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.