From the Flight Deck

"He took them off and flew in his underwear while a caring flight attendant sewed his pants. "

Yes, but, while they were still on??

Great post! Heard from numerous F/A that it is indeed common back in the days to sew the captain's pants... But flying on underwear?!!!

Off to HK in mid-Oct. Plowing over Pilots handbook of aeronautical knowledge at the moment - excellent resource! Trying also to brush up my quick math skills as well, it has deteriorated a bit since last time.

I will post some details after the interviews.

Wannabe Mike

K1MGY. Not sure what you mean? The flight attendant sewed his pants in the cabin. She did not see him "out of uniform." At least that is what I assume. :)))

Wannabe Mike.

I too thought it to be odd...flying in underwear. I mean...he must have had layover clothes... or maybe it was a one day pairing? Some pilots don't bring their overnight bags on single day pairings. Talk about tempting Murphy's law.
However, most pilots use their overnight bag (the one with the hook) to carry their flight bag unless you are a rich pilot that can afford a flight bag with wheels. If I didn't take my layover bag, Murphy's law would cause a mechanical at our destination and we would have to stay the night.

But that's what happens when a story like this gets passed down. It gets more and more intriguing.

And yes there are fantasy surprise layovers where you break down in the sunny Caribbean with rather attractive flight attendants and your plane won't be fixed for a couple of days. Recently, I flew with an F/O who had that very thing happen to him. I sat in awe as he unravelled his story. LOL

It will be interesting to hear your interview endeavours.

Hello Captain!

On the contrary...I quite like the weather talk mixed in. My Phd in Atmospheric Science brother in law likes it when I can mix it up in weather conversation with him! lol

How can ANY pilot fly properly/safely if he/she doesn't have an intimate knowledge of both weather and aviation??

I too took part in the bumps over the Great Lakes on the way out of YYZ yesterday and our cabin crew needed to delay the service for 30 mins while we thrashed about. Is most of this flying ( through heavy bumps ) done manually or is Jaques doing most of the driving?

CAT III Approach

CAT III Approach.

It was bumpy over Maine when flying out of Halifax last night. We were flight planned low, FL300, to stay out of the bumps but it didn't work. The we received a datalink suggesting we hightail it to FL240. We did, but that didn't work. Finally we found smooth air at FL 200. It reminded me of my Dash 8 days being that low. In fact, Porter and Jazz were the only ones on our frequency.

"Jacques" does all the driving. But if it gets "really bumpy" we may disconnect the autothrust.

Did you hear of a possible incident yesterday associated with this turbulence? Just asking.

This last pairing sure did encounter lots of bumps.

What a mental pic of the pilot with just his skivvies on....but hey Sh!t happens!!!!!!!.................good thing he doesn't live by the "CAMMANDO CREED"...and I will leave it at that....LOL


The drawing the child left....just charming....I would love to think she knows her lovely cartoon is for all to see and appreciated!!!!!

I love weather and the silly patterns they leave...Love them charts Captain Doug!!!!

It is the "FALL" season,after all now.... Mother nature....bet she can be real nasty during this time early in season....?????

she's still feels the warmth of the summer on her time......but the certain oncoming chill is making her crabby as hell!!!!

perhaps a time for a REread of a story posted months ago, and you were kind enough, Captain, to let me share here on your blog....

The story name:

"GHOST OF OCTOBER PAST" writtin by a pilot....

for some readers and followers, a revisit of sorts, but WELL WORTH the stop!!!!!!!!!!
don't take my word for it.....Dare Ya to read it!!!!!
just copy and paste....and a lovely story unfolds!!!!!


misstwa



http://nycaviation.com/2011/05/ghosts-of-octobers-past/

Getjets.

Things do happen... in the plane, on layovers, at home prior to work, on the way to work. Crew scheduling must hear it all. "Sorry I can't fly the next leg, I blew out my pants." LOL

Mother nature has been making many people sit up and take notice with these bumps. I haven't seen it so persistent in a long while. It makes you appreciate the smooth sailing days. :)

Here's the opening few sentences to the Ghost of October. A great well written article.

Blackness. There is nothing out there, not a town, not a person. Not a flicker of light to be seen for hundreds of miles. Just Blackness. There is no moon looking down upon us but something lurks in the darkness.

....boy did I get that feeling with all the pilots stating they were getting turbulence and we were sitting in smooth air. Then it came.

We had a lumpy end to our ride home from CDG the other day. It was smooth as could be till we approached the Labrador coastline. Then the Captain came on over the PA to announce that flights ahead of us were reporting bumpy air, and a few moments later the roller coaster started. It stayed lumpy until we approached the Ontario border (I really do love the map / flight info function on the in-flight entertainment system).

The good news is that in spite of the bumpy ride, no pants were blown out (or damaged otherwise!) along the way.

The bad news is that the rough ride meant no pre-landing cookies.

Poo.

No wonder I dislike turbulence.

Craig R. LOL about the cookies. When it's bumpy the pampering also stops for us. No coffee, no leftovers. :(((

I'm trying to abstain from the coffee, but it's tough.

Sounds like you are living the dream. A Paris vacation going to and fro in business class. Good for you!

A brilliant post, you have educated me and given me a chuckle all in one!

I like to do some research, rather than just ask a dumb question, but I am still a little unsure as to how the met office comes to produce the forecast winds aloft. As I understand it, weather balloons are sent up in some areas and then the results are used to computer generate an overall "map" of these winds - is this the case or is some other witchcraft used??

Maybe observations are made from space of certain pink bloomers perhaps???

I love the story of the splitting pants (pants mean something different in the UK by the way!). What you have given us is an opportunity to laugh with the crew - I know as a passenger it is great to be included in a joke with the flight crew as it gives you a bond with the folks hard at work and perhaps makes those nervous pax a little more at ease.

Finally, you mention fantasy surprise layovers: In 2006 we were delayed by a total of 51hrs and 15mins (yes 2 days!) in the Maldives! Ok, we spent a lot of time at the airport but we did manage an extra day lying on the beach in paradise. Our 76 had an bleed air issue and another part and engineer had to be flown out to fix. Luckily I had a very understanding boss! One of our friends' bosses was not quite so understanding, questioning her commitment to the job, what should she do - swim home?? She has now changed jobs.

On a final, final note - I'm sure Foggy won't mind me mentioning that, as a result of this blog, myself and himself are to meet in a local pub to hold the inaugural meeting of the Capt. Doug Appreciation Society (UK division), and will no doubt celebrate the occasion with a "beverage" or two and no doubt lots of "boring" aviation chat! You have a lot to answer for Capt. D!!

Regards to all

Dave (carrying a copy of From The Flight Deck for identification) from the UK

"Living the dream" is the reward for "living in airports" through the balance of the year. I fly for work a couple of times each month, so the Aeroplan miles add up fast. What better way to use them? Besides, sitting up front earns extra brownie points with She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Sadly, the holiday is over and its back to the grind. Today I'm skipping through approximately 1,200 emails. My right index finger (the one that hits the "delete" key) is growing numb.

Craig.

LOL again! It's good to rack up the brownie points. As of late, my "brownie point" account had a low balance but things are looking up!

I feel honoured (and I'm certain everyone else feels the same) you set aside time to comment on my blog even though you had lots of emails to delete. :)

You have great wit! :)

Hey Doug,

It's been a while but here's the report from SMD3.

Air Canada was amazing to us. The threw the wildest, booziest party of them all. It went from 6pm til 11pm and had execs from every division to answer questions/drink with. Also had a little jungle jet driver who looked like he'd worn his dad's uniform. Nice guy though. We all also have very pretty 777 models for our desks.

Bombardier also put on a good show. Got to see some private jets that retail at $50M + interior ($7M to $22M depending on options), yet only fit 15 people max. Quite something to see a working hanger where everything, including the floor, is painted gloss white, and you can't touch anything without being fully gloved and 'bootied'.

The highlight was time in the 320 Sim. I couldn't believe how real it felt, even the bumps on the runway were there. Got to have fun dealing with a left engine flame-out at V1 in minimums from IAD, and then having to fly it and land it at DCA under the same conditions. So. Much. Fun. Can't believe you guys complain about sim time :P

PoD: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3ZQsmJWCNUtJRdindBVDzp-vzqJDHcn6_qX_-z7WHDQ?feat=directlink

SMD3 in General:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115202878592074367006/20110907SMD3?authkey=Gv1sRgCL3QupGwsfCz8AE

Bombardier, including a mock-up of the new C-Series cabin: https://picasaweb.google.com/115202878592074367006/20110909Bombardier?authkey=Gv1sRgCJLE77bB_7m9yQE

We were hosted by a great group of United Captains, and managed to raise about $30,000 for the Jason Dahl Foundation while we were at it. It's a wonderful organization that provides pilot training scholarships (http://www.dahlfund.org).

Cheers,

Ryan

Dave W

Forecast winds have come a long way. Even pilots are admitting the weatherman has his act together in this department. After all, we can launch a B777 on a 15 hour flight from Toronto to Hong Kong and be within 100 kg of the fuel burn. Why? Because of the incredible accurate winds. Sure winds CAN differ sometimes, but overall what a marvel!

There are about 1000 launch sites around the world that send weather balloons skyward twice a day 365 days a year.

As well, there is AMDAR (Aircraft Meteorological Data Acquisition Relay) built into many airliners nowadays. So whether pilots realize it or not, they are flying weatherman! I think I wrote about this stuff in my book?

Air Canada was moving to the forefront with AMDAR, but then a recession hit. I'm not sure where we are now with it.

And yes, some data (temperatures, etc) is now being scooped from satellites. That's who sees the pink bloomers parked in a geostationary fix some 37,000 km above the earth. They sure are bright! LOL

And yes, the UK and other countries of British descent call them trousers. No matter, a blow out is a blow out. LOL

Thanks for sharing your "fantasy surprise layover." I'm certain many out there have them as well. :)))

Dave. I'm ecstatic to hear you and Foggy are meeting up!!!! What a great gesture on your part. Please hoist one (or five) for me!!!

Gee, I wish I could join you guys. You know, I have two weeks vacation in October and I'm getting restless.

Thanks for the kind words, great feedback and contributions!!! Well done.

Captain Doug...thinking about what to do with two weeks off. :)))

Yes Captain doug, also from "Ghost of October Past" a few more words....

Sitting in a dark cockpit in the depths of the night and being brought back to consciousness by Mother Nature is a pretty remarkable feat.

Being able to walk away from the resulting chaos unscathed is what makes us professional airmen.....


Amen to that!!!!!!

and YOUR reply to such...conditions...."like the keeper of the souls on board"

Captain Doug says.....

"Boy did I get that feeling with all the pilots stating they were getting turbulence and we were sitting in smooth air. Then it came."(Captain Doug)



Captain , not to be too melodramtic.....but, "You are the keeper of our souls then...."

misstwa

wow.....FL200 ???? in an Airbus??

that's the lowest I've heard of....I thought we were low planned at FL 320 yesterday.

when the data link "suggests" you hightail it down that far did you think "is this a misprint?" and was ATC pretty accomodating to get you down that low asap....must have been erie being on the same frequency as Jazz and Porter...bet that hasn't happend much in your Airbus career if at all!

didn't hear of said incident?? do expand if you can :)

Safe flying...

CAT III Approach

Craig R....you are finally back....someone else to harass...Hey Anon.....give Craig R a damn cookie......LOL....
Craig R...thats right you've been gone a while......well Captain Doug has made one hell of a mess with all his cookie crumbs.....
don't you know that when you eat cookies, just at the very second your gonna move whats left away from your mouth.....think HOOVER...UREKA....called preventive maintenance...sorta.....think I might be done with cookies for awhile......they just keep unravelling....:)))))))))

Craig R....so glad your back!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dave W.....yea there has been research and you better wind readings with pink bloomers vrs...big Ugly AZZ hats....swear it......

captain Doug, and I concur!!!!!!!!!!!!!!God I wish I could be there tooooo!!!
A FEW STOLEN WORDS.from the Captain Doug.........BUT COULD NOT AGREE MORE:.........




when is it gonna be Mr. Dave W......Dave. I'm ecstatic to hear you and Foggy are meeting up!!!! What a great gesture on your part. Please hoist one (or five) for me!!!

Gee, I wish I could join you guys. You know, I have two weeks vacation in October and I'm getting restless.

yes the CDAS...Captain Doug Appreciation Society......PERFECT!!!!

Think perhaps maybe someday we'll have our own branch here in the Western Hemisphere......
I am so damn excited....and please tell Fopggy hello....I'll buy a round.....wish I could swim across that silly pond....so ya'll enjoy.....

and Thank God...cause the New Orleans Saints almost lost yesterday....and I am here only because now I have a reason to live......Kidding.....I want to see pics of you Dave W and Mr. Foggy.....

Monday Night Football....America's (used to be team) Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins....
who cares.....Dallas is going DOWN!!!!
I still can't get over Dave W and Foggy.....

now that I'm legal....may have to start our own Toronto/St.Johns Newfoundland branch of CDAS.....

Hey there Chris from ST. John's....try to fit us in with that dating site....LOL.....


good evening to my pals here!!!!!

misstwa/getjets/Julie

may have looked like me on the wall in the post office....not me.....swear...
see Captain Doug, you are thought of so well.....crumbs and all!!!!!


bye bye

Hi Ryan. Looks like great times were had by all!

That picture of you in the sim says it all.

I'm glad AC was a great host. You know, there are some great people that work there. :)

Thanks for sharing the links, pics and checking in.

Until the next Flyer Talk meeting...

All the best.

Who knows we might see you on a YYC run?

Getjets (Miss TWA) you are getting deep.

But flight does that.
Aviation blogs do that.
Life does that.
And we talk about all three here.

SOB Captain D

(I bet you are thinking SOB stands for "son of a beech: but it stands for "souls on board." Many pilots record the total in case we need the info. It's what
ATC wants to know (plus our fuel) when things aren't going so well) Not to be melodramatic. :)))))

CAT III approach.

When dispatch suggested we descend I knew the lower the better.

If you look at the middle diagram you'll see the jet stream hugging the Western portion of Lake Superior has numbers attached to it. (330 and then 250/430) Some (actually many) pilots wouldn't know this but it's depicting the jetstream to be at FL 330 but fluctuating anywhere from FL250 to FL 430. Jet streams don't stay at the same altitude but corkscrew around the globe. Making all the more interesting.
I suspect the jet we contended with last night was doing it's fair share of dancing as well....knocking airplanes about. Heck ask your PHD brother-in-law if he can interpret those charts.

I googled about possible incidents with turbulence and I couldn't find any. I'll leave it at that. :))))

I was suppose to head to San Francisco tomorrow but I dropped it without credit. EnRoute is having a party celebrating their new October look and
Captain D hates missing parties. I'll finally get to meet my boss.

Hopefully Mother Nature will simmer down in the next few days. :)))

Hey Capt D.

If you travel for pleasure, do you get to fly for free?

Do you get to fly economy, business or first class?

What about your family?

What about for work? Do you have to pay to commute?

What about with other airlines (both for work and pleasure)?

Thanks and great blog, I will continue to follow it on my journey to get to where you are.

Anon. You ask some great questions, but if you really want to know send me an email:
[email protected]

Sorry, but some of these questions can be sensitive.

Thanks about my blog. :)

LOL! 'Sew the Captain's pants' hahaha.
If you're going to San Francisco... oh you're not! ;)

Bas

By the way, not to be a grammar b1tch but it's raked wings instedda racked :P But you knew that of course!

Bas. Good eye and STOP THE PRESSES!!!! I wrote about the "raked wing" in enRoute for October's edition.
And I spelled it "racked." Oh boy, we are revamping the magazine for October (hence the party tonight) and I started things with a typo and it's too late.

I wish I posted that picture sooner!
That way the "grammar guy" would have caught it! :)))

Well done Bas and thanks for keeping me on my toes.

Typo Shmypo ..... if anyone says anything tell them that "racked" and "raked" are not the same thing at all. Go all Airline Captain on them.

"Well obviously they're raked. Duh!! But look at the picture. Look at the structure of the wing itself though. Can't you see? Compare it to an old DC-8 wing and you'll see what I mean."

Or, also being Metman Doug you could throw them some meteorological mumbojumbo.

"Racking is a structural consideration that helps offset the convective effect of straro-cumulous evaporative currents in the upper atmosphere. If you're flying a polar route, especially, then you know these convex upper atmospheric jetstreams circulate in a thermovoltaic pattern that can impact fuel economy, and are particularly affected by solar radiation at moderate altitudes. Hence the racking."

Or just tell it like it is.

"I meant to write "raked" but I mistakenly wrote "racked" because at the time I was thinking about cookies."

Never admit top a typo, Captain Doug. Most people will never see it unless you point it out.

Or, unless they're sharp-eyed aviation guys like Bas. And they'll know you were really distracted by cookies anyway.

I gave up on my emails and just deleted the remaining 500 or so. If it's important, they'll write back :-)

Getjets - thanks for the welcome back. :-)

Oh Toto, there's no place like home!

Dammit!

I just re-read that reply and found a typo!

Stop the presses!

Craig R.

You are on a roll this morning. Was that "Tim Horton's" induced? Love the weather take on things. LOL

And you're right, blame it on the cookies.

It's just that enRoute is changing their image including my section. They have turned my mug shot into a caricature. After a few attempts I had them draw me with a captain's hat. I guess only a few would notice that.

Good way of handling excessive emails...."delete." Too bad we couldn't do that with bills. :)

And speaking of Toto didn't he and Dorothy get sucked up in "surface based convective currents to the upper atmosphere?"

But you're right, there's no place like home...typos or no typos. :)))

Good post, Doug.

Interesting pics of the met situation, but I note that none are included of the "burst event"... probably best leave it that way! ;) When I went away, even on a day trip, I usually had a change of clothes with me - never know whats gonna come out in front of you just as you take a sip of coffee - especially on our roads!

Yes, Dave W and I are having the first meeting of the Cap'n Doug Follower's Society: South of England Squadron. No set agenda; it's fairly fluid. If we can remember what happens, a report my appear somewhere on t'interweb later rather than sooner. Then again...

Cheers for now / Foggy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLCVYYw7ZkY&feature=player_embedded


JA801A delivery flight Paine Field to Tokyo September 27, 2011.
Category:
Science & Technology
Tags:
JA801A 787
License:
Standard YouTube License



The Delivery flight, she's on her way to Tokyo....when she did her wave bye bye to Paine Field....Tears in my eyes....!!!!!!!!!!

she's about 1 hour into her flight.....
Safe Flight Lovely Lady (787)

misstwa

ps....BAS....did you see her take off.....I will visit soon....Comrade

Craig R....if you've deleted any of e-mails, don't let me find out.....you'll need more than 2 popsicle sticks taped around that "delete" finger....LOL

and Bas....Grammer b!tch...love when you talk dirty....

gotta go.....
ya'll just have got to pull up that delivery take off of the first 787.....

Captain...have fun at your EnRoute party...I just got my September EnRoute yesterday....better late than never...
I think I have a question, if your still doing the Q&A section....but you will have to ask nice...LOL

misstwa....

Foggy. I agree with you 100%...you always have to have plan B.

It's a must you and Dave W get a picture together. Not only will it make "pic of the day" but probably "pic of the month" if it turns out you can't remember what happens. LOL

We are standing by.

Getjets.

Thanks for the link. I see it did the "wing wave goodbye." I also noticed it has a unique double white flashing tail light.

Now let's hope there are no more delays so we can get ours. There are lots of pilots drooling over this plane...including me. :)

Getjets.

Thanks about the enRoute party. :)

For some reason they never posted September's Q and A on their site. I wanted to download it onto my site.

If you want your name in lights (again) you better hand over that question! Pretty please. :)))

The three questions this month came from you guys. In fact, one of them is a frequent poster known as
CAT III Approach, but I'm not saying which one. LOL

Thanks for that video. I almost got up to watch it live on Boeing's site, but decided the extra sleep was more important. Wearing my Boeing shirt today anyway to celebrate.

And speaking of Boeing, I finally got around to watching the AC 777 video from Just Planes. The cockpit in that thing is amazing, must been a dream to fly.

Next up is the AC A320. Perhaps I'll have some questions after watching it, Doug.

Craig M

Craig M. If you questions about the A320 after watching the video....make them easy. LOL

QUESTION:

Doug -- I was reading the other day in an industry publication where the author was criticizing Airbus designs because they use fly-by-wire joysticks rather than control columns. He stated that because the joysticks and rudder pedals are not mechanically interconnected (bewteen PF and PNF), the PNF would not have any tactile feedback as to how the PF is manipulating the controls. He cites this with reference to an emergency - such as the PF becoming incapacitated; in that case, how does the PNF take control if only one side is connected at a time? Or does he have this wrong?

Whywhyzed.

It's true the joysticks are not connected mechanically. If there are two inputs simultaneously the signals are added algebraically. i.e they cancel each other out if the inputs are opposite.
We do have side stick priority switches, but I won't get into their use. In the fifteen years of flying Airbus I have not once used or been the recipient of side stick priority.

We deal with this by the captain saying, "I have control" whereby the F/O would say, "you have control."

It's probably one of the reasons Boeing kept the control column in the B787.

The rudders are connected mechanically. When the captain does the rudder travel check the F/O follows along with their feet. So the author is wrong there. Having said that, rudder trim and yaw dampening is electrical.

But what about a captain slumping over the controls of a B767? Well we have that covered. It's.... quickly get the in-charge up to the flight deck, throw the captian's shoulder straps on, lock them,
pull his seat back and then hear the F/O say, "get that SOB out of my seat!!!" :))))

Hope this helps.

Captain Airbus

Heya, no problemo!
I just learned that it's defInItely and not definAtely like I always used to :P

Enjoy the party!
Bas

Hi Captain Doug,

I was wondering, I heard in forums about the WINDY1 departure at CYYZ? Is it true? To keep the airplane from running into the 24s on runway 23?

Anyways, speaking about uniform, I see an Air Canada pilot on ACA001 three years ago wear plainclothes. He was the copilot I believe. I don't know what happened. The captain and cruise pilot both had their uniforms on.

Henry J.

Yes, there is a WINDY ONE DEPARTURE for runway 23. It compensates for a strong northwest to northerly wind.

The pilot you saw was probably out of uniform because it was their crew rest time. Also you will see pilots out of uniform when they deadhead.
They could either rest in the crew rest bunks or in a designated J class seat. That was the part I didn't like about crew rest... taking off and getting on my uniform during beddy-bye time. :)

Weather talk is NEVER boring Doug!

Altstiiff. Spoken like a true Canadian!

Yesterday, I received your DVD of "The Pilot." I took a quick peek. Looks like it had the making of a great Hollywood movie. The macho pilot (Cliff), a babe side kick, diversion from operating procedures, extreme turbulence and the pilot saves the day.
What an image to live up to. LOL

Thanks for going out of your way and I most definitely owe you a beverage or two.

I see they named one of the DC-8s (Eagleliner Toronto). :)

Glad you got it Doug.

One of my favortie movies seeing the inside of one of my favortie types.

Cliff actually got DC-8 rated for that film so they say.

I got to ride jumpseat in a DC-8 on CP-Air (back when common folk were allowed up there) and seen the remnants of St. Helen's Ash as we flew over the rockies in May 0f 1980. Fast forward to April 2008 and I actually flew over St. Helen's in a 172. (I'll send you a pic).....