UALR OpNote 021

6 Feb 2011

We Fly as a Team.  Consistency is our Goal.

TO:  All UALR Pilots

FR:  Chief Pilot Chuck

RE:  controller’s meeting, operational updates

I am pleased to say that the company is now the largest it has ever been.  Recently there are several new pilots who have joined us.  Please welcome Max Enis, Robert stark (regs695), B Rains, and Brendan (tankster21) to the line.

Controller’s meeting:

After two very productive meetings with BVA controllers I believe we have put the vast majority of issues controllers may have regarding UALR to bed.  Most of them stem from simple misunderstandings of who we are, what we do, and how we do it.  Most have been resolved.

The most important take-away from the meeting was that controllers needed a process for alerting instructors and officers about issues with individual pilots.  That process has now been determined.  Controllers will alert either the individual pilot on FD, or myself via email or FD when a need for additional training is identified.  That need for training may be a simple misunderstanding of a minor detail that should be addressed, or it can be a full blown pilot safety report.  In either case, UALR pilots can expect to be held to a higher standard than the general BVA community.  Be sure that your operation reflects that higher standard.

It also became clear that there are several legitimate issues that we as a company need to address immediately.  While many of them should be covered in training flights, there is nothing wrong with having a reminder of these important points from time to time.  With this in mind all UALR pilots should review and integrate the following into their operations.  As usual, if you have questions please see your instructor or group leader. 

But let’s also be clear that these issues need to be addressed and resolved by each and every pilot in their own way.  Remember, we fly as a team and we are no better than the least proficient pilot amongst us.  Make sure YOU are not that low pilot on the totem pole and that you are giving these points the consideration they are due.

1. Missed LOGAN5 departures:  HUH?   On this one I had to stop and say WTF.  How could a United Regional pilot miss the LOGAN5?  I don’t understand that at all.  It goes without saying that all UALR pilots should know the LOGAN5 departure in their sleep.  There is no excuse, and it would be a complete embarrassment to the entire company, for even one UALR pilot to miss the LOGAN5 in any respect.  Unfortunately that has actually happened.  How it happens, I have no idea.  But it must never happen again.  Please see your instructor or group leader if you have any questions on, or would like an overview or refresher on LOGAN5.

2. BS-ing their way through a departure:  All pilots will cease any and all bravo sierra in regards to understanding a departure.   There have been numerous documented instances of UALR pilots reading back a departure clearance, indicating that they understand said departure procedure, and then flying runway heading with complete disregard for what the actual departure procedure is.  This should go without saying, but there have been enough documented incidents of it happening that I must say it.  If you are not completely clear on what the departure procedure you have been assigned actually entails, DON’T read back that you understand it!  Request a clarification on the procedure.  If you request clarification BEFORE departing no harm will come.  However if you depart and miss a procedure that you indicated you understood I cannot help you.  You will be left hanging in the wind and will suffer the full brunt of controller anger live and on-air.  With this in mind I would strongly recommend that all UALR pilots take a few moments to review the most commonly used departures in the ZBW and ZNY airspace.  A short list of the most commonly used procedures in ZBW appears below.  Instructors should also take a moment with each of their candidates to review these procedures as well.

LOGAN5 (BOS)             BDL9 (BDL)                   CSTL3 (BDL)                 MERIT3 (JFK)

LGA2 (LGA)                  PWM4 (PWM)               KENNEDY7 (JFK)

3. Failure to understand SIDS and STARS:  Alright.  Enough.  Start printing the dang charts already.  I have personally had a few flights with candidates who are not printing charts but instead are pulling them up on a separate screen or even worse… an ::gasp:: IPhone.  Please don’t.  Go get some printer ink and start printing the charts for the most commonly used airports.  Why?  Because #1 it’s in the SOP that UALR pilots need to print their charts and have a healthy obsession with them.  There is a good reason for that.  And #2 because during the last Thursday event Airnav was down.  So guess what?  All you guys who think you are too cool to print charts were screwed.  So how does printing of charts relate to understanding SIDS and STARS?  Because then they are always right in front of your nose staring at you, and you can study them and know them.   When you print something and it lives in real life you can love it, learn it, write on it, absorb it.   Believe me, charts love to be written on, scribbled on, folded, spindled and mutilated.  It shows the charts that you care.  In the past we’ve taken a lax approach regarding printing of charts.  However, from here on out it’s back to basics.   As of now all UALR pilots are expected to find a three ring binder and a hole punch and start filling the binder with charts.  Then take a picture of it and send it to me.  I want to see it.  I’m going to start a chart binder picture contest.  Whoever has the biggest stack of (organized) charts wins.  I will think of a commensurately cool First Prize shortly.

4. Descending per a STARS chart.  Apparently during the ZBW – KDEN run 10 out of 12 UALR arrivals into DEN failed to follow the controller instructions per the STARS charts.  I believe that most pilots planned their long range route, but failed to (…again with the printing and studying of charts…) review the approach chart and figure out what is supposed to happen when they actually get there.  Regardless of the particular approach the key take-aways are:

1. When told to descend to xxx altitude at “pilots discretion” that does not necessarily mean to descend now.  It typically means to descend when appropriate per the following formula:

(current altitude – assigned altitude) *3

As an example.  If you are at 31,000 and told to decent to 11,000 by xxx waypoint, first drop the zeros off the altitude so the formula reads like this…

(31-11)*3 = 60

Therefore, start your decent 60 DME from your assigned crossing point. 

FO Jim has also prepared a more detailed Excel calculator that will do this work for you and in more detail.  See either Jim or myself to get a copy of that calculator if you like.

2. Be sure to call your descent.  In other words, when told to “descend at pilots discretion” you may descend when appropriate, but ALERT the controller when you are beginning your descent.  Like this…  “Denver center, United 35, initial descent”.  That’s all there is to it.
3. Remember to slow to 250knts by 10,000 feet.  Do not be faster than 250 when crossing below 10,000 feet.  Do this without being told to do it.
4. Most if not all published STARs that include an altitude/fix to cross xxx at say very clearly "EXPECT TO CROSS...."  or "PLAN TO CROSS".   This means that you will most likely be instructed as published, however ATC can and will amend this instructions as needed due to traffic (or other factors).   Also, all pilots reading the published charts need to understand that it is for planning purposes only.  At no time can a pilot descend according to a published STAR or other arrival until and unless instructed by ATC to "Cross xxx at ** altitude" or to "Descend via ** arrival". 
5. Most controller instructions relative to STARS charts indicate to cross xxx point at a certain altitude and/or speed.  Be sure to hit that mark.  If you have a question, be sure to ask the controller – DON’T FAKE IT OR I’LL PERSONALLY HUNT YOU DOWN AND SLAP YOU.  You make us all look bad when you fake it.

6. CA Matt will be hosting a SIDS/STARS seminar on February 12, 2011.   Details will be forthcoming.  It is highly recommended that all UALR pilots attend.

5. Controller’s being forced to repeat instructions:  About 6 months ago we had a rash of UALR pilots missing controller instructions.  We made a point of it where missing more than one ATC instruction on an FO checkride is now an automatic fail.  It appears that controllers are being forced to repeat instructions a lot again.  I cannot protect you from the wrath of controllers on this issue.  Consider one missed ATC instruction to be a warning shot.  Miss a second one and you can expect the full brunt of controller fury live on-air, and I won’t stand in their way.  Being on a Skype call is not a valid excuse for missing an ATC instruction, so manage your Skype vs. ATC volumes accordingly.

6. Top of climb fuel burn:  It was mentioned at one of the controller meetings that UALR pilots couldn’t calculate Top of Climb Fuel Burn if their life depended on it.  That’s probably true, we don’t teach that.  However, just in case your life depends on it some day, here is the formula for calculating Top of Climb Fuel Burn:

(Altitude to climb / Feet per minute) * (fuel burn per engine * number of engines) / 60

Instructors and FO’s:

Instructors and FO’s can expect to receive the glaring spotlight of truth more often.  If you haven’t already done so, instructors should set their operational quality standard to maximum.  There were some comments about instructors missing LGA2 departures, goofing around in controlled airspace, and/or not following controller instructions.  Again I say, “Huh?!”  I don’t understand how that is possible.  Instructors and FO’s should be setting the standard, not bending it.  If you’re going to goof around on FSX, do it in uncontrolled airspace with a non UAL aircraft please.  Better still, do it on Gamespy.

Some additional operational notes for instructors:

Be sure to note that your flight is a training flight in the comments section of the flight plan on Flight Desk.  Flights should be conducted in your aircraft using your flight number as an indication that you are taking responsibility for that flight and that pilot.  Note the BVA ID of the candidate you are flying with in the comments section of the flight plan.  Controllers have been instructed not to delete that information during a handoff and will use it to identify and give a training flight a bit more slack.

Instructors should remind candidates that charts are to be printed, not just viewed on a separate screen.  Instructors should be observant to signs that this ruling is not being followed and deal with it appropriately.

Remember to write up a log entry for your flight upon completion.  Instructors and captains should have access to the UALR training forums and should post their log entry directly there within 24 hours of concluding the flight.  Please alert me if you currently do not have access to the training logs in the BVA forums.  Instructor candidates will have to forward their log entry to the chief or XO to post until they have earned their full instructor status at which time they will be given access to the forums and can post their reports directly.  Remember also to forward a copy of what you write to the candidate for their own logbook.

Remember that training pips are granted to the instructor who has posted the forum entries.  No training log entries in the forums?  No pip.

 What is UALR’s purpose?  What do we do?

It’s a basic question, it’s a good question, and it was asked repeatedly by the controllers who don’t know us.  The SOP answers a lot of that, and I have directed the controllers to our webpage to brush up on our documents.  But the documents answer the question in something of a roundabout fashion.  What is the more direct answer?  There are many purposes and goals of UALR, but from the controller’s and the community’s perspective… why are we here?

The simplest answer is that we are here to integrate as many pilots as we can into the BVA system and to prepare them to be able to function without causing problems in the typical BVA event.  We are not the 3P program where they drill down to the Nth degree of knowledge.  We are the evolution of the Fast Track JETS program.  We are training and preparing pilots quickly and en mass to participate in the regional circuits, the domestic journeys, and to be able to function effectively in the broad BVA environment.

What is interesting to me, and became apparent to me while flying the last DJ, is that there are a number of pilots on BVA who have time enough to ONLY participate in these events.  We only see them once per week, or even once per month.  These are Airline Transport (ATP) qualified pilots who fly big iron.  These are pilots who have skills and knowledge enough to pass a UALR CaptQual or even Senior CaptQual checkride were they to ever choose to sit for a checkride.  Some of them are even real world airliner pilots I have no doubt.  It’s what I call the ATP Standard.

THAT, friends,.. the ATP standard…  is the standard we want to measure up to – and to measure up to it consistently and company-wide.  To measure up to it AS A GROUP!  The standard is for all UALR pilots be to be able to mesh seamlessly with that environment, that group of pilots.  These are pilots who only hear of UALR by our com traffic when they fly in those events. 

And if what they hear of our com traffic all the time is controllers constantly having to repeat instructions UALR pilots, or having to correct errors for UALR pilots that makes us all look bad and forms an opinion in the pilots mind of who and what UALR is.  It wouldn’t be a favorable impression for sure.  And when those pilots look at our documents and see where it says that “we are one of the top operators on BVA” they will smirk in disbelief.  Certainly that is not the impression we want BVA’s Senior Captains to have of us.

I would like to encourage all our pilots to fly in the next DJ.   If you haven’t done one yet it may be more of a challenge than you think (but your UALR training will carry you through).  You will be surrounded by the best that BVA has to offer, in what is likely the most realistic event for airliners that BVA has, and in a true-to-life sort of flight that an RJ pilot would make.  You’ll quickly see what I’m talking about when I refer to the ATP standard.

This is not to imply that UALR pilots are failing.  By far the vast majority of our cadre is more than effective in the highest intensity environments that BVA can generate.  Yes, there are some hot spots of training that we are currently addressing.  But I believe that we are well on the path of achieving our goal of consistently quality operations company-wide.

Remember, we fly as a team.  Strive to continually get better, strive to operate at your best, fly with an intent to represent your team – your company – as best as you can. 

But also remember also that not everyone can do what we do.  Hold your head high and don’t get flustered by the occasional smack talking you may hear.  We are a large operation and we are bound to draw some fire just because of the amount of traffic we generate. 

So yes, support your teammates, yes strive to hold yourself to a higher standard. But remember also to fly fast, fly bold, and most of all fly your United Regional colors with pride.   You have a lot to be proud of.

That is all.