An Aircraft Dispatchers Life

Busy...Busy...Busy!!

2011-07-26T09:03:00.000-10:00

My sincerest apologies for the tardiness in keeping things fllowing on this blog. Having a newborn in the house just changes the dynamics of life. Not much time to be spent on the blog and other things.

I hope to have a couple of post added to blog in the coming week or so.

Again thanks for visiting my blog.

A bad day...err week...ahhh make that...

2011-06-01T08:15:00.000-10:00

As with all operations a fluid as AIROPS are, we sometimes get caught in a downward spiral of endless delays, mechanical's and all the things that make civil aviation the thing it is today. We, meaning the airline I work for, just went through one of those "rough patches" recently. Now I love what I do and who I work for, but for the the past couple weeks, we in dispatch always seemed to be running an operation in crisis mode.

During one shift, I encountered several mechanical delays running into several hours of accumulated delays for all of our flights, a medical emergency at an out station and almost simultaneously an in flight emergency while the medical was going on, necessitating a return to field of our aircraft adding to the delays. I hate having to have our passengers delayed. Basically, SHIT HAPPENS!

Now, I hope at least for a while, that all this has passed and we can look forward to smoother skies for our airline. But for a while, man, it was a mental marathon with everything going on at once. Just glad to see everyone pull thru and take care of our passengers and get them to where they need to go safely, albeit a little bit delayed.

New Dispatcher

2011-05-02T06:57:00.000-10:00

So I haven't been posting as usual because I took some time off to be with my wife for the birth of our daughter.

So to the world, I introduce to you all the next "aircraft dispatcher" in the family or whatever she choses to do in life...

Aveya Skye Alohimaikalani...

(Her Hawaiian name means "The Blessing From Heaven)

Wake Island

2011-03-14T11:04:00.005-10:00

One of the pilots with whom I work with also happens to be a flight planner in the U.S. Air Force here in HNL. Recently he was tasked with handling a group of aircraft movements. Major Madson, call sign "Maddog" headed to Wake Island to dispatch the aircraft that were on layover and get them to their final destination.
While on Wake, he happened to take some photo's and sent them to me.
(All photo's, except where noted, courtesy of Maj. Madson)

Here's some background info on Wake. Wake Island (also known as Wake Atoll, pronounced /weik/) is a coral atoll having a coastline of 12 miles (19 km) in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu 2,300 statute miles (3,700 km) west to Guam 1,510 statute miles (2,430 km) east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. Access to the island is restricted, and all current activities on the island are managed by the United States Air Force.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo

The Battle of Wake Island began simultaneously with the Attack on Pearl Harbor and ended on 23 December 1941, with the surrender of the American forces to the Empire of Japan. It was fought on and around the atoll formed by Wake Island and its islets of Peale and Wilkes Islands by the air, land and naval forces of the Empire of Japan against those of the U.S., with Marines playing a prominent role on both sides.

The island was held by the Japanese until September 4, 1945, when the remaining Japanese garrison surrendered to a detachment of United States Marines.

Welcome to Wake Island!

Admiralty Command Post on the beach. The sign in the picture reads:

Historical Site

Japanese Admiralty

Command Post Built

By American Civilian POWS - Completed

1942

Another site built by American Civilian POWs, This sign reads:

Historical Site

Japanese Aircraft

Revetments Built By

American Civilian

POWS - Completed

1943

Maj. Madson standing next to "98 Rock".

The "98 Rock" is a memorial for the 98 U.S. civilian contract POWs who were forced by their Japanese captors to rebuild the airstrip as slave labor, then were blind-folded and killed by machine gun Oct. 5, 1943.

An unidentified prisoner escaped, and chiseled "98 US PW 5-10-43" on a large coral rock near their mass grave, on Wilkes Island at the edge of the lagoon. The prisoner was recaptured and beheaded by the Japanese admiral, who was later convicted and executed for war crimes.

The shell, of what once was the bunker for Major James Devereux, commander of the First Marine Defense Battalion on Wake Island.

Major Devereux fought for the defense of Wake for 15 days before being captured with his men and taken as a POW

The Marine Corps Memorial on Wake Island in remembrance of those who served there during the battle

The Base Operations Building on the airfield

The flight line with it's complement of A-10 and F-18 "Super Hornets" in the early morning awaiting their crews

During this mission, Maj. Madson caught a ride on an KC-10 mid air refuel over and back from Wake to dispatch the A-10 and Hornets. During which time he was able to take some shots of the mid-air refuel of a couple of the aircraft's

A refueling A-10 Thunderbolt, better known as the "Warthog"

And here, a Navy F-18 gets "topped off" by the Hawaii Air National Guard somewhere over the Pacific

Thanks again to Maddog for allowing me share these photo's of a very historic and important part of American History.

Lest We Forget...

God Be With You...

2011-03-13T09:06:00.000-10:00

A tragic time in Japan with the devastating earthquake and then the Tsunami.
My heart and prayers go out to all those affected by this tragedy.

Please consider making a donation to the Red Cross or your local disaster relief agency to help out the citizens of Japan especially those in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, during this time.

Japan Red Cross: http://www.jrc.or.jp/

Charity Navigator - Is a centralized site offering legitimate agencies that are offering help.
http://www.charitynavigator.org

Hide and Seek

2011-03-09T09:15:00.004-10:00

Here's one for the dispatch files. It's a first for me.

So look at the first picture. What do you speculate as to what's going on?

Okay, so we have panels open. Maintenance personnel standing around.

A problem with the nose gear? Or an avionics issue?

Nope! None of the above. This litte guy, a 5 inch long centipede was discovered by the flight crew cralling around. It appeared while the aircraft was on the ground and scurried away before it could be caught. Maintenance was called and they started opening panels looking for it. The aircraft was fumagated and I guess that was too much for it. It came out and was quickly "dispatched"! (no pun intended!)

Well be working with the security department to see how the centipede got onboard and by-passed security!

Dispatching "Con Air"!

2011-03-09T08:51:00.009-10:00

( For security and privacy concers, all photos displayed have been altered to protect the identites of those shown and sensitive infomation has been edited out of all photos and no specific details or information are provided ).

Island Air, has been providing flights to the State of Hawaii, Dept. of Corrections for prisoner transport more commonly known as "ConAir" since late last year. It's nothing like you think or saw in the movie. Prisoner transfer happen everyday all across the country. All are uneventful.

These flights are done and provide a controlled, safe, efficent and economical way of transporting a large number of prisoners between the neighbor islands instead of placing them on scheduled flights.

These flights normally are controlled by the Department of Corrections who advises us on which days they will need a transport and we then provide a crew and aircraft for them.

The ConAir flights are considered by Island Air Supplemental Operations conducted under Domestic Flight Rules.

Under FAR 121.537 Responsibility for Operational Control during supplemental operations, both the Captain of the flight and the Director of Flight Operations are jointly responsible for all aspects of the flight. The Dispatchers act for the Dir. of FLTOPS

As the dispatcher on duty, we monitor the flight and keep track of it. We provide a crew wth a dispatch release and current weather on the day of flight. All other aspects are routine. Crews receive a full briefing from the dispatcher. The aircraft is pre-flighted and then the crew awaits the passengers and guards for the flight.

While all transfer are done, state sherriff deputies closely oversee the operation.

From a dispatching point of view, "ConAir" flights are handled like any other flight.
It's just another day at the office.

Military Aviation in Hawaii

2011-03-06T10:43:00.013-10:00

Hawaii has always been a focal point of the U.S. Military. A strategic point in the Pacific. We are a critical link in the defense of the U.S. As some may or may not know, HNL is a joint civilian/military airfield. On any given day you can see a variety of military aircraft coming or going from here.

Here's a look of some of the aircraft that I have seen from my office window.

The U.S. Marine Corps VIP C-20, also known as the "Grey Ghost

A USAF C-40B Executive transport aircraft

A USAF C-130 Hercules aircraft arriving and taxing to Joint Base Pearl Harbor/Hickam, Hawaii

A Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 departing via RWY 22L in HNL

A Navy F-18 Super Hornet after departing 08L in HNL

Followed by a USAF KC-10 airborne refueler

Another refueler, the old but venerable KC-135 departing RWY 22L on a rainy day

A US Navy P-3 Orion turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft. As Ryan, a visitor to my blog pointed out, that Navy P-3 was recently painted in that old seaplane paint scheme in honor of the Centennial of Naval Aviation.
Thanks Ryan!

A USAF C17 based out of Elmendorf AFB in Alaska takes the high speed
after landing on 04R in HNL

And a pair of UH-60 of the U.S. Army practicing the ILS on RWY 08 at HNL

And probably the most recognized aircraft in the world...

Air Force One lands at Hickam Air Force (AFB) with US President George W. Bush on board for his first visit to Hawaii while holding office. On the ground, the second Boeing VC-25A.

(I've seen Air Force One twice, but never had a camera with me, so I got this photo from Wikipedia. Photo credit: CPL Roman Gray, USMC)

Hawaii is proud of it's service to our country and also of it's military personnel. These island will remain an integral part of the U.S. Military and the U.S.A. to ensure that all people and countries of the Pacific region remain a safe place

Hollywood comes to HNL

2011-03-06T06:07:00.020-10:00

I consider myself lucky to have my office right at the airport. I also consider it even luckier that my office overlooks Honolulu International Airport. Even though I'm busy alot, I do have the opportunity to take in the view of the airfield.

So today I was fortunate to have the opportunity of being able to see them film one of my favorite shows on TV, Hawaii Five-0 at the hanger next door.

Cameras roll as two actors portraying U.S. Marshall deputies are seen walking off the Grumman G-II.

In the shot is Officer Dan "Dano " Williams played by Scott Cann standing in front of his silver Chevy that he drives around with and LT Commander Steven "Steve" McGarrett played by actor Alex O'Loughlin. Both actors watch the action from the sidelines.

Cameras roll as the actors portraying U.S. Marshall's escort a prisoner from the aircraft. Actors Scott Cann and Alex O'Loughlin can be seeing standing in the foreground next to the silver car

This shot shows the actors waiting around and taking a break as they wait for the crew to set up. Once they completed with the shoot on the ramp, the cast and crew moved into the hanger for more shooting.

The Hawaii Five-O crew started at 0400L setting things up and cameras were rolling at around 0600L. They completed all filming on location by 1230L. I look forward to watching this unfold when the show airs sometime in the near future.

For more information on the show, go to:

www.cbs.com/primetime/hawaii_five_o

25 Years Ago...

2011-01-28T09:36:00.002-10:00

...on that cold January morning atop the Space Shuttle Challenger, rode seven astronauts. Each member as diverse as the United Sates is. All loved.

Please take a moment to reflect on these astronauts and all those that have gone before to help pave the way for our future in space.

"Their truest testimony will not be in the words we speak, but in the way they led their lives and in the way they lost those lives - with dedication, honor and an unquenchable desire to explore this mysterious and beautiful universe". - President Ronald Regan, Challenger Memorial Service, 1986.

Remember...

Richard "Dick" Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ron McNair, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.

IMC Practice

2010-12-22T08:33:00.001-10:00

Dispatching can be a challenge. Even on good days. But when weather sets in, it's a whole new dynamic.

On the 15th of Dec, This is what The North Pacific Surface Analysis was looking like. A long Low Pressure System extending from around Midway Island in the Pacific Northwest all the way across the Central Pacific and over into CONUS.

This is what the weather normally looks like around here, but as shown in the SA above, things were about to get wetter!

On Sunday morning the 19th of Dec this is what we came to work to. The beginning of 48 hours of weather to contend with (Our shift in dispatch is 9 hours). I myself actually look forward to days like this, it's because we rarely get them. Heavy rains mainly over Kauai to the west, Oahu and Western Molokai in the east. This shot of Doppler from weatherunderground.com show the cells in the area and intensity of moisture in the clouds. Upper level winds were light, but movement was from the WSW (West Southwest) direction.

On the ramp, rain gear is the uniform of the day as the weather makes the early morning preflights for the crews a fun one. Winds with the associated system was light and variable, so this caused having with visibility and ceilings. The wind wasn't there to keep the moisture moving so everything just "sat" around.

Later in the morning, visibility dropped to as low as 1/4 mile with +SHRA (heavy rain showers)and alot of TS (thunderstorms) in EMBD CB's (Embedded Cumulonimbus Nimbus clouds) here in HNL. We held flights going into MKK due to visibility was nearly zero. And LNY was slowly losing it's battle with the weather. Myself and the other dispatcher kept on updating the weather as quickly as it was being amended by the National Weather Service (NWS) and kept the crew well informed.

Now we know it was bad when HNL goes down below and alternates are required for the flights to return. Fuel loads were all increased for all flight outbound from HNL and inbound. By some luck when our flights were legal to depart, they all made it into their destinations on the first shot. No missed approaches occurred.

Due to the instability of the atmosphere over the Hawaiian Islands, we are looking at more continued wet weather into the Christmas weekend as another front approaches from the west.

In the mean time, it's back to blue skies and sunny weather...

...for now!!!

More Thunderbolts

2010-11-20T07:37:00.030-10:00

These three A-10's "A" models are returning from a Maintenance check flight after being sidelined for a few days at Hickam AFB (PHIK)

These aircrafts are from the 25th Fighter Squadron based in Osan, Korea.

Looks like everything checked out

PILSUNG!

Thunderbolts

2010-11-15T08:48:00.006-10:00

Early Friday morning, I was given the opportunity to observe the dispatching of a group of A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft that were relocating from Korea to stateside.

The morning started early at 0030L at the ACC operations building at Hickam AFB. I was given a briefing by the Maj, Madson who showed me what essentially was a dispatch packet for the flight crews. the time spent on the packet was about 4 hours prep time. This included weather, fuels overflight notifications, clearances and coordination with tanker ops which was part of this package.

The flight called a "coronet" by flight planning, is estimated to take 9 hours with an arrival time of around 1535L time stateside. There was to be an initial uplift of 2000 lbs of fuel, and 4 scheduled air refueling en route. Weather for the package was excellent with some storm activity south of the islands and a line of clouds well north of the proposed flight route. The Tanker commander was also briefed. Their call sign for the flight would be "Adobe".

From Hawaii to the west coast of the U,.S. was actually very clear and dry. Refueling times were covered as well as aircraft lead and wingman formations, call sign for this flight is "Zesty". Communication "freqs" and take off procedures discussed. With this done, time to head out to the aircraft!

"Zesty's" A-10's were part of a group which is scheduled for an upgrade to the A-10C models with enhanced targeting and electronic link capabilities, so the squadron was relocating the aircraft back to the states for this. Originally this flight was for 7 aircraft, but due to various mechanical and technical problems, it was lowered to 4 aircraft (this would change once again closer to departure time).

I was allowed to head to the flight line but needed to remain in the mobile air ops van for safety reasons. As I got to the flight line, alot of activity was ensuing. Ground crews were shuttling between aircraft. Crews were dressed in their gear and seated in the aircraft performing pre-flight checks in the cockpit.

As the crews continued to prep, a call came over ground freq advising the AAC of a problem with one of the aircraft. Seems that there was a fuel quantity indicator which had an indifference of 500+ lbs. One of the pilot's requested from "Zesty's" flight leader, call sign "McGruff", to occupy the spare aircraft that was there. He was approved for the swap.

By the time the the pilot had switched aircraft, his "McGruff's" aircraft had too developed problems, so the flight lead bumped the other pilot out of the spare and took it for himself. So one of the crew had an extra day in Hawaii. This now brought the package down to 3 aircraft.

Because of the swap, the flight was delayed an additional 30 min beyond estimated departure time and this was relayed to the tanker commander. But within 20 minutes, the flight was ready to depart Hickam. Time now as 0300L (1300Z). With the A-10's leading and the tanker following minutes behind them, "Zesty" launched from HNL on a clear night via runway 8R heading stateside. Followed 9 minutes later by "Adobe", the KC-10 tanker aircraft.

Thanks to Maj. Madson, call sign "Maddog" and the ACC as well as the flightcrew members of 25th Fighter Squadron for allowing me to "tag" along and observe the operation. PILSUNG!

Selfless sacrifices for our country...

2010-11-11T08:55:00.003-10:00

To all of our country's veterans, past and present...

Thanks for all you do for us!

I appreciate the sacrifices that you and your families have made for me, my family and the rest of the U.S.A.

May God continue to bless you all !

Finishing Up the Heavy Check

2010-11-03T08:58:00.002-10:00

So with the heavy check almost completed, maintnenace puts a new set of props on the aircraft #1 engine.

This aircraft is scheduled to return to service on 04 Nov. The #2 engine in the back awaits her new engine and set of props as well. After this, time for a run up and check out.

ZeRo G!!! WHEEEEE!!!!

2010-10-04T09:01:00.004-10:00

A few lucky individuals had the thrill of a lifetime when a charted Amerijet "ZERO G" B727-200 took about 10 people up for a few hours of weightlessness! The ZERO G plane, tail number N794AJ, was up for about an hour to give its guest the experience what it's like to be in space. This same aircraft took Hawaii math and science teachers up for an hour the next day as part of of an ongoing program with the Northrup Grumman Foundation.

According to their website, aboard their specially modified Boeing 727, G-FORCE ONE, weightlessness is achieved by doing aerobatic maneuvers known as parabolas. Specially trained pilots perform these aerobatic maneuvers which are not simulated in any way. ZERO-G’s passengers experience true weightlessness.

Before starting a parabola, G-FORCE ONE flies level to the horizon at an altitude of 24,000 feet. The pilots then begins to pull up, gradually increasing the angle of the aircraft to about 45° to the horizon reaching an altitude of 34,000 feet. During this pull-up, passengers will feel the pull of 1.8 Gs. Next the plane is “pushed over” to create the zero gravity segment of the parabola. For the next 20-30 seconds everything in the plane is weightless. Next a gentle pull-out is started which allows the flyers to stabilize on the aircraft floor. This maneuver is repeated 12-15 times, each taking about ten miles of airspace to perform.

After the plane landed and taxied to parking, I walked over an saw each individual come off the aft airstairs and celebrate their flight. Both the captain and another crewmember greeted them at the bottom and took a photo and turned their flight name tags right side up indicating they completed their 15 parabolas. Most looked like they were fine. On person, looked a little worn about the experienced, but beamed a big smile when cheered by his fellow teammates. One person even kissed the ground upon deplaning!

Looking Back

2010-10-04T06:46:00.005-10:00

So I'm sitting here in the dispatch office on day 1 of a 5 day work week. Been here since 1315Z and between our crews reporting for duty and briefings, I started thinking about my 20+ years here in the commercial aviation industry. I can't believe that starting off as a ramper, I'd end up as an aircraft dispatcher. I mean, I was happy just being next to these "beast" on the ramp rather than looking at the aircraft thru a window like some "animal in a zoo".

Growing up, flying interisland in Hawaii was a way of life. Everyone has family on the neighbor islands and you gotta fly to visit. I had no inclination that this is what I'd end up doing as a career. But what the hell, I'm glad that I'm in it. Once you work in aviation, they say, it's in your blood. You always want to return to it.

One of the things that I love about this industry is, and "NO!", it's not about the flying benefits, but the camaraderie that you develop with your co-workers. The other is all the interesting stories that you collect either thru personal experiences or that of your co-workers. I can think of numerous times that I have had something funny, sad, heart touching or any one of a dozen emotions that effect a human. I know, all of us in this industry could write a book on these topics.

There's a blog site called http://www.airlinenightmare.com/ . If you get a chance, check them out. The stories and experiences that they have on their blog are just downright hilarious. Other's just get you pissed! Either way, these are either the personal experiences or opinions by the blogs moderators and contributors. It's a great site if you want to read about the everyday going on's within the aviation industry.

Heavy Check!

2010-10-04T06:26:00.001-10:00

Growing up I thought that that an aircraft lasted "forever". As a member of the traveling public, some of us think that a plane is like the family car. Check the oil, the tires and change/add fluid as necessary. On occasion, we do a monthly check on the car and get our inspections done yearly. But with an aircraft, maintenance on these winged beauties are an on going process. Currently, one of our Dash-8-100's, N805WP, is in ourhanger for a "C" Check or a heavy inspection.

N805WP "Holomua" in the hanger

The check is very extensive. Every portion of the aircraft is scrutinized. From Nose to tail. Nothing is overlooked. Rivets that hold the skin flaps are inspected. Aircraft interiors are taken out. Items needing repair or replacement are addressed. Avionics inspects and test all the instruments

#1 engine removed. Leading edge boots removed. Her seats on the hanger floor, 805's heavy check in progress

In a rarely seen area are the control cables that are linked to the control column in the cockpit. When a pilot turns the the controls one direction or another or pushes or pulls back, these cables respond by moving the control surfaces of the aircraft in relation to the input

The cables run the length of the aircraft. Most aircraft have this type of configuration. The exception would be those aircraft that are "fly-by-wire" where electronic signals control the movements of the control surfaces

Looking thru the #1 engine mounting

Panels to the aircraft's rudder actuators are open and the elevator boots are missing

Looking thru the open cargo door, we can see the exposed pressure bulkhead and ducts.

The black marks on the wall to the left are from the constant scrapes of bags being placed in the hold

looking forward from the cargo door we see the cabin side panels removed for cleaning and inspection

Overhead cargo bins are still in place with the rest of the cabin covered and taped. Side panel installation is clearly visible as is the ceiling. The large opening is the under wing emergency exit

Here's another view of the cabin looking from the front to the rear cargo door area. Still alot of work to be done

Main cabin door area with the galley covered. This aircraft is st to come out of the hanger on 01 Nov. Still alot more to be done. I look forward to dispatching this aircraft again when she is done with the check. 805 is one of my favorite aircraft's

BIRD STRIKE!!

2010-09-19T11:28:00.001-10:00

Okay, so this kind of stuff happens on occasion. Areas like MKK and JHM are prone to having their fair share, perhaps more, of birds in and around the vicinity of the airport. Flying into these birds does happen. Most of the times when it does, it really a non event. Meaning that the bird takes a glancing blow either off the aircraft body or at times strikes the props and gets turned into a "flash of crimson".
But today was a little different. During the crew walk around after landing in MKK they discovered this:

The F/O was looking in the intake and found the feathers and a small blood trail leading into the intake.

So they checked the engine intake bypass and found this

(GRAPHIC PHOTOS...LOOK AT YOUR OWN RISK!!)

So, we got a birds carcass in the intake, but did ANY portion of the bird get sucked into the engine? Well, now we in dispatch pretty much ground the aircraft on MKK and get maintenance control to send an mechanic and inspector out to the aircraft on the next available flight to check. FOD or Foreign Object Damage is a serious matter and is treated that way at EVERY AIRLINE!

Two hours later...after a thorough inspection, the aircraft is released by maintenance and we can now re-dispatch the aircraft from MKK back to HNL to finish the remainder of the line, albeit 2 hrs delayed!

As for our feathered friend, well this is all that maintenance found of him...

Not much left. Not even a cat would want this as a snack!

The best thing was that no one was hurt. The plane landed safely and we didn't have to replace an engine. Even after this happened, the station's customer service was already rebooking passengers and trying to minimize the delay they would experience.

Unfortunately these things do occur and the crews are capable of handling it and the maintenance staff is capable of getting the aircraft back flight ready.

Aloha Air Cargo Engine Fire

2010-09-14T23:08:00.004-10:00

Early Sunday morning, Aloha Air Cargo's B-737-100 had an engine fire. The crew was returning to HNL when it loss the engine. Here's CFR from station 2 "rolling out" after the plane touched down on 4R in HNL.

A Heavy Heart...

2010-09-11T04:18:00.003-10:00

Always Remembered...

The March of the 737's

2010-08-24T02:42:00.001-10:00

There are many completed 737's transiting HNL on there way to Asia and Beyond. Here are some that I took but I have not posted on HNL RareBirds.

Here's a Malaysian 800 series taxing out to the reef runway (8R/26L). Many of these 737's have been purchased a while ago from Boeing, but only now are the airlines taking delivery of the aircraft.

Here comes a Lion Air 737-900ER series. Lion AIr, Indonesia's larget private airline is the launch customer for the 900ER series. They will be taking delivery of 30 of this type of aircraft and have the option for 30 more. These are to replace the older 737-300 and 400 series already in service with them.

As this monster taxis past my office, its wings actually go over the fence line. Minutes later a second one lands and both are parked next to each other during their one hour tech stop for fuel and food before procceding on to Majuro (MAJ).

2 down and 28 more to come for Lion !

Not only are the Indonesians and Malysians purchasing aircraft, the Chinese too are purchasing new aircraft for many startup's around the country. Here a Shandong Airlines 800 series taxi to a hardstand out on the south ramp.

Many more deliveries are coming thru HNL in the coming months. And this dosen't even count those that stop on the neighbor islands, like Virgin Blue that usually stops on LIH on there way down under.

For more info and other pics, visit http://www.hnlrarebirds.blogspot.com/

A Surprise Visitor

2010-07-15T23:04:00.002-10:00

With RIMPAC (Rim Of The Pacific) military exercise going on here in Hawaii, it was a surprise to see this aircraft flying over head. I first heard a diffrent engine noise and when I went outside my office to take a look, I saw this flying overhead...

It happened to be the latest version of the U-2

By the time I got outside, the aircraft must have been at about 2500 feet overhead heading east and still climbing.

Heading Home with a side of Lanai

2010-07-12T20:35:00.003-10:00

After a short and quick 15 minute turn in JHM/PHJH, we depart for HNL/PHNL.

We reach our cruising altitude for the 32 minute flight back. Nothing to look at during this flight because of the clouds below us at FL050. On this flight, we fly in the channel north of the island of Lanai (LNY/PHNY) and south of Molokai. Normally it's a great flight to see the middle islands, not today.

At 30 miles out we call the field as we are cleared down to FL025. The clouds around Honolulu are now mainly over the mountains with some high broken to overcast over the south shore. HNL tower clears us for the visual on the "channel approach" which is we fly towards the entrance to Pearl Harbor then make a visual right turn from base to runway 8L. This approach is favored by all the interisland pilots because of its close proximity to the taxiways that lead to the interisland ramp.

We start our turn to final for 8L. Since HNL is a shared field with Hickam/Pearl Harbor Air Base (combined field now for the military), it affords some great views of Pearl with the Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri in the distance and the Hickam flight line.

Showers again over Keehi Lagoon 2 miles away but noticeably HNL had some rain as to the sheen of water on 8L as we continue our landing.

After the landing, we get nailed by the rain that we saw as we taxied in to the gate.

20 minutes later were on the go again heading back to MKK and LNY.

WOW! what a difference 20 minutes make. The sun is now shining over the south shore of Honolulu. The tourist are getting their money's worth now that the rain has passed and the beaches are sunny. Ala Moana Beach Park is visible as the long stretch of sandy beach in the foreground with famous Diamond Head in the distance.

This leg goes to Molokai first, and since I covered that in Part one of this blog, I'm skipping to Lanai.

The approach to the airport starts on the south side of the island. The first thing you notice is the cliffs on the south shore. Rising 500 feet above the sea, it's both beautiful and imposing.

LNY was originally owned by the Dole Company and was nicknamed for many years "The Pineapple Island". That's because of most of the flat level land from the south shore cliffs to the town of Lanai was covered with Pineapple fields. A good portion of the pineapples that were shipped around the world came from Lanai. With changing times, labor cost for growing pineapples became more expensive, so after the fields had grown their last crop, they were left vacant. David Murdoch purchased the island from Dole and now his company, Castle & Cooke, runs the island and has developed two world class resorts to replace agriculture as the sole source of island income for its residents who were left without jobs when Dole pulled out of the island.

On glideslope...Lanai is one of those fields that you can have strong winds to low ceiling and visibility in a rather short time. The airport sits about 600 feet ASL and because of the mountains in the north, east and west sides, can cause clouds to "sit" in what we refer to as "the bowl".

Welcome to bright and sunny Lanai!

We depart Lanai and within a short 30 minute flight were back in Honolulu. This is the approach to 4R which takes us over 8R/26L better known as the "Reef Runway".

After landing we taxi to via "Bravo" taxiway to cross 8L/26R at "Golf". We wait while an American Airlines 757 lands. just behind the tail taxing up to the interisland terminal is Hawaiian Airlines new Airbus. Just one more round trip and I'm done for the day.

Hope you enjoyed this little series. Thanks for reading!

The Short Hop!

2010-06-16T21:54:00.004-10:00

So on to the next destination , Kapalua-West Maui or just Kapalua Airport (JHM/PHJM). The rain that was north of the field in Molokai still held there as we departed. As we begin our departure, with the standard left climbing turn to FL050, thence to the VOR heading 100 degrees to BOGEE INT.

We start to board our flight for the departure from MKK.

As you can see the clouds which are now covering the interior of Molokai to the left and extending east as we climb thru FL020 to our cruise altitude of FL050 (this portion of the flight is only 15 min long from block to block)

We continue eastward flying over Kaunakakai and the wharf (It's that little piece of land just at the very middle bottom of the F/O's window). The crew is busy at this point being as we are about to go IMC.

Though directly in front is in overcast conditions, just south of Molokai, the channel is clear and you can see Lanai island.

The overcast conditions that await us over West Maui. The mountains of east Molokai are to the left of us and shrouded in heavy clouds and rain.

"In the soup". We are now IMC and established on the 100 degree heading to BOGEE INT which is about 3 minutes away.

Here's the approach procedure into JHM.

At 24.4 DME and about FL029 from the MKK VOR we start to break out of the clouds.

As we get lower and closer, the coast line becomes visible. The approach into JHM is a rather tricky one for the crews. For noise abatement, aircraft must cross the shoreline no lower than 1800 ft. Only upon crossing the shore line may the turn from base onto final begin. So this almost seems to like your diving into the airport.

Approaching the shore line the field is visible thru the rain just near the right edge of the window.

Crossing the shoreline and turning onto final for RWY 02.

Established on final. RWY 02 just ahead on the edge of the rain.

One thing about the approach into JHM is that the runway is on 3000 ft long. There are ravines on either end of the runways. The winds are usually always a direct crosswind which includes wind shear on the short final. When I was a flight attendant, I used to tell passengers that landing in Kapalua was like landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Quick, violent and unforgettable!

Fifteen minutes after departing Molokai, here we are in a rainy Kapalua-West Maui.

Jumpseat Requalification

2010-06-11T12:16:00.001-10:00

So, May/June for me is recurrent month. All of my dispatcher currency is due in late May till early June. Since I still had ground school to contend with, I decided to take a day and do my jumpseat requal first.

As dispatchers, we are required by FAR to occupy the jumpseat for five hours of observation. An hour can be substituted for every additional takeoff and landing down to two and a half hours. I decided to do our HNL-MKK-JHM-HNL and HNL-MKK-LNY-HNL legs with an additional HNL-JHM-HNL to requal on which based on the time, would give me 2.9 hours.

Show time for this was at 0555 at dispatch. I would be flying with Capt. Johnson and F/O Feddersohn and rounding out our merry crew was FA Muldowney in the back. N805WP would be our ship assigned to this trip. After the brief by the dispatcher we proceeded to our aircraft for the pre-flight and then taxi over to our gates at the commuter terminal.

Once loaded, with pax and commissary we taxied out to 8L via Lima and was cleared for immediate departure.

Once airborne, we proceeded to PHMK/MKK airport. This early morning the ceiling was at about FL022 so we were in IMC conditions shortly after take off. But above FL040, it cleared out nicely.

Left turn to proceed direct the MKK VOR.

This portion of the trip, HNL-MKK is only 17 min flight time, so it's a real busy flight for the crews. This morning's flight is no exception.

Our radar "paints out" the island of Molokai Because of the amount of clouds on the approach, we will be doing the MKK VOR A approach into MKK.

As we begin to break thru the clouds, we can see that the south shore is clear of clouds and we can see the MKK airport in the distance. From here its just a few more minutes before were established on the approach and we are landing. Like I said, a real busy leg for the crews.

Looking along Molokai south shore towards Kaunakakai.

Established on the base leg of our approach, The airport is in the clear of the weather that we had been in shortly after departure from HNL.

On short final to RWY 05, weather is starting to close in from the north

Welcome to Molokai!

Next blog...off to Kapalua-West Maui

Aloha Airlines Flight 243...22 Years Later

2010-04-28T18:09:00.006-10:00

Twenty-two years ago today, Aloha Airlines flight 243 departing Hilo (ITO) and heading to Honolulu (HNL), suffered a catastrophic decompression of the aircraft after reaching its crusing altitude of 24,000 ft. The Boeing 737 was later found to have severe corrosion with several rivets and skin joining flaps.

Seated in row 7, seat A on the left side of the aircraft was my father. Dad was coming home from a business trip. With construction businesses shut down because of the weather that day in Hilo, he decided to take an earlier flight home. The next available flight was 243. Boy did he have a story to share with all of us the next day!

Here's N73711 about 30 minutes into the evacuation. Passengers are starting to take in the magnitude of the event they were apart of.

The man standing on the left at the very end in the blue shirt is my dad. He said that he was just trying to figure out a way of telling my mom WHY he was on THIS flight and not the later flight he was scheduled to take!!

The famous photo which was seen around the world and made LIFE magazines End of the Year images of 1988 edition. Photo taken by passenger Bob Nichols

This is my dad. He left us on 24 Sept

Love and miss you!!

A Enduring Classic Cruises By

2010-04-27T20:37:00.002-10:00

What a surprise to see this military heavy taxing past our offices. Considering that Hickam AFB (HIK) is on the complete opposite side of the airfield. On occasion, we get a "visiting crew" that is unfamiliar with HNL field and end up on the south ramp. Breaks up my routine and gives me a chance to view a classic aircraft that has been serving our country for 30 years in June.

Morning Departure

2010-04-27T19:49:00.004-10:00

Recently, We had a patch of overcast weather covering the State of Hawaii. But on this morning, as the sun came up, I was able to grab a shot of one of our aircraft departing HNL from runway 04L just as the sun peaked out of the clouds. I especially love working our morning shifts!

Early morning arrival

2010-04-08T20:20:00.001-10:00

On a rainy morning comes a Kalita B747-100 devoide of it's usual Kalitta colors of black gold and red. This flight is arriving from LAX.

Awaiting its fate

2010-04-08T19:53:00.002-10:00

All alone on the south ramp infront of our hanger sits N808WP. A Dash-8-103, serial #26 and built in 1986, has come to an end of its life as the airframe has timed out. Removed of it's engines and other vital parts it awaits it's fate to come.

RWY 8L Departure

2010-03-03T22:03:00.002-10:00

With runway 8R (Reef Runway) closed for monthly maintenance, 8L now is busy with "heavy" departures. Here is a shot of a Hawaii Air National Guard C-17 departing and flying directly over my office.

Serving in Far Off Distant Places

2010-02-21T01:25:00.002-10:00

When you get a chance, click on the attached link and read two great reports from Michael Yon.
Michael Yon is a freelance journalist who has spent more time imbedded with our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines out in the field and writing about them and brings a real no BS sense of reporting.

The two stories are titled Special Delivery and SEVEN. Please take a moment to read them and to view his site. Here's the link: http://www.michaelyon-online.com/

Photo courtesy of: Michael Yon

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T18:13:00.000-10:00

Here's wishing you all a very healthy and prosperous new year in 2010!!

Look for more updates this year.

"Old School" Dispatching

2009-12-14T22:45:00.002-10:00

If you're an aircraft dispatcher nowdays, you probably use all the latest in dispatching software and tracking devices to make your job easier. Well, where I work at, since we're a small outfit, we don't need to use all the high speed, high tech gadgets that the bigger airlines use. Sure we have computer's and we've designed our own programs to make our releases and figure weights and burns out, but what I really like about how we do things is we interact with the crews. Every morning, crew arrive in dispatch and we give them a briefing and discuss things person to person. Makes for better dispatch resource management.

So here the dispatcher station. Briefing counter to the right and a great view (when the aircraft is not parked there) of HNL/PHNL and RWY 4R/22L

A little closer look shows the important stuff like ICED COFFFEE!!!

If I didn't have one of these in the morning, I'd be dead in the water!

Up on the far left screen screen we have weather-

satellite loops and printed weather reports, on the center screen
releases and fuel slips and more weather via Pilot Brief on the far right.

Here's what the release look like. Three copies printed ot per crew. Our releases are are done for the whole trip line and are amended as necessary during the days ops. New release are faxed out to crews (No ACARS system here)

Flights throughout the day are tracked via the GANTT. Alot of airlines use a computer based system to track flights, but since we have a smaller ops this works just as great. Since the islands are within a 30 minute flight time (the exception being the Big Island of Hawaii) we can contact the aircraft via the base radio (air to ground) or if further out, via AIRCELL.

Crossing the "puddle"

2009-11-15T06:33:00.005-10:00

After spending a few days in SFO, I jumpseated back to HNL on UA. I love jumpseating on UA because I have never had a problem with them and the crews and staff are really great. My departure was on a UA 777-200

Here were are departing SFO/KSFO on the San Francisco Eight Departure.

San Francisco is in the distance with the peak of San Bruno Mountains just over the F/O shoulder

With San Francisco behind us, we continue our westward climbout over the Pacific Ocean

After five hours over the Pacific, the north east shore of Oahu comes into view. Here's a view of Marine Corps Base Hawaii in the foreground and Kaneohe Bay. Off in the distance is Kahaluu, Kualoa and Kaaawa.

Passing just east of HNL/PHNL on the MAGGI3 arrival

Turning base for a visual to RWY 08L. The Ewa plains in front of us

Power set. Flaps extended. Gear down and locked. Landing checklist complete. 08L in front of us. Almost home

Back home in HNL!

Thanks to the crew of Flt 73!

Virgin America Ops Control

2009-11-12T05:36:00.005-10:00

A couple of weeks ago, I got a chance to visit Virgin America's corporate offices in Burlingame, CA. Virgin was AWESOME!! The employee's are just simply great. They call themselves the "People Team", and they truly are. While there I got to pop into their operations center and of course, me coming from a small commuter airlines, I was impressed with the set up.

To me, of course, this looks like a mini Mission Control at NASA.

Thanks Sandra, Adam and the rest of the team at Virgin for letting me
get a peek at Operations Control.

Adrenaline rush...for the crew

2009-11-11T09:17:00.000-10:00

What a morning!! Started out with the possibility of a bad weather day to a full blown emergency!

One of our aircraft had nose gear problems while performing the landing check list. So instead of landing on Lanai (LNY/PHNY) the crew opted to return to Honolulu (HNL/PHNL).

It's a good thing to have "three mains" down and locked when you land.

Another day in the dispatch office

2009-11-09T07:26:00.007-10:00

Here's the wall as you enter the Flight Ops offices at the hanger. Cory from marketing did the work. It came out great. Thanks Cory!

This is the second day of a 5 day work week. An early start at 0315. Here's the view from my dispatcher desk overlooking the airport and our ramp. (HNL/PHNL)

I get the AWESOME sunrises from my office with the early start...

(I can't help it that I work in such beautiful place!!)

The 0315 shift is my favorite to work. I get to start everyone's day.

(Sorry about the grainy pics...I'm using my iPhone camera till I get my digital camera operational again)