The F-Bomb!?

Regular readers of the Fledgling Flyer know that I have only been pursuing my airline dream for a month. So, with only one month of ground school behind me and another month to go before my very first CRJ-900 flight, could it be that I might be about to be awakened from this dream and slapped in the face with the F-word...FURLOUGH! Maybe not yet, but suddenly it seems possible.

First of all, a little history. As much as I would like to think that my seasoned flying skills is what made Mesaba hire me, I know that it was a shortage of pilots. More specifically, a shortage of pilots willing to be separated from their families for days on end, bring home about $350 per week, and fly the CRJ-900. The CRJ enters into the equation because Mama Delta promised Mesaba that we would be getting 15 new CRJ-900's for Christmas, and to keep 15 CRJ's flying, you typically hire about 5 crews per aircraft. So, doing a little Jethro Bodine "cyphering" here, 15 CRJ's equals 75 Captains (most moving up from the Saab 340's), 75 new hire CRJ First Officers (enter yours truly), and 150 Flight Attendants (a mixture of new hire and existing employees). Keep in mind that the 75 Captains means that 75 Saab Captain positions are vacated, so existing First Officers now have the opportunity to upgrade to Captain. Upward mobility at its best.

For the last quarter of 2008 this hiring frenzy was pretty much the only airline hiring in the entire US, which explains why so many of the new hire First Officers in my class are furloughed pilots from other airlines. Based on the delivery schedule of the new CRJ's, the company expected to continue hiring and forming classes until March or April 2009. However, like so many others this year, the Christmas present that we wanted so badly did not appear under the tree, and it was announced a day ago that instead of 15 new CRJ's, we'd be getting 5. So, substitute 5 for 15, cypher a little, naught from naught leaves naught, carry the one...you get the picture. Suddenly instead of a hiring craze, the company finds itself with about 100 extra pilots. The party is over; over so quickly in fact that the very next CRJ class that was supposed to start next week has now been cancelled, along with all future CRJ classes. Ouch!

Where does that leave the Fledgling Flyer? First of all, it leaves me in a lot better position than many of the folks who were scheduled for the Jan 5 class, that's for sure. I know for a fact that many of these folks had already given notice to their current employers that they were leaving to join the Mesaba team, which is no longer happening. It also leaves me much better off that some current Mesaba pilots who have been with the company for a while, and were waiting for that elusive upgrade to Captain, which is now less likely. In the notice letter to the company, our CEO stated that furloughs of current employees were not expected, "at this time", but "at this time" ended a minute after that memo was posted. So, my fellow classmates and I are now on the bubble, praying that it does not get popped.

So, as we enter into 2009, it is hard not to feel the spirit somewhat dampened, not so much because I fear that I may be furloughed before I even sit in the flight deck of the CRJ, but because I know how many lives have been affected by this change in plans. Tonight there are many, many pilots and flight attendants who were excited about joining Mesaba in the coming weeks and months who no longer have a job. By the grace of God, I was on the right side of the door when it closed, but I know that I am only one corporate decision, one employee memo away, from having to let go of this dream of airline flying. Don't get me wrong, I would never wish this on anyone, but in some ways it seems almost just that I experience a little turmoil in my airline employment as so many others have. Another ticket punched toward admittance to the airline pilot club.

Every cloud has a silver lining (and a few have mirco bursts and hail, so beware). ASA was awarded the 10 CRJ's that Mesaba did not get, so many of their pilots and flight attendants who were facing furlough now perhaps have a brighter future. They like Mesaba are a part of the Delta family, and for the good of the parent company and the industry, I wish them tailwinds and God Speed. For all of those on the other side of the door when it closed, keep knocking. Those of us blessed enough to be on this side will hopefully continue to do the things needed to keep Mesaba growing and on track for a successful 2009, which will hopefully get that door opened again.

Until I hear otherwise, it is business as usual. FTD's and simulators start soon, and after a couple of days of enjoying some time with Cathy, Randy and Rose in Alberta, it is back to the grind.

Blessings and best of wishes to everyone in 2009!

Christmas from Afar

Like so many others in the Airline Industry, (and military for that matter) I spent Christmas 2008 separated from the ones I love. No pity party here, just the reality of my new chosen career, with little chance of being at home during holidays. As it turns out, others in my family circle had a subdued Christmas too.

As mentioned in last week's post, Cathy and Nikki were able to get away and head up to Alberta to spend Christmas with her Brother Randy, his wife Rose, and their children Justin, Michael, Cassandra, and Jacqueline (oh, and Emmie...Nikki HAS to have a playmate). They had a traditional Newfoundland-style Christmas, with presents, "Jig's Dinner", and simply enjoying being together. If you have never had the pleasure of a Jig's Dinner, imagine a traditional turkey dinner with all of the trimmings, then add some salt beef (complete misnomer...it should be salt fat), figgy duff, and peas pudding, and you've got a Jig's Dinner. By the way, here's a quick lesson for you Yanks out there...Newfoundland is pronounced "NEWfoundland", accent on the first syllable. Most Americans incorrectly pronounce it newFOUNDland. In any case, it is a beautiful place with wonderful warm people, but questionable food. They do have some damn good fish and chips though, even if they do put stuffing and gravy on them!

I was able to speak with both Jamie and Brandon today on the phone. They are with their Mother in Florida, and enjoyed a day at Universal Studios and saw the Blue Man Group. By all accounts they had a fun day. Brandon has decided to attend UCF Engineering when he is released from the Army this Spring, and Cathy and I are excited for him to start down this new path. Jamie is concerned because she works for her fiance's family flooring business, and with the economy the way it is, business is down. Like many others in America, all who work with her are concerned about their jobs and their future.

My Mom and Dennis in Lacey Washington had a non-Traditional Christmas, in that my Sister Lisa and her husband Scott were not able to come up. Normally Mom is praying for a white Christmas, and this year she got her wish, so much so that her and Dennis were pretty much snowed in. They tried to get out of the house for a drive, but almost got stuck. Thankfully neighbors helped get them back in the driveway. Lisa and Scott live in Oregon, and they were thinking of driving down to spend the day with Scott's family. Unfortunately, more snow and ice put the kibosh on that idea, and because Scott's son Sean is spending Christmas with his Mom in California, Lisa and Scott spent a quiet Christmas at home, watching movies and enjoying each other's company, and likely worrying way too much about things they can't control, like the economy, and bad weather that keeps them from family, friends and work.

As for the Fledgling Flyer, I spent the day recovering from the effects of eating a Christmas Eve Chinese dinner. There were about a dozen of my fellow class mates who were spending Christmas here in the hotel, and I thought it would be a good idea to get together with some friends and go out and eat a nice dinner somewhere last night. Unfortunately, I found that almost every restaurant closed around 4:00, so we ended up in the only place open, a Mom and Pop Chinese place. Unfortunately, within an hour of eating I ended up with the "green apple quick steps", or more correctly, the "hot and sour soup quick steps". Melly Cleesmas!

So, today I emptied the stocking Cathy sent me, tearfully read her Christmas card, studied flight controls, hydraulics, navigation, and FMS, talked on the phone with loved ones and friends (thanks for calling Gord, it was GREAT to hear from you!), and swore off Chinese food. I also reflected a lot, and decided that even though we say that Christmas is about being with family, it is not. Christmas is about Christ, and his birth, and all of the things that Christianity is. Yes, Christianity is usually thought of as a family affair, but being a good person can be a solo affair too. Not being with Cathy, my children, or the others in my life that I love does not in any way diminish the importance of the day; yes we can be sad for being apart, but Christmas is still Christmas, and even though apart, we each had a day that was in our own way blessed. Hopefully you did too.

Merry Christmas, God Bless, and remember the ones less fortunate than we!

Cool Systems and Alphabet Soup

This week was all about EICAS, Bitch'en Bob, and all the things Bob will talk to us about. Things like APU's, ECU's, SOV's, TRU's, CSD's, IDG's, FIDEEX, LCV's SOV's (please don't confuse with PRSOV's) and AILC, which is pretty smart, making it a Smart AILC (sorry, couldn't resist).

Did I mention coffee? We learned a lot about that too. Here's what a typical day was this past week:
0500-0530 Get up, shower, start studying lessons for that day.
0630 Hotel breakfast is served. Start coffee infusion.
0710 Go scrape snow off of the truck. Warm hands with coffee.
0725 Leave for training center. Dark and snowy outside.
0800-1700 Training. All day. No early days off, since the FAA would disapprove.
1710 Leave for hotel. Dark outside...did the sun ever come up?
1710-1740 Fight snow and traffic back to hotel.
1741-2100 Scratch head, mumble to myself, cuss, dig through five different books, and complete homework assignments. Occasional augment with group study where more experienced and younger classmates do their best not to laugh at my lack of experience with "advanced aircraft".
2200-2230 Sleep. Reset and start over.

Speaking of advanced aircraft, there is not one student in class that is not completely blown away by the CRJ-900, even those with prior experience with the CRJ-200. With each system we are introduced to we gain a deeper understanding of the entire aircraft, and exactly how advanced and well thought out it really is. Interestingly enough the nature of the airplane has led to me having some difficulty, not in understanding the material, but accepting from the instructors the often-spoken "you don't need or want to understand that". It is a function of having an engineering and electrical/electronic background, but I really DO want to know more, and I have to constantly push the mental "let go" button and prod my mind to quit trying to figure out some engineering aspect of the system and keep up with the instructor. I find that this occupies some of my evenings during homework, when I can use the internet to find out things that the instructors don't know or won't share. Example:
Instructor - "Proximity Sensing Electronic Units (PSEU's) are used to sense door position."
Me - "How do they work?"
Instructor - "You don't want or need to know that. Probably magnetic"
Me- "I can't imagine them being magnetic, since aircraft manufacturers typically avoid putting magnetic material in aircraft".
Instructor - "Push your Let Go button Gary. Next topic...."

In case you were wondering, PSEU's used in the CRJ are all metal sealed units that measure a change in inductive reactance when brought in proximity to a metal target. As suspected, they are completely non-magnetic, and therefore meet the FAA's HIRF (High Intensity Radiated Field) rejection requirements. They are built by Crane Aerospace and Technology. So, although I am happy that I've learned this nugget of information, I will never use the knowledge, nor be asked about it on my oral or written exam. Pure and simple, this is one of my character flaws that Cathy knows well!

Let's talk about EICAS and Bitch'en Bob. EICAS is the Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System, which is basically some serious computing and monitoring systems that display on two CRT screens on the instrument panel between the two pilots. EICAS tells you darn near everything you could possibly want to know about what's happening behind the scenes and more. EICAS is also smart enough to know when you don't want to see certain things (EICAS does not use a lot of space showing Aux Power Unit RPM/EGT when the APU is not running). So, unlike the Falcon 10 that uses up a lot of instrument panel real estate displaying LRT's (Little Round Things, or "steam gages"), the CRJ can display a LOT of information in a very little space by determining when the pilot might want to see some particular data based on flight conditions. EICAS also uses colors to help you digest the information; Warning information is bad, and is displayed in red, and the message is announced via a triple chime sound. Caution information could be serious, so it is displayed in yellow and sounds a single chime. Advisory messages tell you about aircraft systems configurations and test and are displayed in green. Finally, there's status messages which are low-priority failures or loss of automatic operation of a system. Status messages are in white. Just in case the bright red warning message in front of you does not grab your attention, there's Bitch'en Bob. Bob is a synthetic voice that announces the presence of a warning EICAS message. Say for instance a smoke detector senses smoke in the aft cargo bay. In addition to the red "SMOKE AFT CARGO" EICAS message, the pilots hear "ding-ding-ding", SMOKE! SMOKE! SMOKE!......." until they push the red flashing warning push button to tell Bob to hush. Pretty straight forward, but considering that EICAS has a library of 36 warning, 207 caution, 31 advisory, and 149 status messages, all of which we need to understand, there's a lot to digest. In addition to finally completing General Subjects on Tuesday, we have covered the following systems: Aircraft General, Doors, EICAS, FMS intro, APU, Electrical, Powerplant, Fuel, Fire and Overheat, Pneumatics, and Environmental Control Systems.

We are being trained using a computer-based system which is really great. During the lessons, the instructors use an interactive presentation that is displayed in front of the class and on two computer screens on your desk. Every afternoon we have "CSI" which is cockpit systems integration, which is class where we use our interactive computers at our desk to try to put together what we learned in that day's lessons. Learn APU in the morning, learn how to start and monitor the AUP from the cockpit in the afternoon. Great stuff. As of the end of the day Friday, we all know how to enter a cold dark cockpit, do power initialization checks, start the APU and power up the airplane, initialize and program the Flight Management System, and God forbid...start the engines! God forbid because engine starting is something that us lowly First Officers are now allowed to do. However, we did get to go to the airport fire station this week and learn how to put out fires, just in case the Captain's engine starting leads to disaster!

The highlight of my week came after school yesterday, when I opened a Care Package Cathy sent me. Beef jerky, candy, pistachios, LOTS of goodies. Also included were my darts, so I went out with some friends last night to see if I can still remember how to toss a dart. I do, but Justin and Rich held their own for a couple of rookies. Cathy also sent me a Christmas stocking, and a card, neither of which I have opened. Cathy is going to Alberta to be with her brother Randy and his family for Christmas, and I'll be here in Minnie. I'll open my card and unload the stocking on Thursday, and will share my goodies with my fellow classmates that are not going to be with their families either. Like with the military, being separated from loved ones is a part of the price of admission to the airline pilot club. We, fellow pilots, are quick to accept that price, because co-shared hardships like working on Christmas and being separated from loved ones actually bonds us closer together in professional fellowship. However, the ones we leave behind don't experience our absence the same way, instead enduring the separation and hardship because they know that we are doing what we love. They are in fact agreeing to "share" us with another lover, our chosen career. Cathy does not like being separated nor missing holidays together, but she not only accepts it, she goes the extra mile to do extra things for me like sending me a special package. One of my fellow classmates received a "Dear John" letter this week, his relationship falling victim to his love of aviation and the separation it entails. I am so fortunate to have Cathy in my life, who not only loves me, but is willing to share me with Mesaba, Bitch'en Bob and the CRJ. In this season of miracles, she is my Christmas Star. I love you Babe.

To all, Merry Christmas, God Bless, and safe flying.

Week Two - The Fun Meter is Pegged!

Week #2 of ground school is now behind me, and I'm having the pleasure of writing this post from home. Not hotel room home, but REAL home, home with Cathy, Nikki, a real kitchen, and real toilet paper instead of 100 grit sandpaper on a roll. There's no place like home! Going home is not recommended during ground school (for risk of not returning on time and being washed out of class), but since very few of us will be able to be home for Christmas, many of us are taking advantage of our "non-rev" flying privileges and are going home this weekend. Daredevils all.

Speaking of flying privileges, I had my first experience with non-reving on this trip, and I have to admit that I felt like an impostor. I've seen it a thousand times...a flight crew member flashes a badge instead of a boarding pass to get through security, then up to the gate podium to kindly ask if there is a seat available. That was me yesterday, and I was nervous for being afraid of violating some protocol that I was not aware of. I asked my classmates a thousand questions beforehand, and the system worked just as advertised. I was even offered a First Class upgrade by the lead flight attendant once aboard, which I declined. I was safely sitting in a free seat, heading home to see Cathy, and I was afraid that should I get up to head up to First Class, the magic would evaporate and I would wake up from the dream. Best to stay put and enjoy the ride from seat 7D.

As mentioned in last week's post, this week our class was combined with some seasoned Captains who are all Saab 340 Captains, now upgrading to the CRJ-900. Their presence has added some new dynamics to the class, some good and some not so good. Don't get me wrong, all of us Newbies are glad to have them, but we can tell that a few of the Captains are not taking the material as seriously as we are, and tend to be somewhat disruptive in class. I guess it is natural for us to feel more pressure in class and want to absorb every morsel of information presented, since we are literally at the bottom of the airline pilot food chain. Most of the Captains don't seem to feel this pressure, and seem to be more interested in having some fun in class and afterwards. Fun has not been on menu for me and my fellow Fledgling Fliers, hence the fun meter. Having the "fun meter pegged" is a phrase that goes way back to my Navy days; when you are not having much fun, we sarcastically say the fun meter is pegged, though not necessarily pegged on the fun side!

This week we covered some material that we were first introduced to last week, but now in more detail. We also saw a lot of new material such as security, transportation of dangerous goods, and Cat 2 approaches. For those of you not familiar with the magic lingo of airline approaches, normal Category 1 or Cat 1 approaches allow an aircraft to fly toward a runway for landing, completely in the clouds/fog, down to an altitude of 200 feet above the ground. At 200 feet of altitude the pilot must decide whether or not he or she sees the runway environment which allows them to continue the approach and land. If they can't clearly see the runway environment they must execute the go-around, which means that they abort the landing attempt and either try again or more likely, divert to someplace where they are more likely to make a successful approach. Well, since Cat 1 approaches are for mere mortal pilots, and we are destined to be super duper airline pilots, we must be trained to fly Cat 2 approaches, meaning that we get ease our aircraft down to 100 feet before making that go/no-go decision. As you can probably imagine, it requires a lot of coordination and precision from the flight crew, and has very little margin for error. I'm looking forward to honing my skills to this level.

We were also introduced to pre-departure paper work. You've seen it before...the flight crew all arrives at the gate, and the gate agent hands the pilot or first officer this long roll of paper, which they then commence to tearing into individual sheets on the edge of the counter. Interesting analogy that pre-departure paperwork and toilet paper both come in a roll. Seriously, we can build CRJ aircraft that are marvels of technology, but the paperwork that the flight crew relies on comes off a dot-matrix printer out of the 70's. Oh well. In any case, this paperwork includes weather, aircraft information, departure and destination information, etc., but as with most everything else in the airline pilot's world, the information is presented in a not so easy to understand code. "43" Means "143" (drop the 1), "73,74" means "73,740" (drop the last zero), and "84,400" meaning "84,400" (don't drop anything, since being consistent would make ground school must less interesting!).

We also spent all day Friday discussing Crew Resource Management, or CRM. Most folks laugh when I try to explain that CRM involves concepts like the First Officer taking control of the aircraft should the Captain become incapacitated in some manner, or worse, willfully decide to do something unsafe. That concept sounds so unbelievably common sense that it is hard to understand why you would have to train on it. Well, we train on it because it was not too long ago that the airlines were full of mostly ex-military pilots who believed that they did not need, nor did they want, any help from any other crew members of the aircraft. These "gear up, flaps up, shut up" Captains established such a frightful, hostile working environment that many First and Second Officers, along with the unsuspecting passengers and Flight Attendants strapped in behind them, died in horrible crashes because no one was willing to speak up and tell the Captain that he was doing something wrong, or that the airplane was about to run out of fuel. Airline crews today are trained and retrained on the necessity of working together as a team, being alert to subtle signs that another crew member may have some issue that makes them less than effective, and on safe decision making. Although I enjoyed the training, I was given vibes from my more experiences classmates that there are still plenty of Captains out there who have zero respect for First Officers. Call me naive, but I'm from the old school where I believe that only a small portion of respect is given due to positional authority, and that the majority of respect must be earned through your actions. I don't expect any Captain to instantly respect me simply because I am a First Officer, but if they think they're going to fly into some cumulo-granite or through a thunderstorm without me stepping in, they are wrong.

Well, I'd better wrap this up and get ready for my return flight to MSP. I enjoyed my very short visit with Cathy, and we both enjoyed attending two Christmas parties last evening with some friends (thanks Tom/Sue and Jill/Mark), and it was really nice to see our neighbors again, even if it was for a very short time. I would like to stay a little longer today, but the weather back in Minnie is going to turn crappy later this afternoon, making it harder to get in. Current weather back in Minneapolis is 08011KT 1 1/2 SM -RA BR OVC005 03/01, which means that the winds are from the east, visibility is a mile and a half, there is light rain and mist at the airport, the clouds are at 500 feet (Cat 1 approaches!), and that it is cold. It looks must more impressive written in code on a long sheet of toilet paper!

Until next time, safe flying and God Speed. Do something nice for a stranger today.

Ground School...The First Week

Well, me and my fellow classmates are finished with the first week of ground school. Thank God! Don't get me wrong; it was an enjoyable week, and I'm still extremely excited and proud to be here, but I'm just glad to have this first week behind me. We were told day one that we would be provided information in fire-hose fashion, and they were not kidding!



Day one set the standard, and made a favorable impression on each of us. As you would expect from any company's indoctrination, there were the typical introductions, administration paperwork, review of training syllabus, etc. However, each and every instructor, member of management, and anyone else who spoke with us stressed several important facts:
1. That our new company had never had a fatal accident. Not just no fatal crashes, but no fatal ramp or maintenance accidents. That is very impressive, especially knowing that Mesaba was founded in 1944. We were expected to continue that record.
2. That each of us had already "made the grade", and they the company's expectation was that each of us would survive training. In other words, there was no planned or expected attrition here.
3. As of 0700 that morning, each of us were Mesaba pilots. Not after ground school, not after Operational Experience, but that very day. Although we would be afforded all of the recognition and benefits of being a Mesaba pilot, we would also be held to the professional standards of a Mesaba pilot. By lunch on Monday, each of us were wearing a Mesaba pilot ID badge, which was very impressive.

My class is pretty diverse. In addition to 20 fellow CRJ trainees, we had the 4 Saab pilots with us for this first week of indoctrination. Of the 20 total in the class, we have 21 male, three female. The youngest in the class is 20, and you-know-who is the oldest. Interestingly, one half of the class is the same age or younger than my son Brandon. Also of note is that with the exception of about five of us, everyone else has previous part 121 (airline) flying experience. This meant that me and my fellow 121 Fledglings had to spend a lot of extra time studying topics such as Exemption 3585 (don't ask!).

Another thing I'd like to say is that our class has quickly solidified. Every night during the week you would find study groups in the hotel common area, pool room, and almost anywhere else. These groups were not cliques, and anyone could and did drift from group to group. Everyone has been accepted as an equal, and we are each committed to ensuring that we all make it through training. I am proud to be part of such a group, and I must give credit to not only each of my fellow class mates, but also to Mesaba who helped establish that culture on the first day.

So, with the first week and first test behind me, I'm planning on spending the weekend getting familiar with my pilot union contract, Pilot Operating Manual, and CRJ Systems Manual. On Monday we start General Subjects, which is a continuation of some of the Indoc subjects, but this time more specific to our aircraft. This means that we have said good-bye to our Saab friends, and will instead be joined in class on Monday by Saab Captains who are now upgrading to the CRJ. I for one am looking forward to meeting them and hearing about their experiences with the company. It should add some great dynamics to the classroom.

Cathy's birthday was yesterday (Happy Birthday!), and this was the first time we've been apart on her birthday since we've been together. Our neighbors Jim and Heather invited Cathy over for dinner the night before, which was so typical of their generosity. With Jim and Heather on one side of us and Guy and Connie on the other, we are blessed. Cathy and I already miss each other a great deal, but having the ability to video chat using Skype has been great. If you've never used it, I highly recommend looking into it. You can't beat the price (free!), and other than an occasional slow hotel web connection, the quality is really great.

Well, that's it from snowy cold Minneapolis. Keep chasing your own dreams!

Sea Story #1...Submarines verses Airplanes

I can hear the responses now..."wait a second, this is supposed to be a blog about becoming a regional airline pilot...what does that have to do with sea stories?" Well, anyone who knows me (especially Cathy!) knows that after 20 years of nuclear submarine operations, I LOVE to tell sea stories. Then again, after almost 30 years of flying, I LOVE to tell flying stories too, but because flying stories are so common as compared to submarine stories, well, you get the idea. Besides, flying stories are too easy to validate...I can tell almost anyone pretty much anything about a submarine and they won't have any idea if I'm telling the truth or not! That is the beauty of a true Navy sea story. Ask any Sailor and they will tell you that the difference between a "true" sea story and a lie is that a sea story starts with "seriously, this is no s$#t!"

I have often said that there are a lot of similarities between "driving" a submarine and flying an airplane. An airplane flies because of lift created when airflow moves faster over the top of a wing than across the bottom (Bernoulli's principle). That lift is what allows us to defy gravity and leave the surly bonds of earth, but it is the dynamic force of the air stream on the control surfaces that allow the pilot to turn, climb and descend the airplane. A submarine does not create lift in the same way that an airplane does, at least to the same extent. A submarine first of all must be very close to being neutrally buoyant. In other words, assume a fully submerged boat displaces 5000 tons of water; if the boat weighed exactly 5000 tons it would be neutrally buoyant. If it weighed more than 5000 pounds, it would tend to sink, if less than 5000 pounds, it would tend to rise to the surface. If a submerged submarine is neutrally buoyant and is brought to a complete stop (as preparing to surface through the ice in the Arctic), it would hold a constant depth and would not end to rise or sink. Yes, airplane pilots too must consider the weight of their aircraft and how changes in weight such as fuel burn affect performance. However, in a submarine there are a lot of other issues at play. Take for instance water temperature. Colder water provides more buoyancy than warmer water, enough so that even a one degree change in water temperature can make the submarine very heavy or light. So, if you were to get a perfect ballast on the boat and then two minutes later you moved into warmer water, guess what? You're sinking. Also, salinity has a huge effect, and although most people never consider it, the salinity of the world's oceans changes dramatically. Unlike an airplane, the submarine's fuel burn does not affect weight. The nuclear reactor is converting Uranium fuel to energy, and because of Mr. Eienstein's equation of E=M(C squared), a very little bit of Uranium goes a long way. Also unlike an airplane that flies for anywhere between 30 minutes and 15 hours, a nuclear submarine may be out for a cruise for months, with the crew consuming tons of food, and discharging the inevitable waste overboard. So, in summary, airplanes and submarines both are controlled by dynamic forces moving over control surfaces, but the changing weight of a submarine is much more critical that the changing weight of an airplane.

Crew coordination and teamwork are critical on both an airliner and a submarine. However, on an airliner in an emergency, the captain or first officer either one are perfectly capable of performing all of the functions necessary to fly the aircraft from either seat by themselves, with the exception of steering the aircraft on the ground. This is because turbine aircraft are steered on the ground using a "tiller", which is small wheel typically mounted near the captain's left hand, which the first officer could not reach from the right hand seat. On a submarine, is it simply impossible for one person to control the entire boat. Not including supervisors, it takes two Sailors to steer and control depth (what we call diving and driving), one to control buoyancy, three guys in a room over 100 feet away control the main propeller shaft speed, the reactor, and the electrical generation equipment, a minimum of two guys in Sonar making sure we don't go bump into anyone, and at least one guy plotting our position all of the time. Unlike airplanes, a submarine can't get a good GPS fix when submerged, so we're using inertial navigation and/or dead reckoning, much like airplanes. Keep in mind that this crew count does not include all of the other folks on board monitoring weapons and equipment, cooking meals, etc. Crew resource management is critical for both submarines and airplanes, but I believe that anyone who has served on any ship at sea, especially a nuclear submarine, is much better prepared to accept that CRM is a way of life. Unlike an airplane, no matter how macho or good you are, you simply can't operate a submarine by yourself.

I've had many pilots who know of my submarine background tell me that because submarines operate very slow (according to the CNO's web site, I'm safe to tell you that subs can go "in excess of 25 knots", and dive deeper than 800 feet), that decision-making is much more critical in an airplane moving a 0.8 mach than a submarine moving at 3-25 knots. Here comes my sea story.

This is no s%#t!...(had to get that in right from the start). Once upon a time, way back when, as a county we used to openly acknowledge that there were bad guys in the world who would like nothing else than to kill a lot of Americans with big bombs. Wait, I know what you are thinking. Yes, that's true today too, but these days too many Americans feel uncomfortable accepting that fact. I digress. In any case, these bad guys liked to have nuclear missile submarines operate near our shorelines so that if push came to shove and the s%#t really hit the fan, they would be close enough to launch their nuclear tipped missiles at us. Shocking I know. We on the other hand liked to have out fast attack submarines placed in position so that if the bad guys ever made such a move, we'd fire a torpedo at them before they fired their missiles. Sort of like whack a mole with torpedoes and nuclear missiles. In any case, one fateful day we picked up the scent of a bad guy's nuclear missile submarine, not near enough our coast to launch, and not even moving toward our coast. In fact, he was doing a elongated race track pattern like he was trying to make up his mind where to go (for you pilots out there, think holding pattern). Well Hell! If he's going to bore slow holes in the ocean, we're going to stick near by and follow him! Should he decide to head toward the good ole US of A, we’d be there just in case the mole needs whacking. Well, after almost a full day of holding (try THAT in a regional jet!), we're still sitting nearby, Mr. Bad Guy has not given us any indication to make us believe he knows we are there, and just like that, things get REAL exciting.

A special tone sounds when the Sonar Supervisor keys the "Torpedo Alarm" mic and makes the following announcement in a very high-pitched voice "Conn, Sonar, torpedo in the water bearing 035 degrees!" Let me paint a picture for you. Think of the letter "V". We're at the bottom of the V, bored out of our wits. The bad guy is at the upper left (bearing roughly 340 if you will), and out of the blue, a torpedo is suddenly fired from somewhere off to the right. Keep in mind that this is NOT during an active war. Also keep in mind that you have no idea who fired the torpedo, but its pretty safe to say that it does not have "made in the USA" painted on it. You have exactly 3 seconds to make a decision on what to do. By the way, if ever fired upon it is always a good idea to fire a return torpedo back at the person shooting at you, which tends to break his concentration. However, if this is a mistake and the Bad Guy is not really shooting at you, and you shoot a torpedo at him and blow him up, well, let's just say that you just killed a lot of innocent people and created one hell of an international incident!

In this scenario, our mystery submarine was simply a target submarine who was sent out to run circles in a particular area, waiting for another submarine to try to find him and then shoot an exercise (non-explosive) torpedo at him. Because the Skipper took a couple of seconds to realize that the torpedo was not heading our way, they never knew we were there, and we quietly slipped away to go change our underwear.

So, airplanes and submarines do have one thing important in common. Good crews are trained to work together, and when something out of the ordinary happens, your first immediate action should be to wind your watch. Take a second to think about what’s happening, absorb the situation, analyze possible actions and outcomes, and then make the decision to act. Taking actions quickly without fully understanding what is really happening is almost always a very bad idea.

Safe skies and seas.

The Last Week at Home

So, what do you do in the final week before everything in your life changes suddenly and completely?

As mentioned in my profile, I'm an ex-Navy submariner, having served in both ballistic missile and fast attack submarines for 20 years. During that time, especially while serving on the fast attack boats (submarines have always been and will always be "boats" vice "ships"), I became accustomed to preparing for deployments which ranged from three to seven months. Preparing for a deployment involves everything from ensuring that your loved ones are well-prepared for your absence to ensuring that your last will and testament is up to date. As I prepare to leave home for ground school on Nov 30, my preparations are tempered with a different attitude, because this is not a deployment of a few months, where I will come home to a loving family and within a few days everything is back to normal. This is a complete change in our life style, and I must admit that the uncertainty of what lies ahead helps keep my excitement in check. It is not just the uncertainty...the things that I know bring their own apprehension.

I know that I will be paid about $24 per hour, with only about 75 hours a month guaranteed. Most of the uninformed public have no idea how little new pilots are paid, and many flatly refuse to believe it when told. You simply do not become an airline pilot to become rich, you do it firstly because you love flying, and secondly because once you achieve some seniority, your flight schedule will allow significantly more time off than your typical 9-to-5 office job. I have a long time before I will have any seniority, so lots of time off is not likely in my immediate future.

That brings me to something else I know. I know that I will not be flying out of Chicago O'Hare airport, since my airline does not have a Chicago domicile. I suspect that I will either be domiciled in Detroit or Memphis, meaning that I will be a commuter, having to travel from my assigned domicile to my home in Chicago on my days off. Naturally Cathy and I could sell our house and move to my new domicile to avoid this, but the combined poor housing market and the volatility of the airline industry (can you say "furlough?) make this a poor choice financially right now.

Other than the fact that I've been assigned the CRJ-900 aircraft, and that my (old) age has positioned me at the top of my class when it starts on Dec 1, I don't know a whole lot about what lies ahead. This brings me to one item that has occupied this final week, reading and studying, trying to learn what is in store. I received a copy of the company Flight Operations Manual (FOM) on Monday, and I've been buried in it as much as possible, while being sensitive to the fact that I need to spend as much quality time with Cathy as possible before I leave.

Because she has reached sufficient age, Cathy and I took our dog Nikki in to have her "plumbing" removed, and to have some puppy teeth extracted. Doggie orthodontics...who could imagine? In any case, Nikki has come through the surgery and bounced back quickly.

I did have to set some time aside to deal with an unsettled issue from my previous career this week. As I mentioned in my preface post, I was previously the COO and VP of Technical Operations of an election equipment company, and I have been notified that the California Secretary of State is going to subpoena me to provide testimony in an on-going dispute her office has with my previous employer. Although I offered to be available for deposition this week, they stated that it would likely be sometime later in December. Gee, how nice...concentrate on ground school while preparing for a legal deposition.

This week is Thanksgiving (US Thanksgiving, since Cathy is Canadian we also celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving in October), and Cathy and I have been invited to attend Thanksgiving dinner with our neighbors Guy, Connie, and my little Army buddy, Vito. They are great neighbors and we are fortunate to have them as friends.

Speaking of friends, Cathy and I are hoping to get together with our friends Rick and Joan this week. Rick worked with me in the elections industry, and in 2007 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I suspect that many people who are diagnosed with this horrible form of cancer take one look at the survival statistics and feel that they have been given a death sentence. Anyone who has ever known Rick will testify that he is absolutely the most positive, up-beat, not to mention nicest persons in the world. Instead of becoming sullen and defeated by his cancer, Rick has endured the painful chemo treatments and the corresponding side effects with uncanny dignity, and has chosen to live each day of his life knowing what a gift each day truly is. Rich has been my inspiration for some time and his desire to achieve as much as possible out of life that helped inspire me to take the plunge into an aviation career. Rick has touched a lot of lives, and I'm blessed to have been one of them.

I was also fortunate enough to crew what may be my last flight in the Falcon 10 this week. I'm hoping to be able to make the occasional flight with Gene and Ty in the future; I know that I will really enjoy flying the CRJ-900, but there is simply no way it can possibly fly anywhere as nicely as the Falcon. I'm also hoping to get in one more flight in the Bonanza before I leave on Sunday, but it does not look likely.

Some last minute shopping, arrangements to celebrate Cathy's birthday early, medical appointments, study some more, start packing, ensuring the Nissan is ready for the coming road trip, winterize the motorcycle, etc. etc. This week is probably one of the busiest I can remember in a while. As Sunday approaches Cathy and I both are getting more apprehensive, not about the rigors of ground school, but about being separated for such a long time. We've made the necessary arrangements to cope with the extreme pay cut I will experience as I pursue this dream, but it is hard to make arrangements to overcome being separated from the ones you love. Until I gain the seniority to get some decent time off, I have to trust that my love of flying will keep me motivated, and my personal faith and love for Cathy will keep our relationship strong. At least she has her "daughter" Nikki to keep her company!

I certainly have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week, and I wish the best to everyone. Next stop, ground school!

The Dreaded Interview

Although it has only been a few days since the past post, a lot has happened in the world of the Fledgling Flier. Cathy and I wrapped up a visit with Bonnie and Brian in Tampa, a much too short visit with my beautiful daughter Jamie in Oviedo Florida, and are now in Clarksville Tennessee, where my son Brandon has just returned from his second and final tour in Iraq with the Rakkasans of the 101st Airborne Air Assault Division. There is little in life that brings me more happiness than knowing that Jamie and Brandon are happy in their lives and are safe. Like others that know me, both Jamie and Brandon may quietly question my sanity about giving up the life (read that "paycheck") that Cathy and I are accustomed to in order to chase the dream of flying for an airline, but they also encourage me and tell me that they are proud that I'm giving it a go.

As I signed off from the last post, I was explaining that I had just accepted an invitation to interview with Mesaba Airlines on Oct 30, yet I did not really know anything about the airline. Like many if not most new applicants for airline jobs, I used the shotgun approach to sending out applications, sending one out to any airline that will accept them without really considering the pros and cons of the companies that I could end up working for. This is exactly how many new Fledgling Fliers end up flying for companies that they really don't respect.

As I started preparing for my interview with Mesaba, I started to learn more about the company. Naturally this preparation was designed to help me answer the “tell me what you know about our company” questions that were inevitable, but I started noting an interesting trend; whenever I mentioned Mesaba to my friends already in the industry, without exception they spoke highly of the company. About the only things I could say I did not like about what I was hearing was that the company did not domicile in Chicago (where I live), and there was a pending merger deal with Delta being rumored, which meant a lot of uncertainty. Not withstanding these two issues, as my interview date approached I became more impressed with the company overall.

As with most airline interviews, Mesaba offered to fly me up to Minneapolis for the interview, but because Cathy and I wanted to explore the city a little we chose to drive up. So, on October 29 we set off on the six hour drive to the Twin City area, enjoying what was left of the beautiful fall foliage along the way, me driving while Cathy asked me questions from an interview prep guide to pass the time away. Once checked into the hotel, we make a dry run trip to find the Mesaba office, which turned out to be a great idea since the office is on the back side of the building complex and is not visible from the road. After a trip to the Mall of America and a good dinner, its off to bed for a good night sleep before the big event.

Without going into too much detail, I can say that there were no surprises at all during the interview. The process was just as described on various web sites (see my previous post), and all of the Mesaba employees we interviewees came into contact were professional and friendly. The day started with a group presentation, followed by finger printing, individual HR/technical interview, sim session, and drug test. Straight-forward, efficient, no-nonsense. Once completed, Cathy and I drove to downtown Minneapolis to check out the town, and after another nice steak dinner went back to the hotel.

It was on the drive back the following day that the fateful phone call came, just as we were pulling in to The Dells, Wisconsin. During the interview we were told that successful candidates would be contacted in about seven days via phone, and unsuccessful candidates would receive a "no thank you" email in about the same time. Naturally I was super excited to receive the call from HR with the offer, excited enough to pull off the road and have a short "happy dance" with Cathy. The rest of the ride home was on cloud nine.

As promised on the phone call, a few days later a package arrived with additional paperwork, a welcome aboard pamphlet explaining some of the benefit programs, and an interesting "Turbine Transition" booklet. Having a type rating and about 50 or so hours in the Falcon 10, I did not find much new in the transition book, but for someone with no turbine experience at all it would be a good intro.

Since this post has taken a while to write, I'll quickly bring it to a close. As of today, I've been assigned the CRJ-900, and I'm still waiting for the flight operations manual to arrive. We were told to study this prior to showing up for training on Dec 1, but here it is one week before (Thanksgiving week at that) with no manual. The flight ops study will obviously be a cram session, something I'm hoping to avoid during ground school.

So, with Brandon settled back in the US in his new apartment, Jamie and her boyfriend Brad happily settled in their lives, I have one week to go before the big show. It will be a busy week for Cathy and me with a lot on the go, so I likely won't post until I'm in Minneapolis with ground school underway. Until then, happy flying.

Shotgun! The Application Process

In January of this year, my election equipment company was sold, and I made the decision not to stay with the new owners. This put into play a series of events which led me to decide to try to get hired as a pilot by a regional airline. I'd like to discuss the application process in this edition, but first some additional history:

Although I've been flying for over 28 years, it has always been "fun" flying, heading out for weekend trips, up to Canada, down to the Bahamas, the occasional $100 hamburger lunch flights. It was not until I started work for Gene back in 2006 that I started to experience crew flying on more complex aircraft. I've owned aircraft before (Cathy and I currently own a beautiful 1954 Bonanza) but with my position with the election equipment company came access to Gene's Cessna 340 pressurized twin, and eventually the DA-10 Falcon, both used to get me or my staff where we needed to be, especially on Election Day. These flights were flown with Ty, who is an exceptional pilot in his late 20's, who is licensed to fly any category and class aircraft there is (how about airship Ty?) and is also an A&P mechanic. Ty also rides mountain bikes over unbelievable distances in even more unbelievably short times. We'll just say that Ty is in fantastic shape. As mentioned, Gene flew for United for many years and has adapted many of the SOP's (Standard Operating Procedures) used at that airline, and Ty has added a lot that he learned from Air Whisky. Why is this important? I discovered that since I retired from the Navy back in 2000, one of the things I missed the most was operating using well-established procedures, and the close crew coordination that it takes to operate complex machinery. Mind you, crewing a 7000 ton nuclear submarine takes a LOT of coordination, especially when operating under ice in the tight confines of the Arctic Ocean, and there's simply no room for "winging it". So, even though I'd been to SimCom initial flight training on the Cessna 340 and could legally fly that aircraft single pilot, I learned that flying the same airplane as a crew of two was not only safer and more professional, but from my perspective a lot more fun. So, as our election equipment business grew, I began to look forward to any business or personal trip where I could fly in this teamwork environment. Business grew, our product made history and sold very well, with over 50,000 units produced and sold in almost 30 states. This success made us an attractive little company in a big company world.

In January 2008, the company was sold, and me and my employees suddenly became employees of the largest election equipment company in the US. This was an exciting time for many of our staff since they now could branch out and learn new products and service lines, but I'm a small company kind of guy. I'm used to operating submarines for months on end with a crew of 120. My 250 MW gas turbine combined cycle power plant in Calgary Alberta had a total staff of 20, and my election equipment company had a staff of 12 when sold. Being a part of a big company was not for me, and there was also one other underlying issue. My "bucket list" of things to do before I die still included one really stupid, over the top item...I want to run for public office some day. As crazy as this seems, in today's world of a new conspiracy each day, having a past career working for the biggest election equipment company in the US would have attracted the kooks like moths to a light bulb and I would stand no hope of a clean campaign, since everyone knows that with my connections all I would have to do is say the word and every electronic voting machine in the country would cast millions of votes for me. Hey, don't laugh. There are thousands of folks out there who really believe this crap. So, Cathy and I agreed that it was time to step into another market, but first a little R&R was in order.

During a wonderful two weeks in Germany with Gene, Cathy, Brandon (on his mid-deployment break from Iraq...second tour with the 101st Airborne) and Martin (a friend and attorney who works with Gene) in May, I began to seriously consider whether or not I would be a viable candidate for a regional airline First Officer. I had 28 years of flying experience and about 1300 total hours which seemed competitive for some airlines, but I was also a late 40's, retired "old guy" ex-executive. Would the airlines really consider me? With encouragement from Gene and Ty, Cathy and I jointly made the decision to give it a shot. Gene also convinced me that having a Falcon type rating and building some jet time would make me even more competitive, so he offered to send me through type rating school to obtain my first type rating. That was an unbelievable experience, and should be reserved for a separate posting.

Upon returning from Germany, and after a fun two weeks at SimuFlite in Dallas obtaining my DA-10 Falcon type rating, I started submitting airline applications. All told, I submitted applications to American Eagle, Colgan, Mesa, Mesaba, GoJet, Comair, Pennacle, Trans States, and a multitude of others. For those who have never submitted an airline employment application, let me fill you in on the process. First of all, prepare to spend some quality time with your logbook(s). Every pilot maintains a logbook, and can always tell you how many total hours, or how many hours of multiengine time they have. However, the airlines want more, and just to keep things interesting, each airline seems to want something slightly different than the others. List every aircraft that you have more then 10 hours in. How many night landings in the past 6 months? How many instrument approaches have you completed in each aircraft in the past 90 days? Like I said, grab a calculator and get ready for some quality time.

The actual method of submitting the application differs also. Many airlines (Mesaba, GoJet, etc.) allow you to submit a resume and cover letter directly from their company web site. Other airlines (Mesa, Colgan, etc.) want applicants to use a website service called Airline Apps (http://www.airlineapps.com/). You can use Airline Apps for free if you are only submitting a single application. Since I wanted to "shotgun" my applications and send as many out as possible, I purchased a one year membership. Another great web site (free) is Airline Pilots Central(http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com/) where you can read reasonably up-to-date hiring news from each individual airline. Yet a third site I visited often was Will Fly For Food (also free)(http://www.willflyforfood.cc/) where pilots post their airline interview experiences, great to know information. So, through July and into August and September, I sent out resumes and applications to every airline that I could find an application process for, as long as they indicated that they were either hiring or accepting applications.

In late August I received my first nibble. I heard from Mesa, inviting me to interview in Phoenix. Because I was planning on attending a Mesa job fair in Chicago the following week, Mesa's HR told me to just plan on interviewing at the job fair. Unfortunately, instead of the typical 12 persons attending, 49 (!) persons showed up, so the Mesa folks were overwhelmed and did not conduct any interviews. After they cut us all lose with the "don't call us, we'll call you" message, I showed the Mesa folks a copy of the email inviting me to Phoenix, hoping that they would change their mind. After all, I was prepared for the interview and was ready to go. Instead, they booked me an interview date in Phoenix about four weeks into the future. That would have to do.

Two weeks later, I was informed via email that Mesa was having to furlough pilots, and that my interview was postponed indefinitely. This is probably a really good time to explain that I simply could NOT have picked a worse time to try to break into airline flying. With the down turn in the economy, very high fuel prices, number of pilots leaving the military, etc., there are too few jobs out there for the number of highly qualified pilots available. Supply and demand, pure and simple. As I continued to fly with Gene and Ty, Ty kept insisting that I was doing everything right, but due to the airline hiring situation I really should consider staying in corporate aviation. Since I completed my type rating, I continued to fly with Gene and Ty at every offered opportunity, building experience, confidence, and the all-important turbine time. Ty flew with Air Wisconsin before coming to corporate flying, and Gene flew with United for about 30 years (while also building success as an electrical engineer, inventor, and patent attorney...see why he's my mentor!). I figured that with their advice and encouragement, I should be able to submit a high-quality application, and my first brush with bad news from Mesa started preparing me for the understanding that no matter how hard I tried, no matter how good I thought I was, and no matter how badly I wanted to fly for an airline, there are simply too many variables outside of my control and too many better qualified applicants out there. In other words, I was coming to grips with the fact that I might not be able to catch this dream I was chasing. Although Cathy also continued to encourage me, we jointly set a one-year deadline for the dream. If I could not land a job with the airlines by June of 2009, we agreed that I would move on take another job as an executive or manager in an industry such as the power industry or the elections industry that I was familiar with. I was OK with that; to go my entire life without trying out the dream would be hard to accept. To give it a solid year of honest effort and still not be able to break in would be a different matter.

Fast forward to September. I am stepping out of the door on my way to the airport for a long-awaited trip to Volgograd Russia to tour some World War II battle sites, and the phone rings. I answer to find Colgan Airline on the line, who conducts a short phone interview and then offers me the opportunity to interview in two days. Imagine the choices...take the interview and pass on a trip to Russia, or go to Russia and risk missing out on the airline dream. I was open and honest with the HR rep and told her that I simply could not cancel out on the trip, especially in light of the fact that I had made many of the arrangement with the Russian tour guide, so Gene, Ty, Martin and Bob were relying on me. So, I left for Russia with mixed emotions. While away, Colgan sent me an invitation to attend another interview in NY, but we were were still away (Octoberfest in Munich!) so I missed out yet again.

Then, one October afternoon, I received a call from Mesaba Airlines, inviting me to interview in October or November. The one and only possible glitch was that my son Brandon was going to be returning from Iraq sometime in November, and I wanted to be there when he returned. Mesaba HR agreed and set the date of October 30, which was only about two weeks away! Would this interview be cancelled? Who was Mesaba? Sure they were a regional airline, but WHO were they, and did I really want to work for them? I had spent so much time applying to every single airline who would accept my application, that I did not spend a lot of time digging into the culture and personalities of the companies that I was applying for. So much for Mr. Small Company. I'd prepared for an airline interview. I've read most every book available on the subject. I've read the interview postings. My black suit was ready and my shoes shined. I'd done everything possible to prepare for this interview except for possibly the most important...to determine if this Mesaba company is someone I could be happy working for. I had two weeks to find out.

Preface

As I write this I await word from my new employer, Mesaba Airlines, on which aircraft I will start training to fly starting on December 1, 2008. Yes, I'm anxious to find out, but then again, I'm very anxious about a lot of things, not the least of which is the fact that I'm a late-40's, married, father of two, retired Navy submariner, ex-power plant supervisor, ex-election equipment company Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, about to embark on an entirely new career. How did I get here? What made me shuck a high paying career as a company executive to make about $24 per hour, only guaranteed about 75 hours per month? The answer will hopefully unfold as I tell my story with this blog, but in a nutshell, the answer lies in the one and only thing that I am NOT anxious about...the fact that I am a pilot, and more importantly, and pilot fortunate enough to have some very influential people in my life who encourage me to pursue dreams. We've all heard the phrase "money can't buy happiness", but I'm about to put my lack of money where my mouth is.

I should take a few minutes to expound a little on my background. I was born in Memphis Tennessee, raised in the South first by my grandparents. My grandfather was the main male influence in my life until he died when I was six, and I am the person that I am today because of those first six years. Had my grandfather not taken me hunting and fishing, taught me how to use a pocket knife, how to treat women with the respect that they deserved, how to be a good person, how to be a man, I can guarantee that the many negative influences that impacted my life in later years would have steered me in different, if not darker, directions. My grandfather also introduced me to aviation. He and I spent many afternoons watching airliners takeoff and land at Memphis International Airport, and then one fateful day he took me to an airshow at a small airport north of Memphis. I was only about five years old that day, but even now in my 40's I can clearly remember seeing and touching a midget Mustang, seeing a skydiving dog, watching a wing-walk act completely spellbound, and feeling something special being amongst the aviation lovers in the crowd, especially the pilots.

Following my grandfather's death my sister Lisa and I then lived with my mother and step father. I met my father for the first time when I was about 14, and once again found a male influence. My father was a hard-drinking, drug using, motorcycle riding, drag racing wife abuser that I thought was "cool", at least until I came to my senses, thanks to those first six years with my grandfather. Living with my father was a very traumatic experience, except for one fact, a neighbor named Ken knew that I loved model airplanes and offered to take me flying one afternoon. That was in 1979, and my life as a pilot started that day. Between that day and today, my life has taken me to many corners of the world, under the oceans and Arctic ice in nuclear submarines. I've become a father, experienced a failed marriage, moved to Canada, found love again and married the Love of my life Cathy, moved back to the US, and through it all, I've been a pilot. Always. I've flown in various corners of the world, introduced many others to the love of flying, owned aircraft, and just this year, I started flying jets. Just as it did on my first flight with Ken, my life took a turn with my first flight piloting a jet owned by my mentor Gene. It was that first flight in a Falcon 10 which led to my Falcon type rating and many hours under the tutelage of Gene and Ty (Gene's pilot), which in turn led me to the understanding that although I'm older than the typical airline applicant and that my life has taken me on many different paths away from aviation, if I am to live a dream that I abandoned long ago, the dream of being an airline pilot, I must act now. Gene, Ty, and Cathy, thank you for encouraging me. Daddy Bob, thank you for making me a man, and for instilling into me a love for aviation. As I chronicle my adventure which starts in a couple of weeks, these individuals will be the ones responsible for my successes, so they should be recognized before I even start. I've got a lot to do before I leave for training (my son Brandon returns from his second tour in Iraq soon and Cathy and I are on a trip to Fort Campbell Kentucky to see him), and each day additional anxiety sets in as December 1 approaches. Through this blog, I hope to deal with those anxieties, thank those who influence my life, and just maybe, inspire others to pursue a career in aviation. Let the fun begin!