Wednesday 2/25/15 God's Co-Pilot

Dear Father in Heaven: Thanks for watching over this line, and thank You for this special blessing. Please bless this message, the writer, and his family. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters, about a week or so ago, I was writing on the subject of Keeping Safe and how God keeps us safe but we also need to  have feet on our prayers to help God keep us safe. Well, I can write about keeping safe  here on the ground, but when it comes to putting an airplane in the sky, I do not have a clue as what to do. So I called on a dear friend of mine, Charles Wotring, whom I met through the Museum of Bus Transportation. Knowing Charles and his wife Janet, I believe them to be "saved." Charles has a long history in aviation and is a "safety nut" (my term for someone who has great concern for his vessel and those on board.) When I managed a school bus fleet, safety was our number one concern. I told drivers they could not go back for another load of kids if they smashed the first load, and I often used eggs as an example, as in if you break a dozen eggs you can go get more. The passengers in an aircraft, like a bus, cannot be replaced. I do not know how often Charles might have called upon the Lord to take  him out of trouble, that is a personal thing between God and him. So using this scripture I will send this along with my blessing. Charles refers tome as "Driver Dan."

Isaiah 40:31 - But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with WINGS AS EAGLES; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (King James Version)

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Hello there, Driver Dan,

"Looking at the big picture the  most dangerous part of flight ... accident wise ... is the take-off and landing arena ... On the ground ... unauthorized airplanes on or crossing an active runway when another airplane in taking off or landing ... especially at night. This will be addressed in another message.

Concerns of the flight crew (not including the cabin/flight attendants) starting after the Flight Attendants close the cabin door.

1. Engine start ... Hot start or a fire. A hot start is when the engine exhaust rises rapidly (first indication) meaning faster than normal and quickly reaches a maximum allowable temperature. The corrective action is to abort the start ... WITH HASTE! If the fire warning system is activated you have a big problem and a restart is not permitted until maintenance staff evaluate the situation. If there was no fire warning ... the situation could have been caused by a high tail wind and the airplane could be towed and positioned with the nose headed more into the wind.

2. Once the engines are running, seldom do serious safety problems ... other than with other airplanes, occur during ground operations. This statement does not address systems being checked or monitored (watched) by the flight crew ... which sometimes require the airplane to return to the gate if certain parameters are not met.

By the way, anytime the airplane is moving on the ground or once cleared for takeoff ... and operations below 10,000 feet, the cockpit is sterile. This means no talking about anything not having to do with the flight operation at hand. This aviation term has nothing to do with the birds and the bees of the gender of the persons on the flight deck.

Looking ahead ... discussion will concern the actual take-off from being cleared to take off ...

A BIG CONCERN IS FIRE! A fire warning ... which is a bell and fire warning light. This is the time the flight crew dreads ... because a fire is a danger which may not be controllable and may be a good time to follow the procedures and add in a prayer ... I never experienced this situation in real life so I cannot share with anyone what my feelings were.

The procedure of a fire warning, on the ground or in-flight is ...

1. Coordinated identification of what engine is having the problem ... between who all is up front ... and silence the fire bell and resetting the master warning system so it is ready for the next problem you hope you do not have.

2. Next ... The power level (throttle) is retarded to flight idle and you want to see the fire light go out. If the light went out it warning indicated an overheat condition in the engine pod between the actual engine and cowling ... in which case the engine is usually left running in the idle position. Since the flight is not over yet,it could come to pass a sick engine may save the day if something happened to the other one or ones, as the case may be.

There are so many gauges/instruments it is not possible to monitor all of them all of the time ... so there are a multitude of oral warnings (tones, other electronically generated sounds), and lights with even some lights which tell the crew there is another light or gauge to look at. Flying today in a modern jet aircraft is more a management task than flying by the seat of your pants like 50 or more years ago.

3. If it stays illuminated ... position the power level to cut off (shut down) and you want to see the light go out.

4. If it stays lighted, pull the fire handle which isolated all systems going to and from the engine ... and you want the light to go out.

5. If the light stays illuminated send the first fire extinguisher ... and you want to see the light go out ...

6. If the light stays lighted ... send the second fire extinguisher ...

7. If the light stays on ... you either  have a big problem or there was a malfunction in the overheat and fire warning system.

While all of the above is going on with the normal 2 pilot crew up front ... the pilot flying, is heading to an appropriate airport after either he or the other pilot alerted Air Traffic Control of the emergency.

Bottom line is knowledge, training, testing and a plan discussed before each take-off so everyone involved is on the same page, so to say.

Some pilots can go through their entire career and not have had to handle a serious in-flight problem. Modern day airplanes properly maintained are much more reliable than airplanes of 50 years ago. Back in the day when a United States certificated Air Carrier flew over big bodies of water (the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans) they used four (4) engine piston powered airplanes. Today two (2) engine jets are predominant.

Observations:

1. I enjoyed a primary career in aviation ... starting out as a heavy jet airplane mechanic in the USAF then becoming a pilot ... flying, teaching and evaluating ... for over 30 years. Highest profile passengers ... President Johnson, Lady Bird and the girls.

2. By the way, the highest rating the FAA has is the Airline Transport Rating. The test for this rating is even more stringent than any military flight test, even for pilots flying Air Force One. If a US registered airplane weights over 12,500 pounds ... and is used in certificated airline service, the Pilot in Command holds an ATR and a type rating for that specific make and model airplane.

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Now I am back. I know a few more are coming and I might have another here to send. This will be an addition to my daily writing. I hope you enjoy these writings of Charles Wotring. By the way, the Wotrings are owners of "Royal Coach" and sell all kinds of bus things.