OK, so i was off to Finland to stay with my m8 OH-LZA for 6 days, i'm flying alone, at the age of 13 and it feels great!
That was until my booked 'Bodyguard' showed up, but she was cool, she boarded me first and i went to talk to Captain Rik Cull and First Officer Duncan Vaex.
Now, we all got on extremely well, and if KLM hadn't have taken away the jumpseating rule, i truly and honestly think that they would've let me jumpseat the whole way, we got on that well.
The flight had already been delayed by an hour because G-UKFE was late from Amsterdam as UK2047, but we talked for a good 25mins about the SID - DTY4D and it's procedure.
Then i mentioned the DF 734, and Rik said that he used to fly 737s for KLM, and that it really is as close to the real thing, I would find that out in about 2 hours from that time when i continued onto Helsinki.
Ok, now I had to go back and take my seat, 5D, there was a guy in 5F, and i was going to ask him to swap, but I didnt, because he was asleep, but i was happy.
The flight itself was almost 100% full of G-UKFE MTOW of 41995kg, and the 2 RR Tay 620-15s will be roaring down the runway today!
Duncan gave me the data sheet, with the route and weights on it, it showed that our est TOW was infact 39958kg, we would cruise at M73 and the trip should take 47 minutes. We had a total of 3741kg fuel onboard to get us to AMS.
Outside next to us at gate 55 was G-BYAU, still in the old Britannia colours, we were at gate 55, almost ready to go.
I also had been given a copy of the En Route High Altitude UK & Baltic Sea chart, dated 17 May 2001, but it was just the same as the present one.
Back inside the cabin, i have to say, from a 13 year olds opinion, the seat pitch was very good, dont know exactly, but had plenty of space!
Our trip today was 296nm long, and our alternates were: EHRD(61nm), EHBK(111nm) and EBBR (120nm).
The jeppesen data plan was request number 4743 21JUL02 0808Z.
Our crusing TAS today was 437, takeoff was normal, climbed to our cruise altitude of FL270.
We had a bumpy approach to AMS, and ATC slowed us down v early, so we ended up in the gate at about 1825 local time, 1:15 late.
Visited the cockpit again before de-boarding, but i got literally 5 minuted with the guys up there, Duncan let me program the GROV1C arrival for UK2049 back into Birmingham, then i was rushed away for KL1171 to Helsinki!!
The flight was great, and at that time was my best ever, but that was to change within a week!!
July 21, 2002
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, KL1171
Amsterdam-Schiphol (AMS/EHAM) to Helsinki-Vantaa (HEL/EFHK)
Boeing 737-400 (B737-406) PH-BTF "Alexander Von Homboldt"
Gate Departure Scheduled/Actual 1900/1912 Local Time
Gate Arrival Scheduled/Actual 2225/2230 Local Time
Economy Class, Seat 26A
OK, so here i am onboard PH-BTF, ready to carry onto Helsinki, stepping aboard the plane, i thought i was one of the last, but a KLM flight from London's bassengers were still coming onboard. Asked to talk to the Captain, granted again , and the female F/O, oh boy, what an embarrisment!!
Heres the story: Ifound out the hard way when i stepped into the 734 cockpit, and casually said "Hi Guys." The next instant it went silent, and i looked around in schock as they hadnt spoken back to me. Then i looked to the right and saw a FEMALE F/O staring at me!! OMFG, that was scary, and did not put them in a good(ish) mood.
So, i asked them what our route today was, and this woman goes and pulls out a map of europe and moves her finger across sweden and all that. JESUS i was thinking, then I said, "The ATS routing?"
So, she gives me the copy and then it's time to go - good or bad thing, you tell me!
On the ground I saw one KLM Asia 744, JABird MD11, Air Holland 757, EasyJet 737-700. We pushed back from D3 i think, and taxied out past the spectators deck, which was packed! Reached 01L for takeoff, flaps 5 were set and we roared down 01L and left Dutch soil, which was a shame, because AMS was wicked, and i plan to go back there in the new year, so watch out!
We had today and estimated flight time of about 2:20, and in that time we would cover 893nm, out alternates were EETN (Tallinn) 120nm, EFTP (Tampere) 127nm and ULLI (St, Petersburg) 228nm away from HEL.Fuel alternate was EFTU (Turku) 126nm away from HEL.
Climbed to FL330 initally, later to step to FL350, snacks were now served, and with me being in the last row, guess who got their meal last :S ( indicates eaten indicates left, and means wohoo!)
We were all given:
Chocolate Sponge
Salad
Coke
The clouds up there were wicked, i took loads of pics, and will give it my best attempt to make them good enough for here, esp. the sunset, which was beautiful!
The descent began into Helsinki, and we left the skies, and landed on Vantaa's runway 15 at arounbd 22:25 local, almost exactly on time, exited to the right and taxied to gate 23, I noticed lots of Finnair A320S movements, we taxied past the Evergreen 747 too
Pulled into the gate, and took a while for the door to be opened and to exit the a/c, where i was met by a lady and my 6 days in Finland had now begun with OH-LZA, and boy they were gonna be great!
July 26, 2002
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, KL1168
Helsinki-Vantaa (HEL/EFHK) to Amsterdam-Schiphol (AMS/EHAM)
Boeing 737-400 (B737-406) PH-BDR "Willem C Schouten"
Gate Departure Scheduled/Actual 1315/1322 Local Time
Gate Arrival Scheduled/Actual 1430/1428 Local Time
Economy Class, Seat 14A
Heres where my trip went a little bit silly, arrived in good time at the KLM desk in HEL, with OH-LZA, and gave the agent my tickets and passport. BUT, then she said to me that the UM fee hadnt been paid, although i had the service in BHX and AMS :S. Out comes the mobile to phone my Dad, who is forced to cough up the €60 extra Im sure i could've made my own way through fine, and i did try that, but at the end of the day thats how it turned out.
Our flight was expected to be delayed by 15mins, but that wasnt a problem to me, all the time left in Finland was gonna have to last
So instead of having a airport offical to take me to the gate, i got stuck with Alex again, sorry jk!! We went through security, and looked around some of the shops, shooting a couple of pics, which have yet to be touched up and added here, i hope .
Boarding time came, and Alex and I said our goodbyes with a firm handshake (bloody Finns ) And i was first to board, again Again asked for the cockpit visit pre-flight, granted. Met the co-pilot first, Captain was somewhere else, we talked about the SID from 22L and more stuff, he said we were due into AMS early, as loads were light.
So, sitting at Gate 23 in seat 14A, right on the wing, next to us were two Air Botnia RJ85s within 10mins, one departing, other one arriving and a SK MD80 parked 2 stands down from that too.
Taxi out was normal, flaps 5 set for takeoff (details l8r), and we held at ZD for 22L, the intersection.
After takeoff, went on the RUNEN SID, westerly headings.
Snack service was also initiated, but dissapointed at the choice of Chocolate Cake, Salad and Crackers, but i didnt complain and downed the cake
Heres where the story goes from great, to brilliant, over the next 45 minutes, my opinion of KLM was to go sky high
14A is an absolutely wicked seat, look towards the port wings light at the end, and you can see the reflection of the tail
Overall, the FA's and the aircraft are in better condition than on 1171, even though BDR was the first 734 for KLM
So, heres me, and im filling out my first ever "form" that i send up to the pilots. It contains details such as ATS routes, weights, fuel burn, V speeds and lots more things besides, TOW for example.
I got an in-flight cockpit visit, and went to talk to the Captain, who said that the flight today was only about 2:05, quicker than the AMS-HEL, scheduled at 2:25.
He said we would be approaching AMS from the North on the EEL (EELDE) Star, expecting rwy 27 for landing.
We went on the old ACARS system, and got some weather reports, from around 1205Z that day:
Landing was smooth, little bumpy on the approach, and we planted ourselves on 19R nicely, taxied in over the road bride and parked next to a Transavia 738 w/winglets in that special scheme (PH-HZU i think)
Overall this was my best flight ever, the friendliness of the crews, and the aircraft itself was just great
Takeoff weight: 52.1 tonnes, assumed temp of 42C. Anti-ice was off, we had 8480kg of fuel, 2400m of rwy to "play with", packs were on and flaps 5 set. The captain gave me the actual card with all that on too
Takeoff N1 was 91%, CRZ N1 86.4 at FL340. M76/TAS450. Estimated arrival of 1228Z, pushback at 1022Z and takeoff at 1030Z.
July 26, 2002
KLM uk Airlines, UK2049
Amsterdam-Schiphol (AMS/EHAM) to Birmingham - Elmdon (BHX/EGBB)
Fokker 100 (F-28-0100) G-UKFN
Gate Departure Scheduled/Actual 1645/1647 Local Time
Gate Arrival Scheduled/Actual 1655/1654 Local Time
Economy Class, Seat 10F
Back onto the F100 i go at gate D23, and again the 13 year old wonder has to duck his head
Put myself into 10F, on the right side, just in front of the wing
Quite lucky, taxied to 24, ahead was EasyJets newest a/c at that time, G-OSLH, her and a KLM MD-11 were in front of us before we left the great airport we call AMS
Lined up and took-off, no flaps , up to our crusing altitude of FL230.
After landing, parked at gate 54, right next to us was G-BYAU (BY OC 752) and a EAL 732 with a red tail.
Chatted to the pilots after, incidentally, both were called John, they said they work about 4.5hrs in a day (2 return trips), then the next day they're either on standby or they get a 12hr rest.
De-boarded, passed immigration and got my bags back, then met mum again in the arrivals, after one hell of a wicked week in good old Finland!
Overall, this was the one of the best times of my life, probably because i was on my own with a brilliant friend of mine, enjoying what we both love, Aviation.
Please take the time to view the movies, im sorry for the large sizes, but if you'd like a zip of them all, please dont hesitate to ask me, henry.lidster@btinternet.com
Cmk10 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 513 posts, RR: 4 Reply 8, posted (10 years 7 months 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 3648 times:
Excellent report! Reminds me of my UM days back in the long long ago. Ofcourse then I was flying LGA-GSO and that was quite easy. Except once when my flight was canceled but thats another story.
DC-10's Forever
"Traveling light is the only way to fly" - Eric Clapton
Shawn Patrick From United States of America, joined Jan 2000, 2588 posts, RR: 18 Reply 10, posted (10 years 7 months 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 3588 times:
Sponsor Message: 
From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2001, 2139 posts, 
, and the female F/O, oh boy, what an embarrisment!!
indicates eaten 
indicates left, and 
means wohoo!)
From Netherlands, joined Jul 2001, 146 posts, 
From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 135 posts, 
From Finland, joined Jun 2001, 1000 posts, 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
Sponsor Message: 
Printer friendly format
