A Pilot’s New Year’s Resolution

(As wished for by an AME)

"Off the Record Q & A with a Local A.M.E."

DR. Larry

The beginning of a new year is often a time for making (and breaking) resolutions. While scanning the internet, I discovered the following resolution on a top-secret, AME chat board somewhere in cyberspace (yeah, right), and I'm sharing it now with the aviation community as a way to help build camaraderie between aviators and AME's. After all, pilots need AME's and AME's need pilots.

So if you will please say the following after me:

“I, (enter your name here), will work together with my AME to facilitate my medical certification in the most expedient manner possible. This will include filling out my FAA 8500-8 medical form online least 24 hours prior to my appointment.

• I will arrive on time and bring all sets of glasses necessary to pass my vision testing.
  

• I will be forthcoming with all necessary paperwork and doctor’s notes my AME will need to process my certification.
  

• If I have questions regarding issues which could result in possibly delaying my certification.

• I will contact my AME prior to my appointment to resolve these concerns rather than hoping they will vanish into thin air.
  

• Furthermore, I understand my AME will do everything in his power to assist with my certification and I will (begrudgingly) understand if something unexpected arises delaying the process.
  

• I will know my AME feels my pain and wishes his hands were not restricted by the regulations.
  

• After my AME has waved his magic wand and pronounced my verdict, I will (begrudgingly) pay his fee, without asking for discounts and I will promote his job-saving skills to my peers.

"This I promise to do in the New Year!"

Together we can make it a win-win relationship by helping each other. Fly safe and fly healthy, my dear aviator friends, and Happy New Year!

To your good health, happiness and certification!

Dr. Larry

Please leave Dr. Larry a message that you will fulfill his New Year's wish!

"I promise Dr. Larry...but what about that pilot discount?"

Enjoy the Journey!

XOX Karlene

A330 Mystery Solved

What happens when you return to an airport... and plug in an approach to 27R, but you decide not to use that runway because the ILS is down, so you select the approach to 26L. But the map still indicates a line to 27R? These are the little things that can create confusion during an already busy time.

They say pictures speak louder than words... I think so.

Note: The arrival was for both runways. The end of the green line is where ATC will vector you to the runway you're landing on.

The puzzling thing was, it looked like (on the map) we were lined up on 27R on approach. I double checked that 26L was in the MCDU. I held the runway diagram and counted runways confirming we were lining up on the correct runway. We double checked that the correct frequency was tuned. We were in VMC conditions.

The question was... why this map display?

My friend at Airbus has the same philosophy as I do: It's within your network that you find the answers.

He says, " I learned long ago that it’s really about having a network of people who are a lot smarter than I am on such topics... here’s what they answered – after they both said something like, “sounds like it was a return to the departure airport to me”

"This would be a normal display (technically speaking) if the flight departed from 27R and landed on 26L.

Although the departure threshold is sequenced in the FMS at Take-Off, it remains displayed on ND for the rest of the flight. However one does not frequently have an opportunity to see this, as generally you are landing at a Destination airport different from the Origin airport. 27R appears to be white on the ND, which would again suggest that it was just displaying the departure runway.

Looking at the scale that the ND is set at, my guess is that the two runways are superimposed on top of each other. In fact as they got closer and reduced their range both runways would have appeared separately – the landing runway in green and the departing runway in white. The fact that “26L” is displayed on the ND also leads me to believe that indeed runway 26L was there and would have been seen if the range were reduced."

Yes, we were landing on 26L. We departed off of 27R. But the confusion was the fact we initially programed 27R for the landing. When we changed it, it stayed on the map. So we'd thought. It really was there all the time, but we were busy being vectored. This is one of those "coincidences" they call "distractors" in training.

Thankfully VMC conditions helped confirm we were where we needed to be, as did the frequencies and the runways in front of us.

Trust but verify.

So.... I learned something interesting about Overweight Landings during this search for answers on the map. More to come on Thursday!

Enjoy the Journey!
XOX Karlene

Monday's Motivation: Anything Is Possible.

"Anything is possible if you have...
The courage to Dream
The willingness to Learn
Dedication to Persevere
Commitment to Follow Through
And you never give up!"

Karlene Petitt

August, 2009, I made a huge investment of time and money to follow my dream of writing a book by attending the Hawaii Writers' Conference. Writing a book is something that I've dreamed about for thirty years. When I finally overcame the excuses of why I didn't have time, and made a commitment, I attended my first workshop with William Bernhardt.

I took classes, attended conferences, and read books on "how to," and I wrote. I wrote for 2 years and 4 months, while reading, studying, learning a new plane, joining a new company, blogging, babysitting, watching four grandchildren being born, traveling the world, and everything else that came up in my life... I didn't quit. There were many sleepless nights, but it's so exciting to see my book ready for publication.

In five days I'll be holding my book for a proof read.

If I've done these final steps well...

Flight For Control will be available January 17.

Busy? Yes.

But the secret to success is all about dreaming, dedication, perseverance, commitment, education, follow through, and never giving up. Along the way I met many wonderful people who have enriched my life in so many ways. This has been the greatest journey, and one that I will continue on. A special thanks to my critique sisters that I met at that Hawaii Conference: Linda Gray and Heather McCorkle. Visit us on Critique Sister's Corner

How do you think I became an airline pilot?
First I dreamed and then...
Yes... anything IS possible!

Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and putting up with me during my writing journey. I'm excited for you all to read Flight for Control. But now, please take the time to read what three of my favorite authors have to say about my book.

Endorsements:

Flight For Control is a fascinating debut and a truly terrifying insider's take on the airline industry by an author who knows what she's talking about. You will not want to get on an airplane after reading Petitt's book.

Mike Lawson—Author of The Political Thriller of the Year

House Divided, House Secrets and House Justice

“A strong debut with a complex plot that keeps the reader guessing until the very end.”

Robert Dugoni—Lawyer and New York Times Bestselling Author of

The Jury Master, Cyanide Canary, and Damage Control

“Flight for Control is a powerhouse debut novel. Karlene Petitt combines her insider knowledge of the airline industry with her impressive writing skills to create a spellbinding thriller. Why did Flight 39 crash? Could there be more to these air disasters than meets the eye? And what can Kathryn do about it? I was hooked on the first page and never stopped reading till it was over.”

William Bernhardt—Over 10 million novels sold. Bestselling Author of

Capital Betrayal, Nemesis, and Hate Crime

Enjoy the Journey!

XOX Karlene

Friday Fabulous Flyer:

Lauren Richardson


Lauren Richardson, alias groovy_nut on twitter, is a 24-year-old private pilot. But she’s not just any private pilot. Last year she started flying aerobatics in a Pitts Special and won both the competitions she entered.

This year she’ll be competing at the Standard level which she says, “is a whole different ball game, and something for which I’m committed to training for and giving everything I can to start to become the best pilot I possibly can.”

She recently launched her own website called The Aerobatic Project – which is in part an effort to not only show people who she is and what she’s doing in hopes of finding a sponsor, but also to help inspire more young people to get into flying. She didn’t come from money or opportunity, and she wants to show everyone that anything is possible if you’re willing to focus on reaching your goals.

Karlene: Lauren how did you get involved in competition?

Lauren: I took my first aerobatic flight at the end of 2010, with no actual intention of doing any aerobatics as it happens – ever since the very first days I started learning to fly I’d been drawn to a tiny biplane that lived in the corner of the hangar at my flying club. Eventually I found out that it was something called a Pitts Special, and I vowed there and then that one day I’d fly one. And so it was, that after a bit of a hiatus from flying I decided to get back in the air, and to treat myself to a flight in a 2-seater Pitts that happened to belong to a friend of my best friend – just a flight, no aerobatics.

Of course he took me flying and insisted we did some basic aeros – a few loops, ballistic rolls and other things. I got out of the aeroplane feeling more than a little sick, with no real idea what had just happened to me, but a feeling deep down that something major in my life had just been changed.

Several months and a few flying hours later, my friend and instructor convinced me to go and enter my first competition – I was clueless, inexperienced and absolutely terrified, wanting nothing more than to not embarrass myself. Walking away with the ‘Beginners Winner’ trophy was wholly unexpected and really did mean the world to me. The stage was set from that point on – I’d been welcomed into the fraternity and that was it!

Karlene: You’re a very driven woman. Where did you get that drive?

Lauren: I’ve always been a very driven sort of person – ever since I left school and decided to become an engineer and make my own way in the world. If I’ve ever set my mind to doing something, I’ve found a way to work hard and make it happen, and for me aerobatic flying is something I love and truly believe that given the chance, I could genuinely become good at, world class perhaps. Flying means everything to me, and whilst I have age on my side, and the ability to pick things up quickly, the time and desire to focus and commit to this I will do – I’m driven because I want to be able to look back in years to come and know that I did everything I possibly could to get to where I wanted to be, I never want to regret things I was too scared or unsure to try to do.

Karlene: Your aerobatics is quite an undertaking. Do you have a mentor?

Lauren: The aerobatic community in the UK is a small and close-knit one, and I’m happy to say that pretty much every pilot I’ve met within the scene has been keen and willing to help me in any way they can. Really though my mentors up until this point have been Paul Stanley of Altered Attitude Aerobatics as he’s the man that taught me how to fly the Pitts Special and has let me, guided me and trained me up to where I am now.

I’m also delighted and honored to be able to class Al Coutts and Wildcat Aerobatics mentors and friends of mine – their experience and guidance is proving to be invaluable – and they fly a very cool formation Pitts display!

I should also mention British Advanced Team member David Jenkins, who puts up with all manner of stupid questions from me and is yet another incredibly skilled pilot who has been and is willing to impart his experiences and wisdom to someone like me.

Karlene: I know you’ve seen it all. What have been your greatest successes? Greatest failures? What did you learn from them?

Lauren: My greatest successes would have to be, firstly passing my Skills Test and becoming a pilot – in all honesty I think that day was one of the proudest of my life. After that being sent off solo in the Pitts Special was something I’d begun to wonder if it would ever happen – the challenge of it meant that becoming a Pitts pilot, and then going off and flying aerobatics on my own for the very first time, are memories that I suspect will never fade.

Of course there were moments during the learning process that left me feeling utterly frustrated – all those bounced landings leading to go-arounds, missed approaches, mental blocks that left me unsure of where I was (let alone what I was doing), and of course my very first solo Pitts landing where I blew the flare and bounced so badly that my failure to decide to put power on and go-around led to a few seconds during which I genuinely feared I was about to crash the plane.

All of these ‘failures’ and negative moments have inspired self-assessment and made me think harder about how I make decisions and what influences when and how I choose to fly. These days, if anything doesn’t feel right, anything at all, I won’t fly – so if I sit in the cockpit and find myself repeatedly questioning myself or wondering about the state of certain parts of the airframe unnecessarily, I will choose to step out and walk away rather than fly with a part of my brain in a world elsewhere – the Pitts Special demands all of you, not just the part you think it needs.

Karlene: You haven’t been competing very long, when did you start?

Lauren: No, not long – I took part in my first competition as a ‘Beginner’ back in August 2011 click HERE to see the competition report, inc. and I qualified to compete at the ‘Standard’ or ‘Sportsman’ level in September – so my competition career really starts properly in 2012.

Karlene: Where do you hope to go with this passion?

Lauren: I want to get to a level whereby I’m good enough to fly as a part of the British team and compete on an international level – I’ve always been an athlete and for me competition aerobatics is something that just fits with my personality and is something I want to be able to fully commit myself to and train hard in. I also have ideas about getting into display flying in a couple of years time – displaying what I do, what we do, and sharing it with the public in a fun and exciting way is something I’d absolutely love to be doing.

Karlene: Is this a passion, an obsession, or the way you survive this world?

Lauren: It’s definitely a passion, and an obsession in the most positive way. For the time being The Aerobatic Project is for me a huge, huge part of my life and who I am, and I’ll run with it as far and as hard as I can.

I’m just a normal young woman and yet I’m spending more hours than the day provides on writing, putting together sponsorship packages, and approaching people in an attempt to find backing. It’s insane and encouragement makes all the difference – my goals are not the usual aviation goals – I’m not trying to become a commercial pilot, I’m trying to become an athlete and display pilot and very few people have any understanding of what that means.

Lauren tells me she’s been receiving a great deal of help from many wonderful people in the aviation community…. “Other pilots offering me help and advice, journalists offering me guidance, and assistance with the building of my site, photographers helping me capture some great images and video makers stepping forward to help me put together some brilliant films in the future … I’m sponsored by a company supplying me with HD camera equipment for my next few videos … I’ve intentions of creating pieces that demonstrate the joy and beauty of aerobatic flight at a level that is attainable for anyone willing to give it a go, and videos that explain and show maneuvers and sequences in terms that the general public can understand – all part of trying to raise more public awareness of our sport!”

Lauren has also just joined another youth project— Project Blackbird— as a role model, and she’s mentoring young Air Cadets, in particular the girls, and is really looking forward to becoming involved with them.

Please take a moment to share Lauren’s story with anyone you know that may be interested in sponsoring this dynamic young lady and her passion. To live your passion is a wonderful thing, but sometimes it doesn’t pay very well. What fuels it, is pure drive.

Keep up the great work Lauren. I'm happy to know you and wish you all the best in the world and unlimited success for you in the New Year.

Enjoy the Journey

XOX Karlene

A330: Automation and Efficiency

One of the magical things about the automated airplanes is they tell you what's going on with their systems, that you might otherwise not know. This is another case where the airplane is smarter than the pilot. But is knowledge always a good thing?


Think about a departure when your tire deflates during the climb.

Now that you know... what is the best course of action? Returning to the departure station, or continuing on to destination?

In the old, non-computer, planes, you wouldn’t have known about the leak until landing, then you would land with a flat tire at destination. More than likely without incident... other than a surprise tire change.

But what if that destination happens to be a remote location, say 11 hours flight time away, and there's only one plane flying in and out daily… what happens? You ground operations until you can fly another plane in with a couple new tires. A huge economic impact. A huge impact to customer service and people's lives.

Note 1: A "couple" tires? Yes, the tire next to the deflated tire needs to be replaced too.

It makes economic and operational sense to return to landing at the departure station, get your tires changed and then press on. There are always pros and cons to every decision. Since you can’t dump fuel on the A330, you'll end up doing an overweight landing. Not a big deal.

Note 2: With an overweight landing Airbus recommends to perform an automated landing using managed speeds.

Performance charts indicate using medium brakes (verses low or high) leave plenty of landing distance even without the tire and associated brakes. But you will have overheated brakes during an overweight landing. You will have to wait until the brakes cool—delaying your departure by a couple hours.

Note 3: Maximum temperatures for departure is 300 degrees centigrade.

What's the problem with returning to the departure station besides a few overheated brakes?

A 17 hour duty day for the flight crews. With a return, this could push your next departure well into the next morning. Is it possible to be rested and your best for the second attempt at the journey? What if another more serious situation were to occur after an extended delay? Does the FAA's pending rest regulations take into account a departure, an emergency, a return, followed by a delay and a second departure? Is there a different level of fatigue with a departure and flying for 17 hours, than a departure, a return and continuation? The real question is how much rest did you have going into a night like this?

Being rested for your flight is essential. It's about being safe and responsible to yourself, your fellow crewmembers and your passengers. You never know when the unusual is about to happen, be prepared for it! Be rested!

Note 4: 17 hours awake = an alcohol level of .05.

Interesting fact: Did you know it’s possible to be awake for 24 hours without ever seeing the sun?

Life is an exhausting adventure when you're a pilot. What's the longest duty day you've ever flown? Mine was with Tower Air... 27 hours!

On a side note: What do you think I said to my Captain after we declared an emergency and returned for landing touching down at midnight?

Enjoy the Journey?

XOX Karlene

Flying with Diabetes?

"Off the Record Q & A with a Local A.M.E."

DR. Larry

Dr. Larry, I worked with a pilot in the training department who was a diabetic and unable to fly. Why, if managed properly with medication, can’t a pilot fly with Diabetes? Are there different kinds? Is this something that could be completely controlled with diet? Any information you can send would be helpful.

Dr. Larry:

Great question, especially at this time of year when many of us are making the annual New Year’s resolution to get healthier, shed excess pounds and ward off disease.

The FAA actually does allow pilots to fly with diabetes, depending upon the type of diabetes (see below), the extent of control and the class of certification desired. For the record, the pilot in the training department would not be allowed a First or Second Class medical certificate if they required insulin for blood sugar control. However, they could be issued a Third Class medical certificate so long as they adhered to protocols for monitoring their blood sugar while flying and proving good control otherwise.

Diabetes mellitus is an inability to control one’s blood sugar (glucose) and comes in three types. Type 1 (T1DM) is a failure of the body to produce insulin, is typically genetically determined, often presents in childhood or young adulthood and is controlled by giving the body insulin, typically in an injectable form. It comprises only 5-10% of the diabetic population.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is far more common (90% of diabetics) and begins with insulin resistance or the body’s inability to utilize insulin adequately. This form of diabetes typically responds early on to lifestyle changes, such as diet, exercise, rest, etc. Even in its later stages, those changes will make a difference.

For completeness, a third type is called gestational diabetes and occurs when pregnancy brings on elevated blood sugars which may or may not require insulin for control. This typically would not be an issue for the FAA since the pregnancy itself would likely be reason not to fly.

The FAA makes a significant distinction between the types of diabetes predominately because of the volatility and difficulty of regulating one’s blood sugar in Type 1. Too little insulin and the blood sugar will be too high. Too much insulin and one will induce hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and if the blood sugar drops low enough, it can lead to lightheadedness, mental confusion and passing out, even death.

T2DM patients may be on various oral medications to help control their blood sugar levels if lifestyle alone is not enough. However, these medications have a much higher level of predictability than insulin, allowing for better consistency and performance which allows the FAA to be relatively comfortable allowing T2DM pilots to fly.

Diabetes is also monitored because it is associated with a high rate of cardiovascular, stroke and peripheral vascular disease, all things which can prevent pilots from following their passion. In fact, the diagnosis of diabetes carries the same risk for heart and stroke attack as the person who has already had a vascular event!

Yearly monitoring by the FAA via time a limited special issuance would be necessary if one reports they have diabetes and are treated with medication. Interestingly, aerospace medical research teams recently examined medical certification records and accident investigation reports of diabetic pilots. Their findings revealed that a significant number of diabetic pilots do not report or are unaware of their condition. Researchers also found that 75% of insulin-dependent diabetics were either overweight (44%) or frankly obese (31%).

If one needs additional motivation, diabetes that is reversed or controlled by lifestyle modification only (no meds) is not something needing FAA clearance.

Diabetes is a serious health issue, both in aviation and the general population. It is showing up in staggering numbers and will tax our healthcare system to the limit in the next 20 to 30 years. The best treatment is to not allow your body to start down the path. Even though the FAA will allow people to fly with the disease, it doesn’t mean it’s healthy to have it. Prevention is once again the best tool we have for keeping us airworthy.

To your good health,

Dr. Larry

A330 Flap Logic

Last week I received a GREAT from Daniel concerning A330 Flap logic.

"Regarding normal flap operation: I never understood how the flaps 1 position worked on an airbus. I see the flap lever only has a "1" position, but the indicator sometimes says 1 or 1+F. So when would it have flaps in addition to slats? Is it an FMS input or system logic?”

This is a great question!

This is how the system works:

Anytime the flap lever is moved to position 1, the slats move.

The question is… when will the flaps come out?

In this photo, the flaps and slats are out… thus the 1+F. Meaning, flaps 1 has been selected, and on the left we see that slats "S" are in position 1, and on the right flaps "F" are in position 1.

If only slats were out, then we would only see 1.

In addition to the slats, the flaps will move to 1 when…

• Anytime on the ground.

If we’re planning a departure, we want our flaps out, not just the slats. Airbus logic knows this and the flaps will extend too.

• Anytime we’re retracting from flaps "greater than" 1, the flaps will stay at 1 until we move them to "O" position.

Sequentially this makes sense when retracting. We wouldn’t want them to go from flaps 2 to up, losing our lift, until we're ready

When won't we get flaps 1 when we select the 1 position?

• When airborne and we go from a clean wing to flaps 1 selection we only get the slats. Flaps will not come out until we select flaps 2 position.

When flying this plane everyone knows that Flaps 1 on arrival doesn’t really do a whole lot for slowing their plane. Do they know why? I'm not sure how many remember that we don't even have flaps when we select 1.

So what would be a really good beer question?

• In flight when you select flaps one, how many flaps come out? Answer…. ZERO.

Thanks for the great question Daniel!

Enjoy the Journey!

XOX Karlene