A Passage to India Part 4
A Passage to India Part 4: Return to India!
Happy Birthday USA!
May your BBQs be full of friends, family, good times, and may your steaks and beers be not too dang expensive!!!
And Now…
A Passage to India Part 4
Return to India—A Career Come Full Circle
“Every life ought to contain both a turn and a return.”
Folks, now that we’ve been halfway around the world and back together, let’s do it again!
But, this post isn’t simply a repeat of what you’ve already seen; as you’ll soon discover, this trip has not only represented a milestone in my career, concurrent happenings in life have added profound meaning to it.
Yes, I know that sounds cryptic—read on!
First Challenge: Mission Abort?
This time around, I was assigned to be the Primary Captain—that is, I’ll be calling all the shots, and doing the takeoffs and landings—along with my trusty sidekick, our Primary FO. Also on our team this time: FB Don and Relief Captain Stuart.
I refrained from mentioning the name of my trusty FO-to-be, because I don’t know who it will be.
Why?
Because, as soon as I touched down at Base Camp JFK, I got a text from our originally-scheduled FO:
He had tested positive for Covid!
Well, knowing this is a mighty long flight, with a ginormous footprint (5-6 days), I knew it could be a challenge for Crew Scheduling to replace him at the last minute.
As of this writing, our replacement FO—if any—remains a mystery!
The good news is, New York is a primary base for us, so I believe we’ll have a few reserve pilots to choose from.
Time will tell.
Tick…
Tick…
Tick…
A New Day
I woke up in Base Camp JFK to good news: we had a new FO, Brian!
Our DEL flight would proceed as planned…
Whew!
A Passage to India Part 4
Preflight: 1st Half of "The Turn"
Remember during our domestic A321 flying days, we’d fly a short “turn” from, say, PHX to LAX, turn around and come back?
Well, this one’s a slightly longer “turn”!
Our initial outbound route over to DEL was very similar to the previous week’s, with a few modifications. Note, for example, our Atlantic crossing. We took NATrack Victor over to the UK (see below).
See how this route kinda sorta takes advantage of the jet stream (blue arrows, below—pic shows previous days’ flight track and NATs). Taking advantage of the wind on a flight this long becomes a major factor.
This is also apparent looking at our route through Europe as well.
Note also that our original “hard right turn” (see A Passage to India Part 2) is back. Still skirting the nether regions of Eastern Afghanistan!
Overall, the trip over looks to be fairly standard. Weather seems to be cooperating, and not too much turbulence to deal with. Better yet, DEL is a about 10° cooler than last week’s scorcher—still plenty hot though!
Good news! We launched out of JFK unencumbered…
Based on our scheduled flight time (see above), enroute, each flight deck team would get two shifts, while the other team rested.
- Flight time: 14:17
- Distance: 7227nm
- Crew Breaks: 2 x 3:20
As Primary Captain and FO, Brian and I took first shift, which took us past North America, and halfway across the “Pond” toward the UK.
A Passage to India Part 4
Challenge 2: Divert to Alternate?!
Somewhere over Europe, I was prematurely awakened from my first break to some crummy news: A passenger had been drinking too much and was being belligerent!
Well, sadly, this is fairly common news, especially on a flight with nearly 300 passengers.
Taking over up front, Brian and I had a powwow with Stewart and Don. We discussed possible diversion alternates, just in case things went south…
Well, things did!
The passenger had now passed out, and a physician was attending to him.
This had turned from a potential passenger security issue to a potential medical emergency issue.
I’ll go into more details about this event in our next blog post, which I’d already started—coincidentally (& perhaps prophetically?!), entitled,
“Diverting to Alternate!”
For now, I’ll keep it succinct.
In Europe, diversion airports are plentiful. In the Middle East, not so much…
Via Satellite phone, we contacted our Dispatcher and POC (Physician On Call—again, more on that in our next post!)
As we continued to navigate and search for alternates, we passed along the doctor’s recommendations to the cabin crew.
Fortunately, due to her instructions, the passenger stabilized, recovered, and we were able to continue to destination without further incident.
Afterward, the passenger even apologized for his behavior, and thanked our crew for their help.
I agree, a huge THANK YOU to our intrepid Flight Attendants, and to our onboard volunteer doctor!
Above: approach and landing to Runway 29, VIDP (DEL)
Thirsty for more aeronautical adventures by Cap’n Aux?
Check out all his aviation books and novels!
Direct Link: Amazon.com/author/ericauxier
A Passage to India Part 4
Blog Buddy Meetup—in Delhi!
“God has put us on earth to love our neighbors and to show it, and He is omnipresent, even in India, to see how we are succeeding.”
Folks, I’ve always said, the greatest reward from doing this here blog, has been meeting all of you Blog Buddies around the world. And, now that I’m actually flying ’round the globe, I’m getting to meet you in person!
One of my first blog buddies here at capnaux.com was a young teen from India named Shrey. He dreamed of one day flying for an airliner.
Over the years, we chatted a lot, and I believe I helped him to keep that aviation dream of his alive…
Well, fast forward to today, and guess what?
Shrey is a bonafide A320 First Officer flying for an Indian airline!
What’s more, he got to meet up with me on my DEL layover!
We met for a long lunch to talk shop and catch up. I gave him signed copies of two of my books, and he gave me a gorgeous framed photo of a 777 in DEL that he took!
By the way, ladies, Shrey is Single and Looking!! ;o)
A Passage to India Part 4
Return to JFK
A longer, heavier challenge
- Flight time: 15:22
- Distance: 7196nm
- Crew Breaks: 2 x 3:40
On the return flight, our main challenge was climbing out über-heavy (760,000lb!) Due to our weight, we would be flying over the Himalayas at a relatively low altitude (30,000′). On that first leg up past Afghanistan, we really had to pay close attention to those potential escape routes, for engine-out or rapid depressurization (see India Parts 1 and 2).
I’m happy to say that we pushed on time, and returned to JFK without further incident.
This time, we even arrived early enough for all of us to catch our commuter flights home (1 to DFW, 1 to SFO,1 to RDU, and me to PHX!)
Above: JFK-DEL
Notice how, even though the route is slightly shorter, the flight time back to JFK is over an hour longer than the outbound—all due to prevailing winds!
Below: DEL-JFK
A Passage to India Part 4
Hemisphere Dancing Report
Coming Full Circle on a 40-Year Career!
"There are many ways of being a man; mine is to express what is deepest in my heart.”
Folks, I say again, this is a special post!
Why?
Because, as mentioned in A Passage to India Part 1, in a way, this flight is the culmination of my 40-plus year career in Aviation.
And, so, with this post, we circle, not only back around the hemisphere, but back in time, to one of my first-ever flights…
At my recent birthday party, my family surprised me with a newly-discovered video of me flying a hang glider—at the ripe old age of 15!
Without further ado…Cap’n Aux on his very first “Captainship!” ;o)
Hey, not a bad landing, eh?!
This video was taken up in Northern Arizona at Merriam Crater, where there are many extinct volcano dunes, with gentle slopes and covered with soft cinder cone. Makes for excellent beginner hang gliding practice!
A Passage to India Part 4
STOP THE PRESSES!!!
Even more poignant, while I was on the road to DEL during this “turn,” back home, Life was busy happening…
Proudly announcing the arrival of Bunny’s and my newest (and second) granddaughter!!!
Blog Buddies, please join me in welcoming into the world, Claire Margaret Grace, born to proud parents Sydney and Kyle on 7/22/22, and weighing in at 7lb 11oz and 20.5″!
“Excuse my mistakes, realize my limitations. Life is not easy as we know it on the earth.”
A note to wannabe piloty types: as I mentioned, Grandbaby Claire arrived in the middle of my DEL Trip…
With a career on the road, this is the type of thing you WILL miss from time to time!
Below: Granddaughter Lyla meeting her little sister Claire for the first time! ❤️
Factor this possibility in, choose your career wisely, and remember: NOTHING is more important than FAMILY—not even Flying!!!
Full Passage to India Series:
A Passage to India Part 4
Quora Question Quorner
Since we’ve already had such an involved post, we’ll end with a fun little Quora ditty:
A Passage to India Part 4
This post is dedicated to the new love of our lives, Claire Margaret Grace!!!
Till the next post,
This is Cap'n Aux
Grand Parenting Off!
Cleared to Land
Touching Down Next
Diverting to Alternate!
Sometimes, Flights Don't Go as Planned
Cap'n Aux Social Media Links
- Books: Amazon.com
- Email: eric@capnaux.com
- Facebook: CapnAux
- Twitter: @capnaux
- Instagram: @capnaux
- Quora: CapnauxSpace
Related Links
- A Passage to India Part 1 https://capnaux.com/a-passage-to-india-part-1
- Life of an Airline Pilot:
- A Month in the Life of Cap’n Aux https://capnaux.com/a-month-in-the-life-of-capn-aux/
- Bid Life of an Airline Pilot https://capnaux.com/the-bid-life-of-an-airline-pilot/
- Life as a Reserve Pilot https://capnaux.com/life-as-a-reserve-pilot/
- Life as a Reserve Commuter Pilot https://capnaux.com/life-as-a-reserve-commuter-pilot/
- Top 10 Downers of an Airline Pilot Career https://capnaux.com/top-10-downers-of-an-airline-career/
- An Airline Pilot Retires https://capnaux.com/an-airline-pilot-retires/
- Life of a Test Pilot https://capnaux.com/the-occasionally-exciting-life-of-a-test-pilot/
- The Making of a European Pilot https://capnaux.com/the-making-of-a-european-airline-pilot/
- Confessions of a Former Airline Pilot https://capnaux.com/confessions-of-a-former-airline-pilot/
- 777 Adventures
- Hemisphere Adventures! https://capnaux.com/hemisphere-adventures/
- Dancing the Hemispheres https://capnaux.com/dancing-the-hemispheres/
- Maiden Voyage of the Boeing 777 https://capnaux.com/maiden-voyage-of-the-boeing-777/
- Getting Certified on the Boeing 777 https://capnaux.com/whats-it-like-to-get-certified-on-one-of-the-worlds-largest-airliners-the-boeing-777-type-rating/
- Drinking From a Firehose Part 1 https://capnaux.com/drinking-from-a-firehose-part-1/
- A Quora Aviation Q&A Quorum! https://capnaux.com/a-quora-aviation-qa-quorum
- Cap’n Aux Answers Your Avgeek Questions
- Part I https://capnaux.com/capn-aux-answers-your-avgeek-questions-part-i/
- II https://capnaux.com/capn-aux-answers-your-avgeek-qs-part-ii/
- III https://capnaux.com/capn-aux-answers-your-avgeek-qs-part-iii/
- IV https://capnaux.com/capn-aux-answers-your-avgeek-qs-part-iv/
- One Final Q! https://capnaux.com/interlude-vlog-one-final-avgeek-question/
- Airbus Adventures
- Fifi’s Final Flight! https://capnaux.com/fifis-final-flight/
- Cap’n Aux’s First Solo https://capnaux.com/blogging-in-formation-solo/
- End of an Aviation Era https://capnaux.com/end-of-an-aviation-era/
- A Tale of Two Upgrades https://capnaux.com/a-tale-of-two-upgrades/
- As the Turbine Turns https://capnaux.com/as-the-turbine-turns/
- Cap’n Aux Vimeo Page https://vimeo.com/capnaux/
- All Word on the Ramp Videos https://vimeo.com/manage/showcases/3162370/info
- Best of Videos https://vimeo.com/manage/showcases/3162373/info
- Fun Stuff and Best of Cap’n Aux
- Top 10 Things to Never Say to a Pilot https://capnaux.com/top-things-never-to-say-to-a-pilot/
- The Airline Cockpit in 7 Steps https://capnaux.com/airline-cockpit-7-steps-updated/
- Top 10 Downers of an Airline Pilot Career https://capnaux.com/top-10-downers-of-an-airline-career/
- Black Swan Event Part 1 (Video Interview with Qantas A380 Captain de Crespigny) https://capnaux.com/black-swan-event-the-captain-de-crespigny-story-pt-1/
- WOTR Video: It’s What Pilots Do! https://capnaux.com/word-on-the-ramp-video-its-what-pilots-do/
- Pilots of the Caribbean https://capnaux.com/there-i-wuz-pilot-of-the-caribbean/
- Part 2: Stranded in Paradise https://capnaux.com/pilot-of-the-caribbean-part-2/
- Life in the Sky with Covid
- Pilots Protest Covid Mandates https://capnaux.com/pilots-protest-covid-mandates/
- The Post-Covid Future of US Aviation https://capnaux.com/the-post-covid-future-of-u-s-aviation/
- Flying in the Age of Covid https://capnaux.com/flying-during-covid/
- Lessons From the Miracle on the Hudson https://capnaux.com/forced-landings-pilot-lessons-from-the-miracle-on-the-hudson-part-1/
