A few King Air Be90 pictures

Kingair, gliders and tow planes

As summer is approaching, we get busier and busier, hence the lack of posts on this blog lately.

Towing-wise, I've been checked out on a newly designed aircraft, the MCR-180. This basically is a small and very light aircraft (450 kg / 990 lbs) powered by the classic 180 hp Lycoming engine, driving a 5-blade low-pitch propeller. The performances are truely impressive but the plane is not much fun to fly. It requires a very smooth handling and it is amazingly unstable, especially at low speeds.
Anyway, climb rates make it cheap to operate and this is what glider pilots are after. It wears the number 1 CN and is flown as an Experimental aircraft. As such, we have to make various reports after each flight, as a way to improve or even re-design some of the aircraft.

Gliding-wise, there is so much to explore in the area, it is incredibly beautiful and there's no way to get tired of it. I got the chance to fly the Nimbus 4D, a 26.5m (87ft) wide glider, and fly to Grenoble and back. Sadly, I didn't have my camera on me at that time, I don't think I've ever seen sceneries of such beauty before. The area South-East of St Auban (St Auban is the small city where I'm based) is also very nice, and it is one of the most touristic area of the South Alps region.

I also got to fly the Kingair, again, and it is a very good thing as .. I've got an airline interview coming up, and a good CRM will be of a good help.

Airborne life continues...

King Air Be90 Operations

Time of day: 5:00 am.
Location: in a cosy bed of a not so luxurious hotel.
The city is still asleep when I open the window, letting in some fresh air as a means of waking up.
What a great day this is going to be. 40 minutes later, a taxi is waiting down below, and we're off to the airport.
It's 6:00 am as we meet with our unique passenger on this first sector, and the captain boards the plane while I do the walk-around.
Minutes later and start-up clearance received, the roar from the engines brings the shiny twin-turboprop aircraft to life.
I've always loved the vibration and noise feeling resulting from the engines rolling over at idle thrust, reminding you of what it feels like to have 1500 hp at your fingertips.
Another three passengers are waiting in Toulouse, and although this is a half hour trip, we'd better get going.
Full thrust applied, we're pushed back deep in our seats while the speed rapidly increases towards V1.
Cleared to 3000ft initially, we're following a SID that ends where the STAR commences.
I'm PM (Pilot Monitoring) on this flight, doing the radio, checklists, and managing the navigation.

Not much time to fully enjoy the view when the sun rises above the horizon, but the intense orange light on the instruments panel is enough to realize how lucky we are to be here.

Toulouse is coming in sight as we are being radar vectored for the ILS runway 32L, runway re-built in 2005 to then accomodate the Airbus A380 tests. 3500m (11,500ft) long, 75m (250ft) wide, it is a lot more than we need to land the Kingair.
While most operators need a 30 min turn-around, we manage a 10 min stop on the apron of the business Terminal (FBO) to pick up our three passengers, joining the three of us already in the plane.

On our way to Paris, cruising at FL220 (22,000ft), we've got plenty of time to discuss the new avionics recently installed. The Avidyne EX600 is actually a superb piece of equipment, capable of centralising information via datalink, display weather information (Metar/taf on any airfield), clouds and cells activity on top of the map, message texting, and an overlay of the radar spots on top of the current map.
All systems are linked to each other. We use the Garmin GNS 530 as a FMS to enter the flight plan, and as a map in flight. The 430 is used as a secondary map and ETAs (Estimated Time of Arrival, for each waypoint) as it displays roughly the same information as the 530, on a smaller screen.
The G600 is used for its obvious purpose: PFD (Primary Flight Display) and ND (Navigation Display), while the EX600 provides us with a complete meteorological service as we need it, and a high def map.

Coming down towards the Capital, I enter the STAR and approach into the FMS for the ILS 25R at Toussus (a General Aviation airfield South-West of Paris).
The procedure takes us right to the edge of the Zone P (Prohibited) surrounding Paris, giving us the chance to enjoy a superb view over the capital and Paris Orly airport.
The ILS approach that follows is pretty much eventless.
On the apron, we unboard our passengers and I get to spend some time catching up with friends and hanging around in the control tower.

6:00 pm, all set up for the engines start-up.
I’m PF (Pilot Flying) on this flight back to the South of France, meaning I get to fly the plane while the Captain is doing the checklists, radio and navigation management for me.
Engines stabilized, I taxi the plane to the holding point for a 25R departure.

Aligned on 25R, I push the thrust levers forward, setting 600 lb-ft of Torque, before releasing the brakes and advancing the levers to 1200 Trq. The feeling that results is a very intense acceleration, the aircraft is almost empty and we are not carrying a lot of fuel. The Captain announces “80 kts”, quick glance at the airspeed indicator and I say aloud “check”, he announces “Rotation” as we reach 95 kts and I remove my left hand from the thrust levers to put it on the yoke and pull it up.
Positive rate of climb, gear up, and the Captain switches on the Flight Director so that I can track the SID tracks, following the command bars.
I fly the whole SID, climb legs, and a further few minutes in the cruise manually, at FL230 (23,000ft). What a pleasure this is to fly!

Half way down the route, we ask for a potential short-cut in the planned route and we get a lucky “direct PPG”.
As the the aircraft needs to have its new avionics tested, I get to fly a procedural hold and a DME Arc to then capture the Localizer of the ILS. Great fun!

Airborne life continues...

Doing the right thing

For many years, I've been inspired by a fellow French pilot now flying in the US for the World's largest airline: Delta.
He's kept on writing an online diary since 1998, and although we follow different paths, I share the same philosophy that contributes a great deal in leading to a successful pilot's carrier.

He once said, One of the best advice one could get, would be to not follow someone else’s advice.

If you do, you’re most likely going to end up disappointed and upset because someone not expert in the subject managed to persuade you he was right.

People don’t like to mind their own business. They feel like they have to share their opinion, even though you didn’t ask for it. They talk about a subject they do not master, but think they possess a great knowledge because they read newspapers and magazines.
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so" (Mark Twain).

Those people tell wrong facts, and they tend to spread gloom and doom, this is why you should avoid them at all costs.

I’ve been told by countless people that the French education system was the best in the world.
Funny enough, none of those people experienced any foreign education system.
When I moved to England, I was told so many different stories about the country, the people, their culture and their way to teach; I was actually very surprised to realise most of those fairy tales were deeply wrong. Same happened when I went to the US.
And once again, none of those people ever experienced any of this themselves, however they are glued to their TV every single evening.

So, what's the deal about the French education system?
Some french people believe they possess a greater knowledge than people from other countries, especially America.
Having experienced both the American and the British way to teach, along with the french's, I believe the Americans are much more pragmatic when it comes to education, knowhow based (practical knowledge) rather than our fact-based knowledge.
And as Danny mentionned in his diary (link below), this is why no-one in America will end up flying a 737 with 200 flight hours, while this does happen in Europe.

The know-it-alls wander on the web forums and blogs, spread non-correct and depressing information, and use a confident tone while talking about the job they once dreamed of and failed somewhere along the way. Then, satisfied, they’ll switch off their computer and will walk off to their 9 to 5 job.

Without any doubt, listening to success stories is way more useful than taking any advice from those people.

I've decided, and this is where people started to disagree and shared that with me, to build up my experience in a way that is neither a job nor something you have to pay for, as well as keeping current my IFR and CRM skills as a safety pilot on the Kingair and possibly some other planes.
I have plans and opportunities, and once again, some people felt like they had to bring their own advice, arguing "this is not a good idea", because they have read otherwise in some random magazines.

Turn your back to them and walk ahead, this is probably the reasonable thing to do.

If I had followed any of the advice I received when I expressed my wishes to become a commercial pilot, I wouldn't be here today.
One reason to that: almost everyone whom I didn't ask any advice from, told me I should forget about my wishes and take up a normal carrier instead.
When I started my pilot training, those same people commented on how wrong I was to train in the UK and in the States instead of my own country. Today, I realise this is one of the best decisions I ever took.

Danny had below-average grades in French when he was in high school, and since then, he never stopped writing.
I was at the bottom of my class in English just 6 years ago, I never stopped working on it, and I am now close to be bilingual.

Fortune favors the bold, you have to act to make things happen.

Link (in french): http://piloteus.journalintime.com/2010/07/01-un-conseil-important
Thank you Danny.

Airborne life continues...

Paris by night - King Air 90

Merry Christmas everyone!

The King Air 90 was standing proudly on the empty airpron tonight. The captain and I preflighted her in the cold winter wind while discussing the weather in Paris. The last few days have been quite snowy with icing conditions and they had to close a lot of major airports in Western Europe. Tonight however was forecast to be clear and cold but snow patches remained on some taxiways and on the runways' edges.

The two PT6 turbines came to life in the silent evening.
I took the controls shortly after take-off until we established in cruise.
We left Carcassonne (South of France) following the SID (Standard Instrument Departure) GAI2W, initially towards Charlie Sierra, the airfield beacon, then turning Northbound heading to the GAI VOR after 14 nm. Further on the way, the control cleared us direct TUDRA.
Although the past few days have been really snowy, today was superbly clear and smooth all around and the visibility was surely above 100 miles.
Toulouse, birthplace of Airbus and ATR, passed under our left wing.
The altitude warning broke the calm atmosphere of the night as we passed 21,000ft, alerting us we had 1000 more feet to go to the selected altitude.
Doing 265 kts TAS (True Airspeed), almost 50 kts of head wind at this level, we entered central France. Darkness suddenly became quite apparent.

At 22,000ft, the ride was glassy smooth.
In the middle of the night, talking helps us to stay awake. The captain, a former long haul airline pilot, has a lot to share. For me, as a young and unexperienced pilot, this is like a dream.
I have ambitions for my carrier, but nothing is easy in the Aviation World. Also, things usually don't go as planned, and this can actually happen to be a good thing sometimes.
You often wonder how you ended up here? What path and decisions did you take to make things like they are? I certainly wouldn't have believe a few months ago I'd be flying a King Air today...

As we approached Paris, shining reflections from the city lights started to appear on the flight deck, and the view outside became simply mesmerizing.
We loaded the approach for the ILS runway 07 via BALOD.
I gazed amazed at the beautiful city, the Eiffel Tower and the skyscrapers forming the business district of La Defense. Departing the group of buildings is one of the main and most famous streets in Paris, the Avenue Charles de Gaulle, leading to the Arc de Triumphe and coming out the other side as Les Champs Elysees. If you have a close look at the pictures below, you should be able to spot all the famous landmarks.

The ATC cleared us for the approach and I got back on the controls, capturing the Localizer above 10,000ft and the Glide Path at 9000 ft.
Still doing just under 200 kts IAS and established on final runway 07 at Le Bourget (Paris executive airport), we passed abeam Les Champs Elysees. I rushed to grab my camera and get a few shots.
I got the runway in sight ahead of us. The captain selected the decision Altitude on the radalt and took care of the thrust and props levers for me.
Altitude came down and the radalt computer announced out loud "500", and seconds later "minimums" as we reached DA (Decision Altitude).
The threshold passed beneath us and the Captain slowly retarded the throttles as I flared the King Air. The tires touched down gently. No need to apply the reverses as the runway wasn't completely clear of snow and we were asked to vacate at the far end, 3000m (10,000ft) further down the long strip of concrete. We crossed runway 09 to slip into the main ‘avenue’ of FBOs and aircraft operators at Le Bourget. Parked between a Learjet and another Kingair, we shut down the two engines, bringing us back to the silent evening, but even colder this time. This is Paris...

Airborne life continues…

Airbus A320 and King Air

The morning's ride out to the airport felt long and boring for once. I had just got back from England the previous evening with no time to unpack my stuff, and here I was already gone, in a train to Toulouse.
What made it feeling long was the excitement from the fact I was going to fly a King Air for the very first time today.

Two hours later, I was strapped on the jumpseat of an Airbus A320 on my way to Paris, where the King Air and its pilot were waiting for me.
My day was off to a very good start. As always, the view from the Airbus' flight deck was fantastic. I chatted with the Captain and realised he was registered at a flying club just next to where I used to live. Funny how Aviation is a small World...

Landed in Paris, short ride to an airfield nearby and that's where I met the beautiful and shiny King Air 90. Slight disappointment though, while I left Toulouse under a scattered sky in some decent temperature, it was -7°C in Paris with some very cold wind from the far North ... bringing in snow and frost all over.
Not surprised when we saw all that snow and ice on the Kingair's wings. Twenty freezing minutes of de-icing (by scratching pieces of paperboard along the trailing-edge) would have been enough.
As I walked in, I got a quick glimpse at the cabin, revealing two seats on the rear side of the cabin, one in front of the entrance door, and four well-sized seats facing each other just behind the flight deck. I found my way to the front end of the cabin, sat on the right hand seat and started looking at all the needles, switches, circuit breakers and levers around me... There's a lot more than on a Duchess, but clearly Beechcraft tried to keep the same philosophy on the cockpit layout of their aircraft.

Right and left engines started, breaks released and the tires were gently sliding onto the taxiway. With an ANR (Active Noise Reduction) headset on, the sudden hush brought a nice and quiet atmosphere as soon as we turned it on. It's a must-have luxurious device on those planes. It still couldn't completely muffle the roar as full take-off thrust was applied. The take-off in itself was a great moment, especially since this King Air has been fitted with more powerful engines and new four-blade props. Gear coming up, speed increasing to roughly 150 kts IAS, and off we went, following the SID (Standard Instrument Departure) back to the South of France. Cleared to FL210 (21,000ft), altitude armed and autopilot on alt/nav mode. Unfortunately, or lucky-me should I say, the autopilot started overcorrecting the off-track deviations, so we decided to disengage it and I manually flew the plane all the way until touchdown. 1:30 hours at 260 kts TAS enjoying a superb view.

Blue sky overhead and intensely bright, almost alone in the immensity of the sky, it was one of those moments ...
I'd love to show some pictures of the landscapes but clouds have interfered.

The Control vectored us to the ILS 28 at Carcassonne for a MVL (Manoeuvre a Vue Libre, literally Free Visual Manoeuvre or Circle-to-Land in English) on the opposite runway.
Centered on the runway localizer and glideslope beams, we came down at 140 kts until we broke through clouds around 1600ft. Off by 30° to the left, downwind, and early base as we wanted to avoid overflying the beautiful strengthened city. The flaps and gear came down for me, and I soothingly flew it down towards the runway threshold.
I taxied to our parking spot, not far behind a brand new Boeing 737-800, and I must say, I wouldn't mind flying one of those someday.

Airborne life continues...