Last Post of theYear!

My last trip of the year took me to Louisville, Kentucky to fly UPS cargo to Dallas, Texas. This was a very unusual trip for me, because we flew six legs all inside the continental US. I could understand the controllers and they almost always gave us "direct" - it was wonderful. We made it out of Dallas right before the snow storm hit on the 24th. Everything worked out and I landed in Boise at about 7:30pm - perfect timing if I do say so myself.
Wilder family Christmas was fantastic.
Monday Jackson, Jordan and Sidney and I drove up to Bogus Basin for some fun in the snow. Sidney skied and the rest of us snowboarded. This was Jordan's first time on a snowboard and I think she may be converted. We went up again today. I love riding, there is just something about carving that must release all the good chemicals in my brain, I would go every day if I could.















Sky above the snow in Dallas.














Sidney, Jordan and Jackson - PBnJ brake.















Jordan with her ride.















Jordan and friend Emily.


Sidney was too fast on the slopes for me to get any pictures!

Random Pictures

Big Airbus A380 at London Heathrow airport.

















A Mosque in downtown Bahrain.


















Same Mosque during the day.


















Bahrain World Trade Center.













Something musical about these buildings.














Construction is on going in the gulf states. In the 80's the during the first gulf boom, most of the buildings were made from concrete mixed with sea water; because of their weakened state they are being replaced bigger and better - sometimes stranger.













I like the symmetry of this couple.

How big is Djibouti?

That’s right, I’m going to Djibouti. I love saying “Djibouti”, and all the 3rd grade humor that it brings to mind. This will be my first time in Djibouti (excuse me). Today I’m making my way to London for a 24-hour layover.
It was a great day for flying to Chicago today; mostly clear skies from Boise to the Bad Lands of South Dakota. The view must have been fantastic from up front. From my economy “plus” seat I saw some of the Frank Church Wilderness, the Grand Tetons, some of Yellowstone and Cody, Wyoming. Some of my favorite flying was done in this part of the country. Back then I flew a lot lower and slower. For almost six years I flew for a company called American Check Transport. We flew mostly bank checks; this flying is obsolete now, but at one point hundreds of planes filled America’s skies (mostly at night) every banking day moving around billions of dollars in canceled bank checks.
I flew a Navajo (PA-31) all over the inter mountain west. The longest flying day at American Check was flying out and back to Cody, Wyoming. As I recall we started from Salt Lake about 5:00am and made stops in Rocksprings, Lander, and Worland before resting in Cody. Resting consisted of trying to sleep in a semi-heated hanger on a couch in an old sleeping bag after shooting 4 approaches to minimums, knowing the weather was forecast to get uglier for the flight home. You may ask yourself why would anyone willingly fly a 30-year-old piston plane through the mountain snow and ice of Wyoming for little more than minimum wage. I can only say that if you ask that question you must not be a pilot (and if you are, you must have gotten your training in the military). It was all about time. Seven plus hours of flying a day! And on top of that, all of it would be in the clouds with 8 approaches! I was told that if I could survive a winter in the mountains, I would make a good pilot. That’s all I ever wanted.
In the summer time I would fly low and run with the wild horses over the plateau between Worland and Cody, fly down mountain passes between Grand Junction and Durango and dodge thunderstorms flying into Salt Lake (later we flew in the Midwest were I learned how to dodge real thunderstorms) without radar. I can’t think of a better job; they gave me an airplane with no supervision! It’s a quirk of not just the aviation industry that hardest jobs pay the least amount of money. Back then I flew alone, at night, with no radar, no gps, no moving map at altitudes right in the worse of the weather. Today I never fly alone and have all the fancy avionics (moving map with weather radar overlay and FMS): I fly above most of the weather and I don't have to load the cargo – the younger me worked much harder.

A video the Benson wanted to do. Jackson is on the camera.

What day is it?

On paper my schedule didn't look that bad; just a quick 5 day trip with one working leg. Scheduling called about 10am and asked if I could be on the 4:30pm USAir flight bound for Atlanta. Easy money- plus I love to fly and who wouldn't want to visit Bishkek for 3 hours and bring Marines home?
I had enough time to pack (I always pack the same stuff, whether the trip is 5 days or 2 months, doesn't matter winter or summer), cut my hair (I cut my hair myself - that's the reason it looks the way it does), and pick the boys up from school so I could say good bye (Benson saw me in my uniform and started to cry - some of my passengers have the same reaction when they see me).
After three days being a passenger I flew a Bishkek rotation out of Leipzig - Marines in and Marines out. But instead of going home - two more days on Lufthansa to Abu Dhabi - I flew a Tianjin, China turn.
Tianjin is pretty close to Beijing, and it was my first time there. The flight into China was during the night, but the way out was all daylight. We were able to see the Great Wall, I didn't take any pictures (yes, sometimes we have to work). Our route took us across northern China, over the Gobi desert (I have never seen sand dunes that big, some of the biggest in the world), across the Karakoram mountains into Pakistan then we clipped the corner of Iran and flew up the north east coast of Oman into the UAE. The weather was very good and we got a great view of K2. Even on a good day K2 still looks like it would kill you. We crossed the Karakoram range at 32 thousand feet, the MSA (minimum safe altitude) for our area was 30 thousand feet. It reminded me of flying a seneca in the Rockies. It would have been cool to fly a DC-3 over the hump!
I woke up this morning and I couldn't remember what day it was - at least I knew what city I was in (sometimes it's a challenge to remember what hotel room I'm in). Too many days with minimum rest (12 or 14 hours depending on what type of flying I'm doing). One more flight tonight and I will start making my way home. I will be home for Thanksgiving!








What is that mountain doing at 32,000 feet?

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K2 and friends.

Leipzig - Bishkek - Dubai

We started out our day of flying from Leipzig, Germany with three captians, one first officer, eight flight attendends, one mechanic, one ops. rep. and 275 Marines bound for Bishkek. The meal on the first leg was very good (its hard to call any meal served on a plane great, but I really like this one); little bratwurst, sauerkraut, and mashed potatos.

The weather at Bishkek, Manas airport was a lot better than forecast, but still cold. In Bishkek we picked up some more Marines headed home to Japan - the very long way. There are many countries that we can not fly over when we carry the military.















We had to fly back around Iran, which added 3 hours to the flight time, to Dubai, U.A.E. We rolled into the hotel about 22 hours after we left Leipzig. Out my window, I had a good view of the Burj Dubai tower, tallest building in the world.

More aroung Leipzig

Saint Nicholas Church, Leipzig

20 years ago, here in Leipzig something wonderful happened. A prayer meeting was held at Saint Nicholas church. After the meeting the people did something that was very dangerous, something others had been imprisoned for, something people had been killed for; they said they were unhappy with their government. The next Monday they met again to pray and voice their opposition, they met together every Monday in September 1989. By October thousands of people were demonstrating and Germans in the west were adding their support. November 9, 1989 the Wall came down, Germany was to be one country again. The fall of East Germany was nothing less than a miracle. Some may have said that the Wall would come down; it had to, because capitalism kicked communism’s butt – it was all about the money. That may have been true, but that wasn’t the miracle; the miracle was that this revolution was so fast and so peaceful and had at its heart, prayer.

Saint Nicholas Church

Ceiling of Saint Nicholas Church

196 years ago this month Napoleon suffered one of his greatest defeats in Leipzig, Germany, leading to his first exile to Elba. When flying into Leipzig today (if you land on runway 8R) the monument to this battle stands out even from 10 miles away. The Völkerschlachtdenkmal stands 300 feet tall and is the biggest memorial in Europe. My pictures don’t give any scale, but this structure is massive. The Knights on top of the monument are about 50 feet tall. Soldiers from 20 different nations fought in the battle, but the monument is all-German. Down the hill from the Völkerschlachtdenkmal is a cemetery with another memorial; this one built by the DDR (East German) government. A monument to those who gave their lives fighting fascism; this is the polar opposite to the Battle of the Nations monument. German national pride always seems to be way too big or way too small.

Memorial for those who fought against fascism

A mural commorating reuionification.

One of the best meals in Germany - Brat at the train station.

View from the back.

Evening take off from March A.B.

Marines aren’t like everyone else.

Friday I rode back to Atlanta one of our aircraft. This flight was from Leipzig, Germany, where we picked up Marines coming home from Afghanistan to Cherry Point, North Carolina.

They were very happy when I saw them boarding the plane. This was the last leg home. Some of them were a little happier that others, because in Leipzig – if the troop commander allows it or looks the other way – they can drink. One Marine was eager to tell me of the 2 jack and cokes, 2 jagermeisters and 3 beers he had consumed in the hour and a half that the passengers had been off the plane (he was asleep before take off). They were all excited and talkative. I was setting in the last row by the lav and was able to talk to a few of them.

Keaton wanted to talk about how his whole family and wife would be there to meet him, and how they had set up a party for him. Out to dinner and then several bars. He said he just wanted to go to a hotel and chill. He wanted just to talk to his family without the added pressure of strangers around.

Stone asked me about being a pilot. He is getting married next month to his high school sweetheart. His job was a 50-caliber gunner on a fuel truck (we both had to laugh). He talked about the conditions in Afghanistan. Stone is proud to be a Marine, “one of the president’s own” he said. He said the Marines always do more with less. The Marine Corps spend $20,000.00 less per marine than the other forces spend per man. Some of the Marines on my flight had Viet Nam era M-16s. Stone is a mechanic but a rifleman first. He has been a Marine for almost 4 years, and is getting out in April. This Marine who mans a 50-caliber target on top of a truck full of JP8 is worried most about providing for his family. He said bullets don’t frighten him; not having a job after April is what keeps him up at night.

Kirk talked about the 6 month old son he will see for the first time.

All of these men talked little about the fighting in Afghanistan, they had nothing to prove to me and I think they knew I would not comprehend their experiences. They all seemed to want to be a part of that world outside of combat. I don’t get ride in the back with the troops very often, so I asked some of the flight attendants about bringing troops home; they said the troops are always talkative on the way home. Many times telling their whole life story to the flight attendants.

Sometimes while flying troops home I will receive a request to make an announcement upon crossing into US airspace. Whenever I make this announcement I hear a loud cheer from the back. I love to be part of that. Bringing troops home is way better than flying cargo. When the wheels touch down (no matter how bad the landing is) there is a cheer also. Stone said he would love my job, because he could bring Marines home. That’s one of the many reasons I love it too.

Marines on their way to war aren’t as talkative. Not too much joking around (there is some, because, well, they are still Marines), no clapping on landing, or cheers crossing into foreign airspace. I flew some more Marines out of March A.B. to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I rode with them in the back to Leipzig. They would eventually end up in Afghanistan.

I am so grateful for these men and woman. I wish I could bring them all home.

View from the back landing in Leipzig.

Back to Work

After 33 days off (I love my job), I was called back to work.
In August, after backpacking with Sidney, the whole family went back to the Idaho mountains for a Cluff family reunion (we camped between Crouch and Silver Creek Plunge). Two days after returning home we left again on a two week family vacation. Needless to say, no bathroom tiling was done in July and August looks no better.
For our vacation we drove to Fort Bragg, California to visit my sister and here family. They live almost, right on the beach. We had beautiful weather and a great time. Then we drove down to San Francisco for three days in the City by the Bay. On the way home, we stopped by Yosemite.

Jackson on the Pacific








Kids around a Redwood
(classic family photo)







Kris and I - Fort Bragg Sunset








Benson watches the ocean








Jordan and I with Half Dome








Sidney on a beach walk








Now I'm back at work. I started out in Chicago, flying for Lufthansa Cargo to Frankfurt. After a short layover, I was to commercial on Egypt Air to Sharjah (UAE) through Cairo.
When the counter agent for Egypt Air would not let me keep my carry-on, it was over the 8kg limit, I knew this was the start of another long day. The bus out to the parking stand loaded at departure time (aircraft departure time), so Egypt Air missed its slot time. In Europe and some other parts of the world aircraft are filed for slot times. This is the time at which the plane must be airborne. If you miss your slot time you have to go to the back of the line, which usually means a delay of 45 to 90 minutes. This was not good news, because I only had 1 hour and 15 minutes on the ground in Cairo. I landed in Cairo with just enough time to run to one end of the terminal and watch the plane taxi out. After a long discussion with an Egypt Air service manager, I had just enough time to run to the opposite end of the terminal and get on a flight bound for Dubai (good news) with out my luggage (bad news). Checking your bag in is like betting on the Cubs to win, you really want it to happen but your not too surprised when they don't show up.
So, I spent a couple of days in Sharjah waiting for my luggage to find me, which was fine, because there isn't much to do in Sharjah during Ramadan.
Tuesday morning we started what would become a marathon 25 + hour duty day, flying down to Lagos, Nigeria and back to Sharjah for Etihad Airways cargo. It is never simple flying to Lagos, and thinking that there will not be some kind of delay is like betting that the Cubs will win in the post season. In theory, it could happen, but then again statistics don't always tell the whole story.

World MD11 takes off from Lagos Nigeria.

After a day of sleeping I commercialed to Budapest, Hungary (two cities for the price of one - Buda and Pest). A beautiful city especially at night, but you have to remember the reason all those women are talking to you; you are not that good looking. - Not running into a "night flower" in even the nicest areas of Budapest is like betting the Cubs will win the World Series - it hasn't happened for 100 years and no goat is going to change that.

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Bishkek Trip

Antonov An-124

This last trip, I was away from home for 11 days, and flew one, 6 hour and 30 minute flight. Not the optimum crew utilization. My only "live flight was from Leipzig, Germany to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. We carried 308 troops on their way to Afghanistan.

Some of my non-TSA approved passengers.

I didn't do much in Bishkek, but stay at the hotel. The mountains around the city are beautiful.

I haven't been to Leipzig for a while, so it was fun to have a few days to kick about. I was hoping to see my friends the Bauerfeinds, but they were on vacation to Croatia. I did get to attend church and was invited to spend the afternoon with the stake president and his family, it was fun.

LDS chapel in Leipzig, Germany.

This chapel was built before the wall came down around East Germany. These members have many cool stories to tell.

I was scheduled to fly at least four more legs, but the aircraft I was to fly had a problem. This is a picture from the tail pipe of the number one engine on an MD-11. You do not usually see fan blades piled up like this.

At about 13,000 feet, taking off from Leipzig the crew heard what sounded like a compressor stall and then experienced a catastrophic engine failure. Not the best of days, but the MD-11 has 3 engines - so, no big deal if we loose 1.

Because of that crews bad day, I got to go home early as I had no plane to fly.

Budapest

Only 15 hours in Budapest, Hungary and most of
the time was spent sleeping. I wish there would have been more time to explore. What a beautiful city.





























The flight back to Baltimore was empty, the whole cargo bay was the "bunk".