Cockpit Chronicles: Picture Perfect Paris

by Kent Wien on

During the sterile-cockpit period we don’t get into non-essential conversations; we’re required to limit it to only what’s required for the safe operation of the airplane. This keeps all of our attention focused on flying and reduces the chance that a distraction could lead to a potentially serious mistake. This sterile period is defined as anytime the airplane is moving under its own power and below 10,000 feet.

That said, whenever we have a chance to set the parking brake while we’re on the ground during a delay, or when we’re above 10,000 feet, it’s a great opportunity to get a picture, especially when I’m a relief pilot sitting in the jumpseat.

I’ve been struggling to properly expose both the inside and the outside of the cockpit, which can be challenging. I managed the nice shot below because the sun was reflecting off the instrument panel from the left side and behind us slightly.

But what about the times when the sun isn’t helping you out? In the past I’ve used a flash to ‘fill’ in the cockpit areas while exposing for the outside of the airplane as seen in this picture:

But I’ve found a great way to get just the right exposure using HDR (high dynamic range) software.

I picked up Photomatix Pro, which is available for the Mac or a PC for $99. It works by taking a picture at three (or more) different exposures, and then letting the HDR software merge the images to form a stunningly detailed picture, even in some of the most challenging light conditions.

Here are a few of my attempts, showing the difference between a non-HDR adjusted shot and the HDR version.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:


I couldn’t contain my enthusiasm for this method so I shared the technique with Mark as we each ate a business-class chicken dinner.

The menu changes almost every month it seems on the European trips. I was rather impressed with a new dish offered which is chicken covered in a white chocolate sauce.

I had no idea there was chocolate in this until I complimented the purser on such a great dinner. The white chocolate sauce makes for a surprisingly tasty combination.

While we’re on the subject of meals, I have to share this next picture.

Have you ever wondered where the flight attendants find extra silverware if you drop or misplace one? I was surprised to find out that there’s an entire drawer of cutlery on this particular Trans-Atlantic flight. I doubt they’ll run out.

The Velibs are becoming our favorite way to get around in the city. Fortunately Mark had his trusty American Express (the only credit card that we’ve found to work in them–unless you have a Visa or Mastercard with a chip in it) and we all rented bikes to go from our dining restaurant back to the Latin Quarter for dessert.

Mark found Amorino, an Italian ice-cream place that’s quite popular, with more than ten locations in Paris.

I’ve since been back to Amorino a few times and I’ve found the line to get in has exceeded my patience. So I guess the word is getting out.

I’ll leave you with two other interesting photos. Here’s something I don’t think I’ve ever seen. I’m glad I had the camera handy to capture it. Looks kind of like some sort of vortex, no?

Finally, on the way home, we noticed a few Coast Guard helicopters hovering over the water. They’re easy to spot from altitude from the donut shaped imprint they leave on the water.

As we approached Boston, there were thunderstorms reported in the area. As Captain Mark descended below 300 feet on approach, we had a rather large increase in airspeed of more than 20 knots. As we went slightly high on the glidepath as a result of the increasing wind, Mark elected to go-around.

By the time we landed and were taxiing in, the rain began to fall and lightning shut down the ramp, which meant that our ground crew was unable to park us. So we sat and waited for the weather to pass through.

Sorry I’ve been away for the past few weeks. We’ve recently moved and the process has taken almost all of my time and effort. It’s been a challenge getting settled in the new place. I don’t have a defined place to keep things which led to my leaving this morning with my wife’s car keys, preventing her from getting anywhere while I’m gone. As we get settled, I hope to do a single catch-up post to bring you up to date with the past month’s worth of flying.

I’m just too far behind to write about each of the Paris trips for July. But I do want to share some of the highlights in the next post.

I’ll leave you with a gallery of the shots taken on this very photo worthy trip. See if you can pick out the HDR photos:

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Cockpit Chronicles takes you along on each of Kent’s trips as a co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 out of Boston.

Finding Grace Kelly in Paris

by Josh Lew on

Those looking for a taste of the glamorous side of the 1950s can find it in Paris. The City of Lights and snobby waiters was a hot spot for the Brad Pitts and Angelina Jolies of yesteryear.

Grace Kelly is probably the ultimate example of 50s fame. An exhibit at the Hotel de Ville showcases the life and times of the American movie star who the French embraced after she married Prince Rainier of Monaco and became Princess Grace.

The exhibit is no mere collection of black and white snapshots. Kelly’s Oscar is on display alongside ball gowns and other articles of clothing. Also of interest are a collection of Kelly’s letters. I suppose it might be interesting to learn that people actually wrote letters once upon a time, but Kelly’s letters where to the who’s who of the day. The collection includes correspondences with Alfred Hitchcock and Jackie Kennedy.

So this exhibit might be a bit over the top, but perhaps a bit refreshing. After all, Grace Kelly defined glamor before glamor became all silicone and botox. I doubt there will be a similar exhibit featuring any of today’s starlets in 50 years.

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Cockpit Chronicles: A slam click layover

by Kent Wien on

The biggest choice I get to make each month when picking a schedule isn’t generally where I’ll fly or what days off I’ll get. Since I’m much closer to the bottom of the seniority list than the top among 767 international co-pilots in Boston, my choice is generally between flying a set schedule (known as a line) or ‘sitting’ on reserve.

If I choose reserve, I’m on call for more days a month, but on many of those days the company doesn’t need me to fly at all. In return, the pay is 10-15% less than flying a full schedule. This difference in pay is enough to cause most pilots to choose to bid a line.

When I’m able to hold a line, I tend to pick up trips and trade around so a normal schedule of, say, three-days on and three-days off might be a complete mess after I add a trip and bunch a few others together.

But nothing has compared to this past week. This is the first time I’ve worked at this company with just one day off in the past 15 days.
This marathon, caused by the cancellation in Paris on the last trip, is legal even though the FAA requires a day off every 7 days. Since the Paris trip has a layover of nearly 30 hours, which qualifies as your day off, it’s possible to schedule these trips back to back as often as you’d like, as long as you don’t exceed any other flight and duty time regulations, such as the maximum hours allowed per day, week and month.

The extra time in Paris was fun, and it’s really hard to complain about yet another day over there, but I was craving a day off, especially after I noticed my wife and kids were starting to forget my name.

“Mommy, there’s someone in the house!” I half expected my youngest daughter to say when I walked through the door.

I was tired and feeling less sociable on this final trip, so for the first time during my “summer of Paris,” I decided that I’d be a ‘slam clicker.’

A slam clicker is someone who, instead of going out with the rest of the crew, decides to slam their hotel door and click over the deadbolt. And since I was running weeks behind on the Cockpit Chronicles, I thought I’d get some sleeping and writing done and take a pass on going out to dinner in the city.

But there was one task I needed to do. I had to find a toy store in the city to pick up something for my two girls, ages 6 and 2. So after the usual nap, I searched online to find a good toy store. I was sure a good gift might help them remember me.

Viola! La Grande Récré, which is a chain of toy stores in Paris was just a 20 minute walk from the hotel. I plotted my course on a map, and headed out the door on a mission.

On the way there, I stopped to watch a scene of road rage between a lady driving a Smart car who rear-ended a gentleman in a Renault at an intersection. A bit of an argument ensued, but it was diffused quickly. The French are rather entertaining when they have these ‘discussions.’ So of course, I had to stay to see if I could understand the dialogue.

The toy store was packed full of brands that I hadn’t heard of, just as I had hoped. I was thrilled to find the perfect present–something that would make me a hero for sure.

Since my oldest daughter loves to dress up, and she loves cats, the Princess Chat (cat) outfit was just the ticket. It was even pink, her favorite color. And it had little cat ears to go with it.

And for the 2-year-old, I bought a type of play-dough that I hadn’t seen before along with some bunny-shaped balloons and a package of colored pencils.

On the way back to the hotel, I picked up a sandwich and a drink at a small cafe near the hotel. Nothing fancy, but the quick meal meant more time to catch up with the blog and still get a good night’s sleep.

The next day, I was the co-pilot flying back to Boston with Captain Doug and the relief pilot, Mark. As is the case on most of Doug’s flights home, we had a complete picnic in the cockpit, forgoing the usual business class meal. The spread included some baguette, cheese, salami and ham. If I don’t stop flying Paris soon, the company is going to have to account for my increased ‘contribution’ to the aircraft’s weight and balance.

Back in Boston, I had an ego-strokingly smooth landing, which I’ve come to learn is invariably followed by a complete ‘thumper’ on the next trip. Occasionally though I’ll get a streak of these nice landings, right up to the point where I’m convinced I’ve got the airplane mastered, only to start a run of mediocre landings that last weeks at a time.

I’m not a golfer, but I would imagine there are similar frustrations between landing a jet and shooting a round of golf.

Finally arriving home just before dinner, I immediately presented the girls with their surprises. Enya was thrilled with the Princess Chat outfit and Meryl had a great time kicking the bunny balloons above her head.

It’s nice to fly to Paris, but by far the best part of the trip is coming home.

So what does a pilot do on their days off? The next morning I took the girls on a day-trip up north to a friend’s fly-in party.

Kelly is a co-pilot on the 767 out of Boston. She and her husband, also a 767 pilot, but for another airline, live on a residential airpark. An airpark is essentially a grass runway surrounded by homes with hangars instead of garages. Inside these hangars the residents keep small planes, often experimental home-built aircraft.

Kelly’s annual party is a great place for me to introduce the girls to flying, and it was a good opportunity for me to give my wife a break from watching the kids.

Enya had a chance to try out the controls in my friend’s Piper Cherokee.

Meryl enjoyed sitting in a friend’s home-built airplane. In fact, it was tough to get her to come out.

Many airline pilots have little interest in hanging out around small planes on their days off. I can’t fault them for wanting to do something else, but I’ve never considered personal flying similar in any way to the flying we do at work.

In fact, the two types of flying are so different that this just might be why more pilots don’t fly small airplanes. It comes down to the lack of familiarity. That, and the fact that it’s becoming more expensive every year.

Maybe it’s important to remember where you came from. For me, it was small airplanes like those at Kelly’s fly-in. It reminds me of a time when I would have killed to fly every day for two weeks straight.

Cockpit Chronicles takes you along on each of Kent’s trips as a co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 out of Boston.

Paris Airports Help Passengers Groove

by Josh Lew on

A service at Paris area airports will have people dancing in the terminals. Literally.

As a special summer promotion provided by Aeroports de Paris, dance classes will be offered to passengers before they hop, or samba, onto their flight. Call it France‘s version of the reality hit So You Think You Can Dance. Styles include tango, salsa, modern jazz, and mambo. There is even instruction in hip hop and rock and roll.

You are imagining a teacher wearing a leotard and leg-warmers prancing around Charles De Gaulle critiquing each step that students take, aren’t you? It’s not quite like that. Passengers are given a set of headphones on which instructions and music are played. They are pretty much on their own after that. The classes run for about 15 minutes and are only offered during weekend daytime hours.

According to airport authorities, over 4,000 people have used the service since it began at the end of June. No word yet on whether these ground-breakers participated willingly or not.

Are in-terminal dance classes the wave of the future? Or is it simply a ploy to get people talking about something besides how high oil prices are making air travel so damned expensive?

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Paris loves bike-share program so much it plans to launch electric car version

by Anna Brones on

The bike sharing program in Paris known as Vélib has been so popular that the city’s mayor is considering launching the same version with electric cars. Just like its sister cycle program, with Autolib a driver could pick up a car on the Left Bank, cruise the Champs Elysées and return it a couple of hours later with enough money left over for a pain au chocolat.

There is some debate regarding the program, which would launch in late 2009 or early 2010 with a fleet of 4,000 cars. Some — motivated by high gas prices and the parking nightmare — love it. Others are less excited, holding that it would lead to more car dependence in a city already packed with vehicles.

Judging by the craziness of Parisian traffic, I would personally stick with the bicycles. Take the metro or a nice stroll and save yourself some stress; leave that to the Parisians.

[Via Huffington Post]