The long holiday weekend is here. This journal will have to speak for itself with pictures and a link to more on this amazing water craft I was able to tour as part of my internship:
Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division
June 20, 2011
Hey everyone. I hope everything is going well. I’m doing great here in Connecticut, just 
enjoying the summer. I’ve been working a lot, but I have also been trying to relax as much as possible and enjoy the time off from school. I think it is really important to allow yourself time to relax when you can so that you can re-focus your energy when you need it most. Summers are great for that.
Summers are also a good time to visit colleges. While when you attend the various universities, you may not see many students around, it is still a great time to go and visit as you are not tied up with school and the other extracurricular activities you partake in during the school year. I highly recommend visiting as many schools as you can now, so that your final decision can be made easier and more effectively later on.
That is easier said than done, however, as I have spent most of my days thus far working. Really, though, for me it is not work as I look forward to going in every day. When you do something that you love, it is like you never “have” to go into work—you want to.
My brother graduated from high school last week, which I find really hard to believe. He will be going to Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service next year, a perfect fit for what he is interested and wants to do. It is kind of funny that both my brother and I will be following our dreams, which not all that many people get to do. We are very fortunate indeed.
The graduation ceremony itself was nice, but I could tell that it was sad for my brother as he had so many friends at school. Probably the most difficult thing for him though, was having to officially step down as Student Council President, something that he cherished the whole year and worked hard for. That weekend, we had a graduation party for him and it was a nice end to his high school career. Congratulations, Sam!
Things are going well at the airport, in any case. I really enjoy being at my “home” airport 
as everyone has a bunch of things that they need me to do and have saved since I went back to school in December. This may sound tedious, but I like being given specific jobs to do because of my various abilities above and beyond aviation-related work. Not all that much out of the ordinary has happened on that front, except for a few things.
For one thing, one of the Dash 8-100’s was stuck on the ground in New Haven for a full two days. It was probably the longest maintenance delay I had ever seen, but it was justifiable as one of the engines was simply not producing over 50% of thrust. The pilots attempted several times to troubleshoot the issue with a mechanic, but were unable to fix the problem. One of my friends was the first officer on that flight and it was nice to be able to catch up with him for a while, but eventually they flew the pilots home on another flight. The Dash 8 then sat there for another day and a half before mechanics finally came to replace the faulty engine component—in the middle of the night. They then decided to do a full engine run-up on the ramp, a few hundred feet from neighbors’ houses that already hate the airport. Needless to say, that did not go over well. Finally, the next day, the aircraft was flown out.
The other thing is on a much sadder note. A week or so ago, a 20 year old Connecticut 
soldier was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan. One night at work, I got a call from a charter company asking for an exemption from our noise ordinance to allow the aircraft carrying his remains to fly in. Of course, I authorized this, and volunteered my time on the day he came in to assist in whatever way I could. I ended up helping to lead the police escort off the airport and on their way. I’ve seen several of these situations before but it never gets easier. Seeing the family as the flag-draped coffin is unloaded from the aircraft is too much for me to handle. Rest in peace.
I was also in attendance as one of my best friends, David, received the Businessperson of the Year award from his town’s government. He is a franchisee of Bruegger’s Bagels and Jamba Juice and a very hard-working guy. He received a citation signed by the governor and a nice plaque as well. He really deserved it.
Other than that, I really don’t have too much else to say this time, guys. I hope you keep enjoying your summer. Please, contact me with some questions!
Talk to you soon,
Pete
June 20, 2011
I had the opportunity to travel with an assistant chief pilot on a B737-800 flight to Boston, MA and back. What was especially neat was that the First Officer was a former Newark intern. They both taught me a thing or two and gave me advice, which has helped me thus far in training.
Just before I left Newark to come to Houston some changes took place. United began operating internationally from the Continental’s Terminal C. In return, Continental began flying international routes from United cities. With these aircraft swaps also came additional routes; Continental now flies from Newark to Stuttgart, Germany. The inaugural flight took place a day before I left and I got the opportunity to attend the pre-flight celebration.
Since I last wrote I’ve temporarily relocated to Houston, TX for Boeing 737 training at the Continental Airlines Pilot Training Center. I’ve been staying at a hotel at the airport, courtesy of the airline. The experience so far has been very parallel to new-hire training.
So far I’ve taken two classes on the 737 Flight Management Computer (FMC). The FMC, also known as “the box”, is an interface found on all modern airliners and therefore a highly valuable system to learn.
I’ve also completed two Flight Training Device (FTD) activities that consisted of learning normal & non-normal procedures. For all activities I am paired up with another intern. In the simulators each day we switch roles [Captain & First Officer] to make sure we have equal amount of time in each seat. The first FTD activity was a simulated flight from Atlanta to Cleveland, with a diversion back to Atlanta. The second was a flight from Cleveland to Houston. Both flights demonstrated use of the FMC, autopilot, navigation displays and various other systems and components. The use of checklists and flows were practiced during these units.
The upcoming week will consist mostly of ground school classes. Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Extended Operations (ETOPS) will be the topics.
In other news, I travelled this weekend to Los Angeles, CA to visit my cousins. While there I got a chance to visit Hollywood! I saw the Kodak Theatre, Guinness World of Records, Capitol Records, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood sign, and ate at the famous In-N-Out Burger.
With each week being such a thrill, I look forward to the next even more!
Over and Out.
June 20, 2011
Well, Day one is complete!
I don’t have a lot of exciting news to report since I spent most of my time in orientation today. The day started off early, arriving on base at 0715. (I have to get used to using military time now!) New employee orientation lasted a solid 3 hours. We went through a lot of paperwork and briefings on safety, ethics and proper etiquette while on base. From there, I was released to my department. I met the department secretary who had more paperwork for me to fill out. My former classmate, who works at this company full time now, was downstairs in the Human Performance Lab. I was able to meet up with her and see where she is conducting her thesis research. We were able to get lunch together and walk around the office so that I could meet all of my co-workers. I have my very own cubicle, which is a step up in the world since I heard last year’s interns had to share a cube.
The Navy is going green! Each person has their own trash and recycling can at their desk. Then, I had more training to complete online. It was a very in-depth training on how to keep your personal and work information safe from others. I learned that I need to make my own personal passwords stronger! By the time I was finished with that training, it was already after 1700 and the day was over.
I’m excited to begin working on real projects soon. Everyone there was very nice. There seem to be a lot of fun things to do on base as well. I have already scoped out the fitness center, there is a chapel, bowling alley and a movie theater! I think it is going to be a very fun summer.
June 17, 2011
Hey everyone,
Just checking back in with you all … hope your summers are going well. June has been a pretty busy month so far, a few trips and other fun events and we are only halfway through. I flew out to Ohio for a day to spend some time with friends and spend time. We had a chance to see a 1908/09 SEARS Roadster. The name might sound a little familiar; the Sears Department store sold pretty much everything from their catalog. You could buy anything from average household items to entire homes themselves from what I was told looking over the car.
Last night, Wednesday June 16, I went down town to watch the Nationals vs. St. Louis 
Cardinals game with a few friends… in the front row! The Nats continued their winning streak with the sweep of the Cardinal series. Since we were sitting in the front row we were shown on MASN during the TV coverage to that was pretty cool! Nice to see the Nationals winning games after a bit of a rocky start to the franchise.
This Saturday is the big Fly-In at the Smithsonian – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center where we are expected to have 50+ aircraft on display for the day. I will be helping out in the Education Department with several activities that the “Discovery Stations” put on to educate the visitors. As of right now it looks like I will be running the Simulators, giving guest the chance to land aircraft at Washington Dulles.
To see photos of the Fly In and the trips from this summer, check out my Flickr Page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdingell/
James
June 17, 2011
The past two weeks have been quite hectic but at the same time very interesting and 
proved to be quite a great learning experience. My fourth week at American Airlines commenced with the preparation for the Annual LGA Safety Fair, which I had to assist the Flight Department with. I was in charge of doing research and creating posters for the American Airlines Flight Department booth. My knowledge from Flight Physiology came in quite handy as I was able to create posters emphasizing the importance of good hydration in flight as it may lead to kidney stones, stress and stress management, vision and hearing for pilots, as well as emphasizing the importance of the advanced avionics which includes the Electronic Flight Bag. The EFB would reduce the large, heavy kit bags thereby reducing the lifting aspects for pilots, maintenance personal and flight attendants. .
The rest of the week was spent learning about the operations of American Airlines and managing the Flight Office. I was able to accompany the Chief Pilots on some meetings and it is quite extraordinary how much work they have to do and still fly the line. This experience has enlightened me on what I want to pursue in the future…. Maybe Chief Pilot of AA!
Within that week also I was given two projects to work on. The first was to create a presentation about EMAS- Engineered Material Arresting System for the Chief Pilot so that he may present to the Vice-President at a meeting in Manhattan. Hopefully I shall be attending this meeting. The presentation was made in order to convince the city of New York of the importance of EMAS and thus lead to its implementation at LGA.
The second project is the larger of the two and I will be heading this up over the summer. AA is looking at the APU usage of their aircraft on the ground and monitoring its inappropriate use. We are trying to reduce the ground operation of the APU, thus allowing a savings of almost 10 million dollars annually on fuel. My job is to input and analyze the data, determine trends and come up with solutions/recommendations for the problem. It is quite a tedious project but proves to be very beneficial and a great learning experience. I also have the opportunity to turn off the APUs on some 757, 767 and 777 aircraft. I couldn’t be happier!
The weekend led me to Los Angeles. It is a beautiful city with a bustling metropolis. I toured a bit, walking down Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard, visiting Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, and meeting up with friends. The picture to the left was form that excursion.
The next week commenced with me attending the daily debrief meeting at JFK. This is a 
meeting where all the heads of departments meet up in the morning to go over problems that arose the day prior. Discussions involved delays, AA Operations and reducing passenger inconveniences. We even discussed CAT I accuracy of some of the aircraft. I was able to learn so much about the operations of AA. This meeting also allowed me the opportunity to meet Miss Universe 1970, 1993, 2001 and 2006, all from Puerto Rico. American Airlines invited them to attend the Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC.
The next couple of days I found myself in Dallas at Headquarters doing ground school. It was the international ground school and it lasted for 2 days. I was in a class with two captains and two other interns. This proved to be very informative and a great learning experience. ERAU classes are so in-depth that the classes taught at AA were just a refresher for me. Topics that we covered included Mach Technique, Strategic Lateral Offset Procedures, Weather Deviation, International Altimeter Reset Procedures, Fuel Planning, Volcanic Activity, Cold Temperature Operations, ETOPS Training, Foreign Airport Operations, Mountain Terrain Clearance Program, and Depressurization Planning. The picture to the right is from class. There was a lot of information that we covered. This class covered the topics that we would have studied in Flight Technique Analysis and Airline Operations.
The classes even dealt with Regional Differences between the Atlantic, Far East, Central 
Pacific, Latin America and India. Focus was on weather, terrain and operations. This proved quite interesting as I had previous knowledge of the topic from Weather for Aircrew class at ERAU. That class at ERAU was very in depth and detailed so the information presented in International Ground School became quite easy and more so of a refreshers. Once again, our education at ERAU is above average and this is why we are the best Aviation School in the world.
In class we also went through plotting Atlantic, Pacific, Polar and Latin American routes, with emphasis on North Atlantic and Latin America. Seems like International and Domestic Navigation came in handy.
While I was in Dallas, I also went to System and Operational Control (SOC), which hosts all the dispatchers and crew scheduling persons. There I chatted with some dispatcher to further understand their jobs as I had completed dispatcher training at Riddle also. It was so amazing to see how the training goes into practice. The pictures below are from SOC. The first one is an overview of the department and the second one is with the north Atlantic dispatchers and myself.
The picture to the right is from the JFK Ramp Control Tower. The view is amazing, 
especially when you have 747s and A380s passing by. Operations here are quite different from that at LGA. As such, I will be given the opportunity to work the night shifts at the Ramp Control Tower so as to learn about these differences, especially with working with bigger airplanes such as the 777, 767 and A330 for Air Berlin and Finnair. The wonderful thing about the JFK American Terminal is that there is no need for Air Marshals. The gates are all equipped with DGS- Digital Guidance System, which allows the pilots to follow a guidance system into the gate. You may even send messages to the pilots via this system. I was able to see it in full action as a 767 came into the gate and I sent the pilot a message reminding him to turn off the APU after the GPU was connected. Amazing huh!
This weekend I’m heading off the Charlotte to see a friend. Here is hope for it being a great weekend. I’ll be back on Monday for work with more exciting experiences. Never underestimate the wealth of knowledge you gain at Riddle. You are getting the best education possible.
Seems like we are one our final descent into Charlotte. Do stay tuned for my next update! Maybe I’ll be writing it on my flight into a city near you…
June 6, 2011
These past two weeks have been really exciting and amazing. There was so much I saw, did and learned. This Internship has opened my eyes to the world of the airlines. Many of the things we learn in school I am seeing in full practice. Just this past week I attended a meeting on behalf of the American Airlines Flight Department with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The safety culture here at AA is very unique and strong. Terms and practices learned in Human Factors and Safety classes are being implemented right in my field of view. As I kept saying, the education at ERAU is unmatched and has prepared me very well for the future in this industry. The OSHA meeting focused on electricity safety and safety audits.
Other meetings that I attended were the LGA JTL (Joint Team Leadership) Meeting where Customer Loyalty as it relates to revenue was emphasized, and the Safety Contact meeting, which once again supports the extraordinary safety culture of AA through safety recommendations.
The really fun parts of the internship are still ahead but over the past two weeks I was given the opportunity to preflight the 737-800 and MD-80 aircraft. It was quite a thrill! Two very different aircraft in terms of design, performance and handling characteristics but quite similar in operations. The pictures to the right and below are from the preflights. There was so much to learn and see with these two airplanes and the pilots were very knowledgeable and willing to teach me. As I write this journal right now, I am on my way to Chicago in a MD-80 that I preflighted and programmed the FMS for. Amazing!
The picture to the left is from the AA ramp control at LGA, where I began my Ramp Operations Training. It really brings to light the importance of CRM and the training that Riddle has instilled into me. On that day, I was giving an American 757 clearance to push back for its flight to MIA while talking to Flight Ops. The amount of people and work that goes into a flight from one gate to another gate is remarkable and each one of them must be appreciated.
On the right is a picture of the ORD crew that I was chatting with one day. I just went to their cockpit, introduced myself and chatted a bit. Sometimes you never know who you might find, and that day, the Captain was a Riddle Grad., and the FO is a Union Rep. Looks like I’ll be chilling with the pilots at the Jets game in July just from stopping by and saying ‘Hi, I’m the intern Ryan….’
Last week I completed my SIDA Training and will be the first AA intern who has ramp access at both LGA and JFK. Also, I was very fortunate to get a tour of the LGA FAA Control Tower. There I saw many practices that I have studied while doing my minor in ATC. It was so amazing to see the training in full practice.
The picture on the right is from the tower. As you can see the queues are quite long at LGA for take-off as it is on of the busiest airports in the country. Today, I was 15th in line for take-off but it looks that we’ll be landing in ORD on time.
The picture on the left is from my office at JFK. You have to love your job when you come to work with a view like this everyday. When I have lunch the view is a queue for take-off with 747s, A380, A340s and 777s. I just can’t wait to be actually flying one of them.
In two weeks I will be beginning my flight training so I’ll be heading up to DFW. I begin with the International Ground School, which lasts for a couple of days then onto 737 Ground School and Sims.
The best part of the Internship is the travel benefits. There are so many places to go, so much to see, do and learn. These two weeks I have been to Fort Lauderdale, Miami and now Chicago. On my way to FLL I met a FedEx MD-11 FO who gave me some good advice and information about Cargo Flying and flying the MD-11. The picture to the left was from my first non-rev flight.
You never know where I’ll be next week so stay tuned for more updates and I might be in a city near you…
Safe Flying!
June 6, 2011
Hi everyone,
My internship has not yet begun. I left Daytona last Wednesday and drove up to Virginia with everything I could pack in my car. I decided to leave the majority of my belongings in a storage unit in Daytona since I will be back in the fall to finish my degree. You never realize how much ‘stuff’ you have until you have to move! The packing seemed to never end. I stopped in Savannah, GA on the way so that I didn’t have to do the 12 hour drive all in one day. Two of my classmates are doing an internship with Gulfstream this summer in Savannah. They seem to like it so far. I finally made it to my destination on Thursday evening.
I have three friends that have been recently hired to work at the same company full time. We spent the past few days driving around town getting to know the area. Luckily, I don’t start work until June 20th so I was able to fly home to Illinois and spend quality time with my family.
I can’t wait to start working and am excited for this opportunity! The best advice I can give is to not give up if you have made a connection with a company. I had originally been told that I was unable to get hired by this company for the summer. Fortunately, I stayed in contact with them and when the opportunity opened back up I jumped on it. My next entry should be after my first day of work!
Wish me luck.
June 6, 2011
Hello Again,
Like I promised, I wanted to check back in with you all to share the day’s events. Today, June 6, 2011, was a special day at Washington Dulles International Airport. The first was the Top Off Party at Dulles Jet Center, the hangars that I work out. The party was to celebrate the completion of raising steel on the new hangars… opening day is getting closer. I have worked at DJC since I was 15 years old and have grown up in the Corporate Aviation world because of the opportunities that came with working there.
The second milestone to happen at the airport involved Air France and their newest A380-800 Super Jumbo Jet. June 6 marked the first day of commercial air service for the A380 at Dulles Airport. At around 2PM the 380 touched down on runway 1R … I was able to be standing on the DJC ramp at the end of the runway. Back in 2007, I was standing in the same place to see the first ever arrival of the A380 at Dulles when it came during its United States Tour. On that visit I was able to tour the aircraft, which was being shown by Lufthansa. Like all new things, today’s events didn’t go without a glitch… the jetway to reach the top deck on the Super Jumbo was about 1 foot short so they had to work on it during the quickturn.
Well, it’s going to be an early night for me… heading to New York at 6 in the morning for a day trip.
June 6, 2011
Hey Everyone,
I hope your summers or last month in school are going well. Since I last checked in with you guys I have been on a few trips and have been working a little. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I work in the education department at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center – National Air and Space Museum. During the summer months I’m there every 2nd Saturday for the “Super Science” event that brings in the youth as well as the parents in to the museum to explain and get younger children involved in aerospace and science. I helped with the Cessna 152 activity that gives guests a chance to sit in and manipulate the controls of an aircraft. During a single 6 hour shift I was able to get roughly 1,000 visitors through that cockpit – if you think about it … that would be like all first-year students at Embry-Riddle inside a single airplane in 6hrs.
What else does this month have in store for me? I am planning on a few day trips to the Midwest – Chicago, Columbus OH, Pennsylvania, and possibly Indianapolis. The trips are for various car shows scattered around the country. Next month brings the major event that we have been planning for: the Buick Club of America Nationals is being held in Danvers, MA, just north of Boston. I’ll be making the trip up there for a week and then back to VA for a week before headed to Oshkosh 2011!!!!
I will post another update later this week with a report from Dulles Airport. This coming Monday is a big day for the airport – the Airbus A380 is starting service with Air France. I will post pictures and a brief report on the big day…
Feel free to shoot me an email or add me on Facebook if you have any questions about Riddle or just want to talk.
Talk to you soon!
James
