4 Dec 2011
I just want to take a moment to say I couldn’t be more proud of the pilots and company that make up United Regional right now. Everyone has been doing a fantastic job and it seems like our activity is increasing exponentially. I want to take a moment to point out some key people who’ve recently done a very special job of it:
- A big thank you goes out to Branden Carter (BCarter) in appreciation for the United Regional repaint of our CRJ and E135 aircraft.
- Thank you to Captain Matt (Southwestboy) for all his efforts in training and motivating the group. Matt is the first instructor to achieve 2 (and soon 3) ruby pips and is well on his way to earning Senior Captain’s wings.
- Welcome to FO Mariano (NYCPilot) and FO Jim (Digipic) as UALR’s newest mentors
- Welcome to FO Mark (Mermer) as UALR’s first official real world airline pilot. Mark serves with Frontier Airlines as pilot on an Airbus 319
- Congradulations to FO Jason (JasonVermount) not only on passing his Flight Officer’s checkride but also for being the first UALR pilot to recruit another pilot away from another server! (FSMP)
- A huge thank you to FO Dan (SoloWingDemon) for all his work as controller and keeping UALR pilots challenged and sharp. In addition, Dan recently passed his FO checkride as well. While Dan doesn’t fly with us often, he frequently serves as a controller when UALR is operating and decided to enter the officer’s pipeline in large part to be able to understand our program better and provide good operational feedback to our pilots.
New Candidates – Please join also me in welcoming these fine new candidates to the line:
Chris (chris1050)
Matt Roberts (MattKrass)
Steve (RevWitlen)
Ryan Hundley (Ryan1282)
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! Impromptu Flight Officer’s conference
A last minute and short FO conference has been scheduled for new ERJ operators to learn their aircraft. All officer’s are invited to attend, however new ERJ operators in particular are encouraged to be there.
Meet at KPHL and on Skype at 7pm this Sunday 12/5 with your ERJ aircraft and we will review operations and FMS use before departing for a group flight back to KBOS. UALR uses the Delta terminal at KPHL: Gates D1 – 16. We will likely take a group photo before departing, so please use EVEN numbered gates so that we are all on the same side of the terminal at photo time.
Skype calls – As a reminder UALR policy and good manners both dictate that before calling someone on Skype you must first page them via text to see if they are available to accept a call. Calling without asking first is considered rude.
Wind Sheer – Flight Officer Jim (UAL007) submits the following interesting blurb on countering wind sheer:
[12/3/2010 12:28:33 PM] FO - Jim Elmore - UALR 007: I experienced wind sheer at JFK 31R last night manifested by a complete drop in wind speed at my face. That put me looking for more airspeed, but could have been fatal if I hadn't prepared a bit in advance. I was reading Barry Schiff's article in the AOPA mag about wind shear.
He pointed out that we all try to counter expected shear by increasing airspeed, but we all have different target airspeeds it seems. He says that the Air Force teaches that you set the ground speed equal to the airspeed that you would normally (no winds) use. Huh you say! Yes, take a look at the GPS and see what the ground speed is. Bump it up until it is equal to whatever you feel is your comfortable landing speed with no winds.
Now, when you touchdown, it's groundspeed that determines how far down the strip you go. Airspeed has very little to do with it. Simple huh? Now, you can conceivably lose all of the headwind and still do all right because of inertia. At that point airspeed is equal to groundspeed and we live happily ever after. The article caught my eye and I read it right before landing at JFK last night, thank God. I didn't pull off Barry's procedure all that well, but well enough to prevent a disaster. I lost all headwind component momentarily. I said HUH!
This also reinforces the wisdom of UALR’s policy to approach for final at +10 Knts recommended landing speed and with a nose down attitude. In both the CRJ and ERJ that equates to about 160-170. As you approach the runway threshold, cut back the power, ease the nose back to flare off that additional 10 knts speed and you will settle down on the paint nice and pretty. Speed is always easier to bleed off than it is to build up so make sure you have enough of it on approach.
Scenery Updates – It is imperative that all pilots download and install scenery updates for events on a regular basis. In conversations with controllers I’ve learned that controllers have a list of “Most Wanted Changes” for pilots, and item number one on that list is for pilots to have the proper updates for scenery. Obviously be sure to check to download scenery updates for events before flying, but also consider taking 20 minutes to sit and download and install ALL of the updates off the BVA downloads page. I’ve asked the scenery team to consider packing all updates into one massive self installer file, but we’ll see if that actually happens or not.
Proper Gating – Remember to arrive at and depart from the proper UALR gates at all times. Take a moment to review the airport diagrams for your frequent destinations to be sure you know where your terminal and gates are. UALR uses the following gates at these frequently used hub airports…
KBOS: C11 – 21
KJFK: B1-12
KBDL: G11 – 16
KPHL: D1-D16
Tues Regional Circuit KBOS/KFJK recap – Finally, I would just like to say that I don’t think I’ve seen a better circuit or had more fun flying with BVA in quite some time. I would venture to say that last Tuesday’s circuit between KBOS and KJFK was the closest we’ve ever come to simulating true regional jet operations. There were UALR RJ’s everywhere and I know controllers had fun as well. Go team!
No comments:
Post a Comment