My 2016 Travel Map

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Nicolas

In 2016, I traveled more than 108,000 kilometers and spent more than 148 hours in the skies! Here are some of the best trips I had over the past 12 months. The ranking is not in order of best flight experience but is rather based on chronology.

My 2016 Travel Map

1. Flying All Over America in One Day
In February, I flew for fun with my friend touching the East Coast, the West Coast and the North of the United States in less than one day. We flew from Orlando to Orlando via Atlanta, San Francisco and Minneapolis.

Flew this type of bird (Boeing 767) between Atlanta and San Francisco and between Minneapolis and Orlando.

2. First Business Trip
In May, I flew on my first business trip just a few days after my first day as an Aircraft Programs Intern at Air Canada. I travelled from Montreal to Seattle for a week.

I got upgraded in Business Class from Toronto-Pearson to Seattle-Tacoma.

3. Customer Delivery Test Flight
While I was at the Boeing Everett Factory with Air Canada, I had the opportunity to fly on their brand new Boeing 777-300ER (C-FKAU) that was going to be delivered a few days later. We were only between 10 and 15 people on the plane for the flight that lasted a bit more than 2 hours.

View from the jump seat while climbing out of Paine Field.

The Boeing 777-300ER has a wingspan of more than 212 feet.

4. Flying on the Bombardier CSeries Before Commercial Entry Into Service
At the end of June in Montreal, I had the chance to fly on a Bombardier CS100 aircraft during a 45 minute flight for the media. The state-of the-art aircraft is very silent and offers a wide body feeling in the cabin.

FTV5 (Flight Test Vehicle Number 5) with the SWISS livery.

View of the CSeries wing after touchdown.

5. Flying Across the Atlantic to Ireland
After my internship was done, my family and I flew to Ireland for a week vacation.

Starter: smoked trout Niçoise said with roasted garlic aïoli.

Appetizer on the flight to Europe.

6. Weekend in California
During Labor Day weekend, I traveled to Los Angeles for a few days.

The famous Hollywood sign.

Plane spotters love to take pictures at Los Angeles International Airport.

7. First Time in South America
I flew to Argentina for my first time during Thanksgiving break. This trip from Florida to the Southern tip of the world required many flights.

Boeing 737-800 of Aerolineas Argentinas at Ushuaia airport, the world’s southernmost airport.

What were your best flying memories of 2016? Share them with us below!

Happy Flying!

Nicolas

Delivery of the First Bombardier CSeries Aircraft to Swiss

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Nicolas

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.

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!

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.

What a beautiful view at 16,000 ft!

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!

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

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Nicolas

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.

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.

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.

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

A Day in a Full-Motion Flight Simulator Center

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Nicolas

Have you ever been on the flight deck of a full-motion flight simulator? You would probably see very little difference between the simulator and the real machine.

Flightdeck of the Bombardier Challenger 300

I had the opportunity to visit a full-motion flight simulator center in Dorval, QC. CAE, a Montreal-based flight simulator manufacturer, has one of their training facility near the Montreal -Trudeau International Airport. While I was on site, I toured the facility and flew on two different types of aircraft, the Challenger 300 and the Global Express.

My instructor of the Challenger aircraft was a retired fighter jet pilot of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). He explained to me how the simulator worked. Newer generations of simulators use electric motion while the older ones use hydraulic motion. The ancient simulators require more maintenance than the modern simulators. Some use software while others hardware (real part from an aircraft). For example, the main screens which are the primary-flight display (PFD) and the multi-function display (MFD) is usually replaced by a computer instead of the real part from the plane.

Bombardier Challenger 605

For the flight on the Challenger, we planned a trip from Montreal (YUL) to New York (JFK). On the second flight, I was assigned a different instructor. I did an IFR and a VFR traffic pattern on the Global Express. I logged 1.0 hour in the Challenger and 0.5 hour in the Global as flight training device.

When you land, the sensation in the cabin is the same as during a real landing. The sounds of the cabin shaking are realistic. You can feel the forces when you apply more pressure on the brakes. It is remarkable how it feels the same as the real business aircraft.

I also visited the facility which included various flight simulators, as well as conference rooms, and small oral rooms similar to what we have on campus. After being hired by an airline or a private company, pilots will start training on simulators before they can fly the aircraft for real. Even though they cost thousands of dollars to operate per hour, it is still cheaper than flying a real airplane.

Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

Tour of the Bombardier CSeries

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Nicolas

On December 18, I had the opportunity to tour the Bombardier Facility in Mirabel, Canada, where the CRJ and the CSeries is built. It was a huge day for the company as they announced the certification of their new aircraft, the CS100. I was invited to the event as a media with AirwaysNews.

Program leaders on the CSeries program, along with government representatives of Canada held a press conference in the morning to announce the new jet’s certification. The multinational also announced that the first CS100 will be delivered to launch customer, Swiss International Air Lines, in the first half of 2016. The larger variant, the CS300, is scheduled to get certificated in the next six months and deliveries will begin in the second half of the year.

The Bombardier CS300.

Following the press release, the media was allowed to tour the new aircraft. I first visited the CS300. As I entered by the main door of the aircraft, I thought the cabin was very long. Once in service, this aircraft will seat a maximum of 160 passengers. The plane did not have any seats in the cabin because it was one of the testing flight. It was filled with various equipment and computers to monitor different components during flights.

I then boarded the CS100, which looked like a usual aircraft with seats installed. I headed to the flight deck to see the new technology the plane had to offer. It included side sticks instead of the regular yokes found on other plane. It was very impressive!

Flight deck of the CS100 aircraft.

The CSeries is designed in a 3-2 configuration in economy class and 2-2 in first class. I particularly enjoy this configuration because only 20% of the seats in economy are middle seats. Everybody hates middle seats. I personally prefer a window seat because I like to enjoy the view! I think the cabin looks similar in size to Delta’s Boeing 717-200.

Inside the cabin of the CS100.

The aircraft offers large overhead bins to accommodate the large number of carry bags passengers board with them these days. The pivot bins enable passengers to store the bags sideways instead of flat in the overhead compartments. The CSeries has also a modern galley and modern restrooms to accommodate the passengers.

The pivot bins can support four carry-on bags.

I really enjoyed spending half a day at the Bombardier facility in Mirabel. I knew I was going to attend the press conference, but it I didn’t know the media would be allowed to tour the new aircraft! You can read my full story and see more pictures on AirwaysNews.com.

Until next time!

Nicolas

Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

Summer Internship – Last Part

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Nicolas

Last week, my internship at Aéroports de Montréal ended. I started my first day back in the beginning of May right when I got back from Daytona Beach. I am grateful I got the opportunity to get an internship only at the end of my first year of college, especially since it was in an aviation related job.

I learned so many new things I did not know before I started to work there. I can now understand much more on how an airport operates daily. I learned new terms like SMA messages which can look like a text message at the first glance. It is a shot abbreviated message sent by email between an airline and an airport mentioning flight schedules modifications. It includes the flight numbers, the date(s) of the modification, the type of aircraft, the seat capacity, and the origin of the flight and its arrival time, as well as the scheduled departure time and the destination. I also got to memorize a lot of the airlines’ IATA code (2-letter) and ICAO code (3-letter) and the aircrafts’ IATA code (3-letter) and ICAO code (4-letter). I know this can seem to be confusing but gets easy to master with time. I will take Air Canada and the Bombardier CRJ900 as an example: Air Canada (AC and ACA), and Bombardier CRJ900 (CR9 and CRJ9).

Aboard a CRJ900 in Montreal at gate C88 bound to Atlanta.

My brother and I both got out of work at the same time last week and my family and I took our annual trip down to Kennebunkport, Maine for a few days. It is about a 4h30 drive from our house in Quebec. We rent a small cottage and we have a good time at the beach and enjoy the sun. We usually go with our friends from home that have the same age as us. I remember when we were younger, we used to build sand castles and garages and play with plastic soldiers figures and tanks. We do not do that anymore… now we play frisbee and football.

Now that I have experienced a job in an airport, I would like to go work at an airline in the near future. We’ll see what happens next! I’m heading back home for the weekend but then I am flying north of Florida next week to go play golf in Georgia!

Until Next Time!

Nicolas

Plane Spotting at CYUL, TNCM, and KDAB

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Nicolas

Looking at a plane in the air that just took off or is about to land is part of my daily life. Since I work at the airport, I see planes moving everyday. Even at the end of my first year at Embry-Riddle I never got tired and I would still look in the sky to see what kind of aircraft it was. Last week, I decided to go plane spotting after work.

In 2012, Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (CYUL) inaugurated the Jacques-De-Lesseps Park for plane spotting activities, the only official observation park in Canada. The park faces 9,600 feet runway 06R/24L. The thing I like about Montreal is that we have a lot of international carriers so I can have a variety of aircraft in my pictures. I like the Air Canada A320, but sometimes it is great to see other airlines that we don’t see very often in North America like Royal Jordanian and SkyGreece Airlines.

I like to see people watch planes even though they have no clue what type of aircraft it is. The airport installed a sign where it shows all the types of aircraft that flies in and out of Montreal. It indicates the shape of the aircraft as well as the number of passengers it can sit.

Last year during the Christmas break my family and I went on vacation to St. Maarten. The island’s airport (TNCM) is best known for its low approaches over the shore and Maho Beach. There are a few restaurants surrounding the beach with a perfect view of the approach. Here are some of the pictures I took when I was there:

KLM Boeing 747-400 a few seconds before touchdown.

The ‘Queen of the Skies’ flew over a crowded beach!

Wells Fargo Bank Gulfstream G550 over Maho Beach.

Wells Fargo Bank’s Gulfstream G550 over Maho Beach.

United Airlines Boeing 737-700 arriving from Newark.

In Daytona Beach, we also have great locations to see what is going on the runways. I enjoy going on the terrace of the Aviation Maintenance Science Building and the Flight Operations Center. I highly recommend to the new incoming freshman to go check it out. We don’t have a lot of commercial flights there but we do have a lot of general aviation traffic!

All the pictures in this blog were taken with my iPhone. Yes, I know it is not the greatest camera but it did the work. Below are some of the pictures I took in Montreal:

Swiss Intl. Air Lines Airbus A330-300 heading to Zurich.

Air France B777-200ER taking off from 24L. There are up to 8 daily flights between Montreal and Paris.

Delta Connection CRJ 700 operated by GoJet Airlines.

Air Transat Boeing 737-800 with new fuel efficient Split Scimitar Winglets.

I only have about two weeks left working at the airport but summer is not over yet. I have many things planned in the next weeks. In my next post, I will share my experience working in an aviation environment this summer.

Until next time!

Nicolas

My Life @ Riddle

Daytona Beach Edition

Tag Archives: Bombardier

My 2016 Travel Map

Delivery of the First Bombardier CSeries Aircraft to Swiss

Short Trip to Ottawa and Winnipeg

A Day in a Full-Motion Flight Simulator Center

Tour of the Bombardier CSeries

Summer Internship – Last Part

Plane Spotting at CYUL, TNCM, and KDAB