Pilots Fired!

For Just Cause! 

And Guess what they did to deserve this...

 June 24, 2015

Watch the Video:  

Pilots Thinking with the Wrong Head! 

Enjoy the Journey
XO Karlene 

N61FC

Fact of Fiction... 

"A CFI tried to register a flying carpet with the FAA. They called him and said "a carpet can't fly!", so he responded "Not until it's registered it can't!" So the FAA, showing a sense of humor (since surgically removed) allowed the registration to go ahead as "experimental, home-built", and N61FC is now in a hangar in California with it's "N" number stitched in the side in accordance with the FAA regulations.

 

No word yet on whether it's made it's maiden flight or the identity of the test pilot, but its registration was renewed recently..."

 

So this story was sent to me, stating it was presented as a joke. But of course I had to search out the registration number and this is what I found:  N61FC

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene

Richard Westgate

Respects to British Airways pilot.

Richard Westgate 

passed 2012

My friend Mark shared the following story with me. Mark was set to be today's Friday Flyer, but we shall meet him next week. Today is to honor the life of a pilot.

"We all have all have a dream a vision, that moment, is from the moment we fly solo for first time and, the rush the smile the laugh we have after. I remember mine, and, thoughts of Earl Restorick and his thoughts at time, forever in thoughts."  

Mark Restorik

In memory of... a pilot.

"Richard was born in 1969, one of twins and grew up on a strawberry farm in a small village in Dorset. The farm and country upbringing gave Richard the ability to explore and appreciate nature. Perhaps it was no coincidence that his first interest was ornithology?

From the village school he went to Shaftesbury Grammar school with his twin brother and the competition and rivalry between them propelled them to both excel. Some rather ambitious schoolteachers lead a party out parachute jumping in the last week of term at the end of O-levels, and this was to be Richard’s first taste of flight.

After A-Levels, he went to Sheffield University to read astronomy and astrophysics, but dropped out in the first week as he realised he was the only normal person in the lecture Hall and fell back to zoology, botany and geology, by his own admission a ‘colouring in’ degree but full of regular people. More importantly for Richard, Sheffield was near the Peak District, and he joined the University Hang-gliding club. That soon gave him the chance to try paragliding and he found his calling – free flight

Work wise, he had a list of temporary jobs that didn’t suit him. He tried selling encyclopaedia Britannica, but his only order was cancelled. He trained to be a financial adviser, but was too compassionate for his clients, and didn’t make enough for himself.

In the mean time, he was getting rather good at paragliding, and bought one of the first generation of tandem wings and had started taking a few local, then National and European distance records. His first world record attempt was in 1995 in the South African wilderness, and he achieved 2 World Records for tandem paragliding, for a 200km distance flight and a climb reaching almost 20,000ft.

Despite his farming background, flight was just in his blood, and he knew he had to fly as his career. His Family supported his ambition to obtain his Commercial licence and after 18 months of training, he started with Manx Airlines in 1998. Manx then became Citi Express and was later bought by British Airways to become BA Connect. Richard flew from Manchester, Birmingham and Southampton and gained his command on the Embraer in 2005 before joining Mainline British Airways in 2007, flying the Airbus A320 from London Heathrow. With BA he had stability and was able to purchase his first house in Marlborough, an hours drive from work, but surrounded by stunning paragliding sites.

Time as an airline captain gave him many benefits, enough spending money and time off to follow his real passion, free flight. His 1995 World Record for paragliding distance was soon broken, so he organised expeditions to get it back, and succeeded not once, but twice, in 2000 in Brazil (220km) and 2006 in South Africa (356km). Richard also gained 2 more distance World Records, for flights to a defined goal in 2000, to make 5 FAI records in total. His records for height gain and free distance still stand today.

Richard believed that success could not be bought, but came from hard work, his paraglider success was largely a function of his tireless enthusiasm to lead from the front and push the boundaries of what was possible. He believed that every task had a critical mass and those who flew with him made his own goals easier to achieve." (The details of Richard's story and photos were pulled from his RIP facebook page)
 

"May you, Richard be fl 000 and a heaven we aviators dream, and respect for those that still show their path in contrails and in looking up, for my thoughts also very with you and those that still, my head raised in salute to all, bon chance."

"After a medical examination Richard westgate's symptoms showed "he were of an individual who has latter stages of multiple sclerosis based on, nerve numbness, limb and mental function."

Toxic fumes in the Airplane

 

"In, the topical news magazine "tonight: itv, the parents along with scientific/ specialists, the parents openly spoke of, their son Richard aged 43.  The Queens coroner for oxfordshire, sheriff Stanhope - payne presiding, opened, and adjourned, the case pending investigations, and release/ allow burial cremation...

To date, sheriff Stanhope - payne, has based on testimony from former and current aircrew, and passengers, has sent warrants to the c.a.a. and British Airways. The warrants for, evidence, are based on alarming / dangerous episodes that, have, or, likely to cause, death or emergency, on this case both c.a.a. and B.A. refused to reply" 

Fume evens are extremely rare?

The coroner sheriff Stanhope- Payne, has not completed, his investigation, and that, investigations are on going through scientific research....

Looking for Stories

As you can see the litigation is still underway as to why Richard passed. But today we shall remember how he lived... with love and passion.  And the family is looking for stories to share with his Godchildren and nephews. If you knew Richard and have something to contribute... you can contact the family HERE.

 Rest In Peace Richard!

Enjoy the Journey, 

You never know if it will be cut short!

XO Karlene

Go Around!

Pilots, If it doesn't look good...

Go Around and Try Again!

As pilots we are trained to do the best we can, make the best decisions possible, and if it doesn't look good get out of there! Meaning go around and do it again. 

Do not react from Fear.

Do not react to immediate gratification 

by forcing something that does not work!

If you are high, fast, off course, and destabilized, it's time to abort this attempt, miss the approach, and go around. Professional pilots do NOT Force a bad approach!

If a fellow crewmember was screaming at you to land in unsafe conditions, how would you respond? 

For me, I would say "NO"

Go-around and do it again. 

And do not allow anyone to coerce you into flying sick!

 

 
Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene

Immediate Gratification and Contract Negotiations

 Would you rather have $1 million dollars today or a penny compounded daily for a month?

If you choose that million, you will be leaving $4,368,709.12 on the table.  

 (To see the compounding table click HERE)

Many airlines are in the middle of contract negotiations, and with that they will use the tactic to throw up front money your way and demand an immediate answer. They will then create fear of what might happen if you don't take it. 

Caveat emptor ~ Let the Buyer beware. 

If someone is anxious, 

and demanding to sell you something great...

You might want to take a closer look 

at what you are buying. 

Don't Fly Sick!
Don't react due to Fear!

Fly Safe and make good decisions! 

VOTE 
NO 
"TODAY!"  

I did! Did you?

 Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene

Coercion to Fly Sick

Contract negotiations are underway at many airlines. One of the greatest issues found in many contracts is the sick-leave policy. 

There will always be a certain percentage of people everywhere who will abuse policies. However, when negotiating contracts for everyone, the majority of employees should not be penalized for the misdirection of the minority.

There are ways to fix a sick-leave problem without harming the majority. 

• Instead of aligning sick-leave renewal for everyone during the same month, align during date of hire. This will absorb the impact of the minority abuses.  

• Allow sick leave to accumulate, in the event of a long-term crisis. Pilots are responsible and will bank this security.

• Provide financial incentive for not using sick-leave. There is a value there to both you and the company.  

• If  sick-leave allows a pilot to "double-dip" to fly on days being paid on sick-leave... fix that. Do not change the entire process and punish everyone forcing them to work ill.

The most important thing to remember is 

do not fly sick!

When pilots are not healthy, they cannot make the best decisions. They may think they can manage; but the reality is, unintentional errors are made when pilots are not physically or mentally 100%.

Nobody is mentally 100% when they are ill!

If there is any chance 

that the structure of a pilot contract 

Could force anyone 

to fly sick 

It's your responsibility to say 

"NO!"
 

Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene

Contract Negotiations and FEAR

"Fear is like fire. It can cook for you. 

It can heat your house. 

Or it can burn you down."

Cus C'Amato (Flight To Success)

With contract negotiations underway at many airlines, management and misdirected union reps will attempt to coerce decisions based on fear of what "might" happen. 

There are a few rules of the road about dealing with fear and the decision-making process, be it for aircraft safety or contract negotiations. 

NEVER make a decision based on fear.

Make your decisions based on what is right!

Need versus Want: 

The difference between need and want during negotiating and any decision-making process:

We all want to fly the plane to destination. But we do not need to. If the weather is down, the plane is broken, it's unsafe, or the conditions are not right... you would not go. That is a decision based on the correct response for the condition...Not Fear. 

You do not fear your job, the pressure from passengers, or what might happen if you make the right decision to cancel a flight. Fear should not factor into this decision-making process. Professional pilots know this and make the appropriate decisions.

The same decision-making process should exist with contract negotiations!

Do not fear what might happen... 

Make the right decision

based on the conditions...

The BEST results will prevail!

Far too often negotiations result in fear based decision-making. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what might happen. Fear of coercion from others. Management counts on your fear to push you into making the wrong decision during negotiations to what they think is their benefit. There was a time they did this in the airplane, until the FAA came to our side in the interest of safety. 

Negotiations are different. You have nobody to help support you in making the right decision, and nobody stopping others from instilling fear. You have to be strong and do the right thing for the right reasons.

Be strong. Fly Safe. 

Make the right decision!

And if the conditions are not in your favor for the best results... 

Say "NO!"

This is a pilots' responsibility.

VOTE 
NO 
"On the 24th!" 

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene

Insect Facts for Kids

Insect Facts for Kids

Summer is a great time to enjoy the outdoors and to learn about insects and bugs!  Here is a free insects video and printable quiz to help with your summer school lesson plans for kids.

Click HERE to PIN to SAVE for later!

Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables.

Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store.

Amazon Affiliate products are found below.

---------------------------------

Click HERE to download this FREE insects quiz.

Visit our Promoting Success YouTube channel HERE!

Click on the teaching resources below to view and purchase them at our
 Teacher's Pay Teachers store.

www.teacherspayteacher.com/store/promoting-success

FREE Insects Task Cards - Here are six free insects vocabulary facts task cards for your insects thematic unit. Scavenger hunt directions and other insects game ideas are provided.These insects task cards work well with your science center activities. Click HERE to see it in our store.

Insects Task Cards - Here are 30 insects vocabulary facts task cards for your insects thematic unit. Scavenger hunt directions and other insects game ideas are provided. There are four insects facts cards on each page. Click HERE to see it in our store.

Insects Facts - Here are 30 insect facts built into a fun interactive notebook activity booklet for your insect thematic unit. Students will color and cut out three lift the flap pages with 10 insect facts on each page. A separate word bank is also available for easy differentiation activities. Students read the definition on the flap, and write (or paste) the correct word underneath the flap. Optional word cards are provided on a separate page for differentiation as well. When the insect activity is completed, the students can lift the flaps as a study guide. Finally a insect quiz is provided for all 30 insect facts along with an answer key. Click HERE to see it in our store.

Spider Facts?

We know, spiders are not insects! But they may go well with your insects unit!

Spiders Task Cards for your spiders thematic unit.  Click HERE to see it in our store.

Here are 30 spider facts built into a fun interactive notebook activity booklet for your spider thematic unit. Click HERE to see it in our store.

Spiders are a high interest theme for students! They will love these spider themed end of the year math task cards for 1st grade. Click HERE to see it in our store.

You may also like these affiliate resources from Amazon:

Insects, Golden Guide Book

Insect Poster Series Set

Aquatic Macro-invertebrate Life Cycle Flash Cards

Buggy for bugs Bulletin Board Set

Learning Resources Jumbo Magnifier Set

Insect Identification Educational Science Chart Poster

Pond Life Nature Activity Book

--------------------------------------

Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store.

Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables.

Click HERE to follow us on Instagram.

Click HERE to follow us on Pinterest.

Anyone Want a Cherokee?

Hottest Deal in the Air!

 

KATY

Message from the owner:

"I've owned two-seven whiskey for seven years, and "Katy" as she is called has been a great airplane for us. Because of her high full-fuel payload of 930# (after filling with 84 gallons of fuel) she can easily and legally carry four adults and 200 pounds of gear and go seven hours comfortably. We bought her to fly from Eugene, Oregon down to California on business, but no longer need that kind of range.

Full-fuel payload of 930#

I realized recently that we just do not need this much airplane, and I was not flying her enough to cover the fixed operating costs, and then just on local flights for business or pleasure. Someone is going to get a great deal at $49,900.

With fixed pitch prop and gear that is "down and welded" her maintenance and annual costs are as inexpensive as any Cherokee...but with 235 horses under the cowl and a big "Cherokee Six" wing, she blasts off fully loaded and can operate in high/hot density altitude situations easily. And she flies as nicely as any Cherokee or Archer/Warrior you've ever flown.

Katy has too many new or overhauled parts to list here, and she is ready to fly away tomorrow. I will miss her, she is part of our family, but the time has come to move on to something that is more suitable to my current mission of two people pout having fun chasing hamburgers."

And ONLY 
$49,900!!!

For more information 
Contact 
Dan Pimentel
editor@airplanista.com

 

Enjoy Journey...

And hopefully it will be with Katy!

 XO Karlene 

Flying With Jake

Friday's Fabulous Flyer!

Jake Cullen

Jake is a pilot making a difference in Aviation. He reached out after reading Flight For Safety, and told me that he created a blog for aviation information sharing. A place where pilots can come together and learn from each other. I asked Jake to send me his story, and I am so glad I did. He is has a passion for flight and making others dreams come true. He is the Captain of his life!

Jake: 

"Having been born into a military family, I spent a lot of time in California, but moved around a lot. I also lived in New Jersey for a brief time and also live overseas in Iwakuni, Japan for 3 years while in middle school. Then I moved to the Twin Cities area of Minnesota when I started high school.

I have wanted to fly for as long as I can remember. As a kid I loved it when we would take a plane ride somewhere. The flight was usually the highlight of a trip for me, and I would always try to get the window seat.

When I told people I wanted to be a pilot they always assumed for the military, since my dad was a US Marine. Don’t get me wrong, I think military aviation is awesome, but I was fascinated with airline flying and knew that was the path I wanted to take. Some of my friends thought that was weird. They didn’t understand why I wanted to fly an airliner instead of a fighter jet. At the time I really couldn’t explain it either. Then one day after a flight to see family, I was standing on the arrival floor at the Minneapolis/ St. Paul Airport and I got my answer.

I looked around at all the people coming from different places and arriving for different reasons. There were families coming home from vacations, passengers arriving to visit family and friends, and business travelers returning from work. All those people, including myself, had made it safely to that arrival floor because of the dedication of the pilots and all involved in making each flight happen.

Thus, the reason I want to become an airline pilot is not just because I love to fly, or that I like big shiny jets... though I do. If flying and the shiny jet was all I wanted, then I would try for cargo flying or something like that. I decided I wanted to be an airline pilot because I want to be one of the individuals responsible for bringing people safely from their origin to that arrival floor.

After deciding to become a pilot the next step was figuring out where to train while getting a college degree. I looked at many schools around the nation. Some were in very warm climates like Florida and Arizona, but the school that really stuck out was in a very cold place…North Dakota.

I learned about the University of North Dakota’s Aerospace program from a family friend. When I researched the school I couldn’t believe the reviews it had. This school had over 120 aircraft and was well known throughout the industry. I visited campus once and instantly knew that despite my hatred for cold weather, this was it.

So now going into my final year at UND, I am finishing up multi and commercial training and will be starting on my CFI certificate in the fall. I still have a while to go before I make it to the airlines, but I am taking it one step at a time. I’ve made it this far."

It's not surprising an aviation student is astute in the power of learning via the Internet. Jake came up with a great idea for a blog to share his passion and continue his education by learning with other aviators.

flyingwithjake.com

 

"I want this blog to be a place for pilots of all experience levels to come together as ask each other questions. Sometimes it can be scary asking questions because you feel someone might be judging you for not knowing the answer. So this blog should be a place for people to post any aviation related question comfortably. Our industry has a great reputation for safety despite recent events, but by sharing ideas, experiences, and knowledge we can make it better."

 

If you have any questions 

email Jake and join the discussion!

jakecullen757@gmail.com   

 

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene 

Profit Sharing 101

Strategic Planning... 

Many airlines are in the process of contract negotiations. And often profit sharing is on the table for negotiations.

Everyone wants the sure thing. 

But remember... everyone includes management.

When times are tough and profits down, every pilot at one time or another has given back to their airline to keep it afloat by taking profit sharing and stock in exchange for pay.  When times are great, and your airline decides to pull back your profit sharing and give you a raise.... it's time to realize a few points:

1. Your management team has more information than you on the projections of your airline. 
2. You management team is not going to give you the better end of the deal. 
3. If you helped to make your company the success that it is, YOU should keep your profit sharing!
4. Why do you have to fund your pay raise with a decrease in your profit sharing? You don't. These two events should not be mutually exclusive. 

If you're in the middle of negotiations and your company is rushing a decision before profits for the quarter come out... perhaps you should delay the signing and see what those profits are. You will have more information to make a better decision. 

If your management team is trying to take away 

the rewards for the success you earned...

Say NO! 

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene

Eurocontrol and Aviation Safety

Days are literally flying by. 

From one event to the next with a book in hand I go. Today is a catch up day to share a little bit about the conference in Brussels. I was honored to be among the brilliant minds working toward a common goal: Aviation Safety with Automation.

Eurocontrol and Flight Safety Forum 2015: 

A few weeks ago, I posted a question for all asking if anyone knew who this man was. He is one of the answers to aviation safety.

Don Bateman

Don was responsible for the invention of the GWPS system. For those non-aviators, imagine an invention that prevents planes from flying into terrain. Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) was the problem and Don found the solution. Creativity mixed with ingenuity. To be honored to sit beside this genius was my good fortune, as was being at this conference.

Eurocontols' event focused on Safety and Automation, and more than 200 experts (and me) arrived from 39 different countries showing their interest in safety.  What brought me to this conference was a paper I wrote: Structural Redesign of Airbus A330 Training. Can we train better and smarter? I think we can. And it doesn't have to cost a fortune. Actually... we can train smarter with savings to the airlines!

What I learned was there are like minded people around the world taking their time to fight for aviation safety. Attempting to make a difference in the world of automation. 

A few key findings for flight operations:

• Pilots must be confident and competent in the management of their airplane in various levels of automation.  
• Expertise in the use of automated systems requires practicing 'soft' skills like task/workload managment, situation awareness, problem solving and decision making.
• Experience measured in flying hours does not equal expertise and it is believed that the nature of long haul flying and the reserve system at many airlines reduces pilots' exposure to flight path management in general and manual flying in particular. 
• Advanced technology has created automation dependency, complacency, and lack of understanding.
• Systems knowledge and procedures can be trained relatively inexpensively by effective use of CBT and maximizing CBT and FBS for learning so FFS can be used for flying. 

Automation is a necessity for efficiency and safety. 

However, we must not give our minds to automation and follow mindlessly. We must find a way to retain our flight skills, while understanding what the magic is doing. Understanding is a key. And yet there was a presentation that made me wonder what has happened to excellence?

Tennis players, golfers, professional athletes practice to perfection. Why not pilots? There was a time when pilots worked at perfecting their skills of flying. Today they appear to put in their time... autopilot on and monitor across the oceans. But in defense of pilots, how do they perfect their skills in this automated world with RVSM airspace, fatigue and operational challenges? How do we fight complacency? 

The answer to this challenge 

will be my Dissertation!

What can you do to fight 

the automation challenge 

to improve your proficiency?

Enjoy the Journey
And Practice your Skills! 
XO Karlene