MOM

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Pilot Language... It's not Greek!


A very short layover and another departure out of Amsterdam. But today, I was the DHing crewmember. 


And as promised... the key to demystifying pilot language.

DH:  Deadhead  (DHing: Deadheading)
  • The act of giving up our seat with a view to be the food and movie critic in Business Class…. For me a great time to catch up on my reading and writing. 
  • Nice duty at full pay.
  • The art of moving a pilot from one city to the next, to pick up somebody else’s trip.
  • The ability to avoid Detroit if at all possible.
 PM: Pilot Monitoring
  • Pilot doing all the work while the other pilot does the takeoff and landing.
 PF:  Pilot Flying
  • Pilot having all the fun… while the other pilot works the radios.
 Junior FO: Me!
  • The person who will do the walk around in the rain, hail and snow.
 Walk Around:
  • Exterior preflight, sometimes known as ‘kicking the tires.’ This procedure is done differently by women. We no longer kick tires… we touch them to see how they’re feeling. ;)
 Reserve: 
  • The act of working on my novel, exercising, reading, sleeping and waiting for the phone call to fly.                                                  
DTW: Detroit
  • A four and a half hour flight from Seattle, 3 time zones, and my home away from home until December!
MSP: Minneapolis
  • The resting place of NWA, and the new Delta north training center.
ACC: Accra Ghana
  • West Africa, home of malaria and lockdown in the hotel.
FCO: Rome
  • Fountains, romance and red wine.
AMS: Amsterdam
  • Canals, museums, and anything goes.
ATH: Athens
  • Ancient ruins filled with inspiration and magic. 
SEA: Seattle
  • There is no place like home! 

8 comments:

  1. Love the change in kicking the tires to caressing them!! Funny.

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  2. That's right... Never kick the Princess!

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  3. How did you test the tires on the 744?

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  4. thanks, Karlene! Now we non-pilots can read your posts with verve because we know the lingo. FCO, AMS and ATH sound particularly appealing.

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  5. Oh Pilot... even on the big equipment, we gotta touch to see how they're feeling. ;) And... taking a good look helps too. A picture is worth a thousand words.

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  6. Thanks Linda... and I will link this on the side for quick reference too. :)
    Have a great day! I'm off to the big city to see our friend!

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  7. Hi Sarah, I loved Guyana! So many stories... and such a fantastic experience. I think it was the many great people I worked with down there.

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