The captain I was sharing the cockpit with for the first half of the flight is an individual I had worked with before when we were both flying the 747-200. He’s a really nice guy and is a fellow light plane pilot. Unlike me though he didn’t buy his plane, he built it. Steve has a really nice Van’s RV-4. He says he compressed a 4-year project into 15 years, but there were extenuating circumstances affecting his building effort. We’ll call them ‘family challenges’ and leave it at that. He says that both the plane and his kids turned out great, so whatever extra effort and time that it took was well worth it.

Way back when Steve started his aircraft building project Van didn’t have the wide range of kits and options that are available today. Steve bought what is affectionately (?) called the ‘slow-build’ kit for the RV-4. At that time there were no quick-build options and the kits didn’t come with pre-punched holes in the parts and skins. The early builders had to use rigid jigs and ingenuity to make sure that all the parts were aligned and fit properly. Steve had a USB key with him that had detailed photos of the entire project, some annotated with descriptions of the progress. I’ll add several to the end of this post.

Since there are only two pilots on duty at cruise, when we need to take a ‘biological break’ we have to call a flight attendant up to the cockpit to keep the remaining pilot company and to let the second pilot back into the cockpit. After one of those breaks the upper deck flight attendant stayed in the cockpit for a little while  and the ensuing conversation revealed that she and her husband (not a professional pilot) also had a light plane. Her off-duty ride is an Aviat Husky. Very nice. Unfortunately no photos. She was severely chastised for the omission and ‘forced’ to endure multiple airplane picture presentations.

Our block-out to block-in time for the flight was 13:21.  Unfortunately, after we blocked in at our destination we remained on the aircraft for another hour and a half. When the aircraft door was opened the usual greeting party had been replaced by about a half dozen individuals dressed in what appeared to be white Tyvek  biohazard suits, gloves, booties, masks, etc. We had all been required to fill out a new form for this arrival which was filled with questions related to the recent flu outbreak. A couple of the greeting party members took all the forms and started going through them while two others started going through the aircraft with what looked like a video camera. It was an infrared camera which was pointed at each of the passengers and crew to see if an abnormal body temperature was registered. Luckily no abnormal temperatures registered or we’d probably still be on the plane. Once the scan was completed, passengers were selected at random for a more thorough screening. Everyone on the aircraft was handed a face mask which was required to be worn upon exiting the plane and until clearing customs. Well, except for the station where they scan our passports, take our fingerprints and a facial photo. The photo recognition software didn’t like the masks. Go figure.

Getting back to the fun part, here are some of the photos from Steve’s RV-building experience.

The left photo shows wing rib building in progress. Many are already formed and some are now being drilled for riveting to the main spar. The right photo shows the placement of the first fuselage formers in a jig. This is the third time that particular jig had been used to build an RV-4.

The photo on the left shows the horizontal stabilizer in the assembly jig with the skins held in place with clecos. The right photo shows Steve drilling the wing ribs, preparing for the installation of the wing skins.

The photo on the left shows the partially completed wings in their jigs. The right photo is of the completed front cockpit and instrument panel.

The photo on the left shows the engine being hung on the aircraft for the first time. Steve installed a 160 HP Lycoming in his RV-4. The right photo shows the completed engine installation with the shiny new valve covers.

The photo on the left shows the engine being started for the first flight. Steve did all of the test flying himself. The right photo shows Steve’s RV-4 just after returning from a professional paint shop. Steve designed the paint scheme but elected to have the painting done by a local shop.

Steve finished his RV-4 about 3 years ago and has been having a ball flying it around his home field, taking advantage of the $100 hamburgers and $150 omelets that are available. Now, if it would only hold a couple of bags of golf clubs along with the baggage…

This morning I got on my first flight at 7 am, jumpseating with the great folks at Southwest. There were a few empty seats in the cabin, so I even got a ‘regular’ seat rather than the one that folds down out of the cockpit doorway. I grabbed a window seat and was sending off my last tweets before the door closed when a man took the aisle seat. Nice guy.  He asked if I minded a question. I hesitated, then I said sure give it a try. As much as I dislike it, I commute wearing my airline uniform. It makes the gauntlet through security marginally easier if it is obvious that you are an airline crew member. The down side is that you risk getting the ‘back seat driver’ comments and occasional inane questions.

This time the question was a reasonable one – about suitcases, of all things. My seatmate had been in a luggage store recently and there was a section of the display dedicated to airline crew luggage. What was the difference, he asked? Good question. I’m not sure I know the real answer, but I came up with a few possibilities. First, its a pretty good bet that the units are only available in black. They might also have a few extra pockets on the outside for miscellaneous stuff and they are probably a bit sturdier than the average bag. I know that mine has a heavy steel frame around it that makes it heavier, but ensures that it won’t get destroyed if it gets thrown in a cargo hold at the last minute. The model I have is also a bit taller than the ones I see training behind the average passenger. The problem that I most often see with people and their carry-on bags is that they end up packed  so full that when they are laid horizontally are often too tall (thick?) to fit into the overhead. I imagine that with all of the new checked bag fees being levied we’ll work our way back to full overhead bins on every flight. (Then they’ll probably start charging for carry-ons.) Since my trips are in the 5 – 14 day range I need all the extra space I can get so I have a fairly tall roller bag. Since it is taller I can put more into it and still keep it thin enough to fit into any overhead bin. That seemed to satisfy his curiosity. Later on in the flight I noticed that he was reading one of the new Kindle 2 electronic book displays. We talked a little about it and he let me play around a little with the display options. He was reading a text on programming in C++. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to take the conversation farther, but I did come away with a positive impression of the Kindle.

Near the end of the boarding process we were joined by another man who claimed the middle seat. It turns out that he is also a professional pilot.  We spent the majority of the one-hour flight talking about the state of the flying industry from his perspective. He works as what could be called a contract pilot. He is captain qualified in most of the Gulfstream models, though for financial reasons he has let his currency lapse on the G-V. He said he just went through recurrent training in the G-II/III and was still current in the G-IV, but would lose G-IV currency by the end of the summer unless  business picks up.

I asked how he got his flying jobs and he replied that even though he has a resume on file with a couple of the big services, most of his work comes from friends and contacts he has made through the years. He calls his contacts on a fairly regular basis to see how they are doing and reminds them of his qualifications and availability. He has had longer (a year or more) jobs on Guam, in Deli, India and Frankfurt, Germany as well as several places around the U.S.  He is maintaining his currency in the older Gulfstreams because he has found that a lot of the for-hire pilots don’t want to fly the older models. They sit around waiting for G-IV and G-V jobs to come available.  It sounds to me as though he has found a niche and is taking advantage of the lack of competition.  Today he was on his way to a 2-3 day job on a G-III.

He related that some of his employers would occasionally balk at the rate that he would quote for a particular job. Then he proceeded to explain the accounting that led to the rate he charges. His recent G-II/III recurrent training was an out-of-pocket expense approaching $13,000 when travel, lodging, meals and the simulator time were added in. Then he added in the cost of getting to or from a given job and the cost of insurance to protect himself and his license.  These costs just cover the expenses associated with remaining qualified and getting to work but do not address general living expenses for maintaining a home and eating. The more that you fly, the more  hours the fixed costs are spread out, but that hasn’t been the case for him lately. He said that he had not had a flying job since March and knew several other pilots in the same boat. In conversations with his AME recently (in the LA area)  he found that the doctor’s aviation business had dropped off noticeably and learned that 2-3 of his fellow Gulfstream pilots were in the process of declaring bankruptcy because of the lack of income.

This is certainly not a great time for professional aviation. I feel extremely lucky to be in the position that I have, knowing that every month I’ll get some sort of pay check. Business always works in cycles and professional aviation will eventually come come back. The question is whether there will be experienced pilots to fill the vacancies. Remaining current and qualified and maintaining a network of contacts seems to be the best plan for now, but at some point the funds necessary to do that will be redirected to necessary living expenses and other forms of income will be explored. When the economy and business aviation begin recovering, will the draw of a flying job overcome the inertia of a steady, paying position in a replacement profession? That is a very personal decision and the outcome will remain to be seen.

NOTE:

For those of you more interested in the Amazon Kindle, this article from Mashable is an announcement of the release of a new, large-screen version of the popular electronic reader. The announcement is supposed to be made on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009.

When I started this blog I wasn’t sure what I was getting into or how it would be received. I had been reading a few aviation blogs and felt that I had something that I could contribute to the aviation community, so I started AroundThePattern to try and pass along some of this enthusiasm I have for aviation.  I have no background or experience in journalism and I am finding that writing well, or trying to,  is much more work than I had expected. I say this not because I intend to retire from blogging, but because I now understand the effort involved and I  have a deep respect and admiration for the individuals who are regularly publishing to their blogs, researching and writing about aviation events and their experiences as they progress in their flying careers.

After witnessing the steps necessary to prepare and record a podcast I have an even greater appreciation of the work involved in that area. Selecting the stories, researching their subjects  so that more depth can be covered than just the printed information, recording the show and then doing the final editing and publishing all take an enormous amount of time. Add to that the upkeep of the web site associated with the podcast and the writing and publishing of the show notes and you approach the time involved with a full-time job. As soon as one episode is published it is time to start work on the next one, especially if you keep to a schedule of a new podcast each week.

The youth of today are growing up in a world with “always on” internet. It is available on our phones and in our homes, in hotels and in coffee shops with increasing reliability and speed. The internet is the way we now stay in touch with each other, schedule outings and track progress. When we become curious about a subject, whether it is a news story, a conversation we overheard or something we saw as we traveled to work or school, the first place we go to find out more information is the Internet. This is the way that we are going to be promoting aviation to the younger generations. Unless they have a family member or family friend who is involved in aviation, the Internet is where young people will learn about the wonders of flying and how they can find their way into the world of aviation. Face it, it is rare that you can go out to the airport and walk up to a plane and start talking to a pilot these days and airport access is not going to get any easier. The new AOPA Summit format, the Women in Aviation International Conference (being held this week) and EAA AirVenture are great venues for making new contacts in the aviation industry, but increasingly the attendees already know several of the people that they want to meet. There is a large (and growing) aviation segment visible on Twitter. Contacts are made and friendships grown within a 140-character social media world. Friends who have been ‘tweeting’ for months finally meet in person at the conferences. There are also active aviation forums on the UCAPP web site. MyTransponder and other sites where contacts are made and experiences exchanged. Conference and event attendees are reading aviation blogs, listening to podcasts and participating in forums on a regular basis and  make online arrangements to meet the authors and speakers before they go to the physical events.

The internet, via blogs and podcasts, will spread the word about aviation and its benefits to both the private and business worlds. My hat is off and I give a deep bow to the individuals who continue to blog and record and to spread the word about aviation.

Once your aviation career advances to jobs on the larger aircraft, you find yourself in a situation where you are required to work closely with other crew members both pilots and non-pilots and interact more often with ground personnel who service the aircraft and work with the passengers. Working on a multiple-person aircrew can often be a very rewarding experience. When your crew is professionally trained the process operates almost like clockwork, smoothly and professionally. Occasionally, however, you run into an individual (or individuals) who, for some reason, have decided to make the process hard.

These individuals appear to have a skewed attitude toward life in general. I’m not sure what the reason is. Perhaps somebody really screwed them in the past and they’re taking it out on those around them. Maybe on the inside they’re just unhappy people and try to pass it along. Maybe they feel like they’re ‘entitled’ and aren’t beeing treated as they deserve to be treated, or maybe they just feel trapped and frustrated at what has been going on in the airline industry the past few years. I’m sure these sorts of people are found in any profession. I seem to run into them once in a while as I’m out and about.

It is often said by non-rev travelers that they are treated better at other airlines than on their own. Does that make sense? Aren’t all the people at a given company in the same boat with a common goal to keep that boat floating upright? Did a few ‘entitled’ individuals generate a stereotype of the other workers that turned feelings agains those who followed them? Possibly.

Recently I had two trans-Pacific flights during which we, as the flight deck crew, were treated in completely opposite ways by the cabin crew. Both cabin crews were based at the same hub. On one flight we received a call from the cabin about every two hours asking if we were doing all right, needed anything  or had to take a break. (With a two-pilot crew and the extra pilot(s) on their break out of the cockpit, a cabin crew member must come into the cockpit to man the door while one of the on-duty pilots takes a ‘physiological break.’) If there were extra meals or snacks available after the passengers were satisfied, they were offered to the flight deck workers. Everyone was happy, we got to know who we were working with and the time went by quickly.

The other flight, however, took forever. Three and a half hours after takeoff we had still not heard from anybody in the back. The captain called back and finally asked for a crew meal so that he could eat before he went on his break. He asked for the chicken and was told it would be ready in 20 minutes (click). Forty minutes later he called back again and was told it would by up in 2 minutes. He got up, checked the door, saw the meal on it’s way and opened the flight deck door. The tray was handed to him through the open and the individual  turned around and waked away with not a word spoken… and he got the steak. Since we had a single additional pilot, we cut the flight time in thirds for our breaks and used those changeover times for our runs to the bathroom.  At about 7 hours into the flight we made another call to the back to get the remaining crew meals. Same process. No verbal interactions at all from the cabin crew. We took the meal trays back to an empty galley after we had reached the destination gate, the cabin crew nowhere to be found.

Why the big difference in the two crews? Part of the tone is set by the lead cabin attendant/purser, but individuals interact according to their own attitudes. Some cabin crew members have no desire whatsoever to interact with the flight deck crew and, for whatever reason, they seem to be the ones who bid the positions that include providing flight deck service. Maybe they’re trying to ‘get even’ for some past events. Who knows.

I can’t imagine that these people are enjoying their jobs. And if they aren’t, then why are they still in them? Or maybe it’s the animosity that keeps them going on a day-to-day basis, gives them something to brag about to their fellow workers with similar outlooks. The danger is that these attitudes can begin to poison the whole organization, slowly growing through the workforce and end up being passed along to the customers who pay the bills.

Yes, the aviation business and specifically the airline business is not the same as it was ten years ago. We’re working longer and getting paid the same or less. Bit we’re all in the same boat, people. If you want to get mad at somebody, make it the company management or you local politician, not your fellow workers or the unsuspecting passengers. We’re all in this together.

This hangar is a nice cinder block affair measuring 120′ x 100′ (36.5m x 30.5m). It is owned jointly by two individuals. One side is filled with airplanes and the other is filled with cars.

The Airplane Side of the hangar

The airplane showing behind the fork lift is an L-39 Albatross with a blue/gray camouflage paint scheme. If you are a regular attendee at the Reno Air Races, this plane was flown by Hoot Gibson the first year that they had a jet racing class.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen it move for about 3 years. The owner lives about an hour away, received a checkout and is qualified to fly it, but chooses not to for some reason.

The red taildragger is a Piper Pacer. Behind it is a Van’s RV-6. There is also a Piper SuperCub out of sight to the left. These are all owned by the same person. He and his wife spend their summers at their cabin in Alaska. He is also building a Van’s RV-7 that is in his workshop off to the left of the photo.

The Car Side of the hangar

I’m never sure what I’ll find on this side of the hangar.

Right now what you see in the hangar is a Willys Street Rod that was built up by the hangar occupant for an individual who lives in town. When it was finished, they took it to a car show in Los Angeles, CA and came back with the trophy for Best Hot Rod of the show. This one was built to be a ‘driver,’ meaning that it is legal to operate on city streets. The engine was built up so that it will run smoothly at low power settings and will not overheat. The huge blower that you see on the top of the engine is actually hollow. A carburetor is installed inside of the blower housing (not visible behind the red shop rag).

Just as they were finishing this Willys, the original version of the car came on the market and the owner of this one, bought it. That’s the one visible in the rear of this picture and featured in the next shot.

This, as I understand, is considered to be the original 1960′s Drag Racer of John Mazmanian. The actual original racer was destroyed, but this one was built by the same mechanics to be as close to the original car as possible. You can see that the trunk lid is up and there is a black bag sitting on it. That is the storage location for the drag chute.  The owner has had it out driving around on the airport and it is definitely loud and neither legal nor practical for street use. Because of the way that the fuel control is built, the car is either idling very loudly or running full out. There is very little room for varying the power output. A true drag racer.

There are always three or four cars under construction or modification in this hangar. Watching these guys methodically work on the cars and the quality of the work that they do always inspires me to do better work when I get back to my own projects. Good just isn’t good enough after you work with them for a while.