April Showers
An end leading to a
beginning. This philosophical statement is familiar to all.
Sometimes we accept it. Often it goes ignored. For a few, the
statement is met with rejection. It is often dependent upon your
viewpoint.
Spring arrives with April. April weather brings showers. We begin a month
on the first. Housing payments are due. Spring elections come
and hopeful candidates vie for offices at the local, state, and national
level. Humor greets us with a new month in the form of April Fools
day. Do you have a fond prank or memory to share?
One e-mail from a church
secretary inquiring about an upcoming
choir rehearsal section reads:
"Are you a tenor or a
bass".
Replying early in the morning after
being awake just a few minutes. the response is:
"Is this April Fool?, I am a
man. I SING tenor."
A second reply comes, thanking
me for a humorous answer and that the organist will be pleased to know this
choir section addition.
An early morning crew call just before midnight begins the
sequence. An hour-plus to get up and get to the airport, another
hour to preflight the airplane, and then a 2:00AM departure. That
was the previous day's trip and one which ran a full ten hours. Calm
sea and prosperous voyage. No major problems. A sunrise, calm
winds during landing, and a friendly
crew What more could you ask? The answer is, get
some sleep! Being up all night takes it's toll. Those parents
of young children know and live it. For those in the night cargo business
it is just a part of the job. But the sleep which comes at the end of the
trip is most welcome.
The day quietly passes and when reawakened, the sun is now set.
What's next? The answer comes from the flight scheduling as a
request, "Can you come in two hours earlier?". This
request needs a little thought. What's in it for me? No
objections or benefits come to mind so the response is given quickly,
"Yes.". Why not? They wouldn't ask unless it
was important, right? So, an hour before dawn brings a crew call and the
process begins. Wake up, eat, bring the flight case to the car, drive to
the airport, bring yourself and the case to the pilot lounge. Your
imagination can figure out the rest.
Arriving in the crew lounge I find the captain already there. He is
relatively new to the company and comes with years of experience in flying jets
and with management positions. He also has a sarcastic side which
comes out often, but it is manageable. Besides, when things get difficult
it's nice to have the best pilot in the company with you. Or so I tell
him. There is an ongoing debate between two captains who came from the
same previous operation as to who is the best? Both think they
are! It is true, and affords mild amusement to play one against the
other for the meaningless title. Both are seasoned pilots and great to
learn from them.
This will be a long day and includes five legs, beginning with a 3 hour flight
to
Reviewing the trip flight log, weather, and manual page updates, the captain
and I head for the plane, carrying my inventory of flight case, food and water
essentials for the rest of the day. No good restaurant stops for this
cargo crew! Arriving at the plane we find it is being loaded and
the flight engineer is already there. We depart on schedule, a most
welcome beginning. Taking off to the east and into a few lower clouds,
we rise to greet the sun. Making radio contact with a
Landing at
How to manage your energy? This is a very good question and one each
crewmember has to ask themselves. Bringing out a snack selection I offer
crackers in fish shapes with tasty cheese flavoring, another container of
vegetable sticks. The vegetable sticks container gleans the
captain's interest. I urge him to, "have a lot because I'm not
taking it back home!"
But the plastic container is snapped shut and the captain's attempts to open it
are unsuccessful. I grab the container from the center stand and
pop it open, adding a demonstrate , "see how it works.". Then I
close it and try again, and a third time." This brings the
captain to amusement and then frustration. I know he just wants the contents,
but he's going to have to deal with me first!
Giving the semi-closed vegetable container back to the captain I let him
try. He is able to lift the opened lid and retrieves some
carrots. Timing is everything and now I spring my
long-awaited comment. "... it's about the carrot and the
stick". This brings the captain's response of a
facial expression liken to an audible groan. "April Fools!",
I mutter silently. With that completed we arrive at our
second destination in
This time the loading goes very well. The crew is hungry and two of three
can go to the airport terminal restaurant. The engineer volunteers to
stay and someone can bring back a food selection. But then I reply that I
brought food and offer to stay. "Agreed!", is the unanimous
decision and off go the captain and flight engineer. I supervise the
loading, offering suggestions to pallet sequence delivery to insure they get
placed, and the loading continues to it's completion. We are done!
But where it the crew? No return yet, no shuttle van in sight with
the crew, and I am alone. I welcome the time and spend :15 minutes
reviewing trip paperwork and the satellite navigation system
programming. Fifteen minutes plus pass and the crew returns
with food in hand. They seem refreshed. Consider the
effects of sitting in one spot for 3 to 4 hours and you will appreciate the
relief brought by a walk and a stretch. We close the door,
taxi out, takeoff and climbout. During the cruise segment the
captain opens a box containing a slice of Sabarro
pizza. Even in the distant international lands you can find a bit
of home. Munching on the pizza brings a welcome feeling of
refreshment. I continue to eat from my large supply of sandwich,
fruit, crackers, and grapes. Much of offered for sharing. Eating
helps keep you sharp for the demands of flying, be they simple or complex.
Approaching
Ground stops provide opportunities to use the bathroom. You have to find
it. Some are much more stark then others. This station is
fine. You do have to go past a fence and a security person, walk 100
yards through the warehouse, then outside, upstairs to the second story
offices, past an electronically locked door, then down a hall, down a circular
stair case, and finally to the restroom.
Retracing the route is uneventful until getting to the security guard.
The young woman speaks modest English. She indicates a need to do a
pat-down search. It goes briefly and almost amusingly. What exactly does
she think she's going to find on a uniformed crewmember? The
answer comes from another ground handler who is at the airplane. Another
security person is busy checking the local employees identification cards and a
quick pat-down search. The explanation is that many people want to come
to
This news comes in a private moment before loading begins and only two locals
are around. I look at the two guys, mention that the crew is gone,
and then ask, "Do you know how to fly?" They just
laugh. I continue with this quasi theatrical scene saying,
"You know, I think I can fly this thing myself (true). But it
would be better if I had two others onboard. You wouldn't have to do much
and I'd just tell you what to do if it needed doing.". The local
ground handlers laugh in great amusement, thinking what it would be like to
live out this imaginary trip. It is all in good fun. Just the
honor of being asked is probably enough. Besides, once you get up in the
air you need to get back on the ground. That is even more desirable then
the imaginary getaway.
Loading is complete and we call air traffic control to taxi out.
Waiting our turn for a taxi takes quite awhile. The local control has a
modest command of English, as do many of the non-English speaking countries.
Also, another airliner is trying to taxi out but has a mechanical
problem. They think it is fixed and make it out to the runway ahead of
us. The runway does not have a taxiway so planes have to hold short of
the runway while the other completes a takeoff. But the poor airliner
makes it to the runway only to have another occurrence of the mechanical
problem. What to do? The crew radios to the tower
that they have to return. A return is started but then interrupted when
the airliner crew announces that the problem is solved. They turn
around to the runway end, add takeoff power and begin the
acceleration. A lift off comes at midfield, much to the relief of
all. Imagine a plane full of passengers eager to get on their way, an
interrupted trip, and then a successful departure.
We are next and begin leg number four. It is again my turn to fly and we take
off and climb straight ahead and up to 5,000 feet. Then a climbing
turn is made to the west and up to 14,000 feet. This involves working
with three controllers, only two who have radar. The radio contact is
made climbing to 14,000 from 12,000 feet. But the controller
responds to our initial contact and tells us to maintain 12,000.
Yikes! We are passing through 12,000! How did this
miscommunication happen? It's a controller error. An
immediate power reduction is made and the climb stops. But then the
captain is handling radios and they work out the solution and continue the
climb to 14,000. A reassuring captain tells me that it's not necessary to
respond quite so quickly. It's a controller error and they need to fix
it. Things happen and resolutions come quickly. We
continue with the next controller and climb to a final altitude of 18,000 for
the short 150 mile trip.
Then comes the first weather indication from the radar. Several rain
showers are reported in the Port au Prince area, visibilities down to 3 miles,
and windy. The possibility for wind shear during an approach comes up in
the cockpit discussion. Adding some extra airspeed and closely monitoring
the airspeed trend is vital to flying near rain showers. Another
option is to hold, but the captain elects to not do this. He's probably
right, but the option needs to be brought up in conversation. It's a team
effort.
Passing overhead of the airport at 14,000, we receive a clearance to make an
instrument approach using the Instrument Landing System (ILS). This
provides electronic course and glidepath information to the flight
instruments. But we need to go out 22 miles and descend to 4,000
feet. On our way we go, in and out of clouds. The rain is to the
east but there is clearing on the west of course and the airport is visible
below us. We continue the descent using instrument
navigation, reach the 22 mile point and turn back to the airport.
At this point we are in the clouds, a radar display of heavy rain is visible
around the airport and moderate rain shower along the course. We
look at the instruments for the ILS signal indication. None is received.
Instead we have red warning flags which indicate the loss of
signal. Another ground signal for a VOR navigation radio is useable
but the approach course is less precise and no glidepath information is
available. A radio inquiry is made by the captain to the tower
about the ILS signal not being received. Radioing back, the
controller says to wait a moment.
Ground-based personnel have the luxury of time. Airborne people move at
three miles a minute and need answers early. We are headed towards
the airport but don't know if we are on course. Also, the airport has
mountains rising to 9,000. We can not see them in the
clouds. I remark, "We need the ILS localizer and right
now!".
The controller comes back to the radio and says that the ILS is out (of
service). "Cleared for visual approach", comes the
instruction. But we are in the clouds and without visual
references. Does this controller have a clue as to what is actually going
on? Why isn't the ILS system working, especially with rain showers and
when it is most urgently needed.
Then comes the rain. Lightening flashes are seen on the outside.
Pounding deafening rain falls on the windshield. We are without a
working plan for the moment. A memory comes to mind of another
cargo aircrew flying in mountainous region of
At this point the captain takes over the controls. I grab my instrument
flight chart and hunt for another approach chart for the VOR.
Searching takes a few moments but one is located, removed from the book, and
placed on the control column. Then an unexpected bit of help comes from
the flight engineer sitting behind us who asks, "Do you want to use
mine?". Our very resourceful engineer has monitored the
approach and objectively noted our predicament and come up with a
solution. Handing the chart to the flying pilot captain, we
establish the plane on course. I continue duties by handling the
radio. The engineer is looking outside the plane, waiting for a
letup in the thundershower. We now have a plan. Will it work or do
we have to make a missed approach?
Descent continues to 1,700 feet above the ground and 6 miles. Then the
airport becomes visible. But we are fast and need to slow and extend the
gear in a short time. Commands fly and are acknowledged
CA "Flaps 2 degrees".
F/O "Flaps 2 selected...indicated...green light".
CA "Flaps 5 degrees".
F/O "Flaps 5 selected,....indicated.... green
light".
CA "Flaps 20* degrees".
F/O "Flaps 20* selected,....indicated".
The plane is now 4 miles and 1,2,00 feet above the ground. Commands
and responses continue in rapid-fire:
CA "Gear down".
F/O "Gear down....three green (lights)"
CA "Flaps 25 ...30 degrees".
F/O "Flaps 25....30 ...indicated.:
CA - Landing checklist!
At this point the plane is stabilized on final approach and able to
land. We continue to have the airport in sight. The engineer
concludes this segment by reading four landing checklist items. We reply
in turn as captain and first officer. Then the engineer concludes,
"Landing checklist complete." We silently heave a sigh of
relief as the wheels touchdown and the rollout is made
Arriving at the gate I wonder why the controller doesn't have the system
working? Or perhaps he has little control over what is going
on? A light rain continues and the storms have passed the airport
before our arrival.
Unloading is delayed a half an hour while space is cleared for the pallets to
take back to
One cargo pallet is unloaded and contains boxes marked EGGS. I count
them. Boxes are stacked six across, four wide, four high. Each box is
marked, "30 dozen" Some teacher could make a math
problem out of this. I have more philosophical questions and wonder if
any are broken after our turbulent flight? How long will this
pallet of eggs last the country? Who gets the eggs? Observing the
pallet contents being taken apart, I see the boxes are loaded onto a
truck. It's 8:00 at night. Where do they go from here?
Loading begins. Two crew are quietly resting in the cockpit while I
supervise the process. There is a beauty in the light rain, a steady
process of pallets arriving at the plane, fork lifted to the plane, pushed to
their load spot, and secured with floor locks. This goes on for 12
times and takes about 25 minutes. Completing the loading, I
close the large cargo door, retrieve the tailstand,
secure it in the aft air stairway, and raise the airstairs.
We are nearly ready to go.
Arriving back in the cockpit I see two sleepy crew. I'm glad they got
some rest. We have 14 hours on duty and will not be home until
11:00pm. I step back into my seat, we run a pre-start checklist,
call for taxi, and head for the runway. A short time later and the
captain makes the takeoff and we head for
Our trip continues for a brief 90 minutes to
We function as a crew. This begins in the briefing room and completes
with warm handshakes as we part. It is a symbolic gesture of a job
well done, a safe return, and a common friendship which comes from working
together. Your box of sandals, a dozen eggs, an a
host of consumer items all come from somewhere. If you live in an idyllic
island amidst the sun and warm breezes, you still need food, clothing,
medicine, and numerous goods. They seem to be in abundant supply
and readily available. But consider where this tasty meal, fashionable
apparel, or health products, all make their way to you.
In all we do we give thanks.