I have had a very nice two
weeks. I flew AMF 4000, a UPS run to
Grants Pass to cover for a vacation.
Two days this week I traded with another pilot to fly AMF 414 to Burns. The scenery on one of those flights was some
of the best I have seen since I started flying. Fresh snow in the foothills of the cascades, sun glowing off the
cloud tops, amazing!
I also carried the most
interesting piece of freight today since I started. A box full of live queen bees.
I was rather pissed off and almost refused the cargo – I can’t imagine
anything worse than flying along at 10,000 feet when suddenly a big box falls
on top of it, breaks it open, and releases hundreds of bees into the airplane. However, I was able to stash it in an area
completely isolated from the rest of the plane, so I accepted it. Still, made me nervous.
I promised a report last
week on my jumpseat experience to Los Angeles but I have been so busy the last
two weeks I just didn’t have time. Here
it is. “Jumpseating” is a courtesy
extended between airline pilots that allows us to fly on each other’s airplanes
at no charge. Most pilots will use the
benefit to commute from their home to their pilot base. I used it to go to an airline career fair,
but it all works the same.
I chose to jumpseat on
Southwest airlines because it is the only major passenger airline that has a
jumpseat agreement with Ameriflight.
They ride on our airplanes from time to time and vice versa.
My fellow freight dogs told
me how the process works, and I did it like this. I went up to the Southwest gate an hour before departure and
asked the gate attendant if the jumpseat was available. She took my company ID and pilot
certificate, gave me a form to fill out, and told me to stand in line to
pre-board (with all the infants and little old ladies in wheelchairs). At pre-board time, I went aboard the
aircraft, walked up to the cockpit, and asked the captain if I could “hitch a
ride”. In all cases, the captain said
that would be fine and told me to have a seat in the back (the main
cabin). The idea is, if the flight
isn’t full, you just stay there and fly with the rest of the passengers. This was the case on two of four legs of my
roundtrip to LAX. On the other two
legs, the airplane quickly filled up and I heard over the intercom, “Could the
jumpseater please report up front?”
Meaning, I was to abandon my seat for a paying passenger and ride in the
cockpit.
Riding in the cockpit of the
737 was cool! Both times were the legs
involving LAX, so I got to see an airline crew take off and land at one of the
busiest airports in the world. The
jumpseat itself is a seat that folds out behind and in between the two
pilots. You have a great view of everything. I found myself most interested in watching
the interaction of the two pilots.
Since all my flying is single-pilot, I have no idea how to work as a
crew. The jumpseat experience offered
some insights that will be helpful when I start flying in that
environment. During cruise flight, the
pilots were very friendly and talked with me quite a bit, all about flying, of
course.
I was worried about getting
on board my flights (you can be bumped at the last minute by any Southwest
employee who needs the jumpseat) but I had no problem on all four legs. Jumpseating will likely become a way of life
after I go to my next job, so I am glad it is a easy process.
The last two weeks I have
logged 34 hours and have been home in time for dinner almost every night. I had time during the day to do my
consulting and study my butt off for the ATP written exam (took it today, 98%,
that was my last FAA written exam ever!)
I really like this job. Have I
mentioned that? I even get my first pay
raise in two weeks. (Of course, 15% of
nothing is still nothing).
The next two weeks I will be
flying AMF 4010 to Tillamook, my least favorite run, but I am arranging to
trade off as many days as I can to the other guys for better routes. If nothing else, at least I will have some
time to relax.