I was going to post this in the Bush Flying forum, but I thought it'd be even more interesting if we got a good cross-section of pilots replying.
I'd like to know what a typical day is like for you working pilots out there. Whether you're an instructor, bush/float guy, corporate (I don't know anything about corporate flying, I think that would be an interesting read), commuter airline, major airline, air ambulance, firefighting, the list goes on.
Many of us humble students and wannabes read this forum on a regular basis and want to get where you are. Stories and experiences can all be really enlightening, no matter how mundane they may be to the seasoned vet.
Just take us through a typical day (or not so typical), and the more detailed you make it the more interesting it'll be.
Start with what time you have to wake up, how long is your commute, what do you have to do before you fly, what's a typical flying schedule in a day like, what are some of the common problems you run into, how do you deal with tricky situations when a customer is acting up or when something isn't working right...what are your favorite and least favorite parts of the day, do you get to come home at night or are you gone for days at a time? What do you do on weather days? What's it like in the office? In the crew house? In the hangar?
I understand some (most?) of you probably won't have the time or desire to write something fairly lengthy and that's ok (but if you want to, please do!), but just try your best to bring us into your world for a day. Obviously we don't need specific locations or companies or names, but again the more detail the better. We've all seen magazine articles like this (Les Abend's column in 'Flying' comes to mind), this is what I'm trying to get at.
So ...have at it! Hopefully this ends up being interesting!
A Day In The Life...
Moderators: North Shore, sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, lilfssister, I WAS Birddog
Re: A Day In The Life...
I wake up at 0700, with the plan at being the airport for 0830, departure at 0930. Do the morning routine, shit, shower, shave, and just about the time Im plunging the coffee press, dispatch calls. "Weve got an earlier departure, and a different location." My 1.5hr headstart has now been reduced to 10min, new planned departure for the north is 0815 empty.
At least the coffee is ready, quick 30sec shower, no shave, and the deuce will have to wait for the road. I text the crew to give them a heads up, in the event they havent been proactive in waking up early. This is now the fourth min rest day.
Show up, coffee in tow, Im there first. Dispatcher greets me with an ugh. Boot up the computer, check the flight sheet, and do a quick mental calculation for fuel required. Were leaving empty, its 250nm north, were picking up a partient and an escort, coming back, dropping off, then picking up, heading down to the south, where we'll wait to return the same patient. Ive already checked the weather from the night before, for a general idea of what *should* happen. Clear up north; shitty, low ceilings, rain, fog the farther south we go.
By the time the computer has booted, Ive loaded the plan in to the ASEP, the FO has showed up... "where we goin, which plane, hows the mileage?" "all over, same one we were in yesterday, and 1000+ if we do it all today."
I call for Pax weights, call for fuel, and drink my coffee. By this time the medic shows up, they get their gear, and within 40mins were off.
We fire up the pig, and all I hope for is that people are already awake, cause if not, they are now. The medic is already asleep in the back, and we havent left the ramp. The FO gets the clearance, and we request the northbound rwy, as it'll save 30sec; cause if this day is going to be completed were gonna need all the time possible.
Were climbin through 10k, tips off, the sun is popping up above the horizon, but, the sunnies can stay in there case until were on the return. We level off at 240, not much has been said, the crew has been together for the past 4 days, and theres still 6 more to go, pace yourself with the conversation topics. The W and B is completed for the return leg, as well as the engine trends. We call dispatche(s) with our ETAs.
The GPS says theres 12:02 left, time for the descents, 26.7 call, and to figure out which side of the lake the runway is on. Even with a headwind at altitude, with the ASI pegged at the barber pull, were doin 310kts GS in the descent. Theres nothing up here. In winter, its grey, and white, the summer, green and blue. Not much variation. Depending on where the sun is, youll get a reflection from the metal and glass of the community.
Dirt landings are always fun. Not so much as when you get unexpected cloud layers, BLSN, and bad vis... but on clear, calm VFR days, cross midfield, lower the flaps and gear, and time it just right that you never have to stop your mid field, base to final turn. At 3500', Im not too concerned about field ength. Thank god weve burnt half our fuel, and were light, If I can hit it just right, I wont need reverse and Ill be able to taxi off into the apron at then end without brakes.
We come to a stop (not on the concrete pad; the sked wont like it) wait for cool down, and try to see if our "guests" are here. The pilots get out, the medic woke up on touchdown and is getting their stuff together. In anticipation we take out the #9 (stretcher), spin the props, and I go make some calls.
The Suburban shows up. Were anticpating an older lady, and her daughter to come along back down south. Luckily shes walking! No strecher for this leg. But alas, we have two escorts. I do a quick mental calculation and confer with the FO... were good, but just.
I make more calls (got to keep dispatche(s) up to date you know.) We blast off, and its my turn to be the PNF. This FO is pretty smooth. Its just luck im in the left seat, and their not. The only paper work I have to do on the return is to complete the log entry. I keep a mental calculation of how the fuel is going, and think about the next leg as well. The FO and I are already talking about delays... ambulance delays; how itll affect our day, if we'll get bounced somewhere else, how long we'll be on the ground, whats our flight duty day minimas etc. by the time we level off, were doin 340GS, we might even be early. I look back, holler out "is the temperature ok back there?" medic throws up a "turn it up," even though all of the "guests" are asleep.
Call dispatche(s) within 100nm, get the ATIS... the winds are still calm, we'll go in on the opposite rwy we took off on. The vis is good, ceiling is low-ish, we'll plan on the RNAV to break cloud, and then proceed in visually.
On the taxi in off the active, I give dispatch another call, "whats the eta for an ambulance?" they respond with, "there will be a delay, shouldnt be more than 30min" Rog. We park the plane, get the buddy heater turned on, and exit the aircraft. Now the medic is really getting paid their worth, they sit in the plane with the patient. I offer to get coffee or water. Guests are still asleep. I tell the medic Ill be back with an ETA for an ambulance.
Now we (pilots) have time to eat breakfast, chill, have a coffee, check email, fbook, etc. I call dispatch in 30min, "whats the new ambulance ETA?" they cant give us one. If we want to do the rest of the trip today, I tell them, we have to be offloaded by this time, otherwise we wont have enough duty to complete it. They respond with a, "call us back in 30min" and we'll try and ruffle their feathers.
With this news, I tell the medic, make sure everything is ok. The guests are fine, antsy of course, I apologize, say, someone will be here as soon as possible.
A couple of hours later, the guests are offloaded. Call Dispatch, "well since you dont have enough time to finish the original trip, I guess youre done for the day... thanks for your help."
We put the plane to bed (even though its mid afternoon.) To refuel, tent, plug in, and clean out the airplane, takes about an hour. As Im handing in the paperwork, my dispatcher tells me "got a trip for you tomorrow, down south, departure 0500."
At least the coffee is ready, quick 30sec shower, no shave, and the deuce will have to wait for the road. I text the crew to give them a heads up, in the event they havent been proactive in waking up early. This is now the fourth min rest day.
Show up, coffee in tow, Im there first. Dispatcher greets me with an ugh. Boot up the computer, check the flight sheet, and do a quick mental calculation for fuel required. Were leaving empty, its 250nm north, were picking up a partient and an escort, coming back, dropping off, then picking up, heading down to the south, where we'll wait to return the same patient. Ive already checked the weather from the night before, for a general idea of what *should* happen. Clear up north; shitty, low ceilings, rain, fog the farther south we go.
By the time the computer has booted, Ive loaded the plan in to the ASEP, the FO has showed up... "where we goin, which plane, hows the mileage?" "all over, same one we were in yesterday, and 1000+ if we do it all today."
I call for Pax weights, call for fuel, and drink my coffee. By this time the medic shows up, they get their gear, and within 40mins were off.
We fire up the pig, and all I hope for is that people are already awake, cause if not, they are now. The medic is already asleep in the back, and we havent left the ramp. The FO gets the clearance, and we request the northbound rwy, as it'll save 30sec; cause if this day is going to be completed were gonna need all the time possible.
Were climbin through 10k, tips off, the sun is popping up above the horizon, but, the sunnies can stay in there case until were on the return. We level off at 240, not much has been said, the crew has been together for the past 4 days, and theres still 6 more to go, pace yourself with the conversation topics. The W and B is completed for the return leg, as well as the engine trends. We call dispatche(s) with our ETAs.
The GPS says theres 12:02 left, time for the descents, 26.7 call, and to figure out which side of the lake the runway is on. Even with a headwind at altitude, with the ASI pegged at the barber pull, were doin 310kts GS in the descent. Theres nothing up here. In winter, its grey, and white, the summer, green and blue. Not much variation. Depending on where the sun is, youll get a reflection from the metal and glass of the community.
Dirt landings are always fun. Not so much as when you get unexpected cloud layers, BLSN, and bad vis... but on clear, calm VFR days, cross midfield, lower the flaps and gear, and time it just right that you never have to stop your mid field, base to final turn. At 3500', Im not too concerned about field ength. Thank god weve burnt half our fuel, and were light, If I can hit it just right, I wont need reverse and Ill be able to taxi off into the apron at then end without brakes.
We come to a stop (not on the concrete pad; the sked wont like it) wait for cool down, and try to see if our "guests" are here. The pilots get out, the medic woke up on touchdown and is getting their stuff together. In anticipation we take out the #9 (stretcher), spin the props, and I go make some calls.
The Suburban shows up. Were anticpating an older lady, and her daughter to come along back down south. Luckily shes walking! No strecher for this leg. But alas, we have two escorts. I do a quick mental calculation and confer with the FO... were good, but just.
I make more calls (got to keep dispatche(s) up to date you know.) We blast off, and its my turn to be the PNF. This FO is pretty smooth. Its just luck im in the left seat, and their not. The only paper work I have to do on the return is to complete the log entry. I keep a mental calculation of how the fuel is going, and think about the next leg as well. The FO and I are already talking about delays... ambulance delays; how itll affect our day, if we'll get bounced somewhere else, how long we'll be on the ground, whats our flight duty day minimas etc. by the time we level off, were doin 340GS, we might even be early. I look back, holler out "is the temperature ok back there?" medic throws up a "turn it up," even though all of the "guests" are asleep.
Call dispatche(s) within 100nm, get the ATIS... the winds are still calm, we'll go in on the opposite rwy we took off on. The vis is good, ceiling is low-ish, we'll plan on the RNAV to break cloud, and then proceed in visually.
On the taxi in off the active, I give dispatch another call, "whats the eta for an ambulance?" they respond with, "there will be a delay, shouldnt be more than 30min" Rog. We park the plane, get the buddy heater turned on, and exit the aircraft. Now the medic is really getting paid their worth, they sit in the plane with the patient. I offer to get coffee or water. Guests are still asleep. I tell the medic Ill be back with an ETA for an ambulance.
Now we (pilots) have time to eat breakfast, chill, have a coffee, check email, fbook, etc. I call dispatch in 30min, "whats the new ambulance ETA?" they cant give us one. If we want to do the rest of the trip today, I tell them, we have to be offloaded by this time, otherwise we wont have enough duty to complete it. They respond with a, "call us back in 30min" and we'll try and ruffle their feathers.
With this news, I tell the medic, make sure everything is ok. The guests are fine, antsy of course, I apologize, say, someone will be here as soon as possible.
A couple of hours later, the guests are offloaded. Call Dispatch, "well since you dont have enough time to finish the original trip, I guess youre done for the day... thanks for your help."
We put the plane to bed (even though its mid afternoon.) To refuel, tent, plug in, and clean out the airplane, takes about an hour. As Im handing in the paperwork, my dispatcher tells me "got a trip for you tomorrow, down south, departure 0500."
Re: A Day In The Life...
Teeg, that was great, thanks! Exactly what I was hoping for!
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North Shore
- Rank Moderator
- Posts: 5621
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:47 pm
- Location: Straight outta Dundarave...
Re: A Day In The Life...
Quoted from an earlier post..
Sure...
Usually the mornings are filled with the sounds of birds singing and the smells of fresh brewed coffee from my lake front property kitchen, followed by the crisp scent of bacon & eggs from my surrounding neighbors. There's nothing like the sound of water hitting the beach just 30 feet from where I sit on my deck where I enjoy my first cup of java....The bees buzzing, eagles soaring...a symphony of nature's finest.
After a hot shower...I enjoy a brisk walk through my 3 Ha of land...baby deer cautiously approach me under the watchful eye of the momma deer...
I start my Range Rover on the way back into my lake front home...I like my SUV icy cold with the a/c running for a few minutes while I gather my briefcase. Some days I take along a Cuban cigar for an afternoon snack…but not always.
Upon arrival at Pearson I greet, and am greeted by all the wonderful people HR has hired making my job that much easier. An honor to work with such outstanding professionals. Striding through Terminal 4, I venture toward the crew room. The Brazilian Rainforest hardwood floors were just polished this morning...they have a unique shine today...The continued scent of Costa Rican coffee embraces me as I walk into the building.
I open the flight plan.....ahhh, an easy jaunt over to Beijing with a seasoned F/O, lots of new eye-candy FA's and steak for dinner...how can things get any better? I take a break from that to have a few puffs of my cigar that I decided to fire up a little earlier that previously planned. I return to the desk and slide into my high back leather chair and finish off the weather - clear skies the whole way, and decent vis in Beijing - quite unusual. Over to the crew lounge by mid morning to greet the 'gang'. Everyone is chipper...everyone in a good mood...as usual. Jokes exchanged, stories of the last nights 'soirée' are told with great enthusiasm...good times...good times indeed.
By 11 am, marching orders are distributed and it looks like the aircraft will fly...no snags...engineers...way to do things right the first time around.
Over to the gate, and again, the aircraft is precisely parked, clean and tidy - the groomers and the caterers have done their jobs well. A quick scan of the loadsheet and fuel req shows that no last-minute adjustments are needed...doors close, pushback on time, everything goes as smoothly as usual, thanks to cooperative ATC and we're off and up to 36-0. A few hours later, and the paper work done up....time to eat...steaks for all except 'tofu' steaks for each of the 2 vegetarians (Everyone is taken into consideration) Wines are brought in by the FA's and it's almost a international festival with grapes of different citizenship, as well as the cheeses... A light nap rounds out the evening, and it's back to work in the Far East. The Chinese controllers seem to have been recruited in Hong Kong today, as none of the usual accent hassles mar our descent and approach, and I pull off the mythical 'greaser' - not bad for a guy who only works 10 days a month - even if I do say so myself. Waved through customs, we find the crew bus waiting in the assigned spot, and it's off to the finest hotel that the company's money can buy.
A few hours later, the crew meets at the hotel bar, and cigars and brandy are brought out...then slowly one by one people go up to their rooms to sleep. I luck out, and the saucy little FA number who's new on the crew, and has been making eyes at me all day, grabs my spare room key without anyone else noticing...I'm off to the horse races! Two gentle furlongs satisfy us both, and we drift off between silk sheets to peacefully slumber until the dawn.....
(with thanks to a well-known poster of the ellipsis)
Sure...
Usually the mornings are filled with the sounds of birds singing and the smells of fresh brewed coffee from my lake front property kitchen, followed by the crisp scent of bacon & eggs from my surrounding neighbors. There's nothing like the sound of water hitting the beach just 30 feet from where I sit on my deck where I enjoy my first cup of java....The bees buzzing, eagles soaring...a symphony of nature's finest.
After a hot shower...I enjoy a brisk walk through my 3 Ha of land...baby deer cautiously approach me under the watchful eye of the momma deer...
I start my Range Rover on the way back into my lake front home...I like my SUV icy cold with the a/c running for a few minutes while I gather my briefcase. Some days I take along a Cuban cigar for an afternoon snack…but not always.
Upon arrival at Pearson I greet, and am greeted by all the wonderful people HR has hired making my job that much easier. An honor to work with such outstanding professionals. Striding through Terminal 4, I venture toward the crew room. The Brazilian Rainforest hardwood floors were just polished this morning...they have a unique shine today...The continued scent of Costa Rican coffee embraces me as I walk into the building.
I open the flight plan.....ahhh, an easy jaunt over to Beijing with a seasoned F/O, lots of new eye-candy FA's and steak for dinner...how can things get any better? I take a break from that to have a few puffs of my cigar that I decided to fire up a little earlier that previously planned. I return to the desk and slide into my high back leather chair and finish off the weather - clear skies the whole way, and decent vis in Beijing - quite unusual. Over to the crew lounge by mid morning to greet the 'gang'. Everyone is chipper...everyone in a good mood...as usual. Jokes exchanged, stories of the last nights 'soirée' are told with great enthusiasm...good times...good times indeed.
By 11 am, marching orders are distributed and it looks like the aircraft will fly...no snags...engineers...way to do things right the first time around.
Over to the gate, and again, the aircraft is precisely parked, clean and tidy - the groomers and the caterers have done their jobs well. A quick scan of the loadsheet and fuel req shows that no last-minute adjustments are needed...doors close, pushback on time, everything goes as smoothly as usual, thanks to cooperative ATC and we're off and up to 36-0. A few hours later, and the paper work done up....time to eat...steaks for all except 'tofu' steaks for each of the 2 vegetarians (Everyone is taken into consideration) Wines are brought in by the FA's and it's almost a international festival with grapes of different citizenship, as well as the cheeses... A light nap rounds out the evening, and it's back to work in the Far East. The Chinese controllers seem to have been recruited in Hong Kong today, as none of the usual accent hassles mar our descent and approach, and I pull off the mythical 'greaser' - not bad for a guy who only works 10 days a month - even if I do say so myself. Waved through customs, we find the crew bus waiting in the assigned spot, and it's off to the finest hotel that the company's money can buy.
A few hours later, the crew meets at the hotel bar, and cigars and brandy are brought out...then slowly one by one people go up to their rooms to sleep. I luck out, and the saucy little FA number who's new on the crew, and has been making eyes at me all day, grabs my spare room key without anyone else noticing...I'm off to the horse races! Two gentle furlongs satisfy us both, and we drift off between silk sheets to peacefully slumber until the dawn.....
(with thanks to a well-known poster of the ellipsis)
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just curious
- Rank Moderator
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- Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2004 9:29 am
- Location: The Frozen North
- Contact:
Re: A Day In The Life...
I knew I shoulda been a tanker pilot! dammit... when did they get fight attendants for the Ducks?
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Trim Spinner
- Rank 1
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:48 pm
- Location: YYZ - Terminal 1
Re: A Day In The Life...
Woke up at my apartment downtown. I like living here, in Toronto, in the city, in my mid-twenties. It's fun. I draw energy from the city. Throw on the coffee-maker. It will sit ready before I am done my shower and shave. As I wake up, I'm grateful that my relatively-low seniority steers me towards multi-day pairings, which is what I prefer anyway.
Towelling-off my face, I step into my uniform. I pressed my shirt and pants and shined my shoes last night in anticipation of this 4-day pairing, and they were hanging, ready to go inside my closet. I've worked many hard previous years to put these on. Now that I can, I treat it with the utmost respect. Doing up my tie, I move to the kitchen to pour my coffee into my Starbucks travel mug and distribute a small lunch to my flight bag and a few less-perishable food items to my wheelie bag. To be fair, our per-diems are actually great, but hey - a penny saved is a penny earned. And it's nice not to eat crew meals all the time.
I don my hat as I step out the door with my bags in tow. I could take the subway, but I think today I'll drive. Worst case scenario for each method of transport is an hour and a half or so, but traffic is supposed to be light, and I haven't driven my car in more than a few days. Plus, I'll be able to crank my music and sing along on the Gardiner.
Leaving the highway, I park my car and catch the monorail to Terminal 1. Good. I didn't have to wait too long this time. Head on over to the crew room while I'm still sipping coffee that only recently got cool enough to drink. Captain's not there yet, but I'm early. I quickly finish an apple for my first meal of the day, and as I toss it out, he walks in. Haven't flown with him before. He looks friendly, though, and the flight attendant is nice, so all is well. We grab our paperwork, clear security, and head to our gate.
It's an early morning, so the plane sits waiting for us. The boss preps the cockpit while I give the outside a good run-down. Everything is in place and there's no wrinkled skin. Always a good start to the day. I climb back inside and start getting my plates and such ready, mashing buttons on the FMS (Flight Magic System).
Time flies by, and next thing you know, we've started and I'm grabbing a clearance and reading back taxi at a million miles an hour. Dash to the start line, no de-ice needed today, ring the F/A doorbell, push levers forward. Through 1000', autopilot on. Vector. Vector. Vector. Cleared on course. Clearing terminal makes your life a little quieter, and levelling off, you can finally settle in to a slower routine of reading the latest ... SOP revisions and preparing your approach. Put her down, smile at the pax, rinse, and repeat.
On our last leg, we close up shop and head off to our hotel. I've stayed here a few times. Not a bad spot, it's quiet, the rooms are clean, and the pillows are great. What more could you ask for? The skipper and I made some good conversation during the day, so we grab some dinner with the prettier half of the team in tow. I like to listen to the stories of the older and wiser of the bunch, but I can definitely identify with a few of their tales. We wrap up dinner and head back to our rooms. I end my day with a quick trip to the treadmill, an ironing of my shirt for the next day, and a call to my girl. Not too long after that, I fall asleep with the television on.
Towelling-off my face, I step into my uniform. I pressed my shirt and pants and shined my shoes last night in anticipation of this 4-day pairing, and they were hanging, ready to go inside my closet. I've worked many hard previous years to put these on. Now that I can, I treat it with the utmost respect. Doing up my tie, I move to the kitchen to pour my coffee into my Starbucks travel mug and distribute a small lunch to my flight bag and a few less-perishable food items to my wheelie bag. To be fair, our per-diems are actually great, but hey - a penny saved is a penny earned. And it's nice not to eat crew meals all the time.
I don my hat as I step out the door with my bags in tow. I could take the subway, but I think today I'll drive. Worst case scenario for each method of transport is an hour and a half or so, but traffic is supposed to be light, and I haven't driven my car in more than a few days. Plus, I'll be able to crank my music and sing along on the Gardiner.
Leaving the highway, I park my car and catch the monorail to Terminal 1. Good. I didn't have to wait too long this time. Head on over to the crew room while I'm still sipping coffee that only recently got cool enough to drink. Captain's not there yet, but I'm early. I quickly finish an apple for my first meal of the day, and as I toss it out, he walks in. Haven't flown with him before. He looks friendly, though, and the flight attendant is nice, so all is well. We grab our paperwork, clear security, and head to our gate.
It's an early morning, so the plane sits waiting for us. The boss preps the cockpit while I give the outside a good run-down. Everything is in place and there's no wrinkled skin. Always a good start to the day. I climb back inside and start getting my plates and such ready, mashing buttons on the FMS (Flight Magic System).
Time flies by, and next thing you know, we've started and I'm grabbing a clearance and reading back taxi at a million miles an hour. Dash to the start line, no de-ice needed today, ring the F/A doorbell, push levers forward. Through 1000', autopilot on. Vector. Vector. Vector. Cleared on course. Clearing terminal makes your life a little quieter, and levelling off, you can finally settle in to a slower routine of reading the latest ... SOP revisions and preparing your approach. Put her down, smile at the pax, rinse, and repeat.
On our last leg, we close up shop and head off to our hotel. I've stayed here a few times. Not a bad spot, it's quiet, the rooms are clean, and the pillows are great. What more could you ask for? The skipper and I made some good conversation during the day, so we grab some dinner with the prettier half of the team in tow. I like to listen to the stories of the older and wiser of the bunch, but I can definitely identify with a few of their tales. We wrap up dinner and head back to our rooms. I end my day with a quick trip to the treadmill, an ironing of my shirt for the next day, and a call to my girl. Not too long after that, I fall asleep with the television on.
Last edited by Trim Spinner on Thu Mar 01, 2012 7:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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North Shore
- Rank Moderator
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- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:47 pm
- Location: Straight outta Dundarave...
Re: A Day In The Life...
JC,
It's not my original work at all. I cribbed it from something I am Birddog posted when he was still around, and re-worked it into a reply to a day in the life of a 777 pilot at Air Canada. I'm working on a tanker pilot's day...
North.
It's not my original work at all. I cribbed it from something I am Birddog posted when he was still around, and re-worked it into a reply to a day in the life of a 777 pilot at Air Canada. I'm working on a tanker pilot's day...
North.
Re: A Day In The Life...
A Lear is gently slid into place in front of me so tightly I can just pick up the scent of burnt rubber from the four mains that touched down only minutes before. There is an old dirty cargo bird to my left recovering from 5 early mornings this week. After the large doors have finished labouring to close I am left with a handful of dusty hangar lights keeping their faithful watch over this flock. The sound of a distant radio can be heard and I am finally at ease after another day’s toil in a cold, hostile and beautiful place.
12 hrs earlier...
As darkness falls, the compass is indicating 295 degrees but I look at the ground 38,000ft below and I am clearly tracking due West. The cold air from the North is trying to bully me again but the blurry lights of home just visible through the overcast layer 80 miles in the distance give me much needed inspiration to carry on. I hear the familiar voice of the Arrival controller and I spool back some thrust as I gently drop my nose.
Sorry son, you’re following slower traffic, we’re going to need you back to final approach speed and switch over to tower – have a good night. I drop my gear into the cold hard airflow and extend full flap. The speed bleeds off followed moments later by the smudge of the airport lights becoming sharp and bright as I shake the last of the clouds off of me. The traffic ahead is just exiting the runway. The countdown begins: 50-30-20-10 and I gently raise my nose. Rubber meets road and I’m home. Park brake is set.
I’m just catching my breath and ready to call it a day when the fuel truck pulls up in front of me. There is some commotion then new commissary is loaded along with fresh coffee. No rest for the weary.
With my lights glowing hot and my belly full of food I line up onto nearly the very same spot I touched down not long before. Both fires are burning and 80 knots comes quickly. Decision speed is reached and I commit to the mission. With my head held high and confident I push off with my mains. This cold air feels good. I feel like getting high. FL410 will do.
The enemy from the north has now become my ally as the groundspeed accelerates through 530 knots a few minutes after level off. It’s now past midnight with just a sliver of moonlight in the heavens above. It’s dark as I track southeast over the rocks. The clouds have abated and I can see lights of hometowns for 150 miles. Although I’m being carried with these strong winds the ride is smooth. The chatter from other airliners in the area is subdued and lighthearted at this early hour. I watch as yesterday moves further west over the mountains and tomorrow greets me fresh from the east.
As I push southward I feel it in my bones as much as I see the sparks far off my nose, the mighty roar muted by distance. I begin to hear the radios come to life with others looking for ride reports and requests for deviations due to weather. I recognize this particular evil that is in the air, we are familiar combatants. I look around and see the blinking lights of other ships converging, seeking safe passage. Weather radar offers its best advice. Everyone agrees. There is a long line of strobes and beacons courageously flashing their way between two huge atmospheric pumps, few dare to even glance at these monsters lest they lash out. Moments later, we're through as the chaos envelopes the passageway behind us. I watch as the red and greens, free from danger on the other side, scatter, bravely carrying on with their missions.
I touchdown on warm concrete an hour later. It`s a short visit. 45 minutes later, I am back in the dark thin air, pushing my way against the relentless north wind. Soon I will be home. Soon I will rest.
12 hrs earlier...
As darkness falls, the compass is indicating 295 degrees but I look at the ground 38,000ft below and I am clearly tracking due West. The cold air from the North is trying to bully me again but the blurry lights of home just visible through the overcast layer 80 miles in the distance give me much needed inspiration to carry on. I hear the familiar voice of the Arrival controller and I spool back some thrust as I gently drop my nose.
Sorry son, you’re following slower traffic, we’re going to need you back to final approach speed and switch over to tower – have a good night. I drop my gear into the cold hard airflow and extend full flap. The speed bleeds off followed moments later by the smudge of the airport lights becoming sharp and bright as I shake the last of the clouds off of me. The traffic ahead is just exiting the runway. The countdown begins: 50-30-20-10 and I gently raise my nose. Rubber meets road and I’m home. Park brake is set.
I’m just catching my breath and ready to call it a day when the fuel truck pulls up in front of me. There is some commotion then new commissary is loaded along with fresh coffee. No rest for the weary.
With my lights glowing hot and my belly full of food I line up onto nearly the very same spot I touched down not long before. Both fires are burning and 80 knots comes quickly. Decision speed is reached and I commit to the mission. With my head held high and confident I push off with my mains. This cold air feels good. I feel like getting high. FL410 will do.
The enemy from the north has now become my ally as the groundspeed accelerates through 530 knots a few minutes after level off. It’s now past midnight with just a sliver of moonlight in the heavens above. It’s dark as I track southeast over the rocks. The clouds have abated and I can see lights of hometowns for 150 miles. Although I’m being carried with these strong winds the ride is smooth. The chatter from other airliners in the area is subdued and lighthearted at this early hour. I watch as yesterday moves further west over the mountains and tomorrow greets me fresh from the east.
As I push southward I feel it in my bones as much as I see the sparks far off my nose, the mighty roar muted by distance. I begin to hear the radios come to life with others looking for ride reports and requests for deviations due to weather. I recognize this particular evil that is in the air, we are familiar combatants. I look around and see the blinking lights of other ships converging, seeking safe passage. Weather radar offers its best advice. Everyone agrees. There is a long line of strobes and beacons courageously flashing their way between two huge atmospheric pumps, few dare to even glance at these monsters lest they lash out. Moments later, we're through as the chaos envelopes the passageway behind us. I watch as the red and greens, free from danger on the other side, scatter, bravely carrying on with their missions.
I touchdown on warm concrete an hour later. It`s a short visit. 45 minutes later, I am back in the dark thin air, pushing my way against the relentless north wind. Soon I will be home. Soon I will rest.
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Justin.Case
- Rank 1
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2009 3:40 pm
Re: A Day In The Life...
I awake to find myself in a (hotel room/crew house) in _____________. I have been here for three weeks with six more to go before I rotate out. I dress myself in the appropriate local attire (shorts/jeans/snow suit) and saunter down to breakfast to enjoy some fresh fruit and cereal while making small talk with the rest of the crew. Afterwards I head up to the office and check the weather on the notoriously slow internet. As usual, our survey block is outside an accurate forecast area and I do my best to interpolate what I see on the larger weather maps and satellite imagery. It looks questionable but we'll have to go out and see first hand. While I file the flight plan my co-pilot goes through the line list, picking the most efficient route to maximize production. We meet the AME outside the lobby where we take the (rental car/taxi/tuk-tuk) to the airport. I fear for my life driving to the airport but our local driver is calm and collected, familiar with the route and horrendous traffic. I can't help but think he has the hardest job out of all of us yet makes 1/5 our salary. "That's the way the rest of the world works..." I say to myself as I go through airport security. The guards are giving me dirty looks as they scrutinize my temporary pass; which took piles of paper work and weeks to obtain. It expires next week and I'm already starting to dread the time I'll waste trying to reapply for it. Oh well, I still get paid and the time off will give me a chance to visit the nearby (ruins/museum/natural wonder/strip club) that I keep hearing about!
We make it to the aircraft and find the geophysicist (beaker) and survey systems are ready to go. No computer glitch today!! While the co-pilot samples the fuel and cleans the windows, I do the walk around and clean the aircraft of (sand/snow/insects/frogs!). After we get in and fire it up, the beaker disconnects the ground power and we're ready to go... but first we pour through the checklists. The Caravan may be a single pilot airplane but we handle this thing like an airliner, system check after system check, with strict limitations on angle of bank and ground speed. While going though the checklists I'm usually turning on the (Air Conditioning/Heat) to keep from (sweating/freezing). Once we're set to taxi, I radio the tower and provide them with our (clearance number/permit number/top secret password) and pray that they don't violate me for something I missed reading in their local air regulations.
We're airborne, whew! Time for the real work to begin! We set course for our first line which is usually (15/30/60) minutes away. No better time then now to get comfortable and plug in the ipod. As every good artists needs a muse, every survey pilot needs their (mozart/hip-hop/techno/thrash metal). With five minutes from the start of the line its time for pre-survey checks where we check the computers and shut down all unnecessary electrical systems. God forbid I forget to turn the (beacon light/wx radar/pitot heat) off.. which would result in a full flight potentially wasted, followed by a tsunami of angry emails from management!
We're online now and trucking along. The weather is better than expected but a (thunderstorm/sandstorm/low cloud) developing on the horizon may force us to move somewhere else in the block. Hours pass punctuated with regular flight following calls and systems checks. We're flying at (150/300/500) ft agl and I get a real good perspective of the (desert/jungle/tundra) that I'm flying over. I enjoy flying over untouched terrain, taking in scenery that few people can or ever will. I'm well aware that I am a mere precursor to (roads/oil rigs/drill sites/deforestation) that will soon pillage this land. "That's the way the rest of the world works..." I guess, as I skip ahead to a more cheery tune on my ipod. My co-pilot is glued to our nav screen and I have to remind him to keep an eye out for the (mountain/towers/wind turbine/Burj Kalifa) a few miles ahead. As he does so, I get my DSLR ready to take a number of epic shots that will not only impress my parents/girlfriend but make all my friends on FB jealous. But just as I'm about to take a Nat. Geo. photograph, someone starts barking at us over the radio. Apparently we just flew over a (wildlife sanctuary/army base/palace). I have to quickly search through my paperwork for a permit number that gives us blanket clearance for a certain (state/province/country). Although he is satisfied with our reply I apologize profusely since we will most likely be setting off more alarms in the future. It's the nature of the business, not everyone gets the memo.
After (6/7/8) hours in the air we finally return to base. We discuss the flight and any problems with the AME while he refuels the aircraft. The Beaker is already in the a/c downloading data and doing other nerdy stuff. We put the plane to bed and make our way back to the (hotel/crew house). Once there I check my emails for any directives from company HQ which is a million miles away (and often equally clueless). Afterwards I round the day off with a crew dinner at a restaurant known for cheap beer; where we try to guess what exotic locations we'll work in next... Good times!!
We make it to the aircraft and find the geophysicist (beaker) and survey systems are ready to go. No computer glitch today!! While the co-pilot samples the fuel and cleans the windows, I do the walk around and clean the aircraft of (sand/snow/insects/frogs!). After we get in and fire it up, the beaker disconnects the ground power and we're ready to go... but first we pour through the checklists. The Caravan may be a single pilot airplane but we handle this thing like an airliner, system check after system check, with strict limitations on angle of bank and ground speed. While going though the checklists I'm usually turning on the (Air Conditioning/Heat) to keep from (sweating/freezing). Once we're set to taxi, I radio the tower and provide them with our (clearance number/permit number/top secret password) and pray that they don't violate me for something I missed reading in their local air regulations.
We're airborne, whew! Time for the real work to begin! We set course for our first line which is usually (15/30/60) minutes away. No better time then now to get comfortable and plug in the ipod. As every good artists needs a muse, every survey pilot needs their (mozart/hip-hop/techno/thrash metal). With five minutes from the start of the line its time for pre-survey checks where we check the computers and shut down all unnecessary electrical systems. God forbid I forget to turn the (beacon light/wx radar/pitot heat) off.. which would result in a full flight potentially wasted, followed by a tsunami of angry emails from management!
We're online now and trucking along. The weather is better than expected but a (thunderstorm/sandstorm/low cloud) developing on the horizon may force us to move somewhere else in the block. Hours pass punctuated with regular flight following calls and systems checks. We're flying at (150/300/500) ft agl and I get a real good perspective of the (desert/jungle/tundra) that I'm flying over. I enjoy flying over untouched terrain, taking in scenery that few people can or ever will. I'm well aware that I am a mere precursor to (roads/oil rigs/drill sites/deforestation) that will soon pillage this land. "That's the way the rest of the world works..." I guess, as I skip ahead to a more cheery tune on my ipod. My co-pilot is glued to our nav screen and I have to remind him to keep an eye out for the (mountain/towers/wind turbine/Burj Kalifa) a few miles ahead. As he does so, I get my DSLR ready to take a number of epic shots that will not only impress my parents/girlfriend but make all my friends on FB jealous. But just as I'm about to take a Nat. Geo. photograph, someone starts barking at us over the radio. Apparently we just flew over a (wildlife sanctuary/army base/palace). I have to quickly search through my paperwork for a permit number that gives us blanket clearance for a certain (state/province/country). Although he is satisfied with our reply I apologize profusely since we will most likely be setting off more alarms in the future. It's the nature of the business, not everyone gets the memo.
After (6/7/8) hours in the air we finally return to base. We discuss the flight and any problems with the AME while he refuels the aircraft. The Beaker is already in the a/c downloading data and doing other nerdy stuff. We put the plane to bed and make our way back to the (hotel/crew house). Once there I check my emails for any directives from company HQ which is a million miles away (and often equally clueless). Afterwards I round the day off with a crew dinner at a restaurant known for cheap beer; where we try to guess what exotic locations we'll work in next... Good times!!
-
lilflyboy262
- Rank 3
- Posts: 167
- Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:35 am
Re: A Day In The Life...
Roll out of bed at 0630, give myself an hour for the obligatory 3 S's in the morning and have a good breakfast. Down as much fluid as I can and put on the uniform. Khaki Shorts, with a camo green short sleeve shirt.
Walk out the door, it's already 20 degrees and the African sun has begun to climb above the horizon. Give the dog a pat as I go past and a short walk later, I'm walking in the gate and into the office.
Being the only full-time Caravan driver in the company at the moment, I'm usually the first one there. Sometimes there is a C206 or GA8 flight earlier than me, but its business as usual today.
The pre-flight planning is pretty basic. Haven't used maps, rulers, protractors or a whiz wheel since my CPL flight check.
No need to check the weather... as there is no accurate reporting stations anyway. The weather is always the same, and if there is weather, its always very localized and you just fly around it.
Work out the fuel needed until the first fuel stop at the very north of Botswana. Usual 3 stops along the way with 1hr 40 flying. There is usually a go-around or two with a diversion as well so I'll leave with 3hrs fuel.
Load all the weights into the computers W&B and hit print.
Stop in at flight planning on the way to the aircraft, file the flights plans, then out to the plane to preflight.
Wait for the freight and passengers to arrive and we are under way.
Its usually a little bit bumpy down low in the morning, so I climb up to about 4500ft and get above the inversion layer. Nice and smooth so I just sit back and relax, watching the rivers and wild animals below pass by. Very few other aircraft out at this time, Usually only 3 or 4 others in a 50 mile radius.
10nm out, start the decent and radio calls, with 1000m of runway and a tight turn around, it is usually a approach convenient to the parking bay which means tailwind in and a headwind out.
Today though, it would be about a 20kt tailwind so it's a much better idea to take the headwind.
As I approach the early downwind I notice that a herd of red lechwe (a large antelope) are grazing on and around the runway. I make a radio call that I am repositioning to the tailwind runway for a low approach and overshoot with a teardrop turn back onto the runway.
I drop the aircraft down to about 50ft and aim slightly to the right of the herd so they don't scatter and all run to the left of the runway. Objective complete, I curse the guides who should have cleared the runway before I got there rather than sitting talking to the guests. Once upon a time, I would have given them an earful about not doing their job but I know it will be the same thing tomorrow... and the day after that.... and the day after that.
Approach and land for an uneventful landing on a runway that probably about the width of a 2 lane road.
Taxi in and park on the concrete pad. The turn around times are so short and with the amount of landings we do each day, we don't shut the engines down.
Feather the prop, Set the park brake, hop out and chock the wheels, tail skid in, put a barrier up between the prop and the doors and roll some stairs up to the cargo door.
While the pax are climbing out, their bags and some freight goes out, the new bags go in, greet the new passengers tell them to climb aboard. Let the guide know about the lechwe and ask him to go down and check that they haven't wandered onto the runway again.
Reverse the process with putting all the stuff away again and then radio calls. After a total of 4mins on the ground we are taxiing out again. I give the passenger briefing over the PA system to save some more time.
Take off and repeat process until landing at the next strip. This time at the very end of the runway, a pride of lions have taken down a Giraffe and are still tearing it to bits. I decide to just land over top and a bit deeper than normal.
The lions barely even look up as I pass overhead them.
After landing at my first fuel stop at around 1030, I call the office to check if there is any changes to my day. Sure enough, one of the planes has a snag and I will need to divert to pick up some pax to make sure they make it to their international flight.
Quick mental maths and tell the fueler how much juice I will need.
Walk into the terminal to grab a bottle of water and a quick early lunch. Inhale said food and water and then track down my passengers.
Usual scenario is being played out. Passengers have been told that the bags need to be a certain dimension as well as weight. Standing in front of them is a bag that is half the size of them and a hard shell case. They are telling the poor African guy, who's English isn't the best, that they weren't told and they can't repack.
It takes me telling them that it is they repack as much as they can into their carry bags or they get nothing at all. Its a matter of flight safety as we can't have bags loose in the cabin. If they have issues with it then they need to call up their travel agent and demand an explanation as to why they weren't informed.
These passengers will not give up and it get's to a point where I tell them I am the pilot in command, and what I say goes.
Load up the passengers and baggage, putting each stop in a different luggage compartment to help speed up the loading and unloading process while lessening the chance of bags ending up in the wrong place.
12 passengers, 600lbs of fuel a side and temp is starting to climb above 30 degrees. Can already see the climb profile and glad that the earth is round....
Heat turbulence is starting to build and I drag the plane up to 12,500ft to get above it. Plan for my decent, 7 miles per 1000ft, so start the decent about 63nm out. Gives me about 400ft/min.
As we get lower the turbulence starts to get worse... and constant. 20nm out that familiar smell floats through the plane. That smell of a 5 star luxury lodge breakfast coming back up again. And like a chain reaction, those of lesser stomach strength follow suit.
All I can pray for is that they remembered the sick bags.
Strip is one of the shorter strips and have tall trees at each end of the strip. One way in and one way out. Prevailing wind is always a tailwind on the approach so just have to remember that my go-around point will be a lot earlier than normal and will float a good distance down the runway.
Touch down about 1/4 of the way down the strip, straight into beta and onto the brakes. Want to avoid using reverse if I can. The strips are dusty and don't need that going through the engine.
Take off is tight. 850m available, uses approx 650m to get airborne so follow the escape path down the river in case something goes pop.
Short finals at the next strip and a family of warthogs run out onto the strip. Power to limits and go around. Staying low to scare the warthogs off and then a low level circuit back to land. Its just a nice reminder that you can't let your guard down here otherwise a mundane day can suddenly become a bad one.
Dash around the rest of the stops to get the passengers back for their flight. Arrive in 45 mins before their departure time. Pax are whisked off the plane and into the terminal.
Ground handlers come and remove the seats from the aircraft, and 1000kg of food and supplies are bought to the aircraft. Have to check to make sure what is being loaded onto the aircraft is what is on the load sheet. Have seen errors (unintentional and otherwise...) of up to 400kg...
5L of water suddenly starts weighing 4kg...
Around the houses again, 300kgs out at one strip, 500kg at another, 200 out at the last and pick up 3 staff to bring home.
Back to base and day is over. Sunrise to Sunset operations only, and its 6 days a week, 1 day off.
Left that job 3 months ago... and already missing it!!!
Walk out the door, it's already 20 degrees and the African sun has begun to climb above the horizon. Give the dog a pat as I go past and a short walk later, I'm walking in the gate and into the office.
Being the only full-time Caravan driver in the company at the moment, I'm usually the first one there. Sometimes there is a C206 or GA8 flight earlier than me, but its business as usual today.
The pre-flight planning is pretty basic. Haven't used maps, rulers, protractors or a whiz wheel since my CPL flight check.
No need to check the weather... as there is no accurate reporting stations anyway. The weather is always the same, and if there is weather, its always very localized and you just fly around it.
Work out the fuel needed until the first fuel stop at the very north of Botswana. Usual 3 stops along the way with 1hr 40 flying. There is usually a go-around or two with a diversion as well so I'll leave with 3hrs fuel.
Load all the weights into the computers W&B and hit print.
Stop in at flight planning on the way to the aircraft, file the flights plans, then out to the plane to preflight.
Wait for the freight and passengers to arrive and we are under way.
Its usually a little bit bumpy down low in the morning, so I climb up to about 4500ft and get above the inversion layer. Nice and smooth so I just sit back and relax, watching the rivers and wild animals below pass by. Very few other aircraft out at this time, Usually only 3 or 4 others in a 50 mile radius.
10nm out, start the decent and radio calls, with 1000m of runway and a tight turn around, it is usually a approach convenient to the parking bay which means tailwind in and a headwind out.
Today though, it would be about a 20kt tailwind so it's a much better idea to take the headwind.
As I approach the early downwind I notice that a herd of red lechwe (a large antelope) are grazing on and around the runway. I make a radio call that I am repositioning to the tailwind runway for a low approach and overshoot with a teardrop turn back onto the runway.
I drop the aircraft down to about 50ft and aim slightly to the right of the herd so they don't scatter and all run to the left of the runway. Objective complete, I curse the guides who should have cleared the runway before I got there rather than sitting talking to the guests. Once upon a time, I would have given them an earful about not doing their job but I know it will be the same thing tomorrow... and the day after that.... and the day after that.
Approach and land for an uneventful landing on a runway that probably about the width of a 2 lane road.
Taxi in and park on the concrete pad. The turn around times are so short and with the amount of landings we do each day, we don't shut the engines down.
Feather the prop, Set the park brake, hop out and chock the wheels, tail skid in, put a barrier up between the prop and the doors and roll some stairs up to the cargo door.
While the pax are climbing out, their bags and some freight goes out, the new bags go in, greet the new passengers tell them to climb aboard. Let the guide know about the lechwe and ask him to go down and check that they haven't wandered onto the runway again.
Reverse the process with putting all the stuff away again and then radio calls. After a total of 4mins on the ground we are taxiing out again. I give the passenger briefing over the PA system to save some more time.
Take off and repeat process until landing at the next strip. This time at the very end of the runway, a pride of lions have taken down a Giraffe and are still tearing it to bits. I decide to just land over top and a bit deeper than normal.
The lions barely even look up as I pass overhead them.
After landing at my first fuel stop at around 1030, I call the office to check if there is any changes to my day. Sure enough, one of the planes has a snag and I will need to divert to pick up some pax to make sure they make it to their international flight.
Quick mental maths and tell the fueler how much juice I will need.
Walk into the terminal to grab a bottle of water and a quick early lunch. Inhale said food and water and then track down my passengers.
Usual scenario is being played out. Passengers have been told that the bags need to be a certain dimension as well as weight. Standing in front of them is a bag that is half the size of them and a hard shell case. They are telling the poor African guy, who's English isn't the best, that they weren't told and they can't repack.
It takes me telling them that it is they repack as much as they can into their carry bags or they get nothing at all. Its a matter of flight safety as we can't have bags loose in the cabin. If they have issues with it then they need to call up their travel agent and demand an explanation as to why they weren't informed.
These passengers will not give up and it get's to a point where I tell them I am the pilot in command, and what I say goes.
Load up the passengers and baggage, putting each stop in a different luggage compartment to help speed up the loading and unloading process while lessening the chance of bags ending up in the wrong place.
12 passengers, 600lbs of fuel a side and temp is starting to climb above 30 degrees. Can already see the climb profile and glad that the earth is round....
Heat turbulence is starting to build and I drag the plane up to 12,500ft to get above it. Plan for my decent, 7 miles per 1000ft, so start the decent about 63nm out. Gives me about 400ft/min.
As we get lower the turbulence starts to get worse... and constant. 20nm out that familiar smell floats through the plane. That smell of a 5 star luxury lodge breakfast coming back up again. And like a chain reaction, those of lesser stomach strength follow suit.
All I can pray for is that they remembered the sick bags.
Strip is one of the shorter strips and have tall trees at each end of the strip. One way in and one way out. Prevailing wind is always a tailwind on the approach so just have to remember that my go-around point will be a lot earlier than normal and will float a good distance down the runway.
Touch down about 1/4 of the way down the strip, straight into beta and onto the brakes. Want to avoid using reverse if I can. The strips are dusty and don't need that going through the engine.
Take off is tight. 850m available, uses approx 650m to get airborne so follow the escape path down the river in case something goes pop.
Short finals at the next strip and a family of warthogs run out onto the strip. Power to limits and go around. Staying low to scare the warthogs off and then a low level circuit back to land. Its just a nice reminder that you can't let your guard down here otherwise a mundane day can suddenly become a bad one.
Dash around the rest of the stops to get the passengers back for their flight. Arrive in 45 mins before their departure time. Pax are whisked off the plane and into the terminal.
Ground handlers come and remove the seats from the aircraft, and 1000kg of food and supplies are bought to the aircraft. Have to check to make sure what is being loaded onto the aircraft is what is on the load sheet. Have seen errors (unintentional and otherwise...) of up to 400kg...
5L of water suddenly starts weighing 4kg...
Around the houses again, 300kgs out at one strip, 500kg at another, 200 out at the last and pick up 3 staff to bring home.
Back to base and day is over. Sunrise to Sunset operations only, and its 6 days a week, 1 day off.
Left that job 3 months ago... and already missing it!!!
-
North Shore
- Rank Moderator
- Posts: 5621
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:47 pm
- Location: Straight outta Dundarave...
Re: A Day In The Life...
Ok, back in reality... firefighting.
We are paid 12 hours a day, between 0900 and 2100, and are therefore on call between those hours. Our response time varies from one hour to an immediate takeoff, depending on a host of factors. Usually, we are on a 1 hour call between 9 and 10, .5 hr 10-11, and immediate 11am-7pm and then back to 1 hour again from 7 to 9 PM. Sometimes, very rarely, we work outside them, but it is fairly unusual that we do so. I mention this at the outset, as it forms the framework for what we do for the day.
Generally, I'm up between 0700 and 0730, and then out the door for either a solo run, or I meet some of my co-workers and we go and swim laps at the local pool for ~45 minutes. Back in time for breakfast, and radio (our method of dispatch) ON at 0900, in case we get a call. I usually hit the road between 9 and 930 for the 20 minute bike ride up to the base; sometimes, however, I hitch a ride with someone who has a vehicle. Once at the base, do the walk-around, cup of joe, check the wx, and any other paperwork items that might have cropped up overnight. Once all of that is done, then a quick shower, and I should be ready for a dispatch by 10am (I'm fully able to go earlier, but not as settled as I might otherwise be having gone through the morning routine.) Then it's settle into 'hurry up and wait'
If it's my turn to cook, I'll probably start peeling potatoes, etc, by lunchtime, so that if we get the call in the middle of the afternoon, then most of the grunt work is done, and the engineers can take over the cooking duties so that when we come back, then there's some food available. If not, then there's a whole host of things to do - crib, internet, scrabble, read, tv, exercise, woodwork.... One of my co-workers even fiberglassed a boat one summer, 30ml of resin at a time, just in case the call came in, and he had to leave it to harden! The only hitch to any activities is that once the call comes in, then it's a quick washroom break, and out the door for up to 4 hours, so it's ill-advised to get too deeply involved in anything that you can't drop at a moment's notice.
The flying itself ranges from small smudge fires that take one or two drops and they are done, to huge conflagrations that rage for days before they are roped into control. The trick is to treat them all the same.
Because we all like to fly, we'll fly 8 hours a day until dark if necessary, and continue for days on end; much of the time, however, we won't get called, so we'll put the machines to bed ~7pm (depending on conditions - if it's hot, dry and windy, and there was lighting all day yesterday, then we'll probably delay that until later..)
After 2100 we are free until the next morning. Some guys go fishing until dark. I take the occasional paddle along the river in a friend's kayak. If there's a football game on, then we might meet at the Legion or one of the other local watering holes.
Lights out ~ 11pm.
rinse and repeat. Beginning of May to beginning of September
That should cover it, pretty much.
We are paid 12 hours a day, between 0900 and 2100, and are therefore on call between those hours. Our response time varies from one hour to an immediate takeoff, depending on a host of factors. Usually, we are on a 1 hour call between 9 and 10, .5 hr 10-11, and immediate 11am-7pm and then back to 1 hour again from 7 to 9 PM. Sometimes, very rarely, we work outside them, but it is fairly unusual that we do so. I mention this at the outset, as it forms the framework for what we do for the day.
Generally, I'm up between 0700 and 0730, and then out the door for either a solo run, or I meet some of my co-workers and we go and swim laps at the local pool for ~45 minutes. Back in time for breakfast, and radio (our method of dispatch) ON at 0900, in case we get a call. I usually hit the road between 9 and 930 for the 20 minute bike ride up to the base; sometimes, however, I hitch a ride with someone who has a vehicle. Once at the base, do the walk-around, cup of joe, check the wx, and any other paperwork items that might have cropped up overnight. Once all of that is done, then a quick shower, and I should be ready for a dispatch by 10am (I'm fully able to go earlier, but not as settled as I might otherwise be having gone through the morning routine.) Then it's settle into 'hurry up and wait'
If it's my turn to cook, I'll probably start peeling potatoes, etc, by lunchtime, so that if we get the call in the middle of the afternoon, then most of the grunt work is done, and the engineers can take over the cooking duties so that when we come back, then there's some food available. If not, then there's a whole host of things to do - crib, internet, scrabble, read, tv, exercise, woodwork.... One of my co-workers even fiberglassed a boat one summer, 30ml of resin at a time, just in case the call came in, and he had to leave it to harden! The only hitch to any activities is that once the call comes in, then it's a quick washroom break, and out the door for up to 4 hours, so it's ill-advised to get too deeply involved in anything that you can't drop at a moment's notice.
The flying itself ranges from small smudge fires that take one or two drops and they are done, to huge conflagrations that rage for days before they are roped into control. The trick is to treat them all the same.
Because we all like to fly, we'll fly 8 hours a day until dark if necessary, and continue for days on end; much of the time, however, we won't get called, so we'll put the machines to bed ~7pm (depending on conditions - if it's hot, dry and windy, and there was lighting all day yesterday, then we'll probably delay that until later..)
After 2100 we are free until the next morning. Some guys go fishing until dark. I take the occasional paddle along the river in a friend's kayak. If there's a football game on, then we might meet at the Legion or one of the other local watering holes.
Lights out ~ 11pm.
rinse and repeat. Beginning of May to beginning of September
That should cover it, pretty much.
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shitdisturber
- Rank 10
- Posts: 2165
- Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 3:38 pm
- Location: If it's Monday it's got to be somewhere shitty
Re: A Day In The Life...
It was an early day today; up by about 13:00, night shifts are hard on the body but after five weeks of it I'm more or less used to it. Did the three S's, minus the shave; I'll wait til Monday for that, razor blades over here don't match my razor which I hadn't anticipated and I'm on my last set. Did the usual, check Crackbook and emails, nothing earth shattering there so did yesterday's crossword puzzle and turned off the "don't disturb" light after getting yesterday's laundry ready to send out. Killed one of the strange little ants that are all over this hotel that happened to be crawling over my toothbrush before emptying another bottle of water to finish my morning ablutions.
Went downstairs to pay off the hotel bill before it gets too outrageous; besides it's time to do expenses and it's probably easier for everybody all around if it's done piecemeal rather than in one large chunk. Talked to the cute girl at the front desk, they may build em homely here but not very darned often! After dumping the receipt in my room; up the street to the mall for another session of, "hey look at the tall white guy!" This is probably one of the few countries on earth where I'm considered tall. Stocked up on juice at the nicer of the two grocery stores before wandering back down the road to the hotel. Considered eating at one of the "American food" places in the mall but decided against it; probably just as well, I barely got back to the hotel before today's torrential downpour occured. Looks like it might dry up in time for us not to have to do a wet runway takeoff though.
Heading down to the hotel restaurant in a few minutes for supper and some more or less harmless flirting with the cute waitresses; did I mention they don't build too many homely women over here? After supper, it'll be time to change into the pilot duds and then off to the airport. We've got a pretty good driver although with all the driving he does hauling everybody around all hours of the day and night I wonder when he finds time to sleep. Walkaround; with the rain, looks like I'm going to get wet again and refuelling. Hopefully they'll think to show up with the truck with two hoses again tonight; using that truck fuelling takes less than half the time it takes otherwise. Finish the walkaround after the fuelling's done then have private moment on the grass at the edge of the ramp; hopefully there aren't any poisonous snakes hiding in the grass, I'd hate to go out that way!
Launch as usual, it's not my night to fly so I get to try to figure out the accents on the radio, made worse by the horrible equipment some of the ground stations have and the fact that everybody keeps stepping all over each other on their radio calls. Land back at base and hand over to the next crew before the half hour drive back to the hotel. By the time we get back here, it'll be around 03:00; I'll be wondering if they've sprayed the lobby again for bugs. It's all I can do to make it back to my room without hurling after they've sprayed the place; one of these days I'm not going to make it, I pity whoever has to clean up after that. I'll recheck emails then off to bed, do a little reading on my e-reader then to sleep around 04:00.
Went downstairs to pay off the hotel bill before it gets too outrageous; besides it's time to do expenses and it's probably easier for everybody all around if it's done piecemeal rather than in one large chunk. Talked to the cute girl at the front desk, they may build em homely here but not very darned often! After dumping the receipt in my room; up the street to the mall for another session of, "hey look at the tall white guy!" This is probably one of the few countries on earth where I'm considered tall. Stocked up on juice at the nicer of the two grocery stores before wandering back down the road to the hotel. Considered eating at one of the "American food" places in the mall but decided against it; probably just as well, I barely got back to the hotel before today's torrential downpour occured. Looks like it might dry up in time for us not to have to do a wet runway takeoff though.
Heading down to the hotel restaurant in a few minutes for supper and some more or less harmless flirting with the cute waitresses; did I mention they don't build too many homely women over here? After supper, it'll be time to change into the pilot duds and then off to the airport. We've got a pretty good driver although with all the driving he does hauling everybody around all hours of the day and night I wonder when he finds time to sleep. Walkaround; with the rain, looks like I'm going to get wet again and refuelling. Hopefully they'll think to show up with the truck with two hoses again tonight; using that truck fuelling takes less than half the time it takes otherwise. Finish the walkaround after the fuelling's done then have private moment on the grass at the edge of the ramp; hopefully there aren't any poisonous snakes hiding in the grass, I'd hate to go out that way!
Launch as usual, it's not my night to fly so I get to try to figure out the accents on the radio, made worse by the horrible equipment some of the ground stations have and the fact that everybody keeps stepping all over each other on their radio calls. Land back at base and hand over to the next crew before the half hour drive back to the hotel. By the time we get back here, it'll be around 03:00; I'll be wondering if they've sprayed the lobby again for bugs. It's all I can do to make it back to my room without hurling after they've sprayed the place; one of these days I'm not going to make it, I pity whoever has to clean up after that. I'll recheck emails then off to bed, do a little reading on my e-reader then to sleep around 04:00.
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Gear Jerker
- Rank 4
- Posts: 256
- Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2011 12:48 am
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High and Behind
- Rank 3
- Posts: 187
- Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 7:52 pm
- Location: Down the rabbit hole
Re: A Day In The Life...
Like North Shore and Northern Flyer I to live in a van down by the river.
Outa the sleeping bag around 0800, 2 hours earlier my wake up call went off but I chose to ignore the 2 blade R-985 at that hour.
Step out of the trailer to water the dandelions and head for the shower in the float base. Say 'Morning to North Shore who is eating his granola. Back to the Travelaire for a cup of joe and through on the tunes and try my best David Gilmore impression on the flat top.
Turn on the FM at 0900 key the mike to hit the repeater and wait till alerts.
Stop by to pick up North Shore at his trailer and head for the airport to get there for 1000. Yellow Alert at 1100, Red at 1200 or something like that.
Pull the "Dog" out and give her a run.....again. Then find a place to hide.
Oooo someone baked bread this morning, better have a PB&J before Northern Flyer eats it all.
Surf the net, watch TV have a nap, take a bike for a ride down the apron what ever you can to stave off the boredom.
Phone rings head to a fire go around in circles for 4 hours then back to base for supper. If North Shore is cooking could be Bacon Explosion, If Northern Flyer is cooking most likely a big ass Ham. You never go hungry.
Head for the truck @ 1900 and back to the trailer. Talk to the wife and here about all the things your missing back home.
Radio off at 2100 have a couple of cold ones and hit the sack with a little Neil young on the tunes.
3 months 17 days and 10 hours till I get home....
Do it all again tomorrow
H&B
Outa the sleeping bag around 0800, 2 hours earlier my wake up call went off but I chose to ignore the 2 blade R-985 at that hour.
Step out of the trailer to water the dandelions and head for the shower in the float base. Say 'Morning to North Shore who is eating his granola. Back to the Travelaire for a cup of joe and through on the tunes and try my best David Gilmore impression on the flat top.
Turn on the FM at 0900 key the mike to hit the repeater and wait till alerts.
Stop by to pick up North Shore at his trailer and head for the airport to get there for 1000. Yellow Alert at 1100, Red at 1200 or something like that.
Pull the "Dog" out and give her a run.....again. Then find a place to hide.
Oooo someone baked bread this morning, better have a PB&J before Northern Flyer eats it all.
Surf the net, watch TV have a nap, take a bike for a ride down the apron what ever you can to stave off the boredom.
Phone rings head to a fire go around in circles for 4 hours then back to base for supper. If North Shore is cooking could be Bacon Explosion, If Northern Flyer is cooking most likely a big ass Ham. You never go hungry.
Head for the truck @ 1900 and back to the trailer. Talk to the wife and here about all the things your missing back home.
Radio off at 2100 have a couple of cold ones and hit the sack with a little Neil young on the tunes.
3 months 17 days and 10 hours till I get home....
Do it all again tomorrow
H&B
Re: A Day In The Life...
I wake up around 6 am 7 days a week fom May till Sept. I step outside to take a leak off the edge of the outside hallway. I stumble my way to the shower to wash off the haze of the night before. I'm in the staff dining room by 0630 for some bacon and eggs.
Down to the docks by 0645 to pump the floats. I start up the cold Beaver so she'll be ready to take some guests to our fly out lakes by 0715. The rest of the morning is spent zig zagging across the border hauling in fisherman, campers, canoers etc...
I make it back to the resort by noon for some good greasy lunch cooked up by Chef Dave. I'll need the fuel for later when I have to haul around some 9.9's, gas, generators, coolers, camp gear, canoes etc...
I take a quick power nap and I'm off for some afternoon legs. Time to haul out some more smelly campers who have been in the bush for a week or more without a shower. Good thing the Beaver has a few ways to vent the cabin. I shrug off the stink and give the customers a smile in hopes of getting a good tip.
The last flight of the day I haul the pax out from the fly in lakes. I'm back for supper around 6 and its beer time in the pork house around 7 (1 pilot waits until sundown in case of a medivac).
Weather days are usually spent hanging around the office annoying the piss out of the ops manager/owner. Other than that, down time is usually spent fishing, exercising, playing poker, sitting by the camp fire, or playing a good ol' round of corn hole (the game where you toss bags of corn into a plywood hole...) The job is pretty much stress free, the owners are great to work for, and life is good.
Down to the docks by 0645 to pump the floats. I start up the cold Beaver so she'll be ready to take some guests to our fly out lakes by 0715. The rest of the morning is spent zig zagging across the border hauling in fisherman, campers, canoers etc...
I make it back to the resort by noon for some good greasy lunch cooked up by Chef Dave. I'll need the fuel for later when I have to haul around some 9.9's, gas, generators, coolers, camp gear, canoes etc...
I take a quick power nap and I'm off for some afternoon legs. Time to haul out some more smelly campers who have been in the bush for a week or more without a shower. Good thing the Beaver has a few ways to vent the cabin. I shrug off the stink and give the customers a smile in hopes of getting a good tip.
The last flight of the day I haul the pax out from the fly in lakes. I'm back for supper around 6 and its beer time in the pork house around 7 (1 pilot waits until sundown in case of a medivac).
Weather days are usually spent hanging around the office annoying the piss out of the ops manager/owner. Other than that, down time is usually spent fishing, exercising, playing poker, sitting by the camp fire, or playing a good ol' round of corn hole (the game where you toss bags of corn into a plywood hole...) The job is pretty much stress free, the owners are great to work for, and life is good.
Re: A Day In The Life...
These are great posts, thanks for putting effort into them! The more detailed, the more interesting they are. Hopefully more will be posted!
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arctic_slim
- Rank 3
- Posts: 173
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:46 pm
Re: A Day In The Life...
I wake up around 0730 when the fiance's alarm goes off. She goes to the shower and I sneak in another 20 mins of sleep. By 0750 im up and jump in the shower and get ready for the day (I'm excited to go fly). I don't drink coffee (I get told almost daily i'm not a real pilot because of this) so I have some fruit juice or water to get my body hydrated. I put on my long johns and undershirt, than my uniform on top of that, followed by a sweater, a thick jacket, winter boots, neck warmer, toque and gloves and grab my backpack. I always check to make sure my utility knife is atttached to my belt before I exit the house.
I drive 3 minutes (rush hour) to drop the fiance off at work and another 6 minutes to get to the airport. Park the car and plug it in. I scurry inside and greet the dispatchers who do an awesome job keeping things on track and proceed to the ramp and look for my plane. I check to make sure that the engines and avionics are plugged in and ask for a heater to be put in the cabin for a few minutes. I take off the wing and tail covers and take them inside the hangar so that they can defrost and dry.
I go back inside and open up my flight plan and check the weather for the day. We're going to a small (but busy) community today, again. The weather looks good, -28C, few at 5000, light winds, a little BLSN, nothing special. I go over to the passenger lounge and talk to our CSA and Shipping personnel to find out how many people we have and how much cargo we have. I do a quick calculation on my phone to see how much cargo we can take with the amount of passengers that are scheduled to show up. 6 passengers have booked so we can't take too much cargo. As I head back to the flight planning room the captain shows up and usually cracks some joke about what new location we are headed to today. We talk about the weather and the fuel needed. He verifies my numbers and flight plan and heads out to the aircraft. I finish off the flight plans and call for fuel. We load the plane, get all our stuff together and bring the passengers out. Only 3 passengers showed up so we can take more cargo than I initially told them. Plane is loaded, fuelled and we are good to go.
Once inside the aircraft I take off my massive jacket and gloves and toque and neck warmer and settle in as I give the passengers the briefing. The captain starts the engines and I do the taxi checks. We're goping VFR, not much to it. The captain takes off and makes the turn towards our destination,I do the checklists, talk to tower, 26.7 call, do cruise checks, paperwork and we're already pretty much 15 minutes from our destination. I look back and most of the passengers are asleep, which is a good sign. I go straight into making the appropriate calls and proceeed with the descent checks. We brief the approach and landing. We can see the strp from 15m miles out so won't be anything too exciting. The captain makes the landing look like a piece of cake as I complete the post landing checks and we park on the spot where we think the concrete pad should be, but it's all snow anyway. Offload the plane into the back of a truck as quick as we can and load it again with the next batch of cargo. Passengers hurry to the plane and I brief them while the captain does a walk around. I'm even more excited this time, it's my turn to fly now, the plane is all mine.
We start the engines and I do taxi checks while the captain taxies to the runway. We brief the short field take off and he says my favourite words "you have control".
There is a bit of a crosswind but nothing that I can't handle. I rotate and climb out at blue line to 400 feet and initiate a shallow left hand turn to head back home as the captain does the post take off checks. We're flying low level this time, to take advantage of the winds. It's a nice view...white...white...a few trees....ice...white..snow mobile tracks in the white...and more white. I have yet to se any wildlife while flying, but apparently they are out there. I do my best to keep the plane on track and at altitude, I don't want to use the autopilot as I like hand flying. Once we get close we listen to ATIS and tell our company the ETA. I do mental calculations to figure out when I should start bleeding off power and energy. A few minutes back I call for the descent checklists and start a shallow descent. Tower clears us for the straight in approach, which I find harder than usual since I don't have the downwind leg to help me set up. I have trouble judging when I should start powering back and slowing down for now, but I ma getting better. I set myself up and call for gear down, flaps and pre landing checklists. Everything seems in order and i'm staring down a large concrete runway. I'm a bit high (again) so I need to lose some speed. I call for full flaps just a bit earlier than usual to help me slow down. I cross the treshhold at vRef +5 and do my best to make it a greaser. I float down the runway about 1000' before I finally set it down (good thing the runway is long). The captain cracks makes fun of my everlasting flare and says I should have cut more power right as I flared to help me reduce wasted runway. I make a mental note of that and turn off the runway. We taxi back to our ramp and park in our usual spot.
The rampies/pilots in waiting run out to help offload, cover the engines, wings and tail while I clean the inside of the plane. They remind me of myself just a few months ago working hard and freezing their butts to earn that right seat in a plane. I put on all my winter gear again and get out to help plug the engines in and tank the team of rampies for the help. They'll make fun about the white shirt I wear and how 'once a rampie always a rampie'. We walk into the pilots lounge, I ask my captain if he ever wants to fly with me again, he laughs and says i'm doing fine. We finish up the paperwork and I check to see when my next flight is.
I'll go start the car, unplug it and let it run for a few minutes. I do the long drive (6 minutes, not rush hour anymore) home and the first thing I do is open up my log book and log the less than 2 hours I did today. Every hour and decimal counts. It feels good to add some co-pilot hours instead of all these dual hours I have from flight school. I still have that proud feeling, even though i have been to the same strip my last 8 flights in a row), I love flying and I absolutely love what I do. I feel good after every flight and I want to go again. It's only 1300, i eat something and watch some tv. I make sure my phone is always near me, just in case the company calls with a pop up flight I want to make sure I get it. I have the phone with me all the time, always hoping for that call for some 8 hour flight to the middle of nowhere to take some mechanics to a disabled plane, or to pick up a box from somewhere south. By 1600 I go to the gym (with my phone in my pocket). Go home, have some dinner, spend time with the fiance and go to sleep ( with the phone close to me) and think about how awesome tomorrow is going to be, going to the same strip again.
I drive 3 minutes (rush hour) to drop the fiance off at work and another 6 minutes to get to the airport. Park the car and plug it in. I scurry inside and greet the dispatchers who do an awesome job keeping things on track and proceed to the ramp and look for my plane. I check to make sure that the engines and avionics are plugged in and ask for a heater to be put in the cabin for a few minutes. I take off the wing and tail covers and take them inside the hangar so that they can defrost and dry.
I go back inside and open up my flight plan and check the weather for the day. We're going to a small (but busy) community today, again. The weather looks good, -28C, few at 5000, light winds, a little BLSN, nothing special. I go over to the passenger lounge and talk to our CSA and Shipping personnel to find out how many people we have and how much cargo we have. I do a quick calculation on my phone to see how much cargo we can take with the amount of passengers that are scheduled to show up. 6 passengers have booked so we can't take too much cargo. As I head back to the flight planning room the captain shows up and usually cracks some joke about what new location we are headed to today. We talk about the weather and the fuel needed. He verifies my numbers and flight plan and heads out to the aircraft. I finish off the flight plans and call for fuel. We load the plane, get all our stuff together and bring the passengers out. Only 3 passengers showed up so we can take more cargo than I initially told them. Plane is loaded, fuelled and we are good to go.
Once inside the aircraft I take off my massive jacket and gloves and toque and neck warmer and settle in as I give the passengers the briefing. The captain starts the engines and I do the taxi checks. We're goping VFR, not much to it. The captain takes off and makes the turn towards our destination,I do the checklists, talk to tower, 26.7 call, do cruise checks, paperwork and we're already pretty much 15 minutes from our destination. I look back and most of the passengers are asleep, which is a good sign. I go straight into making the appropriate calls and proceeed with the descent checks. We brief the approach and landing. We can see the strp from 15m miles out so won't be anything too exciting. The captain makes the landing look like a piece of cake as I complete the post landing checks and we park on the spot where we think the concrete pad should be, but it's all snow anyway. Offload the plane into the back of a truck as quick as we can and load it again with the next batch of cargo. Passengers hurry to the plane and I brief them while the captain does a walk around. I'm even more excited this time, it's my turn to fly now, the plane is all mine.
We start the engines and I do taxi checks while the captain taxies to the runway. We brief the short field take off and he says my favourite words "you have control".
There is a bit of a crosswind but nothing that I can't handle. I rotate and climb out at blue line to 400 feet and initiate a shallow left hand turn to head back home as the captain does the post take off checks. We're flying low level this time, to take advantage of the winds. It's a nice view...white...white...a few trees....ice...white..snow mobile tracks in the white...and more white. I have yet to se any wildlife while flying, but apparently they are out there. I do my best to keep the plane on track and at altitude, I don't want to use the autopilot as I like hand flying. Once we get close we listen to ATIS and tell our company the ETA. I do mental calculations to figure out when I should start bleeding off power and energy. A few minutes back I call for the descent checklists and start a shallow descent. Tower clears us for the straight in approach, which I find harder than usual since I don't have the downwind leg to help me set up. I have trouble judging when I should start powering back and slowing down for now, but I ma getting better. I set myself up and call for gear down, flaps and pre landing checklists. Everything seems in order and i'm staring down a large concrete runway. I'm a bit high (again) so I need to lose some speed. I call for full flaps just a bit earlier than usual to help me slow down. I cross the treshhold at vRef +5 and do my best to make it a greaser. I float down the runway about 1000' before I finally set it down (good thing the runway is long). The captain cracks makes fun of my everlasting flare and says I should have cut more power right as I flared to help me reduce wasted runway. I make a mental note of that and turn off the runway. We taxi back to our ramp and park in our usual spot. The rampies/pilots in waiting run out to help offload, cover the engines, wings and tail while I clean the inside of the plane. They remind me of myself just a few months ago working hard and freezing their butts to earn that right seat in a plane. I put on all my winter gear again and get out to help plug the engines in and tank the team of rampies for the help. They'll make fun about the white shirt I wear and how 'once a rampie always a rampie'. We walk into the pilots lounge, I ask my captain if he ever wants to fly with me again, he laughs and says i'm doing fine. We finish up the paperwork and I check to see when my next flight is.
I'll go start the car, unplug it and let it run for a few minutes. I do the long drive (6 minutes, not rush hour anymore) home and the first thing I do is open up my log book and log the less than 2 hours I did today. Every hour and decimal counts. It feels good to add some co-pilot hours instead of all these dual hours I have from flight school. I still have that proud feeling, even though i have been to the same strip my last 8 flights in a row), I love flying and I absolutely love what I do. I feel good after every flight and I want to go again. It's only 1300, i eat something and watch some tv. I make sure my phone is always near me, just in case the company calls with a pop up flight I want to make sure I get it. I have the phone with me all the time, always hoping for that call for some 8 hour flight to the middle of nowhere to take some mechanics to a disabled plane, or to pick up a box from somewhere south. By 1600 I go to the gym (with my phone in my pocket). Go home, have some dinner, spend time with the fiance and go to sleep ( with the phone close to me) and think about how awesome tomorrow is going to be, going to the same strip again.
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Masters Off
- Rank 3
- Posts: 178
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:50 pm
- Contact:
Re: A Day In The Life...
It's that rough Sunday morning feeling like usual. Although I didn't kill the alcohol completely last night, my colleuges definately helped me. That doesn't matter now, it's 7:30. Sleeping in the airplane isn't my favourite place, but the infected couch in the office doesn't really appeal to me, and the padded Cessna 182 gave me a bit more peace and quiet last night. The sun has woken me, that or the heat. Either way, I water the grass, stretch, listerine, deoderant, and off I go. By quarter to eight, the giant O-470 has roared to life. If anyone was sleeping before, they're certainly not now.
Run-up complete, I head over towards the staging area, and 4 skydivers jump in. They all look like they had a rough night, but hey, that was their choice. Take-off with ease, call center, cleared to 12,000. That's a long way for this plane, but we'll get there eventually. Through 10,000 I set up for the run, by 12,000 everyone's ready, and the wonderfully cold morning air wakes everyone up as the door opens. Must be about zero up here, says the OAT gauge for this fine summer morning. No cumulus clouds yet, but that will come later. That and turbulance.
After chucking the meat-bombs out, it's a quick decent to repeat the process. Never too quick, as shock-cooling is always the great fear. Silently again, I curse not yet getting on the turbine. One day soon, and this cooling problem wont be mine anymore. One day soon, and I'll climb faster than a few hundred feet per minute... maybe even one day soon, I'll get paid the big bucks for flying that giant Caravan. Maybe even a Twin-Otter, Skyvan or King Air...ahha, now I'm really dreaming.
It's been a 25 minute flight and I'm back on the ground. Quick turn-around this time; two tandems to 12,000 again. My first chance of the day to entertain guests, quash their fears, and tell repeat jokes. The tandem master falls asleep, another 15 minute cat-nap, the first of 10 or so for today.
This process repeats until sunset, hopefully more than 20 loads today. No food breaks, and very occasional water and washroom breaks. If the weather is good, the day is boring. If the weather is bad, the day is either just more interesting or more sitting on the ground. By Sunset everything's done. The airplane refueled and put to bed, logbooks done. By 9:30, beer in hand to marvel at the long day we had. Stop off at the local fast-food joint and spend most of my days earnings on breakfast/lunch/dinner. Looks like I'll super-size it, since I'm just that hungry. It's been a long weekend of work, but that's normal. It's monday tomorrow, most are back to work at their paper-pushing day jobs. It will be quiet, with few customers. I might even get to sleep in! Extra time to dream of that big airplane somewhere in the far distant future.
Run-up complete, I head over towards the staging area, and 4 skydivers jump in. They all look like they had a rough night, but hey, that was their choice. Take-off with ease, call center, cleared to 12,000. That's a long way for this plane, but we'll get there eventually. Through 10,000 I set up for the run, by 12,000 everyone's ready, and the wonderfully cold morning air wakes everyone up as the door opens. Must be about zero up here, says the OAT gauge for this fine summer morning. No cumulus clouds yet, but that will come later. That and turbulance.
After chucking the meat-bombs out, it's a quick decent to repeat the process. Never too quick, as shock-cooling is always the great fear. Silently again, I curse not yet getting on the turbine. One day soon, and this cooling problem wont be mine anymore. One day soon, and I'll climb faster than a few hundred feet per minute... maybe even one day soon, I'll get paid the big bucks for flying that giant Caravan. Maybe even a Twin-Otter, Skyvan or King Air...ahha, now I'm really dreaming.
It's been a 25 minute flight and I'm back on the ground. Quick turn-around this time; two tandems to 12,000 again. My first chance of the day to entertain guests, quash their fears, and tell repeat jokes. The tandem master falls asleep, another 15 minute cat-nap, the first of 10 or so for today.
This process repeats until sunset, hopefully more than 20 loads today. No food breaks, and very occasional water and washroom breaks. If the weather is good, the day is boring. If the weather is bad, the day is either just more interesting or more sitting on the ground. By Sunset everything's done. The airplane refueled and put to bed, logbooks done. By 9:30, beer in hand to marvel at the long day we had. Stop off at the local fast-food joint and spend most of my days earnings on breakfast/lunch/dinner. Looks like I'll super-size it, since I'm just that hungry. It's been a long weekend of work, but that's normal. It's monday tomorrow, most are back to work at their paper-pushing day jobs. It will be quiet, with few customers. I might even get to sleep in! Extra time to dream of that big airplane somewhere in the far distant future.
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Gear Jerker
- Rank 4
- Posts: 256
- Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2011 12:48 am
Re: A Day In The Life...
OK, I'll bite, but only because I want to see some new posts. It's pretty neat getting to read some of these as there is quite a diversity of career paths as pilots.
A day in the life...as a rampy waiting to fly.
Alarm goes off at 630, I roll out of bed, stumble into the kitchen and turn the kettle on. 3 S's, get partially dressed (minus tucking the shirt in and doing the belt up, til it's time to go). I have coffee and breakfast, and read out of a textbook, or even just look at random plates. I don't want my time to come, in 8 months or whenever, and have forgotten everything that I came here to do!
Brush my teeth, shoes on, then finally I tuck in the shirt and synch up the belt.
Most mornings it's a 5-10 minute walk to the terminal/hangar, but some days I have one of the trucks.
I'm usually the second person in, after the dispatcher, so I check that everything is unlocked and all the lights are on, then have a look at the dispatch board and brief myself on the different flights/things to do for the day. Oh, and most importantly, I check that the coffee is made, and pour myself a cup.
I typically spend the next couple hours checking in passengers and processing freight, until sked calls in and I start to build the weight and balance.
When the sked does arrive, we alternate roles, so sometimes I'll marshall and fuel, sometimes I'll be CSA, sometimes, I'll load/offload.
After sked, I check the bathrooms, and sometimes give them a quick cleaning, then I leave for the mail run, which means about an hour and a half driving around on dirt roads playing mailman.
When I get back after the mail run, I'll either have lunch, or find myself occupied by loading/offloading a Navajo or a Twin Otter, but it's usually somewhere in between.
Afterward, it's a couple hours of doing random cleaning, elementary maintenance on our trucks, organizing freight, etc - but often a combination of things. But really, a good hour is typically spent playing hearts/solitaire and shooting the shit, as the occasional customer shows up to check in early or pick up freight. Oh, and many phone calls from locals asking detailed, specific questions like "what time does the plane land?", or "is Billy-Joe on the plane?", or "is my freight there?"
After evening sked, I clean the terminal and do the cashout.
Home around 9, then either straight to the gym, or a quick bite to eat and over to the crew house, but lately we've been playing sports at night. Luckily daylight is no limiting factor this time of year.
In bed around 1130.
Repeat daily - for the next 6-12 months. I just noticed how 6-12 months kinda sounds like a prison sentencing lol.
Each day is one day closer.
A day in the life...as a rampy waiting to fly.
Alarm goes off at 630, I roll out of bed, stumble into the kitchen and turn the kettle on. 3 S's, get partially dressed (minus tucking the shirt in and doing the belt up, til it's time to go). I have coffee and breakfast, and read out of a textbook, or even just look at random plates. I don't want my time to come, in 8 months or whenever, and have forgotten everything that I came here to do!
Brush my teeth, shoes on, then finally I tuck in the shirt and synch up the belt.
Most mornings it's a 5-10 minute walk to the terminal/hangar, but some days I have one of the trucks.
I'm usually the second person in, after the dispatcher, so I check that everything is unlocked and all the lights are on, then have a look at the dispatch board and brief myself on the different flights/things to do for the day. Oh, and most importantly, I check that the coffee is made, and pour myself a cup.
I typically spend the next couple hours checking in passengers and processing freight, until sked calls in and I start to build the weight and balance.
When the sked does arrive, we alternate roles, so sometimes I'll marshall and fuel, sometimes I'll be CSA, sometimes, I'll load/offload.
After sked, I check the bathrooms, and sometimes give them a quick cleaning, then I leave for the mail run, which means about an hour and a half driving around on dirt roads playing mailman.
When I get back after the mail run, I'll either have lunch, or find myself occupied by loading/offloading a Navajo or a Twin Otter, but it's usually somewhere in between.
Afterward, it's a couple hours of doing random cleaning, elementary maintenance on our trucks, organizing freight, etc - but often a combination of things. But really, a good hour is typically spent playing hearts/solitaire and shooting the shit, as the occasional customer shows up to check in early or pick up freight. Oh, and many phone calls from locals asking detailed, specific questions like "what time does the plane land?", or "is Billy-Joe on the plane?", or "is my freight there?"
After evening sked, I clean the terminal and do the cashout.
Home around 9, then either straight to the gym, or a quick bite to eat and over to the crew house, but lately we've been playing sports at night. Luckily daylight is no limiting factor this time of year.
In bed around 1130.
Repeat daily - for the next 6-12 months. I just noticed how 6-12 months kinda sounds like a prison sentencing lol.
Each day is one day closer.
Re: A Day In The Life...
I wake up before most people my age have gone to bed and get ready for the long day ahead. Shower, Shave, and Iron my costume. I arrive at work to find out that the RVR's are down at my destination, there is a 30 kt crosswind and oh yeah, the Flight Director is U/S today too. Finally after having a look at the flight plan I journey out to the plane to do a walk around in the pouring rain. Finally ready to go we hop in, start up and taxi to the terminal. Now it's time to wait for the pax. Finally we get everyone on board, close the door, give a briefing and we are on our way. Just as we request decent we learn the RVR's have dropped below minimums. Oh well, we'll just fly in circles for half an hour. Finally things pick up and we land. We taxi to the terminal with no ground crew in sight. I guess 25 minutes notice wasn't enough for them. We sit on the tarmac for 5 more minutes and finally someone shows up. He marshals us in and we shut down. The doors are open, sky check is in place but no ramp agent in sight. We call Ops and learn that they forgot to let the agent know we were on the ground. Another 10 minutes past and finally the passengers are on their way. YES, only eight more legs to go!
The rest of the day goes much the same as it started. Crappy weather everywhere, delays etc. Finally we are on the home stretch, the last leg for the day. As we approach the MF center informs us that we will be number 9 with 3 to depart. Oh great, more circles. We hold and hold and hold some more. Finally we make it. 13 hours and 55 minutes after it began my day is finally over. Now on to a noisy flea bag hotel for the night where I will try to get some sleep. What seems like only minutes after I fell asleep my alarm rings, I look at it. 4:00 am. Time to get up and do it all again.
P.S. This is a worst case scenario. With that being said it has happened. Most days I LOVE my job, others not so much.
The rest of the day goes much the same as it started. Crappy weather everywhere, delays etc. Finally we are on the home stretch, the last leg for the day. As we approach the MF center informs us that we will be number 9 with 3 to depart. Oh great, more circles. We hold and hold and hold some more. Finally we make it. 13 hours and 55 minutes after it began my day is finally over. Now on to a noisy flea bag hotel for the night where I will try to get some sleep. What seems like only minutes after I fell asleep my alarm rings, I look at it. 4:00 am. Time to get up and do it all again.
P.S. This is a worst case scenario. With that being said it has happened. Most days I LOVE my job, others not so much.
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JungianJugular
- Rank 4
- Posts: 237
- Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:09 am
Re: A Day In The Life...
Does it have to be about planes? I'm Captain in my Toyota Corolla and drive in the left seat. When I'm pushing that bad boy past 120 I think I'm flying. If I open all the doors and attach struts to keep them in place, you'd think it was a plane ...The seatbelt sign comes on when I'm not fastened in my seat. It can hold 5 passengers, but if I'm running my charter, I can push it to 7. Often when driving down Convair Drive beside runway 06R, I imagine myself as Tom Cruise riding his motorcycle trying to catch up to a F-14, waving my fist outside the sunroof. That's right, I drive a Toyota Corolla with a sunroof baby ...
http://youtu.be/J2eoBWZp64s?t=11s
http://youtu.be/J2eoBWZp64s?t=11s
Re: A Day In The Life...
Don't tell me that you guys who did so back in 2009.Justin.Case wrote:My co-pilot is glued to our nav screen and I have to remind him to keep an eye out for the (mountain/towers/wind turbine/Burj Kalifa) a few miles ahead.
---
someone starts barking at us over the radio. Apparently we just flew over a (wildlife sanctuary/army base/palace). I have to quickly search through my paperwork for a permit number that gives us blanket clearance for a certain (state/province/country). Although he is satisfied with our reply I apologize profusely since we will most likely be setting off more alarms in the future. It's the nature of the business, not everyone gets the memo.
Overflying a palace in UAE with a Canadian registered Caravan flying survey!
Blanket permit or not, when a Sheikh decide it's not good to overfly his palace, it's not good! Nothing much can be done about that...As we discovered
This ended up with the airport we were based out being completely shut down and locked up. Our a/c stuck there as they though it was us! (another Canadian registered 208 flying survey from another company)
It took a good 3 months to sort this mess out you know ?
Re: A Day In The Life...
Edited*
Last edited by notpaying on Sun May 12, 2013 8:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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co-joe
- Rank 11
- Posts: 4726
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 2:33 am
- Location: YYC 230 degree radial at about 10 DME
Re: A Day In The Life...
Great stories, thanks to all.
Any flight instructors?
Any oil patch charter guys?
Any flight instructors?
Any oil patch charter guys?
