USAIR TALES #11- KDCA - KPIT Passing the Torch...

What a month it has been...

We started the month with a company wide groundstop, as we managers scrambled to salvage what was left of our flight dispatch and ACARS tools... not to mention fielding all sorts of questions from worried pilots... fearful of their future with the company, let alone the stability of it.

True to my word, I made a vow to our pilots that we would be back on target soon, and sure enough within the month we had a brand new system that was indeed hackerproof!

Now during this time, I also asked for Steeler Air to be refitted with some new avionics, and the downtime was indeed welcome for all of us on crew. When we got it back we flew a checkride to Washington DC, KDCA... and parked it there for the weekend, in prep for our official passenger flight back to KPIT.



The new and improved N733UW... complete with the "Wilco" package installed was ready to head home.

But I had another pleasant surprise aside from the lifting of the groundstop... Last night at the Watergate an impromptu gathering of managers and board members, named me Vice President of Focus City hubs! A deep honor to be sure, it did not actually sink in till I woke up this morning to Tiffany beating me with my pillow. I guess the party caught up with us and we had 20 minutes to get to the gate.

We made it in time and met up with Barney and the others at gate B27.



Josh and Dan were there as well, getting ready to head out. Unbeknownst to Dan, last night I had named him my replacement as head of KPIT, and I had a little surprise ready for him when he got there with Allegheny Air. Just so happened he was in DC as well on his way to Charlotte... as was Josh a few minutes earlier. Josh and I had been joking about our friendly landing rivalry... since my skills have been a little off with our downtime. Josh of course had the company wide nickname of "Strutbuster", for his less than pillow soft landings, but he was determined to show me up. I promised to call him when I got to KPIT with my landing figures... and he was to do the same when he arrived at Charlotte in "Panther Air".

We said our goodbyes, and got to work on our preflight checklist.



A few minutes later the comm crackled to life as Josh was begging and pleading to go in front of some UAL and American traffic... and I could have sworn at one point the Tower warned him if he did not chill out that he was going to wait till every single RJ in DCA had taken off.

Hahaha... That's our Josh, always pushing the envelope to "Git R Done!"

Eventually he roared out of DC like a bat out of hell, and it was Barney and my turn to pushback.

I could hear Dan calling for his taxi instructions, runway 22... I figured we would be headed down that road in a minute or two as well.



I watched as the jetbridge disappeared into the terminal, and the trucks got out of our way, as we hit the ignition and started engine two. It was then that Barney turned to me with the most quizzical look on his face.

"So Boss... how did the party go last night? You and Tiffany have fun?"

Umm Barney, I am not quite sure how to answer that... the party went... VERY WELL.

"Yeah but did you and Tiff HAVE FUN?"

I am not sure I appreciate what you are insinuating there...

Barney chuckled... He knew my marriage was on the rocks anyway.

"Not insinuating anything there Boss, but enquiring minds wanna know. Let's just say Wanzetta, George and I have our.... speculations."

OMG... You all are like a bunch of old ladies looking for gossip. I am NOT answering that.



As I watched Dan take Allegheny Air down the taxiway I added...

Besides... a gentleman never tells.

The look on Barney's face was priceless!

I quickly changed subject and called for our taxi clearance.



I have to admit the new improvements to Steeler Air were done in short time, but very well done. The new Wilco package finally fixed the issues I had been having with the FMC (flight management computer) and if we played our cards right, this sucker could even take off on its own now! I have to admit I still have not read all the manuals that came with the upgrades, so I expected Barney and I would have to hold on to the sidesticks a little longer than usual during the flight.

With so much on my mind who has time...

Strained relations with Jess... Spending a lot of time with Tiff... Missing my daughter Lolo, still in Florida, possibly for the next year... Not to mention all the company issues. It's enough to drive a man to drink... which of course I did last night at the party. I was just glad that US Air Virtual was back on its feet... and the new dispatch and pirep systems being debuted within the day would certainly be cause for celebration from KBOS to KLAS.



We pulled up behind Dan in the Allegheny Air... Waited for him to get his takeoff clearance, then did our final checks. I could hear Air Wisconsin coming in on approach, so we would have to hustle, unless DCA decided to hold us short till they landed... not likely at this airport.

I consulted my manual once more, and went over with Barney one more time the procedure. Screw the FLEX... We are gonna need to get off the ground fast, I'm setting us for TOGA speed.

"Alright Boss... Your call..." Barney replied as I caught him out of the corner of my eye making the sign of the cross over his chest.

I rolled my eyes...

Sure enough as Air Wisconsin was on final, we were told to position and hold... then some dangerous seconds later... cleared for takeoff...

In true Star Wars style I yelled to Barney "PUNCH IT!"

Barney did his best Chewbacca growl, and jammed the trottles to their most forward setting.



We made it!!!!

Steeler Air rotated all on its own at 138 knots, and began positive rate of climb over the southern parking lot. Damn I hate short runways... but we were UP! That was all that count. I retracted our gear and flaps, and began our climbout. On the comm I could hear DC tower order Air Wisconsin to go around.

Oops hahaha. Well better him than us. DC was unusually hazy today, so I had Barney keep a keen eye out for the company traffic lest we wander a little close to them. I already had my hands full ensuring we did not enter any restricted space around Washington. I was NOT about to be escorted by any F-15s today.

That's what makes DC such a challenging arrival and departure... so many restrictions. Now that I was in charge of US Air Virtual's presence here, as well as Pittsburgh, La Guardia, and Boston, I am sure I will be visiting a lot.



"Gear up and good to go Boss"

Ok Barney, let's slip this baby back to CLIMB setting, and we'll see how well we can get on course and altitude with the new systems.

Barney adjusted the throttles as I called DC Departure for our vectors out of their airspace. It seemed like the higher we got the more hazy it became around Washington. Good thing I brought my portable GPS with me to keep an eye on those restricted areas...



I could see the bridge south of the airport. There's our cue, time to do a 180 and head back to the north...

As if the airplane read my mind, Steeler Air began the gentle right turn over to Dulles Airport to get back to our proper track.

Man I LOVE these new systems!

"I think it kinda takes the fun out of it Boss... I mean we are just like passengers now."

I guess you could say that... but that is what THAT button is for... As I pointed to the AP (Autopilot) disengage switch. For now I enjoyed my new, smarter plane.



Over 6000 feet and heading in the right direction for KPIT... almost... still under the auspices of DC center... and having to follow every order by the book. You know I often wonder if the Air Force would actually scramble and shoot us down if we strayed one iota from our flight plan?

No time to worry about that... Just follow the SID (standard instrument departure) and the tower. In a couple minutes we would be out of their hair anyway.



Ahh the Watergate. Not the first time I have stayed in that hotel, but I cannot help but think this time was made a little bit better by Tiff's company. To be honest I was gonna go stag to the meeting, till I found out it was also a party, and I figure I owed Tiff a good time since she had been patiently putting up with my stress and freakouts during our groundstop.

She'd really become a real close friend to me. I will be honest... I don't remember much of last night past 9PM, considering the party started at 5... but whatever happened, I am sure it was memorable.

I do know when she closed our cockpit door prior to takeoff, she had a grin on her face like the cat that swallowed the canary...



17000 feet... and I decided to extinguish the seatbelt signs, and send the girls (and boy) down the aisle with snacks. Ever since we started charging for those dinky little things, my aircraft seemed to be backlogged with them.

How I wish the price of gas would go down... it seems like everyone is being nickle and dimed to death in a vain attempt at "preserving profits."

Meanwhile Southwest makes out like a bandit with cheap gas for the next umpteen years.

Somebody somewhere is pocketing the profits of everyone's heartburn and worry... but it sure as hell was not me. I got the strange feeling I may have just overflown those people on our takeoff...



Well the moon was still up. That was a good sign. I always consider it good luck to fly when the moon is there to guide me.

I was interrupted by Tiff at the door.

Come on in Tiff. Door's unlocked.

"Hey Drew... did you and Barney want anything to eat?"

Barney turned up his nose in disdain at the prospect of pretzels.

I think I am gonna pass as well. Hey Tiff... you up for dinner this evening, nothing fancy... the usual Red Lobster.

"Sure thing Drew. What time?"

I'm thinking 6ish? I gotta wait for Dan to get back with Allegheny Air before I can leave the office.

She nodded in agreement and with that same grin on her face, and a rosy tone in her cheeks, closed the door behind her.

Barney's eyes just about bugged out of his head.

"I KNEW IT!"

...

I glanced down at the picture of my daughter on the dash...



You knew WHAT?

"There IS something going on between you two! I could sense it from that time in Jamaica!"

Barney you're imagining things...

"Oh yeah, then why does she have that big schoolgirl grin on her face everytime she makes eye contact with you!? Aaaah aaaah? Come on Boss, don't lie. You been tapping that, haven't you?"

I dunno what you are talking about Barney. Now can we change the subject please.

"Uh huh.... sure thing boss... heh heh heh."

IT'S NOT FUNNY Barney!!

"I know boss.. I'm just saying... nothing to be ashamed of if you WERE hypothetically doing the boinky boink with her. She's a hottie afterall, I'll give her that."

Barney do me a favor please... SHUT UP!

...

Five minutes later I heard a silent chuckle... I rolled my eyes again.



One thing about the DC to PIT run... it's a very short hop. Seems like no sooner the crew has served snacks they have to take back the empties. I don't even know why I bothered to file our flightplan for a cruise at Flight Level 3-0-0, because not even five minutes after levelling off at altitude, Cleveland center is asking us to come back down to FL240.

I made a mental note the next time to simply file for 24000 feet instead. That will save time... and gas. Lord knows the CEO has been on my butt lately about conserving fuel. Seems us Focus City pilots like to carry a little extra... just in case. That's now a no-no. In fact as part of our downtime "retraining" we even had to go to this course where they "taught us" how to load fuel more judiciously.

Can't say I was too pleased about that.



Oh well, in a couple hours it won't matter to me anyway. I had a few days off, and this plane would be in the hands of my new KPIT manager, Dan. At least till I asked for it back sometime.

I could only imagine how pleased he was going to be to be able to fly the flagship for Pittsburgh Station, especially with the new upgrades, which were also in his current ride.

I guess the tradeoff of planes would not be so bad afterall.



"Hey Boss... whatever happened to that girl, Candy? Remember her from Vegas?"

Candy... yeah... I remember her. She's got loyalties to Will... We probably won't be seeing her for a while. He's holding on tight to all his flight attendants I hear.

"She was pretty cute too... Not as cute as Tiffany I am sure, but still..."

Oh Good Lawd. Ok Barney, what do you want me to say?

YES...

Tiffany and I had sex last night. There you happy now?

He beamed with glee!

I called Cleveland center for vectors to the NESTO approach.



I dunno why I did it really...

Yes my marriage was definitely on the rocks, and I had not seen Jess for months... but it was not like I INTENDED to get so involved with Tiff... But let's face it... She and I have been everywhere. When I was at my most stressed and depressed the last month, she stood by me.

Is it any wonder things happened the way they happened?

Does that make me a bad man?

Does it?

I was not about to tell Barney all of this. The less his gossipy self knew the better. As it is, I had already said too much.



I looked back to Lolo. I really missed her. I was not sure when next I would see her... and quite frankly the house was too quiet without her there, and Pedro barking day and night. Heck even with RoseMarie gone to Jamaica for the summer... it seemed like the house had no life anymore. It was just a multiroom hotel that I had the privilege of sleeping in from time to time, and paying the mortgage and bills for.

This had surely been a pretty eventful summer, even for the company itself. I was amazed that I at least had some semblance of sanity with things happening left and right. But in spite of it all... I was now the Focus City Vice President. Whether I liked it or not, my respect level with the higher ups went up... and my workload increased.

Somehow I doubted my stress level would go down however...



I could hear Tiff do her singsong announcement for the passengers as we began our final into KPIT. The whole time nosy Barney is chuckled quietly in his seat, his own private joke at my expense.

At least the weather was good. A little windy, but still clear enough for us to come down on 28C, which would put us right in line for a quick turnoff to the terminal.

It was then I remembered that I still had not mastered the new ILS system, so I decided to come in manually after we got our clearance to land. I can only imagine what "Strutbuster" Josh was doing right now in CLT... as both the mechanic pool as well as the landscape and concrete guys were probably on standby to patch up any craters he left on his touchdown. Well one thing I will say about his landings... they are job security for a lot of people.



Downtown Pittsburgh... aka the Golden Triangle.

Once again a telltale sign that I was home.

I could not wait to get home... well... by way of Red Lobster anyway.

"OK Boss, we're lined up... got a pretty brisk crosswind, you sure you wanna do this by hand?"

Yeah... Ok standby to disengage AP.



Disengage!

As we passed Heinz Field, I could feel Steeler Air lurch a little as the controls came back to my fingertips, and I gently nursed the throttles back to idle. Just think... in a few short weeks that stadium would be full with my beloved Steelers... Well, it's a distraction anyway from the other things on my mind lately...

Barney called to the tower that we were clear to land, and with both of us watching the important numbers, we started to bring her in.

The wind as expected started tugging on our tail, and I had to correct a little for the drift.



I figured I would bring her in nice and easy, and cut power at the last minute to float her down.

With both Barney and I riding the rudder pedals, we tried to keep the aircraft lined up all the way in... a little wobbly...

a little right...

a little left...

a little high...

ok cut back...



A little OFF CENTER!!!

Ugh... well at least our landing vertical speed was not bad... -48.4 ft/min. Beat that Josh!

The spoilers came up and we began our slowdown to the turnoff...

I had heard on company radio that Dan was due to depart CLT in a couple minutes... so I figured I have at least an hour in the office waiting for his arrival.

But first... let's get these passengers offloaded.



It felt kind of wierd when the tower ok'd me to pull up to gate B27. Same gate number we left DC from... but not our usual gate... B30. I guess they were going to put Dan there when he got in, since I would be flying that plane from here on out anyway.

There was a knock on the door. Barney reached back and opened it to reveal a tall african american lady... Wanzetta. The two started mumbling.

Umm, y'all mind sitting down please till we get to the gate?

I could barely make out... "50 yeah. Tell George he owes me too"

Wanzetta shook her head and left.

What was that all about Barney?

"Ooooh nothing Boss... umm... insider stock trading..."

Uh huh...

I was not stupid... I knew those scamps probably had a bet going to see if Tiffany and I slept together.



As I pulled up to the gate Barney seemed in a rush to get out of there.

"Congrats again Boss! See you next week! Hee hee hee!"

What the... You guys are nuts you know that... I dunno what you all are up to, but you guys are NUTS!

I sat in the plane a little while longer... knowing that once Dan returns he will be flying the lion's share of flights with it, and I would miss my Steeler Air.

I grabbed Lolo's picture from the Dash, and neatly put it inside my flight bag with my laptop.



From out in the jetway I could hear Tiff telling whom I could only assume to be the other flight crew...

"YES I DID! And you know what? He was FABULOUS!"

... then footsteps up the jetway...


I decided to stay in the plane a little while longer.

An hour later, like clockwork, Dan showed up. I had him meet me at B27 for the official changeover, and as I expected, the look on his face was ecstatic as he officially got his new boards reading Dan Milsop - KPIT Station Manager, and the official "keys" to Steeler Air. I thought he was going to cry there for a second, but he was ok.

This is your baby now Dan. Make us all proud.



I turned around and headed up the jetway, passing Dan's First Officer on the way down...

Tiffany was waiting at the desk with a slip of paper for me.

From Josh... -227. ft/min

Hahahaaha

"Strutbuster" strikes again.