Scudrunners

SSU wrote:

....or meet a patronizing type FSS briefer.

You might have run into the rare one who's actually a meteorologist. He maybe misses the days before the internet where he used to get to talk to people and share his knowledge. Either way, I'm never so much in a hurry that I can't spare a minute or two for the weather guy's insight if he feels compelled to give it. Occasionally there's a extremely useful bit in there. I sort of miss the days of actually chatting with these fellows and checking out their stuff. Used to be able to learn a lot of good local knowledge for some places. Anyone remember when there used to be a weather guy at CYRM?

And I get that instructors can get worked up about seemingly silly things at airports. Maybe when some of you guys send some one up for their first solo for the first time you might get it. Doesn't excuse some of them being obnoxious, but I've had a few words with pilots over the years reminding them some poor souls out there by themselves with single digit hours and they're giving them no friggin' courtesy.

Yeah, by therein is the problem.  Goes like this with some of these guys. Rookie:  I'm planning to ABC airport IFR, 400 Nm North. I'm familiar with the weather picture but would like to chat about the frontal movement up there and how much precip.

Briefer: ABC airport?  Way up there?  Quite an odyssey. Not a great idea. There will be cloud and rain.  Wait until Wednesday. (Severe clear day)

Rookie:  how is the cold front progressing?  Briefer:  I dont have any TAF for that area so can't comment until later.  But really nasty weather. (No details).

Sign.  I'm  not a student....pick that up by my questions and tone.....no not a meteorologist....I like talking to those too. More information. Less counselling.

Ps. Give students loads of room, folks. We were all there. What's 60 more seconds?  No way I want to add to a circuit students anxiety and cause an incident. I give loads of space behind them.

Kind of reminds me when I recently hopped from one small airport to another to facilitate customs in the Jet. I suppose it would almost be faster for the client to catch a ride to his destination from the clearing airport than making the hop to be a few miles closer, but that was the mission.

The company I work for has checklists adapted from Emirates and British Airways ilk which are a little much even on the big missions for the machine I fly. It was on a clear bright and sun shiny day, this flight takes about 6 minutes, even less if you can go off Runway 16 to Runway 17. Needless to say it can be busy as hell in the cockpit if you get bogged down in checklists. As we happen to be down in Indian country full of Cherokee, Apaches and Comanches, I reminded my FO of this fact and wanted his head outside.

He's a good kid flew up north on floats and has pretty good hands and feet but I don't let him know that just to keep his ego in check. Needless to say we launched into our ballistic arc of a flight plan and despite the wisdom of the head sheds checklist where safely stowed so we manage to enjoy our flight like we where noobs in a 172. Airborne the trust came back almost immediately I gently eased her over and leveled off at 3000 feet, the trust at idle and level she wanted still wanted to go fast.  Heads swiveled calling out traffic and talking to those in the circuit and they made sure we knew about the NORDO guy in the yellow Cub.  We managed to successfully slot ourselves in between 4 aircraft in the circuit. I guess they don't get too many jets at their little airport and their are most definitely a number of facebook hero shots with our bird.

Bottom line Aviate Navigate Communicate.

Ah crap, he has a long way to go still pretty green and needs to buckle down and disconnect that AP more often.