The Best Spelling of Jessica
Definitely the best spelling I've seen of Jessica!
Another Take on Pilot vs. Co-Pilot
I'll add my two cents soon but for now, here's another take from NYC Aviation on the topic of pilot vs. co-pilot.
Now on to pilot vs co-pilot. I’m not sure why or how this perception came to be, but it seems that much of the general public doesn’t think the co-pilot is a real pilot or is somehow grossly inferior to the actual “pilot pilot.” To better describe their roles, let’s get away from pilot and co-pilot, because they’re both pilots, and start with the actual industry nomenclature. We have a captain and a first officer. Both pilots have ATPs and type ratings to fly their assigned aircraft. In fact, when a captain and a first officer are paired together to fly, they typically split the flying 50/50. If the pairing has them working 4 flights together, the captain will act as flying pilot for two flights, and non-flying pilot for two flights. The primary distinction between the roles of the captain and the first officer, is that the captain carries the weight of responsibility and authority. The captain, or pilot-in-command, in addition to being proficient at flying the aircraft, also assumes the role of in-flight manager. This role of authority is often more effectively accomplished when the captain is not piloting the aircraft, especially in an abnormal or emergency situation. With the first officer at the controls, the captain is allowed to widen his or her scope of attention, to be able to gather input from all available resources – from the first officer, the flight attendants, dispatchers and air traffic controllers to determine the course of action that would result in the most positive outcome.
via NYC Aviation
Men Lactating Doesn't Mean We Breastfeed!!!
This latest ruling is baffling. Not only is it just unbelievable but crazy?!?! What is our world coming to? Nationwide is definitely not on your side.
Part of the court's reasoning was, according to Galen Sherwin of the American Civil Liberties Union, “that even if Angela had been fired because she was breast-feeding, that was not sex discrimination, in part because men can lactate under certain circumstances.”
via Slate
Tales from the Cockpit
It's pretty awesome how a foreign carrier like KLM is able to post videos such as these that educate the public on what we pilots really do. This is just Part One of a great series. Yes, we actually do touch and play with all those buttons and switches on the panels and even some of the callouts are similar too. As you can see, even with the autopilot on, there is still a lot of continuous monitoring until it is taken back into manual control prior to landing but in this case, the Captain is demonstrating an autoland sequence.
I wish that I could share with you my personal experiences and videos. Maybe sometime in the future with permissions from the FAA, VP of Flight Ops, Safety, etc... you get the point. A lot of hoops for this kind of educational video in the US.
Dashcam Captures TransAsia ATR72 Plane Crash!
This is a ridiculous video from a taxi cab dashcam of the TransAsia Flight GE235 that just crashed moments ago. We'll be hearing a lot more of this accident throughout the day and I'll be including updates as well. Almost surreal.
Unfortunately, today's accident takes place just less than a year after another TransAsia ATR 72-500 crashed near Magong Airport (MZG) Taiwan last July resulting in more fatalities.
Here's another view from another car further back.
Update from Popular Mechanics:
What we know: - TransAsia flight GE 235 crash landed into the Keelung River near Taipei. - The aircraft lost contact shortly after takeoff. - Reuters reports at least nine were killed.
Update, Wednesday, 12:46 AM ET: Rescue efforts are underway in Taiwan after a TransAsia flight GE 235 hit an elevated bridge and crashed into the Taipei River around 10:45 AM local time. At least 9 were killed so far in the crash, according to Reuters.
The flight had just taken off from the Taipei Songshan Airport, headed toward the Kinmen island chain. The cause of the crash of TNA 235, an ATR-72 propeller plane, isn't yet known. Dozens of passengers still await rescue — 58 total were onboard the flight. The dramatic video and pictures cropping up on social media are staggering; footage of the crash was caught on several drivers' dashcams.
Aviation enthusiasts chiming in posting their observations on twitter:
Do You Actually Fly the Plane? →
And a copilot becomes a captain not by virtue of skill or experience, but rather when his or her seniority standing allows it. And not every copilot wants to become a captain right away. Airline seniority bidding is a complicated thing, and a pilot can often have a more comfortable quality of life — salary, aircraft assignment, schedule and choice of destinations — as a senior copilot than as a junior captain. Thus, at a given airline, there are plenty of copilots who are older and more experienced than many captains.
One of the best paragraphs that sums up who the "co-pilot" of an airliner really is or can be. I had no choice whatsoever in my progression. It took me seven years to the day to where I was able to hold a Captain seat at my previous airline and now that I've moved on, I'm back to being a First Officer / Co-Pilot / Co-Captain / Right Seat by virtue of my hire date. It will take pilots above me leaving or retiring and / or the airline expanding with more aircraft and routes before I can hold the title of Captain again. Even at that point, it'll also depends on where I am in my life in terms of having to be away more since I'll be on reserve. More on that later.
Back to the topic, I've known Captains downgrade to First Officer due to a lifestyle change where they wanted more time at home. Some are able to afford to take the 35% pay cut but in all circumstances, their skills did NOT degrade just by switching seats or epaulets. The media needs to get this right and do a better story overall on a pilot's life. I'm starting to get rather annoying. Just my Tuesday rant.
Make sure to read the entire post via Patrick Smith's AskThePilot
Come Fly with Me!
I can't wait to venture out to some new Blue cities! Come fly with me on an "Even More Space" ticket or "Mint" yourself after February 14th. Better yet, don't wait for me to fly ya! Take a vacay now or if you want, catch me around NYC sitting reserve who knows where.
Brenthaven Collins Tech Pack 60% off!
For a cool $19.95 (down from $49.95) go grab a stylistic pack / satchel / murse or man bag to hold all your goods whilst traveling to the local coffee shop for a flat white. Brenthaven just slashed the price of their Collins Tech Pack by 60% and that makes it a wonderful steal!
The construction is beautiful and is sure to hold your Moleskine, pens and protect your iPad using their "High Density Foam Protection System"! Oh yeah, did I forget about Brenthaven's lifetime guarantee too! If this sale doesn't suit you, there are a few iPad cases and iPhone cases as well marked down by over 75%!
ExpressJet is Hiring 40 Pilots a Month!
ExpressJet proved to be a great eight year experience for me. Albeit longer than initially planned, but none the less, so good that I became part of their hiring department! Even though I'm no longer employed by them, I'd recommend applying now if aviation is your thing! If you don't recognize me, I'm front and center! BAM
Hilarious All About That Bass Parody!
Parodies aren't often that funny but YouTuber and ex-Canadian Idol Mikey Bustos hit it on the spot with his take on Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass". Not sure if my American friends will get this video but it shows a part of the Philippines that I enjoyed when I visited. Its also one of the less photographed per se as everyone usually just posts pictures of beaches and white sands. Check it out!
The Filipino palengke is a place where you can do and buy anything you like. Craftsmen, food vendors, butchers, barbers, repairmen, tailor, and much more can be found at the palengke. I go to the palangke each morning!
Bustos also posted a video about circumcision to the tune of Sam Smith's "Stay with Me" and his previous hit to Frozen's "Let It Go". Just hit up his YouTube channel and you'll be in for a few laughs.
Don't just recreate one photo, MAKE A CALENDAR!
These three brothers took photo recreation to the next level by making an entire calendar for their mom! Check out their entire spread! Happy Friday!
via SunnySkyz
TV Binge Planning
Since the possibility of me being in New York in February at an unknown crashpad location within 2 hours of JFK (and apparently LGA?), I’m starting to plan my time wisely. Not only will I be blogging a bit more here and there but I’ll have some time to read and study and of course, binge watch some television. Wired just released a “How To” on binge watching Star Trek The Original Series and since I wasn’t a huge fan of that series, I thought I’d give it a shot. Why not? Of course, there are these really bad episodes to get through too. =(
I forget to mention, Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown is pretty awesome and you can bet that I’ll be catching up on that too! Catch all four seasons on Amazon($) or watch the first three on Netflix. Season five is currently filiming and I’ll admit, the first few have been pretty awesome. I can’t say that I actually watched all his other shows religiosly, but this one, it’s fantastic! Take my word for it.
What shows are you binge watching or planning to binge watch? If you want to plan out how long it'll take, check out tiii.me. Others in my list include catching up on Arrow & Flash, finishing up House of Cards (which I've been saving) and The Wire. If you like anime, CrunchyRoll is pretty random and amazing. I'll have some posts about my latest series that I'm watching.
Padres' Exciting 2015 Season and FREE Hoodies!
It's truly an exciting time to be a San Diego Padres! Heck, even MLB.com even agrees!
On the other hand, the Padres are already there. They've done more than just add talent. They've added excitement and expectations. So here's to San Diego. Some will say that winning the offseason doesn't mean much. The Padres would say it's a start to everything else they hope to accomplish.
Just a quick side note too, May 16th is Lightweight Hoodies Giveaway night and my good friend Jeremiah's birthday. I'd say, playing against the Nationals with a free hoodie would make for a great birthday celebration! How about you? Download their 2015 schedule in PDF.
Lightweight Hoodie Promotion Info via SacBuntChris