Another Week, Same Stuff

Just one lesson away from a stage check and I just cant get it right.  Ive got half the lesson complete and now when I go fly to make up the rest of it, I always forget SOMETHING to get either an unsatisfactory on the lesson or an incomplete.  My lesson for almost the last week and a half has consisted of a precision approach (ILS) a GPS approach and one missed approach to a hold.  Every flight I nail everything but always screw up on at least one of the objectives above.  Whether its not entering a holding pattern correctly or forgetting to press a button to make everything work in harmony. My instructor commented that he knows I know how to do everything, but he has to see me do it to make sure I'm ready for my stage check flight which will occur after the stage check oral.  

So yes... I'm also studying for the oral exam.  All the acronyms are committed to memory.  Weather reports and types of reports are being studied again.  How the instruments of the "six pack" work.  Airspace, VOR's height and volumes.  My brain is crammed with all sorts of things I never thought Id ever know.  I feel like I could be a weather man for a local news station, or at least fill in for one. I don't think I'm ready yet for the oral... but I will be very soon.

This past week I received the opportunity to tour the KSFB Air Traffic Control Tower.  Because of national security only those with U.S. passports are allowed to tour the facility.  Which means about half the students at DCA wont get this opportunity.  7 stories high in the tower was a great 360 view.  It was a clear day and you could see the scrapers of downtown Orlando. Our guide showed us and explained the job of every seat in the tower.  I think my favorite part was learning about the relationship between the tower and the airport fire department.  Every morning the first person in the tower picks up the red crash phone. I'm not joking... it really is red.  As the ATC guys said, its the only time you ever want to pick up that phone.  They test the phone for two reasons: 1. To make sure it rings the firehouse. and 2. As soon as you pick up the phone it triggers the Firehouse garage doors to open.  How cool is that?  Pick up a phone and the doors open?!?  This gives the Fire guys one thing less to think about.  Wonder if I could set that up with my garage door or front door to my house.

I want to switch gears a little bit and give a shout out to the amazing crew of US AIRWAYS 1594, who, if you haven't heard by now, had to make an emergency landing after losing both engines and use the Hudson river as a landing strip.  Everyone aboard the A320 survived virtually unscathed.  A close friend of mine who is a pilot at United made a comment that I think sums it up best.  "This emergency landing was not textbook... These guys wrote the book."  With all the bad things that have been happening in the airline world these days, I think we sometimes forget that the crews are there for us.  Its not their fault the guys in the offices make some of the policies they do, or decide to charge us for some of the things that used to be complimentary.  Those guys don't fly with us passengers.  The crews deals with the outcome of what the suits put to paper.  The next time I'm on a flight... I'm going to make sure I give my crew a round of applause.