The Wings Stayed On!: June 2011

Jun 21, 2011

CAZ5 and a nice CH601XL

A reminder that there was a time when the Canadian government actually supported and helped grow our network of local airports. Not now.

Jun 20, 2011

Where's the rest of the runway? Just over the hill... That's the top of the windsock located at the far end. The 100 Mile House airstrip has a definite slope and is generally used as a one-way runway, landing uphill and taking off downhill.

Jun 7, 2011

Airport Meandering

Sunday, on the way to Victoria, I stopped in at the Duncan airport. It's a compact private airport surrounded by a gravel pit, which makes for some challenging approaches at the best of times. The runway is about 1500 feet long, so depending what you're flying, you may need to be very accurate on speed and touchdown point.

Jun 5, 2011

Augering In

An auger is a tool used to dig holes for fence posts, or holes in the ice on a frozen lake to go ice fishing.

"Augering in" is an expression used by pilots to describe what an aircraft does when it spins out of control and hits the ground.

Today as I was helping patrol the aircraft parking area at the Nanaimo Fly-In & Airshow, I turned at the sound of a very low-flying plane behind me just in time to watch the aircraft in the opening act of the airshow, auger in. It was a sickening sight. At my first glimpse I was aware that something wasn't as it should be, and in the space of about five seconds, it was over as the plane snap-rolled to the right and plowed into the grass on the far side of the runway. A sudden squelching of the engine roar. A dust cloud kicked up, and the silence.

That was a few hours ago now and according to the CBC news report "a 71 year old pilot was airlifted to Victoria Airport with life-threatening injuries..."

At least it seems, he survived the impact - he may still live... That's all I know right now.

And in the age of youtube, here's your chance to share the moment. Appropriate comments supplied by shocked spectators.
(better link from Jeremy - this should work better)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlGaLWW7QTo

What"s this about?

An eclectic series of articles based on my experiences as a commercial pilot. Sometimes behind-the-scenes tales; sometimes more technical descriptions of Jet Transport Aircraft - and the people who fly them. While the stories are based upon actual experiences and real people, I use composite characters and made-up names*. If they seem familiar, they are. They're the people you live and work with every day. The world is full of interesting people - if we only knew!

The title of this blog comes from my first observation after test-flying my home-built aircraft: "The wings stayed on!" And later I realized that life is often like that. We are continually faced with new adventures. And though we study and train and prepare as much as we can, finally we have to launch and put all this preparation to the test. And unexpected things still happen. As the bumper sticker says, Life Happens. And we deal with it - hopefully with a good dose of humour and hope. And if the "wings stayed on!" well at least that's the main thing. And everything else is just details.

My stories are usually drawn from looking back over my career, which thankfully has been pretty dull. Trust me. When flying a commercial airliner, boring is good. You wouldn't like exciting... So don't expect many stories about engines exploding, and wheels falling off, and cabins catching fire. Though that kind of stuff goes on, thankfully, it hasn't been my experience. My stories are the more mundane things, the little things that inhabit real life.

And while mundane is the reality of modern airline flying, still it's an amazing feat, a dramatic and dynamic accomplishment that we shouldn't take for granted. Perhaps day-in, day-out our world-wide airline industry represents our civilizations' most complex achievement. And though it has become mundane we should never forget that the real drama lies in the times when these bigger disasters are too close for comfort. The times when some small factors could produce seriously different outcomes.

Sometimes all the calm around you is an illusion -- a little like the movie Jurassic Park where the investors are touring the not-quite-ready-for-opening facility, while the technicians thrash away at command central, trying to keep everything together - trying to keep up the facade that it's all under control. But if it is, it's not by much.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Like everyone in the airline industry who's blogging, I'm hoping to write a book, and I'm practicing on you folks. I'm always trying to hone my story-telling skills so if you have any comments please leave them. Also, please respect the copyright thing.

Thanks.

Aluwings