787 Training

[Ian_J]

Heading to 787 training in a few days and I’m pretty excited. I’m coming off the 737 (CRJ-900 and UH-60s before that). I waited to make the change until I’d be a line holder on it and am just thrilled it only took a couple of years.

Not too long ago before I hit submit on my bid I asked @derg for advice and he couldn’t speak more highly about widebody international flying. I hit submit that night!

While I know a lot of people on Jetcareers and what they fly, I can’t say I know another 787 driver… Any here and any advice? And if not airplane advice, the most common layovers we have are Dehli, Lisbon, Tel Aviv, Cape Town, Narita, Johannesburg, Athens, Rome, and São Paulo.

 

[SteveC]

Good on you man!

 

[Minuteman]

Congrats on the seat, the pay, and the stuff about the job.

 

[BobDDuck]

I'm still part of the tray table mafia, but start thinking about how you sleep. Some people thrive on longhaul, some don't. But either way, the better rested you are going in to a 10+ hour, 6 timezone change leg, the better you will feel coming out.

Also, not all trips are equal for beating you up, even to similar geographic areas. I can do AKL and be fine after quick nap at home where as SYD kicks my ass for at least a day.

 

[derg]

Europe kicks my butt, Asia is easy peasy. But we're all different!

See everything, stay out of Irish bars and places with off-menu items like "The Crew Pasta" "The Delta Salmon"

 

[roundout]

Heading to 787 training in a few days and I’m pretty excited. I’m coming off the 737 (CRJ-900 and UH-60s before that). I waited to make the change until I’d be a line holder on it and am just thrilled it only took a couple of years.

Not too long ago before I hit submit on my bid I asked @derg for advice and he couldn’t speak more highly about widebody international flying. I hit submit that night!

While I know a lot of people on Jetcareers and what they fly, I can’t say I know another 787 driver… Any here and any advice? And if not airplane advice, the most common layovers we have are Dehli, Lisbon, Tel Aviv, Cape Town, Narita, Johannesburg, Athens, Rome, and São Paulo.

I know a couple guys on the 7-8 at the TK. You're in good hands!! No other relevant comment. Enjoy the new ride.

 

[///AMG]

Congrats Ian....you've had a hell of a career so far, awesome new chapter!

 

[DE727UPS]

All I can say is sleep when your tired (at the hotel) and be awake when your not. Your have to ignore whether it's day or night where you are. I found that really hard. I also hated getting jacked around in China and in general had a hard time understanding ATC in Asia. Not so bad in Europe. They always said get a good noise cancelling headset and that would help. I never did as I was too cheap to use anything above what the company provided. Such a cheap ass I was.

 

[bLizZuE]

I would love to hear your thoughts on the school and flying the line. It’s a move I’ve asked Doug about too!

 

[Screaming_Emu]

After tasting international flying, if I ever had to go back to short haul this would very quickly become “just a job” for me. Flying is fun, but getting out and exploring the world is the best part if this.

 

[mikecweb]

 

[bike21]

Europe kicks my butt, Asia is easy peasy. But we're all different!

See everything, stay out of Irish bars and places with off-menu items like "The Crew Pasta" "The Delta Salmon"

Sing it with me!!! “They’ve got one in Honolulu and they’ve got one in Moscow too!”

View: https://youtu.be/bp3UsU5pQT8

 

[Ian_J]

I would love to hear your thoughts on the school and flying the line. It’s a move I’ve asked Doug about too!

For sure, man. Finished up the systems CBTs and coming from a 73 perspective, the aircraft seems pretty sweet.

 

[Ian_J]

I'm still part of the tray table mafia, but start thinking about how you sleep. Some people thrive on longhaul, some don't. But either way, the better rested you are going in to a 10+ hour, 6 timezone change leg, the better you will feel coming out.

Also, not all trips are equal for beating you up, even to similar geographic areas. I can do AKL and be fine after quick nap at home where as SYD kicks my ass for at least a day.

I hear you… this was my major concern when switching over. It’s a two year seat lock if I suck at time zones and sleeping.

 

[bLizZuE]

I hear you… this was my major concern when switching over. It’s a two year seat lock if I suck at time zones and sleeping.

Nah- you can always upgrade. Then it’s a two year seat lock when you realize you hate reserve.

 

[Ian_J]

See everything, stay out of Irish bars and places with off-menu items like "The Crew Pasta" "The Delta Salmon"

I’ve been on your forum since 2007 and some people actually read what you write.

In other words, I know, Dad! You’ve told us a million times!

 

[Ian_J]

Nah- you can always upgrade. Then it’s a two year seat lock when you realize you hate reserve.

Yeah, that’s gonna be a no for me, dawg. (Unless a new contract makes reserve amazing… and they stop giving 89 hour lines to line holders… and if that all becomes true then most likely junior guys won’t be able to hold it anymore!)

 

[derg]

I’ve been on your forum since 2007 and some people actually read what you write.

In other words, I know, Dad! You’ve told us a million times!

Ha! I’m DYING! Ha!

 

[JordanD]

I'm still part of the tray table mafia, but start thinking about how you sleep. Some people thrive on longhaul, some don't.

I really want to experience long haul but that’s the part that worries me. Naps don’t really happen for me and it seems like even domestically time zones screw me up more than they used to.

 

[BobDDuck]

I really want to experience long haul but that’s the part that worries me. Naps don’t really happen for me and it seems like even domestically time zones screw me up more than they used to.

Naps didn't happen for me either, but now I normally can get a few hours in at a time if I get home before noon. And if I get in first thing in the morning at an overnight, I can often times get three hours before I force myself up.

Everybody has their own strategy, and like I said before, some trips are worse than others. North-South can be tougher than East-West (which is odd because there is less of a timezone shift). For me there is nothing worse than flying all night and then sitting in traffic for two hours to get to a hotel. I can fly all day and then do that drive no problem though. Augmented crews help. Even if your break is only two hours (and at best you are going to get 90 minutes of sleep on that), it's enough to reset your body to get through. Cumulative sleep becomes important On off days I really try to get 8+ hours, so at least I am pretty well rested going to to a trip.

One of the biggest challenges for me is forcing myself to go to sleep/wake up at "normal" hours when I am at work. Lots of people subscribe to the "sleep when you need to" philosophy, but I really try to stay on whatever timezone I'm in. We have a lot of 48 hour layovers, so you really do have a full day and a half to go do stuff. For me that meant waking up this morning at 5am (because my body clock was about 7 hours ahead so it felt kind of like noon) and I'll probably try to stay awake until 9 or 10 pm tonight. Other people would have woken up at 3am and then crashed out around 4pm. Some people use melatonin to control their sleep schedule. It gives me terrible nightmares.

Really until you try it and work up some good sleep strategies you won't know how you handle it. And apart from the rest issues, pretty much everything else about international long haul is great.