Airline Pilots
Individuals trained to operate commercial aircraft- Explore more »
Life on Reserve
Being on call means never knowing where you'll fly from one day to the next.
April 22, 2013 |
By Steve Satre
“Items may shift during flight…”
...and may cause a (minor) medical emergency.
March 06, 2013 |
By Steve Satre
The Experiment, Part Two
Can someone with only flight simulator experience take off and land an airplane on the first try? I wanted to find out.
February 06, 2013 |
By Steve Satre
The Experiment, Part One
Can an ordinary person take off and land an airplane on the first try, with only flight simulator experience? We put it to the test.
January 25, 2013 |
By Steve Satre
Is Denzel’s Upside-Down Flying Trick Plausible?
When it comes to accuracy, Flight lost me at the walkaround.
November 14, 2012 |
By Steve Satre
Divert? Stick to the Plan?
The decision to divert to an alternate airport requires a close watch on the fuel gauge.
July 27, 2012 |
By Steve Satre
Flying an 80-Year-Old Plane
A rare chance to take the controls of a 1931 Stinson Tri-Motor.
June 15, 2012 |
By Steve Satre
Confessions of a Flight Engineer
Flashlights, timers, and breath mints required.
November 2011 |
By Andrea Eldridge
Time to Renew my CFI
Why go to the trouble to renew a certificate I don’t use? The bottom line is that I just worked too hard to get it.
October 24, 2011 |
By Steve Satre
The Irritations of Airline-Speak
I fly a lot. OK, no surprise, but I'm talking about flying as a passenger, sitting in back, getting to and from work. And I find myself cringing at the canned phrases I hear from my own co-workers.
October 14, 2011 |
By Steve Satre
Passenger Rights and the Law of Unintended Consequences
I recently had an extensive delay on a flight from New York to Las Vegas. We pushed back from the gate on time, and as I went to start the engines I could see the dark skies to the west, our intended direction of flight. As we waited on the ramp for clearance to taxi, [...]
July 14, 2011 |
By Steve Satre
The Winds of Dublin
Like a lot of airline pilots, I’m always on the lookout for a good trip to pick up, either to add to my schedule or trade for a less desirable trip. “Open time” is what we call the list of trips with no current pilot assignment. The list is dynamic, and trips pop up throughout [...]
May 27, 2011 |
By Steve Satre
Time for a Check-Up
I'm just back from recurrent training — two days of fun and games in the simulator. It's kind of like a trip to the dentist: not something you look forward to, but it feels pretty good when it's over. And it's definitely worthwhile.Each day we showed up at 5 a.m. for the briefing, then went into th...
March 11, 2011 |
By Steve Satre
Running Out of Time...
I should be in Stockholm right now, but instead I'm sitting at home typing this. We had several delays last night and ultimately timed out —i.e., we couldn't make the flight to Stockholm because we would have been on duty more than 16 hours by the time we landed, which is against the rules.The firs...
February 24, 2011 |
By Steve Satre
The Long Ride Home
I had a nice trip over Christmas, which ended with the red-eye flight back from Las Vegas on Christmas night. We arrived in New York where the forecast was for blizzard conditions later in the day. I was happy to see that not one flake had yet fallen when we landed early on the morning of the 26th....
January 07, 2011 |
By Steve Satre
Happy New Year!
I was in Stockholm for New Year's Day and I had never been in Sweden before. It's still kind of cool to visit a new place, and I think Stockholm is a city I'd like to see a lot more of.Knowing that it's located far to the north, I checked the times for local sunrise and sunset before leaving on my ...
January 04, 2011 |
By Steve Satre
Bella Luna
Some pilots hate flying the red-eye flights, but I kind of like them. There aren't as many planes in the air in the wee hours, and the controllers are quick to give us direct routing. Out of Las Vegas, we're often cleared direct to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, before we've even gotten to Bryce Canyo...
December 22, 2010 |
By Steve Satre
It Doesn't Always Go Smoothly
There was some pretty good winter weather this past weekend, and it caused a lot of cancellations and delays. I arrived in Detroit Saturday night, flying in from São Paulo, Brazil and I was scheduled to fly right back to São Paulo at 7:30 on Sunday evening.The forecast in Detroit was for three to s...
December 15, 2010 |
By Steve Satre
Windsocks and Checklists
When I'm taxiing around airports worldwide, I'm always amused to see that they still have windsocks. It's maybe the only thing from the first days of aviation that you'll still find at modern airports. It's low tech, but it gives a clear indication of wind strength and direction...at least to anyon...
November 30, 2010 |
By Steve Satre
