I had a great first day!
I got a phone call from
scheduling Wednesday morning informing me I was to begin a 4-day IOE trip
starting Friday out of Washington DC.
After enjoying a week off after completing my simulator training last
week, the time had finally arrived to take my first flight in the Canadair
Regional Jet. Pretty exciting – I
jumped out of bed.
After commuting to
Washington on Thursday and eating Thanksgiving dinner at a Chinese buffet, I
got up Friday morning, put on my uniform and caught the shuttle to the
airport. I met my IOE instructor in the
crew room and he went over what I could expect from the trip and particularly
the day’s three flight segments – from
Washington to Jacksonville to Chicago to Lexington.
About an hour before our
scheduled departure, we went out to the airplane so he could show me how to do
a proper preflight inspection. I
quickly learned I need to get two things – a good set of gloves and some
earplugs. During the preflight we had
the APU running which is basically a mini jet engine that provides electrical
power and air conditioning to the aircraft when the engines are not running –
that thing is REALLY loud. I
contemplated the sheer size of the aircraft as I walked around checking for
problems before we boarded 47 passengers for the 98-minute flight to
Jacksonville, Florida. Seeing it up
close like that really made me realize that I wasn’t just playing around with
little airplanes anymore – this was serious stuff!
I climbed into the cockpit
to begin my pre-flight duties which included calculating the performance and
weight and balance for that flight. I
thought it would be somewhat intimidating but it was so well replicated by the
flight simulator I had been training in that I really did feel comfortable
there. The only difference was out the
window I could see all the activity associated with a major airport ramp and of
course passengers getting on the plane behind me.
The IOE captain, a really
nice guy who has been with the company for 10 years, flew the first leg so I
could get familiarized with the air traffic control procedures and
communications required at a busy airport.
He also showed me techniques for flying the airplane that really weren’t
taught in the simulator because simulator training basically focuses on how to
deal with emergency after emergency.
Actually taking off, climbing the airplane up to cruise altitude and
descending for a single approach at an airport was kind of a foreign concept to
me. As we passed through 18000 feet, I
smiled as I realized I was flying in the flight levels (class A airspace) for
the first time ever. Only took 9 years
of flying to get there.
I flew the second leg from
Jacksonville to Chicago O’Hare. I
remember being nervous three times yesterday – the two public address
announcements I had to make to the passengers (“Ladies and Gentleman, this is
your first officer….”) and landing at Chicago.
Here I was with 35 passengers in the back, approaching one of the 3
busiest airports in the world at night, and about to make my first landing EVER
in this aircraft. It wasn’t the
smoothest landing ever but there were no complaints from the pax or the flight
attendant so I guess it wasn’t too bad.
It’s definitely different from the simulator and probably a little
easier.
The view from 31,000 feet
was incredible. There was a beautiful
sunset in the Midwest last night that we were able to enjoy while we weren’t
too busy. As soon as I am a little less
overwhelmed with the airplane I’ll take the opportunity to snap a few pictures
and post them here in my next report.
It’s normal procedure to
alternate pilot-flying and pilot-not-flying duties on each leg so the captain
flew the third leg from Chicago to Lexington, Kentucky. We arrived at about 9:30 last night for a
19-hour layover. Our second day starts
at 5:15 with a flight back to Chicago and then to Buffalo, New York where we
will stay tonight.
I set several new milestones
in that first flight – flew at a new high ground speed of 484 knots (556 MPH),
a new high altitude of 31,000 feet, twice as high as I’ve ever flown before,
and logged my first 5.4 hours of jet time.
I can’t wait to get back
into the air tonight! This is cool
stuff.