FlyingNutz.com

This "Howcast.com Segment" cracks me up.  I wonder how my flight attendant friends feel about this? I have not heard of to many sucessful stories between passengers and flight attendants.  But there must be stories out there?  Pilots, Pay attention to step 6, read something intelligent!

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Growing up out west I remember watching this ad, it brings back great memories.  I flew Western more as a kid then any other airline.

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Date: November 24, 2009 4:46:07 PM CST


I had a one hour conversation with Tim Cheney yesterday and would like to shed some light on what happened to cause the over flight of their destination, MSP.

Before I begin with details, I wanted to say right up front that although there are many events that helped to cause this, Tim takes full responsibility and places no blame on anyone but himself. He is very humbled by what has happened and fully understands that as captain, he was responsible for the a/c, crew and passengers. That said, he wanted me to know how it all happened.

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As an airline crew member you are subject to the rules of seniority and might find yourself on the road during the holidays, simply because you are not senior enough to get them off.  While it certainly is more desirable to be home with family, for me it has been more memorable to be on the road.  Here are some of my unforgettable holidays spent on the road:

1. Forth of July in San Francisco- While on a four day trip we ended up in SFO for the forth of July, my wife met up with me and my crew.  We took the BART down town and ended up catching a limo down to the Wharf.  We spent the day watching all of the activities, dinning on excellent sea food, and enjoying coffee on the wharf.  The fire works were launched from barges in the bay, spectacular!
2. New Years Eve 2000-  I flew through two time zones at midnight and ended up in PSP just in time to watch the fireworks down town.  Memorable because of the Y2K scare, but also because we almost did not make it to PSP because of fog in SLC.  I was flying through SLC with a baby Captain (higher approach minimums) and had to divert to PIH (Pocatello,ID).  Once in PIH there happened to be another diverted plane there that had a commuting Captain on board who could do a CAT II approach into SLC.  He replaced my captain and we flew a CAT II approach into SLC saving the day (he wore jeans and a t-shirt).
3. Thanks Giving- I had a SBA overnight for Thanks Giving and had my wife meet me there for the holiday.  We had dinner at the diner in the hotel parking lot.  Our meal was among one of the best I have ever had!  We then made our way to a martini bar for a cocktail, where my wife got told blond jokes by a complete stranger for two hours before she "got" him back.  She told him that just the week before she was following an ambulance when a package fell out of an unsecured door.  So she did the reasonable thing and stopped to pick the package up.  Upon closer examination she could see the contents exposed through the mangled box, a human toe.  "Wow", the stranger exclaimed, "What did you do?".  She responded, " Well I called the tow truck of course!"

While there are many other stories, these are the most memorable.  Share your holiday stories with a comment below!

Happy Holidays!

Shane

FlyingNutz.com

I can't believe I'm about to tell this story, but here it goes!

Back in 2002 I was a new Captain flying a routine flight from San Jose back to Salt Lake City.  It was a remarkable summer evening with the sun setting to the West and a full blue moon rising to the East.  My First Officer and I were amazed at the site and the colors.  Our Flight Attendant (only one on board the CRJ 200) called up to see if we wanted any water, I could not pass up the opportunity to show her this incredible sight, so we told her to bring the water up and shut the door behind her.  Once in the flight deck the three of us were in awe of the sights all around us.  We discussed the beauty that flying offered and the rarity of a sight such as this.  After about 10 minutes of conversation our flight attendant decided to return to her neglected passengers.  She went to open the flight deck door; clank, clank the door was jammed.

One can only imagine the sheer terror our flight attendant must have felt, unable to get to her passengers and stuck up front with us.  She quickly accessed the problem to find that an atlas container door had opened and was blocking the door from opening.  I suggested we call the passengers and have them close the atlas door so we could open the flight deck door.  My idea terrified our Flight Attendant, she pleaded with me to not make an announcemnet to the passengers.  My first officer wanted to try stomping on the rudder to get the atlas door to close. I objected, 35,000 feet in a swept wing jet was not the proper place to be "stomping on a rudder".  So the flight attendant located a laminated card from the pilot library and began trying to "fish" the atlas door closed through the crack of the door.  I'm sure if passengers were looking forward they probably were wondering what the hell they were watching.  It was evident that she was stuck.  I offered her two choices; sit in the pilot jump seat until we land and we will have a mechanic meet the plane or ask for a passengers help.  Here is what followed:

"Ladies and Gentlemen from the flight deck we hope you are enjoying the flight.  Off of our left wing you will notice a beautiful summer sunset and off of our right wing you will notice an incredible full moon rising.  You might find it of interest that this is a Blue Moon.  I'm not sure if you have ever heard of the oddity of the Blue Moon, if not, you are about to.  You may have noticed your flight attendant has been missing for the last 10 minutes, well thats because she is stuck in the flight deck (Long Pause). Could we ask one brave passenger to approach the flight deck and unjam the door to let her out?

Sure enough one passenger came forward and unjammed the door.  Once the door was opened the laughter, no..... roar drowned out all noise in the flight deck.  Truly the most embarrassing flight of our lives.  After a perfect landing, I refused to face the passengers as they de-planed.  My flight attendant slugged me for embarrassing her.  

Only once in a blue moon!

-Shane

This is a Classic!

The dreaded story of my only aircraft accident.  Even today I hate to talk about it because I have always considered myself an extra safe pilot.  However once upon a time, I did crash an airplane.

It was a windy day and me and a student of mine had planed a leisurely flight to Flagstaff Arizona to build a few more hours toward insurance requirements.  The airplane was properly fueled and our flight plan filed.  It was off to the blue yonder for a enjoyable day of flying, so we thought.

Over the North rim of the grand Canyon we noticed that the VOR had stopped transmitting or receiving, well fortunately we had a LORAN (primitive ground based GPS type of navigation) , but unfortunately it had stopped working as well.  After a quick glance around it became evident that we had lost our electrical system. One of the bigger bummers about losing an electrical system in a Mooney is that you lose your fuel indication system.  We knew we had about one hour of fuel left but how much in each tank?  We thought we had a good idea of our switching order but could we be sure?  The safe option was to divert to Page Arizona and not chancing low fuel over the Grand Canyon.  So we turned toward our new destination and opted to switch our tanks every five minutes for safety reasons.

On approach into page we noticed a Metroliner taxing out for takeoff, knowing full well they would not see us, we opted to extend our downwind to give him time to depart the area.  I mentioned we were getting low and asked my student to bring some power in.  To my dismay the engine coughed and sputtered.  My students response, "your controls".  I actually laughed out loud, I'm sure nervously.  I took the controls and had him switch fuel tanks, fearing we had run out of fuel in one of the tanks.  Unfortunately,the engine would not restart.

We were now low downwind with no motor.  We decided to take a chance and turned toward the dirt crosswind runway.  Once wings level and glide established, it became obvious that we did not even have enough altitude to clear the airport fence let alone make the runway.  The decision, gear down and put it in the desert.  Initially the roll out was fairly smooth, but then it became much more v iolent as the aircraft began to sink into the sand.  The right main gear hit a bush and tore the gear back and into the wing.  The plane then cart wheeled and then fell back to the ground, thank god it did not flip over.  We were safe but the plane was a mess.  My years of training had paid off.

We quickly examined ourselves to make sure we were alive and not harmed.  We each had minor injuries but nothing serious.  Now the f un began, we crashed out side of the airport with no radio, due to an electrical failure.  With no help in sight it was now time to make a three mile walk of shame.  It's funny how the mind can wander after an accident.  What could have I done better?  Why did this happen?  Will I lose my license? What if I this had not turned out?  a lot of self examination had begun.

Fact is the FAA found that the left tanks fuel had been exhausted, when we switched tanks it would not restart, the FAA confirmed it on a stand.  We were found "not guilty" on any account and even sent a letter of no action.  But why is i t I still wonder what more I could have done? This question started with my long walk back to the airport and has not ended to this day. Fortunately,  I am alive to have these thoughts.

I know things are tight everywhere. I still think there is a pilot shortage behind the scenes. Sounds crazy but we are 4 years into the age 65 rule change and the bad economy has all the airlines reducing capacity.  Demand for airline travel will increase when the market improves and very likely capacity will need to increase. Increased capacity= returned furloughs and more pilot jobs.  Just one problem. Who is training to be a pilot right now? The FAA reports record low commercial applicants in the last few years. Supply and demand might dictate a large need for pilots, plus pay raises?

All just my crazy theory. I would say it is a good time to learn to fly.

Shane

Do you find yourself lost without a cell phone or relying on your GPS to get across town.  At 36000 feet we have now regularly see glass flight decks, new young aviators see the same thing at 5000.  Technology is a marvel that has made aviation a safer place.  But, have you lost your aviator heritage?  Are you driving a plane? or are you flying a machine?

Pilots, you have lost your way!  You need to become Aviators.  Don't get me wrong, you are still enjoying the magic of flight, but are you embellishing in it?  Do you remember your first solo like it were yesterday? Have you challenged yourself or others lately?

Politics and pay have beat down the Airline Pilot.  We now fly airplanes because it is easy, not because it is a challenge.  Don't get me wrong, it's a challenge to deal with the pay and the politics.  We are now a commodity and a function of supply and demand economics.  The aviation industry is now a victim  of corporate America, as is other industry.

My challenge to the aviator; re-unite, become the community that we once were.  If you fly jets, go rent a taildragger, if you fly a tail dragger, go fly a sail plane, take a lesson in a more complex plane or in a much simpler one.  It is time to energize the aviator in each one of you!  Airline captains, cross the airline border and start talking to one another.  ATPs' shake the hand of a student pilot and congratulate him/her on their accomplishments.  When was the last time you went to a hangar barbecue, a fly-in or an airshow?  This community is too unique to be beat down.

Get involved before we lose our heritage!  I'll do my part with this website.

Shane

Most airlines consider a child under the age of 2 an infant or a lap child.  Infants travel for free if they are on your lap.  However, if you decide to place your child in a car seat you will be charged for the seat.  Traveling with a lap child on a full flight can be a tight squeeze for you as well as the company next to you.  If you have some flexibility in your schedule there are some planning arrangements that could help you with your trip;

1. 1. Ask reservations for the lightest booked flight.  Space with children is worth the inconvenient schedule.  The possibility of an empty seat being next to you is well worth the extra planning.

2. 2. Ask a reservationists or gate agent for a seat near the restroom.  Infants need this more then the common business flyer.

3. 3. Pre-board.  If you ask the gate agent many airlines allow pre-boarding for parents traveling with Infants.  Take advantage of this first class treatment it will allow you to get much needed overhead storage space.

4. 4. Gate check strollers and child carriers. This frees up much needed space for things such as diaper bags, toys and cheerios.

5. 5. Organize that diaper bag.  A large unorganized bag can be a nightmare if you are in the middle of five seats.  You should be able to grab anything out of your bag by feel alone.

6. 6. Don’t expect to get a roomy exit row, any person under the age of 15 is not allowed.

Finally, consult with a physician before traveling with a sick child. Pressure changes in the cabin during flight can hurt your child’s ears and belly.  If a child hurts he/she cries.  Sometimes they cry until back on the ground when the pressure has equalized. Needless to say this is hard on your child, but think of the tired business traveler next to you.