I spent 38 years roaming the skies over North America, Asia and Europe and would like to share those experiences with others. Landing, 12R, MSP, 757-300, 4/16/04
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Five weeks later....
Just arrived home a few hours ago after completing training, and with the help of many good friends and a dedicated training department I have a new type rating!
More later, I'm going to bed now and plan to sleep for a week!
Nice work Rand. Nothing beats that triumphant stroll out of the sim building after the dragon has been slayed ! Now comes that first landing. Congrats. Mike V
Congratulations on the new rating and I look forward to your blog entries from the new equipment. I would be curious on your motivation for change in type this far along in your career?
Mike, You must have done this a few times yourself to understand the "triumphant stroll" from the school house feeling. I can't wait for OE and that first takeoff and landing. I'm also looking forward to taxing the airplane.
Paul, funny that you should ask. I was very content finishing out my career flying the 757 and 767 but hadn't checked my future bid preferences card for quite some time. As it turned out I had an old bid still in effect preferencing the 747-400. Low and behold when the September bid came out I never bothered to check the results because (I thought) I hadn't bid anything new. But my old card was still in effect and my seniority was able to hold the -400. I thought about trying to get out of the bid but decided to enjoy one last great airline adventure and checkout in this storied airplane. And that's the rest of the story...
John, I've had several checks along the way already. Much like NWA, DAL administers mini checks during training to gauge the students progress. After ground school there's a 100 question systems test, than a Procedures check, a Maneuvers validation, and finally the LOE or rating ride which I took last Saturday night. Although I thought I was woefully ready for all of this, the training department did a great job proving I was wrong and prepared me well. Next comes OE (Operating Experience) with a line check pilot that will terminate with a Line Check that will send me off to line flying on my own.
Mark, this was all much easier in my 30's and 40's and will take all of the days off they'll give me about now!
So jumping from a very senior CAPT position on the 757/767 to an FO on the 747-400, how does that affect your pay. You dont need to be specific. Im just curious. Your seniority overall in the company does not change thought, correct?
I have to say - I remember you talking about touch-and-go's with the 767 at Grand Rapids if I remember right, and someone had got shots of that as well if I remember - so I have to ask - how were touch-and-go's with the Queen? That must have made for some fun flying - I have tried it on Flight Simulator with the PMDG 747 - it makes for interesting flying on that - the real thing must be just as interesting! Was it Grand Rapids again?
Congratulations on completing your 747 training. I'm sure I can speak for all your followers and say that we can't wait to read about your initial experiences with the Queen of the skies.
Sorry, I was assuming. I guess I dont know the industry well enough :P. I always thought when you switched aircraft types that you started in the right seat. Thats AWESOME that you are left seat!! Again, shouldnt have assumed.
Thanks very much, I can't wait to fly it, write about it and photograph it.
Daniel,
It's all about seniority and frankly I never expected mine to get me into the left seat of the -400. The NWA 747 and the DAL 777 are "fenced" airplanes, meaning that for five years after the merger, they're restricted to the pilots of their original airline. Without this clause I'd probably never have seen the 747 except to have taxied by one now and again.
I had made the same assumption as Daniel thus the thrust of my original question. Knowing now that you retain a captaincy, the move would be a no brainer for me. looking forward to your posts.
Funny you mentioned looking forward to taxiing the 747.I was on the jumpseat of a Kallita 747 years ago(yes,I survived)and I thought we had slowed down enough to make a 90 deg turn off the runway.Just as I thought the capt was was going to turn,the fo calls out"80 kts" The height of the cockpit really distorted the speed across the ground.And they went way past the taxiway before they initiated the turn.This may be the real challenge in your checkout.Really looking forward to sharing your adveture.P.S. now u have pax sittin in FRONT of u ?!?! MikeV
Hey Rand, figured you'd retire off the 767/757...glad to read you have it in you to go back to the classroom/sweatbox. How did you forget the bid-card, did it date back to NWA daze?
Hope all is well on the home-front, congrats on the new ink on your ticket.
See you down the line (Not likely now that you are all high and lofty perched on-high-say nice things about those of us you left behind in the 757s...)
Rand, please let me add my sincere congratulations to the many others you have received. As a recovering nervous flyer, your blog has become "must reading" for me and I'm looking forward to following your adventures in your new bird.
It doesn't often happen, but a friend of mine recently checked out as a 747 captain here and it was his first captain checkout. Some, like me, chose to check out as a captain as soon as possible and simply moved to larger aircraft as our seniority allowed. Others, who have no desire to fly domestically or fly smaller aircraft after experiencing wide-body, international flying, fly as wide-body copilots until their seniority finally gets them into a left seat internationally. And that's what this fellow did. He flew as a 747-400 copilot for years until he could hold it as a captain. I understand the allure of spanning continents and oceans with layovers in Paris, Rome and Hong Kong, but I'd never give up my experiences flying DC-9's and 727's into short, windy, snow-covered runways at LaGuardia, Washington National or Kalamazoo.
That's one of the points that my simulator instructors highly stressed. SLOW DOWN! During one of my first sim sessions I turned off the end of the runway after landing at 30 knots. I thought surely I was doing 5 knots or so until I looked at my ground speed readout. It's very deceiving sitting up so high from this lofty perch.
I too thought that I'd retire from the 7ER and couldn't believe I'd forgotten about a previous bid pref card, probably submitted back during the Civil War or something. About half way thru this thing though I was wondering if I still had it in me too!
Your congratulations are very much appreciated and my thanks to you for reading my stuff. I'd love to have you on board some time to express my thoughts as to why you shouldn't be nervous in this beautiful environment.
Congratulations on your new rating! Your blog is a must read for aviation fans such as myself, thank you for sharing your experiences. I hope you are well rested. When do you begin flying trips again and do you know which routes you will be flying?
Thanks for writing. My OE starts on 25 May, so I have a fair amount of time off to recuperate. The -400 only goes to nine places, so other than Amsterdam, Honolulu and Tel Aviv, I'll be spending my time out and about in Asia. Tough duty!
Congrats on passing your training, Rand. Taxing the -400 is quite easy especially in tight corners b/c of the main body gear steering. I'm not sure about the B767, but you probably won't need to oversteer as much as you think you may need to. Best of luck and keep us posted!
Nice work Rand. Nothing beats that triumphant stroll out of the sim building after the dragon has been slayed ! Now comes that first landing. Congrats. Mike V
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new rating and I look forward to your blog entries from the new equipment. I would be curious on your motivation for change in type this far along in your career?
ReplyDeleteWhen do you get your first check ride?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Rand!! Enjoy a good few days off - I'm sure after all that training - a few days are well deserved!!
ReplyDeleteMike, You must have done this a few times yourself to understand the "triumphant stroll" from the school house feeling. I can't wait for OE and that first takeoff and landing. I'm also looking forward to taxing the airplane.
ReplyDeletePaul, funny that you should ask. I was very content finishing out my career flying the 757 and 767 but hadn't checked my future bid preferences card for quite some time. As it turned out I had an old bid still in effect preferencing the 747-400. Low and behold when the September bid came out I never bothered to check the results because (I thought) I hadn't bid anything new. But my old card was still in effect and my seniority was able to hold the -400. I thought about trying to get out of the bid but decided to enjoy one last great airline adventure and checkout in this storied airplane. And that's the rest of the story...
John, I've had several checks along the way already. Much like NWA, DAL administers mini checks during training to gauge the students progress. After ground school there's a 100 question systems test, than a Procedures check, a Maneuvers validation, and finally the LOE or rating ride which I took last Saturday night. Although I thought I was woefully ready for all of this, the training department did a great job proving I was wrong and prepared me well. Next comes OE (Operating Experience) with a line check pilot that will terminate with a Line Check that will send me off to line flying on my own.
Mark, this was all much easier in my 30's and 40's and will take all of the days off they'll give me about now!
Rand
So jumping from a very senior CAPT position on the 757/767 to an FO on the 747-400, how does that affect your pay. You dont need to be specific. Im just curious. Your seniority overall in the company does not change thought, correct?
ReplyDeleteDaniel, How have you concluded that I've gone to FO on the 747? I've upgraded from 767 captain to 747 captain.
ReplyDeleteRand
I have to say - I remember you talking about touch-and-go's with the 767 at Grand Rapids if I remember right, and someone had got shots of that as well if I remember - so I have to ask - how were touch-and-go's with the Queen? That must have made for some fun flying - I have tried it on Flight Simulator with the PMDG 747 - it makes for interesting flying on that - the real thing must be just as interesting! Was it Grand Rapids again?
ReplyDeleteRand,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on completing your 747 training. I'm sure I can speak for all your followers and say that we can't wait to read about your initial experiences with the Queen of the skies.
Happy napping!!!!
Very cool, Rand. Hope you enjoy the 747.
ReplyDeleteRand,
ReplyDeleteSorry, I was assuming. I guess I dont know the industry well enough :P. I always thought when you switched aircraft types that you started in the right seat. Thats AWESOME that you are left seat!! Again, shouldnt have assumed.
Mark, JB and Devan,
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, I can't wait to fly it, write about it and photograph it.
Daniel,
It's all about seniority and frankly I never expected mine to get me into the left seat of the -400. The NWA 747 and the DAL 777 are "fenced" airplanes, meaning that for five years after the merger, they're restricted to the pilots of their original airline. Without this clause I'd probably never have seen the 747 except to have taxied by one now and again.
Rand
I had made the same assumption as Daniel thus the thrust of my original question. Knowing now that you retain a captaincy, the move would be a no brainer for me. looking forward to your posts.
ReplyDeleteFunny you mentioned looking forward to taxiing the 747.I was on the jumpseat of a Kallita 747 years ago(yes,I survived)and I thought we had slowed down enough to make a 90 deg turn off the runway.Just as I thought the capt was was going to turn,the fo calls out"80 kts" The height of the cockpit really distorted the speed across the ground.And they went way past the taxiway before they initiated the turn.This may be the real challenge in your checkout.Really looking forward to sharing your adveture.P.S. now u have pax sittin in FRONT of u ?!?! MikeV
ReplyDeleteHey Rand, figured you'd retire off the 767/757...glad to read you have it in you to go back to the classroom/sweatbox. How did you forget the bid-card, did it date back to NWA daze?
ReplyDeleteHope all is well on the home-front, congrats on the new ink on your ticket.
See you down the line (Not likely now that you are all high and lofty perched on-high-say nice things about those of us you left behind in the 757s...)
Tim 8DME W ORD
Rand,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on completing the 747-400 checkout! Now off to OE and hopefully a few good landings. Enjoy your new surroundings!
Brent
Delta 757 MSP
Congratulations Rand!! I enjoy your blog very much
ReplyDeleteRand, please let me add my sincere congratulations to the many others you have received. As a recovering nervous flyer, your blog has become "must reading" for me and I'm looking forward to following your adventures in your new bird.
ReplyDeleteKen from Toronto
All the best!
Daniel and Paul,
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't often happen, but a friend of mine recently checked out as a 747 captain here and it was his first captain checkout. Some, like me, chose to check out as a captain as soon as possible and simply moved to larger aircraft as our seniority allowed. Others, who have no desire to fly domestically or fly smaller aircraft after experiencing wide-body, international flying, fly as wide-body copilots until their seniority finally gets them into a left seat internationally. And that's what this fellow did. He flew as a 747-400 copilot for years until he could hold it as a captain. I understand the allure of spanning continents and oceans with layovers in Paris, Rome and Hong Kong, but I'd never give up my experiences flying DC-9's and 727's into short, windy, snow-covered runways at LaGuardia, Washington National or Kalamazoo.
Rand
Mike V,
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the points that my simulator instructors highly stressed. SLOW DOWN! During one of my first sim sessions I turned off the end of the runway after landing at 30 knots. I thought surely I was doing 5 knots or so until I looked at my ground speed readout. It's very deceiving sitting up so high from this lofty perch.
Rand
Tim,
ReplyDeleteI too thought that I'd retire from the 7ER and couldn't believe I'd forgotten about a previous bid pref card, probably submitted back during the Civil War or something. About half way thru this thing though I was wondering if I still had it in me too!
Rand
Brent and anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to write and sharing your thoughts, they're much appreciated.
Rand
Ken from Toronto,
ReplyDeleteYour congratulations are very much appreciated and my thanks to you for reading my stuff. I'd love to have you on board some time to express my thoughts as to why you shouldn't be nervous in this beautiful environment.
Thank-you,
Rand
Rand,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new rating! Your blog is a must read for aviation fans such as myself, thank you for sharing your experiences. I hope you are well rested. When do you begin flying trips again and do you know which routes you will be flying?
Ron from Phoenix
Hello Ron,
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing. My OE starts on 25 May, so I have a fair amount of time off to recuperate. The -400 only goes to nine places, so other than Amsterdam, Honolulu and Tel Aviv, I'll be spending my time out and about in Asia. Tough duty!
Rand
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on passing your training, Rand. Taxing the -400 is quite easy especially in tight corners b/c of the main body gear steering. I'm not sure about the B767, but you probably won't need to oversteer as much as you think you may need to. Best of luck and keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteWay to go Rand ! Enjoy that 2 story jet.
ReplyDeleteNow about those Red Sox.......
Tom Helwick