Plane Conversations

Today’s post is contributed by Captain William Rowell, currently a captain in the Phenom 100.  This Air Transport Pilot rated Mississippi native started his career with CFM in August of 2005 and is now type-rated in four different aircraft.  Enjoy, as Will recounts his trip over the Atlantic to Vienna delivering a brand-new Phenom 100.

As I sit here and ponder these last few days, I can’t help but think how inherently adventurous aviation really is. Reviewing this latest trip to foreign lands, I am reminded of how magical and inspiring flying can be. It seems to me that pilots get caught up in the day to day monotony of our “jobs” and loose sight of the wonders of FLIGHT, at least I do. However, this being the first time I crossed the Atlantic in anything but the dead of winter, I was in for an amazing tour of the world. Prepared only for the normalcies of the North Atlantic, I was impressed and inspired by the people, places, and experiences we encountered along our way.     

I was accompanied by co-captain, Troy Denson. Day One was from Smyrna, Tennessee, to Goose Bay, Canada, via Bangor, Maine. Goose Bay is a popular destination to refuel and pick up survival gear for the Atlantic crossing and the people are really great; so we stopped in to rest up for Day Two. As we settled in for the night, the next day weighed heavily on our minds. Goose Bay to Nassarsuag, Greenland, is probably the most critical leg of the entire trip because of the rapid weather changes that Greenland experiences. With limited alternates, the weather had to be good. As it turned out, the weather was great; but, the wind forced us to land on a less desirable runway. As “interesting” as the approach and landing was, it was uneventful. You just had to be there, as they say. Once on the ground, we began our planning for the next leg of the trip - Greenland to Iceland. 

Reykjavik, Iceland, is another popular destination. The folks at the FBO are always very accommodating and helpful. As it is with northern latitudes, the sun never really sets in the summer months. Paperwork extended our stay there and, although, the island is beautiful and the locals are nice enough, the lack of darkness and sleep was wearing us thin. After two days of waiting for paperwork to clear, it was time to move on!

With most of the mileage behind us, we still faced our longest day.  Day Five finally took us from Reykjavik to Wick, Scotland, and then to our final destination, Vienna, Austria.  Losing two more hours in the process, our body clocks began to suffer.  Anticipation of a speedy return home drove us to complete this mission expeditiously and with flawless execution. In other words, we didn’t need any set-backs. It was time to come home.

There were no delays at Wick and I highly recommend this stop if traveling to Europe. Andrew, the FBO manager, really has things together there. After a brief refuel, quick cup of coffee, and a few words of encouragement from Andrew, we were on our way. Three hours later, Vienna was in sight. Upon landing, we were met by the aircraft owner and a few other people. Everyone was happy to finally have the brand new Phenom 100 on the Austrian ramp. With huge grins and great anticipation, we exchanged hand shakes, paperwork, and finally, keys. Mission complete!

I wish everyone could have this experience, not only pilots.  Regardless of what we do and how much we love it, we all sometimes lose our drive or become bored with the day to day duties of working for a living.  This delivery was a chance to explore new territory, physically, emotionally, and culturally. It was more than just a delivery to me – I found a renewed passion for flying.  You don’t have to fly half way around the world to find it, you only have to take off with the right attitude.

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Today’s article is contributed by Lear 35 First Officer Sean Oprea.  A graduate of Ohio University’s Aviation Program, Sean has flown with Corporate Flight Management for five years. 

As a professional charter pilot there are quite a few things that I must know: the weather for departure, en route and arrival, fuel load, runway lengths, weight limits; and, at the very least, our actual destination.  One thing that surprises some clients is the fact that at certain times during the flight, I haven’t the slightest clue as to where I am.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m in an airplane, performing flight functions - monitoring, predicting, communicating and flying.  I just have no idea what that city is beneath us, the name of that river over there and certainly not which highway seems to be making its utilitarian way across our great nation.
I knew that in front of me was my destination, but when I first came to the realization that below me was a complete enigma, I turned to my trusted captain.

“Captain, oh captain.  Which river are we traversing?”

“That, my fledgling First Officer, is the mighty Mississippi!”

At first I was utterly surprised at my lack of geography.  How could I possibly have mistaken the biggest river in our nation for anything else?!  I then replied to that wise captain:

“Hey man! We’re flying through Pennsylvania!”

There is a colossal geographical void that is easy to fall into when your mental capacities are dedicated to your destination and the smoothness with which you deposit your plane there.  And, it seems I wasn’t alone in it.  I haven’t stopped laughing about that Mississippi River joke  and have actually used the same one with curious clients when they ask about the small, innocent river winding beneath us.  They must have a different sense of humor.

In all honesty, I truly enjoy revealing America’s best views to clients and most of them seem to enjoy a bit of scenery.  The best is the Grand Canyon as seen from 40,000 feet.  On a trip with a well traveled client from Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Laughlin, Nevada, we passed right over the Grand Canyon.  Just before our descent, I traveled back into the cabin to make sure that he and his companions were comfortable.  He asked where we were and I said that we were traveling over the Grand Canyon, which was then visible off our right wing.  He took a cursory look and announced that the canyon off our right wing was not, in fact, the Grand Canyon.  It seems that there is more than one canyon out in the middle of Arizona.  My middle school geography teacher must have been sick and taken that day off.  When the Grand version came into view about 15 minutes later, I wished she hadn’t.

On a flight from Knoxville, Tennessee, to San Bernardino, California, we passed right over the same stretch of beautiful western scenery again.  I saw the Fake Grand Canyon slip by and, with a smile, I headed back to speak with our new clients.
“Folks, coming up on our right wing will be a beautiful view of the southern end of the Grand Canyon.  Feel free to take a peek through the cockpit window, for that is truly where you will find your best view.  But, don’t be fooled by the smaller canyons; we are flying over canyon country.”

I really felt good about that last comment, even if there really isn’t a canyon country within our great country.  The southern view is a good one.  It seems nature knew it would be and designed great big bleachers stretching up on either side of that river for people to look down into it in amazement.  It also seems that nature ran out of money because the southern end of the Grand Canyon drops off in cliffs as the Mississippi River continues out of  the Grand Canyon on its way south to Louisiana.

I kept that last geographical fact to myself as I, too, took in the view.

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