Category Archives: 2015 – 2016

A weekend in Texas

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Hello, again!

I wanted to let y’all know what I did last weekend. Of course, I had to embark on another non-rev adventure! Since it was a long weekend, I had originally planned to go to Honolulu for three days. However, this time around, I wasn’t as successful. I ended up not making it on the flight Friday night, and decided not to risk it Saturday morning.

I knew that I definitely wanted to travel, so I looked for a different destination. I ended up going to San Antonio, Texas! I have always wanted to go to San Antonio, and this was the perfect weekend. My sister and I took a flight Saturday morning, and arrived in Texas that evening. We frantically booked a hotel before we boarded the flight, so when we got there, we took an Uber to the hotel downtown. It was a quick ten minute drive to downtown, which was really nice!

Once we got our room, we went out to the River Walk. The first thing we did was ride a boat down the river. It was an awesome way to discover what all was along the river! It was also nice to have a breeze in your face, since it was 104 degrees! We had a great boat captain who told us about the history of San Antonio, as well as pointed out some local restaurants. After the boat ride, we went to eat dinner. Everywhere was packed, so we just had to choose a restaurant and hope for the best. We ended up going to a BBQ restaurant that had the most delicious ribs! Since we ate so much food, we decided to walk around the River Walk for awhile and look at the shops. There were people everywhere, and it was 11:30pm!

The next day, we woke up early and went to find the Alamo. We were told that it was right around the corner from our hotel, however it took us awhile to find it! The street signs were pretty confusing, but we eventually decided to follow the crowds, and we ended up in front of the Alamo (I was surprised that it was located right downtown). There was a line to get inside, but it was worth the wait! You could feel the history when you walked inside. It was incredible. I would’ve loved to have shown you the inside, but photography was not allowed. Once we were done looking around, we walked from the Alamo to Market Square.

My sister and I at the Alamo

My sister and I at the Alamo

Market Square is about a mile away from the Alamo, so you can imagine that it was a long walk in the heat. I was so excited once we got to the Square because it was filled with decorations and food! I felt like I was in Mexico. The shops were incredible, and there was a Mexican market that had really cool handcrafted items. My sister and I ended up eating lunch at a very popular Tex Mex restaurant in Market Square, called Mi Tierra. We had to wait about an hour, but it was SO worth it!! I would go back in a heartbeat.

Market Square

Market Square

Our next decision was not the best. We thought it would be a good idea to walk from Market Square to the Tower of Americas, which is a tower with an observatory at the top (like the Space Needle). It was about a mile and a half walk. We ended up getting lost, since there was construction blocking our route. We got to the Tower eventually, and we were so tired!! After waiting outside in the heat, we were finally able to get up to the top of the tower. The view of San Antonio was awesome! You could see the Alamo Dome, downtown, and all of the scenery surrounding the city.

Tower of the Americas

Tower of the Americas

The view from the top of the tower

The view from the top of the tower

With that, our journey to San Antonio was pretty much over. I am so glad that I got to experience the Alamo City. It was another city checked off of my bucket list!

Now, where should I go this weekend? I’ll let you know where I end up!

Until next time,

Lindsey

Southern Summers

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Happy Friday, everyone!

Another week gone; one week closer to school, one week closer to graduation, which means one week closer to……… winter. This entire week has been one of the hottest weeks in Florida and Georgia; I feel like I’m constantly living on the surface of the sun. I have a sunburn to prove it too. More often than not, I climb into my car after work and my OAT (outside air temperature) reads 114 degrees. I think there’s a math formula out there that explains that that equals the temperature of the surface of the sun. My goal next week is to try and bake cookies on my dashboard.

It’s Friday afternoon and I’ve been planning for this weekend since, well, last weekend. After spending last weekend with my friends back in Daytona, I was excited for another adventurous weekend, but this weekend in South Carolina. What’s the point to spending a summer by yourself, in an unfamiliar city, working at your dream company, without a little bit of travel and adventure? You can’t stay cooped up in the same spot all day, everyday. Go out and explore; see new places, meet new people. It’s all a part of this great internship adventure! Don’t miss out on great adventures and opportunities.

One of the great things about interning with Gulfstream is that the company provides housing to all interns from out of town. I’m very lucky to have this covered by such a gracious company; most interns have to find housing and pay for it out of pocket, but I’ve been lucky enough to have that taken care of for me. It’s a great set up; I’m paired up with a great roommate, thoughtful neighbors, and a great complex. But putting aside all of the amazing perks, we have to remember that this is Georgia in July – it’s hot. And do you know what makes it feel hotter than the surface of the sun? When your air conditioning breaks. On a Friday afternoon. The way I’m looking at it, my weekend can only go up from here.

Here’s to functioning air conditioning, plane spotting, and retail therapy. Enjoy your weekend, friends!

Emmy

Density Altitude is Real

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Hello again, my fellow aviation enthusiasts.

It’s week 2 of being back at Gulfstream since returning from the Air Race Classic. Needless to say, there’s a transition that I’m still stuck in even 9 days after returning. No one, except my mom, told me that there is such a big difference between work and school ethic. School consumes every single second of every day for me. This past semester, I was up at 0445, flying by 0630, class from 0915-1300, working from 1330-1700, at group or individual flight team practice from 1715-1915, and then homework. Forget a social life. Luckily my best friends live with me so we make time to have fun at home.

Now granted, not everyone’s schedule is like this; I choose this crazy busy life, it didn’t choose me. But this gives you an idea of how busy of a schedule that I’m used to. Now, transition here to today. I’m working from 0730-1600 on average and then head home. To do what? Well, I make myself do things. Clean the apartment, write CFI lesson plans, apply for scholarships, apply for jobs, laundry, fun crafts, learning to curl my hair with a straightener, try perfecting a new recipe, FaceTime the dog back home while doing the dishes. But what does this all mean? Why should you care? I am living proof that the way you shape your own college experience (hopefully with us at ERAU!) shapes you into the working adult you will become. Through my choices of classes, clubs, teams, and friends, I have been able to teach myself time management,  self-discipline, self-motivation, stress management, when to call it quits, and of course how to have fun.

The picture above is me and my race partner, Abbie, taking off from Prescott, Arizona.

Pilots always talk about the effects of Density Altitude on aircraft performance. We teach it and discuss it, but you don’t know what you’re up against until you have to deal with it first hand. I’ll try and explain it to the best of my abilities in the simplest terms. Density altitude is the altitude at which your engine thinks that it’s flying. So out in Arizona in the mountains on a hot summer day, as I experienced during the Air Race this year, the density altitude could easily be upwards of 7000-8000 feet. In that case, the engine produces the same amount of power as if it were flying at 7000 or 8000 feet above the ground along the shoreline, except you may be only 2000 feet above the ground in Arizona. Basically the engine isn’t producing the full power that we would like during climb. It takes a little longer to get the airplane off the ground and the climb is slow and gradual. The airplane feels sluggish. To describe going from race mode, a constant “Go! Go! Go! Go, Quick Turn!” attitude and mentality, back to a normal schedule feels like I’m constantly fighting with density altitude. Getting up and ready in the morning takes me a little longer; driving to work, the flow of traffic is frustratingly slow; gathering information from others feels sluggish. Those may not be the best examples, but I guess we can say that we all fight density altitude in our lives everyday, somehow.

I hope you’ve enjoyed following along on a little tidbit of my thoughts over the last day and are looking forward to the next post!

Until next time, blue skies and tailwinds!

Emmy

My Embry-Riddle Family

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Hello to my new internet friends.

I would begin, just like most of us would, by saying that I’m not your typical college student. Sure, I spend my summer usually by the beach and relaxing and with family, but here’s how I am different. My time by the beach is usually following the shoreline, climbing up through 2000 feet to head up to St Simon’s Island for some of the best BBQ I’ve ever had or to work on lazy eights or other maneuvers at 5000 feet. My time relaxing is spent working on CFI lesson plans, flight planning, reading up on the latest article about the future of commercial aviation, or the next aviation movie to hit theaters. And my family is my actual family, like my mom and my dad, but also my flying community family, my Air Race family, my academic family, and my best friends (who are practically my actual family anyhow).

The great thing that I love about Embry-Riddle is that everyone is different. Everyone has a different story, a different place that they call home, a different world-view, and different life (and flying!) experiences.

What makes this summer even MORE different is the continual lack of regularity. This summer, I’ve spent more time in hotels than I think I ever have in my entire life in just 2 months. I’ve had some of the most amazing experiences with some of the greatest people I’ve ever known. Now that my summer is starting to calm down, I love that I can share my experiences with you.

Before I spill all of my fun secrets, let me introduce myself.

I’m Emmy Dillon and I’m  a Human Factors Psychology senior, graduating in December 2016. I’m also a Flight minor. I received my private pilot certificate in high school and continued with my flight training at ERAU through my single-engine and multiengine commercial certificate. I’m slowly working on my CFI while I’m interning at Gulfstream as a Human Factors Engineering intern this summer. I’m also a member of the Eagles Flight Team, having served the team as the Captain for the previous school year. I also flew in the 2015 and the 2016 Air Race Classic races. This year, my teammate and I not only won the Collegiate Competition, but also took No. 1 overall for the entire Air Race Classic. We could not be happier!

With Abbie Passmore, Flight Chairman, Ken Byrnes, and ERAU President Karen Holbrook

With Abbie Passmore, Flight Chairman, Ken Byrnes, and ERAU President Karen Holbrook

There are many stories to tell and lots of experiences to be shared, so stay tuned for some (hopefully) entertaining posts by me!

Blue Skies,

Emmy

Visiting Virgin America

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Some of you may have heard about the planned merger of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America that was announced in April. When the merger was announced, I was actually at the Alaska Airlines headquarters in Seattle for an interview. I remember the excitement that I felt while I was there; everyone was nervous and curious about the next steps.

Well, a few months into the merger, I can say it is still a very exciting time at Alaska Airlines. It couldn’t have been a better summer to be an intern at Alaska. As has been mentioned in the media, Alaska Airlines is trying to learn more about the Virgin America brand, and what makes people love it. One of the ways they are doing that is by visiting Virgin America in San Francisco.

I was lucky enough to have the privilege of traveling to San Francisco with the department I am working in. One day, a few weeks ago, we flew on Virgin America to San Francisco in the morning. I had never flown on VX before, so I was excited to experience it. When you walk onto the aircraft, it’s dark, and the cabin has pink and blue mood lighting. There was techno music playing while the guests were finding their seats. Once you sat down, the entertainment system in the back of the seat greeted you, and was ready for you to order drinks, play games, or watch TV. I was very impressed with the different type of atmosphere that VX had to offer, versus traditional carriers. Another thing I liked was how comfortable and wide the seats were. We flew on an A320 on the way to SFO, and I was amazed by how much room it had.

In-seat entertainment system

In-seat entertainment system

View out the window of the American flag sharklet

View out the window of the American flag sharklet

Once we arrived in San Francisco, we went to lunch at a small little Chinese dumpling place close to the airport. It was delicious! After we were done with lunch, it was time to head to the Virgin America office. I was impressed with the modern style of the offices. They really encompassed the Virgin America brand. It was also great because you could watch the planes on approach into SFO over the bay, right from the break room!

Outside of the VX Headquarters

Outside of the VX Headquarters

Shortly after our tour, we were headed back to SFO to catch a flight up to SEA. It couldn’t have been a better trip, as the weather in San Francisco was beautiful. I really enjoyed the experience of flying on an airline I had never flown before. I had also never been to SFO, and I discovered that I really like the airport. It was very modern and spacious.

Needless to say, I am very excited about the future of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America. I cannot wait to see what the West Coast’s premier airline of the future looks like.

Until next time,

Lindsey

Internship Update

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Hey everyone!

I realize it’s been a month since I’ve last written, but it’s been a busy month! I started my internship with Alaska Airlines on May 31st, and have been working full time ever since. I am officially halfway done with the internship, and I can’t believe it’s gone by so fast! I have been loving every minute of it.

Most of the things I am working on are day-to-day type work, which I cannot say much about. However, I also worked on a benchmarking project, and have been helping my manager out with some of his projects.

One of my favorite things I have done so far is taken a Capacity Planning class. It was a full day class, which was an overview of airline capacity planning. It included network planning, scheduling, and strategy. One of the reasons I liked it so much was because any employee from Alaska Airlines could sign up to attend. I was able to meet flight attendants, gate agents, mechanics, and other corporate employees. The class started off with a surprise tour of the Boeing Renton Factory, which is not open to the public. This location is where Boeing manufactures all of their 737s. It just so happened that Alaska Airlines had an airplane that was being manufactured while we were on the tour! After the tour, we went back to Alaska Airlines headquarters to get back to class. One of the activities involved getting into groups and creating a new market for Alaska Airlines to fly, theoretically. It was interesting to see the data behind why (or why not) the market we came up with would be profitable.

Boeing Renton Factory

Boeing Renton Factory

Another one of my favorite events has been the maintenance tour. As interns, we all got to go for a tour of the Alaska Maintenance Hangar at Sea-Tac. There was a brand new 737-900ER delivery in the hangar that day, so we got to take pictures of it, as well as go on board. I always love the new airplane smell! We were able to see where they store all of the parts for the planes, as well as how they do engine maintenance. But my favorite part of the tour was getting to go on board the 737-400 Combi. This is an aircraft that is very unique. It holds 4 huge cargo boxes in the front of the aircraft, just behind the cockpit, and 76 passengers in the rear. It is used to fly up to Alaska, where it delivers a lot of food to the towns. They will soon be retiring, so it was awesome to get to go inside of one before they disappear.

Some of the AS interns with the new delivery in the hangar

Some of the AS interns with the new delivery in the hangar

Standing in front of the 737-900ER engine

Standing in front of the 737-900ER engine

Inside the 737-400 Combi cargo area

Inside the 737-400 Combi cargo area

At the halfway point of my internship, I can honestly say Alaska Airlines is a great place to work. The company is doing well and adding new and exciting markets to their network. They also have some of the best employees in the business. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to work at such an awesome company, and learn from some of the best.

Until next time,

Lindsey

Delivery of the First Bombardier CSeries Aircraft to Swiss

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MIRABEL, QC –  Last Thursday, Swiss departed Canada for Zurich with a brand new Bombardier CS100 aircraft. Swiss is the launch customer of the CSeries. I had the chance to be present at the delivery ceremony on Wednesday. During the afternoon, there was a CSeries flight for the media, as well as a factory tour of the final assembly line.

Bombardier CSeries FTV5 featuring the Swiss livery.

Bombardier CSeries FTV5 featuring the Swiss livery.

This was the second time I boarded the aircraft, but it was the first time I was going to be on a flight. I saw the aircraft for the first time back in December 2015 during the certification event. I enjoyed the plane’s wide cabin and seat configuration (3-2). Instead of having two middle seats on each row like on the A320s and B737s, there is only one in each row of the CSeries. I also like the large windows which are 50% larger than the A320.

My boarding pass for the flight!

My boarding pass for the flight!

I was really excited to be flying the CSeries for the first time. Bombardier offered a short flight on one of their test aircraft (FTV5) for the 80 medias present. The flight crew announced to the passengers that they would fly over Mont Tremblant and come back and land at Mirabel. The crew planned an altitude of 16,000 ft. to Mont Tremblant and a lower altitude of 10,000 ft.on the way back to Mirabel. The whole flight would take approximately 45 minutes.

Inflight at 16,000ft.

What a beautiful view at 16,000 ft!

Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engine.

Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engine.

I was seated in 18A by the window, just behind the wing of the aircraft. From my seat, I had a great view of outside the aircraft. As we taxied to the active runway, I thought the engine was pretty quiet compared to other aircraft of similar size. It only took a few seconds and only 2,400 ft. of runway before we lifted off the ground. A few minutes later, the flight crew turned off the seat belt sign as the aircraft leveled at its short cruising altitude of 16,000 ft. Many passengers rushed in the aisle for pictures and interviews. The aisle was very busy during the flight as many folks wanted to explore the aircraft from nose to tail. The two flight attendants served the passengers a bottle of water and bags of candies for this short 45 minute flight.

Speedbrakes up for landing!

Speedbrakes up for landing!

My first flight on the CSeries and my first customer delivery flight on Air Canada’s last Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to be delivered are two amazing experiences I will never forget.

Until next time!

Nicolas

Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

Short Trip to Ottawa and Winnipeg

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Last Friday was a holiday for the province of Quebec. Yay, a three day weekend! Friday morning, I from Montreal to Ottawa to visit the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

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Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.

The museum had many artifacts and aircraft on display from WWI and WWII. It was amazing to see how aviation has evolved over time. It started from human-powered aircraft to state-of-the-art commercial airplanes such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Airbus A350, and the CSeries. If you are a prospective student interested in anything related to aviation, Embry-Riddle is your #1 choice. We offer many degrees and programs such as aeronautical science (pilot), computer and technology, engineering, aviation business, and space. You can consult the complete list of what ERAU has to offer here.

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My flight itinerary generated by The Great Circle Mapper.

After the museum, I headed to the Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport. I was flying to Winnipeg, MB, then to Toronto-Pearson (Canada’s busiest airport), and finally back to Ottawa on that same day. Unfortunately things did not go as planned as my flight from Ottawa to Toronto got cancelled. A WestJet guest service ambassador told me that the flight cancellation was due to the fact that the crew that was supposed to take us to Toronto was delayed in New York-LaGuardia and had exceeded their duty time. There were no other crew available at that time of the day. The airline gave me a hotel voucher and three food vouchers worth $45 total. I finally arrived home the next day in the afternoon.

Sunset over Ontario on my flight between Winnipeg and Toronto.

Sunset over Ontario on my flight between Winnipeg and Toronto.

You think that was a crazy trip? I did a trip back in February with my friend where we flew nearly to the four corners of the continental United States.

Read it here: Flying All Over America – Part 1 / Part 2

Other than working, eating, and sleeping, I do homework for the online class I am taking this summer. I am taking Leadership as an elective class. We are almost halfway through this 9-week course. I will post a blog soon comparing online classes versus regular classes. They both have their pros and cons.

This week will also be short since it is Canada Day on Friday. Another three day weekend! Americans, you will also get your three day weekend for Independence Day, which is next Monday.

Until next time!

Nicolas

Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

Life in Network Planning

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In my last blog, I talked about my summer internship in Network Planning. In this post, I will describe important terms that we use in our department. These terms are  also commonly used in the world of aviation!

Boeing 787-9 (Photo Credits: Air Canada)

Boeing 787-9 (Photo Credits: Air Canada)

Maintenance
Each of the 380 aircraft if our fleet has to undergo different types of maintenance that needs to be performed in order to be airworthy. It can range from simple line maintenance to complex heavy maintenance where the airplane is almost taken completely apart. Air Canada does the overnight maintenance in-house but the other larger maintenance checks are outsourced in other countries around the world. In Network Planning, we have to make sure that we pull out the necessary number of aircraft out of the fleet so it can go to maintenance.

Turnaround Times
Turnaround time is the period of time from when an aircraft arrives at the gate of a station (airport) to the time the aircraft is ready to depart from the gate for another flight. The turnaround time usually depends on the type of aircraft that is being handled on the ground. Fueling, catering, baggage and passengers loading/unloading is done during this time. Our smallest aircraft, the Beechcraft 1900D needs 20 minutes to turnaround. On the other side, our Boeing 777-300ER needs more than 120 minutes of minimum ground time. For airlines, it is important for their aircraft to be on the ground for the shortest amount of time possible. The more the aircraft is the air, the more they can generate revenue.

Connectivity
Most airlines have one or more hubs where they operate most of their flights. Air Canada’s largest hub is Toronto-Pearson. Our job in Network Planning is to ensure that most passenger will be able to go to the destination of their choice in our route network. For example, if you are flying out of Daytona Beach International Airport, your only options is to either fly to Atlanta, Charlotte, or New York-JFK. At these airports, the flights are timed to allow passengers to connect to another flight to eventually bring them to their final destination.

Departure Times
Some of our flights have an optimal departure time for local traffic while other flights are timed for connectivity. Air Canada flies between Montreal and Toronto at every hour during weekdays and even at every 30 minutes during peak hours. When we operate more than one daily flight per day to a city, we usually spread the flights throughout the day. Business travelers usually enjoy taking a flight early in the morning and return at the end of the day after their meetings.

Aircraft Types
Aircraft limitations are taken into account when we assign a plane to a route. For example a 70-seater regional jet cannot fly from North America to Europe because it simply does not have the range to do such missions. We fly the Airbus A319 to Mexico City (7,300 ft. of elevation) because this aircraft performs well at high temperatures and high altitudes.

Passenger Load Factor
The passenger load factor (PLF) can be described as “how full is the plane in terms of seats occupied.” The load factor can be calculated by dividing the RPMs by the ASMs on a particular route or for the whole network. You can also calculate the PLF by dividing the number of revenue passengers onboard by the number of available seats on the aircraft.

You are now an aviation expert! If you are interested in Network Planning, you should definitely take the Airline Management (BA 315) class on campus. This course is very interesting if you are an aviation passionate like me.

If you have any questions or comments regarding my internship, you can reach me at the email address listed below. I will be happy and glad to answer your questions!

Until next time!

Nicolas

Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu