Pilots For Kids

Fellow Delta Pilots and myself visited Children's Hospital last night to bring gifts and smiles to the little bodies facing medical challenges this holiday season.  A successful event that gave the gift of memories to many.

Delta Pilot Team
Karlene, Steve, Sarah, Donna, Cam, Jim and Doug

Captain Barry Sacks, who normally organizes this event for Delta, was called out on a flight and unable to attend. Thankfully his wife, retired Delta Pilot Sarah, took command and pulled it all together. Thank you Sarah! Cam, also a retired Pilot, donated his time for the kids. Joining him was his wife Donna--- our photographer. She took pictures that we handed to the kids. Steve, Jim, and Doug are no strangers to Pilots for Kids. They've all been visiting hospitals for years with NWA. It's great to see the combined effort.

In respect of the privacy of the children, no pictures of them will be posted. However, believe it when I say--- we saw many smiles tonight. Boeing supplied some incredible gifts for the children. Flight jackets, stuffed planes, toys, sticker, t-shirts, etc. The kids loved it.

And then I met some incredible people giving their time to the hospital, for the kids. Thank you volunteers!

Katie and Rein

Rein is an inspirational young man who, on behalf of his Eagle Scout group, collected 164 videos for the children. He was in the game room labeling them with his mother Katie, around 7 p.m. Thank you Rein for your donation--- and Mom for being there for support. 

Billy

Billy, also a volunteer, gives his time to the children. He told us that he "Loves Delta." Apparently he trashed his knee skiing. He called Delta, in Salt Lake City, and asked what he could do--- he needed to get home for an immediate RMI and surgery. Delta put him on the first plane out. No problem. No extra charge. They completely accommodated him. Way to go Delta! You have a loyal customer for life. And thank you Billy for all you do for the children.  I know they appreciate it, as well as the parents.

Cheryl and Kevin

We met Cheryl and her husband Kevin in the playroom. Two of their four sons were playing video games. One son was on his way to the hospital. But their 15 year old was upstairs with Grandma and Grandpa--- He'd had open heart surgery. Mom and Dad tell me they're all going home Friday or Saturday. Cheryl's been sleeping in the hospital with her son. Living in a hospital is a challenge. Emotional. Exhausting. But as a mother, there is no other place to be. So it's great when volunteers fill in to help. 

And tonight I met one such volunteer. 

Steph Wallach

Steph has been volunteering at Children's for years. She is now an "Auntie" to a three month old, and holds her daily. What did Steph do in her past life? She was a Braniff PILOT! And ended up retiring at Alaska Airlines. What an incredible woman.  Thus proving how small the world truly is. 

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the hospital---

I'd been babysitting my Grandson all day and told my daughter I'd bring him home. They just live 10 minutes from Children's Hospital. What is normally a 30 minute drive from my home turned into an hour and a half. Traffic was horrendous. The rain poured. On the way, my "check engine" light came on. I changed routing just to get off the freeway a bit early. I drove the baby home. Parked the car for 5 minutes. Got back in and headed to the hospital. The light came on again. But this time the temperature pegged at the red line. A couple minutes it dropped back to normal. Then popped back up.  8 minutes to get there.

I pulled into the hospital parking lot, backed into an outdoor spot, and the steam began flowing out  of my hood looked like I was on fire. I'd never seen anything like this.

Long story short. Cracked radiator. No water. When we filled her up and started the engine, she began leaking. Today--- as I have been on "4" other occasions this year--- am thankful for AAA! 

As my husband and I sat waiting for the tow truck to arrive, I realized how lucky I was the car waited until I made it to destination, and didn't dump all fluid on the freeway, in the traffic, in the rain, with the baby on board. And yet, when you've just been visiting 3 year-olds with cancer--- life really gets put into perspective. Just a car. Just an engine. Not arms and legs. Everyone is safe.

Have a wonderful day! And think about volunteering at your local hospital. They need you.

Remember to Enjoy the Journey~

~Karlene

A330 The Law of Landing

Can the A330 Slip? Of Course. Why does Airbus recommend landing in a crab? My thought is that a "wings level" approach provides a better chance of not catching an engine upon landing.

In addition--- since the A330 shifts modes during the landing, slipping the aircraft becomes a bit of a challenge, and could be the attributing factor to the A330 Crosswind Landing Statistics mentioned yesterday.

The handling differences in a Fly-By-Wire aircraft are significantly different in some maneuvers--- especially Landing.

If a slip is to be flown just before landing, lateral stick input is used to establish the amount of bank and must be returned to a neutral position to hold the amount of bank requested, while opposite rudder is established.  Not a big deal. Now we're flying neutral stick with a bank established and cross rudder, creating a slip.

Normal Law--- the flight control law used for normal operations when everything is working.

Normal Law has three modes of operation:

• Flight Mode
• Landing Mode
• Ground Mode

Flight Mode becomes operational 5 seconds after takeoff. We climb, cruise, and approach with full Fly-By-Wire technology.

Landing Mode is when the logic begins to change. Airbus decided that when descending below 100 feet RA, they wanted to give us a "conventional feel" for the flare and touchdown. This feel only  effects the pitch handling characteristics. Then at 50 feet RA a slight pitch down elevator input is applied requiring the pilot to give a bit of aft stick movement to maintain the same pitch.

At 30 feet--- flare. The pilot brings the nose up just enough to arrest the descent rate. Not the traditional flare that you'd expect in a Cessna or a B747. Bring the power to idle when commanded.  The aft mains touchdown first. Front mains land second. Then we fly the nose to the runway. Do not hold the nose off.  If we hold it off too long, we'll run out of airspeed and she'll drop hard.

During the flare, rudder should be applied to align the aircraft with the runway heading. 

Ground Mode is where the fun begins in crosswind conditions.  Sidestick control of elevators, ailerons, and spoilers, is now directly proportional to the deflection of the sidestick. Therefore, if we had a bank established, but our stick was neutral--- once on the ground we'd be required to input the same amount of bank as necessary to counteract the wind, and hold the stick in that direction.

If you had no bank established, once on the ground, you may need to add some, remembering the direct stick to controls logic--- just like Direct Law. The flying does not stop when this plane is on the ground. It may just begin.

Tonight--- Pilots For Kids! Delta Pilots visit Childrens Hospital in Seatlte. More about that tomorrow!

~Enjoy the Journey!

Karlene~

A330 and Crosswind Landings

Statistics: 

• Adverse wind conditions (Strong crosswinds, tail winds and wind shear) are involved in 33% of approach and landing accidents.
• Crosswind in association with runway condition is a circumstantial factor in nearly 70% of runway excursion events. 
• 85% of crosswind incidents and accidents occur at landing.  (Flight Safety Foundation, Flight safety digest Volume 17 & 18, November 1998/ February 1999.)

Airbus Recommended Technique: 
Crabbed approach--- Wings level, applying drift correction to track the runway centerline.

Flare Technique---  Apply rudder as required to align the aircraft with the runway heading. Tendency to roll should be counteracted by sidestick input.

In the event of strong crosswinds--- 15 kt to 20 kt crosswind component--- be sure to fly a crabbed approach, then a partial decrab prior to touchdown by using a combination of bank and crab angle while applying cross controls.

This means--- in very strong crosswinds you'll be touching down with a residual drift/crab angle.  Maximum of 5 degrees of crab angle and a Maximum of 5 degrees of bank angle. 

In high crosswinds, cross-controls may have to be maintained after touchdown to prevent the into-wind wing from lifting, and to counteract a weathercock effect. Remember to continue to fly the aircraft during the landing roll.

How do we flare the A330? We don't. Tomorrow... more on landing.

Enjoy the Journey!

~ Karlene

Happy Birthday!

Annemiek Alons and Hans Bankers 

This toast is on me, as are the pounds after I eat your cake. I told you I would make a cake for your Happy Birthdays---  I just wasn't sure how I would send it to Holland.  Now we can all partake in your party. Who said you can have your cake and eat it too?

Happy Birthday my friends. Stay warm. Enjoy the holidays. And remember--- like a fine bottle of scotch you get better with age.

May all your birthday wishes come true! 

Enjoy the Journey!

~ Karlene

Peter Morton

Friday's Fabulous Flyer!

Peter Morton

A 42 year career with Boeing and Peter retired as a Vice President--- but his life continues to soar.

Be it flying Young Eagles, working with the Seattle Girls Schools and Aviation High School, or flying a Cirrus on behalf of the  Centennial of Women Pilots , Peter gives it all--- and then some.

1958--- Peter joined Boeing as a ground school instructor on the 707 and was tasked with teaching systems and high speed swept wing aerodynamics to the most senior pilots, and management pilots, too. For all pilot instructors--- you know the challenges that presented.

Peter says, "Helping them get sufficient knowledge was a challenging and fun assignment; especially in the era that preceded flight training devices and simulators."

His greatest challenge--- "Working with the airline flight crews and helping them transition into these oh-so-different airplanes called jets."

Apparently they had a primitive cockpit procedures trainer where the instructor turned dials on the instructor station to set airspeed, heading, altitude... etc. But flight training occurred in the jet.

Over the years he held assignments in---

Operations engineering, helping to put the 707, 727, 737, and 747 aircraft into service. Marketing --- 737 and 747.  Flight Deck design--- 757. Sales and marketing support, and production allocation. General Program Management. Director of Customer Training. Vice President of Leadership Development. Vice President of Human Resources--- where he retired.

Peter Morton B757

Flying as a teenager, Peter was one of those kids who got his pilots license before his drivers license. He was the President of his college flying club, which owned a Luscombe--- wheels in fall and spring, skies in winter--- and a Stinson Voyager. And then he went to work for Boeing.

Unfortunately his first thirty years at Boeing he stopped flying. It's hard to live your passion when you're working for a living. When Peter became the director of customer training a good friend of his, a British Airways pilot, said,"Morton, you have 80 pilots reporting to you and you don't fly. Why do you expect them to listen to you?"

He got his instrument and multi engine ratings, and went through the 757, and later the 777, transition programs. For awhile he was listed as second in command in both those aircraft. At the time, Boeing donated simulator flights to charity auctions and Peter made himself the demo pilot. He accumulated several hundred hours as an instructor for groups such as the Make A Wish Foundation and "big ticket patrons" such as Bill Gates. "I learned pretty well how to judge the natural stick-and-rudder talent of my auction customers and met some fascinating people." 

How did I meet Peter? He volunteered to fly at our December 5th Fly It Forward event, and flew at least 8 flights in a Cirrus. Not only did he fly, but the night before the event he created a power point presentation with a flight plan that took the women and girls for a significant flight--- More than the 10 minutes we'd advertised. All pilots used his plan, and we flew 173 women and girls, safely, thanks to this man's organizational skills.

With a partner, Peter once owned a very early Cirrus SR-20 which he flew for seven years. But last Sunday the plane he flew was a more modern Cirrus SR-20---  from the Boeing Flying Association! How many people do you know who will rent a plane and fly all day creating miracles for others?
Peter did.

Volunteering: 

Why does he volunteer with the Seattle Girls School and Aviation High School?  


"I believe I have both the obligation and the privilege of helping the next generations have as exciting a career as I have. There is nothing quite as wonderful as seeing the light go on in a young person's eyes, and it does wonders to keep me thinking young."

He supports the Young Eagles, and has flown over 150 kids!  

"I believe that a Young Eagles flight can be a quality experience, provided there is as much invested in the ground portion before the flight as there is in the flight. The most gratifying flights are those in which the Young Eagle can actually fly the airplane, so I prefer it to be a right seat experience, though for the very young, seeing the earth from the sky from any seat may be a satisfying flight. For many years at the Seattle Girls School, every eighth grader got a robust Young Eagles experience at the start of their middle school year."

The Young Eagle program started in 1991 to fly 1 million kids to celebrate the Wright Brothers Centennial--- Peter has been involved for a decade. His support of our community is inspiring and contagious.

I asked Peter how other people can reach out to their communities. He said, "Follow the lead when someone provides the opportunity to use aviation as a means to inspire a 'responsible, challenging, fulfilling' life.  Remember how you talk to ATC... you tell them 'who you are, where you are, what you want to do.' Well, that is a life motto as well, and if you can persuade or enable a young person to see that perspective, you will also be fulfilled."

What made Peter join Fly-It-Forward?  "This event instantly got my imagination, and of course I had the added persuasion from Anne Simpson; one of many 'she who must be obeyed; persons of the wiser gender that men would be well advised to heed. Karlene is two bundles of energy and creativity, I love to follow the leadership of people like that."

What can you do to inspire someone today?

Remember the Fly It Forward contest to win $100 is still going on until December 31st!

Thank you Peter for the opportunity to follow your lead and inspire others. You are my inspiration. I am so happy we met!

  Karlene and Peter

Fly safe everyone!

~ Enjoy the Journey

Karlene

Congratulations Winners!

Everyone who participated in our Fly It Forward event left the airport a winner, and became part of history. But as promised, I have one $100 winner today. Please respond with your last name below--- that way I can find you in our paperwork.

$100 Winner...

Congratulations DAWN! You just won $100! Dawn who? The Dawn who said, "It was a life changing for both my daughter and her best friend. They loved it so much that Hannah will be applying for Aviation High School."

And thanks to Anne Simpson and Bonnie Dunbar we have 10 pairs of tickets to the Museum of Flight to give away, and one  Annual Membership to the Museum of Flight, too.

Winners for the pairs of tickets:

1. Maria:  Who wants to be a pilot to medi-evac animals.
2. Janet Krueger: Your sister cried.
3. Deborah Greer:  "How old is too old to become a pilot?"
4. Laura: Your Dad was a pilot.
5. Christina: You took the last flight with Dick, with the darling little girls.
6. Jessica: Your Mom is Sherry, and you've never been so excited.
7. Leukothea: "I felt a connection to the people throughout history..." 
8. Emiko Burns: "Emiko's great grandfather had his license and loved to fly... He would want his great granddaughter to have every opportunity to experience the joy of flying, as he did.... she not quite 2."
9. Dana Marland: "This was my first time flying in a small plane, a seaplane at that. Absolutely awesome!" 
10. 777jumpseat:  " I am really inspired by the pilots I met at the event and eagerly look forward to taking to the skies in 2011 to earn a private pilot's license." 

Museum Annual Membership: 

And the Annual Membership is going to our little astronaut. She "Squealed" with joy as she took flight in Peter's Cirrus, and wrote the most lovely Thank you Letter. At the age of 7, she knows about "G's" and the proper angle for an approach. 

Congratulations Annika Sturgeon! 

I'm not sure if there could be someone that would love this membership and use it more than this young lady. I hope she keeps her motivation flying, so I can fly with her at Delta before I retire. 

Annika, you have 17 years--- study hard, and never lose that passion. "Anything is possible!"

Congratulations Ladies!!! 

What does it mean to be a pilot? Click Here to watch the video. Today the Centennial of Women Pilots have 804 total. Renton Airport is now in the lead for the most female friendly airport. at 175! We flew 173 at our event. You were all part of History.

Leave me a message below with your full name so I can find you in the paperwork, and mail you your prize.

Dreams become reality when you take action--- then everything is possible

I Almost forgot! If you didn't make it to our event, or know someone who wants to go up, I am planning a flight, for myself, to get checked out. I'll need to be doing lots of landings and we can take two at a time. Email me if you might be interested! 

Enjoy the Journey!

~ Karlene

More Aviation History!

BOEING 707

Last night I attended the "Launching the Jet Age First-hand memories of the first U.S. jetliner" at Seattle's Town Hall Center.  I returned home, drunk with fatigue from the week's events, and rolled into bed with the intent to write about the event this morning.

Brien Wygle, Joe Sutter, & Peter Morton

Who was on the panel?

Joe Sutter--- the "Father of the 747"--- Joe was also the legendary engineer on the Boeing 707! He shared stories of how instrumental Boeing was in establishing our current FARs. Boeing made the planes... they made the rules.

Brien Wygle --- Test pilot for Boeing, on the 707 and many more. He told us how the 707-80 prototype was very restrictive with speed and flaps. 1958--- Brien had flown the 707-80 to LA for a quick demo with Howard Hughes.  Howard loved to fly, but he had a little problem with speed control on the Boeing because of the other planes he'd been flying. The 707 had a more pitch up attitude. On, what turned out to be, their final demo approach, Howard's speed got a little fast and a center flap left the plane and landed on a car in the parking lot. Unfortunately that car was owned by the FAA, and Brien was charged with Reckless Flying. This was the only reason he didn't receive the award for 50 years without an accident. Last night Brien confirmed--- "It was reckless to fly with Howard."

Peter Morton --- B707 engineer, (retired) Vice President at Boeing, trustee at the Museum of Flight, Board member at the Seattle Girls' School, and one of our pilots at our December 5th Fly it Forward event, spoke of what it was like to teach the first 707 pilots "how to fly jets."

Paula Clark, Brien, Joe, and Peter

Paula Clark --- Stewardess for Pan Am, who later retired with United, shared stories of the good old days in the cabin.  Bright and funny, this woman had the audience laughing. You, too, can hear her stories. All you have to do is take a tour of the Seattle Museum of Flight! Yes, she is working as a tour guide at our local museum.



We viewed excellent footage with Tex Johnston. Click Here to see a video of his famous barrel roll.
Why didn't Bill Allen, at Boeing, fire him? Word is--- they'd had so much positive response from customers, they didn't want to turn this into a negative event. They also had an 18 million dollar insurance policy on the only pilot who could fly the plane--- Tex.

This event was in honor of Sam Howe Verhovek's recently published book--- Jet Age, The Comet, the 707, and the Race to Shrink the World.  I also had the opportunity to meet Sam's son who we all hope will become a pilot and join us on this aviation journey.

Thank you Peter for inviting me to this extraordinary event!

I too have a bit of history with the B707--- this plane continues to touch my life.  I was so close to getting a type rating in the 707 when I'd gone down to Guyana to put their B757 into service. I'd negotiated this as part of my compensation.  I would fly their plane and earn my rating. Just before I got there, they'd sold it.  And the connections continue...

 

My husband was at the Sea Fair races (Gold Cup) the year Tex rolled his plane and he got to watch it first hand. Tex was also friends with Jack Sallee, owner and operator of Coastal Airways, and Braniff captain, who lived in Sequim. Jack was a good friend of mine whom I loved working with at both Costal and Braniff. One day Jack brought Tex to Seattle and we had lunch together at Longacres Race track. Tex told me that he took a shower with his boots on, after he rolled the plane. A character in the history of Aviation.

The legends live on.... and hopefully we'll hear more about one of them this Friday. A man who keeps giving back to his community.

Enjoy the journey!

~ Karlene