The Continuing Adventures of a Cargo Pilot....pics

[TimeOnTarget]

Here are some shots from my December 09 trip. I spent 18 days on the road covering 5 continents. Christmas day was in Dubai and New Year's was in Ramstein, Germany. I guess I'll have to make up for lost celebrations some other time. Such is the life of a cargo pilot where time and date fade and blur as life is measured by how much time is spent resting between flights.

It is a rag tag gypsy life, but it gets into your blood, and like malaria, it is hard to shake. You learn quickly what is necessary and what is superfluous when you live out of a suitcase. There is an art to packing and equipping yourself, and I have just about perfected it after much trial and error.

Questions about what watch is best for pilots are common here, but it depends on what kind of flying you are doing. My Yes Zulu is proving to be a versatile tool that I depend on more and more.

The focus is a bit bad due to the low light. It was still before sun rise when I took the pic. You can see that the analog hour hand shows that the sun won't be up for another 1.5 hours


I love the PET feature on the Zulu (Phase Elapsed Timer). It is a count down mission timer that allows you to set the start time for an event. I set the scheduled block out time while in the hotel. My wake up call comes 3 hours prior to block out time, and pick up time from the hotel is 2 hours. Once airborne, I set the landing time from the FMS (flight management computer) which gives me a countdown to landing. I know exactly how I stand for time which is really helpful while I am resting in the bunk for example.

6 hours and 14 minutes until landing in Dubai (DXB) from Shanghai (PVG).


It was a beautiful day in Scotland.


My gear:


Departing Nairobi (NBO) with a load of flowers bound for Amsterdam (AMS).





The view from the office window never gets old.


We can play "where is Waldo?" with the Lat/Long coordinates.

[ecalzo]

wow wow....

[sunwatcher]

Now that's cool. It looks like you have found the perfect pilot's watch. Thanks for the great pics and the interesting background.

[Crusader]

Great report and photos, Michael!

[CMSgt Bo]

I wish I knew you flew into Ramstein on New Years. We had the best New Years party with plenty of libations and explosives. The Germans really know how to celebrate.

BTW, Ramps 5 and 8 are my turf, so PM me the next time you come into town.

[Dennis Smith]

Good stuff...really good. Nice use of the Yes as well.

How did you take that last empannage photo?

[TimeOnTarget]

Originally Posted by CMSgt Bo

I wish I knew you flew into Ramstein on New Years. We had the best New Years party with plenty of libations and explosives. The Germans really know how to celebrate.

BTW, Ramps 5 and 8 are my turf, so PM me the next time you come into town.

Thanks everybody.

Dang!!! I wish I knew this too. I sat in the hotel and ended up working out at 3 in the morning. Exciting-NOT!!! I'll email you the next time I come.

Dennis, I took that picture while performing the pre-flight on the ground. Those are the two out-flow valves that control cabin pressurization. They are completely open while on the ground. This is the area that I have to check to make sure the inbound crew did not have a tail strike.

[offshoredriver]

Nice pics. I see you have moved on to bigger and better machines. Must be nice to be able to stretch your legs in flight! How are you finding the switch to FW? I thought about it too for a while but landed a civi RW job which was too good to pass up, so I am still stuck crawling around in the weather!
By the way check your post count - The number of the devil - ahhh, beware folks!!!

[TimeOnTarget]

I have to post just to get rid of that triple 6!!!

The 747-400 is a wonderful machine. I guess that goes without saying, but it is a dream to fly. It is so nice to be able to get up and walk around as well as lay completely flat in the bunks.

I have been flying airplanes most of my life, so the only hard part was getting used to such a big airplane. The 744 is really efficient requiring you to stay ahead and plan your descent well. She just does not want to slow down and go down at the same time. Landing a 747 is quite different too because you are so high up there!

The new 747-8 should fly this month also. Cargolux is the launch customer and we are scheduled to get this new super freighter as well.

[offshoredriver]

Yep - it is quite a different life to the flying I am doing. I spend my time in a very smelly (that is my fault) thick survival suit, in some very uncomfortable seats, never above 5000', trying to land on things that move about underneath me! I have often thought about what it must be like to fly the big fixed wing things, and I think the cargo way has got to be more appealing than SLF. Looks like an interesting gig, and you obviously get to see some very interesting places.

[Willows]

Incredible journey and amazing pics! Thanks for sharing. How much time off do you get after being away for that long!?

There's a cool movie of Atlas Air 747s on YouTube showing you guys at work - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUvIHwsCryk

I'm currently only PPL(A) and working on PPL(H). I've been two minds about which route to take for the commercial side of flying. It's been a dream of mine to fly heavy-metal for as long as I can remember, but whirlybird flying is very rewarding also!

Pics like these are very inspiring to say the least. Thanks again for sharing!

[O2AFAC67]

Hi, Michael. Nice shots, bud. Thanks for sharing. Fly safe.
Best,
Ron

[Baron]

Wow, what a great aspect of your life that is. :) Sounds exciting and lonely and so interesting all at once. :) Fly safe always.

[Panama]

Thanks Michael for sharing this part of your life with us. It is great to look at your pics! Sounds like an exciting life!

[TimeOnTarget]

Originally Posted by Willows

Incredible journey and amazing pics! Thanks for sharing. How much time off do you get after being away for that long!?

I'm currently only PPL(A) and working on PPL(H). I've been two minds about which route to take for the commercial side of flying.

Thanks for the link to the videos. Those were really cool.

I have about 10 days off now before I start another 17 day pattern.

Keep in mind that at some point, flying is flying. You have to decide what kind of lifestyle you want. We have many helicopter pilots on this forum, some are at the top of their game flying in hazardous places like the North Sea. That is a very different life from what I am leading now. Feel free to PM me about flying questions any time.

[vejarmr2]

thank you so much for takimh the time to post this.

[whifferdill]

Great post TonT - I could do something similar, but all my destinations would look the same! Nice to see you back in the saddle. Enjoy and fly safe.

[Strela]

Nice to see the Yes watch getting some cockpit time.

[watchnuts]

Very cool and beautiful pics! Thanks for the shots and I have always wondered what the pilot's view of the runway (before landing) looks like. Love the cloud shot and the last one!

[Fabricioab]

thankz for the amazing photos!

cya.