Flyin' Brian

And my Shortest Flight on Record Goes to . . .

I was on my first day of a four day trip and I had hopped on the American Airlines shuttle bus to enjoy a two hour break before my flight to SLC. Then my phone rang. It was the company calling. Now, the rules state that if you are on a trip, you do not…
COS-Play

Because I was becoming quite tired (literally) of all my standups, I elected to just bid reserve for February. The idea was that I would have more time off and a chance to rest. How did that work out? I was immediately assigned a four day trip. Oh well… Our first stop was Colorado Springs.…
Mo’ Bettah Da Kine

My schedule bid for January centered primarily around getting a week off toward the end of the month, so I could go to Kauai for my parents 40th anniversary. Along with my sister and her family, we stayed in a very nice place in Kapaa. It was a very welcome break from the back-to-back standups…
I’m in Hollywood

As if by miracle, some innocent starry-eyed FO picked up two of my standups to Eugene, Oregon. So instead of deicing the wings and tail at 530am, I found myself sound asleep, attempting to make up for my sleep deficit for the three days prior. I now had nearly five days off in a row,…
The O-Town Sniffle

Other than my four day trip last month without a functional iphone, I have not had a normal overnight. The most sleep I’ve received on any given work night has been between 4-5 hours. Sound dangerous? Sound like this should not be allowed by the FAA’s rest requirements? Indeed. There’s a loophole in the regulations…
Living on the Edge in Fresnakistan

They say you don’t realize how much you use your phone until you can’t use it. That’s an understatement. Ever since I departed Sri Lanka on Dec 21st, my phone has turned into a brick. My American SIM card was no longer readable. After going to Verizon on the 23rd, they tried two new SIM…
Happy Xmas!

With just one day of recovery after my ambitious journey around the world, I set forth on one of my busiest days of flying ever. If you count my deadhead from LAX to PHX, it was a six leg day. Yuck. I knew it was going to be a stressful day when I had to…
A Rare Set of Wings

First let me caption the random assortment of photos. First is a crew meal while in the jumpseat on a 757 from Newark to Los Angeles (THE JUMPSEAT…FROM NEWARK TO LA). It needed emphasis. Next we have assorted aerial shots of Monument Valley, Meteor Crater, an overly noisy shot of the sunset, and a screenshot…
Helena Montana: The Land That Time Forgot

Here’s a quick snap of Missoula, Montana as seen during our climbout yesterday. You can see the “M” I climbed to in the lower left on the side of the mountain. As I’ve been had multiple Montana overnights this trip, I can start some comparisons. Missoula seemed vibrant, active, and up-and-coming. Then I landed in…
Missoula: Where Everyone Says "Good Mornin’"

While I only had two flights yesterday, they were relatively long — Boise to Minneapolis and reversing back to Missoula, Montana. For roughly two and a half hours, I weathered another tuna sandwich in the cockpit. Does the captain have a gallon zip-lock bag full of tuna salad? I don’t understand. The conversation then turned…