Life Advice from the Mind of a Pilot

Howdy everyone, I do apologize for the lack of posts as of late, the last few weeks for me has been quite busy between work, getting ready for school and the Stampede. This summer has been going by way too fast and it's hard to believe that August is already a week away. Soon we'll all be back at school and busy once again and I look forward to every moment of it.

Yesterday I made a trip to the Aerospace Museum here in Calgary and it was an awesome experience, especially for an huge aviation for me. They have numerous aircraft on static display including a fully rebuilt Lancaster Bomber that was used in the Second World War. I highly recommend anyone visiting Calgary who is a huge aviation buff to make a stop there. While I was there, I found a picture that was sort of like a Pilots Creed to life and while it may be aimed towards pilots, I thought a lot of them could be rules for us to live by and I thought I would share those tips to life, courtesy of Thomas Legg:

-Discover your far horizon, but embrace the sky softly, quietly so that others of your kind may follow.

-Know your limitations from moment to moment and be humble when the elements are against you.

-Accept advice from those before you, seeking out their truths

-Use your temper as a catalyst to keep you advancing, guarding it with vigilance though lest you be obliged to bite your tongue

-Leave your mistakes behind you, noting their lessons as part of your tuition for learning

-If you quit and you will want to, beginning again will be lonely

-You cannot know the color of truth unless you wear its cloth; therefore let honesty itch your mind, gleaming conspicuous in the eyes


-If you become a hostage to the fear of the unknown, challenge it with tenacity; keeping in mind however that only a fool is fearless


-Remember how lucky you are to see and touch the sky, the blind may only dream


-Be the opportunist, the forever hesitant are losers


-In each of us there is a conflict, daydreaming versus reality. May dreaming prod your curiosity but reality wield the sword.


-You are entitled to complain, use maturity if you do 


-Expect the unexpected. It will develop an awareness for Murphy's Law; If something can go wrong - It Will

Flying the Oil Run With Central Mountain Air

Today I thought I would do a review on one of the smaller airlines that I frequently travel on out here in the west. Central Mountain Air (CMA) is a small airline based of out Smithers, British Columbia and flies to numerous towns and cities throughout Alberta and British Columbia using their fleet of Beechcraft 1900's and Dornier 328's. In previous years, CMA had a contract with Air Canada to operate select flights throughout the west here using their own aircraft and crew. Some of the routes included Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Cranbrook out of Calgary and several other low density routes out of Vancouver. This past year however CMA cut ties with Air Canada to focus more on charters and its own operations. Air Georgian now provides services on these routes for Air Canada operating under the name "Air Canada Express".

A Central Mountain Air Beechcraft 1900 on Taxi at YYC

Central Mountain Air is also the only airline to provide scheduled air service to several small communities in Northern Alberta including High Level and Rainbow Lake. However, one of the more popular routes that CMA operates is the Calgary-Lloydminster corridor and the main reason its popular is due to the presence of numerous oil refineries and their offices so many executives and workers travel back and forth between these two communities. The route initially started as a twice a day service except on weekends with 1 flight early in the morning and one early in the evening but due to its popularity a third flight was added late in the morning to add extra capacity on the route. Because CMA is the only airline to fly up to Lloydminster, they would be my choice of airline for my flight up north.

Booked on CMA 785, my flight was due to leave at 4:35pm and because these flights typically don't have many passengers, it makes for a very easy check in, so I was able to arrive at the airport an hour before departure. Because CMA only has 3 flights a day out of Calgary, they only have one check-in counter and can be quite difficult to find if you aren't paying attention, especially in the afternoon when passengers are checking in for the 2 international flights that are right next door to the CMA counters. Upon arriving at the check-in counters I was informed that the flight would be delayed due to a mechanical issue with the aircraft. Even though it was just a small delay, the agent provided all the passengers with free vouchers for coffee and snacks; quite a nice touch for a small airline like CMA. Thanks to the delay, our scheduled departure time would be pushed back to 6:00pm. In the end, the gate agent informed us that the issue was a little bigger than anticipated, so the aircraft ended up being swapped out for another one, another benefit of travelling out of a city where an airline is based. Because of CMA`s all Turboprop fleet, they use the Prop gates that Air Canada Jazz uses (The A01 Gates) for all their flights. Boarding commenced for CMA 785 and it's 18 passengers at 5:50pm and would soon be rolling out for Lloydminster.

The Beechcraft 1900 may be small, but it packs a powerful punch flying at over 330 miles/hour making it a perfect aircraft for these short haul missions. Boarding was completed very quickly and soon the pilots fired up the twin Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67D Turboprop engines and began the taxi out to Runway 28. It was a very blustery day in Calgary and from my previous experiences of flying in small aircraft in turbulent weather, it was going to be one bumpy ride out. With the strobe lights turned on, the pilots lined up on the runway and gave full power to her mighty engines as CMA 785 began its 1 hour journey north to Lloydminster. Because the Beechcraft 1900 only carries 18 passengers, a flight attendant is not required on these flights, the pilots do all the work from greeting the passengers to flying the plane. Other than the first 10 minutes of the flight being turbulent, it overall was very smooth and thanks to a bit of a tailwind, we were able to make up for a little bit of lost time. By the time we had reached our cruising altitude of 15,000 feet, it was already time to make the decent into Lloydminster. Because of the strong west winds, we would have to fly over the city and make a sharp left hand turn to line up with Runway 26. But thanks to some skilled maneuvering by the pilots, they brought our plane down smoothly and with Reverse Thrust fully engaged brought her to a stop well within the 4,500 foot runway. Taxi was super quick thanks to the size of the airport, 1 runway, 1 taxiway and 1 main terminal. In 2 minutes we landed, taxied, parked and had the engines shut down. Baggage was promptly delivered and I was well on my way within 10 minutes of landing, not many airports in the world can claim that.

My overall impression with Central Mountain Air was amazing, despite the mechanical delay in Calgary, the gate agents there kept as well informed and very happy with free snacks and coffee. The agents both in Calgary and Lloydminster as well as the flight crew were super friendly and even though it was only a 1 hour flight, they left me super impressed with their level of service. Kudos to Central Mountain Air and its employees, keep up the great work!

Margaritas and Rocking Chairs: The Journey Home From Cancun Part 2

A US Airways A321, my ride to Phoenix

Continuing on from Part 1, I was waiting my next leg of my journey back to Calgary. Now that we've gone northeast, it was time to do some backtracking and head west to the desert and the lovely city of Phoenix, Arizona. The sun was low in the sky as I awaited. During my 4 hour layover in Charlotte I had seen pretty much every type of aircraft US Airways has in its fleet from the Boeing 737-400 to the mighty Airbus A330-300. My flight to Phoenix would be US 705 and we would be flying on a Airbus A321, the largest aircraft in the A320 series. Because this was pretty much a cross-country flight, it would be about another 4 hours in the air on this leg of the trip. At 4:30pm local time, boarding began and to my surprise, my seat had been changed. Instead of being at the back of the bus again, my seat got changed to the 12th row, quite an unexpected surprise from an airline that has already done so much for me. What was even better, the middle seat in our row was vacant, giving me and my seatmate more room to stretch our arms and legs. We pushed back from gate 10 minutes ahead of schedule and headed out for Runway 18C. Here, the A321 lit up its IAE V2500 engines and roared down the runway and boy what a beautiful sound they made as we rocketed off and headed west.

A United Express Embrarer 145 just finishing pushback next to us

This seat would be a little quieter because we were one less person in our row and also because the gentleman who was sitting in my row had just gotten off an 12 hour flight from India and was heading home to Phoenix, so it was no surprise that he was looking for some sleep. He did wake up towards the end of the flight and we started chatting about our journeys and our homes. That's one of my favorite parts of flying is getting to sit with people you've never met before and just learning about them, especially on long trips and everyone is just so interested in learning about each other. We would be chasing the sun for part of this flight and seeing the sun set at 38,000 feet is probably one of the most beautiful sites in the world, the colours of the clouds are bright and livid and its beautiful to see; I love picking evening and morning flights just for that reason. During the flight the pilot made an update on our arrival time into Phoenix and me usually being the organized one didn't realize what my departure time from Phoenix was until I looked at my ticket in Charlotte, I would have barely 45 minutes to connect and had that flight left Charlotte late, I wouldn't make that connection. Still even with an early arrival time, I would just be sliding by with my connection. My seatmate, who was from Phoenix, assured me it was super easy to navigate the airport and I would make my connection no problem, especially since Phoenix is another US Airways hub. Descent and landing into Phoenix was smooth and uneventful and soon I would be at the gate awaiting the final leg of my journey.

My time in Phoenix would be short, only 15 minutes in the terminal before boarding my next flight. All airlines prior to departing for Canada are required to verify that passengers have their passports prior to boarding as airlines do face stiff penalties fro transporting passengers who can't enter Canada. After flying on both the A320 and A321, my fingers were crossed on getting the A319 on this flight and completing the A320 series in 1 day. Sadly this wouldn't happen as I would get another A320 on US 247 heading to Calgary. This short 2 hour flight to Calgary and it would be a quiet one, most of the flight was families heading home from Spring Break and everyone was pretty dead tired, including myself from the long journey home I've had so far. Our A320 pushed back right on time and in 10 minutes we lifted off Runway 8. This flight was a little more bumpy than the previous flights, mainly due to turbulence over the Rockies and the wacky weather that was going in Calgary at the time (gotta love when Chinooks roll through). Despite the turbulence we arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule on Runway 28 in the wee hours of the morning and with that came the conclusion of my Mexico trip. Driving down 16th Ave during the night was quick and along the way I thought, I can't believe I did that much flying in one day. But I was home safe and sound and at 1:30am, I fell asleep in my bed, happy to finally have some peace and quiet and get some sleep after a long and frightening trip.

My tickets for the flights out of Charlotte

I have to say, US Airways was amazing that day, they ensured I was able to make my connections and get me home safe and sound. From getting a great fare at the last second to their amazing staff, it was a great trip home with them. I would highly recommend them when flying to the US. As for Mexico, I wouldn't mind going back someday, but if I do it will be during a time when it is quiet and not full of drunk college students on Spring Break. I will also probably pick a quieter location away from Cancun and will do my research before booking a hotel.

But that's another story, for another day.

South to the Sun with Air Transat to Cancun

Welcome to my first flight and what better way to officially kick this blog off is with a recent travel experience I had with Air Transat. I flew with Air Transat from Calgary to Cancun, Mexico during my reading week.

The Mighty Airbus A330-200

As with most charter flights to the south, they leave super early in the morning and my flight was no exception. Transat 762 was scheduled to depart for Cancun at 6am and required me to be at the airport by 4am. I've been on early flights before, but never this early before. To add to my enjoyment, a freak winter storm had blown in the night before, which had me worried about my drive to the airport in the morning.

3 am and surprisingly, my alarm didn't have to wake me, somehow I was already awake and ready to go. Within 15 minutes I was out the door and on my way to the airport. The roads that morning weren't too bad, slushy but in pretty good shape. I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare to walk to the terminal and await my flight. I was quite surprised how busy the airport is for that time of the morning., but when there's over 400 people departing all at once, you want to capitalize on that opportunity. Check-in wasn't as efficient as I've seen with other airlines, taking well over 20 minutes, even for web check-in customers.

The winglet of Transat's A330 over the US

At 5:20am, boarding was called for Transat 762 as we walked down the jet-way to our awaiting Airbus A330-200. I have coined the term "The Mighty 330" for any A330 I see now and there is good reason I call it that. The A330 is a powerful long range aircraft and is one of the most common "heavy" type aircraft the come to Calgary. "The Mighty 330" is also the backbone of Air Transat's fleet and are used on most runs to the the south.

We boarded and settled into our seats and we were lucky as we had gotten on of Transat's refurbished cabins with leather seats and seat back tv's. At 5:55, we pushed back from the gate, deiced and began our long taxi out to Runway 34. 20 minutes later, the Rolls Royce engines roared to life and we were off into the early morning sky bound for Cancun. Within the half hour after take-off, the flights sprang into action, pouring glasses of champagne and passing out breakfast. It was a smooth flight, just over 5 hours till we would be soaking up the sun.

Because we were flying on one Air Transat's newly refurbished planes, I had the chance to sample their seat-back televisions. The system is much like Air Canada's but doesn't offer the same amount of content. The movies and tv shows were very current, although their music selection could have been better.

Cancun Control Tower

At 11:45am local time, the "Mighty 330" started its slow descent into Cancun and made a smooth touchdown on Runway 12L. Of course this is Mexico and what's the first thing I see, A giant advertisement for Corona on the side of the Control Tower. Good way to get people thinking about drinking.

Leaving the plane was much slower than boarding due to Mexican officials checking everyone to ensure they had their forms filled out. Now you thought Canada or US customs was bad, you haven't seen anything yet. It took nearly a half hour just to clear immigration, than another half hour to claim our baggage and get through their customs line. This line consists of you having your baggage screened again and pressing a button. If you get a green light, you are free to go, but if you get a red light, you get secondary inspection and boy that can be fun.

Overall I was very impressed with Air Transat, their new tv's and leather seats really show that they are committed to improving their in-flight product. The onboard champagne, hot breakfast and really friendly staff made it a great start to my vacation and would highly recommend flying with them when heading somewhere warm!

Welcome Aboard! We Hope You Enjoy Your Flight

So I would like to welcome everyone to a new blog I have started. My user name may be Captain T-Swift, but I also like the name Captain Brad. I'm not only the biggest fan of Taylor Swift in all of Calgary, Alberta, but I have a huge passion for aviation, hence the name of the blog and the theme I have going here.

During this flight, you'll find a variety of tales and stories from my experiences in life, unique things I've done and seen and some of my travel experiences, especially when it comes to flying. You'll also enjoy some great flight entertainment as my goal is try and post a video every once in a while of me talking about pretty much anything.

Now y'all may be wondering why I gave this blog the name is has. Well 21 is obviously my age, but it's also those 5 words that starts a journey. A journey into the unknown filled with amazement, wonder and discovery. I've always thought of life is kind of like flying.

It won't always be the smoothest journey, there's gonna be turbulence along the way and at times you wonder if the storm clouds will ever clear away. But there's always blue sky behind those clouds and with the help of your flight crew (Family and Friends), it'll be smooth sailing once again!

Before we push-back from the gate, I just want to say I'm so thankful to have some the best friends, from work, from school and from everywhere and my amazing family along for the journey. They've helped me weather some of the most stormiest moments of my life and have helped me to find that proper flight path to be on, the flight path of Travel and Tourism at SAIT.

Now ensure your tray table and seat backs are in their up right position and all cabin baggage has been stowed in the overhead bins or underneath the seat in front of you. Sit back, relax and enjoy your flight...

Cleared for Takeoff Runway 21, Destination: Life and the Great Unknown!