It's over...HP

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Well, I finally finished Harry Potter this past week. I definitely believe that it’ll make a great movie. I can’t wait either. It was the first book that I read on “e-book” (PDF on my Treo 650) format and I have to say that it kept me busy enough to where I’m definitely looking forward to reading another book via the same method. I saw the Sony E-Book reader at Fry’s the other day and was impressed by it, but it’ll be a while until that whole thing catches up with the market. I liked it a lot and but who knows when more people will be reading their books that way. Seems like we are still a long ways off.

I'm back in Wildomar this week for a short visit. I decided not to come right after my trip on Sunday and boy, I don't think that I've ever been that tired before after 4 days of flying. It's was just exhausting. I hit the pillow and didn't wake up for about 10 hours. Probably the best that I've gotten in quite a while. It's quite difficult to keep moving from bed to bed but the one that I got in the Farm House is definitely one that I'm loving. My mom has this heating rock bed pad thingy in the Wildomar house and it's great too. I've been sleeping well there too. The only thing that I disklike about going home is that the dogs are just always pissing and barking and just annoying! The house is finally getting organized a little bit, but we'll see how it turns out before the end of the year. I know that I want to live in San Diego, but the more and more I commute, the more and more I realize that I'm wasting about 8 hours a week on just flying for free. Not to mention the time that I spend trying to get a flight home and walking and waiting in the terminal in the Atlanta, Ontario or San Diego Airports. It's still definitely worth it, but we'll see how the next few months turn out.

airTran Business!

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I'm currently riding on AirTran Business Class this afternoon on my way back to Atlanta. It ended up working out where Delta Flight 1460 was full, an S2 wouldn't work and the jumpseat was occupied by a fellow pilot whom I could have kicked off, but I wouldn't want that to happen to me. So, once again, on this roundtrip, I have done my part in the continuing effort to help out people. It's a good deal. I of course ended up riding on AirTran. I'm almost willing to continue doing it this way because the business seat is that much better. I'm loving it. There isn't a movie or TV's, but the friendliness of the Flight Crew, XM and variety of whatever really is just a good change.

I enjoyed hanging out with the parents and the cousins once again. It tried to upgrade my mother's computer but the RAM that her computer uses isn't available anymore even at Fry's! It sucks! Now, I have to order it from newegg and somehow then pick it up etc. It's just a little bit of trouble, but should work out. I also ended up fixing up my cousins computer and ordered up the internet for them. I have to fixed it up for them next Tuesday and take my mom and sister to LAX to fly to the Philippines. I wish that I could have gone, but oh well. My job is just too demanding.

I'm getting really close to my 2nd year mark where I'll actually be able to afford a somewhat minor upgrade in lifestyle. It's getting a little harder here and there especially now that I have a day line. I notice that I am actually spending a lot more on food these days as I've neglected to pack a lunch. It's become a little cumbersome, but I might do something about it this time around. The peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are an awesome snack to have and I might end up bringing some slimfasts with me as well and just throw them in the ice drawer. Tomorrow is setup to be a really long day blocked to a long 7 hours and 52 minutes! That means that I'm basically maxed out according to the FARs. The overnight in Greensboro though isn't bad as I remembered that there is a rib dinner special available. I'm definitely going to try to hook that up!

a renewal...

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I flew into Ontario, CA last night and it was a great ride riding shot again. Got to meet the Delta pilot who rode my jump seat a couple of months ago and now I finished riding his. Coincidence really. Adelle and I then ventured off to Sizzler where I got my fix on. I think that I'm set for another 10 years now. I can't believe how familiar the taste was. It's identical, but I guess that's a good thing from time to time to try something you once had a lot of.

Anyways, after talking to one of my friends tonight of a little bit, he got me thinking about my real estate licence and I noticed that mine just expired. I have of course 2 years to get it back up to date but I think that I'm just going to get it over with right now and do what I have to do. It's a simple 15 hour course really and should be fun. I get to learn something else besides flying.

I have my first LOFT coming up on the 27th of this month and I'm actually a little scared of it. I still haven't had my line check yet and I'm still anticipating someone riding along with me soon. My landings have gotten better but its not the butter glide I want. I was landing flat for a while and that's not fun.

I had a chance to catch up on Entourage and it was damn funny! You have to keep up. Chargers apparently were rather sloppy but I guess that's how the looked in the pre-season last year. I'm sure that it'll wake them up a bit...hopefully!

Quote...

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." -Robert Frost

I just felt like I wanted to start this entry off his way...here's the entry that should have been placed here yesterday afternoon or something.

August 8th, 2007
Today was definitely a good day to wake up to. Besides the small note of being pretty burned from hanging out at the beach all day yesterday with the cousins, it was good. I felt like I had yet another good time in San Diego relaxing after a gruesome 4 day trip. I was also still in San Diego just feeling good to be home in a city that I love and where I am surrounded by so many friends and family.

I'm actually starting to feel like I need a place of my own. It would be nice to be able to come "home" to something each time I'm done with a flight and just relax. I dislike imposing on my girlfriend and her roommates and I definitely don't necessarily feel like the Farm House (a.k.a. Loxford Lounge Crashpad) is like my own place at all. The house in Palm Coast, Florida was the last place where I felt like home. I plan on going back ASAP to take care of the grass and various home owner things that I need to look over, but I guess I really wouldn't mind "living" there. The last time I was there in December, I really felt like I could find peace there. Besides the heat and humidity, I was getting use to it. Next to the house that I grew up in, it was the 2nd longest place that I lived at. We'll see how things go in the next few weeks. See how the commute is and stuff after my next visit there. I don't have a car there tough so renting would just be more of a hassle and yet another expense to my already so little regional pilot wage. I'm also thinking of driving back down there on a Sunday only to drive back on Wednesday so at least I could "move" more stuff out of there. To where, I haven't a clue. I don't even remember what I have left there. Maybe I'll see how much it costs to rent a car and move it from Daytona to Atlanta. I have no idea on how to ship things back home or of course to where the heck home would be. I just have a lot of books and clutter really. I also thought that leaving some clothes there would be beneficial if I needed them in some distant future. One thing is for sure that I need to get my motorcycle gear back to ATL or SAN so that I could get back into it. I don't have a bike or anything, but I just want to be prepared.

I'm gearing up for another 4 day trip. Make sure to click on my calendar above. If you'll take notice, I'm going to have some early duty-ins again such as 5:30AM, 6:30AM...I can't hardly wait again. I like getting in early to the hotel so that I could rest but I definitely don't want a repeat of my 3 hours afternoon nap. That messed me up so bad to where I wasn't able to get back to bed till around 3:00AM with a duty in of 5:30AM. Oh well...here goes to my overnight in Greensboro, Alexandria, and Montreal for the upcoming week. Of course, I rinse and repeat the following week. =)

Questions?

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This are a couple of questions that some people have asked me through email and I just wanted to post them here. Basically, I'm copping out of another day of blogging. I am in no sense bitter but I'm just telling you how it is! Enjoy!

How many hours do you work a week? And what type of schedule do you keep?
Well, currently, I am on a 4 days on, 3 days off type of schedule. That consists of about 20-25 flight hours for those four days but working anywhere from 6-11 hour days in terms of total duty. Total duty consists of the time in between flights and the other times in terms of waiting for you aircraft, arriving 45-60 minutes early prior to you trip, etc. One day, I flew 4 hours but was on duty for about 14. If you were to calculate how much I got in pay that day, I receive 4 * 19.02 + 14 8 1.5 (which is my per diem rate at ASA) = $97.08 which then further equates to about $6.90 /hr. We are limited to a scheduled duty day of 14 but can be extended due to weather / company delays to 16 hours. Don't let the pay get you down but you can do more research at www.airlinepilotcentral.com <-- they have all the payscales there for you.

Does it rotate or is it pretty much set?
We have a bidding schedule like most airlines which consists of you choosing what type of schedule you want for the month in advance in terms of what days on or off you want. For the new month of August, I am working Thursday - Sunday the entire month. That is my set schedule. Next month, as my seniority goes up, I can get a better schedule with semi weekends off or whatever days that I might need next month off. In the beginning, because you are junior, you will be on reserve for a little while which basically means that the days that you are on duty, you have about 2 hours to show up to the airport and be ready for a flight when operations call you. You are not going to get paid either until you show up at the airport for that assignment.

What is a typical day for you as an airline pilot?
It's really hard to type this all out. I would much prefer if you would give me a call and ask me so that I can explain it to you. Today for instance, I had to show up at work by 1505 that meant that I left my house by 1405 so that I can get to the employee parking lot, park my car, take the employee shuttle to the crew lounge (not a lounge by any means) and check in then hurry to my aircraft in order to arrive 45 minutes prior to my departure time which was 1605. I flew my trip today which included a aircraft that had the autopilot deferred so that was a task in and of itself to Brunswick, Georgia and back. I logged a total of 1.9 hours flight time and arrive back home at 2000. So, I was on duty for about 5 hours, I works only 1.9, I got about $50.00 but because I was junior manned for this trip (they assigned it to me outside of my schedule that i bid for last month) I will be getting time and half or the greater of 3.5 times my regular wage rate which in this case is greater. 3.5 * 19.02.

Are there any other programs/ duty tasks that an airline pilot has to take care of other than basic pilot shenanigans?
Taxes are definitely a different type of deal as an airline pilot. You can write off a lot of things that are incidental to you job and your per diem is non-taxable too. You have to learn all that stuff that has to do with taxes as a pilot. Totally different. You just have to also be able to learn fast, get along with a whole slew of different types of characters, and just deal with a lot of BS. That's what it basically comes down to. I have a crash pad in ATL which I pay for about $200.00 a month so that means that I share a room with 2 other guys. They are my friends so its all good. I commute to ATL from San Diego so that's a kicker. It makes me a little tired, but ATL isn't that great in comparison. I have friends and family there so its all good and worth it to me.

What are some of the advantages/ disadvantages of working for the airlines?
The travel benefits are the best, but as far as traveling while working (like having an overnight in Albany, GA) isn't going to make it worth it. The disadvantage is that it isn't like it use to be. That's basically it. The travel benefits are also impossible to take advantage of during the summer when everyone is travelling because you probably won't be able to get on due to the full loads.

What happens to a pilot if he/she can’t maintain a class one flight physical? Do they keep them or kick them out?
There's a chance to somehow get it back through the help of the union / FAA but it depends on whether you have been here "long enough". I heard of a guy losing his medical, and now he's an instructor. If you cannot maintain a class I then of course, you cannot be a commercial airline pilot or act as PIC (Captain) If you weren't here that long to learn the gig, then I'm not sure what they would do with you because you aren't worth that much to them. We are just a commodity.

What’s the upgrade training like for the airline?
Upgrade training is a two week course where you go through all the things of being a Captain. Learning the checklists, what do to here and there, making sure that you have some type of command authority and that you just know your aircraft out and in. I'm not sure because obviously I haven't crossed that bridge yet. My Captain this afternoon said that she was notified 2 days prior and that she had to learn everything really really quickly.

Is it best to get into smaller Regional airlines before getting into a larger company i.e. Delta (that is, of course, you have a choice)?
I personally don't see a difference. If you could skip the CFI gig, and the regional gig too then all the more to you. You might have some people in your class that think you might not belong there, but who are they to judge. You definitely learn quite a lot in the regionals but a major is where you want to end up anyways. I have heard of some guys making it a career and I have in no doubt that if it happened to be that way that its all good. In the end, you fly planes!


As far as the CAPT program is concerned, what was the hardest part of it? Do you have any suggestions to better prep for it, or rather, get through it?

Study hard, know your material and just keep positive. Everyone there is there to teach you and you are there to absorb as much as you can in as little time. It's a great environment that promotes learning but if is up to you to make that your advantage. If you really want to prep for it, just start reading and learning. Learn about the weather. www.aviationweather.gov There are numerous websites to help you out. I mean, its all over the internet!

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I answered your questions the best that I could and I hope that I was able to give you some insight. Take it easy and I hope to see you on the line soon!

August Schedule

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Back by popular demand, I just posted my new final schedule for August. I hope that if any of you guys / gals find yourself in the town that I will be overnighting in, don't hesitate to give me a call. I'm usually down to hang out and do stuff. As before in July, I will be off Mondays through Wednesdays. I'm starting to really feel the fatigue of a month's schedule of flying a lot, but I have to say that I'm excited for the per diem in my check this upcoming 15th of August. It's definitely going to help offset a little of my unnecessary expenditures. Adelle was in town this past three days that I had off and the following week (July 30 - August 1st) I will be visiting my cousins in Edmonton, Canada. That should be fun! I can't hardly wait for that trip. When Adelle was here, we got to spend some time doing the things that one must do while in Atlanta...go to the Delta Museum, and check out the world's largest granite rock, Stone Mountain. It was definitely an awesome hike up the mountain and I'm really glad that I got to do it with Adelle. It was a lot of fun and I really think that I will be undertaking a lot more trails of such in the south here. I have to admit that it was really hot, but it was definitely a great workout! Here's a picture of us at the top!

Anyways, my flight tonight into Fort Wayne was a little exciting with a traffic resolution where I had to pull up quite a bit in order to avoid a collision and the fact that we ended up a little high on the approach into runway 5. It was, of course, of no incident, but it was definitely something that is constantly reminding us of why there are still two human bodies at the controls of an aircraft to where they can make the right (well most of the time) assumption about the current situation and how to handle the aircraft. I have a great Captain once again on this trip and its just awesome how I keep on getting the good ones. I haven't had one incident yet, but lets not jinx this.

As a side note, I'm not sure if you guys have noticed but right next to the title of my blog appears little entries from Twitter that is more up to date and current than these long entries. It's been hard to update once again because like I have mentioned before, I've been getting exhausted on these trips. Oh yeah, the National Mediation Board also just announced that they want the ASA ALPA Committee to meet again with the ASA Management in order to come to an agreement! It's just preposterous how long we have been at it and that these people think that we will come to a resolution soon. We need to take action and really just start to do something about it. Oh well, the life that I chose to live...go figure. I wanted a challenge and I got one!