clumpinglitter (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} clumpinglitter) wrote,@ 2006-07-27 21:28:00 |
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at least somebody has an airplane
A fellow web forum reader, J, has offered to talk to me about Anonymous Freight Company (AFC). It's a good 135 outfit. J happens to be in STP a lot, including tonight. So, I go down there to have a chat about life at AFC. It's not like I can't learn a lot about AFC from web forums, but it's way more interesting to talk to someone in person who's doing what you want to do. And maybe I'll get to see an airplane.
I find J in the pilot lounge. It turns out that he has a really nice deal. The schedule is 8 on and 6 off -- unusual, especially for 135. Even better, he doesn't have a route where he flies for two hours, lands, waits for 6 hours, then loads up and comes back. His stops are usually an hour or less. So the flying time is nice and compressed with not much screwing around. The flying is overnight, but no big. He's flown about 800 hours for AFC. We go out to see the Caravan Super Cargomaster (yay!). Yes, that's really what it's called.
I climb up into the right seat. It's about as big as a regular 172 inside. I'm surprised to see a nice GPS with radar in here, and J says the autopilot actually works. The Cessna radio stack is familiar. There isn't much in here I can't identify -- the stuff for the turbine engine, obviously, and the neato feature that lets the rampies fuel the airplane without having to climb a ladder. There are icing placards everywhere (duuuuh), and even the wing strut has a deicing boot. AFC has a program where pilots with less than 135 minimums can fly right seat as SIC and log the time. I bet it's annoying to have someone tag along on your flight. Anyway, no pics of the panel, sadly -- one didn't turn out, and then the battery died.
Some people come to tow the airplane out of the hangar and fuel it. J and I talk for a while longer, but he doesn't have a lot of time to hang around the airport. Which is a good thing -- stuff has to be loaded and flown far away.
A fellow web forum reader, J, has offered to talk to me about Anonymous Freight Company (AFC). It's a good 135 outfit. J happens to be in STP a lot, including tonight. So, I go down there to have a chat about life at AFC. It's not like I can't learn a lot about AFC from web forums, but it's way more interesting to talk to someone in person who's doing what you want to do. And maybe I'll get to see an airplane.
I find J in the pilot lounge. It turns out that he has a really nice deal. The schedule is 8 on and 6 off -- unusual, especially for 135. Even better, he doesn't have a route where he flies for two hours, lands, waits for 6 hours, then loads up and comes back. His stops are usually an hour or less. So the flying time is nice and compressed with not much screwing around. The flying is overnight, but no big. He's flown about 800 hours for AFC. We go out to see the Caravan Super Cargomaster (yay!). Yes, that's really what it's called.
I climb up into the right seat. It's about as big as a regular 172 inside. I'm surprised to see a nice GPS with radar in here, and J says the autopilot actually works. The Cessna radio stack is familiar. There isn't much in here I can't identify -- the stuff for the turbine engine, obviously, and the neato feature that lets the rampies fuel the airplane without having to climb a ladder. There are icing placards everywhere (duuuuh), and even the wing strut has a deicing boot. AFC has a program where pilots with less than 135 minimums can fly right seat as SIC and log the time. I bet it's annoying to have someone tag along on your flight. Anyway, no pics of the panel, sadly -- one didn't turn out, and then the battery died.
Some people come to tow the airplane out of the hangar and fuel it. J and I talk for a while longer, but he doesn't have a lot of time to hang around the airport. Which is a good thing -- stuff has to be loaded and flown far away.
