This debate rages every time fuel jumps up a bit. I contend it's best to start the APU so you can shut down the engines immediately upon arrival at the gate. Then, you shut the APU down after ground power is connected--when the rampers have a chance. Now, I'm sure the suits in Flight Ops. (you know,...
Jump to postYeah, but can the rat drink martinis and hit on FA's? TC
Jump to postI know this is old news now, but here's my $.02 (or .01 GBP... <img src="/discussions/graphics/smilies/wink.gif" alt="Wink"> ) -- Other than we airline geeks, no one cares who's <acronym title="Royal Jordanian">RJ</acronym> they fly on. It's still a high-speed trash compactor. There are no "go...
Jump to postNo GPWS systems except maybe for high closure rate. They made a relatively slow descent into the swamp. I've been off the L1011 for 15 years so it's kind of fuzzy. Even today, there are ways to inadvertently--subtly circumvent all these safety systems. An attentive, experienced and well-trained pilo...
Jump to postBNA was a crew base for the F100. That's why commuting from BNA is a pain for current AA people. TC
Jump to postOk, let's have a little reason here... The bottom line is that you will ALWAYS need someone to fly the airplanes on board. Why? Because I want someone who has his or her a$$ on the line just like me running the show. I don't want to trust my life to some schmuck in the control room in <acronym title...
Jump to post<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=95% style="border-top: 1pt #28455E solid;border-right: 1pt #1B2E3F solid;border-bottom: 1pt #1B2E3F solid;border-left: 1pt #28455E solid;table-layout:fixed;border-spacing:0;padding:0;border-collapse: collapse;" bgcolor=#1E3951><tr><td><font size=2 face="ARIAL, Helv...
Jump to postA lot of this is posturing for negotiations. However, today, an <acronym title="American Airlines (USA)">AA</acronym> S80 Captain makes what a TWA DC9 Captain made in 1988--AFTER THE DRACONIAN PAY CUTS FORCED <acronym title="Air Nauru">ON</acronym> THEM <acronym title="OLD: Britannia Airlines (Unite...
Jump to postI actually missed a trip by trying to commute to <acronym title="New York - John F. Kennedy International (Idlewild) (JFK / KJFK), USA - New York">JFK</acronym> on the <acronym title="Chicago - Midway International (MDW / KMDW), USA - Illinois">MDW</acronym>-<acronym title="Cleveland - Hopkins Inter...
Jump to post#1--"Right inner, bridge, right at the wedge, 27L parallel follow the fourth <acronym title="United Airlines (USA)">UA</acronym> Guppy..." Oops. Sorry, had a flashback to 1988. Old School <acronym title="Chicago - O'Hare International (ORD / KORD), USA - Illinois">ORD</acronym>. <img src="/dis...
Jump to postWould you people get off the "AA pilots tanked the <acronym title="Chicago - O'Hare International (ORD / KORD), USA - Illinois">ORD</acronym>-<acronym title="Beijing - Capital (PEK / ZBAA), China">PEK</acronym> route" schtick? Arpey even admitted that they played hardball and drew a line in the sand...
Jump to postA friend at Gulf Air and <acronym title="Emirates (United Arab Emirates)">EK</acronym> both told me that these are good jobs if you don't have one. If I could do DEC at <acronym title="Etihad Airways (United Arab Emirates)">EY</acronym> on the 777, I'd be interested but I don't think things are happ...
Jump to postFatigue mirrors alcohol intoxication. The <acronym title="Helijet Airways (Canada)">JB</acronym> experiments confirmed that although they weren't the first. But, what are the odds... If running your crews ragged allows for a $10 savings on each ticket, the flying public will shout--WHOO HOO!!!  ...
Jump to postIt's nothing more than AMR treating the pax the way they treat the employees... TC
Jump to postTo add a different angle of the same job as Jetstar: I fly for a department that has 3 aircraft owned by 3 individuals. We are scheduled as far in advance as possible--sometimes we get several months notice of a trip (usually the long international trips) and sometimes we get the "how soon can you b...
Jump to postHaving a shiny new fleet matters only to we airliner geeks at A.net. Put new interiors in every so often and no one is the wiser. NWA kept their old fleet and updated the interiors. UAL bought a bunch of new airplanes. Both ended up in ch. 11. I expect to retire on the S80. <img src="/discussi...
Jump to postWhy not just go to Mexico and walk across the border. Problem solved. TC
Jump to postI didn't think Max Jet had the new generation 767-200ER (The kind Continental has.). I thought all theirs were older models (the early 767-200's converted to "ER" status). None of the 767-200ER's operated by the U.S. Legacys could do LON-<acronym title="Los Angeles - International (LAX / KLAX), USA ...
Jump to postThe hole in the sky while on the CIVET arrival into <acronym title="Los Angeles - International (LAX / KLAX), USA - California">LAX</acronym> I make in a <acronym title="Riga Airlines (Latvia)">GV</acronym> or GIV is the same size to a controller as the hole made by a 767. In fact, my aircraft is mo...
Jump to postThere was a 500D based in Chicago in the mid '80's (late, maybe?) that would fly into the airport I worked at in Indy that was painted like the Magnum aircraft. Back then, Allison had its flight test facility at the airport. We saw some cool stuff--C206 on floats with an A250, Helio courier w/A250, ...
Jump to postI've noticed a lot of countries that used to allow >250kias below 10k now have that restriction. Shame...
I still remember doing 320kias on downwind to Barajas in a 763 at 4,000'. Great fun! TC
I know 231's can be a little finicky to start with the fuel injection but the price seems reasonable if it's in good shape. There are Cherokees and 172's in the states that are selling for $130 (although they are much newer...). Maybe AOPA has a forum you could check on--there are more <acronym titl...
Jump to postI will say again what I told those who proclaimed that USAir would take the world by storm after exiting Ch.11 (the FIRST time...) : No company comes rocketing out of Ch. 11. You try to gain a little momentum and eake out a little operating profit (much easier now than when either USAir or UAL exite...
Jump to postI believe the L1011 that went from <acronym title="Tel Aviv (-Jaffa) - Ben Gurion (Lod) (TLV / LLBG), Israel">TLV</acronym>-<acronym title="Paris - Charles de Gaulle (Roissy) (CDG / LFPG), France">CDG</acronym> continued to <acronym title="Boston - General Edward Lawrence Logan International (BOS / ...
Jump to postI've found that if you're nice to them, they will be nice to you. There are exceptions but it's rare. I think it's crazy that crew members have to go through security and rampers and mechanics don't. I think flight crew should have a FAA <acronym title="Normandie Aviation (France)">ID</acronym> that...
Jump to postVirtually everyone in this country agrees that executive compensation is out of whack. Comparing what some executives make to others is like comparing how much loot the Mongols got versus how much the Huns got. Bottom line is that there is no loyalty in this or any other business. If those managers ...
Jump to postI was FE on that plane (at TWA) a few times. If I'd only known the history, I could have won a few beers... TC
Jump to postGraphic--HAL is being very polite and charitable. I think you will have a very different idea of how things work 10-15 years from now. The decision-making process in the cockpit is not democratic. The Captain has an obligation to CONSIDER all factors including input from the FO (and even OAL jumpsea...
Jump to postHis behavior was "unacceptable"? So is slashing his pay 30% (while giving the managment and bankruptcy lawyers millions in fees and bonuses). So is stripping his pension with no time to recover. So is instituting draconian, fatigue-inducing workrules then bashing the employees because sick use is up...
Jump to postYou have to at least send one a day from <acronym title="Atlanta - Hartsfield-Jackson International (The William B Hartsfield) (ATL / KATL), USA - Georgia">ATL</acronym> to <acronym title="Jacksonville - International (JAX / KJAX), USA - Florida">JAX</acronym>. Just to be consistent... <img sr...
Jump to postI'm guessing <acronym title="London - Heathrow (LHR / EGLL), United Kingdom">LHR</acronym> will be a sideshow and the big deal will be a cross-investment between <acronym title="American Airlines (USA)">AA</acronym> and <acronym title="British Airways">BA</acronym>. I believe this agreement allows f...
Jump to postThe aircraft doesn't have to descend to 10,000' from a performance standpoint. Most aircraft can "drift down" to an altitude in the 20,000 to 28,000 ft. range.
Hope this helps. TC
Who can buy aircraft paying out of pocket? AA has indicated they will wait for a new generation 737 or Airbus before embarking on a fleet replacement for the 80.
They are supposedly working on winglets for the 80's. We'll see. TC
IMO, ASE is an accident waiting to happen--again. Too many people push (or are pushed) to get in there to avoid the "life altering inconvenience" of driving from <acronym title="Eagle (Vail / Eagle) - Eagle County Regional (EGE / KEGE), USA - Colorado">EGE</acronym> or RIL. C680--You must not operat...
Jump to postIf you're a non-rev and absolutely HAVE to be somewhere, buy a ticket! Those morons who try to non-rev home the day before they have to be at work/school whatever get what they deserve. <acronym title="American Airlines (USA)">AA</acronym> is just making sure the agents don't have to deal with <acro...
Jump to postYOWza--Sorry but we've bagged our quota of tin-horn dictators for a while. Maybe the French can step up? Nah, there's no oil. <img src="/discussions/graphics/smilies/wink.gif" alt="Wink"> <acronym title="Air Tanzania">TC</acronym> P.S.--That Chinese version of the Antonov is one sturdy beast. ...
Jump to postIf you are comparing 757's to MD80's you might as well be comparing a Range Rover to a 80's Suburban. The Range Rover is nicer and performs better but the Sub keeps humming along, is simple to maintain and cheap to own. I enjoy flying the 757 but the 80 has a special place in my heart. The 80 has so...
Jump to postThe -34's were originally ordered by the Navy but cut in a budget crunch. They had the fore and aft center fuel tanks. I think one even had a mid-center fuel tank but it was a long time ago. They flew ok. I think the MTOW was around 115k. (Normal -30 MTOW was 108k.) The -33CF TWA had was a piece of ...
Jump to postThe sole reason for the 330 order was to show that Icahn was indeed serious about running an airline. It was all for show.
We knew at the time that those planes would never hit the property.TC
UAL was considering this in the late '90's for the <acronym title="Chicago - O'Hare International (ORD / KORD), USA - Illinois">ORD</acronym>-<acronym title="CURRENT: Hong Kong - Chek Lap Kok International (HKG / VHHH), China - Hong Kong AND OLD: Hong Kong - Kai Tak International (HKG / VHHH) (close...
Jump to postAll I ever wanted to do was fly. I found that my eyesight wasn't 20/20 when I was 12. At the time, you had to have perfect eyesight to fly for the airlines. I gave up and didn't pursue aviation. Finally, after college, I decided that even if I was "just" a flight instructor, it would be preferable t...
Jump to postWill the tower and CVR transcripts be made public? If not, then someone is trying to protect someone else. They usually can't wait to make the transcripts public. Why not now? Those of us in the business need to know what transpired to cause this accident. Something went horribly awry and the travel...
Jump to postLeft <acronym title="Indianapolis - International (IND / KIND), USA - Indiana">IND</acronym> early this morning and there was an <acronym title="American Airlines (USA)">AA</acronym> 767 at the <acronym title="American Airlines (USA)">AA</acronym> gates. Is this scheduled, diversion or charter? They...
Jump to postATA always made money and did well flying charter. They ALWAYS lost money and got into trouble when they ventured into scheduled service.
They are viable as a charter airline. They are not viable as a LCC. TC
If you have to ask, you probably can't afford one. Generally, even the less expensive warbirds (T-6, T-28, T-34) are owned by people making low 6-figures. A MiG or Yak-18/Nanjing can be had relatively cheaply but the MiG's are maintenance intensive and you have to scrounge for parts. I won't even me...
Jump to postI've always turned the lights on below 18,000 because you are into the airspace that allows VFR operations--A<acronym title="Air Tanzania">TC</acronym> won't necessarily be talking to them or even know they are there. The only exception to that is the DC9/MD80--the landing lights extend into the air...
Jump to postFortunately, in the U.S., crews involved in aircraft accidents are not criminally charged. That is one of my greatest fears when flying overseas--even a blown tire can result in criminal charges in many countries. There will be much to be learned from this accident. Hopefully, the Government and Com...
Jump to postWhenever a <acronym title="Safair (South Africa)">FA</acronym> or pax said they heard an unusual noise I always went back to checke it out (can't do that these days). You just never know when they are right about something being wrong. I doubt there was any way for the pax to have known what runway ...
Jump to postWhat you might do is use the ATC thing as a fall back. Set a point in time that you have to make the decision to go the ATC route and if your flying career isn't progressing to the point that you'd like it, pull the trigger and try for the ATC program. If all you've ever wanted to do is fly, nothing...
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