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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.
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Back around 1972 I went to see a good buddy of mine during a college break. I drove up to his house only to see his dad sitting part way up the roof of his garage looking quite intent. I asked, “Mr. Flynn, is everything ok?” He said, “…oh yeah, great…I’m just practicing taxiing, getting the picture in my head…”
“Captain” Flynn, of Western Airlines was in the process of transitioning from the B-707/720 to the DC-10.
Comment by Jack 04.20.07 @ 9:10 pm