IF IT’S THURSDAY AFTERNOON, THIS MUST BE LONDON!
FROM CAP’N MERYL
Link to this week’s column at USAToday.com/travel:
USA Today Column
Note: Many, many thanks to those of you who
posted reviews at Amazon.com and
BarnesandNoble.com for “The World At My Feet.” I
appreciate your efforts very much.
Several readers of my “Ask The Captain” column,
along with several readers of this Weekly Update,
sent me links regarding Boeing’s new B-777 LR
(Longer Range) aircraft which smashed an older
distance record, also set by Boeing. This flight
was from Hong Kong to London going the long way,
flying eastward over the Pacific Ocean, the United
States and over the Atlantic Ocean. There were
two sunrises along the way, the first over the
Pacific and the second over the Atlantic. You
can read about the flight here:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2005-11-10-boeing-record_x.htm
I have often turned to both Boeing and Airbus
directly when I’ve had technical questions while
researching my columns, and both companies have
always been extremely responsive to my requests.
It wasn’t terribly difficult to request and
receive a telephone interview with the captain of
this record-setting flight, also a female. It
seemed especially appropriate since I fly the same
type of airplane—just a different model.
I was put into direct contact with Chuck Cadena,
Boeing’s 777 PR man. He was on the flight as well
and I wound up talking to him for the better part
of an hour, getting his own thoughts on the
flight. “It was one of the biggest highlights of
my life, to be part of this historic flight,” was
how he phrased it.
Talk about confusing, though! They took off at
10:30 PM Wednesday night (November 9th) from Hong
Kong, passed over Japan Thursday morning, crossed
the International Dateline (which put them 24
hours earlier), passed over the west coast of the
United States on Wednesday night, crossed the
Atlantic on Thursday morning and landed in London
Thursday afternoon.
The B-777 I fly has 90,000 pounds of thrust per
engine and a range of 7,000 nautical miles (just
over 8,000 statute). The B-777 LR (Longer Range)
produces 115, 0000 pounds of thrust per engine and
has an official range of 9,420 nautical miles
(10,874 statute) although this record-setting
flight actually flew more than 13,800 statute
miles (!) with its light load of just 35 people
total, including eight pilots.
Trust me on this—115,000 pounds of thrust is a
huge amount for one engine. The DC-10’s I used to
fly produced 40,000 pounds of thrust per engine
and I thought that was a lot (it was at the time).
Although only two sets of pilots were actually
required, there were four sets for this flight.
Pilots from GE (manufacturer of the engines),
Singapore Airlines and Pakistan International
Airlines also helped do the flying. These two
airlines will be the first to accept delivery of
the new B-777 LR model. The sleep/fly shifts for
the four sets of pilots were coordinated by
Boeing’s own Human Factors guy, known around the
plant as “Dr. Sleepgood.”
The chief pilot for Boeing’s 777 LR program is
Suzanne Darcy-Henneman. You can read about her
and three of the other pilots here.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/247393_pilotbios09.html
I wanted to know what they all did the rest of the
time when they weren’t in the cockpit. I know I
would have been too excited to sleep much or maybe
even at all. They got some rest either in a
passenger seat or in the crew rest areas which are
located in the top forward part of the fuselage,
but most of the flight was apparently spent
talking to the media folks on board, to the
General Electrics and Boeing reps and executives
who came along and to each other.
Incidentally, the crew rest areas for pilots on
board the airplanes I fly are either bunks
immediately aft of the cockpit, or first class
seats (or business seats, depending upon the
configuration of the aircraft), which are
specified for crew use. There is no upper area in
the planes I fly.
Captain Suzanna explained to me that this
particular airplane, which is set up for tours, is
referred to as a “boutique airplane” with some
areas left open so prospective buyers can more
easily see the possibilities. She referred to
“mood lighting” and “starry skies.”
Have a look at the new Boeing Album I’ve set up on
page 2 of my Photo Gallery at fromthecockpit.com.
Look carefully at the interior shots and notice
the ceiling. I thought Chuck was kidding when he
informed me the “starry skies” Captain Suzanna
referred to can be programmed to reflect the sky
in any part of the world.
The first airplane is going to Pakistan
International Airlines and the ceiling will most
likely reflect their night sky. You’ll notice the
First Class area is empty so prospective buyers
can see the total area available. Then they can
arrange the seats in any configuration they want.
Here’s a direct link to my new Boeing Album.
Boeing Album
I’m always curious about food arrangements. The
flight was catered, of course, and they had just
one lone flight attendant on board to do the
serving, but apparently she got quite a bit of
help from some of the Boeing reps who went along
on the flight.
According to Chuck, even after more than 22 hours
of flight time he didn’t want the flight to end.
He told me this was the most exciting event he’s
ever been a part of, or would ever likely be a
part of again. When I asked him what the most
exciting part was for him, he said it was the
briefing everyone on board got soon after takeoff
which told them the particulars of the flight—the
route, speed, what records were being broken, etc.
He also talked about the champagne toasts made by
the passengers at the halfway point, just east of
Los Angeles.
Although they were flight-planned basically from
Hong Kong to Midway, then to Mendocino, CA (just
north of San Francisco), New York, then London,
they took an unplanned jog from Mendicino down to
Los Angeles to take advantage of a strong
jetstream. That put their actual flown mileage
over 12,000 nautical miles, which is over 13,800
statue miles!
I asked Captain Suzanna if they had any headwinds,
which would have been unusual but not unheard of
in this direction of flight, and she said they
didn’t. She recalled a maximum tailwind maximum
of around 157 knots, which is 180 or so mph on the
tail. Not bad!
The most amusing part for me, hearing both Captain
Suzanna and Chuck telling me first-hand about
their experience was that, even after flying for
this long, the flight was assigned holding before
being cleared into Heathrow. Can you believe it?
“Rules is rules,” I guess, and in aviation, unless
there is some legitimate urgency, it’s first-come,
first-serve. The London controllers are said to
have apologized profusely, but it couldn’t be
helped. The weather was good, but blustery,
according to Suzanna.
Captain John Cashman of Boeing was at the controls
for the landing along with the Captain Asif Reza,
Chief of Flight Operations for Pakistan
International Airlines. Captain Cashman quipped
to the arrival controllers, “You know, we’ve been
flying for so long at this point what’s a few
extra minutes, anyway?”
I asked about any weather problems. The only one
was after this flight terminated and the plane was
flown back to Boeing Field in Seattle. The
visibility was so low both there and at SeaTac
they nearly had to divert to Moses Lake in the
eastern part of the state. Although the airplane
is capable of landing in extreme low visibility
conditions, because Boeing’s pilots are test
pilots and not airline pilots, they don’t normally
need the qualifications to land in really low
visibility and don’t maintain their currency for
it.
When flying commercially into SeaTac and landing
to the south, we overfly Boeing Field. Here’s a
link to my Seattle-Tokyo-Honolulu Album, page 2.
The Boeing Field shot is the third to the last
photo on this page (page numbers in the lower
right-hand corner). The arrival ends of Runways
16L and 16R (16 Left and Right) at SeaTac are only
faintly visible here, but there are other shots of
the approach which show arriving into SeaTac as
well.
Boeing field
Captain Suzanna called this “the flight of a
career” and I can certainly understand why. When
I asked her how she would sum up the mission, her
answer was she really looks for just two things on
any test flight to call it a success: The “thump”
when the gear comes up and the “squeak” the tires
make upon landing. Now, honestly, doesn’t that
just sound like something I might say myself? I
laughed out loud with her when she described it
this way.
I’m putting together an “Ask The Captain” column
about my talk with Captain Suzanna and Chuck
Cadena (PR). It should be published at
usatoday.com in my column on November 28th and
will have additional information about this
flight. Chuck left for the Dubai Air Show without
first sending me his own photos, so I’m hoping to
add photo of him and possibly some other shots as
soon as he returns in a week or so. I was
surprised and pleased when he called me from Dubai
at 1:30 AM (just after noon my time Saturday
afternoon) while I was working on this Update.
He’s really charged up about this new plane and
wanted to tell me a little about the air show.
Dubai? Hey, didn’t I just talk to this guy in
Seattle two days ago?
And I thought I got around!
Closing Notes:
For my newest readers and as a reminder again to
others, don’t forget my new book “Flights of
Whimsy – Quips ‘N’ Quotes” will be out soon. The
retail price will be $11.95 plus shipping but
until Christmas you can order it for just $9.95
and I’ll throw in shipping for free. Printer now
says I should have in early December and I will
ship immediately.
Click here to order:
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/Gift_Ideas.html
I’ve also put autographed copies of my book “The
World At My Feet” on sale until Christmas in the
form of free shipping. Total price is $17.95.
Ships within a day or two.
Click here to order:
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/Gift_Ideas.html
And with that,
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airspeed!
Cap’n Meryl
www.fromthecockpit.com
www.flyingfearless.com
www.fromthecockpit.com/profile.htm
(keynote speaker information)
Link to this week’s column at USAToday.com/travel:
USA Today Column
Note: Many, many thanks to those of you who
posted reviews at Amazon.com and
BarnesandNoble.com for “The World At My Feet.” I
appreciate your efforts very much.
Several readers of my “Ask The Captain” column,
along with several readers of this Weekly Update,
sent me links regarding Boeing’s new B-777 LR
(Longer Range) aircraft which smashed an older
distance record, also set by Boeing. This flight
was from Hong Kong to London going the long way,
flying eastward over the Pacific Ocean, the United
States and over the Atlantic Ocean. There were
two sunrises along the way, the first over the
Pacific and the second over the Atlantic. You
can read about the flight here:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2005-11-10-boeing-record_x.htm
I have often turned to both Boeing and Airbus
directly when I’ve had technical questions while
researching my columns, and both companies have
always been extremely responsive to my requests.
It wasn’t terribly difficult to request and
receive a telephone interview with the captain of
this record-setting flight, also a female. It
seemed especially appropriate since I fly the same
type of airplane—just a different model.
I was put into direct contact with Chuck Cadena,
Boeing’s 777 PR man. He was on the flight as well
and I wound up talking to him for the better part
of an hour, getting his own thoughts on the
flight. “It was one of the biggest highlights of
my life, to be part of this historic flight,” was
how he phrased it.
Talk about confusing, though! They took off at
10:30 PM Wednesday night (November 9th) from Hong
Kong, passed over Japan Thursday morning, crossed
the International Dateline (which put them 24
hours earlier), passed over the west coast of the
United States on Wednesday night, crossed the
Atlantic on Thursday morning and landed in London
Thursday afternoon.
The B-777 I fly has 90,000 pounds of thrust per
engine and a range of 7,000 nautical miles (just
over 8,000 statute). The B-777 LR (Longer Range)
produces 115, 0000 pounds of thrust per engine and
has an official range of 9,420 nautical miles
(10,874 statute) although this record-setting
flight actually flew more than 13,800 statute
miles (!) with its light load of just 35 people
total, including eight pilots.
Trust me on this—115,000 pounds of thrust is a
huge amount for one engine. The DC-10’s I used to
fly produced 40,000 pounds of thrust per engine
and I thought that was a lot (it was at the time).
Although only two sets of pilots were actually
required, there were four sets for this flight.
Pilots from GE (manufacturer of the engines),
Singapore Airlines and Pakistan International
Airlines also helped do the flying. These two
airlines will be the first to accept delivery of
the new B-777 LR model. The sleep/fly shifts for
the four sets of pilots were coordinated by
Boeing’s own Human Factors guy, known around the
plant as “Dr. Sleepgood.”
The chief pilot for Boeing’s 777 LR program is
Suzanne Darcy-Henneman. You can read about her
and three of the other pilots here.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/247393_pilotbios09.html
I wanted to know what they all did the rest of the
time when they weren’t in the cockpit. I know I
would have been too excited to sleep much or maybe
even at all. They got some rest either in a
passenger seat or in the crew rest areas which are
located in the top forward part of the fuselage,
but most of the flight was apparently spent
talking to the media folks on board, to the
General Electrics and Boeing reps and executives
who came along and to each other.
Incidentally, the crew rest areas for pilots on
board the airplanes I fly are either bunks
immediately aft of the cockpit, or first class
seats (or business seats, depending upon the
configuration of the aircraft), which are
specified for crew use. There is no upper area in
the planes I fly.
Captain Suzanna explained to me that this
particular airplane, which is set up for tours, is
referred to as a “boutique airplane” with some
areas left open so prospective buyers can more
easily see the possibilities. She referred to
“mood lighting” and “starry skies.”
Have a look at the new Boeing Album I’ve set up on
page 2 of my Photo Gallery at fromthecockpit.com.
Look carefully at the interior shots and notice
the ceiling. I thought Chuck was kidding when he
informed me the “starry skies” Captain Suzanna
referred to can be programmed to reflect the sky
in any part of the world.
The first airplane is going to Pakistan
International Airlines and the ceiling will most
likely reflect their night sky. You’ll notice the
First Class area is empty so prospective buyers
can see the total area available. Then they can
arrange the seats in any configuration they want.
Here’s a direct link to my new Boeing Album.
Boeing Album
I’m always curious about food arrangements. The
flight was catered, of course, and they had just
one lone flight attendant on board to do the
serving, but apparently she got quite a bit of
help from some of the Boeing reps who went along
on the flight.
According to Chuck, even after more than 22 hours
of flight time he didn’t want the flight to end.
He told me this was the most exciting event he’s
ever been a part of, or would ever likely be a
part of again. When I asked him what the most
exciting part was for him, he said it was the
briefing everyone on board got soon after takeoff
which told them the particulars of the flight—the
route, speed, what records were being broken, etc.
He also talked about the champagne toasts made by
the passengers at the halfway point, just east of
Los Angeles.
Although they were flight-planned basically from
Hong Kong to Midway, then to Mendocino, CA (just
north of San Francisco), New York, then London,
they took an unplanned jog from Mendicino down to
Los Angeles to take advantage of a strong
jetstream. That put their actual flown mileage
over 12,000 nautical miles, which is over 13,800
statue miles!
I asked Captain Suzanna if they had any headwinds,
which would have been unusual but not unheard of
in this direction of flight, and she said they
didn’t. She recalled a maximum tailwind maximum
of around 157 knots, which is 180 or so mph on the
tail. Not bad!
The most amusing part for me, hearing both Captain
Suzanna and Chuck telling me first-hand about
their experience was that, even after flying for
this long, the flight was assigned holding before
being cleared into Heathrow. Can you believe it?
“Rules is rules,” I guess, and in aviation, unless
there is some legitimate urgency, it’s first-come,
first-serve. The London controllers are said to
have apologized profusely, but it couldn’t be
helped. The weather was good, but blustery,
according to Suzanna.
Captain John Cashman of Boeing was at the controls
for the landing along with the Captain Asif Reza,
Chief of Flight Operations for Pakistan
International Airlines. Captain Cashman quipped
to the arrival controllers, “You know, we’ve been
flying for so long at this point what’s a few
extra minutes, anyway?”
I asked about any weather problems. The only one
was after this flight terminated and the plane was
flown back to Boeing Field in Seattle. The
visibility was so low both there and at SeaTac
they nearly had to divert to Moses Lake in the
eastern part of the state. Although the airplane
is capable of landing in extreme low visibility
conditions, because Boeing’s pilots are test
pilots and not airline pilots, they don’t normally
need the qualifications to land in really low
visibility and don’t maintain their currency for
it.
When flying commercially into SeaTac and landing
to the south, we overfly Boeing Field. Here’s a
link to my Seattle-Tokyo-Honolulu Album, page 2.
The Boeing Field shot is the third to the last
photo on this page (page numbers in the lower
right-hand corner). The arrival ends of Runways
16L and 16R (16 Left and Right) at SeaTac are only
faintly visible here, but there are other shots of
the approach which show arriving into SeaTac as
well.
Boeing field
Captain Suzanna called this “the flight of a
career” and I can certainly understand why. When
I asked her how she would sum up the mission, her
answer was she really looks for just two things on
any test flight to call it a success: The “thump”
when the gear comes up and the “squeak” the tires
make upon landing. Now, honestly, doesn’t that
just sound like something I might say myself? I
laughed out loud with her when she described it
this way.
I’m putting together an “Ask The Captain” column
about my talk with Captain Suzanna and Chuck
Cadena (PR). It should be published at
usatoday.com in my column on November 28th and
will have additional information about this
flight. Chuck left for the Dubai Air Show without
first sending me his own photos, so I’m hoping to
add photo of him and possibly some other shots as
soon as he returns in a week or so. I was
surprised and pleased when he called me from Dubai
at 1:30 AM (just after noon my time Saturday
afternoon) while I was working on this Update.
He’s really charged up about this new plane and
wanted to tell me a little about the air show.
Dubai? Hey, didn’t I just talk to this guy in
Seattle two days ago?
And I thought I got around!
Closing Notes:
For my newest readers and as a reminder again to
others, don’t forget my new book “Flights of
Whimsy – Quips ‘N’ Quotes” will be out soon. The
retail price will be $11.95 plus shipping but
until Christmas you can order it for just $9.95
and I’ll throw in shipping for free. Printer now
says I should have in early December and I will
ship immediately.
Click here to order:
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/Gift_Ideas.html
I’ve also put autographed copies of my book “The
World At My Feet” on sale until Christmas in the
form of free shipping. Total price is $17.95.
Ships within a day or two.
Click here to order:
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/Gift_Ideas.html
And with that,
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airspeed!
Cap’n Meryl
www.fromthecockpit.com
www.flyingfearless.com
www.fromthecockpit.com/profile.htm
(keynote speaker information)
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