Pilot & Me & Everything Else:-)

Fleet Week and Blue Angels

2006-10-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

I've not been posting much recently. Time flies.

This weekend is Fleet Week San Francisco. I saw Blue Angels 4 times! Yesterday I went on a sailing. Well the main purpose is to see Redbull Air Race and Blue Angels from the water. Boy, it was crowded, so many boats on the bay, even Sacramento sheriff boat was there to help (I assume). Today I saw it from the shore near Bay Bridge. I also saw Blue Angels practice (in fog/cloudy/misty weather Thursday and Friday) from my home office window. They were very loud:-) Here are some pictures.

The Road Less Traveled

2006-09-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

This poem by Robert Frost always inspires me and has accompanied me in the life's ups and downs:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages
hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

In the past several months, I have discovered things about myself that I wasn't aware of and a courage and a will that I had forgotten that I had. I am a better person for knowing my pilot and I am grateful...

Pictures from Pier Crabbing

2006-09-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

I went to pier crabbing again this past weekend near Golden Gate Bridge. It was beautiful with no fog and cloud. Here are 2 pictures of day. Can you see the picture with a crab holding his (yes, it is "he":-) baby, we felt so bad to take them home, instead we "returned" them back to the Bay.

During the 2 hours we are at the pier, I saw several planes/helicopter passing by. It made me think about my own flight training -- I am wondering if I shall get back to my training...

Denver Airport and John Denver

2006-09-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

Everytime I am at Denver airport, I think about John Denver and his songs. I met him when he was the first artist from the West to do a multi-city tour of Mainland China, in October 1992. I remembered someone told me at the lobby of a hotel that the person I smiled to and who smiled back to me was John Denver. I knew his song "Country Roads,"... I later heard he was very surprised that the song was famous in China.

So I was in Denver airport yesterday and I thought about John Denver again. And this song:

It is funny how you sound as if you're right next door
when you're really half a world away
I just can't seem to find the words I'm looking for
to say the things that I want to say
I can't remember when I felt so close to you
it's almost more than I can bear
And though I seem a half a million miles from you
you are in my heart and living there

And the moon and the stars are the same ones you see
it's the same old sun up in the sky
And your voice in my ear is like heaven to me
......

Wave -- the Song in Me Now

2006-09-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

So close your eyes for that's a lovely way to be
Aware of things your heart alone was meant to see
The fundamental loneliness goes whenever two can dream a dream together
You can't deny, Don't try to fight the rising sea
Don't fight the moon, the stars above and don't fight me
The fundamental loneliness goes whenever two can dream a dream

When I saw you first the time was half past ten when your eyes met mine it was eternity
By now we know the wave is on its way to be
Just catch the wave don't be afraid of loving me
The fundamental loneliness goes whenever two can dream a dream together

Pilots on AA 11 and 77, UA175 and 93 -- We Will Never Forget You!

2006-09-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

American Flight 11
(North Tower of the World Trade Center – 8:46AM)
Captain John Ogonowski
First Officer Thomas McGuinness

United Flight 175
(South Tower of the World Trade Center – 9:03AM)
Captain Victor Saracini
First Officer Michael Horrocks

American Flight 77
(The Pentagon – 9:37AM)
Captain Charles Burlingame
First Officer David Charlebois

United Flight 93
(A field near Shanksville, PA – 10:03AM)
Captain Jason Dahl
First Officer Leroy Homer

Fog Over SF

2006-09-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

It is not a secret that San Francisco is covered by fog often, esp. in summer. I love fog esp. when they are over Golden Gate Bridge or over the mountains. In a way, I have been "lucky" that I am not in the fog ALL the time as I live in the sunny side of the City. But in the past week or so, I have noticed more fog in the evening/night.

Like right now, the downtown is completed covered by the fog and I can not even see any tall buildings. Talking about tall buildings, there is this glass building that my pilot likes. It looks different during the daylight vs. nighttime. I have paid particilar interest to that building and it is also complete in fog now. Whenever there is fog, I think about my pilot, wondering how the weather looks like wherever he is...

Tomorrow is the 5th year anniversity for 9/11. This is the 1st time I am not in the air on 9/11 since past 4 years. I have made a point to fly on that day in the past either for business or for pleasure... But not this year. I will be thinking about all pilots though, and of course the world since 9/11. It has changed my life in a way no less singificant than the "event" on June 4th, 1989 in TianAnMen, Beijing when I was young student. Both "events" changed me as a person forever and to this date, my tears would come out whenever I am thinking about those two days...

Some Good News (1 Not So Good) for Pilots

2006-09-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

Southwest and UPS Raise Pilot's Hourly Rate

In the span of two days, Southwest and UPS both raised the bar for pilot hourly pay rates. Southwest pilots received a 4% end-of-contract pay raise, while UPS pilots ratified an agreement that positions them as industry leaders in pilot hourly rates over the course of their 5-year deal.

It was a rare feat in the pilot industry in recent memory: two large airlines, already at the top of the heap in pay, pushing the bar even higher.

The industry since 2001 has been turned on its head. With the severe losses the legacy carriers sustained since September 11, pilot unions were forced to give concessions to help save their airlines. Now, slowly, pay raises are happening at some of the airlines as contractual pay bumps take effect, and contracts are being reworked.

Southwest, already the industry leader in the passenger narrowbody pay category, received their final pay bump in the current agreement (amendable Sept 2006) on September 1st. Today their top hourly rate is $198.

UPS pilots, meanwhile, with their unique one-size-fits-all-aircraft pay scale, ratified an agreement that gave them double digit pay raises. By 2012, a senior captain at UPS will be earning $262 per hour, while a 2nd year first officer will draw a respectable $149 per hour.
FedEx will likely join the group in the positive trend in upward wage movement in the next few months, as they will be soon voting on a tentative agreement that roughly matches that of the UPS deal.

Not to be forgotten, the current top hourly pay rates in the industry still belong to ABX Air (formerly Airborne Express) of Wilmington, Ohio. A B767-200 captain there tops out at $239 per hour.

All in all, the industry is still facing a serious challenge with oil at stratospheric levels, the chance of the economy softening, and the ever-present possibility of another successful terrorist strike on aviation. But there was one short stretch of positive news for pilots, and we hope this happens more frequently in the future.

On "Not So Good" news, Delta seeks to end pilot pensions and a fedearl bankruptcy judge approved it this past Tuesday. I am sorry to hear that...

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

2006-09-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

All my bags are packed,
I'm ready to go,
I'm standing here, outside your door.
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye.

But the dawn is breakin',
it's early morn',
The taxi's waitin',
he's blowin' his horn,
Already I'm so lonesome I could die.

So kiss me and smile for me,
Tell me that you'll wait for me.
Hold me like you'll never let me go.
'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane,
Don't know when I'll be back again.
Oh, babe, I hate to go.

......

Every place I go, I think of you;
Every song I sing, I sing for you;

......

This song is in my head. Though I know my pilot loves flying and won't mind leaving on a JET PLANE:-)

A Poem Written by My Pilot:-)

2006-09-05T22:31:00.000-07:00

May You...
Hold My Heart Ever So Gently

I asked myself aloud, "How have I fallen so deeply in love with him?" There was one answer but not of mortal understanding: infinitely they have known one another.

COME! Let them take a stroll, ensemble, you and he: becoming one, forgetting there are two individuals, knowing they have become, become…

She has lost thy other, her other true self when were, were one only to discover how empty thy is without her complete self...

I ask myself, "If I stand still shalt thy world bring me closer to a dream or closer to my love? Or shalt it rotate time only leaving me alone in my infinite temporal second?"

To love takes guts while to live merely takes the ability to breathe. To love takes courage, turning loose his heart-emotions-letting his pure heart live completely for thy other self while to live is awakening each day only for himself.

If this be a phase of which may pass, dreaded, the finalemente due to thy love affair with life, yet when the wind is exact... grasp, hold-gentle, yet grasp with meaning, permitting the breeze to take thy to thee true love.

I plea of thee.......May you hold thy heart ever soooo gently.

Note that the poem starts with a female and her thoughts, then a male and his thouhgts. At the end, they are one of the same ones as "thy"?

Checklist Out of the Window

2006-08-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

A friend told me this story:

3 years ago, she was looking to adopt a dog from local rescue groups and was meeting many dogs for few months. She had my check list (as she have a check list for a guy:-0). She wanted a grown dog and she wanted a low maintenance dog that doesn't need to go to a groomer. She also wanted a dog that is built for hiking. But she was not connecting with any of dogs that I was meeting. Her cat's vet knew that she was looking for a dog and told her that she will just know when she meet the right dog. She had to be in S. CA for business for a week. A friend suggests that they go see some puppies. AND... She saw HIM...A little fur ball with big brown eyes and a little wet nose. She just melted at the sight of him. She was in LOVE~~, real LOVE~~. She went and visited him everyday for the entire week. and She never felt this much love at first sight before (man or dog). He was a little puppy (not a grown dog). A Toy breed that is meant to sit pretty on a pillow in Chinese emperor's palace (not to be running around in a hiking trails). A dog with long white fur that needs frequent grooming and visits to groomers every 2months (not low maintenance). He was not a rescue dog (the breeder wanted $1500). He did not meet her check list requirements. After sad good bye on her last day in the town, she was driving back to N CA. After driving about 40minutes, she turned her car around and went back to get him. SHE WAS IN LOVE and did NOT care if he did not meet the check list. Now they are living happily together. Yes, they even go hiking together sometimes and he loves hiking. So, when you are in love, you don't always do things that make any sense. And that is OK. It is OK and in fact, it is great to let yourself feel something wonderful like LOVE even when it doesn't alway work out, right?

Citizen of the WORLD

2006-08-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

I had this exchange with my pilot a few months ago:

He wrote: At a particular instance, you never realize it though, you cease from being a strange traveler, finally- and quite possibly, ending or arriving at a place-entangled with all experiences, far from what thee I once began: naive and full of willful passion, grasping at an idea about no borders while fully accepting thee I has become a citizen of thy world..........

I replied: On this thought. I actually go beyond it (maybe backwards:-). Yes, citizen of the world is a great feeling. Yet sense of really belonging to "somewhere" makes me more relax and at peace. Not saying that I donot enjoy being the citizen of the world (my mind can still be that way), but sometimes I feel "tired", and HOME is a nice place to escape that. I rarely felt stranger wherever I go. I embraced it rather than impose my own expection. In fact, I donot have much expectation of a new place other than discovering something new.

I love being a citizen of the WORLD as well as calmness of belonging to somewhere and at HOME.

Yellowjackets Attack and Buddy Guy Performance

2006-08-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

I had a few interesting days. Last Sunday, I went to hike Mt. Tam. It was a long but very beautiful hike. On the way down, I got attacked by yellowjackets. I got 4 bites and they were painful and my 1st time. On Monday, the reaction was so much that I felt dizzy and had to lay in bed during the day. Yesterday I was itching so much I could not stand it. My right hand became so big that I was wondering if I should go to see a doctor. Luckily, things calm down and it is back to normal now however I still have a few big bumps:-)

So yesterday I went to Buddy Guy's concert at Mountain Winery of Saratoga with a friend. The winery is on hwy 9 on the way to Santa Cruz Mountains. We had picnic with view looking over the whole Silicon Valley. It was an incredible performance by Buddy Guy as well as the opening band The Robert Cray Band. Buddy Guy even asked 2 boys coming on the stage performing with him. What an event! One boy was on the same plane with Buddy -- and the boy's mom decided to take him to the concert. I bet the boy's life has changed by the kindness of Buddy Guy. I thought about my pilot that moment... And at that same moment, 2 airplanes flew by and I wish my pilot was in one of them and waving at me. Well, I knew it was not possible as he was supposed to fly somewhere over the Altantic Ocean...

THE HELICOPTER IS MY OFFICE

2006-08-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

I just read this and thought about a few friends of mine who are helicopter pilots (fire fighting and some other "dangerous" professions) . I am not sure if airline pilots have similar feelings about their "office"

THE HELICOPTER IS MY OFFICE. IT IS A PLACE WHERE I EXPERIENCE MANY EMOTIONS AND LEARN MANY LESSONS. IT IS A PLACE OF WORK, BUT ALSO A KEEPER OF DREAMS. IT IS A PLACE OF DEADLY SERIOUS ENCOUNTERS, YET THERE I DISCOVER MUCH ABOUT LIFE. I LEARN ABOUT JOY AND SORROW, PRIDE AND HUMILITY, FEAR AND OVERCOMING FEAR. I SEE MUCH FROM THIS OFFICE THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD NEVER SEE. AT TIMES IT TERRIFIES ME, YET I CAN ALWAYS FEEL AT HOME THERE. IT IS MY PLACE, AT THIS TIME AND SPACE, AND THE HELICOPTER IS MINE FOR THESE MOMENTS. THOUGH IT IS A PLACE WHERE I CAN QUICKLY DIE, THE HELICOPTER IS A PLACE WHERE I TRULY LIVE.

When I Am with You

2006-08-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

I look at you
You look through me
I can not hold my front
As you cut right through
When our eyes speak
Nothing else exists

I try to hide myself
Yet with you
I can not hide
When our eyes speak
Nothing else exists

"Be what you are, and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

Xanadu, Love and Infatuation

2006-08-11T18:10:00.000-07:00

I went to an outdoor movie last night with a bunch of friends. It was Xanadu by Olivia Newton-John. I enjoyed the movie, but I mostly enjoy the view from the park (see picture here). When we left, it was full moon. I thought about my pilot then...

Afterwards, I was thinking about media's projection of love. A lot of times, the love shown in movies is actually infatuation, in my opinion. When I am infatuated, I feel faster heartbeats, sweaty palms, butterfly feelings, missing/wanting to be with the person all the time, obssessing with the person, etc. Those are very intensive feelings and sometimes it disappear as fast as they come. Once a while, infatuation developed and migrated to LOVE. I used to really believe in love at 1st sight, well I still believe it, but I have become "wiser" along the way. To me love involves more than infatuation: it means friendship, deeper understanding of one another, wanting to be there for the person no matter what, accepting the person just the way he/she is, good or bad, support the person as he/she wanted, and extending oneself for the purpose of nurturing one's own and another's spiritual, mental and emotional growth... All these require actually knowing the person, and actually knowing the person takes time. Love takes time. Of course, love at 1st sight is a great start:-)

Pictures

2006-08-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures from Oshkosh (Bonanzas arrival in OshKosh, formation en route and F-22), and this past weekend at the coast.

Shenzhen Airline hired 40 Brazilian Pilots -- China Needs 6,500 New Pilots by 2010

2006-08-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

I read this today:

Shenzhen Airlines recently hired 40 Brazillian pilots in China's largest single hiring of foreign pilots. All are experienced pilots who used to work for Brazil's bankrupt national airline Varig, said a human resource staff member with Shenzhen Airlines.

"Including the pilots we already recruited from Russia and Europe, the number of foreign pilots will reach one-fifth or more than 100 of the total pilots working for our airline," a staff member who would only reveal his surname, Ren, said in a phone interview with China Daily.

Founded in 1992, Shenzhen Airlines has a fleet of 32 Boeing and three Airbus planes. According to its website, it employs 5,100 people and flies 80 domestic and international routes. Like other Chinese airlines, it suffered from a shortage of experienced pilots. After Shenzhen Airlines' officials arrived in Brazil two months ago, they offered the Brazilian pilots a salary of US$8,000, which is "higher than their Chinese counterparts," Ren said. The average annual income of a Chinese airplane captain is 400,000 yuan (US$50,000), or US$4,170 per month (note by me: that is about 5-8 times an experienced professional in engineering/business make)

"But the company does not need to pay for training and other expenses, which airlines must pay for the domestic pilots they recruit," he said, adding that the deal was a win-win situation. The 20 pilots who are already in China have received their licences from CAAC and are currently taking Chinese language courses.

After two decades of dynamic growth, China has become one of the largest aviation markets in the world and is still growing. According to predictions, by 2010, the number of passenger aircraft in China will increase by 80 per cent to 1,250. If these predictions prove accurate, China will need 6,500 new pilots, which is far beyond the capacity of the country's pilot training system. Faced with an acute shortage of pilots, many Chinese airlines are looking overseas.

Source: China Daily

What are the Considerations when Choosing a Career?

2006-08-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about this question: What are the Considerations when Choosing a Career?

All my career choices have been kinda of random. I joined my current company mostly due to the fact I know the CEO from my previous job. But I have been relatively lucky and it turns out to be OK or quite good I may say (at least so far).

So I wanted to be a scientist like my parents when I was a kid. I dreamed often about Nobel Prize:-) So I decided to study Material Science when I went to college. Upon graduation, I enrolled in a Phd program to study "Advanced Physics". Look back, what a mis-match. Despite I was pretty good at math and chemistry, I was not good at physics even in high school! Actually in high school, my most favourite subjects were "chemistry" and "literature". I won a national prize for essay writing when I was 15.

Long story short, I quit Phd program within 1 year and found a job with an American company based in Shanghai by chance the following week. A few years later, I visited US for the 1st time on a business trip. When I was visiting Stanford University on that business trip, I saw palm trees for the 1st time ever in my life and I told myself that I will be here one day. Here I am, living in San Francisco and it has been 15 years since that visit. It was just like yesterday. In between, I lived in different parts of US and travelled a lot (comparing to someone who has 8-5 type of job, not comparing to my pilot who has been to more than 80 countries even before he became a pilot!) for business and pleasure. I went to business school, found my 1st job from an ad at Wall Street Journal after graduation... Did not intend to stay with that company for long, but ended up staying for 7.5 years with 5 different positions incl. travelling to Latin America and Europe often and 3 years gig in Asia as well. I am not complaining at all, but looking back, I could have done something different and better with more careful planning.

I am thinking about airline pilot's career now as I have been reading a bit in the past months. It is quite different from my work and profession. After 9/11, everything is so unpredicable. The only thing certain is things will change. So I am relatively certain that making a choice based soley upon bases, current payscales (to a degree), etc. is not a good recipe without considering growth stategy, business model, company culture, and of course upgrade potential, etc. But I am not an airline pilot, it is just my 2 cents:-)

Men vs. Women Again

2006-08-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

I wrote about Men vs. Women before. I read something about difference of men and women dealing stress and intimacy recently. And I want to copy it here so that I can remind myself:-)

When under stress, men go to their caves and women talk. Indeed, this is one of the biggest differences between our two sexes. We cope with stress differently. Men become withdrawn whilst women want to talk. Men may come home after a long day at work and want to relax and unwind by reading something or watching the TV. They just want to forget about their problems for a while. Women, on the other hand, may come home equally stressed or tired and want to find relief by talking about the problems of their day. A guy may think that his girlfriend/wife talks too much, whilst she feels totally ignored. Unless men understand that women feel better by talking about their problems, they will continue to resist listening. By the same token, unless women understand that men are not ignoring them but simply trying to relax or solve their own problems by withdrawing into their cave, they will feel that they are personally being ignored.

Also Men are like rubber bands. This metaphor represents the male intimacy cycle. This cycle involves getting close, pulling away and then getting close again. From a woman's perspective this behaviour seems rather illogical because if you love someone, why would you be pulling away from that same someone? And why should anyone expect that the partner will be waiting patiently for the rubber band to spring back? No woman would ever assume that. But men do. They just pull away, not intentionally nor maliciously; they just do. However, if misunderstood by the woman, this intimacy cycle can lead to frustration and create problems. Women should not take it personally nor try to run after the guy. The guy will just come back naturally if there is something really there between them. But if she keeps running after him, he will just pull away even more or break the rubber band:-).

Pictures from the Weekend

2006-08-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

I am tired from 4 hours paddling today. But I had so much fun with friends this weekend hiking along the coast, wine tasting, cooking at the camp and kayaking. Here are some pictures and hopefully they are worth a few thousands of words:-)

Weekend

2006-08-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

I am off this weekend for hiking, wine tasting and kayaking at the coast. I am really looking forward to it. I grew up in a big city and really missed out nature when I was growing up. I hiked for the 1st time when I moved to the Bayarea. I backpacked for the 1st time in 1999 (around Kings Cayon) and that was 1st time I camped as well. I went to white water rafting for the 1st time (in fact only time so far) in West Virginia in 1994. I did my 1st kayaking (from Sausalito to Angel Island back and forth) a few years ago. Last year I went to Peru for 2 weeks and did 5 days backpacking/trekking at Inca Trail... I have been really enjoying all outdoor activities and wish to do more.

I will be thinking of my pilot though. I miss him...

The Steppe

2006-08-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

Everytime I read the book, my tears come out. This book has a profound impact of me since I 1st read it a few months ago. It made me think, made me smile, made me cry.

I cried again when I read this part:
"The lady you love will give you freedom to follow your fate. She will give you strength to follow your path. In return you give her the freedom to accept herself. You both will find destiny and it is not love."

And this part:
"When a man encounters his fate he can either turn away from it. Or he can get lost for an undetermined amount of time. He chose the later. Along the way, Emperio forgot anything about himself. He got lost. Emperio asked Guzyalle, "Do you know my fear?" "To," Guzyalle said as she looked at him with deep emotions, "be alone." "No, to rely on someone: to need someone more than I need my own heart. I do not want to need someone in order to live."

Above all the emotions, "The Steppe" gave me ONE feeling I have never felt before in life. I thank you for writing it and let me read it, and feel it!

Oshkosh Mygosh:-) --Part 2

2006-07-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

We departed RFD (Rockford, IL) to OSH (Oshkosh, WI) on Saturday, July 22, 2006 . Pilots assigned as Flight Leaders have to identify themselves with a red 8 x 11’ card in the windshield and were parked with the nose wheel on a red spot. Wingmen were directed to parking either side of a Flight Leader.

Anticipated start time was 11:45 a.m. local time for a noon departure and 11:45am it was. Everyone was asked to have transponders on standby or off. Here are some detailed instruction I copied from briefing:

Run-up: We strongly recommend you do your mag check at cruise power prior to landing or on the ground before getting to the UPS ramp - you will then be ready to go without a run-up with the next engine start. If you feel you must do a run-up on the ground after engine start: do it on the ramp where you have more spacing than you will have anywhere else, do it at the lowest possible RPM and cycle your prop only once. Once we start to taxi there is no time or place appropriate for run-up. Certainly do not do a run-up on the runway when tail to nose and only two feet from the Bonanza behind you.

Runway protocol: DO NOT EVEN THINK OF SHUTTING DOWN YOUR ENGINE WHILE WAITING FOR DEPARTURE. If your airplane is prone to overheating at idle for 15-20 minutes do everyone a favor and drop out of the formation. One airplane running down a battery while attempting a hot start will ruin the flight for everyone. There will be no way to get around you. You probably will not be able to run fast enough to get away from the angry mob. Again, do not do your run up on the runway. We are lined up nose to tail only a few feet apart.

Takeoff: All planes will be lined up three abreast on the runway prior to take-off if landing Runway 36 L&R (that is what we did!!). Planes will line up two abreast for all other runway arrivals. Each element will begin take-off roll when element lead sees the prior element lifting off and light under the wheels (15 sec apart this year! It was 30 sec apart last year)

Formation: Climb is at 100 kts. IAS, cruise at 125, descent at 125, approach at 100. At take-off there will be significant spacing between the element in front and yours. This will increase as the element in front levels and you are still climbing. Closure will be at 140 knots maximum.

Route: Except for Bonanza Lead, no one really needs to know it. All Flight Lead need do is follow the element in front. All wingmen need do is fly with their Flight Leader. No one should be looking at instruments or GPS. This is a VFR flight. In deference to copilots who want something to do, the routes are published. Formation Flight Lead may vary the route depending on weather. In 2001 we were on the planned route only 40% of the time. Nothing is cast in stone. Being a pilot is being flexible, but formation flying means discipline - follow lead. It is the formation lead's job to be flexible. They did publish route at the briefing:-)

Route Comments: We will not know the route until the 10.00 a.m. briefing. Our preferred arrival runway at OSH is RW 36 unless winds dictate otherwise. The RW 36 arrival is our standard three aircraft formation (again that was what we did). All other runway arrivals will be two aircraft elements from departure to touchdown. The first three waypoints, RFD VOR, OSH 1 and OSH A were designed in coordination with RFD for an orderly departure from their airspace and are common to all routes. Arrival routings were coordinated with FAA , OSH Tower Chief and EAA. The RW 36 arrival brings us west of the Class D Fond du Lac airspace, then to the POBER (OS) outer marker and a five mile final. Waypoint C is a mandatory flyover point. Fly wide and you will encroach on the Ripon arrival only a few miles to your left. Cut the corner and you will encroach on the Class D Fond du Lac airspace. Right wing will sidestep on final to land on 36R.

Radios: Frequencies will be given at the briefing. Radio silence is mandatory. As they say in the T-34 manual, ‘Wingman, the only thing I ever want to hear you say is 'Lead, you are on fire!'‘

Well, overall the flight went well. Our plane was #14 (element 5) of total 82 planes. There were a period of time that element 4 flight leader seemed lost. But he caught up and we all landed safely. He was the talk of the after party though...

Some Great News for Airline Industry

2006-07-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

8 US Airlines Profitable in 2nd Quarter

AirTran, US Airways and Midwest Airlines announced second quarter profits July 27th. Alaska Air Group, American, Continental, JetBlue and Southwest. Regional carrier Mesa have previously reported profits for the period ending June 30.

Morning Fog, Again:-)

2006-07-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Before I write more about Oshkosh Airventure 2006, I want to write a little bit about morning fog, I mean this morning's fog:

I woke up a little anxious. My pilot was supposed to be back to town last night. But I did not hear from him at all. I was wondering what happened, mostly just wanting to be sure he is safe. Maybe I should not even worry about that, but you know how women are:-), very sensitive. LOL. I myself travel a lot and know that airplanes always get delayed or broken or whatever just do not work... I guess I wished that my pilot would have called me, even just to let me know that he landed safely. But I understand that he must be very very tired after 14 hours flight and no much sleep. And he is not mindreader either:-).

So I took a little walk to the Ferry Building this morning and sat down right next the Ferry terminal with a latte and newspaper. It was foggy or I shall say cloudy, but I felt much less anxious somehow. The fog and view of the Bay make me calm which I am grateful. I thought about my pilot then and wondered where he is now, but I was much less anxious...

Life is funny. In the past 2 months or so, when I was in town, my pilot was gone. When he was in town, I was gone. Now we are both back (barely as I just got back the night before, him last night), yet he might have to leave again tomorrow to fly. Well, there is not much we can do, we both have a job and life before we met, and we have them both now. Although it would nice to make the schedule work better, we will have to give that to luck for now...

I am going to make the best of it whenever possible and whatever future holds. I know my pilot's passion and aspiration, I also know that he is trying to figure out a lot of things right now. The best I can do is to support him whichever way he likes... Over the long run and when looking back, this is just a short period of time of one's life, one never knows what will happen next, yet to support someone as he/she wishes to be supported is the best "gift" I can give to a friend, as a true friend... The important things for me right now are: be happy and at peace with oneself, have a good health, enjoy friends and family, enjoy life, live life with passion, be caring, trusting, patient and self confident, be grateful, and of course, smile and be cheerful... It is a beautiful world after all!

As for my pilot, I know he will "discover" himself. And he may need solitude and silence right now, just as he wrote in his book:

Emperio’s silence was his passion. He has come to the patient understanding that fate is not found unless the individual is willing to walk towards something unknown. Even the restlessness of a young man will never change some of its occurrences. The nomadic peoples understood Emperio Sabestyen’s solitude. They left him alone. Guzyalle understood him.

And just as it was described at the end of "The Steppe", I trust that my pilot will "find" himself. And I truly believe in him :

It is like a piece of music, how it becomes so passionate, strong, exciting: suddenly quiets, playing the simple beautiful tune with which the piece started and finally giving a feel of comprehensiveness by concluding with tones settling in your heart forever: a mortal man has discovered himself.

En Route to Oshkosh Airventure 2006

2006-07-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

I went to Oshkosh Airventure show for the 1st time and I (well, not really me as I am not PIC) flew there in a Bonanza. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the experience.

We left on July 19th in the afternoon from Reidhill View Airport in San Jose, CA, flew 3 hours and 45 min and arrived in Ogden, UT with 4 planes formation en route and landing. All 4 planes took off at different airports in California and when we started, ours was 50 miles behind. It took us 3 hours and 2 states to catch up with others. The flight from Reidhill View to Ogden was interesting to say the least. We had lighting on our right wing for 2 hours and one time, I even asked a stupid question that if we were hit by lighting, would we be OK? LOL. The route we took from RHV to Ogden were to fly 1st direct to SWR (Squaw Valley VOR), then KLOL (Lovelock Derby airport), then KENV (Wendover airport), then Ogden. We were supposed to bend the flight path a little bit to skirt MOAs and Restricted areas in NV, but in order to catch up with other planes in front of us, we asked the controller to let us pass some MOAs which we were partly given access. Hear this, we landed at Ogden airport with 28 knots and 37 gust!! We used full flaps on landing mostly for fun, and it felt that we were landing a helicopter... After landing, we went for dinner and had a good night sleep at a nice hotel in downtown. The only thing worth mention is that it took 45 min for 2 taxis to arrive to airport to pick us up!!

The next morning (July 20th), we were supposed to arrive at the Ogden airport at 7:30am to get started earlier to cross the Rockies. Well, most of the people were late other than 2 of us who spent more than a hour just wondaring around the airport doing nothing but watching 3 helicopters starting off and taking off. It was nice though as we can see mountains surronding the airport with the sun just rising and most importantly it was not too hot yet. Anyway, we took off around 9:30am, and flew to Ainsworth, Nebraska and landed after about another 3 hours and 30 min. It was relatively uneventful from Ogden to Ainsworth other than the final leg which was very bumpy. We had 7 planes together, so we did some formation with 4 and 3. Oh, I forgot to mention this, when we took off at Ogden, we saw at least 5-6 F16s flying around like mad and tower repeatly remind us to stay away:-).

We had some minor problems at Ainsworth. The car we got from airport quit us and we had to wait for another car to come to get us from the lunch place. Talking about lunch place, it was the only place to eat in a town with population 53. The girl who was taking our orders got confused with her own handwriting and we had to help her out. It was very funny. I had a Philly steak sandwish and it was one of the best lunch I ever had! What a great experience. I even met someone (she is the wife of Ainsworth airport manager) from the town that works with the comany I work for now. Interesting, you never know who you will meet even it was in middle nowhere.

After stopping at Ainsworth for almost 3 hours, we took off again and headed to Rockford, IL for another 3 hours. One plane had engine problem after 2 hours, so he and the other 2 planes who have tools landed at another airport in IL. On route to Rockford, we had one of the most closest formation I have seen while I was in a plane myself. It was beautiful. We landed in Rockford past 9:15pm as single ship due to darkness.

I will write more about next day's formation practice in the rain with 14 ships (8 pilots from Texas and 6 from California who call themselves "Beech Boys" and 100 Bonanzas to Oshkosh on Sat July 22 in my next post, as well as show case formation flying on Monday July 24, "encounter" with "Beach Boys" band that evening. But here are some pictures http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/janezhang/album?.dir=/d0f0scd of formation flight en route from RHV, CA to Ogden, UT to Ainsworth, NE to Rockford, IL as well as the practice in the rain I am going to write about next.

This trip made me understand more that "Flying is more than a sport and more than a job; flying is pure passion and desire, which fill a lifetime."-General Adolf Galland, Luftwaffe, 'The First and the Last,' 1954.

What to Do When You Really Miss Someone?

2006-07-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

I donot know why I miss my pilot so much. Maybe it is the fog outside:-) Maybe it is the wave inside me. Well, I guess women are like waves, a lot of ups and downs sometimes. And sometimes our waves crash... I wish there is a wall to keep a woman's wave "contained" during times like these. Having said that, I think I am generally a centered person, yet when my wave comes, I have so much emotions. I need to put my energy somewhere else more. For example, I am going to explore more about not for profit kind of work and try to get involved in something I enjoy in my spare time. I mentored Stanford students on their social entrepenuership business plan competition and had great time. I shall do more this kind of thing, donate my time and expertise to help other people/ventures in social issues. So I just send my application/bio to a not for profit organization called 'Social Fusion" to do pro-bono work in the area of strategy and business plan development, and international sales/marketing.

What do you when you miss someone so much? I have to figure this out:-) Try to be less missing that person, try to distract yourself with something else, try to take a nap? Oh, going to gym, going for a walk... Missing someone actually is a good thing, at least for me. I feel connected even with thousands miles away. I re-read "The Steppe" a little bit, and I remembered/recored here what my pilot wrote:

Guzyalle knew Emperio was a man who needed freedom to explore life. Emperio knew Guzyalle could not be possessed. Humans cannot possess just as love cannot possess. They knew not their creation but only fulfilled the desire to live with loving each other. It is often hard to free a desire to let it roam free and wonder if it will choose to stay. Emperio Sabestyen and Guzyalle both understood this. For she knew his intimate love would stay, forever, with her but he would live passionately with the world. He shared what the world had given to him. Guzyalle knew Emperio gave people hope. They would give each other passion. Emperio needed the world but he needed the strength to conquer it. Courage comes from sacrifices. The individual does not choose this path the path has chosen them. Emperio searched for freedom because he could not have boundaries if he wanted to discover fate. Guzyalle gave Emperio the power to be free. From the moment he saw her he knew she gave him boundless breaths of discovery. Guzyalle did not understand it in a moment but moreover she discovered it through the process. Emperio understood it through silence.

This is as if it was written for me... I wish I am with you now...

Ayurveda, Career/Life Balance, Airline Pilot, and Education

2006-07-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

It is very foggy now. I can only see downtown partially from my windows. Actually I like fog and always think it is romantic:-). I esp. love fog over Golden Gate Bridge...

Today, I went to a facial. It was very relaxing and we did some test on my Dosha types based on "Ayurveda" per Spa's request. Well, I am a combination of Vata and Pitta. It was said that "fire and water together creates Pitta" and "Space and air combined forms Vata". I guess I am lack of "water and earth combination which makes Kapha"

After facial, I had lunch with a girl friend who is comtemplating career change. It is funny that both she and I are almost at the same stage that we have achieved a bit in our careers and we are looking for quality of life more now. She has been travelling to Chicago every week from Sunday to Thursday/Friday, so quality of life is not very good. It is normal things change as time goes and it is an individual thing... I truly understand how important career is, esp. to a man. It is more than a job if you love what you do and there are a lot of people wanting to do the same job! In the past several weeks, I have been reading a lot about airline pilots and their job/life. It is very competitive and I am so proud of my pilot:-). I wish and hope that he will get what he wanted every step along the way. And I am confident that he will! I know there might be some ups and downs, but I am sure that he will prevail -- I know it from his eyes that he can be whoever/whatever he wants to be. Maybe that is one of the reasons that I feel a lot with him as I have always believed in myself... And never never give up of your dreams/your own promises to yourself...

This evening, I had drinks with some friends. We talked about life and career again. All 3 of us would like to do something not for profit, yet we are still searching for the right opportunities. They both have PhD degrees which leads me to some reflection:

When I grew up, I always thought it was very important to have higher education. My parents are scientists and I grew up in an environment where almost everyone is a scientist. I thought I would have a PhD someday and become a scientist myself. Yet as I grew up, esp. in the past several years, I realise that despite it is important to be educated, there are different ways to get educated. Some of the most impressive people I met and know of do not have a formal education. Life has so much to learn and to teach and it is the best school and I believe in that more after reading the books written by my pilot... Of course, the ideal combination would be to have both "book smarts" and "street smarts":-)

Well, so much about education, etc. I am thinking that my pilot is asleep now:-)

Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann

2006-07-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we have such a busy life or we are too "obsessed" with ourselves, we forget the rest of the world. I love "Desiderata" written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s -- it always gives me inspiration

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Pilots are Mind Readers (from a Captain's blog)

2006-07-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

I read this story somewhere (copied here below) and loved it. It reminds me that pilots, just like other humans, have kind hearts. More and more, I believe kindness and being true to oneself are the true gift one can give to him or herself.

Pilots are mind readers

One day some time ago I found myself deadheading back to my base. That is when I catch a ride home and sit in the cabin with all the passengers. As I was waiting to board I was standing next to a mother and her son. The young boy was about 8 years old and was going to travel by himself. The mother was very upset and crying. The agent took the boy down to the jet and as they stepped into the jet way the boy turned around and waved to his mother. She started crying harder. I was in my uniform and approached the mother asking her about her son. This was to be their first time away from each other. He was going to visit his father. I asked the mother if she wanted me to sit next to her son. She was grateful and thanked me. I then asked her many questions about her son. Where did he go to school, what was his teachers name, best friends name, favorite food, best movie ever, sports stuff, what did his room look like, etc, etc.I then proceeded onto the jet and found him sitting in a row all by himself. I asked if I could sit in the row with him and he politely said yes. He was reading a book but he kept stealing glances at me. Finally I told him I was a pilot and going home, that if he had any questions about flying he could ask me as I knew EVERYTHING. I told him that we pilots have brains that go beyond the capabilities of the human mind, so focused are we on flying that we can actually see things just before they happen. In addition to that we can also read minds which we must do constantly while flying so we don’t fly into each other. If I know what the other pilots out there are thinking and they know what I am thinking then it is very simple to avoid each other. He was very, very skeptical.To prove my point I asked him to think of something I could not possibly know about him as he agreed we had never met before. I said, “How about if you concentrate on what your favorite soup is?” I stared at him, right into his eyes, for about 10 seconds and said, “My guts are telling me its tomato and rice.” He just stared at me. Then I said, “Do you like those little goldfish crackers with your soup?” He nodded his head. I then asked him to think of where he goes to school and what he does in an average day, who he talks to and what subjects he likes. I rubbed the sides of my head as if in intense concentration, my eyes closed, mumbling to myself. I said to him, “Is your teachers name Mrs. Candish?” “Yes” he said. “I think you like math and that girl that sits behind you”, I said. His face turned red. I told him about Sandy Schick, the girl I liked but never talked to in the 4th grade and what a big mistake that was. My mind is telling me that you like baseball.” I said. He said, “How do you know all this?” I pointed to my wings and told him it just goes along with the job. I then told him he needed to clean his room more as his mother would appreciate it, that his best friend Robert was not as smart as he was, and that he should do a better job of hiding his diary that was currently under his mattress. He stared at me and said, “OK”. At this point I was not remembering all the other information his mother had given me so I told him that I was exhausted after using my brain so intently. I closed my eyes and woke up during descent. Just before we landed I asked him if he had any questions for me. He asked me if I knew what he was going to be when he grew up. I said that I did not know as my abilities could only handle the present and the immediate future. “If I knew the future, I never would have asked my ex-wife out on a date”, I said. I looked at him and told him that based on what I was seeing in him now; he could be anything he wanted to be as long as he worked hard and never gave up on his dreams. That seemed to satisfy him as he sat back in his chair and smiled. After we landed I had to get going so I shook his hand, wished him the best and told him to call his mother to let her know he was OK because I could see she missed him and loved him . I grabbed my bags and left. He should now be in high school, I think of him often and wonder if he ever thinks of that genius pilot he met.

Trip to Italy

2006-07-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been off in Italy in the past 2 weeks. For the 1st 4-5 days, I was in Rome and then Fuiggi for work. Fuiggi was such a nice small town over the mountains with clear sky and fresh air. The work projects went well and we had good food, wine as well.

So by the night I finished work related stuff, I was still not sure where to go next. I knew that I like to spend several days in Venice, but what about 5-6 days before that? I thought about Naples. Yet all my Italian male colleagues said that I should not go to Naples by myself. Really? I used to travel to Sao Paulo, Brazil by myself for business... Well, at the end, I agreed with them that I shall try somewhere else. And I chose Siena.

Siena turns out to be a great place and a great time. I booked a small hotel out of Internet midnight before I took the train to Siena. When I arrived at train stations after changing trains twice and 4 hours later, I was told by the taxi driver that the roads to my hotel were closed due to Palio event? I said what event? Well, Palio is the famous twice a year horseback race events in Siena since past several hundreds years! It turns out to be such a fun time for me with 60,000 people:-) I also went to a day trip to Chianti and wine tasting. On my train ride from Rome to Siena, I remembered that almost 3 years ago, I was on a train from Florence to Rome and I was so impressed by the Chianti/Tuscany region that I told myself that one day I will be back. So I went back and I am grateful that I was able to do that and had a great time. I did wish that my pilot was with me esp. since he was just in Italy about a month ago...

After a few days in Siena, I went to Bologna - the food capital of Italy. Well, it turns on that a lot of shops are on sale and I like cloth sytle there. I bought quite a few outfits and I can not wait to show them to my pilot:-) I also watched Italy vs. Germany in the city center and experience the after match celebration with tens of thousands of people!

Then I moved on to Venezia. It was such an experience and I love Venezia. It was told every vistor to Venezia has his/her thoughts and they are very individual. I was amazed by the city and how everything about it. I had someone offer free Gondola ride to me, and I had ferry reparked for me, and I got a lot of mosquito bites. I wanted to stay until after Italy vs. France final game, yet was not able to get a seat back to SFO.

At Venezia airport on my way back to SFO via Munich, I chatted with 2 pilots who flew for a German airline. It sounds like that European airlines are doing better than their counterparts in US. One pilot just visited San Francisco last month and drove through Golden Gate Bridge with a camper!

Now I am back to SF and catch up with some work. I am thinking of my pilot now, and wondering where he is now:-) And here are some pictures from the trip and more at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/janezhang/album?.dir=3fcescd&.src

En Route to Frankfurt

2006-06-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

And we just past Montreal with 5.5 to go to Frankfurt (it has been almost 5 hours since we left SFO)!

2006-06-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Just a hello from 747 at 35,000 ft!!

Behind Those Eyes

2006-06-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

Seems like just yesterday,
You were with me,
Your arms around me tight
Yet it felt so open

I miss your touch
I miss your smile
I miss those eyes
I am happy I "find" you:-)

More about Man and Woman

2006-06-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

Generally speaking, women, are warm, sensitive creatures. Their world revolves around relationships and conversation. When in love, there is nowhere they'd rather be than with their partner. She will take every opportunity to spend time with him and go to great lengths to see him. By spending time together, woman has the opportunity to connect and communicate with her man. In doing so, she is able to seek out the care, understanding, respect, devotion, validation and reassurance that are so important to her.

Men, also enjoy time with their partner. However, their intimacy needs are not met through constant togetherness. They thrive on action more than communication. While women tend to over analyze a time she and her man spent together, man does not need to relive every word or examine every detail to ensure that all has gone well. Instead, they concentrate on their next task. Men focus more on trying to do something that will contribute to the overall relationship and bring the woman happiness.

Well, the fact I am writing all these here means I am a woman:-)

One of the biggest mistakes that modern women seem to make in relationships is that we stop looking at men as the icing to the cake, and start expecting men to be everything to us. I think this is a byproduct of our busy, fast-paced lifestyles where we have less and less time to establish friendships with other women and look beyond ourselves (often self centered selves). The result is that with our limited time we assume that our intimate relationships we have to give us what we need. This would not work. Men, for better or worse, will always be men. We can not make men fit into a female mold, and vice versa.

Ok, I am done with this "men vs. women" thing, at least for today. LOL

Difference of Being Male vs. Female

2006-06-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about difference of being male vs. female. To start with:
1. Gray hair & wrinkles give a male "character."
2. Male usually pack light when travel
3. Male generally pays far less for haircuts & their "styles" don't change that much and for someone who shave his hair, even less:-)
4. Male doesn't wear thongs to avoid the dreaded visible panty lines
5. Male does n't have menstrual cycles & the accompanying discomfort
6. Male can scratch & adjust himself in public:-)
7. Male usually doesn't have to sit on or balance precariously over public toilet seats
8. Men are good at lifting heavy stuff

Joking aside, I love being a woman though, esp. when I am with my pilot. I love my body and my mind and share them with my pilot...

Create a Blog for my Pilot & Me & Everything Else:-)

2006-06-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning at 6am refreshed. I was so tired last night and went to bed earlier. When I woke up, my pilot was in my mind... Then I was surfing the web while checking work email -- I read a few articles about pilots and their life. I decided to creat this blog and share my thoughts and day with my pilot.

It is very nice out. Nice sunshine already with clear sky. I will be going to BOA building this morning for meetings. Then I will be driving to my office in South Bay for more meetings. It does not sound very exciting, but I will make the best out of it. It is not bad actually...

I imagine you are in the air now. Wherever you are, please know that I am thinking of you:-)