I recently visited the Boeing Everett Factory in Everett, Washington on behalf of Continental Airlines. It was so amazing to see the new aircraft being built and the showroom facility. There are so many options available to airlines and new technologies being released on the new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. It is, by far, changing the future of flight as we know it! I left New York early in the morning and arrived by mid-morning in Seattle. I later returned home on the red-eye flight, luckily I got the last seat out! This tour was different from the public tour in that it was a customer factory tour, so we got to see some of the ‘behind the scenes’ work.
I was also able to hop on a Continental Connection flight to Toronto, Canada with my dad this weekend. Canada was a lot of fun! I liked how the culture seemed to be a mix of both North American and European. It was a very short flight and I flew there on the Bombardier Dash-8 (Q400). I even got to see Niagara Falls!
I’m now enroute to Denver, CO to begin work at the United Airlines Flight Training Center. I will be out there for two weeks working on a special assignment. This is a very neat opportunity and it is also the first time that Continental interns will work with our sister operation.
As you may already know these two operations are working very hard to obtain a Single Operating Certificate (SOC), meaning one operation. It has been very exciting learning about the progress of this merger, behind the scenes, each step of the way.
Everyone I speak to says that Colorado is most beautiful during the summer and I’ve heard nothing but good things about the culture. I have good feeling that I’m going to enjoy my time there.
That’s all for now. Over and Out.
The past two weeks have been amazingly great. I did so much within that period that would probably have spanned the entire internship. I have a new respect for the airline industry and for those who work there. It is a dynamic environment with many people who all work arduously together to ensure a flight is out on-time in the most safest and expeditious manner. Be it baggage services, passenger services, flight service, maintenance, the flight crew or the administrative group, their main aim is towards the common goal of managing an effective airlines and American Airlines has accomplished that.
The week started out with me flying to Dallas for 3 days to partake in a Luncheon and then Simulator Training. I spent four hours in a 737-800 Level D simulator which was divided up into 2 hours in the Captain’s position and the other 2 hours in the First Officer’s position. We had an hour briefing before and after the session. The ‘Sim’ session consisted of normal take-offs and landings, Precision & Non-Precision Approaches, Single-Engine Approaches and Landings, Aborted Take-Offs prior to and at V1, Failures, Fires and In-flight Emergencies, Single-Engine Operations, CAT I, II, III Approaches, RNP Approaches, Drift Down, FMC Operations, Unusual Attitudes, Wind shear Recovery, Missed Approaches, Low Visibility Operations and much more. It was so much fun and I learned a lot about flying large transport category aircraft. Flight Technique Analysis class at ERAU did indeed pay off. CRM is very important also and the FMS Class made me a pro at working the ‘box’.
I came back on Wednesday and spent the remainder of the day at LGA. Helped out around the office and caught up with some friends since I haven been spending all my time over at JFK. Later that week I spent half of a day up at the JFK FAA Tower. That was fun, as they gave me a headset to listen in on their communications. So many accents! I got to see a missed approach, a go-around and Emirates A380 land. The air traffic controllers were very much passionate about their jobs and have a lot of fun in the tower. I was able to understand most of their strip markings, procedures and phraseology. Riddle’s Air Traffic Program has been so beneficial and now I can see things not only from a pilot’s perspective but also the controller’s side. The picture to the right is a view from the tower.
The following week proved to be busier that I expected. Monday I met up with a 767 crew who invited me to preflight with them, program the FMC and hang with them in the cockpit before they were ready to push back. Later that afternoon I spent a few hours with the Flight Service Department. I learned about their operations and then gate hopping with the MOD to ensure the flight attendants were okay, the cabin was ready for departure and the cabin crew was all set for their flight. There is a lot of work that goes into ensuring the plane is well prepared for flight, from cleaning, catering to maintenance. Once again I reiterate the importance that all the employees place on ensuring the planes go out and come in safely, with the best of services.
The next day proved to be so worthwhile. I spent the day traveling to ORD and back just for fun. I hopped on a ferry flight and repositioned it over to ORD. Spent 10 minutes at ORD and then hopped on the next flight to LGA. It was a long day, but one of the best days of the summer. The next day I got up-close and personal with all the airliners that fly into JFK. I spent the day with the General Manager of the Airport. I got a tour of their facilities and then I jumped in their car and drove around the entire field. It was so much fun and I learned a lot from the managing side of things. I went from cargo facilities, to every terminal, runways and taxiways.
Even got to see an airport sign get blown out by jet blast. I was also fortunate to get a tour of the land side of the airport and not only the air side. I was all over the airplanes though, especially the 777-300ER’s, 747-400, A340-600, A380-800. The picture to the right was taken from the approach end of the runway as BA 747 was landing, one of my favorite airplanes of all times. I was even at the end of the departure runway as the planes took off and got jet blasted a few times…. FUN! The pictures below are from the A380 rounds and some jet blast from AA 757:
It was an amazing two weeks and I saw, learned and experienced a lot. Now I’m heading into my final two week on the internship then onto Proctor & Gamble for the Student Development Program. Stay tuned for the next entry and fly safe! Keep the blue side up…
The last two weeks have been probably the best thus far at the American Airlines Internship Program. I have learned, experienced and met so many people that I can now say I have a better understanding of how an airline is managed. From the last journal entry, I spent my 4th July weekend with my family and friend Justin who came to visit me in NYC. We explored the city, toured a bit and went on fun excursions that led us to meeting new and quite interesting people. We even met a representative from Singapore Airlines and the Manager of a NY Museum. We were fortunate enough to get VIP invitations to an art exhibition later that week.
Work commenced at the office with Lauretta, Dee, Lorraine, Melissa and the Chief Pilot, Scott Meade. I spent most of the week working on the APU Project, preparing spreadsheets, and charts. These charts would go to Jan Paladino, a 767 FO who works in the Flight Office. From there, the work that I have done goes to the Chief Pilot and then to the Vice-President of Flight, John Hale. I feel very privileged to have an input into such a massive project that makes an improvement in American Airlines. That Friday I worked closely with Jan going around the airport and shutting down Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) on aircraft that have a long ground time. I even stayed an hour after work to continue this, as it was so much fun and exciting. Now I can turn on and off the APUs on the 737, 757, 767 and 777. The pictures to the right and above are from that experience.
The next week proved to be one filled with great experiences and interactions. I spent 3 days in the Maintenance Hangar learning about their operations, and hanging out with the mechanics. The first day I got a tour of the facility from the On-Duty Manager Fernando Whitehead. He made sure that I had a great time there through the observation of their operations and mingling with the mechanics and airplanes. It is quite impressive as to how the maintenance personnel work so intimately with the airplanes to ensure they are back in service in the most time effective manner with superior work. These mechanics are a wealth of knowledge and gave me a plethora of advice. They even tried to convince me to become a Mechanic. Lenny, Frank, Brian and Marlene were very welcoming, accommodating and made my stay there quite enjoyable. The picture to the left is from the 757 engine undergoing some maintenance.
I got the opportunity to taxi a 777 from the hangar to the gate as it was being returned to service and later that day a 757 also. The picture to the right is what the centerline looks like from the FO’s seat as you are taxing. Saudi Arabia usually parks at our hanger along with British Airways during their prolonged ground time. I was fortunate enough to get to do a walk around of these airplanes and get up close and personal with them. The mechanics explained a lot of things about these aircraft that I had never known before, such as if the 777 were to lose an engine, it could still do a full Autoland. The pictures below are from that experience:
needed to be worked on immediately and expeditiously so as to prevent delays. The hangar was of a slower rate as the aircraft there needed larger maintenance requirement and were out of service. It was quite enlightening to see the difference in operations and a great learning experience but at the same time fun. The mechanics were also going to do a manual start of the 737 CFM-56 engine, but unfortunately I could see that as it was too dangerous.
Later that day I observed the operations at the Engine Bay in the hangar. Here is where they host a few spare engines, APUs and work on engines that have issues. It was so much fun as it brought back a lot of memories and information that I have learned in Turbines class at ERAU. I was able to go around the engines and find all the major parts and understand their importance. ERAU has educated me so well that it was quite easy understanding the engines, especially when the mechanics explained parts and concepts to me. I even got to participate in the Anniversary Party of a few mechanics who were celebrating their 20-25 year milestones at AA. The pictures to the left and above are from my time there.
In the afternoon, I stayed an hour after work to help the mechanics get a 737 back into service. There was brake line that needed to be changed on the left main gear along with an engine test. I was quite excited to help them accomplish this task. After we changed the brake line, the manuals required that the gear be swung to ensure proper operation. This was here I came in to the rescue! I had to hoist the airplane up into the air so that the gear could be cycled. The picture to the right proved it.
Actually we just jacked the airplane up but it was a good photo opportunity. After that, we taxied the airplane out of the hangar and did an engine run up. That was really fun and REAL! Not like the simulator but an actual engine start. The next day I stayed almost 2 hours after work to help get a 757 back into service after a line check. Talk about putting in over time. These mechanics are so dedicated it is unbelievable. They are passionate about their jobs and so motivated. I also spent a few hours in the Maintenance Training Department. I got some training on the Computer Based Training Systems and it so happens that the manager of this department knows my parents. Small world huh! The pictures to the left and below are from the 737 gear well and cockpit:
The Maintenance Crew is an amazing group of people and I had a blast with them. The picture to the right is just a small group of the wonderful people who ensure that the airplanes are well kept, maintained and safe.
e to communicate quite easily with the dispatchers as all the knowledge came rushing back. ERAU’s training like I always say is the BEST!
When I returned to NY on Friday, AA was celebrating it One World Alliance Anniversary with JAL. I got to partake in the festivities. There was a cultural show, amazing food and giveaways. AA also had their 777 One World Series on display. Once again I saw a photo opportunity. I may be going to Japan in September now.
The pictures to the right and above are from the party. As you can tell the past two weeks have been quite packed, fun and exciting. I can’t wait to continue learning and experiencing. Next week I’ll be in Dallas for a few days for flight training, a luncheon and when I return to JFK I’ll be spending some time with the MOD of Flight Service hoping from aircraft to aircraft learning about their operations. This weekend I’ll be heading to New Jersey to spend some time with my good friend
So the month of July has been awesome… and we are only halfway through right now. The month started with working 10-11 hour days to get the cars ready for the big trip up to Boston for the Buick Nationals 2011. July 5 marked the first day of the trip, when we loaded up the trucks and pulled out for the 12 hour drive to Danvers. We made it up there before the severe weather hammered Massachusetts. As the days went by the show field started to fill up with amazing cars, the group I was with brought up a total of 4 cars. We had our 1987 Buick GNX – 1 of 547 ever made out on display for the show and friends had their cars up from the Maryland area. 
When Saturday came around they had around 300 cars on display ranging from the early 1900’s through present. Our car was originally ordered by a dealer in Ohio, I had the pleasure of meeting the owner of the dealership who had actually ordered our car new. For those of you have never been to a car show, we had our car in a 400 point judged class where all the cars are judged based on a standard set of categories. We were shooting to receive a BCA Gold – you would have to score between 385 and 400, which for the first time out with the car is hard to do. We had a great time showing the car and had a chance to show and talk to others about the car who shared an interest. That evening, we attended the awards dinner where we received a BCA Gold award for the GNX… turns out the car scored a perfect score with 400/400. Very hard to bring any car to a show and the judges not find a single thing wrong. Our family friend took top award with his 1931 Buick; he won the Best Pre War award which is equivalent to Best in Show. We had several more shows to travel to before school starts back up next month, most are local shows in the VA/MD area.
From July 5th through July 10th I was in Boston, MA then I traveled up Maine for a week with friends. Sunday morning I took JetBlue from Boston Logan to Portland, ME via Kennedy in NYC. Flights were great… never had an issue with JetBlue. So I arrived into Maine ahead of schedule and was ready for another great vacation. My friend Jen picked me up from the airport and we headed for Sokokis Lake/Limerick Maine. The trips served as a much needed break from Northern VA where it seems we are always running around. I was supposed to come home that Tuesday, turned out coming back home Friday the 15th. The extra days in Maine made the trip SO much better. Monday night I was thinking to myself; “I really, really don’t think I am ready to go home yet ha”. Monday night we all went down to Old Orchard Beach and spent the night between the Pier, rides and all the shops on Main Street. We hung around the house and Lake Tuesday… 
Wednesday we spent on the water and then one heck of an epic night. We drove back up to Portland and hit up LL Bean – the Flagship store, the World’s Largest Rotating Globe in Yarmouth, ME and back down for a quick stop at Old Orchard for food. Our last day in Maine was a blast out on the water… full moon + midnight tubing = awesome night! So the week spent in Maine turned into one of the best weeks of the year so far and I made some great friends. It was awesome to spend a week just relaxing and having fun without having to worry about when I was supposed to be at work, what needed to get done around the house and just enjoy being with friends. Friday we headed out of Maine and pointed the car towards Virginia, making it home in pretty good time.
I left off saying that I just began intern pilot training at Continental Airlines. Now three weeks later, I’m writing to say that I’ve successfully completed that course. I learned a lot during training and enjoyed it as well. It was certainly an experience that I will never forget.
When learning to fly small aircraft, students are taught to fly the airplane by themselves, as many require only one pilot. However, many large transport aircraft require more than one crewmember, in most cases only two. There are many factors as to why more than one crewmember is necessary, but mainly it is to assist with the high workload. There is much more happening in the cockpit of Boeing 737 than in a Cessna 172, as you can imagine.
Duties such as Pilot Flying (PF) and Pilot Monitoring (PM) were discussed and practiced during each activity. Many times the monitoring pilot will contact Air Traffic Control (ATC) and retract the gear and flaps on command by the pilot flying, regardless of who is the Captain or First Officer. However, when the monitoring pilot is diagnosing a problem, troubleshooting, or briefing an approach, the pilot flying will take on the extra duties such as ATC.
Many of our procedures, or how we operate, come from accident/incident studies and statistics. So before we learn an action, such as how to dialing in the altimeter setting, we study accidents and incidents where pilots failed to properly set it. By learning from the mistakes of those aviators before us, we can better prepare ourselves to not make those same ones. This proves that studying history is very important, even if its aviation history!
of our flying, for the most part, took place in the right seat, which I didn’t think was all too different. Which means in most of our scenarios, the pilot flying (PF) was the First Officer and pilot monitoring (PM) was Captain. According to our instructor, it takes about 30 seconds to get used to flying in either seat; however it could take years to be upgraded from First Officer to Captain.
nt and Visual) Approaches & Go Arounds, CFIT Training, as well as normal procedures and various scenario-based training. I felt that my partner and I made good use of our time together in the simulator, as we were able to experience many aspects that were not covered in the syllabus, courtesy of our instructor.
Hey everyone! How are you guys doing? I am doing very well here, just enjoying the summer. The weather the past few days has been awesome, so I have been trying to take advantage of that as much as I can.
As my readers from the previous year know, one reason I enjoy working at airports is because of how unexpected things pop up randomly and without warning, and I have to respond to that situation and resolve it. Well, one such situation happened a few days ago on a taxiway that had been closed for construction. The airfield lighting there was not working, so several manhole covers and ditches had been opened or dug to try to locate the faulty wiring. Having these open next to a taxiway is in violation of FAR Part 139, so the taxiway had to be closed as a result.
That taxiway is primarily used for the airline as it runs from the terminal ramp across the main runway 2/20. When one of the airline flights called the tower for taxi, they were told to bypass that taxiway, but they accidentally turned down it instead. Because it was closed, they could not legally continue. The tower called me and asked what they should do. Knowing the aircraft couldn’t turn around and that it would be difficult to push it back, I expedited out to its location and just inspected the area to ensure it was safe for them to continue, and authorized the aircraft to taxi down the taxiway. It was a fun thing to do and everyone was very appreciative.
Then, this past weekend, a good friend of mine who I hadn’t seen in a while asked me if I would like to fly to Block Island for the day. Block Island, for those who don’t know, is a characteristic New England literally saving 2 and a half hours from driving. I love flying there and hadn’t been there yet this summer until that day. It was a great trip and we had a great lunch out there as well. We walked around almost the entire island, too, which was a little tiring but fun to see everything. It was a good day.
Hey everyone. I hope everything is going well for you and that you are enjoying your summer thus far. Things are good for me and I am really enjoying the time off from school. While I have been working a lot, I have been making sure to relax a bit as well. Summer is definitely important for that.
4th of July fireworks. He lives right on the water in East Haven, so this afforded a fantastic view of the festivities. Also at his house were several friends of mine who I hadn’t seen since I have been home from school, as well as some of my other co-workers and associates at the airport and some new friends who I met. It was a great night.
On the way back home at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, I noticed a lot of commotion at the gate across the concourse from my flight. The flight, going to Haiti, apparently had some baggage checked on it that wasn’t associated with a passenger. Because the flight is already considered high-risk, all of the bags were pulled off and an abundance of law enforcement and airport officials were on hand. It looked like quite a sight.
The past two weeks have been so hectic, traveling back and forth to Dallas. I even almost accidentally went to Narita, Japan but that’s another story. My seventh week on the internship was somewhat slow. Most of the time was spent in the office going to meetings and learning about general airport operations. It is definitely amazing to see how much input is needed to efficiently run an airport.
The best part of this internship I’d have to say is the interaction with the pilots. I probably chat with about 50 pilots daily and they all have advice for me. It is great to be surrounded by such an intelligent, supportive and fun group. Being a Safety Minor also, I got to meet some pilots who are on the AA Go Team, which are basically Accident Investigators. We were able to speak about things related to Accident Investigation and I learned so much. After taking SF330- Aircraft Accident Investigation class at ERAU, I was able to hold a conversation with the investigators and relate to some of the things they were speaking about. It may be something I’d like to pursue in the future.
American Eagle Pilot and the other an intern from Alaska Airlines. We hardly slept so that’s a testament of how much fun we had. The pictures to the left and above were from that trip. The one from the air shows the Grand Canyon from about 38,000 feet. I returned to NY on the Saturday and then met up with my good friend on Sunday for some fun in the city. It was an amazing weekend.
The eight-week began with so much 777s. This aircraft surrounded me. On Monday morning by 9:30 I had already preflighted two 777s. I almost made it to Narita also. That would have been funny to explain to my boss. I was chilling in the cockpit with the pilots after the preflight and the flight attendant almost closed the door with me in the aircraft. I wished she did! When I went back to the office I met two 777-check pilots and later that day had lunch with a 777 captain who was heading to Brazil later that night. The wealth of advice and knowledge you can gain from these pilots is unbelievable. The picture to the right is from the preflight and the picture below is of me enjoying the 777 First Class with a few of the crewmembers.
The following weeks will be so much more involving as the Chief Pilot asked me to give him my wish list and he will allow me to do everything on it. Next week I will be heading to the FAA Tower at JFK, and also working 2 night shifts at the Ramp Control Tower. In the near future I will be going to the New York ARTCC, have an airport and ARFF Tour, preflight Air Berlin’s A330, JAL 747-400, Finnair A340, and Qatar 777-300ER. I’ll also be working in the Maintenance Hanger too. So stay tuned and see all the pictures… Happy 4th July!
