From the Flight Deck

Halon extinguisher

After landing yesterday morning after a red eye from Edmonton, and getting as good as rest as I could muster, I'm off to LAX. My commuting f/o from Sault Ste. Marie greets me with everything done as he's been at the airport long before check in time - typical of commuters.

Everything indicates a normal flight. After all, the full moon was yesterday. Five minutes to push back I query the in-charge about documentation. Did we have the 'general declarations and where is the paper confirming a security check on the airplane has been done? I get blank stares both from the F/O and in-charge about the security one. We search the flight deck. Nothing. Call operations. "Someone will be right there," we're told. Meanwhile, we are missing a "J" class (business) passenger and their bags will be sequenced. That's odd, "J" passengers are seasoned travellers, they don't miss flights. After a 12 minute delay they find her imbibing the hospitality in the Maple Leaf lounge.

We push and we taxi on Bravo for runway 23. Taxiway Alpha is closed getting resurfacing with Bravo needing it as well. YYZ uses huge well lit "Xs" to denote taxiway closure. I won't mention what one American pilot said about possibly arriving to a KKK meeting. Oops.

I'm thinking pleasant thoughts, possible beer on my layover ( I think Capt Sully had pleasant thoughts while overlooking New York prior to...) and a disconcerting POP, SWISH noise directly behind my seat occurs. It sounded like a freshly shaken pop (soda) can spewing it's pressurized guts. I look over to my f/o for answers because I'm taxiing and all I see is widening eyes and hear a series of expletives spewing from his mouth. Plus he is dodging something ejaculating from behind my seat (Simpilot264, hopefully you don't spill coffee on your keyboard, as you did reading my "crab on" comment.).

It turns out the halon fire extinguisher made itself loose from it's mooring, fell on the floor, and started to blow it's load all over the flight deck. I stop on taxiway B and we inform ground. How did that happen with the safety pin attached? Hmmmm. We talk to maintenance and it's an RTG (Return To Gate). I call the in-charge to explain what transpired.

The fire extinguisher took ten minutes to change but we had t0 wait 30 minutes for a push back crew. One rampie visited the flight deck saying they were pulled off another flight to push us back but the flight they were pulled from was behind us waiting to taxi to the gate. "Houston we have a problem." We have a Mexican stand off, as they say.

They finally get a tug, another crew to move the airplane behind us, but the head lights didn't work on the tug. We wait. Another rampie enters the flight deck only to show we weren't the only ones having a bad day. He shows us a picture on his cell phone of a blown chute on Etihad's B777 that occurred a couple of hours before.

The extinguisher spewed over my overnight bag and left a huge wet spot of the flight deck carpet.

Next to a pilot's personality, his layover clothes are his biggest birth control. (So say flight attendants). They might now may ask, what's the name of the cologne you're wearing? Halon.

Joking aside, I check the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets). This is a one inch booklet found in the flight deck library depicting various liquids and their danger. (hydraulics, fuel, oil and fire extinguisher repellent was on the list). Providing it didn't get into our eyes it looked like it posed little risk except for the ozone layer.

My f/o gave an impressed look of how I remembered to consult this booklet. To be honest, it was the first time I ever opened it. Finally, we push with a datalink stating a "small area" of thunderstorms are developing along our route.

During the climb, dispatch datalinks us with a SIGMET pertaining to the "small area" of thunderstorms.

They begin to paint on the radar. We elect to deviate south. We end up over Wichita, Kansas. Heck we are overflying Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz's state. One of the three States which sees the most thunderbumpers in the U.S. We watch our fuel as this "little area" (I'll never forget that term) turns out to be my longest deviation for weather. The seat belt sign was on for an hour and a half. I had to deny my crew meal until things subsided.

I figure it wasn't worth wearing. Actually the rides weren't that bad.

Finally, we turn the corner at Wichita and watch the last of the fireworks. Two airliners decided to fly over these things topped at 38,000 feet. Both experienced "lift" at FL390 and FL400. Think stall speed and Max speed marrying, i.e. the dreaded "coffin corner."

I reflect with the F/O as the light show goes by our window about Air France. They were at 36,000 feet with Cbs topped 15,000 to 20,000 feet higher than the ones we contended with. It made my skin crawl.

Further on a brisk westerly wind proved conducive to a mountain wave effect over Denver, Colorado. Continuous light chop greeted us on the approach to LAX as a stiff westerly wind prevailed. We did lots of rolling and it was hard for me to find the infamous parking lot where commuter pilots live in their campers highlighted on the CBC documentary, Dead Tired.

The F/O did a great job putting it on. The park brake is set with one hour and 15 minutes of block growth.

We make our way outside of the terminal only to wait 30 minutes for the driver. Apparently he fell asleep. I guess we are not the only ones who tire in the transportation business.

Today the weather is beautiful, sunny and 22 C. California is living up to its name. After working out at GOLDS gym and riding a bike up and down Redondo Beach with my f/o, I concur, there sure are lots of beautiful people living here.

Halon Doug in LAX

This image is compliments of Air Canada's photographer, Brian Losito.

I've been writing a one sentence blurb for such enRoute pictures for the passed year and a half.

The way it goes, I submit about 15 blurbs and they pick one. Sometimes it takes more energy than my questions/answers. Here's the winner for April's:

Airbus A319 The ramp attendant ensures that the wheel chocks are set and the electric power is plugged in. Conditioned air is supplied from the yellow hose.

Yesterday found me in the landscaping mode yet again. I know, I know you are probably getting tired of my landscaping ordeal. I finally finished the masonry work. (When someone told me I should be a Mason, this is what I thought they meant - bad joke). Yesterday included heavy digging and moving five cubic yards of soil. Not a smart thing to be doing prior to a "red eye."

We launch for YEG (Edmonton) on sked. I ask the F/O to do the first leg since I figure flying home would make me more alert for the 6:00 a.m landing. (For those familiar with YYZ's 6:30 a.m curfew, many of Air Canada's 'red eye' flights are exempt including Flight 158 YEG to YYZ). Our route to Edmonton took us State side with one hour plus of intermittent to continuous light chop. Numerous reports had it all levels so a level change was not an option.

After a two hour scheduled wait in Edmonton, an aircraft change, including finding sleeping flight attendants in the cabin after their flight from Ottawa, we readied for our flight. The F/O, called out on reserve for this pairing, detected frost on the wings during the walk around. (The last time we flew together, about a year ago, he was freshly demoted from Embraer captain to A320 F/O because of the pending recession. He joked last night he was not in a good mood this time last year because of the $30,00o or more pay cut - who would be?). The middle of April and we are still deicing. Luckily after fuelling, the warm fuel in the tanks melted the wee bit of frost. No deicing required!

Captain Doug's head snapped back and forth a couple of times while on the long climb out of Edmonton. Finally at cruising altitude I gave control to my f/o for a "controlled nap." The flight consisted of tag team controlled naps. Finally, the in-charge rang to check up on us and I responded by a "so so." "Okay, I'm coming up for a visit." Visits from flight attendants are rarer and rarer, but what a difference it made. With the visit, and a hint of morning sun, perked us up for a fine scheduled landing in Toronto. (I must include this in my initial briefing to the in-charge, visits are more than welcome! I thought being nice to flight attendants upon initial contact would mean it's a given for them to come and visit - apparently not).

After a few hours sleep, I'm readying for a YVR (Vancouver) flight this evening. Luckily, it's just one leg there. But that's after some more landscaping after my wife bought 12 bushes to plant.

Captain Doug the night owl

This forward scatter RVR sensor has been working hard in CYYT (St. John's, Newfoundland) during the last week or so. This $80,000 (plus $20,000 for installation) device measures how far a pilot will see down the runway near the touch down point. You'll never guess where they tested the device. Good guess...CYYT (the foggiest airport in Canada)

This scenario greeted us during landing late last night.

After three weeks of days off and vacation, the time had come to go back flying. The pairing consists of one leg to CYYT, sit around for 27 hours and fly one leg back to Toronto.

I decided to check the destination weather prior to the flight, because after all, I'll be outbound to the foggiest, windiest, rainiest, cloudiest city in Canada. The latest METAR held true to its reputation. One follower took on my challenge to decipher this METAR from an email I sent. She (a non pilot but an enthralled aviation enthusiast) did a great job breaking the 'Da Vinci code.

Are you up for the challenge?

METAR CYYT 201200Z 05020g26KT 5/8SM R11/1400FT/D R16/3500FT/D +RA BR VV002 03/03 A2927 RMK FG8 PRESFR SLP918

Here's what you will see when you visit the London VAAC from this link:

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation/vaac/vaacuk_vag.html

This is a recreation of what Speedbird 9 encountered in 1982 while flying over Indian Ocean.

This picture is found on the website sent in by reader "Mark."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_9

Well it looks like Volcanic ash is on top of the list for headline news this week.

Some things I know:

When I worked as a forecaster there were about nine meteorological events we would issue a SIGMET for (area of thunderstorms, line of thunderstorms, freezing rain, severe icing, severe turbulence, LLWS (low level wind shear), widespread dust or sandstorms, hurricanes and the ninth one was for volcanic ash. All of the above phenomena required a SIGMET for four hours but for volcanic ash it lasted eight hours.

There are nine VAACs (Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres) scattered across the globe. Montreal (CMC Canadian Meteorological Center) looks after Canada and the Northern Atlantic to just west of Iceland. Anchorage looks after our Pacific flights and the London VAAC is entrenched with Iceland's situation.

I've flown internationally for ten years so I figure I've been to Europe 120-150 times which translates into 240-300 crossings. Let alone all the longhaul stuff to Asia. Volcanic ash never seemed to be an issue. When things were acting up flight dispatch planned us well around any area of concern. So why all the fuss? Well, that will be one of the questions maybe asked tomorrow morning at The Weather Network with Chris St. Clair. I met Chris at an aviation safety seminar this winter in Toronto. He put on a great presentation about a virtual winter storm.

Here's some of the questions he has conjured up:

1. First, what is in the ejectate that is of danger to aircraft? What damage could it do? (Citing BA 9 Indonesia 1982)

2. How does it become so widespread in the atmosphere and how long might it linger?

3. How long could the airspace be closed?

4. Why is this one of the worse possible locations for this to occur? (N/A tracks)

5. Why can't flights fly further south to get to Europe?

Wish me luck.

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NEW!

Follower Nadia sent me TWN's link (my interview)

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/storm_watch_stories3&stormfile=CdnFlights_AprSeventeen_01_01_2008?ref=ccbox_homepage_top_title

A330 wing with vapour cloud produced from moist air and low pressure over the wing




A330 wing with both a vapour cloud and visible wing tip vortice.



Bernoulli and Newton duke it out


Well, I received an email from a grade six school teacher in somewhat of a conundrum. I hope she doesn't mind me pasting her Newton/Bernoulli dilemma:


Doug, I have a question to ask you about flight. It has to do with these conflicting theories regarding "Lift". The School Board sent out an email in October to all grade 6 teachers and told them not to follow the Science textbooks we have in the schools. All they did was attach a paper from someone on this topic. (No other explanations or help). Maybe you can clear it up for me. It kinda gets a little technical. It is regarding "Bernoulli's principle". Do I talk about Bernoulli anymore? Can Bernoulli and Newton work together? Do you even know about these conflicting views?!?

Thirty years ago when I learned the theory of flight in my private pilot ground school Bernoulli ruled in explaining flight. (As a side note, I'm amazed a grade six student is learning the intricacies of flight. It just goes to show you the 'education' bar has been raised substantially).


Even in my book, I explain flight with Bernoulli at the helm. I did receive a very forward email explaining Sir Issac Newton's laws of motion is the "thought du jour." This emailer also explained he could prove a 'two by four' piece of lumber can fly based on Newton's laws of motion. I also noticed Canada's main aviation reference book for any aspiring pilot, From the Ground Up, has changed their tune. Newton rules. For me. it was never convincing using Bernoulli's principle explaining lift felt on my hand while holding in out the window of a moving car.

Along with a memo to all grade six teachers came attached a six page PDF file explaining why everyone must altar their thinking. I have a physics degree and ittook me awhile to get my head around things based on this erratum. How does a elementary teacher teach this let alone a grade six student understanding it? I did a little web searching and there seems to be lots of great websites on this topic. Maybe someone out there can help this grade six teacher (and me) get it straight?

The bet is on.

One of my slides they didn't get to see:

Today, I gave a talk on aviation in front of 120 or so Oakville Probus (Pro business) members. I prepared a 15 slide PowerPoint presentation. But like any well trained pilot, I decided to bring a back up laptop just in case the group didn't have one. (A pilot must always have a plan B). I must have had an inkling things may go off the rails because an inner voice had me print a copy of a speech I presented to another group in November. It turned out I didn't need a laptop because a projector was nowhere to be found. Without either, a PowerPoint presentation is not going to happen. A big assumption on my part. I assumed a conference center would not only have a computer and screen but a projector as well. Nada. But level heads prevailed. I tried calling a local business for a quick rental, but no answer. (My talk was after their general meeting so I had 30 minutes to get back to a scheduled departure).

Decision time. I was off to my alternate. I thank my lucky stars I had printed a copy of a previous talk. The show must go on, and it did, and I think quite well. The group consisted mainly of retirees and they were very attentive. When doing a talk, a speaker can feel the crowd. These people were hanging off each word. They laughed at my jokes and asked some great questions at the end. They even appreciated my two anecdotes of the "mile high" club.

I was presented a bottle of wine plus I sold 20 books.

Like the saying goes for giving talks, writing and most things in life, "know your topic." I now realize I can talk for hours on aviation. Maybe giving more aviation talks is in the cards?

Q: Does an airplane handle differently when it’s empty? Daniel Asuncion, Halifax
Usually, pilots only fly an empty aircraft to reposition it for another flight, to send it off for a fresh coat of paint or to pick up a new addition to the fleet. And, yes, an empty airplane handles differently. A light airplane taxis quicker, gets airborne sooner and climbs faster. It’s also more susceptible to surface winds, so getting a smooth landing takes a little more finesse as flight controls are more sensitive.

Here's a few other questions that didn't quite make the cut but were worth answering:

1. How are runways selected for landings and take off?

As I live in South Etobicoke, and commute along the 427/401 I often see aircraft approach Pearson from different directions, how does the pilot or ATC determine the runway for landings and take off?

In a nut shell, wind direction dictates the runway in use. Pilots want to land into the wind. We can land with a tailwind (usually 10 knots for airliners, 20 knots for the Dash 8) but it usually means a longer landing. We frequently land with crosswinds and at Toronto Pearson when the crosswind gets to about 20 knots, air traffic control will switch runways. The prevailing winds are from the west-southwest here in Toronto so that means three runways will be open. Runway 23, 24 right (mostly for take offs) and 24 left (mostly for landing). Usually aircraft inbound from the north will be given runway 23 and aircraft from the south will be given 24 left or 24 right. The ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information System) states the runway in use, but it can vary for landing sometimes making it a bit of a challenge second guessing.

2. Just wondering, what does the QK stand for on my baggage tags when I have a connecting flight? I'm guessing quick?

Sorry for the late reply. "QK" is the identifier for "Air Canada Jazz." You must have taken a flight using our connector.

3. I've been doing a little research pertaining to Canadian Regional's aircraft names. One I keep getting hung up on is C-FTAS, an F28.Apparently this aircraft carried the titles "Spirit of The QueenCharlottes/Haida Gwaii" in the early 90s prior to being re-named "Spirit of Boston."In any event, I've been trying to find a photo of this aircraft with the Queen Charlotte titles -- any help or info would be much appreciated!

4. Here's my question, and it's going to sound pretty absurd, but here goes:

5. Do pilots show up at the airport earlier for long haul (i.e. Trans Oceanic or Polar) flights, or do all crew members have a certain check in time before every flight regardless of distance?

Actually pilots (whether flying domestically or overseas) show up the same time i.e. one hour and 15 minutes prior to push back. Having said that, things get a little rushed for the long haul flights. The flight plan is longer to peruse over plus many of the international gates take quite a walk
to get to. Many pilots will give themselves a little extra time whereas some guys will show up as per the contract.

6. Hi, as an aspiring young pilot, I was wondering which routes, of the many, to the majors are the best. For example, going through the civilian route, getting ratings through a university, or going the military route. Maybe you could help me weigh the pros and cons that my still young brain neglected to appreciate. Thanks ahead of time! Here's a link to my enRoute blog site for your question plus I have pasted it below. If you live in Canada there are some great flying clubs and colleges I could recommend. Maybe you could email me your particulars? Until then, chase your dreams! Captain Doug Morris http://enroute.aircanada.com/en/blogs/flight-deck/this-is-your-captain-speaking-doug-morris Q: What advice would you give to a young person who would like to become a pilot? Jessie Dodsworth North Saanich, B.C. I mentor many future pilots, and my advice has not waivered. Go for it! True, we are going through some trying times, but the industry is still forecasting growth over the next 20 years. The path is through flying clubs, flight colleges (as well some universities) and Canada’s Armed Forces. James Ball’s book, So, You Want to Be a Pilot, Eh?, is a great read for those pining for the skies. 7. Hi Doug I just wanted to let you know that I read your book ("From the Flight Deck") and I really enjoyed it and thought it was very informative. I have a special interest in airplanes and flying. I would be very interested in knowing if you are writing any new material or have any photographs of your recent travels. Thanks for reading my book and kind words. One day, I will write a weather book for Canadian pilots. Sounds like you have a keen interest in aviation/travel. I have a pretty busy blog on the go, so feel free to visit/follow or comment.