When dreams come true... (long)

I had a great four-day last weekend through Tuesday with a terrific CA and a fun, older FA....as in nine years older than ME! She was a complete hoot! A strong southern accent (southern Tennessee, to be exact) and a great attitude. I had to hustle to keep up with her between flights! She said she intends to fly as long as she can...loves the job, loves the people, loves the company. Absolutely delightful to be around.

We had a 1:05 ground stop in DLH due to high, gusty winds in MSP (which I landed in TWICE on day four! Both very good, if I do say so myself. Even got compliments from the CA.) Anyway, the FA did such a good job taking care of the pax on the delay one lady slipped her a five dollar bill as she exited the plane!

In other news, I've mentioned here that one of my bigger challenges has been going back to three fat binders of Jepp charts after four years of being digital. The company first started talking about EFBs in 2009, before there was much in the way of good commercial off the shelf tablet hardware. One device they looked at ran $25K a unit!

Anyway, they settled on the Microsoft Surface 2, same as Delta and some others. Then I heard it was delayed for the Surface 3. Then it was early second qtr. Then June. Then third qtr....then no further word.

So I casually ask each CA if they've heard anything. No one has. So today I send an email to the only guy in IT that I know has been involved with the EFB program just asking if there were any updates. I cc'd our assistant chief pilot out of courtesy. I have yet to get a response from IT, but....

A company-wide memo went out this evening saying our Surfaces would start arriving Oct. 13 and everyone would be equipped by Nov. 25th! Paper goes away in January (freeing up some needed cockpit space!) Whoohoo!

So, I'm taking credit for shaking this one loose!
 
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For October I'm experimenting with our PBS system...the Preferential Bidding System we use to bid for trips. We have hundreds of "Pairings"....sets of predefined trips with predefined overnights for which we can bid. You can bid on specific pairings, or just use parameters to define the types of pairings you prefer and let the system award you trips that fit your preferences...assuming they exist when the system gets to YOUR seniority level.

Just thinking about the complexity that went into programming this system makes my head hurt.

Anyway, I went from bidding 86% last month (meaning 86% of the pilots are more senior than me), to bidding 67% this month....a pretty substantial jump in only my second month of bidding. They say when you get 50% or above things really improve schedule-wise.

Within PBS you have seven "layers" you bid. You can put a whole bunch of parameters on each layer. When the system gets to your seniority level it tries to find trips that match your pairing selections to build a "line" for you....the collection of trips that will make up your month. If it can't find matches for all the parameters on Layer One, it throws it out and starts looking for matches on Layer Two. It will add as many pairing as it can for a given layer before moving on to the next layer, continuing until it's built your line....meaning it's built a schedule within the minimum and maximum hours allowed for the month.

If you're two restrictive on all your layers it ultimately ends up throwing out all the preferences and building whatever it can for you. So you have to be a little bit reasonable in your expectations.

So this month I experimented. I put all locals (one day trips) on layer one. Then two days on layer two, three days on three and four days (the most plentiful types of trips) on four, on the theory more days in my own bed are better. I also included standups (out late one night....a few hours of sleep out...and early morning return) as an option on all four layers. These tend to go fairly senior since there aren't a lot of them and they tend to pay really well.

I'll know in a day or so how my strategy worked.
 
Jonesy, I think it was the PBS that I have heard horror stories about. Heard it made management & scheduling easy, but crappy for crews.
 
Have em get you iPad Pro's. You can cover the entire window with one on a bright morning. Hahahaha.
 
Kritchlow said:
Jonesy, I think it was the PBS that I have heard horror stories about. Heard it made management & scheduling easy, but crappy for crews.
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I don't know. When I heard about the old way of doing pairings it sounded like a nightmare. The more I use PBS the more impressed I am with it. Now, whether or not it gives me what I want....well, that remains to be seen!
 
I took off with six passengers this morning and fairly light on fuel. Man, is that thing a rocket when light! As I rotated and pitched up for the Flight Director it felt like we were levitating! I'm happy departure quickly cleared us beyond our initial 3000' altitude as I would have hit that in a matter of seconds.

The is definitely a fun airplane to fly....not something you generally think about with an airliner.
 
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LDJones said:
I took off with six passengers this morning and fairly light on fuel. Man, is that thing a rocket when light! As I rotated and pitched up for the Flight Directory it felt like we were levitating! I'm happy departure quickly cleared us beyond our initial 3000' altitude as I would have hit that in a matter of seconds.

The is definitely a fun airplane to fly....not something you generally think about with an airliner.
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Wait until you do that in the winter time. I've flown an empty DC9 and light on fuel, you can peg the VSI. Autopilot doesn't have enough pitch authority to keep the plane below 250 knots.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
Wait until you do that in the winter time. I've flown an empty DC9 and light on fuel, you can peg the VSI. Autopilot doesn't have enough pitch authority to keep the plane below 250 knots.
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I've noticed the improvement with the cooler temps we've had lately. You really have to stay on top of speeds.
 
I got my first spot Line Check on Monday. A nice, young Check Airman walks on and introduces himself and says he's there for my three month checkup. Sort of like the FAA showing up unannounced and telling you you're going to do an Instrument Checkride! Uh, okay....that's cool.

So, we're in ATL and headed to CHO (Charlottesville, VA) where I've never been before. As luck would have it, the weather was crap there so needed to do the full ILS to get in. They had us routed to the VOR about 20 miles east of the field, but then cleared us direct to the airport. That messed up my descent planning a bit, but I recovered and made the approach with a pretty nice landing. Besides the descent planning snafu the only thing he got me on was I released my shoulder harnesses once we were clear of the runway and taxiing to the terminal. I guess that's how the old rules were but now we're required to keep them on until we're parked at the gate....surprise!

We then did the return leg where I was Pilot Monitoring. That went pretty smoothly. Once at cruising altitude he got chatty and asked me, "So, what's your story?" I responded, "Well, I was born a poor black child..." That got a hearty laugh out of both him and our captain. I'm not sure if they'd actually seen Steve Martin in the "The Jerk" to get the reference, but nonetheless....

Anyway, the good news is I passed! The bad news is we just got notice our new SOP with new checklists and substantially revised procedures goes into effect October 15! So I have all kinds of NEW stuff to learn and practice before then. Then a month after that I have a six month LOE in the sim back in SLC.

I guess I better get used to it. The checking, cross-checking and re-checking is a constant in 121 flying.
 
LDJones said:
I got my first spot Line Check on Monday. A nice, young Check Airman walks on and introduces himself and says he's there for my three month checkup. Sort of like the FAA showing up unannounced and telling you you're going to do an Instrument Checkride! Uh, okay....that's cool.

So, we're in ATL and headed to CHO (Charlottesville, VA) where I've never been before. As luck would have it, the weather was crap there so needed to do the full ILS to get in. They had us routed to the VOR about 20 miles east of the field, but then cleared us direct to the airport. That messed up my descent planning a bit, but I recovered and made the approach with a pretty nice landing. Besides the descent planning snafu the only thing he got me on was I released my shoulder harnesses once we were clear of the runway and taxiing to the terminal. I guess that's how the old rules were but now we're required to keep them on until we're parked at the gate....surprise!

We then did the return leg where I was Pilot Monitoring. That went pretty smoothly. Once at cruising altitude he got chatty and asked me, "So, what's your story?" I responded, "Well, I was born a poor black child..." That got a hearty laugh out of both him and our captain. I'm not sure if they'd actually seen Steve Martin in the "The Jerk" to get the reference, but nonetheless....

Anyway, the good news is I passed! The bad news is we just got notice our new SOP with new checklists and substantially revised procedures goes into effect October 15! So I have all kinds of NEW stuff to learn and practice before then. Then a month after that I have a six month LOE in the sim back in SLC.

I guess I better get used to it. The checking, cross-checking and re-checking is a constant in 121 flying.
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Oh my God are you old, Jonesy!

I remember that too. :redface:

But you're probably right, the other two probably never saw the movie. You'll be getting a letter from HR in the morning. :D
 
nddons said:
Oh my God are you old, Jonesy!

I remember that too. :redface:

But you're probably right, the other two probably never saw the movie. You'll be getting a letter from HR in the morning. :D
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Ruh, roh....:yikes:
 
nddons said:
But you're probably right, the other two probably never saw the movie. You'll be getting a letter from HR in the morning. :D
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Off with you to sensitivity training :mad2:
 
Today we had a safety meeting with our VP of Flight Ops. He came out from HQ with a few key subordinates to hold an open forum in our crew longe to update us on recent happenings in the company. He was very down to earth and very open to questions and feedback. We learned more about our EFBs which will go way beyond just electronic charts. All our releases and maintenance items will be handled digitally now. The Surface 3 tablets are LTE-equipped to provide for quick communication even when ACARS is unavailable at smaller out stations. That's huge! It will somehow even know which aircraft you're on so you can't accidently take the wrong one! (Not like that's a huge problem...we always confirm the tail number to the release.)

Sounds like our base will be one of the first three to get them the middle of October. Every two years we will be issued the latest generation Surface and the old one is ours to hand down to a family member. I thought that was a nice touch.

All in all, a worthwhile couple of hours spent in the crew lounge on my day off. And I still managed to get the first round of shelves built in my new garage!
 
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Loren...

I haven't commented in a while. All I have to say is you're having way more fun than any man ought to be allowed to have!

I'm jealous!

Enjoy.
 
timwinters said:
Loren...

I haven't commented in a while. All I have to say is you're having way more fun than any man ought to be allowed to have!

I'm jealous!

Enjoy.
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Ha! I'm well aware of that fact and make a point of reflecting on it each flight. I have a finite amount of time to enjoy it, so I plan to make the most of it. I certainly don't deserve it, but am grateful I got the chance.
 
LDJones said:
Every two years we will be issued the latest generation Surface and the old one is ours to hand down to a family member. I thought that was a nice touch.
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That's just the result of a survival tactic pushed by a smart IT Director in charge of the project.

Seen how slow a two to four year old iPad gets with nothing changed in the apps just the OS bloating so much it can't even function? :)
 
denverpilot said:
That's just the result of a survival tactic pushed by a smart IT Director in charge of the project.

Seen how slow a two to four year old iPad gets with nothing changed in the apps just the OS bloating so much it can't even function? :)
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Completely agree. The cost of dealing with 3,700 two-year old tablets would likely be more than their salvage value. I've also heard that by "giving" them to us up front it offloads some headaches for the company if people do something stupid with them.

Technically they are ours the day they hand them to us. But if we lose it we have to buy a replacement at a cost determined by a sliding scale based on how old it is in months. By 24 months it is $0.

BTW, my iPad Air is coming up on its two-year anniversary and its core apps work just as well today as the day I bought it. The only thing that has slowed in the last two years is ForeFlight. It is definitely suffering from feature-creep and bloating. In fairness, that's mostly just at startup. Once running it's still pretty decent.
 
Tonight is my first taste of Stand-Ups....taking the last flight out of MSP and heading to some remote station (in this case LSE), spending 4-5 hours at a hotel, then flying the first flight back in the morning, finishing by 8 am or so. I'll be doing that the next four nights and making about 20-30% better than if I was on a four-day trip away from home. So if it's tolerable, I could see making it a regular gig...at least for part of my schedule. It frees up more time for my students. I'll let you know how it goes.
 
LDJones said:
Tonight is my first taste of Stand-Ups....taking the last flight out of MSP and heading to some remote station (in this case LSE), spending 4-5 hours at a hotel, then flying the first flight back in the morning, finishing by 8 am or so. I'll be doing that the next four nights and making about 20-30% better than if I was on a four-day trip away from home. So if it's tolerable, I could see making it a regular gig...at least for part of my schedule. It frees up more time for my students. I'll let you know how it goes.
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So we can expect a lot of posts on POA from you between 2:00am and 4:00am? ;)
 
LDJones said:
Tonight is my first taste of Stand-Ups....taking the last flight out of MSP and heading to some remote station (in this case LSE), spending 4-5 hours at a hotel, then flying the first flight back in the morning, finishing by 8 am or so. I'll be doing that the next four nights and making about 20-30% better than if I was on a four-day trip away from home. So if it's tolerable, I could see making it a regular gig...at least for part of my schedule. It frees up more time for my students. I'll let you know how it goes.
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Once you can get used to working at night, its not bad. When I get the inevitable 3 nights in a row where I'm currently at, the 3rd night really isn't too bad at all. Flipping back to days, not so much.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
Once you can get used to working at night, its not bad. When I get the inevitable 3 nights in a row where I'm currently at, the 3rd night really isn't too bad at all. Flipping back to days, not so much.
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I'm hoping that there's enough sleep time to make it survivable with maybe a short nap sometime during the day. We'll see.
 
fiveoboy01 said:
I landed at LSE on Monday. Neat little airport on an island.
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Yeah, it is a nice airport....pretty long runways, too. I was in there in my Mooney years ago and I've been in there a couple of times in the jet. Last time I was in there a GA pilot got a "Possible pilot deviation. I have a phone number for you to call." :eek: :yikes:
 
I heard that at MSN once as a student.

Tower - "I have a phone number for you to call, advise ready to copy."

Pilot - "what did I do?"

Tower - "You just about got ran over by a jet."

Apparently someone just wandered into the Charlie...

Happy to say it was NOT me!
 
LDJones said:
Tonight is my first taste of Stand-Ups....taking the last flight out of MSP and heading to some remote station (in this case LSE), spending 4-5 hours at a hotel, then flying the first flight back in the morning, finishing by 8 am or so. I'll be doing that the next four nights and making about 20-30% better than if I was on a four-day trip away from home. So if it's tolerable, I could see making it a regular gig...at least for part of my schedule. It frees up more time for my students. I'll let you know how it goes.
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Just be thankful it isn't the old DEN-RIW-COD standing overnight that one carrier used to do out of here, in the dead of winter.

Stories included figuring out how to unfreeze various things on the aircraft at 04:00 local in the dark after arriving in snow after dark the night before.

Brrrrr.
 
denverpilot said:
Just be thankful it isn't the old DEN-RIW-COD standing overnight that one carrier used to do out of here, in the dead of winter.

Stories included figuring out how to unfreeze various things on the aircraft at 04:00 local in the dark after arriving in snow after dark the night before.

Brrrrr.
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Those days await....have BJI and ABR on my schedule. Might not be frozen this month, but they will be soon.
 
First Stand Up Report: I liked it.

Showed around 9 pm and happened to meet both my CA and the FA chatting at the train from parking to the Terminal, so got to know them on the way. She's super senior and bids #4 in MSP, so she pretty much gets what she wants for trips. She has a little one at home, so she does stand ups so she can be home with her baby during the day and her husband can look after her when she's flying. That's pretty cool.

I preflighted the plane and had the FMS programmed by the time the CA got back from his quick stop at the crew lounge. I suggested he take us down there and I'd bring us back in the morning. We had a long taxi (actually longer than the flight, I think!), then a quick flight MSP-LSE. Gorgeous clear night, but we still shot the ILS since this was his first time in there and, well, it's a good idea in the dark!

Hotel shuttle was a bit delayed, costing us about 15 min. of sleep, but I was in bed with lights out by 11:15p with my alarm set for 5:40a to make our 6:10a show time. I like traveling without a roll-aboard...just needed a comb and a toothbrush! I could have slept another 15 minutes 'cuz that's all it took to get dressed, comb my hair and wander down to the lobby.

Dawn was breaking as we taxiied out. It was crystal clear with a light crosswind. Had a smooth takeoff and climbed out direct the first fix on our STAR into MSP. I leveled at 16K holding 280 kts since that was the speed restriction at the first fix. We got a Descend Via clearance and started down. They changed up the landing runway on us but well in advance, so reprogrammed the FMS and flew the arrival procedure and an absolutely stunning morning with truly unlimited visibility. Biggest challenge was the low sun in our eyes on final approach.

I managed to grease it on just slightly left of centerline, which elicited a "Nice job!" from the CA....always gratifying. Another lengthy taxi to the gate, a run through the shutdown procedure and a quick postflight walk-around and our day was done. Since we all live in base we walked together to the parking garage.

My son had flown in from ATL just a few minutes earlier so he was waiting for me when we got to the parking garage. Introduced him to my CA, then said "See you tonight!" to my CA and headed for my truck. I'll be flying another stand up tonight with the same CA to LNK, a bit longer trip with a longer layover (more sleep) and a later show time. I'm looking forward to it!

I made more on this stand-up than some of my four-leg days, so the pay is good if you don't care about building time.
 
Loren, I've assumed "CA" is "Check Airman". Is this some sort of probationary period for you? How long until you are flying with whomever the captain happens to be? Is it a scheduling problem to get a CA-qualified captain with you on all your trips? Do you have to bid to meet their constraints, or do they accomodate your schedule? Maybe all captains are CAs?

Inquiring minds want to know. :D
 
DJTorrente said:
Loren, I've assumed "CA" is "Check Airman". Is this some sort of probationary period for you? How long until you are flying with whomever the captain happens to be? Is it a scheduling problem to get a CA-qualified captain with you on all your trips? Do you have to bid to meet their constraints, or do they accomodate your schedule? Maybe all captains are CAs?

Inquiring minds want to know. :D
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CA= Captain, FO and FA are generally self explanatory.
 
LDJones said:
Hotel shuttle was a bit delayed, costing us about 15 min. of sleep, but I was in bed with lights out by 11:15p with my alarm set for 5:40a to make our 6:10a show time. I like traveling without a roll-aboard...just needed a comb and a toothbrush! I could have slept another 15 minutes 'cuz that's all it took to get dressed, comb my hair and wander down to the lobby..
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You're a brave man to travel without the roller bag. BTDT, not going to do it again, once you get burned, you won't either.
 
DJTorrente said:
Loren, I've assumed "CA" is "Check Airman". Is this some sort of probationary period for you? How long until you are flying with whomever the captain happens to be? Is it a scheduling problem to get a CA-qualified captain with you on all your trips? Do you have to bid to meet their constraints, or do they accomodate your schedule? Maybe all captains are CAs?

Inquiring minds want to know. :D
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I was beat to the explanation! Sorry for the shorthand. I usually refer to the Line Check Airman as LCA. I only had to to fly with those during IOE (Initial Operating Experience.) From now on it's only during annual or spot Line Checks.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
You're a brave man to travel without the roller bag. BTDT, not going to do it again, once you get burned, you won't either.
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Meh....worst case scenario I need to pick up a disposable razor. My fellow crewmembers were also traveling "light"!
 
These kinds of trips sound nice. You get to fly when the traffic is lighter I imagine. Plus as someone who has seen the sun rise from inside a commuter train far too often headed into school for my early morning faculty meetings, I'd love to see it rise from a taxiway, or 25,000 any day!
 
jspilot said:
These kinds of trips sound nice. You get to fly when the traffic is lighter I imagine. Plus as someone who has seen the sun rise from inside a commuter train far too often headed into school for my early morning faculty meetings, I'd love to see it rise from a taxiway, or 25,000 any day!
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Sunrises over the nose of the CRJ are spectacular.
 
I'm doing another standup tonight. 7:12p show time for a 7:57p departure. Beautiful 1:24 flight to LNK and I was in my room by 9:40p. Show time tomorrow is 6a so almost 8 hours of sleep. Back in MSP by 8:15a and done for the day. And pays almost half of what my last four-day trip paid! Go figure. I think I could learn to love these. Now I know why the good ones go senior.

I'll be towing gliders in the SuperCub by 9:15!
 
LDJones said:
I'm doing another standup tonight. 7:12p show time for a 7:57p departure. Beautiful 1:24 flight to LNK and I was in my room by 9:40p. Show time tomorrow is 6a so almost 8 hours of sleep. Back in MSP by 8:15a and done for the day. And pays almost half of what my last four-day trip paid! Go figure. I think I could learn to love these. Now I know why the good ones go senior.

I'll be towing gliders in the SuperCub by 9:15!
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You know, Jonesy, we're really starting to hate your guts. Just sayin'. :D
 
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