The Wings Stayed On!: July 2011

Jul 18, 2011

Classic old bird on the move...

The old Canso/PBY flying boat that's become such a visible landmark on the Nanaimo airport, is soon to be moved to a new home at the Evergreen Aviation and Space museum in Oregon. It'll be a unique opportunity to see (and hear) this classic old radial-engine powered aircraft fly again.

The earliest it might leave is tomorrow, Tuesday July 19th ... but a lot depends upon weather and any ongoing maintenance issues... Victoria Air Maintenance might have more up-to-date information about the plans as I think they are doing the work.

Here's a short video of the engine start up last week:

Jul 7, 2011

iPads and Pilots

FAA approves use of iPads by pilots for charts and maps

Alaska waving 'Bye, Bye' to flight bags with iPads for pilots

Alaska Airlines has become the first US domestic airline to announce plans to issue Apple iPads to all its pilots for use as Class 1 portable, kneeboard electronic flight bags (EFBs), following a successful trial.

The 1.5lb iPads, which replace up to 25lb of paper flight manuals, contain an app called GoodReader that is loaded with PDF versions of 41 flight, systems and performance manuals, reference cards, and other materials.
Each Alaska pilot should have received his or her new iPad by mid-June.

In conjunction with replacing paper manuals, Alaska is exploring the replacement of paper aeronautical navigation charts with electronic versions on the iPad, eliminating the need for every pilot to carry their own copy.

The two initiatives, dubbed "Bye, Bye, Flight Bag," will save about 2.4 million pieces of paper, according to the carrier.

Some other airlines are now following this imitative.

Jul 5, 2011

787 update

Dear World Design Team Member,

Boeing and ANA officially began an important validation of their readiness for the 787 Dreamliner's entry into service. The week-long service ready operational validation (SROV) will simulate in-service operations across several airports in Japan. ANA pilots, together with Boeing, will fly a 787 on actual airline routes in Japan using airline dispatch and flight rules. ANA's maintenance crews will perform typical ground servicing activities, fit checks of airplane jacks and maintenance hangar stands, towing and refueling the airplane and other routine maintenance operations.

This marks the 787 Dreamliner's first visit to Asia and is an important milestone for the airplane as it gets closer to first delivery. See highlights of the 787's service readiness validation at http://www.newairplane.com/787/firstDelivery.

We've also updated the 787 Design Highlights and launched a new feature with photos and video of the 747-8 Freighter's visit to Cargolux in Luxembourg. Check out all of this new content at http://www.newairplane.com.

Follow us on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/boeingairplanes/.

Check out the official Boeing YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/boeing

Sincerely,
Boeing

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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