fuel, but enough to legally do the trip, no problem. We get to our destination, and drop off the patient. Then nothing else to do but head home. Easy day.

Quick check of the weather at home base showed the same as what we left, clear and sunny.

We take off.

15 min into the flight Toronto Centre tells us that the "wx in XXX is starting to deteriorate".

Really? Hmmmmmmmmm.

Another call from centre. "XXX, new speci issued for XXX, ready to copy?"

"1/2 sm FG, VV 200"

Ok. Well, while we weren't expecting to be shooting the ILS to mins on this leg, it still wasn't a big deal. We had both flown that approach more times than we could count. But still, in the back of my mind was why? And how? And of course...damn those idiots at NAV CANADA for getting it all wrong! As usual.

Get our decent clearance, and are now on vectors for the ILS. Centre again calls with a new speci. "now 1/4sm, VV 100"

Oh, awesome.

The one thing I have to say at this point is this. I would much rather shoot an ILS to mins at night when there is FG. You just have more opportunity to see lights, instead of murky white. So we both knew that this was going to be tricky, if doable at all.

Shoot the approach. See nothing. Not a damn thing. Call the missed.

Now what to do.

And here is where things got really interesting. Our alternate was an airport that was 68nm from where we wanted to land. If our base had fogged in without warning, what had happened to our alternate? We decide to ask.

"XXX, XXX is still clear, would you like to proceed there?".

Now generally we would probably give it one more shot. Being that we were well rested, and well, worth a try to get home. BUT. We had enough fuel to do that trip. Not much to spare. And with the possibility of our alternate tanking, we figured we'd better hightail it over there before we were left with no options.

And good thing.

Because as we were heading over to our alternate we start talking to the FSS there.

"XXX, yeah, there is a fog bank, just 1/2 mile from the airport, moving quickly."

Awesome.

We always fly flat out anyway, so there is no way to get going any faster, and besides, we were almost there.

Begin our descent.

See the FG. It is now on the runways, inching its way to the intersection.

We land.

Whew.

Now we were not just about out of fuel, but it was getting dicey. We would not have been able to make another airport more than likely. And it was ALL done by the book. We did not skimp on fuel. But still, we almost ended up in a rather unfortunate situation.

Our home base stayed 0/0 in FG for the rest of the day, and so did our alternate. I think we finally limped home later that night.

So while this post could have turned into a rant against flight service (because trust me, I have a serious bone to pick with them a lot of the time.....not so much for me, but for all the GA airplanes out there that could get themselves killed over the horribly inaccurate forecasts....) I more just wanted to illustrate the fact that even when you go by the book that things can really change rapidly. And had I KNOWN that FG was a chance in the area, I sure as hell would not have picked an alternate so close to home base. I mean, duh.

I am just glad we didn't mess around with a second approach at our destination, who knows if we would have had enough time to get to and land at the alternate before the FG took over completely. Cause I am pretty sure we would have been SOL, seeing the timing of our arrival.

So yeah, just another day of learning stuff. LOL. (oh, and that pic is not mine, just borrowed it to show much nicer weather than what we had. Cause a pic of that would have just been white. ;) )

This is..

A rough weekend for me.

So I'll have more to say once my sadness has passed.

Miss you Dad.

Organ Donation

As a medevac pilot, a good number of calls you do is to take teams to retrieve organs, or to take people waiting for new parts to the hospitals where new parts await.

Now I have always been a proponent of Organ Donation. No reason really, I just saw a lot of people that needed them, and how happy they were when you flew them home for their new lives.

I never really thought that any of this would ever have anything to do with me. But I always was in awe of the families that made that huge gift to others.

Whenever we took a team I was always thinking about the families of the person that had died. And how sad they must be, and how hard it would be to make a decision while your life was falling down around you. And how brave they were. And giving.

I had always talked the talk. Would I walk the walk?

Well, on May 16th, 2005 I was put in that position. My Dad suffered a brain aneurysm, and was on life support in hospital. And I made the 8 hour trek to him.

When I got there it was apparent it was hopeless. That body in that bed was no longer my Dad. It was just a shell. Kept alive by drugs, and a ventilator. But just alive enough that he was not a candidate for organ donation.

The decision was made to stop all drugs for swelling, and let nature take its course. We decided to give him 48 hours to achieve brain death, and after that we would take him off the vent and let him die. But I really wanted him to do it on his own. First, I didn't want to have to kill my dad, and second, because I just wanted something good to come out of this. If I was going to lose my Dad, maybe someone else would get to keep theirs.

Well, just prior to the 48 hour limit, he finally 'passed' the brain death tests, and he was a go.

Due to his rare blood type (AB), and his background (he was Finnish) there was a limited number of people on the list that would need his things. But I still had hope. We decided to donate all organs, and any needed bone and tissue, along with his eyes.

Then the team arrived. I recognized some of them. I had flown them before. When they were going to get the organs of someone else's loved one. Now it was my turn.

And funny, when you are the pilot, they generally treat you like total shit. You are beneath dirt to them. But as the daughter of a body they want to get their hands on? Well that is a different story. I wish they would treat everyone with the same respect all the time. Two faced pricks. But I guess in their minds they are gods, so whatever.

I requested that the hospital call me when the parts started going out, I wanted to know what was used, and where it was going. They said that would be ok. But it would not be for a bit, they were using him in a study to try to prolong organ life with hormones...so it would be later. When there was room in the OR. Now I was starting to realize why I always did these trips in the middle of the damn night.

The next day the phone started ringing. His liver was on its way to Edmonton. Then another call. Kidney's on their way out west as well.

I could imagine the jets his parts were in. The coolers they were in. I imagine he went on a Lear. I have loaded the parts of so many others onto my plane....knowing what was in there. I hope that the crew that flew my dad didn't make jokes about him. I hope they knew that a really great guy was there. I really hope that.

And he was the reason I started to fly. He was the reason I flew. And now he was on his final trip in a plane. Parts of him. Separate from the others.

Where he would give others the life that he had lost. He was my hero before, and he is still my hero. Miss you so much Dad. :(

His eyes made two people see again.

His kidneys took a man off dialysis for the first time in 25 years and gave him his life back.

His liver went to a man who was going to die.

I am sure his bones and skin have been used to help burn victims and accident victims.

So yeah. I talked the talk. And then I had to walk the walk.

Have you all signed your cards?

Airplanes...

I have big post ready, but it will have to wait for the proper day to post.

It's a bit of a bad time for me right now, so for today, I am just going to tell you what airplanes I really wanted to fly in my career, and which I will probably never get to fly. Maybe some of you would like to do the same?

Anyway, I'd like that.

As for me. When I was going to flight school I was on the ramp one day, and this beautiful WALL of noise was taxiing past our hangar.

I looked out and saw it.

And I fell in love.

Being nosey, I walked over, and asked if I could take a look inside. The pilots were more than nice, and let me up to the front, showed me all the cool stuff, and told me about the plane.



And I was even more in love. And I vowed that one day I would fly that beautiful machine.

Fast forward to after graduation. I was living at my parents cottage while doing my instructor rating. During a particularly rainy week I hit up this little second hand store, and found an airplane model. Of that plane.

So we made it. And it still sits there.

And I continued with my career. From flight instruction, to cargo, to medevacs. And still, I felt the call of that airplane. I really did. And I knew what company I needed to work for in order for me to fly it.

So I applied, and applied. And one day they called me. And then they interviewed me. And finally they hired me. It was the happiest day of my life. Seriously. I was so excited.

And when the manual arrived in the mail, I attacked it. I could not wait to learn all about this beautiful machine.

Finally the day arrived that I got to fly it. For the first time. I was so nervous.

And for good reason. First take off I realized that this thing was like nothing I had ever flown before. At all. I started to think that people had been lying to me all this time, and that I was the world's WORST pilot. By the time we landed I was in tears...

In fact, I then put in a call to Sully, and demanded to know WHY he had lied to me and not told me how badly I sucked. heh.

But things got better, and eventually I didn't feel like it hated me, and I passed my ride, and went online.

I have flown two other types of aircraft while I have been current on this one, and it just wasn't the same. Not even close. I really just think it is an amazing plane. And I always will.

As for ones I would like to fly but never will. Well, that is mainly the DC9. I wanted to fly that so bad. I guess I should count myself lucky that I got to fly the sim at AC a few times. And I was pretty good, if I may pat myself on the back. ;)

Too bad AC changed from sim evaluations to psych exams...LMAO. Oh well. ;)

So yeah, any of you get to fly your dream planes? Or have dreams to fly certain ones?

The effects of fatigue.

As an on call 24/7 medevac pilot, there are always times that you are paged out when you are not exactly well rested. And those are the really tough nights/days. And add to that weeks on duty without a day off (because at that company, not where I work now, a day not paged out was considered a day off.......) and you get one tired pilot.

And it was one of those days that I really had to give my head a shake before I got myself into trouble due to my exhaustion.

We had been flying all day. And it was not an easy day. T-storms all over the place, and this plane was a piston, so we were really getting beat around. And I was flying with the biggest ass kisser I have EVER run across. I think he was attached to the bosses ass. Seriously.

Anyway, after getting most of the day done, all we had left to do was return a nurse to her home, and then we were done. We were at about hour 14 of our duty day, and as I said, I had already been working like a dog for longer than I could remember, so I was not in great shape. And the entire crew was in the same boat, so it's not like there was anyone in that plane with a sharp brain.

I checked the weather, and it looked really shitty. There was pretty much a wall of crap between us and where we needed to go. But the line was moving north, so my thought was that we would give it a shot, and if we got in fine, and if not fine. I don't stress too hard about getting nurses home. (sorry to any nurses, but you are really the least of my concerns...LOL) Discussed it with the crew, and they seemed ok with my decision, though the ass kisser was making noise about how the boss would be really angry if we didn't get the nurse home. I just stopped listening.

We take off for what should be a 45 min flight. Everything is going fine. The storms are moving north, and there is a line of 5 aircraft all waiting for approach clearance, so I wasn't the only one attempting this. That was a good sign. Or so I thought.

And I was tired. Oh so tired.

So when I was given my decent clearance out of the blue by ATC, my mind for some reason forgot about all those other planes that had been ahead of me. Because there should have been no way to get my clearance that early. None at all. I should have been given a hold if they were all in fact trying to land there.

But my exhausted brain just was on auto pilot I guess, because I called for decent checks, and started down.

And then, the fog in my brain lifted, just for a minute. And I began to wonder where all those planes went. And it was then that I took a good look at my radar. RED. All RED.

Uh oh. That is where they all went. They left!!!

I tell first officer to call ATC and tell them that we DO NOT want to go there, and request direct our alternate. He immediately begins to argue with me, going on and on about how mad the boss is going to be. I tell him that right now, at this moment, I really don't give a damn, and we are leaving. And that he'd better make that radio call.

We get clearance, and get back to base. I can't remember if I got in trouble or not, but if I did, I sure didn't care. I knew I needed a day off to sleep. That was all I knew. I can't remember if I got it, but chances are very high I did not.

But I learned a lesson. A few really. First, when exhausted you can make really poor decisions without being even remotely aware of how bad they could be. Second, if you are number 5 for approach and out of the blue get approach clearance, there might be some things you should be looking at. And third, most nurses are really cool, and would rather spend the night away from home than attempt to get through a T-storm.

Crew house livin.

For a period of time a few years ago, I had to commute to another base in order to keep flying my plane. It was either that, or put up with the King Air100, which I hated (no offence to any KA drivers out there...). So I made the decision to live away from home for basically 12 days, and be home for 3.

This went on for a period of about 6 months, which really started to take its toll on me, being away so much, and never home long enough to get used to the idea of being home.

Anyway, since the company had a crew house in that city, I was to live there when I was working.

It wasn't a bad place, a little 3 bedroom townhouse. With cable even. And at least it was better than a hotel, you could make your own food, etc. Because I hate take out food, HATE.

At first it didn't seem too bad. I was the only one there, so I had the place to myself. No one else to worry about.

But then the hiring started. And the newbies started arriving in the crew house.

The first few were nice. We got along, and they didn't ask too many questions. Life was going ok.

Then one night I arrived at the crew house from my days off. I could see in the kitchen as I walked up. Not one, not two, but three STRANGE older men, sitting in the kitchen. Since there were only three bedrooms I was a bit curious as to what the hell was going on, so in I went.

Well, I walk in, and they look up at me, and stare. And then proceed to ask me "who the hell I am?" Funny, I was just about to ask them that exact question. I let them know who I am, and why I am there. And why are three of them there?

The biggest and meanest looking one gives me a look, and says that the third person is his friend, and 'he is staying here too, while looking for work'.

Oh really?

You see, I have a problem with that. I have a problem anyway with sharing a house and bathroom with strange men, when there are no locks on the bedroom doors. But I have an even bigger problem sharing a house with someone not even involved with my company at all. I am sure the guy was nice and all, but tough.

So that got sorted out. And then the constant questions started. Tell me how this works? What does this mean? It never stopped. And it became quite apparent that the one guy (older man, I did say I'd be getting back to this...) was a total dick, and thought he was gods gift to aviation.

Did I mention they were both French? And liked to talk in front of my face in french all the time, full well knowing I didn't speak french? And they got busted too. HA.

After a day of flying, my first officer came by the crew house with me to borrow my lap top for a minute. While we were there, 'Maurice' asked me a question regarding prop settings during cruise. I told him the answer...and right away he started speaking french to the other guy. And it was at that moment that my first officer began translating everything that 'Maurice' was saying, which was to the effect of "she doesn't know what she is talking about". As Maurice was finishing bashing me, he realized what was being said in the kitchen. To say his face was a bit red would be a complete understatement, and he tried to back peddle. (by the way, he was WRONG WRONG WRONG) But whatever. I was done with him, and let him know that I would no longer be answering any of his questions, and the next time he asked one I would be letting the CP know he started my duty day. That ended that. Eventually he passed his ride and got out of the house, but I still had to fly with the ass. (the other one got booted from training for sucking) That is for another day.

Back to the crew house. So after the French connection left, more newbies arrived while I was on my days off. I usually kept food in the fridge, and everyone was aware that a captain lived there when she was working, so there should have been no confusion regarding food. If you did not buy it, don't fucking eat it.

So after a rather annoying flight to town, I arrived at the crew house, and went looking for my ice cream. To find it missing. And a certain new hire with a empty bowl. Yeah. That made me happy. And you'd think he'd maybe go and replace it, since it was mine, and it was new, and he ate it. But nope. He never did. Dude, if you are out there, you still owe me ice cream.

I guess that is about it. I did it for quite some time, and I really don't feel like doing it again. Got to know some people that I would not have otherwise, and I am glad for that. Some I met, and I wish I could forget they even exist on this planet. But I liked more than I hated, and I got to keep flying my plane, which was the most important part.

So for the most part it was worth it. ;)

Just thought this was cool

While 'stumbling around' the internet yesterday I found a lot of cool stuff. Anyway, this pic is just one that I came across, and I like it. :)

Day of Lightning.

It was just another day flying medevacs.

We had 6 legs planned, all just back and forth from here to another place, and back here...you get the picture.

It was late August, and the weather was that usual hot and humid stuff that generally leads to thunderstorms later in the day.

Before heading out I checked the radar. There was a small line of showers between us and our destination. No big deal it would appear. Besides, we have Wx radar, so I wasn't too concerned. The forecast was calling for storms to develop later in the day, so I knew we'd have to be watchful.

We blast off on the first leg. Hit the line of weather. No big deal, a smattering of some rain, and a bit of the bumps, but nothing much at all.

Get to destination, and off we go back to home, through the line again. It's maybe a bit bigger now, a bit more rain, but still, just baby showers.

When I get back to base I call flight service to get their thoughts on any developments for the rest of the day, and ask specifically about that line. They tell me that there have been no lighting hits, and that it still appears to be just rain showers to them. Though the tops are starting to get a bit higher.

Sounds good to me, and off we go again, to meet up with the line.

This time it is different. It is a lot darker in there. And there is much heavier rain, and we are getting beat about pretty good. But the radar is not showing anything horrible, so we just keep on going. Then the rain gets harder, and it gets even darker in there. I look at the radar, and it is now showing nothing. No rain (though it is OBVIOUSLY raining really hard now). And we are starting to get the crap beat out of us...

And then, out of the corner of my eye I catch a flash. At first I am not sure if it is just the strobe, because as I said, it was getting pretty dark in there. I ask my first officer if he saw anything. He responds in the negative. A few seconds after that there is a huge flash, followed by a bang, and all the hair on the left side of my body stood up. I look over at my first officer, he is wide eyed.

Ok, so we might have been hit. But all my electrics are working, so that is a great thing. Maybe it was just a near miss. But since I am not sure, we slow to maneuvering speed and get our ass out of cloud so we can visually get around this stuff and get on the ground.

We finally break out the bottom at around 3000' feet, and since we have a patient and a nurse on board, and we are exactly half way between the two places we continue.

Once we land and get the patient and nurse off the plane, we start to check for damage. I walk the entire circle of the plane looking for marks, and find nothing. Nothing in the usual places, like nose, or tail. Nothing I can see at all. I am starting to think we just had a near miss, and that was that.

Until...my first officer looks at me and says.."cappy, look up".

And it was then that I saw it. The piece sticking up from the turtle back of the plane.

Ok, that cant' be good. We go and get a ladder to get a better look. Nope, not good at all.

But very, very lucky it would appear.

You see, my airplane has 6 fuel tanks. All of which drain into the main centre tank. And the gaping hole in my plane was just aft of the main tank. All that separated me from losing all my gogo juice was luck pretty much. Let's not even think about the blowing up option....eeks. LOL

So we call company, and eventually maintenance arrives. They cut the piece off, and put a patch on. They also do an inspection to determine where the lightening entered, as it was obvious where the exit point was. They were unable to find anything, and say that the engines should be ok.

Then it is time for the ferry permit. We get that, and prepare to head to the main base for the plane to be worked on.

It is then that the engineer mentions this to us. There is a possibility that the gear may have become magnetized, and once you retract them they might not come back down. But you are running out of duty day, so you have to either fly there gear up, or stay the night where you are.

Since my overnight bag has accidentally gone to main base, I choose that option, and the possible gear up landing at hour 15 of our duty day. Looking back, maybe not the best idea, but that is what we did.

The flight was uneventful, and once we started our approach and landing checks we were relieved to see the gear come down, so there would be no sliding on our belly tonight!! Yay!

We land, and taxi to the ramp. Word is out about what has happened, so there are a few people hanging around. One of them was Sully, who turned white faced when he saw the damage, and proclaimed that I was lucky to be alive.

We then went out for beers (first officer, Sully and myself), and were pleased to still be able to do so.

The next day I head over to the base to see what the actual damage is. It turned out that the mechanics that came to us in the field totally missed the loony sized divot in one of the left prop blades. The engine now has to go away, for quite a while. At least a month as I recall...poor little engine.

At this point the owner calls me 'sparky', and the head of maintenance tells me in his infinite wisdom that "WX radar doesnt' show you lightning you know", to which I responded, "well, it is supposed to show me fucking rain isnt' it???" GRR. And tell him I want that radar FIXED. (though in his defense, I am sure he was just trying to be funny...lol)

I won't bother to get into what I discovered about that radar in the days after the fact. Let's just say I was not impressed, and I am very very careful to make sure the damn thing works perfectly before heading through a line. If that means finding one to paint first, fine. But my trust is definitely lacking. So I like to watch my ass.

Anyway, that is the story. And so far I have been lucky enough to avoid a repeat performance. I'd like to keep it that way. :)

Lightning strike.

Story to follow, once I get it written. heh.