Sky Bar

[Archer]

Oh well, it seems the therad is evolving on it's own...

let's see what happens.

I now have 32 hours after my first dual x/c yesterday, and it's actually 31.9, but I rounded up...

good?

Archer

 

[PilotoHalcon]

...daily lives...

Ok, this may be a little different since I am in a sand box...

Man, it's dark here at 0600, I remember when it was 100f and sun was way up. Finally cooling down to the high 90's.
Did you make the coffee? Good man. I just faxed the flight plan to Kuwait, The fax to Saudi did not go through again, I will try the commercial number. Do you want to take the Camry or Prado? The Prado has the CD player and we can listen to my new CD by the Dixie Chicks. Darn it, I thought you had the weapon, now we have to go by the Arms Room to get a 16. OK, Headquarters to get a "mother may I" pass to the airport. Another cup for the road. I thought New York had aggressive drivers. What do you mean we have 148? The A/C works better in 544, how much gas do we have, have our pax showed up yet? I'll preflight if you do the book. How many foot lockers? Those EOD guys have more crxp..OK, take out the last seat by the door, we can tie it down there. Brief them will you? No, 0800 is the TakeOff time, not the show time. Ok ya'll, we have cold water in the cooler, grab one on your way up. One at a time on the steps. Yes mam, I have been doing this for awhile. No Sir, there is no movie on this flight. Have a seat. OK, have you called for engine crank yet? OK. We are all set. I have done up to here on the check list, as soon as the tug is released I will be ready when you are. OK Battery on, First Engine Start, Battery Start Check List please. **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** it's hot in here already, thats why I bring a towel, you should have been here in July. 825 on number 2, must have been a low battery. Get that A/C on before we baste in here will you? AC off crank #1. Call ready to taxi. Kuwait Tower Pat 28 ready to Taxi. (yes we use tower for taxi) Want to go to Frostys for dinner? Before Take Off Check list. I'll be ready at the end if you are. Lots of 320's here. OK Seleg, FL240. Set power. The AC in this one sucks. Write it up OK? What do you think the diving would be like off of that Island there? I heard it is really shallow. At least we have a tail wind. I figure we can eat lunch in Saudi then you fly back. We should just have four comming back, 1 civilian and 3 Majors. This is the longest leg we have and it keeps getting longer. Was that for us? Yes, Bahrain next. Whats Oregon Like? I have never been there. Must be nice. What do you do in the world? I am a part time Guard guy also who got furloughed now doing this full time. No idea, maybe another year before I get recalled. IF I get recalled. I may say hell with it and hop a boat till I get a phone call. Beats flipping burgers or selling used cars though. What do you say we start our descent at 75? We will probably land staight in. ATIS out? Why am I not surprised. Look at all of that sand. It's a wonder the roads stay afloat on it. passing 15k altimeter to 1013, set, crosscheck. Descent arrival checklist please. Have you been watching CNN? Looks worse then it really is over here so far, hope it stays that way another six weeks. Did you see those Marines this morning running with the mask on? At least it made them quieter. HAHA.
If I can hold ref I should be able to make the second turn off. A long 2 mile taxi here...look at all those Classified OK, shutdown check list. Lunch time.

As you figured out, this flying is really no different then the Gulf of Mexico pilot, the West Tx Commuter guy or the Delta 777 driver. WE all have our same gripes and complaints. Hope it was somewhat entertaining.
j

 

[TurboS7]

Everyone needs to go to the big sandbox at least once. Isn't faxing the FP a pain in the neck-especially when Kuwait doesn't get it. I have sent some nice emails to my wife from ops. Nice post I was with you all the way.

 

[Fitzy]

Archer, you did good son. This has been the funniest thread in a while, makes my shi--y reserve day go by faster.

Whiskey and women , cards and dice , blue balls, crabs the clap and lice --by god I've had them all ----twice

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Agreed with Fitzy. This is a great one. I avoided it after reading it when there were only 5 posts. But every day I looked at the number of posts and it kept going and going.

Archer, Bobbysam is right on, this industry, as far as the people you encounter really is not much different than any other. Only difference might be the overwhelming number of male pilots compared to female pilots. In general, that makes for much better jokes!!!

Chperplt, laughed pretty hard at that last one. Couldn't come up with that comment on my own, but it pretty much summed it up.

Really enjoyed Enigma's post as well.


Mr. I.

 

[Cardinal]

Turbo, et al; In your experience what is a good ballpark figure for the ratio of SLAM/CLICKERs to, well, "others"?

 

[TurboS7]

30 to 40%,the older they get the more they slam click, the younger FA's are great. But then maybe it is just me. What kind of luck do you other guys have?

 

[enigma]

Cardinal, If I had to profile a slam clicker, I'd say that one would be: thirty-something, decent looking, single, and white. That's as close as I could get to a description. The younger generation tends to be more outgoing, as do the fourty and older ones. I think that the older FA's, especially the career changers, are the best company. They are not particularly worried about having to keep apart. The slam clickers give the impression that they are afraid of being hit on. I guess they avoid the problem by staying to themselves.

regards.
8N

 

[TurboS7]

Archer,
You are doing well, we are up to 4 pages not bad. I think this thread has wandered around what would be a very typical crew "bar" conversation. Who is going to pay for the third round?

 

[Archer]

See I don't know what a typical conversation would be because I'm not a professional pilot and I havn't been around any lately...or ever for that reason.

That's why I started this place, to see what kinds of things pilots talked about in between their flying...

Obvioulsy I'm sure they talk about aviation, and that is wonderful because it's just normal. You talk af things you do as well as those you don't in life.

So I'm guessing they would talk about this one ATC approach controller that sounded very pissed off...

or perhaps this cute flight attendant that smiled at them and is being forward

Or maybe the meal they had on their flight was not all that bad, or horrible and they can cook better even if they don't know how to cook...

I don't know...


I can ramble about about this one Warrior II that has been giving me problems for the last 2 times I tried to solo in it. The engine would not start on one occasion. The DG spun madly on another.

I can talk about how much stuff there is to know even as a Private pilot, and that I'm supposed to be near the end of my training flying wise...but knowledge wise, I'm light years behind I think...I know my stuff, but there is always new things that come up that I shold know and dont...so I wonder if I'll ever know it all for my written, oral and practical...

Archer

 

[Fitzy]

If you do ever figure it all out let me know, cause I sure the hell don't. Almost 8000 hrs and still scratching my head, my advice is read NTSB.COM and do opposite of those unfortunate basta--s.I wish I had this computer and web site when I first started out it would have helped out tons and entertained me for hours -just like this thread. stick with engineering, fly for fun and respect women---sorry that's the booze talking

 

[TurboS7]

Archer,
Sounds to me like you are getting the picture real fast. I havn't flown since the 15th of October and then it was a line check from Keflivik, Iceland to Lviv, Ukraine and back to Keflivik. Since then I have been home. Usually I fly at least 3 times a week but things have really been slow in the charter business. Right now I am on reserve waiting for the phone to ring. For the first couple of weeks it was fun to chase the wife around the house but now it is kinda getting old. I was suppose to fly a flight from Baltimore to Keflivik this weekend which I was looking forward to. My grandfather who is 92 lives in Baltimore and my Mom and Dad were visiting him for his birthday. It would have been fun to have combined the layover with a visit . But at the last moment the checkairman took over my flight and now they are paying me to sit at home. I have a PC(proficiency check) on the 27th of the month. That means I have to have all my emergency recall items memorized to the T. Kinda a pain since management has just changed everything so they have to be rememorize. All the limitations are memorized they are easy. Next I have to bone myself up for an oral on the complete systems and FMC on the 737-800. They can ask anything and everything-and they will-our checkairman can be a real pain, I would rather have the FAA.
Then I have to study all the profiles for every concievable emergecy in the aircraft. I have no idea which ones they will give me so I have to know them all.So I have a lot to do but I still miss the flying. Unless they call me for a trip I will not have flown for six weeks prior to the check, I hate that. But right after the check I am suppose to go to Hawaii for a week over Thanksgiving. That should be a nice flight. So you have flown more than I and more that likely you'll get more hours this month than I. Enjoy.

 

[Archer]

I am sorry to hear that Turbo. Your life as a professional pilot is probably not too different than a lot of other pilots out there unfortunately.

It seems an indication on how the aviation industry is going, and the demand and supply of pilots...

It's sad, because as I said earlier, I really respect and admire pilots. I don't think it's an easy job, and even though you may argue no job is easy...

The lives of tens of thousands of people depend on pilots (as well as ATC, A&Ps and what not) every day.

But like that Northwest 747 flight emergency, no one knows when pilots save lives.

Well, I'm getting carried away here, basically...I wish pilots would be more in demand and be paid more, as pay is one of the ways to show the value and respect you give an employee...

well, I hope you do get to fly more than me this month...

fly safe,

Archer

 

[ACWild]

Hey Turbo,
Who do you fly for? What you do sounds a whole lot like where I work.
Does anyone learn EVERYTHING that an FMC does? Everyone that I fly with seems to have their own little "secrets".

 

[bobbysamd]

Salary

I wish pilots would be more in demand and be paid more, as pay is one of the ways to show the value and respect you give an employee...

(emphasis added)

You got it. Absolutely. You exhibit excellent perception.

That can be said for any industry. My wife worked her a$$ off as a law librarian and was severely underpaid. Her theory was that her law office administrators had no clue as to the extent of her job. She figured they thought she just sat around checking out books.

The Amarillo, Texas, oilman, T. Boone Pickens, once said the only way an employer can truly express his appreciation for his workers is to pay them more money.

I, too, wish pilots were more in demand. But, it isn't a matter of whether they're in demand, it's more a matter of pilots being in oversupply. Maybe with the exception of a brief period in the 1960s, there has never been a pilot shortage. Just the same, one can have a flying career. It requires great amounts of desire, motivation, hard work, patience and, most of all, luck and timing.

 

[KC-10 Driver]

Archer, do you see what has happened here?

You came into the "hangar" and said something that all the other pilots gave you sh!t for.

Then you stuck around and followed the "hangar talk" as it went where ever it went. Now, you are involved in this rambling discussion.

You can't force anyone (especially pilots, I think) to engage in some touch-feely, feel-good rap session. Most of us don't operate that way.

We are hard on each other -- out of the cockpit, and especially in the cockpit. But, if you have a thick skin and don't take things personally, you will do well. No one thinks less of you for the way you started this thread -- but of course, you will forever continue to get grief for it.

Now, you are learning about professional pilots.

By the way, there is some hilarious stuff in this thread.

 

[PilotoHalcon]

Hey Turbo. No kidding, those FP's are a pain. When were you over here and what ops did you use?
j

 

[KC-10 Driver]

TurboS7 asked what percentage of the FA's are slam/clickers, in our experience.

At my last company (US Airways), I have to say that it was probably at about 70%. Of course, maybe it was just me...

I have yet to fly a line trip with JetBlue (I'm still in training). But, from meeting the new-hire flight attendants in training, I think I can safely say that the percentage will be quite a bit better at this company -- at least I hope so!

 

[Typhoon1244]

...if you have a thick skin and don't take things personally, you will do well.

Well said. Archer, I'll give you a couple of quick examples.

I have one of those first names that can be shortened a couple of different ways. One of these ways I prefer. The other I can't stand. I made the mistake of telling one captain "you can call me _____, but I prefer not to be called _____." You can guess what happened; ever since that day, he's made it a point to introduce me to everyone we meet by that name I can't stand! And he's not trying to ruin me...he's just giving me sh_t. It's what so many of us do, for some reason.

I remember this other captain...I was having a heck of a time landing Brasilias one day. I guess everybody has their day "in the box," right? I got down to 17C in DFW and I must have bounced eleven times. So there I am, wrestling to get the thing settled down, and the clown in the left seat is chanting, "you're awesome! You are the man! I'm going to recommend you for upgrade as soon as we get inside!" Now it would be easy to let something like that ruin your whole week, but by the time we got to the gate, we were both laughing about it.

Keep a tough hide, roll with the punches, and you'll be accepted before you know it. Ever read The Caine Mutiny? Read it. (Forget about the movie.) Everything you need to know about making the journey from callow first officer to salty captain is right there.

 

[avbug]

Interesting thread. Never heard of the predatory female...is it worth a read?

What is a misogynist?

Flyhi, what kind of gun, and do you have a sister?