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As a captain at a regional airline, I have to attend recurrent ground training once-a-year. During this training, we review “problems” and procedures and recent company concerns. We also have a security briefing where we review procedures related to hijackings and other unsavory events. It is never a fun topic but necessary in our line of business.

After September 11th, it become obvious that the way of doing business on the flight deck was never going to be the same if a hijacking were to occur. Instead of being passive about the events occurring during a hijacking, it become obvious that now it was imperative to take action immediately. With that in mind, two programs were initiated: 1) Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program and 2) TSA Crew Member Self-Defense Training. Both are programs that I would very much enjoy being involved in. Here is something that I’ve wanted to do for a long, LONG time. If you are a current airline crew member for a Part 121 operation, i.e., you fly for an airline, you are eligible for most likely eligible for this training.

History

President Bush signed the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act into law on December 13, 2003. This Act, also known as the FAA Reauthorization Bill, is designed to strengthen America’s aviation sector and enhance the safety of the traveling public.

The Act further requires TSA to develop and make available to flight and cabin crew members an advanced self-defense training program that includes appropriate and effective responses for defending against an attacker. Administered by the TSA Office of Law Enforcement / Federal Air Marshal Service, the Crew Member Self Defense Training (CMSDT) program is available free of chargeto all actively employed crew members.

CMSDT is delivered in two parts.

First, the participating crew member reviews a self-paced, interactive DVD and student manual designed to familiarize them with self defense concepts and techniques.

After completing the review, the crewmember schedules and attends a one-day “hands-on” training program conducted at participating community colleges around the country.

Crew Members may repeat the training as often as they would like.

Vision 100

The Vision 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act requires air carriers providing scheduled passenger air transportation to conduct basic security training for their flight and cabin crew members in order to prepare them for potential threat conditions that may occur onboard an aircraft.

The Act further requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to develop and make available to flight and cabin crew members an advanced self defense training program that includes appropriate and effective responses for defending against an attacker.

Administered by the TSA Office of Law Enforcement / Federal Air Marshal Service, the Crew Member Self Defense Training (CMSDT) program is available to any actively employed flight or cabin crew member. The program is delivered in two parts as mentioned above.

Currently scheduled class dates and locations are listed here. So if you have the opportunity as a flight crew member, I recommend that you attend this training. And, if I ever do attend this training, I will write about it here.

Fly safe and be diligent…

Jeffrey

Jeffrey is a captain at a regional airline and flies the CRJ200, CRJ700, and the CRJ900. He has over 4000 hrs of flying experience in many different airplanes and is a Gold Seal flight instructor to his credit. He has recently written “The CRJ200 Quicknote Study Guide” that simplifies the systems of the CRJ200 into a easy-to-understand, downloadable eBook. Click here to get your copy today!

In turned into one of those days that lasted two days.

As you probably remember, I’m now commuting to ORD from COS. Don’t necessarily like it but I don’t necessarily hate it either. I wrote about it here, 5 Tips for Making Your Commuting Life Easier. It’s a mindset and until my entrepreneurial efforts take off I will keep doing it.

Now we both know that ORD is one of the busiest airports in the world. On a good day over 100 airplanes move through that airport in a single hour. But on BAD days…cancellations, reflows, and flow delays are the words of the day. And on this particular day, no exceptions, except the problem wasn’t actually in ORD!

Now, the commute to ORD was unthrilling except that I had a terrific conversation with Greg Miles, President and Founder of a company called, Security Horizon (www.securityhorizon.com). Greg and two others started the company back in 2000 and had a 1M revenue year this year. Greg left the USAF and found a niche, believed in and cut loose. I learned a lot from Greg and wish Greg all the best.

Back to my story…

If you have had any experience flying in cold weather and snow, you will remember that it is always a challenging environment. On this day we were suppose to go to Winnipeg (YWG), Canada, except it was -26 degrees C and blowing snow and one mile visibility. It turns out getting in there wasn’t the problem…getting OUT, was.

Two SkyWest airplanes were already stuck there because they couldn’t de-ice/anti-ice the airplane AND make it to the runway in time to takeoff.

The anti-ice fluid would fail, which means its ability to keep the wings from icing up would stop. The amount of time that we can stay on the ground after de-icing/anti-icing is determined by the temperature and the amount of precipitation occurring. We have charts in the airplane that help guide us but if in doubt, err on the side of caution.  Many airplanes have crashed because of ice or snow on the wings, which by just having a little bit can ruin the airflow over the wing thus disturbing the lift enough that the airplane can’t fly.

And ultimately, the pilot-in-command (PIC) is the one that makes that decision and it most cases is based on years of experience. One thing that I always remember about de-icing is that the cost of de-icing fails in comparison to what could happen if you don’t.

So anyway, I got up in front of the passengers, “tried” to explain the situation, and waited for everyone to leave. Most went quietly but one passenger had trouble understanding my explanation and though I tried to explain it further to her, her focus was on getting to YWG. I understand and empathize with her but safety and aircraft positioning trumps her needs in this case.

I personally don’t like weather cancellations because they are so disruptive and in most cases the airlines will not compensate you for it. They will just rebook you on another flight and say “thank you very much.” It’s up to you to feed yourself and find accommodations.

So we ended up being re-flowed and flying to IND and then back to ORD. We were originally suppose to fly ORD to YWG to DEN to Great Falls, MT (GTF), but after we got to ORD we flew to Lincoln, NE (LNK).

The next day was another cancellation day and personally I didn’t see it coming. We flew LNK to DEN and as soon as we landed we were notified that our flight to Springfield, IL (SGF) was now cancelled as well. The dispatcher said is was because of weather but I didn’t see it. So…we just went to the hotel and that was that.

So though it wasn’t the most exciting two days it did have some interesting twist and turns in it. For instance, I had never cancelled because of not being able to de-ice/anti-ice at my destination. That was a first.

So adventures in flying for a regional airline continue…

Be safe…

Jeffrey

P.S. I forgot to mention, on this particular day, it was one of the most disruptive windy days that I have ever flown into in ORD and I’ve been flying in ORD for many years.

Links you might be interested in:

• Holiday Travel! Consider Your Passenger’s Needs
• Empathy and Connecting with Your Passengers
• More Information On Aircraft De-icing/Anti-icing

When I was a new hire with SkyWest, I heard a funny story. For some reason, some of the pilots went over to where the flight attendants attend ground school. Maybe they were going over there to use their microwave, I don’t know. Anyway, when they came back they told us about a conversion they had just had with some flight attendants. The flight attendants and pilots were talking about how long their ground schools were. The flight attendants ground school is three weeks long. The pilots ground school is six weeks long. One flight attendant spoke up and said, “You mean, just three more weeks and I could have been a pilot?” I don’t think so!

For those of you who have been through any sort of flight training, you will probably get a chuckle out of that statement. I know every time I tell the story or think about it, I do. I chuckle because it is almost impossible to explain to the lay person exactly how you got to be a first officer at a regional airline much less how you became a pilot in the first place. Furthermore, it’s fairly difficult to explain what you are going to still be going through for the next couple weeks AFTER you finish ground school.

If you would like to follow the steps of someone just learning to fly, consider following: MyFlightBlog.com. Todd is doing a great job working towards his Private Pilot rating. I always stop by for a read.

Now when I started flying, way, way, way back when I was 15 years old, I would work for my Dad during the weekend installing kitchen cabinets. He would pay me for my work and I would take the money and fly…literally. On my sixteenth birthday I soloed an airplane even before I had my driver’s license. Now, there is more to the story about me, but you can check it out on my About page if you are interested.

If you read my About page, you’ll notice there were huge gaps in my flying. I never got my Private Pilot until I was almost 22 years old. And I never REALLY made it a career choice until I was 35 years old. And all this time, along the path to becoming an airline pilot, I NEVER kept track of the money I was spending. EVER! All I worried about were the hours. Even when I was working on my advanced ratings: multi-engine, commercial, and instrument, I still didn’t worry about what I was spending…and this is bad! I was literally focusing on the hours that I needed…and found the money to pay for it. I still have no clue how much I spent over the entire process, but it was a lot of money!

In 1999, when I finally had the money to shift careers and pursue flying professionally, I had saved up a lot of money from working overseas, and coupled with my GI Bill, I could pay for my flight training without taking out any loans. My GI Bill dried up just about the time I was working on my multi-engine flight instructor rating (MEI) but by then I was on my way.

How Much Is It Going to Cost?

So what is it REALLY going to cost you to become a professional pilot, flying for a regional airlines? Well assuming you already have your Private Pilot certificate, I’ve compiled some numbers that I think will be interesting. Now mind you these are not exact figures. Depending on whether you decide to go to an organized Part 141 school like FlightSafety Academy  (not recommended) in Vero Beach, Florida, or your local flight school, the total cost could possibly be much higher. Again, what I’ve provided is just a guide.

Instrument Rating in a Single-Engine Airplane:

20 hours of airplane rental @ $100/hr. = $2,000
20 hours of simulator rental at $45/hr. = $900
40 hours of dual instruction @ $35/hr. = $1,400
Written exam fee = $50
Designated examiner fee for checkride = $175 
ASA Pilot’s Manual – Instrument Flying = $59.95
Additional ground school materials = $200
Total Cost = $4,784.95

Commercial Rating in a Single-Engine Airplane:

20 hours of airplane rental @ $125/hr. = $2,500
20 hours of dual instruction @ $35/hr. = $700
Second-class medical = $75 (if you plan to fly for compensation or hire)
Written exam fee = $50
Designated examiner fee for checkride = $175
ASA Pilot’s Manual for Private and Commercial Certificates = $49.95
Additional material = $200
Total Cost = $3,749.95

Primary Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) Certificate:

15 hours of airplane rental @ $125/hr. = $1,875
60 hours of dual instruction @ $35/hr. = $2,100
Written exam fees = $100
Checkride given by FAA (not designated examiner) = Fre.e
ASA Certified Flight Instructor Prepware = $49.95
Additional material = $100
Total Cost = $4,225

Instrument Flight Instructor Certificate (CFI-I)

10 hours of airplane rental @ $100/hr. = $1,000
20 hours of dual instruction @ $35/hr. = $700
Written exam fees = $50
Designated examiner fee for checkride = $175
Books for the CFI rating = $100
Additional material = $100
Total Cost = $2,125

Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI) Rating:

5 hours of airplane rental @ $180/hr. = $900
5 hours simulator time @ 45/hr. = $225
10 hours of dual instruction @ $35/hr. = $350
Designated Examiner fee for checkride = $175
ASA – The Complete Multi-Engine Pilot = $19.50
Total Cost = $1,670

So, have you been keeping track of the total cost?

Well, if you add it all up, you are looking at around $19,000!

That’s a lot of money, isn’t it?

And remember, this is just a very rough estimate. How much you fly also factors in to how much you pay because if you have huge gaps in your flying, you are going to find that the minimum number of hours are not enough because you have to repeat lessons, etc. There are a ton of other variables to consider as well.

Think about his too. If you opt for an established, Part 141 school like FlightSafety Academy or Aviator, Inc., you could spend between $35,000 to $45,000 for your training. Almost double what it would cost to go to a Part 61 school.

So, are you still interested? If you are like me, you are! Now you will just have to find a way to pay for it. And like they say, “Where there is a will, there is a way!”

Soon, I’ll give a few suggestions on how to pay for your flight training. Or if you can’t wait, for a Special Report, visit “Fund Your Flying” here.

To Your Flying Success…

Jeffrey

Here are a few links you might enjoy:

• Focusing on Your Dream (http://www.flycrj.com/2008/10/20/focusing-on-your-dream/)
• How to Advance Your Flying Career
• Official FAA Pilot License Training Kits

If you are an airline pilot, you always get a funny response when you tell someone you ”commute” to work. This is because when you say “commute,” you really mean that you drive to the airport, request the jumpseat, and fly from one city (your home most likely) to another city (your base), to go to work, all along hoping and praying that you won’t be bumped out of the jumpseat, that the airplane won’t break, or that weather won’t cancel the flight. It is by no means a “normal” commute, i.e., driving.

The reason I’m talking about this is because the other day I was notified that I was awarded ORD (Chicago O’hare)…AGAIN…which means I will start commuting…AGAIN! The reason I say “again” is because for the first three years of my career at SkyWest, I commuted either from ATL to SLC or I commuted from ATL to ORD.

Now many pilots “commute” to work. I don’t know the exact percentage, but it seems like a lot of pilots do. Being an airline pilot allows you the opportunity to live where you want to live and work from where you want to work even if you have to fly there. It’s a strange combination and a strange way of living…believe me. But there are things you can do to make it more enjoyable and less stressful, but I will get to that in a minute.

I got out of “commuting mode” when I transferred to COS back in April of 2007. It gave me a chance to spend more time with my family and not have to worry about “getting” to work.

Read the rest of this entry »

CRJ200 Windshield Wipers and Control Knob

Yesterday there were a series of events that I didn’t expect. Rain in Denver and my windshield wiper broke. In five years of flying the CRJ, I have had many maintenance issues:

• an air conditioning pack that bellowed smoke
• lose of nose wheel steering
• flap failure

to name a few. But I’ve never had a windshield wiper fail and checking the windshield wipers is not one of our “checklist” items.

(Note: The image to the right is of the CRJ200. The CRJ700 is basically the same but it has an INT selection which is sort of like the intermittent setting on your car. It basically doesn’t work to well though.)

But there we were, taking off from Denver with a little bit of drizzle and I decided to clean off my windshield and lo and behold the co-pilot windshield worked but mine didn’t. No big deal, right? Wrong! 

When we got to OKC, I wrote up the anomaly and called maintenance control. We pulled and reset a few circuit breaker and called contract maintenance.

(Another quick note: If contract maintenance comes on your airplane and says they know what they are doing, don’t believe them. Stay with them while they work on your airplane. For instance, he asked if he could shutdown the airplane. I asked him if he knew how. He said “Yes.” Well after he left, I flowed the panel and most everything was where it shouldn’t be. So again, watch them, and stay with them and check their work.)

Neither worked. It seems that the wiper motor had faulted and there was no way to fix it without going to a maintenance facility. And it turns out that because we were going back to DEN and it was raining, we couldn’t dispatch the airplane into known rain when the rain was occurring within 5 miles of the airport…and it was. So, subsequently, the flight was cancelled and we ferried the airplane to ORD where we have a maintenance base.

Now to me, the CRJ is a great airplane and our maintenance team does an outstanding job, but the fact is, airplanes break. They are mechanical, moving part machines and parts wear out. This is the first time in a long, long time that I’ve had a maintenance issue that resulted in a cancellation and a ferry flight and I don’t like it. We inconvenienced 136 passengers last night because we were suppose to go back to DEN then on to LNK. We don’t get paid to fly empty airplanes. I want to get the passengers where they are going safely and on time, but, that is the business.

Hopefully, United reaccommodated the passengers and did it in an empathetic way, and I hope that everyone was able to get where they wanted to go. As a captain, I did all I could do in the situation and that was explore every option and then let the passengers know what the decision was. I hope they realized that the action taken was the only action possible considering the maintenance issue. What it all comes down to in the end was that the safe operation of the airplane, however remote, would be compromised if we had continued to DEN, into raining conditions, with my windshield wiper broken.

Till next time…

Jeffrey

Jeffrey is a captain at a regional airline and flies the CRJ200, CRJ700, and the CRJ900. He has over 4000 hrs of flying experience in many different airplanes and is a Gold Seal flight instructor to his credit. He has recently written “The CRJ200 Quicknote Study Guide” that simplifies the systems of the CRJ200 into a easy-to-understand, downloadable eBook. Click here to get your copy today!