Ground School Almost Over

Finished the Systems exam today. So nice to come back to the hotel room and *not* have to study. Two more days of performance training in OR and its back to Denver for the sim (with a few well deserved days off in between). I realized that tomorrow I'll have been gone for 4 weeks; I'm ready to go home.

I took that picture last week, never did find the pot of gold...

Ground School Update

Everyday on the way to ground school we drive by the 747 outside the museum complex where our class is held.

Today we went out to the airplane with our instructor, walked around it, and actually got to go inside. Its pretty impressive, and it kind of hit me that I'll be flying one of the largest airplanes in service. Granted, its 1970's technology, but its still pretty darn cool.
There were no stairs to get to the main deck door, so we had to climb up an exit hatch behind the nose gear, to get in via the electronics compartment in the lower deck. From there another ladder took us to the main deck and up another ladder to the upper deck and cockpit. The main deck is really, really, big and it was easy to imagine it full of cargo pallets. The upper deck and cockpit are the "hump" on the airplane where I expect to be spending lots of time in the near future


Looking forward from the First Officer's seat, the view from three stories up is going to be very different than what I'm used to. I think the landing flare might take a while to get used to. Everyone was excited to be in the airplane, and we really enjoyed our "walk around," then it was back to class to finish learning about the fuel system.
Here's some pictures of my class mates Chris, Edul and Kevin in front of the #3 engine.
James "JB" Brown in the cockpit
Jason picked Edul up by his leg, (ok, actually Edul was doing a headstand and Jason was trying to "steady" him.
Me in the cockpit
Chris "let's go swimming" Farina

It's been a while, I've been a bit busy

Let it be known that my attempts to blog might be random and inconsistent.

I'm in McMinnville, OR and I should be studying. A lot has happened since I last posted, I've been busy! I flew my last trip with Mesa, went home for my brother's wedding, and am now through my first week of ground school at Evergreen. Life is moving fast!

My last days at Mesa went well, and it hasn't quite hit me that I'll no longer be flying the ERJ. I'm a little sad to leave Mesa as I've got some great friends there that I'll miss seeing on a regular basis. But I didn't shed a tear on my last day. I'm excited for what lies ahead for me.

After a quick stop in Denver to change out the suitcase, I left for CA and my brother's wedding. I arrived in CA to great weather and I can't remember seeing that much snow on the mountains ever. The skies were clear and the grass green, winter really is the best time of year in SoCAL.

Not just because he's my brother, but in all honesty, the wedding was one of the best ones I've been to. Big props to Jen for putting together such a classy celebration. I didn't get too many pictures, but I'm sure there are a lot around. The wedding was in a 100 year old church in downtown Laguna Beach and the reception at a super cool restaurant/night club up the canyon. Here's the wedding party and Jen's Dad giving a toast.


It was a great time, and a great party, and I was sad to leave. Not enough time with Debbie, not enough with my family, not enough to de-compress before heading north to OR. We stayed right on the water in Laguna Beach at a great little hotel right on the beach. Here's a picture of Debbie on one of our walks along the coastal path:

And one of my cute nieces, they really do grow fast!

I've been in McMinnville a week now, and the weather has been typical NW cloudy/rainy for most of the time. Yesterday, however the weather was fantastic with nice temps and no rain, blue skies even! We drive by this 747 on our way to class every morning. I still can't believe I'll be flying such a big airplane. I realized that this summer it will be 10 years since I left Seattle to go to flight school.

I've made some new friends and feel lucky to have some great guys in my ground school. One, another Mesa guy, is a yoga instructor. He gave me some yoga instruction this morning; it was the first time I had done any in a while, and he said I did well. He's very good, and was able to coach me into doing my first headstand! (sorry I didn't get a picture, may be tomorrow?)

I'll try and post more often, but to be honest it might be a while until I'll be able to update the blog. With systems starting on monday, I'm going to be very busy studying, but I'll do my best. Until next time here's a nice picture I took in Laguna.

Be well.

Good Bye ERJ, Hello 747

I quit my job today.

For some that's a momentous day, a day of victory, of relief. I guess. Doesn't really seem like reality yet. I've had some good times at Mesa, and some bad. I've made some great friends, and flown with some super pilots. I'll definitely miss the people, and hope to keep in touch with as many as I can.

I've got one more trip and then I'm done.

Then I'm off to CA for my brother Mike's wedding, and then up to Oregon for ground school. I start with Evergreen International Airlines on Feb 1. Gone are the days of 5 legs, and in are the long flights and international travel. Its going to be a lot of new info, and I'm excited to fly the classic 747. Never thought I would, but am stoked with the thought of it.

The main reason I decided to start attempting this blog was to keep up with everyone as I transition into a new lifestyle. I hope it works. Wish me luck.

Yeeee Haaaawww Nashville!

Ok, may be I'm exaggerating my enthusiasm. I wouldn't know if I like Nashville or not. I've only ever been to the hotel, and this new one is, thankfully, pretty nice.

After an all-too-early wake up (5:00 am) this morning, we got out of Charleston a bit late due to some technical difficulties with dispatch. We were also a bit delayed leaving for Nashville as well, as the inbound plane we picked up in Cincy left Chicago late for the same reasons.

Shortly after takeoff, a stuck mike on another airplane almost was a problem for us, but luckily we were able to get the correct frequency for our next controller and continued to Nashville without further incident (a "stuck mike" is a pilot or controller's microphone that won't turn off, thus blocking everyone else's ability to communicate. All you can hear is the person trying to figure out why they can't turn off their mike or why they don't hear anyone else. It can be funny if they don't know they're broadcasting, and possibly a little embarrassing if they're not careful what they say).

Here's some more gee-whiz aviation stuff: a lot of navigational fixes in our airspace system are named after something appropriate to their locations. Coming in to Nashville this morning we flew the GUITR FOUR arrival over the "FIDDL" fix, and then went direct to "JUDD" on the approach, bypassing "REABA" and "WAYLN". I love's me some country music!

Not much else after getting to the hotel...a little nap, some studying, some internet (listed the superu on craigslist in OH)...etc, etc. Two leg days are pretty easy, and I'm grateful for them after a short night's rest.

Got another early show tomorrow, so its early to bed for me tonight...4:15's gonna come early!

5 Legs, 13 Hour Work Day

My day today:
Show time 8:25 AM
CVG-CLT
3 hour sit
CLT-CVG
CVG-GRR
GRR-CVG
CVG-CRW
Duty off 9:35 PM

Total Duty: 13 hours, 10 min
Total: flight time: 5.7

Van ride tomorrow morning: 6:00 AM

CVG again...

Yep, I'm back in Cincinnati at my favorite hotel the Comfort Inn. Ok, may be not my favorite, but its cheap, and well....its cheap, and technically its in Kentucky. Should I be worried that there were 100 open seats on my flight out here tonight? Its the slow season for travel and all, but 100? That kinda makes me go hmmm. I actually had a first class seat, but it was the bulkhead, so i opted for the second row in coach, and had it all to myself (there's no seat in front of you to stow bags and computers if you're in the bulkhead). The flight was quick as I was studying for most of it, and I think we had a pretty good tail wind. Its a wee bit colder here than in Denver 33 last time I checked.

So the good news is that I found the title to the Superu. No, that's not a typo, I call it the Superu, a nickname Debbie and I came up with cause its easier to say than "the crash pad car". I was worried that I couldn't find the title to it, and as I'm planning to sell it, I kinda need the title.

Anybody want to buy a 93' legacy wagon for cheap? I mean real cheap, like $700?