Northwest Trip Part Two

Seattle is a great town. However, there wasn't much time to look around on this trip. I basically went to my hotel and stayed there for the remainder of the evening. I experienced TV lock. It happens occassionally. It's when you get to a hotel, a little tired, and you make the mistake of turning on the TV. You then spend untold hours flipping through shows you have no interest in, unable to turn the dang thing off. Anyway, that's how my night went.

We showed up at the airport the next day to find miserable weather. Our flight was going to be a quick hop to Portland, only 36 minutes. There was heavy rain, low ceilings, and the wind was blowing around 20 knots. We put on enough fuel to get to Portland and then back to Seattle if the weather went below minimums at our destination.

We got the aircraft set for passengers and waited for them to arrive. Once we had them on board, we taxied out for departure. After a bit of a wait for other departures, we were cleared to position and hold ( that is pull onto the runway, all lights on, ready to depart when cleared ). Then we were cleared for takeoff. We were considerably lighter on this leg and it didn't take long to get right into the clouds.

The last time that I flew out of Seattle the view from the aircraft was gorgeous, great views of Mt Rainier, Mount St Helens, and the cascades. This time, nothing. We were in the clouds almost the whole time. We picked up a good amount of ice from 3,000 ft up to 16,000 ft. We leveled off at 17,000 feet and sped up. The ice was almost gone from the windscreen when we started the descent in Portland.

The weather in Portland wasn't as bad as Seattle, but close. It was rainy and windy. It was fairly bumpy on the approach, but no ice. We touched down in gusty winds and deployed the thrust reversers. Off the runway and into Flightcraft. Passengers were unloaded and the aircraft cleaned. Tonight the aircraft goes into the hanger, we arrange for that. Flightcraft is a nice FBO ( Fixed Base Operator ). The have a great looking lounge for the pilots and passengers to hang out in. Of course, the people were nice. Pretty much all the FBO's you run across in large airports treat their customers well.


Here is the Lear after we landed at KPDX.





The crew rented a car and headed to the hotel for check-in. It was only 10:30 PST so I was determined not to get TV lock. We decided that we would take a little drive down to McMinnville, Oregon to check out the famed Spruce Goose ( the large aircraft built by Howard Hughes ). The Spruce Goose is housed in the Evergreen Aviation Museum. So we headed out.

Now you would think that two jet pilots would be able to read a road map and find our destination. Not so. We made a wrong turn and somehow ended up taking a scenic tour of western Oregon. I had no idea how much agriculture was in Oregon. We saw the Oregon wine country, which is vast. I enjoyed our travels through the country and it certainly beats hanging out in the hotel.

After a few hours driving around Oregon, we finally pulled into the Evergreen Museum complex. The Spruce Goose is impressive. It's gi-normous and not surprising that it barely got into the air, even though it has eight engines, it seemed underpowered. The pictures I took do really do it justice.



We hung out in the museum for a bit, just taking it all in. There is some serious legend and history associated with this particular aircraft. The museum also had other aircraft sitting of historical importance. DC-3, Sopwith Camel, and a Mig 29 are just a few.


After the museum, we headed back to Portland to eat and retire for the night. As I have mentioned before in this blog, getting out and being able to see stuff I wouldn't normally see is one of the great things about my job.

The next day, the weather was okay for the flight back to Oklahoma. It took a lot less time to get back due to the tailwind. We touched down at our home airport and logged another successful flight by our crew. Good trip to the northwest, I hope we go back soon.

Northwest Trip Part One

Here is my first effort to describe what it's like to have my job. I'll describe what happens on a typical trip.

First, the crew is notified of the trip. Sometimes the trip is scheduled way in advance, sometimes not. We get to required trip time, passenger load, and fuel needed figured prior to the flight. Day of the flight all the fuel is loaded, weight and balance gets figured, and the aircraft is set up with coffee, snacks and newspapers. Yes, the crew does that stuff. We verify the appropriate Jepp charts ( for instrument flight ) are on board.

About 30 minutes ( give or take ) prior to departure time, after the pre-flight inspection, the APU ( Auxillary Power Unit ) is started to provide electricity and heat to the airplane. This is when the the crew does the Before Starting Engines Checklist. The checklist includes entering info into the FMS ( Flight Management System, which contains flight plan info, fuel comsumption, etc. ), and various other systems checks. Once that is done, we wait for our passengers.

1315- Passengers arrive. Bags load, passengers seated, passenger briefing completed.
1325-Engine start and taxi to active runway.
1330- Another on time departure. Time enroute to Seattle ( KSEA ) 3 hours 58 minutes ouch...that's a long one.

After liftoff, the flaps and the gear are retracted and the After Takeoff Checklist is completed. The Lear 60 had a very respectable thrust-to-weight ratio, so at this point in the flight I am pulling the thrust levers back. Civil aircraft below 10,000 feet are restricted to 250 knots. If I didn't reduce the thrust, our aircraft would fly right through that speed even during the climb.

As soon as we cross 10,000 feet the only speed I have to worry about is something called Max Operating Speed. It varies a little in attitude but that speed is around 330 knots below 26,750 feet. And the 60 will do that speed no problem.

We complete checklists at 10,000 feet and Flight Level ( FL ) 180 or 18,000 feet. Upon reaching FL400 ( 40,000 feet ) the Cruise Checklist is completed. Total time to climb to FL400: 14 minutes. Not bad for an aircraft that's heavy with fuel and passengers.

And then there's not a whole lot to do. Here's something to consider. If you want to be a pilot, part of a crew, you should be a people person. You have to sit in a small area with another person for long periods of time. I bring this up because I have known pilots and pilots-to-be who are not fans of other people. I imagine 3 hours and 58 minutes would seem like 10 hours if you didn't work well with others. In a previous job I experienced this very thing. My experience was over a four day time period and it was brutal. The crew I fly with now is great.

So we discuss life, the universe and everything as our aircraft flies over Woodward, Oklahoma; Denver; Rock Springs, Wyoming; and Pocatello, Idaho. Finally, descending through the clouds we catch a glimpse of the huge rock that is Mount Rainier.


Now, the crew starts to get busy. We have to perform the Descent Checklist, and the start getting the aircraft configured and slowed down for the instrument approach we need to get into Seattle. Approach control gives us the approach assignment, the ILS 34L. Then comes the Approach Checklist followed closely by the Before Landing Checklist. The gear is down the flaps are down and the aircraft is descending through the muck on a precision instrument approach. The Co-Pilot calls out speeds and altitudes as we zoom towards the runway. We touch down at our ref speed ( or reference speed- to simplify-our landing speed based on weight ) and the brakes are applied as the thrust reversers are deployed.

We slow the aircraft, get off the runway, and taxi into the general aviation part of the airport. The Lear's engines are shutdown and we began to deplane the passengers. Of course, we unload the baggage and make sure that the passengers transportation is secured. You might think my job is over, but it's not. The aircraft interior has to be cleaned and made ready for the next flight. When all of that is finished, we head for the hotel. We are in Seattle for the night. Tomorrow is a short trip to Portland.

The blog must go on

I considered recently the possibility of turning off this blog. It can sometimes be a hassle to keep things updated. Plus, with a huge readership of three or four, would it really be missed? I decided that it would be missed, missed by me. So this blog will continue. It will continue, but instead of just putting pictures up, I will include more in depth descriptions of what it's like to have my occupation.

As far back as I can remember, I have wanted to fly. Actually, my first real memory of wanting to be a pilot is when I was 8. Anyone that I have ever associated with in my life has known that I was either a pilot, or wanting to be a pilot, depending on when they were associating with me. I have had the dream of flight for a very long time. And I've stuck to that dream. Yes, life does come along and create roadblocks to your dreams, but stick to them. Has it been worth all the training and work? Yes it has. I have a cool job.

Flying an airplane, any airplane, is cool. It takes a fair amount of smarts. Your safety depends on many things: a good knowledge of how weather works; the systems that make your plane fly; good judgement; and how to communicate in another language. And that's just to fly a Cessna 152 ( two-place aircraft ) around the airport. There's a lot to know and a lot to do.

As you move up in aircraft size and performance, there is more to know and , at times, more to do. Plus things begin to happen a lot faster. Now add passengers in the back of the airplane that expect to have a hassle-free, uneventful flight and you have my job....more or less.

There are many rewards in my job and past flying jobs that I have had. I have seen a lot of the nation the flight deck. I have landed at airports in 45 of the 50 states. I've flown over great natural landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, Mount Saint Helens and Niagra Falls. I've also been able to see man made wonders from the sky. Washington D.C. was cool, Times Square from 35,000 feet at night was cooler. I've seen beautiful clouds of every kind from the top, bottom and side. I've seen the tips of a Caravan propeller glow green as I flew through heavy dry snow at night. I've seen the windscreen covered in a mini electrical storm ( also know as St Almos Fire ). I have squeaked a 46,000 pound aircraft onto the ground with 50 passengers in the back who had no idea how hard I was working in that crosswind. I have flown around massive west Texas thunderstorms without even a bump. I have handled emergencies in the air and lived to fly another day.

It may sound like I'm bragging...I'm not. I'm simply pointing out how my job differs from others and to snicker because my job is better than yours.

In the coming days and months I would like to use this blog to give all three of my readers a better understanding of how it is to work and live as a pilot. Maybe someone will learn something, maybe not. Regardless, I will continue to publish this blog...I'd miss it.

Peace.