Rough day at the office

[saab2000]

I had an engine fail and catch fire departing runway 1 in Washington DC. After this we went to Dulles and then had to go around two times (single-engine). After the problem was fixed (took about a minute to fix.....) we took off and got severe wind shear. Finally the other engine started on fire and we had to land and evacuate.

Nothing like a day in the simulator. Lived to fly another day. FAA will let me go back to work. I have 4 days off now and I have earned it.

The others here who fly know what this is like. Once or twice a year, depending on which seat you occupy, you need to prove that you can still do what your little card says you can do.

I was in Charlotte this morning to fly in the box in Washington. When it was all done I flew home (for real) to Minneapolis where I rode my CIII. It is surreal.

[Serpico]

wow, glad you're okay :o

[H.Frank Beshear]

Glad your home safe. Theres a bunch of folks glad that you still have what it takes. Have a :beer: h**l have several you earned em. Frank

[saab2000]

Have a :beer: h**l have several you earned em. Frank


I am. Sitting here browsing iTunes with an MGD in hand.

[slowgoing]

I had an engine fail and catch fire departing runway 1 in Washington DC. After this we went to Dulles and then had to go around two times (single-engine). After the problem was fixed (took about a minute to fix.....) we took off and got severe wind shear. Finally the other engine started on fire and we had to land and evacuate.

Nothing like a day in the simulator. Lived to fly another day. FAA will let me go back to work. I have 4 days off now and I have earned it.

The others here who fly know what this is like. Once or twice a year, depending on which seat you occupy, you need to prove that you can still do what your little card says you can do.

I was in Charlotte this morning to fly in the box in Washington. When it was all done I flew home (for real) to Minneapolis where I rode my CIII. It is surreal.

Beats breaking your collarbone anyday.

[jerk]

Beats breaking your collarbone anyday.


it does?

jerk

[Ginger]

After the problem was fixed (took about a minute to fix.....) we took off .... It is surreal.

What's really surreal is how quick the virtual mechanics fix those things!

I take it they don't simulate the waiting?

[saab2000]

What's really surreal is how quick the virtual mechanics fix those things!

I take it they don't simulate the waiting?

Well, they give you the problem and let you fix it (or more like secure the motor) and then approach to land. They want to see a calm, systematic use of approved checklists and procedures. Most airplanes today are twin engine designs. So you fly a single-engine approach to minimums and then do a go-around.

Finally you get to land. The sim is 'reset' (instantaneous fix) and you start over again with a new set of problems. Sometimes you can relight the engine if there was no fire and then they give you the windshear training right away. Funny though how you can go from dense fog to clear and a million miles vis to having severe thunderstorms in a few seconds.

Anyway, it was fun. Honest. It is the only time of the year you (hopefully at least) you get to practice stuff that almost never really happens. It is stressful because it is, for the FAA and the company, "a jeapordy event". That said, its part of the job. And it is fun, even if it is stressful for a couple hours.

The training at my last job in Switzerland (flying for their national carrier) was different. There they would give you multiple failures and they wanted to see prioritisation and identification of primary and secondary (associated with the first failure) systems failures. The stuff they would give you was virtually unheard of. But not totally. Somedays turn into bad days and some turn into really bad days.

Today was a good day. Did what I was supposed to do. :beer: :banana:

[chrisroph]

Jim, what would you do if you blew out your front and back tires at the same time on a 45 mph descent with a 20mph hairpin fast approaching?

How about a CIII ride report?

Happy Easter. I made mashed potatos and chicken for my daughters, their request, and am on my second glass of 98 Rombauer El Dorado Zin while listening to Guy Clark, not bad.

[saab2000]

I am done drinking for the night. 3 beers is enough.

The CIII is very nice. But somehow less racy than I would like. That said, I like it very much. It is very stable and handles quite well. The contact points are excellent, though I could almost do with a lower yet handlebar position. The next step is a 73 degree Ritchey. Or a 57 CM frame.

The CIII is very comfortable and smooth. They do something right and the thing has a sort of muted feel over bumps. I will put on my fast wheels in the next day or two. I have two sets of the Nucleon tubulars and I have to glue up a couple new Veloflexes. Thusfar have been struggling with my slow, miserable clinchers, which are Velocity (OCR rear) with thin spokes and Veloflex clincher tires. Hardly a bad choice.

I do think a 57 would fit better. But that is ultimately splitting hairs and at my current level of fitness (mediocre at best) the CIII is more than adequate. It is livilier than my Merckx. Still, I can't really get myself to part with the Eddy. I like the position a lot and the handling there is excellent too. The new fork (Ouzo Pro) helps a lot with the perceived stiffness of the front end. I think the Serotta wins a direct comparison because I like the feel of the steel. But it would be interesting to have an exact Legend copy of the Merckx made.

Summary of the CIII:

- Comfortable
- Stable
- Road bike, not something else
- Feels like a race bike, but I also feel that more 'racelike' geometry and stiffness exist

[chrisroph]

When I had my standard geometry 57 CSi with F1, I think I felt a lot like you feel about the CIII. It was solid, stable, smooth, precise, beautifully constructed, supremely well painted, extremely capable, but somehow a little unexciting. It was a lot more "boring" than my spetrum steel, which is lively, stable, extremely quick but solid, faster through corners than anything, able to do two wheel drifts with ablomb.

Comparing the CSi to my current standard 57 legend, I like the legend more. It is just as solid and stable, feels almost as stiff, but is a little more lively and quick. It seems to have more jump and response.

Both the CSi and the legend are superb all around machines, the kinds of bikes capable of dealing with any type of surface, condition, weather, or course.

The last two days, I rode my majestic with fenders. It has been cold and wet in the pacific nw. I'm really looking forward to some more good weather.

I'm also looking forward to some more aggressive riding on the merckx al leader. I've got the headset issue sorted and this thing has the beautiful eddy handling combined with super rigid aluminum reflexes. It is very light, very rigid, and pretty darn harsh. It seems tailor made for racing and jumping up short hills in the big ring but I don't think I'll take it on many long team rides or Monday cruises with the guys. It seems like good cheap racing iron, and it is replacing the look 281.

[coylifut]

My uncle retired from Pan Am about 25 years ago and his ATP liscense looks the history of avaition. He started by flying the Electra durring WWII and retired in the 747. He was one the very first to fly the 747. Anyway, one time when he was departing Rome to Beruit, his aircraft ingested what they believe was a flock of ducks (do they call it a flock). The plane was very heavy with passengers and cargo. It/they destroyed one of the engines just after rotation. He showed me pictures and there were big holes punched in the cowling. He said it was the closest he'd ever come to crashing an airplane.

[vaxn8r]

Maybe it's the size. I can ride anything between a 55 and a 58 easily. The 55 being a tad too small with seat post jammed back and longer stem. 56 seems to be my magic number. The 57/58 just feels "slower". It's hard to describe. I still fit nicely enough on a 58 but it feels like I'm driving a sedan instead of a sports car.

[slowgoing]

it does?

jerk

Just guessin' it does. Popping my shoulder out a couple of times is as close as I have come.

You seen a doctor yet?

[stevep]

I had an engine fail and catch fire departing runway 1 in Washington DC. After this we went to Dulles and then had to go around two times (single-engine). After the problem was fixed (took about a minute to fix.....) we took off and got severe wind shear. Finally the other engine started on fire and we had to land and evacuate. .

blah, blah, blah.
campy or shimano?
get to something important.
franck schleck?
aw, who saw that?
the doof did

[Too Tall]

Saabster - are they using the "SuperExtra" version of depends on the simulator seat cushions or do they just replace them after you've gouged holes out of the seat?

You do lead an interesting life.

[saab2000]

Maybe it's the size. I can ride anything between a 55 and a 58 easily. The 55 being a tad too small with seat post jammed back and longer stem. 56 seems to be my magic number. The 57/58 just feels "slower". It's hard to describe. I still fit nicely enough on a 58 but it feels like I'm driving a sedan instead of a sports car.

That's a good analogy. I wish I had a 57. And I might order one eventually. At least now I know. The deal is that this one is a nice bike and is still in the 'fit window'. Right now I gotta conserve money. And ordering yet another bike will not give me more time to ride. If I could have one thing it would not be an Ottrott with Record and ADA wheels and Dugast handmade silks. It would be more time to ride the bikes I have.

That said, a 57 would probably be about right.

[GregL]

Your description brings back some fond memories! Sim training was one of the most enjoyable parts of professional aviation. In the ten years I spent in the cockpit (King Air, Citation I, II, III, Sabreliner, JetSar), I had lots of minor failures and a few more serious ones, but all turned out well due to high quality training. People would ask how realistic sim training is. My answer was always "as real as the sweat dripping off my forehead!"

Regards,
Greg

[torquer]

My father learned to fly long ago, but for various reasons did not make a career of it. He took up gliders later in life, and was an instructor weekends and vacations.

His day job (actually it was the night-shift) was as a A&P mechanic for one of the (now departed) big airlines. This gave him access to their flight simulators, including ones configured for by-then almost-obsolete airliners, such as the B-707, which weren't in much demand.

One slow night, he was offered a chance to "fly" a cross-country leg on the simulator. He did great, but made two significant mistakes:

1. He followed standard sailplane practice, setting the altimeter to zero, rather than the actual airport elevation, since sailplanes normally return to their airport of origin. But since he was flying the simulator to another airport, which turned out to be at a slightly higher elevation, he flew the simulator into the runway, thinking he still had the difference in elevation to descend.

2. He hadn't bothered to put on his lap belt, and the impact of the collision with the runway knocked him out of the seat!

[Ginger]

I really appreciate the job done by commercial pilots of any sort. I mean, they're doing what they love to do: fly, and they're taking us all along for the ride. Cool.

The whole business of comercial aviation is rather sobering if you think about it. It isn't "if" something is going to go wrong, it's "when" and just how wrong it's going to go. Last summer I was introduced to the concept of "hull loss," somewhat scary stuff if you think about it.

[saab2000]

Some people don't call them passengers. We call them "Sponsors". Or "self-loading cargo".

The industry isn't what it used to be though. No complaining here, but the salaries are a fraction of what they used to be and that is getting worse. The concessions we hear about at the carriers are very real and the lifestyle of crew members (300K annual salaries, working 8 days per month, week-long layovers in Honolulu) is greatly misrepresented in the media.

Beware of where we are going. There is a movement to cut salary drastically among Air Traffic Controllers. They (along with mechanics, who have already been kicked and beaten by management) are the most important people in aviation safety. Pilots are the most visible, but there are many others who are at least as vital. This is something we all need to think about when we demand the cheapest of everything. Aviation is one industry that will not thrive with 'Wal-Martization' and dumbing down of the staff.

Sermon over.

[GregL]

Beware of where we are going. There is a movement to cut salary drastically among Air Traffic Controllers. They (along with mechanics, who have already been kicked and beaten by management) are the most important people in aviation safety. Pilots are the most visible, but there are many others who are at least as vital. This is something we all need to think about when we demand the cheapest of everything. Aviation is one industry that will not thrive with 'Wal-Martization' and dumbing down of the staff.

Oh, how right you are! I bailed out of commercial aviation 11 years ago when I saw this trend coming. It got to the point where the rational side of my brain overcame the part that loved to fly. I was director of flight ops for a small corporate flight department. As a management pilot, I was expected to fly five to six days a week and spend the remaining days catching up on paperwork. If I jumped to the airlines, I would have had to take a large pay cut and live in a crash pad waiting out my reserve years. It just wasn't worth the aggrevation any more. Since I left commercial aviation and moved to industry (radar systems engineer), I've seen my salary more than double and I have enough time off to "have a life."

My thanks and best wishes to those stalwart souls who continue to ensure the safety of the traveling public!

Regards,
Greg

[William]

Some people don't call them passengers. We call them "Sponsors". Or "self-loading cargo".

The industry isn't what it used to be though. No complaining here, but the salaries are a fraction of what they used to be and that is getting worse. The concessions we hear about at the carriers are very real and the lifestyle of crew members (300K annual salaries, working 8 days per month, week-long layovers in Honolulu) is greatly misrepresented in the media.

Beware of where we are going. There is a movement to cut salary drastically among Air Traffic Controllers. They (along with mechanics, who have already been kicked and beaten by management) are the most important people in aviation safety. Pilots are the most visible, but there are many others who are at least as vital. This is something we all need to think about when we demand the cheapest of everything. Aviation is one industry that will not thrive with 'Wal-Martization' and dumbing down of the staff.

Sermon over.

Correct me if I'm wrong here saab, negotiations with the air traffic controlers has stalled. Managment put out a ridiculous first offer. The controllers countered offering to take cuts. Management hasn't come back because they know if they stall, it will eventually go before congress. If congress fails to take it up in 60 day, managements first offer automatically goes into effect? If this is the gist of what I heard, the controllers are getting shafted.

I hate to hear this stuff, esp when Mrs William took of for the mid-west this morning.

William

[saab2000]

I do not know the situation between labor and "management" with regards to the controllers. Management is, broadly, the FAA.

All I know is that it is a very stressful job which is critical to safe flight. We all use the system, either as a passenger or pilot. If the job becomes a low-paying, cruddy job does anyone think that bright minds will want to get into it? It is a difficult job to get and if the pay gets low enough there may ultimately be a shortage of qualified personnel. This leads to delays and frustrations.

I don't want to preach. I also don't have all the answers to aviation's problems. Solutions take all sides of an issue. It is just my opinion that the flying public is a bit complacent because airplanes are not falling out of the sky. Nobody wants that.

[Len J]

who was a DC - 10 instructor for Fed Ex........When I lived in Memphis, I knew that every Rainy Sunday, I'd get a call to go play in the "Worlds best video game" (AKA the DC 10 flight simulator). What a kick!

I think I have 40+ hours in the simulator........I did manage to crash the thing into Lake Michigan (in an Ice Storm, Kennedy, In wind Shears....etc, etc.

Of course, My job wasn't on the line, just bragging rights. :D

Len