2023-09-02 07:00
We work in unpressurized aircraft, often at high altitude, wearing oxygen masks. Hypoxia is a risk, and one of the symptoms of hypoxia is euphoria, the feeling that everything is fanta… Read More
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Adventures of an Aviatrix, in which a pilot travels the skies and the treacherous career path of Canadian commercial aviation, gaining knowledge and experience without losing her step, her licence, or her sense of humour.
2023-08-31 07:00
So, it turns out that I spend enough of my waking moments writing the sort of things I used to blog about, mentoring pilots, troubleshooting airplanes, planning flights, and analyzing… Read More
2023-08-29 07:00
I thought as I wrote this to a pilot recently, that it's the sort of thing I used to write on my blog, except just doing it myself, demonstrating it, rather than being so pretentious a… Read More
2023-08-11 07:00
Step Two of the nine steps of being able to defer something is ensuring it can actually be deferred. If it's a stain on the carpet, it can be deferred. But remember than in order to de… Read More
2023-07-31 06:00
So, after I blogged a few days ago, I scrolled down and read the previous blog entry, and then the one before that, and the one before that, and kind of got stuck there until it was time for… Read More
2023-07-24 06:00
Dear Pilot,While it is excellent that you communicate with company when you have in flight issues, please note that you have a commercial licence and something like 2000 hours of experience… Read More
2023-01-30 08:00
I've discovered a fantastic interview question. "Tell me about a time you had to use all your piloting skill to succeed." The answers show me how a pilot thinks about their own limits… Read More
2023-01-20 08:00
Apparently the time when I build up the most blogging manifold pressure is when we're interviewing and training. Because here I am again, with a story I can't not share. It's the worst resum… Read More
2022-02-17 08:00
I'm re-reading the TSB Report on an air crash at Fond-du-Lac, in preparation for another class I'm teaching. At every step of the recounting, pilots who have never worked in the north will b… Read More
2022-02-05 08:00
As well as training pilots, I train flight followers, the people responsible for, in the words of the legislation ...
CARS 722.12 (2) Flight Following
Flight
Following for a Type D s… Read More
2022-02-01 08:00
I am busy preparing training, as I always seem to be these days, but something in the regs made me giggle:"A pilot who accepts an aircraft with defects, the repair of which has been de… Read More
2021-10-30 07:00
I have to do one of the things in the title of this post. Actually all of them, but mostly one at a time, and blogging isn't in that list. But I want you to know that I am well, and think of… Read More
2020-12-24 00:00
My company is hiring. Not a lot of aviation companies are right now. I'm seeing a lot of resumes. Far too many to honestly evaluate every individual one. I understand better than I use… Read More
2020-12-08 00:00
Nav Canada has just discontinued the issuance of paper approach plates, the little diagrams telling pilots the safe and legal way to arrive at runways in bad weather. They used to come out e… Read More
2020-05-29 00:00
The following is an e-mail I sent to accounting, with only the obvious redactions:
At Mustelid Falls the last couple of weeks we have been
buying fuel at a place that officially closes at… Read More
2020-04-25 00:00
I found this partly-written post from 2015.I'm in a small town not too far from a big city, at a hotel early in the morning, and need to get back to the airport for another day of making lin… Read More
2020-04-17 01:22
Apparently this happened today.
One of the useful things about small planes is that they do land at about the speed of traffic, typically touching down at 75-120 km/h. It is cool that no one… Read More
2020-04-16 00:00
It's eerily quiet out there. I was on the ramp at an airport that usually makes the top ten or fifteen list for the most aircraft movements in the country, and during the pre-flight briefing… Read More
2020-03-26 01:07
Actual excerpt from aircraft journey log maintenance entry:
A
Stay safe. Wash your hands Read More
2020-01-06 15:28
New Year's resolution: clean my glasses with optician-provided spray and a microfibre cloth instead of licking them and wiping them on my t-shirt.
Not sure if I achieved last years' ones o… Read More
2019-06-21 01:54
Yes, I know I haven't updated in a year and a half. I do miss you guys, and I think about you when things happen that you would appreciate. I'm in my office--the one with a desk, not the g… Read More
2018-02-09 00:00
A comment on a recent post made me realize that I haven't updated since last summer, and that when pilots disappear people can worry. I'm fine, really fine, stronger than I've ever been.
Li… Read More
2017-08-23 00:00
While I think it's kind of cool that our moon and sun are just the right size and distance away to do this very neatly, I'm not awed by solar eclipses. I prefer lunar eclipses, because you… Read More
2017-07-28 00:01
Yesterday I was inbound to an airport overseen by a Flight Services Specialist. I don't know if other countries have this. There are no controllers, but there is highly trained person in the… Read More
2017-07-13 01:06
I think this is the US Air Force base where I had my KC130 sim time, blogged about here close to ten years ago. It's possible that one of the young, keen US military pilots I witnessed learn… Read More
2017-07-11 00:00
Struggling to make Transportation of Dangerous Goods legislation less stultifying for my folks than it was in the course I took, I worked to make the in-house course interesting, maybe make… Read More
2017-07-01 00:00
170201 CYCD NANAIMO HARBOUR(WATER)
CAC8 AD CLSD DUE BATHTUB RACE
1707011745 TIL 1707011815
Because apparently that's how Nanaimoians celebrate Canada Day Read More
2017-06-07 00:00
En route to a busy GA aerodrome, I checked the ATIS and started setting up for the runway in use. I needed one more approach before the end of the month to maintain my IFR currency, and was… Read More
2017-06-01 01:06
I love this NOTAM. It's in oil country, just north of Edmonton and advises pilots that the flare stack, a pipe with gouts of flame shooting out the top, is currently not doing that thing. O… Read More
2017-05-01 00:00
I have three jobs right now, all of which are very awesome, and all of which involve learning new things and writing reports, so blogging is not something I especially need do right now. I r… Read More
2017-04-29 00:00
This week I have assessed the scope of required revisions to TDG Act training, helped the PRM analyze the root cause of audit findings, verified the capabilities of an FBO in another provinc… Read More
2017-04-10 00:00
This post is about Jean-Paul Vinay, a Canadian whose work is used worldwide, but most people ho use his work have never heard of him, and credit it vaguely to "the military." He was a lingui… Read More
2017-04-05 00:00
I didn't really send it. I wrote that last blog post right after completing the form, and I really wrote that on the form, but in the sober light of the next dawn, before the Purolator truc… Read More
2017-04-01 00:00
So I had to revise a manual, create a document and complete a thirteen-page form because of a regulatory change. I was not impressed. The final page of the form suggests that I "Please pro… Read More
2017-03-02 00:00
I work for a Canadian company that does work in the US, which we're allowed to do under the North American Free Trade Agreement, but not without a packet of paperwork. The worst paperwork is… Read More
2017-02-27 05:21
Loose objects on the ground near airplanes have been a source of damage for most of the history of the airplane: they puncture tires, nick propellers, plug air intakes, or are flipped up by… Read More
2017-02-20 00:00
You might want to play the video as background music while reading or responding to this post. You've probably seen all the clips before, so you don't really need to watch it. The song, howe… Read More
2017-02-10 23:56
I buy a supply of non-perishable food for crews to eat in flight or when report times are earlier than restaurant times in the remote places we sometimes overnight. Even so-called "non-peris… Read More
2016-10-16 00:00
The flight that was cancelled in the previous blog entry is back on again, but there's a new weather puzzle to solve. The scud is still present in the low terrain, but this time the air is s… Read More
2016-10-12 00:00
Autumn is settling in, but company wants me to go north. The weather is actually better in the north as a ridge of high pressure is pushing in from the territories, but the south is nasty, c… Read More
2016-08-30 01:00
This wasn't put together as a PSA on drones, but it's being passed around the aviation community as one. I haven't figured out how to embed it as a video, so let me know if the link doesn't… Read More
2016-08-09 00:00
I'm on my way into into a major Canadian airport and overhear another pilot on frequency asking to fly direct to a particular fix. A "fix" is a point of latitude and longitude that has been… Read More
2016-07-30 00:00
I'm at my desk checking NOTAMs while my co-worker pops out for a quick Tim Horton's run before boarding. Seconds after he leaves, I hear footsteps on the stairs again. Thinking he has forgo… Read More
2016-06-03 04:10
I'm currently struggling with a security clearance issue. I can't talk about it specifically, because the security training includes my agreement not to disclose details. I'm hoping this iss… Read More
2016-05-11 00:00
I'm taxiing out at an airport that I haven't been to much and I can hear the ground controller coordinating with wildlife control, with input from various pilots, in pursuit of a coyote that… Read More
2016-04-28 21:54
A month ago I blogged about the LRBL and today I watched an wonderfully bad movie that used the concept. Naturally it features an alcoholic air marshal, a cute unaccompanied minor, a nervous… Read More
2016-03-30 00:00
My company recently bought a new airplane for our fleet. I may have blogged already about the previous owner and his son watching it go like it was a child going off to college. We told them… Read More
2016-03-27 00:00
I'm working in a little corner of the sky that includes the top edge of a cylinder of class D airspace that is monitored by a flight service specialist, a slice of class C terminal airspace… Read More
2016-03-25 02:22
An airplane I flew today had an oddly located fire extinguisher. While looking up the rules in CARS 525 on where the fire extinguisher has to be with respect to the pilot's duty station, I f… Read More
2016-03-23 03:30
I woke up today to social media reacting to the attacks in Brussels. I prepared for work not knowing exactly what they were reacting to, then before I went out the door, read a news story th… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
On the way back to Alberta we're crossing the northern Rockies again. I mention something to my crewmate that I forgot to point out the first time: Dawson Creek is a co-located waterdrome an… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
I'm working out of an airport where traffic has outstripped construction and the construction that is trying to catch up has made the taxiways and frequencies even more congested. When I get… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
This video is sort of adorable, and I think it may be as close as I'm going to get to my VP's request of a video showing a Halon fire extinguisher in action. Finishing the job with an obviou… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
My thanks go to regular reader Sarah for linking me to this article on the Canadian Forces Celebritail programme. I haven't managed to get a blogworthy picture of one in the field, must be t… Read More
2016-03-16 00:00
I'm filling out security clearance forms today. The blank "All other names used" always amuses yet scares me. I know that most people are comfortable mentally editing this to "all other name… Read More
2016-03-05 00:00
It's a federal offence to swear on the radio. Not that it doesn't happen, but it's extremely rare. We all censor ourselves on the radio, because the style of speaking is different, so the sa… Read More
2016-03-01 02:47
Once upon a time I had a math teacher, an old school, male, teacher who taught geometry as though the ability to bisect an angle with a compass was going to be a life skill that could sustai… Read More
2016-02-25 00:00
Every owner of a Canadian airplane is required to file an Annual Airworthiness Information Report for that airplane. It's not a big deal. Most of the time the information to file per airplan… Read More
2016-02-19 00:00
Dear Job Applicant,
The chief pilot saw something on your resume that indicated you might have a skill that she valued, over and above your possibly adequate piloting time. She sent you a q… Read More
2015-12-24 00:00
I find a letter in my mailbox from Transport Canada. My anxiety level increases. What do they want? I recall that the really bad ones are sent by registered mail, so they can prove you got i… Read More
2015-11-19 21:45
Pilots have sort of a love-hate relationship with birds. Some learned to fly out of a desire to be like the birds. I came grudgingly to appreciate avian skills while I was a student pilot le… Read More
2015-11-12 00:00
I've never studied helicopter aerodynamics, but I witnessed a helicopter crash once, and the event was consistent with the theory that it's principally the integrity of the tail rotor that p… Read More
2015-11-05 00:00
I finally got my logbook up-to-date, every flight entered, every page totalled, grand total calculated. Each line represents one flight, and includes the date, aircraft type, aircraft regist… Read More
2015-11-01 00:00
At 1:35:14 of the movie The Bourne Identity, there's an airplane. It's not important to the plot, just a brief scene to show that Important Serious Guy is going to Paris. It only merited a s… Read More
2015-10-29 00:00
On my first job with a uniform, I was required to wear black pants and a white pilot shirt. That's a pretty standard outfit, and a lot of companies just leave it to the pilot to obtain those… Read More
2015-10-23 00:00
I work in an unpressurized aircraft at altitudes where the atmospheric pressure is low enough that oxygen is required. Between 10,000' and F180 (about 18,000') I wear a nasal cannula: an arr… Read More
2015-10-19 00:00
I was away working last weekend, so I wasn't really thinking of Thanksgiving as a holiday. I usually work right through October, so a proper Thanksgiving celebration only happens by chance… Read More
2015-10-15 00:00
I was trying to find a clip of the coffee-ordering scene from the movie Pushing Tin. In the film it's a demonstration of how many pieces of data on different aircraft that an experienced con… Read More
2015-10-10 00:00
This story starts about five years ago when I first realized that combining my fondness for running, maps, and cool watches in one technological device was possible and affordable, even if i… Read More
2015-09-29 00:00
I hate those headlines, but I was feeling uninspired.
There's a human factors exercise known as the "Five Hazardous Attitudes," where pilots evaluate their tendency towards different safety… Read More
2015-09-22 00:00
There might be fog or mist present when I depart tomorrow from an uncontrolled aerodrome. The minimum allowable visibility for my departure is half a statute mile, so I need to be able to de… Read More
2015-09-19 00:00
I finally updated my personal logbook, sitting down with a small stack of journey logs, a calculator and a sunset/sunrise time database, to make entries for about two and a half years worth… Read More
2015-09-15 00:00
I'm afraid I have to be much vaguer than I would like to be, due to the company rule forbidding operational information on social media, but I want to share the DoM's awesomeness.
The first… Read More
2015-09-03 00:00
Tower passed me to the centre frequency just in time for me to hear, "We have the delicious donair in sight."
I could see the question marks over my non-pilot co-worker's head before she as… Read More
2015-08-28 00:00
... you land at some little GA airport in the afternoon, because it happened to have a runway long enough, and it was equidistant from the various places you thought you might be asked to go… Read More
2015-08-20 00:00
A NOTAM (at some point it stood for NOTice to Airmen, but I think it's just a word now) is a bulletin advising pilots of non-meteorological hazards to aviation: e.g. runway closures, unlight… Read More
2015-08-11 21:54
My airport authority sent out a useless little memo "urging" everyone to play safely while at no point apologizing for or even mentioning the horrendous poorly-documented mess airport constr… Read More
2015-07-20 00:00
When flying IFR, a pilot "reads back" that is repeats back all the instructions we receive from air traffic control, to demonstrate that we have heard and accept the instruction, and to give… Read More
2015-07-14 05:54
On Saturday, sixteen-year-old Autumn Veatch was on board a Beech Bonanza, a zippy little single engine airplane, with her step-grandparents. Autumn must have been a passenger, as one must be… Read More
2015-06-22 16:23
Here is one of the many reasons why there is not an exhaustive list of things to check on preflight inspection. You just walk around that airplane and poke bits of it until you're satisfied… Read More
2015-02-24 02:42
A friend wrote today to congratulate me and my countrymen on the 106th anniversary of powered flight in Canada, and then he followed up to ask "is the best part taking off? I always imagine… Read More
2015-02-20 05:00
During an annual training session for flight followers, my ops manager stated that no information on company operations was to be posted on social media. This restriction definitely wasn't t… Read More
2015-02-16 00:00
My current flight bag is a backpack. It's black, has the brand name Jaguar on it, and is in a traditional tombstone shape: flat on the bottom and curved on the top. There is a main zippered… Read More
2015-02-05 00:00
For reasons that I don't wish to elaborate on, today I was reading Mary Worth, a legacy soap opera cartoon about a self-righteous senior citizen who can't keep her nose out of her neighbours… Read More
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