Blogging Contests

I've never really believed in actually tried any of these "Leave a Comment" and win type deals, but a friend of mine just won, so I thought that I might give it a try.  It's one of those things that you think could never happen until you know someone that has won.  It's definitely kind of a cool gig and I wish that I could have some random give aways.  Maybe just sending out my old DVDs or something like that.  =)  Anyways, head over to http://biglakersfan.blogspot.com/2007/12/great-runs-athletics-shoes-giveaway.html if you want to give it a try.  There are many others out there, but I'll leave it up to you to find the those ones.  This is just one of the few that I thought was actually worth while. 

I still don't know if there is any catch to these such as a harvesting bot for emails and adresses, but so far, its been all good.  Go check it out!

Next-Gen DVDs: Advantage, Sony

I'm not at all bias because I own a PS3, but I've always thought of Blu-ray to be a little more triumphant even after all its short comings.  I just hope that the latest news of Warner Brothers choosing sides in the beginning of next year will make Michael Bay and Paramount cry because of their support of the latter.  It's just ridiculous how much the HD-DVD camp paid to have the exclusive rights.  Now, its Warner Bros. who are playing hooky and are trying to lure as much money as they can from either format.  In the end, its definitely the consumers who lose out buying into one format and just hoping that it'll prevail.  Wasn't it nice when we just had DVDs on the shelves and nothing else? 

Until the Blu-ray camp can put out a low cost device, it'll be a while before more people end up picking up a player.  Thanks to the price drop of the PS3, more and more people have been bought into the idea of a 2 in 1 where the Xbox 360 requires an add-on which by the way is now only $129. 

BusinessWeek released an article yesterday late afternoon concerning the latest in the format wars.  Next-Gen DVDs: Advantage, Sony

image provided by Gizmodo

Gmail + AIM = Chat Heaven

Gmail just released seem-less integration with AIM directly right in your mail account.  It's awesome and you have to do it!  Highlight your buddy window and then up in the menu comes the option to log on to your AIM account.  Input your username and password, and *BOOM* just like that your contacts are imported right into your buddy list!!!  I think I'm the first to blog this bad boy!

Gmail Blog = Crazy Delicious!

Flight Benefits No More

As of December 4th, 2007, Delta and Atlantic Southeast Airlines have terminated their previous non-revenue agreement and have embarked upon a bumpy, unfriendly to all employee change to their reservation system.  My first of many stories I'm sure, but here goes.

My friend and I went down to Daytona Beach, Florida to get our first class medicals by a gentleman of the name Dr. Robert Kurrle M.D., who by they way is really friendly and thorough.  We were on different flights out of Atlanta to Daytona Beach but we wound end up being on the same return flight back to Atlanta.  Because we would begin paying $5.00 per leg and approximately 1 cent or so every time we non-revved (which is a fee compared to free in the previous agreement), we decided that we should both list on the jumpseat.  I went ahead first and got listed and then Matt followed suit but was then told that he was kicked back to S3C "Non-Rev" status.  That definitely surprised us as it seems to allude to the fact that he might have to pay for this leg back!  It's quite ridiculous that other airlines can ride free using "jumpseat" privileges, but we can't because we are ASA?  There was another gentleman riding but he was non-ASA and he was rolled back from jumpseat to S4C and didn't have to pay!

I could be jumping to conclusions but its not the same friendly system that we once had.  Our parents, significant others and dependants are still "free" on ASA, but on mainline Delta and other Delta Connection Carriers, Skywest Inc. has agreed to some bogus deal where we would have to begin paying..  Where is the reason to be a pilot?  We have lost our flying privileges, the ease of going through security without having to wear our uniforms, let alone not going at all before, the prestige that the uniform once held and the pay rates that the Delta pilots use to get or the entire industry for that matter!?  It's definitely no wonder our younger generations are not at all enticed by this career.  Next summer should prove to have many more canceled flights due to crew shortages.  We have approximately the same number of pilots here as when I started, but I have already moved up half way up the First Officer List.  Everyone is leaving!

Update: We contacted our ALPA representative and he said that they have been trying to work out those kinks, but because we have a PPR number, we are rolled back to non-rev rather than just jumpseat.  So, in other words,  WE HAVE TO PAY!!!  Tell me again why?  I think that I need to go international. 

Last Month on Probation

They say that a lot can happen in the last month of probation at any given company and so far, its has all but been true for me in the last week of flying.  From having a fuel leak (at the gate good thing) to spotting a knick on one of the fan blades on the right engine, all these flights of late are just full of little surprises. 

I had a chance today to fly a charter flight which included flying the aircraft to Louisville with only 1 person onboard who was the charter coordinator, then to Gainesville, FL with 30 people who consisted of the Florida Gators Womens' College Basketball Team, coaches and assistants and then back to Atlanta with just the flight coordinator.  Food and drink was provided so the flight was extra awesome.  There were just a few things though that made my list of quirky.  Here's what the WX looked like on the way to Louisville (KSDF).  

For one, while I was running around the aircraft doing my inspection preflight prior to leaving for Atlanta from Gainesville, it was when I noticed that one of the fan blades on the right engine had a small knick in it.  It definitely didn't look good at all, so I called the captain and he too agreed that it was a good find and that we should probably do something about it.  We don't have a maintenance facility in GNV, but someone was able to come out 40 minutes later and take care of the issue.  It was basically written off and to be looked at for when we got back to Atlanta.  That was that and it was really that simple.  But, there were thoughts of get home-itis and I prevented them from reasoning out the situation.  It was a good thing and proved to be of no incident.  We couldn't even have been sure if it just occurred or if it had always been there but hidden because of the blades position.  You see, the blade was at a 12:00 position when I noticed the problem, but when I was pre-flighting it at the other stations, I never saw anything.  There isn't any proof that we caused it or anything, but bottom line is that I saw it that one time and that it was to be determined by us the next steps in solving the problem.  Here is a picture of the fan blade. 

I'm home now and am just writing about what happened tonight, but I feel like I'm going to learn quite a bit in the next couple of weeks.  Wish me luck!

Traffic

My website has gotten a tremendous influx of traffic ever since it was added to stumbleupon and tagged as "aviation related."  I'm ecstatic but the help.  It can all be attributed back to the comments that I left about the Sorapot Tea Pot designed by Joey Roth as he's the one who added my website to stumbleupon.  Thanks Joey! I've also gotten hits from the stories that I have been writing in my experiences flying.  It's just nice to see the influx. 

Sorapot - A Must for Tea Enthusiasts

For anyone that is drinking tea, wants to start drinking tea or for anyone that is even slightly interested in the world of teas, you can jump start your hobby with this new tea pot designed by artist Joey Roth.  After almost a full year of constant retooling, Joey Roth has finalized the design and has made the Sorapot available with an initial run of 300 pots.  There's not much else that you can say about the pot except for the fact that its beautiful!  It's something that you can display, converse about and even watch as your tea leaves unfurl in the glass tube.  Not ever has tea been brewed this elegantly.  Some people are already referring to this pot as the one that would have been if designed by apple.  What do you guys think?

Below is a picture of the final design for the Sorapot. 

Pre-order yours now! / Portfolio pictures

United Flight 7244 Skids Off of Runway in DSM

Earlier today, a United Express Flight operated by fellow regional carrier, Mesa Airlines skid off a runway in Des Moines, Iowa due to extreme rain showers icing over the runway.

The plane was taxiing toward one of the airport's two runways at 7:40 a.m. when the pilot made a turn onto the runway. The plane's right wheel slid on some ice and then sunk into the adjacent grass, according to Craig Smith, the airport's aviation director.

Here are some pictures below of the accident.   I mean, take a look at that runway!  It's blanketed!

It's definitely sad that perhaps the pilots thought that they had to go or didn't know any better, but I have to say that the airline industry and the airport authority should know better than this than to even let the plane depart the gate.  I hope that I don't have to face any of these conditions in the upcoming winter months.  I'm going to Louisville, Kentucky tomorrow and their forecast isn't looking too bright! 

News Article (desmoinesregister.com)

Jumpseating Onboard Delta 757

Happy Dec. 1st!!

Christmas is almost here so if you haven't started your shopping then you better get going! The malls are going to be crazy for the net 24 days as we Americans charge up and max out our credit cards. I don't really want or need anything except maybe a voucher for 1 month's credit towards my loan payment! =) Just kidding. Here's an awesome video of some pwned-age of a child getting wrecked on a slide not once, but he goes back and tries for a second time. Enjoy and Happy Christmas!!!

Slide Owns Kid Twice - Watch more free videos

Bird Guts

There is an interesting photo slide show posted on Airline Pilot Central.  You should definitely check it out and see what a bird can actually do to an aircraft on takeoff or landing.  For that matter, it can happen anytime an aircraft is cruising at the birds flight level.  It's pretty ridiculous!  Now serving hot meals on today's flight, fresh flock of geese.  Served as is. 

Waking Up to a Broken Aircraft

After getting to bed around 12:00AM an then waking up around 5:30AM for a relaxing start to my day, I got dressed, dily-dalied a little bit and then ended up strolling downstairs for some early breakfast.  A really relaxing way to start out in the morning, but when we arrived at the aircraft to begin some first flight of the day tests, the captain noticed that the Cargo Firex Standby Light was not illuminating during the bottle test.  So, what does that mean?  It means that we cannot continue on this flight with baggage in the cargo bay.  This stems from a ValueJet "AirTran" accident that had  a cargo fire and ended up blowing up in the sky.  What are we forced to do now?  I have no idea, but I do know that I'm not really getting paid for the time that I'm spending just sitting here in the aircraft blogging.  I'm not connected to any internet service either so this is one of those post later type deals. 

Maybe all these maintenance issues comes from the fact that my captain will be leaving for Northwest ina couple of days.  I don't know how many pilots I have flown with that have ends up leaving the company but its like everyone that flies with me gets some goo karma and moves on or maybe its just that i scare them away!  :-)

Fuel Leak? / Pilot Hiring

Well, after being late in the morning due to boarding, late out of the Bahamas due to a malfunctioning left pack, and late in Atlanta due to maintenance on a tire repair, what else could have went wrong?  Well, as it turns out, after I competed my walk around 40 minutes prior to departure, right before we closed the door, a ramp agent came up the stairs and said that I should inspect some liquid that was leaking from the aft fuselage body.  I approached the area, touched the fluid, smelled it and knew that we were going to be a while.  I called the captain outside to inspect the issue and from there on, it was only a matter of time before we were require to deplane, and re-board another aircraft, get it ready to fly, fuel it up and preflight it. 

The issue that I had was that we were being told that the APU could be deferred because it had its own separate fuel line and therefore if we did not operate it, we should be fine.  Now, let me just ask, would you be fine if you knew your plane had a leak and they still wanted you to ride in it.  I mean, yeah, we wouldn't use the APU, but maintenance wasn't even sure, at the time, exactly what the problem was.  Kind of sketchy eh?  The maintenance guy told me that their policy had a loophole in it and it was 1) They were not allowed to defer anything on the aircraft if it was leaking any type of fluid but 2) If the item was leaking and stopped leaking being tagged inoperable, then the aircraft was okay to go. 

That's that really besides that we got to the overnight (White Plains, NY) 2 hours later than scheduled and the captain and I went to an awesome Italian Restaurant in downtown Armonk call La Scala where I had some Veal alla Scala.  It was tremendous!!!  So fresh and so good!  It cost a pretty penny but as I've always said, good food has no price.  You can't eat your money either so at least enjoy it!

I read an interesting article tonight on Star-Telegram.com about the state of the the airline industry in reference to hiring pilots.  I think that you might find it disconcerning, but I don't blame you.  I want to assure you that I got some of the best training, but I did pay heavily for it.