Latest Posts
Relief Crew on the Flight Deck
Ok, so this one may be a little controversial. As you read it remember that unlike many of my professional brethren, in my dim dark past I actually have been a Cruise Relief First Officer (actually a Second Officer, or more accurately at times, the Captain’s sexual advisor) on a ULH operation for almost 3 [...]
Gear Up Landings and Pilot Error
There’s an old adage in aviation that reads, “There are two types of pilots: Those that have landed gear up, and those that will.” I’m not a big believer in these silly phrases — their purpose being to bring solace to the group of pilots that are most likely to make the mistake. That doesn’t [...]
767 Near-Miss with the Planet Venus
On January 13, 2011, Air Canada Flight 878 departed Toronto for Zurich on a scheduled passenger service with 95 passengers, 6 flight attendants and 2 flight crew. After approximately three hours of flight time, the First Officer expressed a desire for a ‘controlled rest’ – a standard practice used in many (usually non-US) airlines that [...]
WordPress Shortcode for FMA Annunciations, FMC Messages & the MCP
This post was originally posted to one of my tech blogs with an intended audience of no more than just a few people. Despite its relative obscurity to the aviation world, I’ve received quite a few emails asking for support (who would have thought there would be a market for this stuff?). I’ve reposted the [...]
High Temperature Departure – Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (OMAA/AUH) High Temperature Flight Operations. After my recent debacle in Abu Dhabi – and another occurrence involving offload and a 4 hour delay- I was asked to prepare some specific advice for Captains operating out of Abu Dhabi. Background Due to high temperatures, most Abu Dhabi departures during mid Summer experience a potential [...]
Runway Change on Departure
A Runway Change, particularly once the aircraft has begun to move under it’s own power, can be a profound change to implement on the flight deck. If you sit on the flight deck in cruise, look around and consider the worst sequence of runway change – say from a long runway away from terrain and [...]
Why American Airlines Why?
On November 29, 2011 AMR Corporation (the parent corporation of American Airlines) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with $4 billion of cash. The move was made to “achieve a cost and debt structure that is industry competitive and thereby assure its long-term viability”. American Airlines stated that despite the filing it was continuing normal [...]
iPad App Review: Radio Navigation Simulator
Years ago, back in the mid 90′s, when I was undertaking my instrument rating, a friend sent me a link to download a tacky little PC-based procedural trainer that I ended up using for hours on end in an attempt to reinforce the principles behind VOR and NDB intercepts and approaches. There’s no doubt in [...]
Boeing 737 Transition: Week 2, 3 and 4
A few weeks ago I gave my initial insights into the 737 type rating process (after migrating from our 777 fleet). I intended to post quite regularly on the specifics of training, but the nature of the course content was quite intense leaving me with little option other than neglect everything outside the little 737 [...]
FlightAware Tracking Services Now Available in Australia
For the first time ever, nationwide flight tracking, airport delays and status updates, real-time maps, and flight alerts are available for private and commercial flights throughout Australia. As of 8am this morning, the FlightAware aircraft tracking services will be available for Australian general aviation and commercial flights. FlightAware are the first (public) tracking service to [...]
Flight For Control – Karlene Petitt
For the last two years I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Karlene Petitt on a number of projects – including a number of websites and a podcast. As a group, we’ve followed the progress of her first novel with great interest. In fact, in the early days of our collaboration, her book was [...]
Boeing 737 Transition: Week 1
Owned by Virgin Australia and managed by Boeing Flight Training, the simulator centre at Brisbane Airport (near the old International terminal) houses a number of Boeing 737, Embraer and Airbus A320 simulators. The facility serves a number of airlines in Australia and other private and military operations. There’s really not a lot to share this [...]
Putting the Boeing 787 on the Map
Who said testing ETOPS had to be boring? At 13:33 PST on the 9th Feb, 2012, Boeing Commercial Airplane Flight 236, painted in Air India livery, departed Boeing Field Intl (KBFI) for an 18 hour maximum ETOPS (Extended Operations) flight test as part of the 787-8 GE engine certification. Rather than engage in just another [...]
Instrument Flying Day 4 Instrument Navigation
Now we’re getting into the fun stuff—how to navigate with our heads in the clouds. I have to say that having a map display is worth its message in gold for improved situational awareness. Before we progress to some of the challenges in this lesson, you must remember one formula. MH+RB = MB Magnetic Heading [...]
A Discussion with Ali Wanchap
Congratulations to Ali Wanchap on becoming Australia’s newest commercial helicopter pilot. Ali was once plugged into the big city fast lane working in PR and marketing for a major fashion label alongside Sydney’s social elitists. A vacation to Africa changed that when she took a scenic flight in a helicopter. The experience reinforced what she [...]
