Friday, August 31, 2007


househunting

So, I finished my trip Wed, and Thurs morning I was on the 710 to IAH to look for an apartment. I was lucky enough to get a window seat, but unlucky enough to have a person right next to me. I was out of uniform, but had my badge, however it is interesting to see the difference in the way I am used to being treated compared to how I was treated yesterday. When I am in uniform I am given an extra ouce of courtesy, a free bottle of water, a nod in the terminal by passing pilots, a free headset on the flight, etc. Out of uniform its a whole different world. I almost felt as though the gate agent was initially annoyed that she had to deal with me.....nevber felt that in uni....oh well.

On a positive note I did find a place. Not the newest, not the most "hip", but its clean, and safe, and the price was right. I initially tried to do it alone, but quickly realized that was impossible unless I wanted to pay market price. I stopped at an apartment finders office and within an hour I was putting pen to paper on a lease. And it didnt cost me a dime. Anyone who needs help finding a place in Houston go see Jamie at texas apartment locators.....Shes great.

Anyways, that is all for now. I drive down sept 8.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

KCHS

Today was a short day.....Woke up in Buffalo to a gorgeous sunrise. I did my morning walkaround and was treated to a gorgeous sky. My first flight duties include opening all the access panels on the aircraft to look for who knows what. It is actually a TSA rule, and I have never found anything, but I do it daily. I made my way around the aircraft, looking closely at the skin or the plane, checking all the static wicks, checking the brake wear indicators...checking the tires for thread showing.....making the sure the engines are both there....and finally making sure the lights work. Its a routine by now, but one that I cant do half-a$$. I have found missing static wicks, tires that needed to be changed out, and a fuel leak from the number 1 engine. Always something as these aircraft get older.

We departed BUF and headed down to Newark. I had an hour to grab a coffee and a bananna and headed down to the gate to meet my new captain. Crew scheduling woke my original capt up at 430 to tell her that she was reassigned and was going to be leaving us. I got lucky as my new captain is a really nice guy. We sat in line in Newark waitin to go to Charleston SC. I think we were probably 20th or so in line for departure. The major airline at NEWARK has a large bank of departures that leave around 9 am so it was rush hour when we were set to leave. Once airborne it was a nice ride down the coast. We went out on the NEwark 7 Departure to white intersection, then to Salisbury VOR, down over FRanklin VOR and cleared direct to Charleston. Coming through 8k we had the field in sight. The capt anticipated a chop and drop for the visual appproach, so he slowed down below 250, dropped the gear, put in flaps 9 and opened the speed brakes. One below 200 knots we put in flaps 22 and were ready to accept a visual approach clearance. A "bug smasher" ahead of us said he couldnt see the field so the approach controller assumed we couldnt see it either, but since we were higher and on a steeper angle we were able to see down on the field fairly well. So, he gave us that clearance as we slowed to flaps 45 speed and configured to land. It worked out really nicely. I was impressed. Always something to learn on each leg.......My turn to fly tommorrow, then up to Halifax for a turn and home. Goodbye Newark...hello Houston.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Im back

I apologize for my absence. Ive been a pretty busy guy. Crew scheduling has kept me busy, flying anywhere between 80 and 100 hours a month. I have about 400 hours of jet time now, and am finally comfortable enough in the jet to make the easy stuff easy, and the challenging stuff doable. My captains have been very willing to add assitance and advice when I ask them. Like they told us in training, come to work with a smile on your face, a dream in your heart and a willingness to learn and you will be fine. I have taken that to heart. I am extremely happy with my choice of employer, and for once in my life I am in a great position to make positive steps forward in a career I love. I decided to base change, and move to Houston so that I can live in base, and afford to do so. Houston is pretty cheap, and I can get into a one bedroom apartment near the airport for not a lot of cash.

Today we did 4 legs, I flew us from BWI to EWR, then up to BUF. Great weather to fly in the northeast today. We picked up the airport from about 20 miles out. at 25 miles I was coming through 8000 ft and cleared direct to the outer marker for the visual approach. Those are some of the hardest approaches to do in the jet. I did some quick math and decided we were mildly high so called for flaps 9. For some reason we really werent that high, nor were we fast. I am still trying to figure out drag devices in unusual situations. Needless to say I got too savvy and overshot the final. Then got high and unspooled( a little) on final. So, I ended up diving down to recapture the glide. It all worked out in the end, but thats one example of situations where I am still learning. You cant learn if you dont make mistakes, right? Tommorrow we head back to Newark, and then down to Charleston SC. Its a long overnight so Ill need to find a way to kill some time. hopefully we have good weather......