Who Do I Think I Am!

Just who am I? Thinking I can be an authority on matters aviation related? Well here goes the disclaimer. I don't. I will however give an honest account and be as factually correct as I possibly can be. So let's start with my qualifications.

I always wanted to be a pilot as far back as I can remember (nothing different here, as almost every pilot I know starts his tale this way). So here's the quick and dirty: I attended the University of Southern California; was in the Navy ROTC program; got a degree in Aerospace Engineering; went to Naval Flight Training and was "winged" a year later; flew the P-3C Orion and was a Naval Flight Instructor in the T-34C; got out of the Navy and was hired by a major airline where I've been now for ten years. While here I've flown the B737-300/500 series, A319/320 series, and the B757/767 type aircraft (the B stands for Boeing and the A for Airbus).

My job is what as known in the industry as the "line pilot". I fly regular "lines" as in trips or flights that carry passengers. I just completed a "check ride" last week which is more involved than the term suggests. It is a three day event with a four hour simulator ride each day as well as hours of ground school review to include subjects from security to operations to aircraft systems. The sim itself is chock full of procedure checks, maneuvers, emergency procedures and aircrew coordination drills. The beauty of having a check ride in a simulator is of course that they can throw everything at you (engine failures, fires, system malfunctions, etc). Oh what fun! Some pilots call this annual event the "You bet your license" check since it's given by the FAA or their designate and can and has resulted in suspended licences for a "bust" or failure.

I hope this gives a better picture of "who I think I am" and I welcome any and all thoughts and comments. Let's leave it at that for now and I'll save some of the details such as "what in the world is a P-3C?" for another time. And as they say, Keep the shiny side up.