Pilot Life
767 Flight Deck Preflight
Time for Work The flight crew arrives at the Boeing 767 freighter between 30 and 60 minutes prior to departure. If the pilots expect an on-time departure, they’ll be busy until pushback. This is a […]
Pilot Life
Pilot Life
You Might Be a Cargo Pilot…
Flying for a cargo airline can be a rewarding career. The flying, schedules, work hours, and culture are a little different than what many passenger pilots experience. I work for an overnight package express company […]
Pilot Life
Recurrent Training: Keeping Pilots Qualified
Airline pilots spend several days a year in training to brush up on the skills and knowledge needed to fly transport aircraft. Friends are often surprised when I tell them about recurrent training. What kind […]
Pilot Life
Do Pilots Like Being Passengers?
AeroSavvy reader Steve M. asks: “How weird does it feel to be in the back with someone else doing the driving?” That’s a great question and I hear it a lot! Why do pilots ride […]
Pilot Life
WFPL Radio: What It’s Like to Be a UPS Pilot
In March 2017, I was invited by WFPL News (Louisville’s NPR affiliate) to talk about what it’s like to be a pilot for Big Brown. Here’s the interview…
Pilot Life
Plane Talking UK Podcast
I had the honor of being a guest on Episode 151 of the Plane Talking UK Podcast. Each week, hosts Matt and Carlos do a super job of presenting aviation news and information. The podcast is fun, […]
Pilot Life
Dog Strike, Screaming Passenger & More
One of my favorite blogs is Jennifer’s “Tales from the Terminal.” I was honored when Jenn contacted me to do a guest post for her “Airport Tales” series. In the post, I talk about a […]
Aircraft Systems
How Your Broken Plane Can Fly Safely: Part 1
As you relax sipping ginger-ale on your next flight, here’s something to ponder: The airplane you are riding in might have stuff broken. It might even have parts missing! Starting to lose that warm and fuzzy […]
Aircraft Systems
How Your Broken Plane Can Fly Safely: Part 2
In Part 1 (featured at NYCAviation.com), I talked about what happens when stuff on an airliner breaks while we sit at the gate. What do airline pilots do when there is a mechanical malfunction while airborne? Airliners […]
Aircraft Systems
Aviation’s Crazy, Mixed Up Units of Measure
One of the challenges of international flying is handling different units of measure in different countries. In aviation, the battle between imperial and metric units continues. Feet, meters, statute miles, nautical miles, inches of mercury, […]