Owner: Views From The Left Seat URL:http://viewsfromtheleftseat.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Sat, 08 Dec 2007 15:45:20 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Learn about the airline life as viewed from a commercial airline pilot...Good reading and good photos! Site statistics:Click here
Always Apologizing 2008-04-08 08:10:18 Just as my last trip went surprisingly well, the following one was pretty awful. There are times when I almost feel embarrassed that I work for an airline given the bad publicity that we receive. And today was a good example of that.It was supposed to be just an easy turnaround from DFW to Philadelphia and back. I was hoping to be home by 10 PM if all went well. But right after sign in at noon I could see that things might not go smoothly. Our departure had been delayed for 45 minutes for ATC flow control delays to the east coast. PHL was reporting good weather but there was a large area of weather in the deep south that was moving up the east coast and causing issues with ATC.I joked to the First Officer that this was turning into a possible all-nighter. Little did we know.....I c
The MD-80 Saga Continues 2008-04-12 08:44:46 Wow, what a week this has been for the MD-80 pilots at AA. Not to mention the traveling public.Last month there was a grounding of a large number of the fleet due to wiring issues related to an Airworthiness Directive. It was supposedly completed and all was well with the fleet...or so we thought.My trip this week was to be a three day affair with layovers in San Antonio and Salt Lake City. Day one went nicely with a turnaround to Atlanta and then on to San Antonio. It was the NCAA final four weekend and the city was packed with basketball fans. I had some extra time so I went out and did the tourist thing myself along the Riverwalk and the Alamo.Back to DFW and then on to SLC for a short layover. SLC is a hub for Delta Air Lines. I shot this 767 launching from runway 16L.The next d
Dutch Vacation 2008-04-25 13:33:13 It seems like I just went on a vacation only two months ago but in reality it was almost three! The events of the past couple of months with the MD-80 fleet have made a vacation a welcome diversion.Since I haven't been back to work in a couple of weeks, I'll have to supplement my blog with more vacation stories. My apologies once again.This time it was to be a week in The Netherlands with a side trip over to Belgium. We left from DFW on KLM's new service from DFW nonstop to Amsterdam. I've never been a huge fan of any Airbus product but I must admit that KLM's new A-330's are very nice. And the service on KLM was outstanding! Our US airlines are put to shame by the service from the foreign carriers. The overnight flight lasted just under 9 hours and was smooth as glass. Western Euro Read more:Dutch
, Vacation
Windmill Education 2008-04-28 08:11:04 No visit to Netherlands would be complete without a trip to Amsterdam.So we hopped on a train for a short ten minute ride from Haarlem to the big city. The trains in Europe are amazingly efficient and easy to use. The US could sure use more of them. Our mass transportation system is pathetic by European standards. The price of a gallon of gas this week over there was a little over $10. No wonder they use the train!Once in the city we took the obligatory canal cruise.It allowed for some great views of the sprawling city. After the cruise we spent several hours just walking through the different sections of the city. And then back on the train to Haarlem for the night.Later that week we took a short drive over to the small fishing village of Volendam. It was loaded with tourists that day. Read more:Windmill
, Education
A Visit Back To Medieval Times 2008-05-02 15:17:42 The next stop on our itinerary would be in the medieval town of Brugges, Belgium. It is a historic city in the northwestern part of Belgium. It was a 2.5 hour drive from Haarlem with a short stop in Rotterdam for some business concerns that BD had to handle.The old part of Brugges is a little difficult to maneuver by car. The streets are very narrow and most of them go only one way. Of course we made a few wrong turns along the way as we tried to find our way into the town and to our hotel.Once settled, we got out and made a visit to the town square and up we went in the belfry tower.Lots of steps on the way up but the view was pretty good this day from the top so it was well worth the climb.As in Amsterdam, we had to take the obligatory canal cruise. No houseboats here though. Jus Read more:Times
Don't Cross That Runway! 2008-05-08 12:55:02 So it's back to work again after a nice but way too short vacation.The next two trips on my schedule were a pair of identical three day trips spread over an eleven day period. Day one included a five leg day. Day two was just a west coast turnaround and day three would be three legs. Not too terrible.The five leg day included a visit to Denver International. This view from the downwind leg shows how spread out the airport is. Their longest runway is 16,000 ft long. I can't think of any longer commercial runways in this country.Southwest Airlines has a number of unusual paint schemes in their fleet. Here's one of them at DEN.Speaking of runways...The FAA has an experimental runway status light system in place on one of the runways at DFW airport. There are Takeoff Hold Lights that Read more:Cross
, Runway
Good Memories 2008-05-16 10:29:53 As much as I would rather be in bed before dawn, there are times when you get to experience certain things from the air and it makes getting up extra early almost worth it.This sunrise occurred over central Texas shortly after takeoff from Austin. We were climbing in the smooth morning air between multiple layers of clouds when the sun poked through and I managed to get off this shot before we wen
Just When The Going Was Good...... 2008-05-22 10:15:51 The oil crisis has been hitting AA especially hard. Just yesterday they announced a huge reduction in our flying for later this year as well as the accelerated retirement of numerous MD-80 aircraft and even some A-300's that are widely used in the Caribbean.This will undoubtedly lead to huge furloughs among the employee groups. Just when many of our pilots were beginning to be recalled from furl Read more:Going
The West Is Best 2008-05-28 15:43:10 In a previous post I talked about the great sightseeing opportunities when flying in the southwestern United States. A recent trip of mine was no exception.I learned to fly in the small border town of Douglas, Arizona. One of my first cross country flights was up to Tucson and back. I can remember having to wait for takeoff so a bunch of A-7 Corsairs from the Arizona Air Guard could land.A rec
Who Says It's Hot In Phoenix? 2008-06-09 15:56:26 In keeping with the West is Best theme....Another recent trip of mine took me out to Phoenix
. By June of any given year, Phoenix is already well into the 100 degree days, but this day was an unusual exception. It was only 88 when we landed at 4 PM and very clear. No global warming here....The arrivals from points East are routed either from the Northeast or the Southeast. Nothing is allowed
Time For A Change 2008-06-15 17:54:48 So after 15 years in the left seat of the MD-80, the time has come for a change.My final trip was a 3 day affair with stops in Columbus, Mexico City, and Baltimore.Day one began with a leg to Columbus, back to DFW, and then on to Mexico City. The descent to Columbus took us right over downtown Cincinnati and a very muddy Ohio River.Clear skies prevailed over Columbus also.Arrival at MEX was just Read more:Change
Progress Report 2008-07-12 08:54:26 Just a short post this time to report on the status of 767 training.Ground school is conducted with just two pilots and an instructor. My partner is a freshly recalled former TWA pilot. (AA purchased TWA back in 2001). He has been on furlough from AA for 6 years. He is happy to be back but also quite worried that he may be getting a furlough notice before too long due to the state of affairs at A
The Training Goes On 2008-08-01 10:19:06 Another short post again to report on 767 training.The Tylenol was not needed and the final week of simulator training went smoothly.We even spent a session in the latest 757 simulator that has a new flat panel EFIS display. After a lifetime of looking at steam gauges, it took a while to get used to finding the right place to look but once we got the hang of it, the rest of the session moved alon Read more:Training
I Could Get Used To This!! 2008-09-07 09:29:45 For my first international trip on my own without a babysitter I would be flying one of the two daily non-stops from DFW to Honolulu. The flight leaves about mid-day and arrives HNL around 3:00 PM. A 27 hour layover in HNL awaited. I had the swimming suit and the sunscreen packed and ready.Even though Hawaii is part of the United States, it is considered an international destination for us pilots
It's Finally Over 2008-08-30 08:25:10 After a wait of nearly two weeks I would finally be finishing up with my international line checkout.The plan was for me to deadhead to Miami and then work a revenue trip over to Madrid.I had been to Madrid many times as a First Officer and I was looking forward to going over again.Our plane had just arrived from Santiago, Chile and was getting all it's necessary maintenance items tended to when w Read more:Finally
Hot and Heavy 2008-09-23 10:32:42 Next up was a trip to Paris, France.The last time I went to Paris was in 1990 and we were using the smaller Orly Airport. Since then, AA has moved over to the much larger Charles De Gaulle Airport. It is the second busiest airport in Europe after London Heathrow.Runway 17R at DFW was the departure runway. Takeoff weight was 405,000 pounds. Almost at maximum gross weight today due to a full pas Read more:Heavy
The Dreaded All-Nighter 2008-09-14 20:54:04 By the time we made the drive from HNL airport into town, it was getting to be towards early evening. Our hotel is right on Waikiki Beach. But even with the five hour time difference from Texas, I made the effort to get out and about and see a few sights.Tourism is alive and well in Hawaii. The streets and beaches are packed as are the stores, hotels, bars and restaurants. A couple of us pilots
Recommend Site To A Friend
