A Day in the life of a "Lo-Co" Pilot ...

[ABO944]

Have performed a search, but couldn't find a thread about a day in the life of a pilot from a Locost carrier in the UK. Perhaps Easyjet or Thompson Fly etc etc ...

I know there isn't a typical day, but if anyone could find the time to write about their last shift, it would be great reading !;)


Cheers :ok:

[Pilot Pete]

Reported for work 16:55z at Manchester to operate MAN-AGP-MAN, back on chocks at 01:15.

Nothing unusual, S/O already there with the weather/ notams and OFPs already printed off. Synchronised my laptop with the company server to get any updates to the manuals and T/O performance (all done on the laptop). Met the cabin crew briefly before they went down to the gate leaving us to finish our flight planning.

Chatted with the Base Captain over a coffee and decided on a fuel figure wihich the S/O called through to Servisair and the fuellers.

Left the crewroom at STD-35 and went to the gate, boarded and then, as PF I conducted the pre-flight cockpit set-up whilst the S/O did the walkaround. During this I noticed the REVERSER overhead light on for the No.2 engine. Quick call to get the engineer back whilst I continued with the set-up, the S/O joining me and boarding beginning.

Engineer arrived and started the maintenance procedure for us to dispatch under the MEL with a reverser locked out. This took some considerable time for them to accomplish, during which I briefed the IFS (Inflight Supervisor, or No.1 to those of us a little older!), made a PA to the pax to advise them of the delay (due to a routine maintenance procedure which the engineers needed to complete before we could depart). Finished all our pre-departure duties including briefing and loadsheet/ performance and then waited for the engineers to finish off. Departed 50 minutes late (having telephoned Ops a number of times to ensure our flight plan stayed in the system with suitable delays).

Uneventful flight until 13,000' in the descent when we got a 'AFT ENTRY DOOR' Master Caution. Carried out the QRH which basically requires you to check that the door is shut and that cabin pressure is as expected. Light extinguished as we passed through 8000'. Landed RWY32 on a lovely cavok evening.

Scheduled a 1hr turnaround, which turned out to be well needed. Phone call once shut down, to Maintrol regarding the door and another minor problem, which they said they would call me back about having checked the maintenance manual. Aircraft cleaning and fuelling completed and boarding started. Shortly after boarding had completed the IFS came up to the flightdeck to advise me of a disruptive pax who smelt of booze and who had verbally abused both a member of cabin crew and two other pax, threatening physical violence against them when we landed in Manchester just because the two preferred to continue reading their books rather than engage in conversation with him. IFS visibly shaking. Asked her to seperate them (we weren't full), which they had already done, but now the two 'victims' were petrified of the repurcussions in Manchester and wanted something to be done. After gathering all the 'evidence', it became clear that we had witnesses to the verbal abuse and threats and that was enough for me to decide (after consultation with my S/O) that we would not be carrying this person.

Asked the agent to call the police to attend as this guy appeared to be calm, but had already threatened physical violence. I explained that he would be offloaded, but needed a Police presence before I confronted him. IFS advised me of her personal difficulty dealing with this as she was still in councelling after being attacked on an IBZ flight recently. Re-assured her and got her to sit in the flightdeck for a few minutes to calm herself whilst I dealt with things. Asked the agent to find the bags of the offender and his partner (whom I guessed would want to get off to remain with her 'man' once I had got him off.) Got the S/O to do all the PF anf PNF pre-flight duties as far as he could whilst I dealt with the problems. Maintrol sorted the technical difficulties, but still no sign of Police or bags. PA to pax regarding delay, advised of a 'baggage problem' requiring us to locate a couple of bags which the agents were doing (didn't want to alarm them over the disruptive pax just yet). Spoke personally to the two 'victims' who had been re-seated at the front of the a/c. They were both consultant surgeons and were pretty 'shaky' from their experience. I advised them that we would be offloading the offender, but they were still very concerned about possible repercussions from his 'friends' who were still onboard. I commented that I could do little about them as they had not done anything, but advised them that I could get the Manchester Airport Police to meet the aircraft and escort them (the surgeons) through to baggage reclaim and beyond. This calmed them. Advised the IFS to offer them complimentary drinks once inflight. Another two pax PAs before the police arrived. They spoke no English, I speak very little Spanish and the agent spoke pigeon English. They wanted ALL the pax off to escort this man off!:confused: I suggested that I get him off and asked that if he kicked off would they support me, which they agreed to.

Confronted said pax and advised him that he had been refused carriage. He 'swore on his mother's life' that he had done nothing wrong, and then claimed that one of the 'victims' had 'touched his leg'. I told him he could take this up with the company, but unfortunately he would not be travelling on this aircraft. He very compliantly got up and walked off into the custody of the handling agent.

As predicted, his girlfriend decided to join him after a couple of minutes. Still no sign of the bags due to the check-in agents sticking all the party's baggage receipts to one ticket.:D :rolleyes:

Another PA to the pax explaining in a little more detail about the baggage discrepancy and the reason why the bags needed to be taken off. IFS re-assured and her welfare checked to ensure she was happy to fly, which she was. S/O still liasing with Ops regarding keeping our flight plan in. Phone call to Duty Manager to advise of problem and to ask him to set up the police in Manchester. Bags found. Doors closed, time for pushback. One minute of calming and checking everything was up to date and a review to ensure we had not missed anything.

S/O flying, take off runway 32. Briefed to forget about what had happened on turnaround and to concentrate on the job in hand....we could talk about it once in the cruise.

Uneventful return sector apart from the amount of time I had to spend writing out reports, including an Air Safety Report (which I won't go into here).

Arrived at Manchester, landed 24R and taxied in. Shutdown and could see the police waiting on the bridge. Finished the shutdown checks and went out onto the bridge to explain the problem and asked them to accompany the 'nervous pax' through the airport, which they agreed to.

Went back on board, finished up, spoke to the engineers and returned to the crewroom to fax the various reports and to follow up the crew welfare issue with the IFS, who assured me she was ok to drive home herself.

Left the crewroom one hour late. Home to bed. Following a few hours sleep emailed the Base Manager woth a few more details and then phoned the Cabin Crew Management to ensure the IFS got some follow-up support.

So you can see, the flying was a minor part of that shift. Let's hope tomorrow is quieter!

PP

[future captain]

What a read on this miserable day in London :D

Nice one Pilot Pete

[ONEWORLD_86]

Great post, many positive aspects regarding CRM coming through, and why each working day is so different.

[InSoMnIaC]

A Day in the life of a "Lo-Co" Pilot ...

oh now i get it. i thought he was taking the piss out of us Copilots :)

[Pilot Pete]

You won't believe my next flight, last night.....just as eventful!:\

Here's hoping tomorrow is calmer......

PP

[Curious Pax]

PP,
Go on then - you have an audience around the globe whose breath is bated....:ok:

[future captain]

PP,
Go on then - you have an audience around the globe whose breath is bated....:ok:

Im off to get some pop corn, goo on pilot pete :p

[Pilot Pete]

It wasn't meant as a fish for an audience, just that I couldn't believe it myself!

Same scenario, same airport, this time destined for Monastir. Arrived 15 minutes before report to again meet the F/O who was very keen and had everything printed off.:ok:

I'd checked the flightplans myself earlier in the day (bored and surfing!) and a few minutes of reading confirmed that nothing much had changed. Tankering sector, so fuel decision was based on how much tankering fuel rather than do we need anything above minimum. Met the IFS who sounded 'croaky' and who looked washed out. She had been on Airport Standby at another airport since 09:10z (my report was 14:25z) and confirmed that she thought she was coming down with something but was happy to operate when I enquired about her fitness to fly. There was a quiery about her hours, so the F/O dug out the tables and did a quick calculation. She was 'in' by 10 minutes. Sad for her, but true.

Went to the gate and boarded, me as PNF outbound doing the walkaround and the F/O setting up the F/D. Lack of communication from the dispatcher (we saw him once and he didn't venture into the F/D). CC informed me that at STD-20 we still hadn't got catering and the toilets hadn't been serviced, the cleaners claiming it was a technical problem with the toilets, the engineer sitting in the flightdeck stating that they 'need fooking emptying!'

Boarding delayed as the catering really needed to be on first. I venture out to 'find' the dispatcher, who is on the bridge. I ask him to chase up the honey waggon, which he informs me is 'here now'. Catering arrives. I go back to the flight deck and continue with pre-flight, the toilet waggon is NOT there. My operations call me and advise of a slot at 15:40, looks unlikely that we will make it, but we leave it as is for now, hoping that boarding will go smoothly and we might just make the '+10 minutes' on the slot. Boarding starts and eventually finishes. Toilet servicing eventually happens, the driver apparently 'forgot'!! Documentation ready, all briefed, T/O performance completed and ready to go. Just waiting for the agent who eventually comes on. I give a little 'chat' about lack of performance from the agents, lack of communications, mis-information etc etc etc to a young lad with a 'chip' who reminds me of Vicky Pollard......."yeah, but no, but...." No, just listen, we can all make excuses, but what we pay you for is proactive dispatching, and problem solving, not blame. I don't mind when things go wrong, but I do mind when I am not told or told wrong info. We push back.

Engines started, taxy clearance given and the F/Os ASI is 'cycling' up and down like a swingboat after transfer of electrical power from the APU to the Engine Generators. We have started taxying as it often does a 'cyle' like this before reading correctly. 30 seconds later and it is still the same. We call Ground and ask to 'park' with the engines running whilst we fault rectify. I take the radio, F/O calls the engineers on the company frequency. We reset circuit breakers and try swapping the power source a few times to no avail. I make a PA explaining we have a small 'instrumentation' problem which we are trying to rectify with the help of our engineers and apologise for the delay.

Nothing worked so we negotiate a return to stand. I make another PA whilst we are waiting on some other traffic, explaining that the engineers were unable to fix the problem without getting onto the aeroplane and it's a flight safety issue and flight safety is our number one priority blah, blah, blah. We shutdown and get the bridge on. The engineers board and start doing 'their thing'. The IFS comes into the flightdeck and informs me that she doesn't feel fit enough to go into discretion and I have to agree with her that she would not be fit enough to operate into discretion. Houston, we have a problem.

She had been called from standby as 'nobody else was available' in the UK (that old Crewing chestnut), so I call Crewing and advise them of their problem. I call the Duty Manager and explain that as no-one else is available I suspect we could be some time. We have now missed our slot, so I get the F/O to call Ops.

The IFS needs to stay onboard until another qualified IFS can be found and she returns with a junior member of crew to advise me that the junior member of crew has had her purse 'stolen'. She had £200 in it and last used it in the crewrrom and 'definitely' had it in her bag in the rear galley. She is understandably agitated. I ask for a thorough search of where she last saw it and explain that we can't accuse anyone of stealing it at this stage. She wants the police involved and points the finger at the cleaners. I resist this at this stage. Another member of crew calls the crewroom, but no sign of it there. I ask the agent to get a number for the cleaning company to see if anyone had 'found' it. Their office is just infront of the nose of the aircraft so the crew member puts on a high vis jacket and goes with the agent to the ofice to start 'enquiries'.

The engineers fix the problem in about 20 minutes, the paperwork takes another 5.

Just then a new IFS walks onto the airbridge! She was on a 757 on another gate, just about to depart when the captain was called and asked if she was 737 qualified. She was, so they nabbed her to 'save the day' for us. She is pretty unhappy (we are going further!), but I thank her and the old IFS gathers her belongings and exits. We make the decision to leave the other crew member behind to sort out her 'purse' issue as we have more than minimum crew and her mind is not on the job. She will need to find numbers and call banks to cancel credit cards etc....on a Sunday evening! We call the agent and ask her to return to the aircraft to collect her belongings. An 'old hand' working down the back decides to conduct another search and would you believe it, finds the purse!:D :rolleyes:

Crew members back onboard, a quick word ensures that her :( has turned into an :O , :) and she is ok to operate. F/O has been keeping Ops informed and the flight plan in. We need a new loadsheet as the old one is messy. It had the worng figures so LMC amendments hand written on it. Now we are a few hundred kilos lighter due to fuel burn on first taxi out and back, plus APU burn (lucky we were tankering so didn't need to uplift any more!!!). I had amended it to take a crew member off, who then found her purse so was back on!!!! A new one was dispatched with revised figures. Performance re-calculated with updated wx info. Doors closed, 1hr 30mins late.

We pushback for round 2. Uneventful sector until last 100ft when I take control due to 'lack of corrections' to my calls of 'bug minus 2...... bug minus 5!' Safe landing. Taxi in for an 'African' turnaround, where 50 minutes is scheduled and we would like to make up some time. (Yeah right, ever the wishful thinker, me!)

Turnaround is good apart from one vital element. Pax. We have 121 and they arrive in dribs and drabs over a 30 minute period. The agent makes no attempts to comminicate with us and the frequency gets no response from their office.:rolleyes: We just accept it's Africa. IFS reports another 'difficult passenger', who appears to just have 'attitude' at this point. Noted.

Eventually everyone on board and we depart, still 1hr 30 minutes late (it felt longer). I am PF. Uneventful climb and cruise until we reach Sardinia, when the IFS complains about the unruly pax again. I advise to giev the warning and make a PA about how I will not tollerate uncivilised behaviour towards my cabin crew and use the 'diversion' threat with police and costs. This appears to do the trick and she pipes down.

Speaking to Paris, or rather listening on a very quiet frequency, we hear occasional traffic, but then realise some 5 minutes has passed with no contact. Nothing on 121.5 throughout. We call another sector with a frequency from the charts and he advises us to contact Reims. We do so and I log the time, sector frequencies and circumstances to fill in an ASR due to PLOC.:rolleyes: Two in two days.......not bad!

Landing in Manchester and taxi in with no problems. Arrival 1hr 25 mins late. Back to the crewroom to file the ASR online and complete the paperwork. I get home at 03:15 local.

Roll on summer, I can't wait.........!

PP

[Curious Pax]

Thanks Pete. Just reinforces how mundane and tedious my job is (:{ ) but fascinating reading nonetheless. Can you keep it up all summer?

[flyingbug]

Thanks Pete,

very enjoyable..............

cheers,

FB:)

[Pilot Pete]

Can you keep it up all summer? Well, that's what they pay me to do...........! Like I said, not every flight is like these two, they are 'exceptions', just strange to get two 'exceptions' back to back! Hopefully Malta tomorrow will be mundane and boring!;)

PP

[RYR-738-JOCKEY]

:D Very interesting reading Pete. :D Would you mind explaining your SOP about the BUG -5..etc. I am just curious, in RYR we don't call anything until the speed drops below Vref, usually bug -5 (depending on the wind additive), and it is normally not required to take controls unless the arrow indicates further decelleration at that point, and the obvious thing that you have made a couple of calls, last one indicating your intentions to take controls.

Cheers

[ABO944]

Thanks for taking the time to write about your day in the life .... twice, Pete !!

Come on ..... lets here some other examples from the rest of you guys ...:)

[zed3]

If only the so called "managers" would read and understand this then all would be fine , BAW "managers" please note . Brilliant post , 'nuff said .

[Mac the Knife]

Illuminating posts PP. Thanks for taking the time.
Trust Malta was quieter!

Mac :ok:

[Pilot Pete]

Would you mind explaining your SOP about the BUG -5..etc. We call a deviation if no corrective action has been initiated, especially if below intended bug speed. In windy conditions you allow for the fact that the speed isn't going to be 100%, but in calm conditions like yesterday a trend was developing that was not being checked. It was a VOR approach at night and the F/O had transitioned to the visual, was not lined up with the centreline and did not respond having been 'called' twice. I assumed incapacitation and took control, lining up with the centrline and getting the speed back, landing safely. On debrief he admitted that he was working hard and didn't have any extra capacity to answer. Hopefully we both learnt something on that flight (the first time I have taken control from another pilot).

PP

[Gunman returns]

Bug-2 ,Bug -5 and the capt takes control.mmmm. Just wait till you start flying the NG Pete. If you work to Bug-2 ( as Britannia like to call) it will be like pass the bloody parcel with who has control!!. On a windy day in the -700 you go from vref+5 to +20 to vref- 10 quicker than you can say it. Good luck

[G-AVIN]

Pete
it seems to me you would be suitably qualified as the next senior negotiator for the United nations or Unicef !
Have you considered writng a book ?

Gavin

[WingDown]

Thanks Pete for such informative posts.

A real insight into the day to day pressures and difficulties the flight crew face and how CRM plays such an important role.

Thankyou

[PAXboy]

Thank you Pete, by the end of it, my jaw was hanging open. What must be important for outsiders (including managers and wannabees) is not that this happens every day but that you have to be ready for it on any day.

Sorry to trouble you with a question: Following the lack of tx on 121.5, you wrote, "We do so and I log the time, sector frequencies and circumstances to fill in an ASR due to PLOC." I gather there was an equipment failure? Please expand a little (when you are not boxing the ears of sundry airport personnel!)

[Ghostie31]

Fantastic insight.
Any other Pilots care to add a little something?

[Kestrel_909]

Pilot Pete to write a book? Not a bad idea, if I remember correctly he posted stories about his training and the road to flying a jet, was very interesting.

Looking forward to more :D

[Pilot Pete]

Bug-2 ,Bug -5 and the capt takes control.mmmm. Perhaps you have misunderstood. I mentioned the differences on a windy day, this was not. We were on a non-precision approach, not lined up with the centreline and the speed 'trend' was decreasing and not being corrected. No response to a second challenge and I exercised my right to redeem the situation that I have signed my name against. It was either that or a go-around. Ultimately my call, thank you.:ok: Just wait till you start flying the NG Pete. That'll be the -NG that I flew the last three days then?:ok: You have misinterpreted and not been privvy to the full picture so I wouldn't expect you to be able to make a correct assessment of what was right/ wrong/ warranted or not.;) Good luck to you too sir.:)

PAXboy I gather there was an equipment failure? Not a failure as such. There are occurences of 'sleeping receivers' which seem to be happening more and more regularly these days and the CAA are trying to track them and pinpoint causes, hence the report. In order to be of use that report needs to be as full of detail as possible, so taking a note at the time makes it easier to remember exactly where you were, what level, which frequency you were on, how long it had been quiet etc etc etc. One we changed frequency we continued with normal communications using the same radio equipment. As for no comms on 121.5, I meant that no station was trying to contact us on this frequency as we had been listening out on that frequency (as is standard).

PP

[Draven]

Hello Pilot Pete,

Very informative, very knowledgeable, excellent reading for those of us on our initial stages of training and initial stages of career, I know time is of essence and not always on your side but if you can keep this going once in awhile please do so, I for one would be very grateful and I'm sure others will too, maybe the moderator should make this a sticky for awhile if he sees fit for such action? I believe this should be essential reading for those just of us starting out to have an idea of what is really going on further up the ladder.

Once again, thanks. :ok: :D

Draven

[Phoogazy]

I'd like to add my thanks too PP. Great posts, well up to your usual standard.

Cheers!

[A38lephant]

Great post PP. Showing my ignorance here - what is Bug?

[fonawah]

many thanks Pilot Pete. a great read...twice! Would any cargo pilots or long haul pilots like to share their story?

[Dave Spart]

Great post PP. Showing my ignorance here - what is Bug?
'Bug' is the target speed you're aiming to fly. The bug itself a little orange pointer on a Boeing with a conventional (clockwork) airspeed indicator or a magenta line with electronic instruments.

On final approach you're typically allowed a -5 or +10 knot margin, although in reality -0 or +5 is much more agreeable and Pilot Pete would probably get somewhat nervous with anything less that -1 or -2 near to the ground. If the speed is low, a hard landing is more likely because of a lack of elevator authority when the pilot flares by pulling back on the control column to cushion the touchdown. If the speed is high, the aircraft tends to 'float' along the runway during the landing manoeuvre before the landing gear touches down, using up valuable runway length in the process.

[mr ripley]

Inspired I have just written a long haul version. However on re reading, it will bore the pants off you and the style of writing is no way near the original.

Well done Pete.

[Pilot Pete]

If the speed is low, a hard landing is more likely because of a lack of elevator authority when the pilot flares by pulling back on the control column to cushion the touchdown.

I am not so sure on the 'lack of elevator authority', I thought it was more to do with the lack of lift being generated by the wings to support the weight (very simply put as the vector diagram would have a small component of lift coming from the engine thrust with the nose up). The elevator is still effective, it's just that you are going too slow and in order to balance it out; at a very slow speed you would need too much elevator (leading to the tail being too low and tailstrike) and lots more thrust.....I'm sure one of our techie friends will explain in Mr Boeing's language for those really interested.:ok:

PP

[future captain]

Inspired I have just written a long haul version. However on re reading, it will bore the pants off you and the style of writing is no way near the original.
Well done Pete.

Lets have a look :p

[Ghostie31]

Go on mr ripley,
whip it out for the boys! :ok:

[mr ripley]

As requested?

Day1
0915L report. Decide to stay in a hotel local to LHR as this is an early report for me and I am paranoid about being late for report whilst wanting to maximise rest. Happen to meet the Captain whilst waiting for the bus from the car park to our reporting centre. Drop off hold luggage then swipe in. One computer fails me but then I am able to print off the schedule and crew list, 2 pilots and 12 cabin crew. Captain rejoins me for a bit of brekky and a nice latte in the canteen before we assemble for briefing. I am going to operate, so I check the paperwork that is waiting for us in ops. We have 2 x computer flight plans, the filed flight plan, sig weather charts, TAFs and METARs combined in a brief with NOTAMS and notes on specific aircraft acceptable deficiencies (there are none). I then decide upon a fuel figure in consultation with the Captain. As there are no foreseen weather or ATC or other operational problems, I decide to take the computer calculated fuel.

Go through security to our transport and meet with the rest of the crew. However today there is no bus for our crew at the scheduled time and we have to wait 10-15 minutes for it to arrive. However it does give us a good opportunity to mix and chat with the cabin crew. Therefore get to the aircraft late, which is parked on a non jetty stand. I, as operating pilot, check the tech log and brief on any thing of note (there is nothing of note), send for the flight plan by datalink and do the walk round. Today we have a very good dispatcher who seems to have a handle on things. Meeting up again on the flight deck, we work through the checks from the Electronic Check List and obtain a clearance. Unfortunately approaching boarding time we are short of one passenger. Despite several calls they have not appeared. However as they have no hold baggage, we can go without delay. Everything comes together and despite the transport delays we are able to push on time for a short taxi to depart RW 27L. The departure runway is surprisingly quiet at this time in the morning; I suppose it is after the first wave of SH departures. However we are delayed with another company aircraft waiting for final loadsheet figures to be datalinked to the aircraft and then join a short queue of departing aircraft that all seem to require a DVR SID. While waiting we have a little chuckle as ATC keep mixing up Kuwait and Qatar call signs. We do take note that one is Airbus 340 as is probably going to be a slow climber ahead of us on a similar route to the Middle East.

[mr ripley]

I hand fly the first part of the DVR 4G and decide to limit the acceleration to Flap 5 speed and Flaps to 5 to ensure we make the first turn without straying from the SIDs track. We level off at 6000 ft just above a cloud layer and enjoy the view. The SID and climb works out satisfactorily for us as we out climb then eventually overtake the noted aircraft. Routing takes us east across Europe before approaching Bahrain from the north. We take part in the CPDLC (datalink) trial with Maastricht ATC whilst in the relevant airspace before settling down to a routine of monitoring, communicating and planning climbs. I discover that the Captain has been on the aircraft for less time than me and I only started flying it Oct last year. A nice lunch is taken somewhere over Turkey and we are treated to great views of the Black Sea and Turkey itself. The weather remains CAVOK throughout the rest of the flight down to the Persian Gulf.

Handily we are able to check the D-ATIS (datalink ATIS) for arrival and plan on an ILS approach to RW30R at BAH. I brief the Captain and then he takes control to fly the descent and approach. We seem to be vectored behind a few locally based aircraft before being cleared for the approach. I take control at 1000ft agl and managed to squeeze a satisfactory and pleasing landing out of the Captain’s approach, deserving of a refreshing drink (don’t assume its alcohol). After a short taxi I park the aircraft on stand using a clever guidance system that gives precise information and instructions and wish that we had these at LHR. At the stand we say good bye to the cabin crew who are continuing to DOH, handover to a fresh team of pilots and make our way to the hotel. Just under 6hrs flying in nice weather, with a good crew and well looked after by the team in the front galley. It is now 1700 BST and 1900L in BAH. At this moment we have just over 24 hrs before we are due to fly again, our next task is BAH-DOH-BAH, no more than 20-30 mins each way.

[Ghostie31]

Nice job!!
Excuse my ignorance, but on the next leg BAH-DOH do you use the same aircraft for a 20-30 minute hop?

[Kestrel_909]

Oooo a 30 minute hop in a 777, does it still have a rocketship departure in the 40degree heat?

Out of interest, why doesn't the same fd crew take it on to DOH?

[The Greaser]

Well I know which lifestyle I would prefer.

Kestrel - suspect it is due to flight duty period limitations.

[Pilot Pete]

Kestrel - suspect it is due to flight duty period limitations. A locally agreed limitation rather than CAP371 I suspect!

PP

[Kestrel_909]

I see, on a simlar note, does the same crew do Heathrow - Cairo - Heathrow in one day on the 777?

[mr ripley]

do you use the same aircraft for a 20-30 minute hop?
yes

does it still have a rocketship departure in the 40degree heat?

It probably weighs around 40t less even with round trip fuel. Getting airborne at 2000Lish and subsequent flying during cooler temps.

Similar shuttles are AUH-MCT and ANU-UVF/TAB/GND. ORD-IAH is longer at around 2 hrs

does the same crew do Heathrow - Cairo - Heathrow in one day on the 777?

Nope, arrive late Day 1 depart early Day 3. Aircraft is on the ground longer.

[The SSK]

If your employers find out you've been posting in a thread called 'A day in the life of a lo-co pilot' they will be highly unamused.

[hollywood285]

Thanks Pilot Pete and Mr Ripley for the excellent write ups beats Dick Francis any day of the week.:D


32 this month am I too old to take the plunge? 130hrs PPL and an IMC??:confused:

[Pilot Pete]

32 this month am I too old to take the plunge? 130hrs PPL and an IMC??:confused: Well I was 30 when I started my PPl and 32 when I finished the IR, getting my first job (air taxi) later that same year. So there is hope!

PP

[hollywood285]

Thanks Pete, read your story loads of time, really gives you hope!!

Hope your family are all ok.:D

[mr ripley]

One of the guys who started in the company, but on a different type, on the same day as me last year was in his late 30s.

This was his first job after achieving his frozen ATPL.

[aw8565]

Really thoroughly enjoyed the post's on here, especially the problems that Pilot Pete faced (if that doesn't sound so mean?!) I say this only because I work on the ground in Ops and have to deal with EXACTLY the same issues affecting departures and arrivals but from a COMPLETELY different perspective... :bored:

It's interesting to hear these issues from the pilot's point of view, and I have to admit to 'forgetting' that you guys have to actually think about getting your flight physically off the ground, and not just away from the gate, which is when people like me lose interest and start thinking about the next one...!

Pilot Pete, I think there are some very good despatchers out there and some very bad ones that can cause problems rather than solve them. Not sure what can be done about them but talking to a despatcher friend of mine on the night shift last night (as we drove around the airfield looking at planes!) he said something that made me think:

He is not trained to do loadsheets for all flights, only those with a 'manual' loadsheet. On most flights he phones load control, tells them which printer he is stood next to and they send him the loadsheet which he gives to the Captain. He confessed that he doesn't really have anything to do. His job is to make sure everyone else does what they're supposed to do. It mystifies me that some despatchers can struggle with this!

Once again Pete, very enjoyable read. Add one more to your captive audience. Give us a wave if your're overheading Gatwick... ;)

[Pilot Pete]

Pilot Pete, I think there are some very good despatchers out there and some very bad ones that can cause problems rather than solve them. Agreed, just like there are some very good and some very bad captains when it comes to dealing with dispatchers.;)

His job is to make sure everyone else does what they're supposed to do. It mystifies me that some despatchers can struggle with this! Exactly! What exasperates us is when the Dispatcher; our link between the various agencies which we employ, doesn't oversee the operation and just 'does their own thing', including standing in the office until the loadsheet is ready (for 20 minutes!), whilst we have ramp handling problems. I don't expect the Dispatcher to check that my loadsheet is correct unless they have been trained in how to read it. Ours is pretty simple and all that needs to be done is to check the data that we have supplied on a form is transcribed correctly to the loadsheet. That's all I do and then make sure that the loading is correct and there are no anomolies (like wrong aircraft!), incorrect pax standard weights etc etc. But what I do expect is the Dispatcher to bring it to me as expeditiously as he/she can and not stand at the bottom of the steps for 5 minutes with it in their hand, chatting to the other groundstaff until the pax are all on board! The sooner we get it the sooner we can check for mistakes, do corrections and work out our take-off performance. From a pilot point of view it often appears that some dispatchers think their job is done when everyone is onboard and THEN they hand the loadsheet to us at STD-2, believing that any delay is then not down to them!!

I don't wish to moan about Dispatchers, but I think it is a viscious circle, many are part-time for the summer, barely trained and struggle, usually down to the fact that the customer airlines have screwed the handling company down to the bare minimum price!

PP

[Nereus]

Care of Reddo, Pipex aren't co-operating.

A day in the life of an exec jet pilot.

We’re half way through the tour and have just shut down on our final sector for the day. One of us will escort our passengers off the aircraft and unload the bags etc. While this is happening, I am usually writing down the numbers and working out our flight time, fuel burnt etc. Time to switch on the Blackberry and see what’s happening. I used to call in the numbers immediately but nowadays I wait for the captain to add his bit if required. Occassionally there’s an operational thing he needs to explain.

So after the passengers have gone it’s time to tidy the cabin. Throw out the rubbish and tidy the seat belts. Get the vacuum cleaner out and give the floor a once over. Wipe down the surfaces and restock if we can. The captain returns and starts the paper work. Now I scamper outside and put the pins in and the covers on. One of us has sent in the numbers and got the next day’s duty. No point in cheering or grizzling about the duty, it will change.

Off to the hotel and grab a beer or some food or just crash out depending on the start.
Tidy bag so there isn’t much to do in the morning.

Alarm goes off usually far too early the next day. Check Blackberry for any changes. Shower, dress and pack and head down for breaky (if it’s open). Check out and meet n greet the captain. Jump in the taxi or crew bus and go to aircraft. If it’s a positioning flight, we get an hour to prepare. If it’s a revenue flight we get 90 minutes.

Depending on the airport, get scanned and passport perused or just wander through the gate. Find handling agent and pick up the mountain of paper work. Note the changes :D
Check in with the Blackberry and get an updated briefing. Sort through the flight plans, wx and notams. Make sure we have the Flygprestanda details for the airports required.

Off to the aircraft. Sort out fueling, toilet service (if req’d) and catering (if revenue). Take out all the pins and stow the covers. Fire up the APU as soon as we can.
Fish out all the Jepps for the day’s schedule and file them in the day book. We carry a full set of European charts up the front and Africa/Rest of Europe and world in the back. (Maybe not USA). Captain sorts out the tech log and so on while I do the external.

Do the daily checks and load up the FMS. Do the performance calcs (in the QRH/Tab data. That’s the old Honeywell avionics, now using Collins Proline 21s. It’s all in the magic box) and sort out the clearances. At 30 min to go, one of us will go to handling agent meeting point to fetch the passengers. With luck, they’re on time. We use the Blackberry for release or phone Dispatch for remote release and lead passenger info. Escort the passengers through customs etc (if req’d) and help them onto the aeroplane. Load bags. Brief them as you’ve seen a million times on an ordinary flight.

Hop in the front and then do the pilot thing. We give a detailed brief about the start, take off and any emergency procedures plus the normal departure. Get the start and taxi away.
While taxiing, play the standard safety brief over the IFE.

From then on it’s like any routine flight. Only for us, chances are we’ve never been here before or it was a while ago. Keep a beady eye on the taxi charts or with luck, follow the car :D

Take off. Admire view once the flight is under way. (ie all calls done, checklists done, initial paperwork done) If we’re close enough to the Alps take a piccie. Take a piccie of anything that looks interesting. Collect up the departure aerodrome charts and file them away.

Whilst in the cruise, do the paperwork, load up the FMS with the next plan and make sure the passengers are happy. If time and so inclined, wander down the back and check on them. Follow the flight on the charts and have a look at the Pilot’s Atlas for more info if required.

At around 300-200nm to go, start fishing out the arrival charts. Look at the metars and see what the trend is. Do a fair bit of anticipating. Try and get the ATIS and work out what was said. Work out the sums, load up the FMS. Brief the non flying pilot. While on descent, play the Landing briefing over the IFE. Do the approach and land the wee beasty. Taxi in. Again, chances are we’re not familiar with the place so out comes the taxi chart or better, a Follow Me car.

Occassionally on a ferry leg the Sat phone will ring with an inflight diversion. They some how always pick the descent to call us. We then quickly do an inflight plan to check the fuel required, see what’s in the tanks and say “yae or nae”.

Shut down and repeat. Disembark the passengers and escort them to their ground transport. Before leaving, quickly check the cabin to make sure they haven’t left any thing such as children, pets and so on. Scoot back to the aeroplane and see how long we have before departing. If we have a while, shut down the APU and eat some food. If not, tidy up the cabin, do a quick clean. (Although, if in some places we have cleaning crews that come in and do a thorough clean and restock too)

Send in the numbers, make sure we have the latest wx and slot details. Prepare for the next departure. Repeat this routine for 2-4 times a day, 4-6 days in the tour. Often our schedule is changed completely. However, it’s no real biggy. We go where we’re told to go. So long as we have the aerodrome details, it’s fine. All we do is keep an eye on our duty times, we can only do 55 hours duty per tour.

[MOTHERGOOSE]

Great thread chaps, keep them coming.

Goose.:ok:

[Curious Pax]

I take it last week must have been better PP!!

[Pilot Pete]

Yes CP, all apart from my last flight on Sunday night which incurred a 5 1/2 hr tech delay and lead to us exercising 1 hr 58 mins discretion before leaving the UK (2hrs is the limit!!). Two aborted engine starts due to no APU and a ground air start machine not providing enough puff..... Cabin temperature rising to boiling point (yeah, both literally and metaphorically!). All handled in my best apologetic manner with a quick warning not to take it out on the cabin crew whose fault it certainly was not!! Left the house at two in the afternoon, climbed into by bed at 06:30 the following morning.

PP

[Curious Pax]

I've never flown T-Fly or its previous incarnations (though I dispatched a lot for 6 months 20 years ago at MAN) - I must remember to make sure you have no plans to be in the cockpit if I do!!

Would you say the frequency of the problems you have described this month is about average, or have you been a bit unlucky?

Oh, and if anyone can think of a way for me to get the same job (without my age, mortgage, likely uncooperative family, and unwillingness to study that hard for a couple of years being an issue) then I'm all ears!!

[low n' slow]

Inspired of all the posts, I feel I want to contribute. We've now seen 737, 777 longish haul and Exec Jet ops. How about really really shorthaul in a Saab 340?

Day starts with check in at 14:00 L. I'm new to the game so I show up one hour early to make shure I can really go into the briefing items such as Notams and weather. Print out the flightplans and calculate the minimum fuel. Planned trip is a triangle leg to HEL-SVL-VRK-HEL. Training Captain is the same as the day before and we discuss yesterdays flight which was a 6 leg nightmare. We recall items that I need to focus on for this flight. Our cabin crew shows up and we call a crewbus. Then we're off to the buisness terminal to go through security. This isn't a good solution but it works ok in the summer weather. While the captain and cabin crew talk in finnish I figure I'll need to buy proper winterboots if this is to be done in slushy finnish snow.

Finally at the aircraft I head straight into the F/D and check that the radar is off. Cdr does the walk around and I start with the preflight checklist. The plane has flown previously during the day and I need not go through all the tests. The avionics comes on and I pick up the departure ATIS. For some reason I go through it several times before I get all information. I take the temperature and go into the gross mass chart and calculate the performance for rwy 22L int ZD. Performance turns out to be way above structural limits and this tends to be the case at HEL in favourable weather. Conditons are within the quick reference limits so I take the lowest power setting and jot down the mass limitation and then I put away the GMC's.

By now the Cdr has entered and made himself comfortable in the left seat. He has anticipated the departure and allready set up the navaids and FMS. Kind, although I somewhere feel this was my job... I call for clearance and get the filed route without any deviations except for the initial climb wich limits us up to 4000 feet.

Passengers step out of the bus as we are on remote stand and we switch on the seatbelt sign to wake up our CC. We run through the crew at their stations checklist and I listen to the Cdr's briefing as he will act as PF the first two legs. We call ground for startup and taxi. The taxi clearance is uncomplicated. I know this on forehand and I do not take out the pinto to write it down. We get to the correct hold line but forget the off block...
I also forget to check the X-ponder setting in the navaid check. Cdr points this out and I try to make a mental note. Cdr does his take off briefing and I listen. We line up after a Finnair airbus that just landed and PF does the las call: Heading, indicated, FD, Ready? Ready, Timing.
I call outocoarsen armed and set the power upon PF call.
Some hundred feet after the gear has been retracted we get a heading and we abandon the SID. I struggle to set climb power in the correct order. Cdr helps me out and once the climb checklist is completed I review the order of setting climbpower. We do, apart from many other Saab 340 operators, turn of the autocoarsen before doing anything else. This is to avoid any prop from autocoarsening incase one torque should for some reason drop below 60%, which has happened to a few unlucky Saab pilots. Then we, turn down the CTOT and put on both bleeds. After this, we reduce PRPM and set the torques according to the chart.

Cruise proceeds inevitably and I try to keep up with the paperwork. Since its a triangle leg I try to do the next leg paperwork which is basically remaining fuel statement for the rodos loadsheets that we get on the outstations. We have a laugh at Tampere ctrl which has to reclear heaps of flights bound for stockholm as the Arlanda radar went down during the morning. Air traffic seems to be in chaos on the FIR border.

The descent starts and due to some explanations from the Cdr about some operational related topic, he gets a little high on profile. I use the first of the three excuses we learnt on the company conversion: "My fault captain". It disarms the situation somewhat and he opts for a downwind on the opposing runway.

Nice landing and short taxi to the apron. After landing and preparing left immediately. Then shut down the right one at the stand. Once the door is open the PAX trod out and allmost immediately the next batch comes out of the terminal. Turnaround is made all within 14 minutes. My head is aching from quick calculations, although they are horribly simple. The thought of this makes me feel slightly simple aswell...Next leg is to VRK, just accros the pond. Cdr decides to do thisone as PF aswell because of the short distance and high workload. We take off and scream across the lake, leveling out at FL60. Although I managed to work ahead on the previous leg, I'm once again faced with a mountain of paperwork that has to be done before landing. I race through the climb checklist and then I listen to the approach brief whilst completing the fuel statement. Descent checklist is called for and I do this and then I call the VRK office and inform them of our arrival in 3 minutes and amount of fuel. As it turns out, we touch down a mere 11 minutes from take off and block on at 16 minutes from block off. Tight.

We pick up a couple of pax and head off to HEL. This time I act as PF and I try to remember in which order to do the briefings. I look at the flightplan and set the initial course on the EHSI. We do a tailwind departure and I brief it as a flaps 15 T/O. The flight proceeds at a much slower pace and I get a chance to breathe and ask about things that we did but which I'm unclear on as to why. Sounds odd perhaps, but comming from a pawnee into a JAR 25 plane, everything is new and I really find it hard to keep all the items taken up on the company and TR course, fresh in mind.

The landing resembles more a positive arrival than a greaser. I'm happy though because I didn't use up 300 metres by pointless floating. The after landing checklist goes smoothely by heart and the extensive runway and taxiway system gives me ample time to read through the lists thouroghly and to prepare the left. We park and read through the last list to the last point. By now the temp in the cockpit is horribly high and we head out onto terra firma. Crewbus drops us off at the hangar and we head for the office where we fill out training reccords, sort out all the fuel reciepts, flightplans and loadsheets together with other additional info. We debrief the shift and conclude that I'm progressing on profile. Little bits here and there that need to be fixed. There is still a lot of time to rectify the faults before basecheck so I decide to spend the afternoon NOT worrying about my future. We check out and I head off towards the terminal in the hopes of catching an overbooked flight towards stockholm. I succed. My baggage doesn't, but thats a different story.

Regards/ LnS

[Pilot Pete]

I must remember to make sure you have no plans to be in the cockpit if I do I hope this is a tongue in cheek comment, as if not I would like to point out that I attempted to sort out the problems, not cause them.......;)

These things have a habit of happening together. You can go for months with nothing untoward and then have more than one flight that ends up as a candidate for 'flights from hell' tabloid TV, all within a week!

low n' slow

Good job!!!

PP

[SkySista]

Wow guys!! Fascinating thread!!!

As someone from a groundie/dispatching/check-in background (and soon to be on the 'other side' of the FD door ;)) really enjoyed seeing things from your perspective!! :ok:

As I have done a (very little) bit of flying myself during high school, I like to think I can understand a little bit the kinds of problems you guys might face from your end during tech/wx delays etc... at my current operation these unfortunately occur all too frequently and I try my best to anticipate what you guys might be wanting/needing for a departure asap!! :D

Pilot Pete, great examples there of (good) CRM in practise, and a thoroughly interesting read for someone who will shortly be working closely with FD crew herself. Wish all my captains will be like you!! (though I *know* they won't - all aprt of the fun of the job I guess!! :E)

Low n slow.... interesting account and I like to see that you guys are always looking to improve just like we ground crew are! Well done.

Keep it coming guys!!! Fab stuff, and one of the better threads on Prune!! :)

[meatball]

preparing for a take-off outta youngstown ohio. DC 3 packed with car side- panels, edges sharp as razors, one atop the other, strapped down (?) properly the full length of the fuselage...wore thick gloves to save slicing through cold numb skinned hands and fingers...was normal to cut yourself, blood feels nice and warm inside the leather till you realize it aint gonna stop bleeding. run over to the closet FAK, iodines gone, bandaids too old to be sticky and useful. time running out, pager call from the guys, usually truckers making extra money for loading or off-loading the material waiting at dumdunk municipal airport where unicom is the only way to communicate. it is snowing out. 3 am and i still have to fill both oil tanks up on the upper wings. blood flow is closing on itself, pager screen is barely readable smudged in rusty red brown smears. tell the truckers were running a little late, will call them 50 miles out on unicom. pilot controlled runway lighting. hand hurts. climb the step ladder and slowly, very slowly, manage my way to the tank filler cap. all this trying not to slide back down the slanted wing unto the icy ground, ouch.
made it after spilling a couple of quarts over my snowmobile suit and boots. damn. looking upwards at the lightning to the west. we were to fly west. oh boy. get in the cockpit, run through long ago memorized pre start list, hit the magneto, rooommmm roooammmmphhh, bahkkk bakkk, thick exhaust blowing out the PW 1830-92´s. real airplanes have round engines. do our run-ups on the active runway, theres no one out here at 3:20am. rains thundering down.
i check the quarter inch toothpick carefully placed on the wing leading edge.
our tool to activate the rubber boots; when the ice built up to the tip get the boots going. worked fine, this cowboy technology. full takeoff power, long run before the tail took to flight, pushing the horns forward to accelerate till lift off ( in the butt basically ) the cabin shaking and heaving in its indestructible airframe...smack into low cloud, imc, icing and thunderous explosions all around. water flowing down over our audio panel, unto our laps ( thankgod for the yachting gear ) bird climbing at maybe 400 fpm. moderate turbulence, cant see the engine dials, barely able to keep wings level. plowing on through. water everywhere. reminded me of my sailor days, short steep and violent waves of the mediterranean dominating the worse days. no time for a butt, no time but to forge on. climbing through 2500 feet, a great shrieking grind of loose car parts going every which way but mainly towaards the tail....still in imc, freight fully aft now, can barely keep the nose down. both pilots pushing pushing pushing forward. slowly accelerating again. i run aft and start hauling throwing parts forward, one by one, no gloves, slicing my hands in a zillion places but after 20 minutes flight was under control. we licked our mental and physical wounds as we battled the rest of the mid west storm ( no radar, no autopilot ) with the cold water raining down on us. as we laughed at how close we had been to stalling in, all kinds of thoughts came to mind...give this up, this is crap living dangerously, poor pay and leaving detroit for youngstown then tumbunk, night approach, non precision to a short lonely airfield with pilot controlled lighting....irrate truckers waiting to get us un-loaded and get home to a warm bed and beer...pager goes off. my hands hurting more and more, even i can see im in need of several stitches, but the freight must get delivered.....
There is MUCH MUCH MORE TO TELL....:
freight dog to executive pilot, to turpo prop regional captain, ad hoc 737 charter captian all over europe and lately A 330 long haul relief captain.....

[markflyer6580]

I would rather fly like that for a living than anything else! Seeing a DC3 at low level today only reminded me why:ok:

[meatball]

needless to say, i was a youngster of 35, late starter too. family back in españa, wife bringing up the son, thousands of miles away. vocational ? you can bet on it. lonely nights, pager existence and 1-800 toll free call backs for latest flight orders. 30 minutes to wheels-up, summer winter spring and fall. hip hoping across the vast lands of continental north america. crew crash pad, single run-down airport wheels, used excess drained 100 LL to fill the tank, enjoying the extra whooomph it gave the cheap pinto...late night weekend drinking sprees with the rest of the ypsilanti airplane-driver-boozers, then two days rest and back at it. leave a wednesday and not be back before the following thursday week...no autopilot, no radar. never fixed routing, running parts ofr general motors, ford, chrysler, ups, fedex, you call we haul.
cheapest motels, food simulator location experts. no time but to sleep, find a burger joint and bum a ride with the FBO courtesy drivers to the ramp, carrying tons of paperwork, charts, flight plans, extra fruit and water and the holy marlboros...
wait hours on end in mexico for the lazy deliveres to show up. pagers beeping all day long, hurry up, fords got 75,000 dollars in seat buttons to be picked up in Kentucky. Take em to Atlantic City, chop chop. Weathers marginal. get Flight Watch brief, tale off VFR, pick up atc clearance climbing through3000 feet. Hermosillo to Atlantic City....trucks passing us underneath on the highway...dme roller barely rolling. deathly slow....and i know i can meet my bills when, when, i finally get some time to bank a little and call home, thousands of miles away.
when we were exhausted we´d fall asleep. yes, for up to thirty minutes. our faithful N 302 SF minus autopilot would fly straight and level on its own. wake up startled, chechk heading. right on course. atitude...302 plugging along dolphining between 17,500 feet and 18,000...the days before three sweeps and you´re out....but thats another story as well

ML

[low n' slow]

Meatball:
When I think back to when I was 10 or so and my dreams of becoming a pilot, your story is what I would see. Perhaps not the cuts and slices from poorly packaged cargo, but the rain, the storms, the poorly equipped planes and the relaxed attitude towards it (although you haven't said anything about your attitude towards it then, perhaps it wasn't so relaxed).

/LnS

[meatball]

"go slow, i´m in a hurry," was my motto towards flying. i´d already surpassed my Ripe Banana Theory, the point when one knows one is ripe or too green to get out there and fly the demands of a capitalistic, free-market, cut-throat existence of a fierecly competitive business such as ad hoc freight hauling; my concern was enjoying life and i surely loved every Dc 3minute i racked up...the storms were like mental balm, the icy, slippery runways a superb challenge everytime...perhaps maintenance was my major concern; learning how to do " proper " records in the technical log so to keep operational and make the owner/broker happy.
the cuts and slices were merely part and parcel...much worse was coming back to Yspilanti at 3:30 in the afternoon when we´d receive a call from center..." Skybus 302, company wants you to divert to New Orleans to Silver Forwarders, ramp 16 next to Shells hangar." for example. Change course, revise flight plan, look down at your apt. house thinking how nice it´d be in bed and then get other things done, but no, off we go again, not knowing when we´d be back.
:ok:

[meatball]

so, that´s the end of this thread apparently? what a damned shame. I need feedback to go on...if not, screw it

[PiperTyro]

so, that´s the end of this thread apparently? what a damned shame. I need feedback to go on...if not, screw it


I for one would like you to go on Meatball, very interesting.

[markflyer6580]

Me too! :ok:

[gooneydog]

Still flying the usual junk outta Ypsi A/c are a tad better ( Dc-9 & DA-20) and actually get to stay at Coutyard & Fairfields now Otherwise basically nothing has changed