It flies!

I knew I was forgetting something....

First flight in two months happened last Friday, a quick 50 minute flight to a tiny Indian airstrip called Trivandrum (actually it's called Thiruvananthapuram now because of some pathetic patriotic movement, but nobody calls it that). I flew there and I flew back and I didn't break anything or injure anyone so I think the day can be classed as a success.

Flying with the radically different SOPs was a bit disconcerting ... being away for a while dulls the senses, but then coming back to a different way of working is even more confusing, especially when the checklist is called for. Thankfully the training captain had a sense of humour and saw through the procedural errors.

The next flight was a long slog to Delhi and back. Delhi is anything but a tiny airstrip, and the new airport is quite impressive, especially the taxi routes which get rattled off at top speed. Indian radio etiquette is equally impressive, but for completely different reasons, never have I ever heard so many people step on each other so often, even in the H U G E Manilla sectors. Quite sad really.

Third day was the night flight to Bombay. A thrilling airport as every carrier from everywhere in the world is there, but also the arguably the biggest dump to pass as an international airport. The place deserves it's own post...

That will have to do for now, will write some more in the coming days probably once line training ends. 6 down, 4 to go, should be done by the end of the week.

S.

Dubai

I'm half way through my stay in Dubai. The seemingly interminable stream of (...) which was ground training ended last weekend and I jetted into the desert on Sunday evening, then spent the better part of last week practising every failure known to Airbus between 3 and 9 in the morning.

The sim check took place Saturday and went well, the usual programme which I have posted about many times before. The recipe this time called for a rapid decompression, flap failure, engine fire on take-off and a few approaches with various systems inoperative.

Dubai itself is surreal. I think the best way to describe it would be to think of Paris at the turn of the last century. This place has everything that's modern but 10 times bigger and shiner than anywhere else, and it's obviously brand new. Some may call it a bit ridiculous, but then Paris at the 1900 expo was ridiculous too.

What makes me smile is that there are still people in this world who have dreams and have the power and money to make these dreams come true no matter what. Cost cutting, public consultations and feasibility studies don't exist here for better or for worse.

There are many things that utterly revolt me about this place too, but they are best left unsaid...

I have 4 more days in Dubai, and 2 sim sessions: An ETOPS (engines-turn-or-passengers-swim) scenario and some low visibility approaches. After this I return to the paperwork nightmare of the local CAA (committee against aviation). I will finally be reunited with the right seat of a real aeroplane on the 26th of November, not a day too soon.

S.

More about training

So why exactly do I have to undergo training upon joining a new company? It's the same aeroplane, same sky, same planet but it's a different company and as this isn't a perfect world every company will have a slightly different way of doing the same thing. As a newcomer it is essential that I know the way things work here as the safety of the flight depends on it.

The course covers subjects like Standard Operating Procedures (who does what, when), safety procedures, interaction with cabin crew, handling of dangerous goods, low vis and extended range operations. The last three are fairly standard but the rest can be quite diverse.

Another element of initial training, which I am much less fond of, is the concept that the new pilot has forgotten every first detail about the aeroplane and needs to do a condensed type rating all over again. This might apply to some people (who really should have brushed up on their own beforehand) but it would be far more efficient for the airline to do a triage based on recency before arbitrarily sending everyone for training which is an expensive waste of resources.

Finally you get the regulatory hassle of operating in a new country which feels the need to exert it's sovereignty by altering the standard ICAO regulations slightly and making pilots write exams which have already been written during training - usually air law. Did I also mention the ludicrous licensing fees, or the need to do a new medical?

S.

Part two begins... slowly

First few days in the new airline, which will once again remain nameless but won't take long to figure out.

The majority of last week was spent going from office to office collecting papers, signing other papers, filling in endless forms and being issued with several tons of company material: uniforms, suitcases, books, etc. The usual stuff really.

The rest of the month will be spent in various classrooms learning about local air law, the company's Standard Operating Procedures, reviewing the agonising Airbus Computer Based Torture (Airbus calls it training actually - but it's completely irrelevant to a pilot already familiar with the aircraft), reviewing aircraft performance, etc.

Once suitably brainwashed I'll get sent to a secret location for a two weeks (same as the initial rating course) in the box of tricks before finally, after nearly two wasted months, being allowed to fly again.

My theory is that all this training takes place so you have time to forget your old airline callsign because 90% of everything else stays the same. It's still a scandalous waste of time though.

Probably won't write anything here until the real flying starts but I will be tweeting from time to time.

S.

End of part one

I flew my last flight at the world's best low cost airline last wednesday. An eery experience if ever there was one, knowing what was second nature would become a memory very soon. The rotation was a short and generally unpopular rotation to Bintulu via Kuching. It's unpopular because the flight usually runs late and ploughs through some of the worst weather of the region, but Wednesday was special.

Hotel Romeo arrived on time from China, a rare event. We departed on time, didn't hit any weather and were number-one-high-speed for the rest of the evening, making up time everywhere and ending up a nice 30 minutes early back home. Lots of pictures were taken, and to celebrate the event the brilliant Captain H did all the paperwork for the day while I assumed the command position as demonstrated below:

After the flight what felt like the entire crew base of Kinabalu came out to the after party and there was merriment late into the night. The next day was spent finishing the packing, saying bye to the beach and the people. I'm now on 2 weeks leave at home before starting in my new company.

S.

Singapore - High Speed

Approach and landing into Singapore a few days ago, my last one for what could be a very long time. 800% speed again ... watch for the eagle that nearly took out my Number 1 engine. Camera behaved this time too!

S.

Pictures - 7

More pictures... Busy few weeks preparing for some big changes.

Kota Kinabalu

Brunei

Queueing in Singapore

Queueing in Singapore again, different day

Hong Kong - High speed

Descent and landing in Hong Kong on a beautiful afternoon. 30 minutes are condensed into 3 and a half which makes for a very nice effect I find.

Please excuse the very very stupid autofocus on the camera. I shall replace it as soon as I can.

S.

A few firsts

A few firsts today, my first day flying in over a week:

We landed with the lowest visibility yet, a mere 600 meters. Any lower and it's cat 2 / autoland operations. There was a stiff 20kt crosswind, lightning, and the usual driving rain as well.

I received my latest landing clearance, at about 150ft above the runway. Some ignorant A330 crew flying for a flag carrier decided to take their sweet time backtracking to vacate at an intersection 1500m from the landing threshold, and 1000m from the far end.

Actually I have received later landing clearances, at maybe 100ft, but this was flying a 1300kg tin can doing 55 knots. Flying a 62 ton bus doing 140 knots makes it rather more ... exhilarating.

Finally I logged my thousandth hour today, somewhere near Singapore. I don't suddenly feel different or anything, but the 4 digits look cool in the logbook. I think I was pilot flying as well.

S.

When the heavens open again

Different day, different crew, different place but very much the same theme as my last post. I wrote it a while ago but then lost it in my flight bag for a while.

The sun has set behind us as we race towards Kuching. Singapore Radar says good bye and Kuching Radar says hello. The super advanced weather radar is telling me that our destination is sitting right under a very active raincloud, and the HUGE clouds which are now barely visible in the dwindling sunlight confirm this. I ask for 20 miles off track to avoid the worst of it.

...

10 minutes and 20 000ft later we're getting into the thick of it. Weather avoidance has become futile - the best I can do is avoid the red bits on the radar. Outside the rain is giving us a good planewash and the odd embedded CB I can't avoid massages the passengers, quite forcefully at times. We eventually clear the worst of the weather and accept vectors for final. The weather radar is telling us the approach and landing should be dry-ish. We have flown 30 extra miles by now.

...

Director turns us onto final approach at 12 miles and I intercept the localiser and glide path at the same time, just as we reach the interception altitude. I always get a kick out of flying a constant descent and keeping the engines at idle and even the weather hasn't ruined it too badly today. The runway appears ahead of us and it looks like this will be an uneventful approach.

...

4 miles from touch down and I realise this won't be an uneventful approach. Surface winds are reported calm yet I'm flying straight into 25knots which can only mean that there is a big nasty thunder cell nearby. There suddenly is a whole lot of red right over the runway and some drops are hitting the windscreen. My senses are on high alert for any sign of windshear.

100ft above the ground and the few drops are now a torrential downpour. The wipers are flapping uselessly and the rain repellant (some sort of goo that should make it easier to see out when it's raining) is not working - as usual. All I can see is a blur of light either side where the runway edges should be and a whole lot of black everywhere else. Head down, I fly the ILS to 50 feet then flare on the radio altimeter half expecting the resulting landing to break my back ... and it doesn't. The touch down is beautiful and more or less on centreline - although I can't see any sign of it. Full reverse, full brakes and we're off a few seconds later.

...

After shutting down (20 minutes later because of a gate mixup - but that's another story) I discuss the landing with the captain. He reckons we had about 1000m visibility on touch down and we both agree that it was a rather unpleasant final approach. The rain thunders down for another 15 minutes then suddenly stops, as if someone switched off a tap somewhere. Take-off back to Singapore is uneventful, most of the nasty weather has gone to play elsewhere.

S.