Category Archives: Aviation

Don't see that every day

METAR CYYJ 210100Z 30006KT 10SM TS FEW025CB SCT036 BKN064 BKN092 03/03 A2952 RERA RMK CB2SC2SC2AC2 SLP996=

And more specifically:

WSCN31 CWEG 210058
SIGMET M1 VALID 210100/210500 CWEG-
WTN 10 NM OF LN /4917N12329W/15 W VANCOUVER – /4825N12256W/15 E
VICTORIA.
BKN LN TS OBSD ON RDR/LTNG DTCTR TOPS 260. LN MOVG NEWD 20 KT.
TS INTSFYG.
END/GFA31/CMAC-W/TSG

I miss thunderstorms, but only from the ground.

(For those of you who don’t speak aviation weather: the first is a METAR, or a current summary of local conditions, that shows a thunderstorm observed at Victoria International with 10 miles of visibility. The second is a SIGMET, a warning of significant weather affecting the safety of flight, describing a line of thunderstorms moving east of Victoria, intensifying as it moves.)

I was on the Internet within minutes…

… registering my disgust throughout the world.

Air Canada: Treat yourself to a little more legroom

Do you find yourself looking for a little extra space when you fly? Well, look no further. When you travel with us, you now have the option of selecting a Preferred seat, which offers more in-flight legroom. Preferred seat selection is available starting at $14 CAD per one-way flight, including connections, from your departure to your destination city, and is complimentary for Super Elite, Elite and Prestige customers travelling on specific fares.

In plain English, Air Canada is now charging for bulkhead and exit row seating. WestJet has been doing this for a while, but they’re offering those seats up for $15 (plus $10 at time of booking). Bulkhead, and the first few rows of economy, used to be selectable only at time of booking for customers with status; now, unless you’re traveling in the right fare category, you can’t book them without paying.

This is really irritating. United does the same thing, calling it Economy Plus, but the difference is that it’s actually worth it — hell is a Y seat on a 757-200, and E+ makes it better. You get ~4″ extra of legroom, which doesn’t sound like a lot but actually turns out to be quite nice. (Lovely Wife and I now have a policy of always, but always, buying the E+ upgrade on UAL flights.) Here, you’re not actually getting anything better — Air Canada is just charging more for the seats that those of us who fly a lot know about as being “premium.” The product isn’t different at all.

What’s most frustrating is what they’re doing with their status passengers. Used to be, as an Air Canada Elite member, I could book basically any seat on the plane; now, unless I’m traveling on a Latitude fare (read: expensive economy) or am willing to pay, I’m out of luck. But, of course, if I’m traveling on a Latitude fare, I might as well use my upgrade certificates, so why would I pay? And there’s nothing to say that passengers who don’t pay for the preferred seating, and who aren’t paying for the priviledge of picking seats at time of booking (read: people traveling on the cheapest of the cheap fares) won’t find themselves in the preferred seats if no one is willing to pay (this happens on UAL from time to time, and the cheap end up in the expensive seats).

In the end, I suspect that I will suck it up and just cope. Like many of the other changes that have come with flying lately I have, mostly, just come to accept that there is little I can do. I can’t threaten to change airlines, so I guess I’m just going to have to whine about it and pay the stupid fees. It’s not all bad; I personally think Air Canada’s Y product is probably the best in North America so it’s not like this is a horrible fate to befall anyone, but I was starting to get used to row 12…

YouTube Wednesday

First:

We’ve all seen the pictures, and we probably all understand on some level exactly how hard this was to accomplish, but check this: real time, showing altitude and airspeed, with the various radio calls (be sure to put it on HD mode and blow it up so you can read the CVR transcript), along with the attitude and position of the plane during the whole flight. Six minutes is a lot less time. My admiration for that flight crew continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

Second is this. It is a collection of movies of dogs welcoming their owners home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Anybody who owns a dog will probably get a little weepy.

Take that!

Aerodrome Safety reported that the aircraft, a French registered CL-5T ( Global Express) arrived at Whitecourt and parked at the forestry ramp without asking permission or requesting prior authorization. Fire fighting operations were and have been in full force for three weeks at Whitecourt. Firecats, CL- 215 etc. not to mention helicopters of all shapes, stripes and sizes. The crew were asked to move their aircraft because two Lockheed Electras retrofitted for aerial fire retardant/firefighting needed the ramp space. They reluctantly moved their aircraft when told that if they didn’t airside operations would. After all this the crew then went on a walkabout and were intercepted by the APM who gave them verbal counseling on airside protocols and etiquette in both official languages. The APM was born in Three Rivers QC so the language card that the crew attempted to use was trumped.

The wing and the prayer

News of Boeing’s decision to postpone the first flight of the 787-8 zipped around today, and I was struck initially by a profound sense of sadness. I am by no means any kind of stakeholder in the whole composite airplane adventure, nor does the timing of the 787’s entry into service affect me in any meaningful way. (My airline of choice is a customer, and the routes I fly most are likely to be the ones served by the 787, but that’s years in the future anyway.) But I’ve been following the 787’s development closely, I was lucky enough to be in the cabin mock-up in Everett last year, and I think it’s quite possibly the sexiest commercial airplane I’ve ever seen.

Here’s the thing I’m seeing only sporadically, though. This is serious bleeding edge work Boeing’s doing. We’re used to aircraft development cycles looking a certain way, but the normal rules of the game don’t apply because everything is different this time. Boeing said that about the 777, too, and Airbus said the same thing about the A380, but when you’re not building the airframe out of aluminum anymore all bets are off. And so the research and development (heavy emphasis on “development”) are going to take time. I’m not sure a lot of aviation enthusiasts (read: blog commenters, who seem to take the politics/team sports approach to building aircraft) or investment advisers get this.

It reminds me of nothing so much as the stories from the early part of the space race, when the Americans kept having problems with their rockets blowing up — and this was evidence of American weakness in space, or deficiencies in science education, or a failure of political leadership, or incompetence, or whatever. It’s not. It’s totally normal. It’s a well understood and accepted part of aircraft development. When you’re doing engineering, it takes time to get the thing right. Major advances in aerospace technology do not come easily, cheaply, or on schedule. We didn’t understand this back in the 1950s and 1960s, and we clearly don’t understand this now. It’s probably a good thing that Orion and Constellation are happening mostly out of sight (really, when was the last time you saw a public story about the performance of either without having to go looking for it), because otherwise we’d be hearing about the slow pace of development and whether or not the whole thing was worth it in the end. (That’s a debatable point, and probably a debate we should have, obviously, but you know what I mean.)

Boeing has understood this from the beginning. For all the hype, for all of the scheduling, I’ve never actually heard them say “the thing will fly on this date.” No, it’s been, “it will fly when it’s ready to fly.” And good for them. That isn’t satisfying to the kids with the keyboards (of which I am one) or the bankers who live and die by the quarterly profit projections, but it is how the real airplane nerds do things.

Still, I was thinking of how I might sneak down to Everett next weekend, and I got a little silly smile on my face trying to figure out how to make it down and back in a day, and now I guess those plans can go on hold. For the moment, anyway.

Oh, snap!

CADORS 2009C1111:

User Name: Ridley, Rod
Date: 2009/05/11
Further Action Required: Yes
O.P.I.: Aerodrome Safety
Narrative: Whitehorse FIC reported that the drivers of two Air North vehicles positioned a HS 748 onto Taxiway Echo without contacting Whitehorse Radio for authorization.

User Name: Ridley, Rod
Date: 2009/05/13
Further Action Required: No
O.P.I.: System Safety
Narrative: UPDATE Aerodrome Safety reported that Whitehorse airside personnel have had a number of conversations/meetings with the Air North group regarding Air North and their continuing penchant for getting their names up on the CADORS. Both individuals received verbal briefings from the airside /security management. This event had no operational impact.

Ow.

When no one is looking

I have been reading the CADORS database on a semi-regular basis lately, mostly because I’m a big geek and, um, I’m a big geek — much in the same way that I read the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s incident summaries. Why? Well, why the hell not?

As with most things in life, it’s better with animals — I get the feeling that CADORS must not have a lot of regular readers:

Aerodrome Safety reported that the airside operations manager at P.A. reports that by the time he received a call from FSS and got airside, the foxy lady was long gone. There have been besides the fox, sightings of a coyote and perhaps a wolf however nothing verified. Resident sharp shooters have tried very long shots at the mammals however without success. Airport personnel continue with twice daily patrols and boundary inspections. This occurrence had no operational impact. (CADORS 2009C1033)

The crew of WJA 418, a WestJet B737, reported a bird strike in the vicinity of the ZZD NDB while on approach to Runway 02 at Edmonton. … Aerodrome Safety reported that the crew of WJA 418 advised that the bird struck the right co-pilot’s window. Although the first officer was startled, there was no damage and the starling sized bird only caused a small impact smear. The aircraft was landed without further incident. (CADORS 2009C1020)

JZA 447, a Jazz CRJ 700, was conducting an ILS approach for Runway 31L at Whitehorse but was required to circle for Runway 13R in order to allow a coyote to be chased off the runway. The aircraft subsequently landed without further incident. … Aerodrome Safety reported that airside operations personnel reported that the varmint may have gotten airside either underneath or over a portion of fencing which is snow packed, however the wily fellow is long gone. There are conflicting reports about the animal’s actual walk about. The coyote may have stayed on the apron and in field and not entered runway 13/31L. (CADORS 2009C0812)

The pilots of two departing aircraft at Medicine Hat observed a coyote on the runway. The coyote exited the runway in both cases as the aircraft approached. … Aerodrome Safety reported that the APM reported that the coyote is long gone. Regular inspections of airport boundaries are done by airside operations personnel. They determine access points and eradication positions. The locating of the varmint’s dens is most difficult. Fortunately for the aviation community Coyote strikes are very rare. This event had no operational impact. (CADORS 2009C0932)

C-GRCX, a Super T Aviation Academy Piper Arrow, was about to depart from Runway 21 at Medicine Hat when the pilot was advised by FSS of a coyote about to enter the runway from the east side. The Arrow’s departure was delayed about 3 minutes. Airport staff were called to chase the coyote away. GLR 7242, a Central Mountain Air Beech 1900, was on the backtrack on Runway 21 for departure to Calgary when the driver of TK 399 called holding short. The coyote spotted TK 399 and ran eastbound from the west infield crossing Runway 21. GLR 7242 was delayed about 4 minutes and C-GRCX was in the circuit and had to modify his circuit due to GLR 7242’s delay. … Aerodrome Safety reported that the APM at Medicine Hat reported that the wily fellow was some 400 yards away from 21/03 and was startled from that position onto the runway. The coyote was chased off the property, however the APM was unable to get a shot at the cagey varmint. As a result of this event two departures were delayed. Airside operations staff continue to do airport boundary inspections. (CADORS 2009C0957)

The crew of TSC 273, an Airbus A-330-200 operated by Air Transat reported hitting a rabbit while arriving at Edmonton International (CYEG). … Aerodrome Safety reported that airside operations personnel recovered and removed the remains of a white tailed Jack Rabbit. The aircraft’s right main gear although somewhat discolored did not suffer any damage; sadly the same cannot be said about the hasenpfeffer. This event had no operational impact. (CADORS 2009C0990)

It’s the same guy writing most of these incident reports. I don’t know what I find stranger — that this stuff has to be tracked and logged in such careful detail, or that there’s a guy out there who likes to be creative in his incident reporting.

What we talk about when we talk about losing a wing

William Langewiesche, The Devil at 37,000 Feet:

The site smelled of jet fuel, which had soaked into the soil and spilled into two small streams that flowed through the forest there. It also smelled of death, or more accurately of organic decomposition, which in the heat was well advanced. Perhaps a hundred soldiers were at work, expanding a helicopter landing zone, and collecting and bagging the victims. They had built a camp out beyond a cluster of wreckage from the Boeing’s wings, where the landing gear could be seen still desperately extended. The main wreckage lay just to the north in a dispersed chaos of torn and twisted metal, shattered machinery, bent hydraulic lines, tubes, wiring harnesses, cockpit displays, cabin seats, and all the transported contents of the airplane—a sad spillage of luggage, purses, briefcases, clothes, medicines, cosmetics, photographs, trophy fish that sportfishermen had been hauling home from Manaus, and thousands of computer parts that the Boeing had been carrying in its cargo hold and that now littered the forest and slumped into a stream. The debris had dug into the earth on impact, and had drawn trees and branches into the tangle. The condition of the dead should be left unsaid, except to note the mercilessness of the slaughter, and the fact that after Gol Flight 1907 hit the ground hardly any corpse remained intact. Carnivorous tigerfish had braved the poisoned streams and were feeding on flesh that had fallen into the water. This is what happens when a wing is severed in flight. The Caiapós are warriors, perhaps, but they were deeply disturbed by the scene.

Langewiesche has always had a distinct flair for clear, powerful writing, but this piece, on the mid-air collision between N600XL and GLO1907, reminds me of nothing so much as Raymond Carver’s fiction — sparse, precise, commonplace language that ultimately endows its subject with startling power. I understand the technical details of what happened over the Amazon that day — I understand the technical details of most aviation incidents better than most — but I’ve never read an accident report quite like this before, one that sent shivers down my spine.

Random disconnected thoughts about the death of an airline



N823AL, a Boeing 737-200 belonging to Aloha Airlines, at Keahole Airport (PHKO)
30 January, 2008

News of Aloha’s suspension of passenger service has spread throughout the air travel world, and we’re now 24 hours into a post-Aloha passenger universe. Aloha is one of the first airlines that I remember clearly, and one that played a pivotal role in forming some of my most treasured memories as a kid. Going to Hawaii was always a great thing; going through Honolulu, over to the inter-island terminal, with the bus station atmosphere, the dark floors, the generalized mayhem, to end up on one of these psychedelically painted planes and whisked off to the Big Island — it was heady stuff for me. So much so that, when I went back to Hawaii for the first time in way too long last year, and climbed aboard the Aloha flight to Hilo in Honolulu, settled into my seat and got a small plastic container of guava juice once we hit cruise… it was a lot like nothing had changed, and I was 8 again.

Seeing N823AL on the ramp in January I thought I was looking backwards into my past. No other plane looked so ridiculous and yet so sublime. I’m a lot older now and way more jaded, and yet I felt a little weak taking this picture from the departure area while I waited to leave.

We didn’t fly on AAH earlier this year and it had more to do with availability, timing, and fares than anything else — we were leaving PHKO and heading back home and trying to find an available seat on an AAH flight was difficult. So instead we few Hawaiian, and I had one of the most pleasant short-haul flight experiences I’ve had in a very long time. Now I feel bad, because I thought I’d come back to AAH the next time around, and there won’t be a next time, now.

It’s strange how we invest emotional energy in things like airlines. I remember watching CP turn into Canadian, loving every minute I spent in the air with Canadian, smirking at anyone dumb enough to fly Air Canada by choice. And then it all fell apart; my last flight on Canadian, to Boston in May of 2000, was bittersweet because the return was on Air Canada metal, and the contrast was stark, obvious; I didn’t like it at all. Now I put up with Air Canada and I tolerate WestJet, and am shocked when I have an ACA flight that doesn’t come with a side order of extreme annoyance, or a WJA flight that doesn’t make me grit my teeth over some issue or another. Air travel doesn’t seem like much fun anymore, and yet it continues to hold some kind of silly appeal for me.

The world changes, you heard it here first. There are all kinds of things you can no longer do on airplanes; some, like the decline and fall of catering standards and service, are a function of the business climate. Some, like riding in the pointiest part of a 767-200 all the way to Toronto, are a function of our time. (This remains the coolest thing I have ever done in an airplane I wasn’t being paid to ride in to date.) That’s lost and gone forever. You’d think, though, that the joy of travel, the experience of getting somewhere, would still hold some fun; now, it’s drudgery at the airport, ritualistic humiliation at the screening point, cattle-class service on board, and baggage roulette at the final destination. No wonder people are down on the airlines — it’s not fun anymore.

Aloha had its share of problems. I didn’t really enjoy flying with them last year, but that experience hasn’t changed my memories or my love of the airline any. I have decades of warm, happy thoughts for AAH, and I’m really going to miss them. They, more than any airline I spent time on as a kid, were the providers of the last of the “fun” trips, from start to finish.

This is so stupid.

Ok, look.

It’s just an airplane. I have no emotional attachment to a 737-200 except for the part where I flew on them for years and years, and beyond complaining that Airbus lacks the “oh, wow!” feeling of aviation I don’t really have an emotional attachment to any airplane. So how come I’m on the verge of tears while watching this farewell video to the 732?

Stupid airplane! Be less sad!