Well, today was more of the same. Except I apparently work for a ’solvent’ carrier with a goofy new paint scheme.

I’m not a fan. It looks like we’re a Canadian airline… And the widget’s red! “Widget, back in the red again!” — I can hear the jokes on Leno already.

Anyway, tomorrow is the LOE at which upon successful completion I will receive a 757/767 pilot-in-command type rating.

More tomorrow!

I got my Central/South America “Mountaing Training” certification done.

We basically flew ‘hi speed’ thru the Cuban sector, learning about how to make position reports, talked about communications, how to program the FMS and such and went pretty far in depth with theater navigation in mountainous terrain.

For example, if you have a rapid depressurization, you just don’t start diving for 10,000 feet because you’re going to solve that pressurization problem quickly with controlled flight into terrain.

And that would be bad.

Anyway, on some routes in Central/South America, namely Bogota which we flew to today, there are route segments which have a corresponding alternate route to a diversionary airport with step down altitudes that will allow us to descend to a breathable altitude and remain clear of terrain.

Also, we trained a lot of RNAV/RNP approaches in Quito, Ecuador which you conduct curving approaches and missed approaches thru mountain valleys into a ‘bowl’ of sorts where the airport sits. We also did a lot of engine-out work in Quito as well, learning that the schoolhouse method of “request a straight out!!” during V1 cuts is the LAST thing you want to do in many circumstances. We did two-engine and single-engine arrivals and approaches into Quito, Ecuador and Bogota, Columbia.

Bogota is interesting because you’ve got to pre-tune two NDB’s and do a “figure 8″ climb. Hit a NDB, turn right, head to another one, turn left, back to the other one, slowly climbing to 13,000 before heading to the Bogota VORTAC.

The instructor kept the brief short because without actually seeing the procedures in the simulator, you’d feel like a dog watching “Jeopardy!” on television.

Anyway, I learned some important things. Not to step on any toes, but in Central and South America, you’re more or less on your own and ATC relies on the “fact” that you know exactly where you are, what the weather is and if you request a turn straight to the marker and a descent far, FAR below your sector altitude, they’ll reply with “Roger!” so ***situational awareness*** is life. You more or less lose it and you’re absolutely toast like the American Airlines 757 that crashed.

We did some of the curving arrivals/approaches into Quito, Ecuador in IMC/night. Then we flew it in day VMC and that solidified the point that you need to know not only where you are, where you’re going next and the navigation performance of the aircraft because when you’re flying a narrow valley on arrival, yanking and banking towards the final approach course, if screw up, you’re going to certainly make the evening news.

Ok, today was a lot like yesterday. “Real world” “Real time” emergencies where we takeoff from one airport, have a problem and end up diverting into another airport and taking care of the problem.

Probably the best highlight I had today was going on the missed approach in Portland, OR and then the weather miraculously cleared up, with the “help” of the captain, I slightly misjudged my base turn for 28R and flew the 767-300ER like an MD-88 to get back on profile.

I landed, we taxied into the gate and I thought, “Oh yeah, it’s a 767 ‘heavy’” I probably shouldn’t be yanking and banking the way I’d do an MD-88, but the instructor didn’t have anything to say.

Speaking of not much to say, I guess I’ll tell you a little about sim training…

It’s called the ‘brief’ the ’sim’ and the ‘de-brief’

First, our sim times are divided into “periods” A thru E. We rarely fly E’s, except I think for new hires and when they rent out the sim to other airlines. They go like this:

A Period: Brief 0500 Simulator 0630-1030
B Period: Brief 0920 Simulator 1050-1450
C Period: Brief 1340 Simulator 1510-1910
D Period: Brief 1800 Simulator 1930-2330
E Period: Brief 2220 Simulator 2350-0350

When I was a 727 Flight Engineer, I had a lot of “D” and “E” periods. E periods in ATL and D periods in Miami which was great because I’m a nightowl and I could fly in the night, enjoy a beer or three after the simulator with my sim partner in Coconut Grove, sleep in, brief early by the pool with the instructor, take a nap and hit the sims that evening.

This time training on the 757/767, I had a week of “C” periods, a week of “D” periods and now I have a week of “A” periods which are kicking my ass having to get up so early on the east coast.

Speaking of that, I’ve got to hit the sack very soon so I’ll wrap it up.

“The Brief”
Before every simulator, there’s a “brief”. It’s where we sit for about 90 minutes talking about what we’re going to see in the simulator and other emphasis items. Like tomorrow, we’re doing RNAV RNP approaches into Bogota, Columbia, departing from Atlanta. So we’ll spend lot of time talking about RNP, what to do when you can’t meet the minimum navigation performance, what to do DIFFERENT when you’ve got to go missed and various items about ‘hot ‘n high’ operations.

“The Sim”
Pretty self-explanatory. You get to go flying in SimWorld. The strange world where the quality of your landings mean nothing, but if you didn’t brief the living daylights out of a visual approach you’re going to hear about it during the…

“Debrief”
Basically, you talk about (or are talked TO) your performance, critiqued on procedures, things to work on and you receive a few ’slaps on the wrist’, a few ‘attaboys’ and whatnot. At that point, we’re usually both exhausted and the only thing on our minds after an “A” period is lunch, sleep and how the hell we’re going to keep any interest in studying for the next day of simulator training.

Speaking of sleep.

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and we’re both pretty happy training is almost over.

Today was the first day of “Line Oriented Training” where we tie together normal procedures (preflights, cockpit prep, taxi procedures) that we learned in “Procedures Training” with non-normal procedures (abnormal aka “holy sh**, something’s BROKE!!!) trained during “Maneuvers Training” and make it as if it actually happened unexpected on line.

The first leg was my leg and the captain was the non-flying pilot. Pushback from gate 4 at JFK, taxi to KK for a intersection takeoff and then the fun started. Smoke in the cabin, cargo fire, rapid/emergency descent for the ILS 31L approach at JFK. Very busy, but the 757 is so flyable, it wasn’t an issue at all.

We did another takeoff and practiced jammed flight controls, hydraulic system failures and a few other things.

The next leg was a departure from SEA towards SLC, we had a rapid depressurization over a high MEA/MOCA area and did some mountain familiarization training in terms of descending rapidly to the ‘grid MORA’ and then direct to a known airway with better terrain clearance. We did a couple jammed stabilizer and partial flap landings and called it a day.

The hardest part of the day was getting up at 0345 for a 0500 brief and 0630 fly time in the simulator. Yowza.

I guess I never got around to writing the latest update on my progress, doh!

A few nights ago I completed my “maneuvers validation” which is another part of the AQP process.

The flight consisted of V1 cuts, flight control abnormals, low visibility approaches, autoland approaches, visuals (which are harder than it seems like) and a litany of other system malfunctions.

I guess I didn’t read the fine print and didn’t realize that I was going to have to ‘play captain’ for an aborted takeoff, a v1 cut (go? no go?) decision, an evacuation, getting left 3000 feet AGL abeam the airport and shooting a visual approach with no electronic or VASI/PAPI guidance. Also, I had to taxi around the airport as well to certify that I could follow taxi instructions, make 90 degree turns, and have a good understanding of the position of the airplane and to make sure I wouldn’t drag a landing gear truck through the grass.

All went well I’m glad to report.

In fact, the examiner was the head of 757/767 standards so you could say we didn’t get any breaks.

Thursday, I fly back to Atlanta and start the final phase of training at which at the end I receive a 757/767 Type Rating if all goes well.

Thanks for reading.

Another checkride passed (AQP manuevers validation) so my brains fried and I’ll write something tomorrow.

one more to go!

We more or less practiced what we practiced yesterday so there really isn’t anything new to report besides the fact that we have a ‘manuevers validation’ tomorrow which is a checkride.

Probably the most interesting thing from the past couple days is the fact that I’ve been senior to both tonight’s instructor and yesterday’s too and they were wondering why the hell I stayed on the MD-88 for so long and why I wasn’t bidding MD-88 captain.

Strange.

During the simulator break, the instructor and I traded some regional flying stories as he flew Jetstreams for Chautauqua prior to getting hired at Delta.

Tomorrow’s another checkride and after that, we have a few days off in between our LOE (line-oriented training).

Thanks for reading! Sorry about the short update, but I’m a little beat.

It’s amazing how much more enjoyable simulators become when your brain clicks on, “system dumps” how the old aircraft flew and your hands learn the new one.

Today was another day of RNP approaches, V1 cuts, V1 goes and a bunch of windshear events, almost like yesterday.

But today was something a little interesting. Since I’m getting a full pilot-in-command type rating, I did a ‘left seat certification’ this evening.

Basically, the captain and I switch seats, I do a few rejected takeoffs, which is weird because I’m used to relinquishing controls to the captain, but I’m the one making the call, taking control from the FO and completing the maneuver. Also, a number of visual approaches and about 10 minutes of learning to taxi at CVG with the “tiller” and the rudder pedals. 90 degree turns, high speed taxiing and parking procedures. It’s actually pretty fun after you get the hang of it. The FMS seems a lot easier with my right hand.

I’m a “righty” — whoodathunkit.

I was a little short with the blog last night because it was fairly rough.

A new airplane is a little ‘interesting’ to get used to, especially when I’m going from a low-riding MD-88/90 to a plane that literally feels like you’re on the third story balcony flying an apartment building.

So I couldn’t get the picture, kept unconsciously doing the ‘flare, retard throttle, flare a little more then push a little’ routine that greased on MD-88’s, but is the kiss of death on a 767. Speaking of 767’s, we don’t have any more 767-200’s but the sim we were in was a -200 and not a -300/-300ER. It’s a little “75″ and a little “76″ but the basics are about the same.

This evening we were introduced to V1-cuts, V1-goes, balanced field length aborted takeoffs, RNAV-GPS RNP approaches (very cool… We’re doing Quito tomorrow!) and single engine landings.

Surprisingly, the 767 isn’t that bad single engine. With the hydraulically powered flight controls, it’s not such a callus-building, thigh-muscle working aeronautical fiasco like the other plane I flew.

Something else interesting today.

As an international pilot, I need to carry around a “Shengen State Visa” aka “The French Visa”. So I took a trip down to the French Consulate this morning in order to have it done.

Boy, what an experience.

My passport photos were about a millimeter too small (Visa sizes and passport sized photos are DIFFERENT unbeknowest to most) so I had to literally run (yes, run, because it was getting close to lunch time at the consulate) to a post office to have my photos redone. Also, there was a slight shadow which invalidated the picture. Great.

At the post office, the lady said, “Well, we ain’t gonna guarantee that the French consulate will take this and you don’t get no refund.”

I showed her a copy of the template that the consular gave me and she said, “I’ll try”.

So I told her that if it wasn’t right and she refused to retake it, might as well expect a non-payment on the credit card.

Luckily, they took the new picture, I got the French Visa and was able to get back to the hotel about four hours after I left.

Loads o fun.

Stalls, upset recoveries (unusual attitudes more or less) and a lot of non-ILS/non-VASI visual approaches.

I’m beat to death so I’ll have to keep it quick this evening.

The plane flies very nice, but that’s actually a problem at this point because I tend to want to over-control the airplane because of the demons in my head from flying the MD-88/90. The seat picture is a lot different because the airplane is a lot higher, the flare is way different and a litany of other differences, but I like the aircraft.

I don’t have a physical familiarity with it, but I like it. More later. Maybe!