Excellent Blog from an airline pilot

GE90

http://flightlevel390.blogspot.de/

I thought id share this with any like minded individuals. Its a blog written by an american airline captain flying A319, A320 and A321.

This man truly has a way with words, you find yourself getting lost in his tales of avoiding huge thunderstorms while trying to balance fuel loads ect..

His updates are becoming less frequent but the content more then makes up for it.

A random snippet form one of his recent updates :
" We are lined up with 25 Right... Wipers on HI. The best radar money can buy is looking at the weather in our twelve, antenna angle at eight degrees above the horizon. Moderate rain, crosswind at the limit, sky flashing bright and white, as I move the thrust levers forward. A lot of rudder is required to stay on the centerline. Outside, the wet, dirty, hot airmass is moving from left to right, momentarily frozen by electric flashes. It is a surrealistic scene with ramifications an airline pilot clearly understands.

New IAE-V2500 engines ignore the hot and humid conditions and mash us back in our seats with authority. The crosswind is pushing on the airframe, especially the vertical fin, as we churn the rain into steam behind us. Cockpit Flightdeck vibrations change frequency as velocity increases; hard to wordsmith, but there is a side node to the rapid vibrations causing flight instruments to blur momentarily at each end of the wave. Whatever, it is very cool... Definitely caused by wind loading on the fuselage
V1... 145 knots...

Past the go/no-go point and still strong acceleration. The wind is trying to lift the left wing which I counter with quick aileron movements, but not enough to raise the spoilers. Finesse makes Fi-Fi happy and when she is happy...

Rotate... 153 knots...

On the instruments as the nosegear levitates... The bursts of electric light are rapid and intense in our twelve. Rudder pressure released as the mains leave the runway and the airframe rotates left briskly toward the wind component. Call for the gear UP... We are out of here, finally. "

Their are countless more like this enjoy...

tippilot

He uses the phrase "in our twelve"? I cannot begin to "wordsmith" how much I dislike him already.

Putting my palm in my twelve and applying to face.

LeftBase

tippilot wrote: »

He uses the phrase "in our twelve"? I cannot begin to "wordsmith" how much I dislike him already.

Putting my palm in my twelve and applying to face.

Americans......I'd say he was still wearing his shades even with the weather "at his twelve"

:cool:

highlydebased

A Jeppesen chart, wonderfully thin biblical-like paper, is rustling in a stream of cool, pressurized air underneath the reading light on the captain's side windscreen

:rolleyes: talk about verbose! good find though...

Cessna_Pilot

I'd probably have waited for the TS to pass before I headed out in the twelve o'clock direction...

GE90

highlydebased wrote: »

:rolleyes: talk about verbose! good find though...

I quite like that do. It paints a image in your head.

GE90

Cessna_Pilot wrote: »

I'd probably have waited for the TS to pass before I headed out in the twelve o'clock direction...

I am sure the takeoff was within safety limits. Bear in mind he had been taxiing for 45 mins and fuel was an issue. And perhaps he over dramatized the account to tell a story.

Anyway this wasn't intended to question his piloting skills or story telling i just wanted to share a blog that i have enjoyed.

Cessna_Pilot

GE90 wrote: »

I am sure the takeoff was within safety limits. Bear in mind he had been taxiing for 45 mins and fuel was an issue. And perhaps he over dramatized the account to tell a story.

Anyway this wasn't intended to question his piloting skills or story telling i just wanted to share a blog that i have enjoyed.

I would question a pilot's airmanship if because he is starting to worry about fuel he decides to take off into "Moderate rain, crosswind at the limit, sky flashing bright and white" followed by "scene with ramifications an airline pilot clearly understands".

Damn right as an airline pilot I understand. Hence why I think I'd be still on the ground.

Anyway GE90, I'm not doubting yourself, I'm sure it's an interesting read..

tippilot

It will be to some people's taste and not to others. I'm in the latter camp, but you can't please 'em all! Keep sharing. Thanks!

St. Leibowitz

Been reading Captain Dave's blog for years. It's fantastic. Don't knock it until you've read it. I check in almost every day to see if there's been an update ... the anticipation is so much better than getting a notification. And from a safety and experience point of view, once you read him regularly you'll see that he's right at the top of his game, and the worry he expresses is due to the hypothetical scenarios that are constantly being evaluated. OK, he uses words like wordsmith which may be a bit highbrow for some people, but unfortunately, that's the way the world is going.