Textron SkyCourier

[ppragman]

I've done this several hundred times at least. The terminal environment is always fun....but the Caravan is so boring it takes that fun away.

I have 1100 hours in the thing. If the Caravan were a food item, it would be the blandest, plainest variety of vanilla ice cream.

I wouldn't even call it something sweet.

Wheat toast with no butter that has a sprinkling of salt on it.

Its boring, flavorless, and raises your blood pressure.

 

[SquatThrust]

I don't miss the dash at all... *sob*

Blasphemy!

Tower: "Hey Dash, can you accept a short approach?"

Me:

 

[av8tr1]

I wouldn't even call it something sweet.

Wheat toast with no butter that has a sprinkling of salt on it.

Its boring, flavorless, and raises your blood pressure.

Your mother didn't hug you enough when you were a kid, did she......

 

[dustoff17]

Bigger than a Caravan and an etra engine, that's twi times the Caraven in my book...

This plane designator should be the C416.

 

[U_of_I_Tweak]

In our tinker toy biz jet, I handfly to 28 every time, gotta get my dirty paws on the yoke as much as possible!

You know you can hand fly above rvsm too, right? The baby jungle jet is whole another twitchy animal at 450, develops your fine motor skills real fine

I have 1100 hours in the thing. If the Caravan were a food item, it would be the blandest, plainest variety of vanilla ice cream.

My time in the Caravan was the closest to flying for fun (or for me) that I've done since I started professional flying.


I almost always fly with the autopilot/autothrottles off until passing FL290. *I* believe I'm permitted to hand flying higher, but CRM and not making waves means I turn on Otto.

I did recently fly the Sovereign from GRB to DPA without using the AP or AT the entire flight. I think my coworker nearly had a coronary!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Boris Badenov]

Ugh. Yeah, almost every F/O I fly with wants to hand-fly the entire flight. I assume it's because they were dropped on their heads as children or (more likely) they never hand-flew anything very much. I hand-flew a 99 for seven hours a night, five days a week. I know how to hand-fly. And I enjoy it, when I don't have anything else to worry about. But now I'm sitting in the right seat absolutely losing my mind trying to unscrew the FMS, spin the heading bug, set the altitude alerter, and keep track of the DP because Junior wants to "hone (his) skills". Go back and hone your skills in a turboprop for ten years, like I did. WE DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR YOUR DAMNED HOBBIES, SAH!

Seriously, though. This is how people get violated. I'd love to hand-fly everything, all the time. But this isn't a hobby, it's a job. If you skipped a few steps and miss actually flying an airplane, you can easily go back. Or rent one.

 

[BigZ]

Ugh. Yeah, almost every F/O I fly with wants to hand-fly the entire flight. I assume it's because they were dropped on their heads as children or (more likely) they never hand-flew anything very much. I hand-flew a 99 for seven hours a night, five days a week. I know how to hand-fly. And I enjoy it, when I don't have anything else to worry about. But now I'm sitting in the right seat absolutely losing my mind trying to unscrew the FMS, spin the heading bug, set the altitude alerter, and keep track of the DP because Junior wants to "hone (his) skills". Go back and hone your skills in a turboprop for ten years, like I did. WE DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR YOUR DAMNED HOBBIES, SAH!

Seriously, though. This is how people get violated. I'd love to hand-fly everything, all the time. But this isn't a hobby, it's a job. If you skipped a few steps and miss actually flying an airplane, you can easily go back. Or rent one.

C'mon, the Junior is supposed to have that "workload permitting" common sense, no? Im not going to handfly if there's something else I should be doing, but if not I'll hand fly here and there and will ask you to kill the FD if I want to fly raw data approach.
Got the "fly present heading join the 355R to OMN" today - almost made me giggle, doing something different is fun

 

[Boris Badenov]

If I'm signing the paperwork and you ask me to kill the FD, I'll ask you to kill yourself instead. Been there, done that, miss it horribly, wonder what box my gonads are locked up in and who has the key, but when it's my ass on the line, we aren't going off script because it's Fun. Again, if you want Fun, do it on your own ticket. God knows I did! This is a freaking JOB. I'm not getting paid to let you feel like a Real Pylot, I'm getting paid to get the appliance from one place to another with no drama. Fun is my enemy.

 

[gotWXdagain]

Well you're no fun.

 

[U_of_I_Tweak]

Ugh. Yeah, almost every F/O I fly with wants to hand-fly the entire flight. I assume it's because they were dropped on their heads as children or (more likely) they never hand-flew anything very much. I hand-flew a 99 for seven hours a night, five days a week. I know how to hand-fly. And I enjoy it, when I don't have anything else to worry about. But now I'm sitting in the right seat absolutely losing my mind trying to unscrew the FMS, spin the heading bug, set the altitude alerter, and keep track of the DP because Junior wants to "hone (his) skills". Go back and hone your skills in a turboprop for ten years, like I did. WE DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR YOUR DAMNED HOBBIES, SAH!

Seriously, though. This is how people get violated. I'd love to hand-fly everything, all the time. But this isn't a hobby, it's a job. If you skipped a few steps and miss actually flying an airplane, you can easily go back. Or rent one.

Or, you can recognize the low workload times to keep fresh your skills beyond pushing a button.

Of course when I'm hand flying, I am paying attention to the PNF to avoid overloading them.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[jtrain609]

If I'm signing the paperwork and you ask me to kill the FD, I'll ask you to kill yourself instead. Been there, done that, miss it horribly, wonder what box my gonads are locked up in and who has the key, but when it's my ass on the line, we aren't going off script because it's Fun. Again, if you want Fun, do it on your own ticket. God knows I did! This is a freaking JOB. I'm not getting paid to let you feel like a Real Pylot, I'm getting paid to get the appliance from one place to another with no drama. Fun is my enemy.

Proud of you, son. You'll be an airline pilot yet one of these days.

 

[deadstick]

Just for the record, if a prop can do 250 below 10 and is driven by a freight dog, I can guarantee you it will give you more and better than I will in my fruity jet.

248 to the marker — that was practically an SOP in the 1900. No way in heck you’d do that in the Barbie Jet.

Ugh. Yeah, almost every F/O I fly with wants to hand-fly the entire flight. I assume it's because they were dropped on their heads as children or (more likely) they never hand-flew anything very much. I hand-flew a 99 for seven hours a night, five days a week. I know how to hand-fly. And I enjoy it, when I don't have anything else to worry about. But now I'm sitting in the right seat absolutely losing my mind trying to unscrew the FMS, spin the heading bug, set the altitude alerter, and keep track of the DP because Junior wants to "hone (his) skills". Go back and hone your skills in a turboprop for ten years, like I did. WE DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR YOUR DAMNED HOBBIES, SAH!

Seriously, though. This is how people get violated. I'd love to hand-fly everything, all the time. But this isn't a hobby, it's a job. If you skipped a few steps and miss actually flying an airplane, you can easily go back. Or rent one.

Dude,

Follow Mr. Vargas and switch to Sanka or take a break from the Northeast...or both.

 

[bucksmith]

If I'm signing the paperwork and you ask me to kill the FD, I'll ask you to kill yourself instead. Been there, done that, miss it horribly, wonder what box my gonads are locked up in and who has the key, but when it's my ass on the line, we aren't going off script because it's Fun. Again, if you want Fun, do it on your own ticket. God knows I did! This is a freaking JOB. I'm not getting paid to let you feel like a Real Pylot, I'm getting paid to get the appliance from one place to another with no drama. Fun is my enemy.

Both posts, paraphrasing my thoughts exactly. Except you say it with more panache, glad you beat me to it.
And to add, cleared for the visual doesn't mean you've been transported into a 172. Especially at night. Yeeesh

 

[bucksmith]

Dude,

Follow Mr. Vargas and switch to Sanka or take a break from the Northeast...or both.

Doing it right and efficiently in the north east is the "fun".
We don't have the advantage of a 121 training program and an SOP on how to do everything. We get kids that have been towing banners or flight instructing and bumming rides in the right seat of anything they could hustle into.
There's a way to fly a jet, and hand flying the RUDY out of TEB is not the way. Ignoring or killing the flight director when cleared for the visual is also not how it's done.
Not saying you don't know, just defending my good buddy Boris.

 

[deadstick]

Doing it right and efficiently in the north east is the "fun".
We don't have the advantage of a 121 training program and an SOP on how to do everything. We get kids that have been towing banners or flight instructing and bumming rides in the right seat of anything they could hustle into.
There's a way to fly a jet, and hand flying the RUDY out of TEB is not the way. Ignoring or killing the flight director when cleared for the visual is also not how it's done.
Not saying you don't know, just defending my good buddy Boris.

Aw hell, I know that. I’m just poking fun.

I forgot to add that I think there’s still an opening back at CPS with the “it’s 2am and the phone rings...” gig. :stir:

And in my area just to the west, we get direct everywhere. “What’s a SID/STAR?”

 

[mshunter]

My time in the Caravan was the closest to flying for fun (or for me) that I've done since I started professional flying.


I almost always fly with the autopilot/autothrottles off until passing FL290. *I* believe I'm permitted to hand flying higher, but CRM and not making waves means I turn on Otto.

I did recently fly the Sovereign from GRB to DPA without using the AP or AT the entire flight. I think my coworker nearly had a coronary!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

I wish you wouldn't do that. It doesn't just increase your work load, and doesn't make me think you're a bad ass either.

 

[mshunter]

If I'm signing the paperwork and you ask me to kill the FD, I'll ask you to kill yourself instead. Been there, done that, miss it horribly, wonder what box my gonads are locked up in and who has the key, but when it's my ass on the line, we aren't going off script because it's Fun. Again, if you want Fun, do it on your own ticket. God knows I did! This is a freaking JOB. I'm not getting paid to let you feel like a Real Pylot, I'm getting paid to get the appliance from one place to another with no drama. Fun is my enemy.

Fun is licking the window I'm looking out of because the autopilot is on, and my work load is at a minimum.

Edit to add: If you've made it to this level and can't hand fly, you've done it wrong.

 

[U_of_I_Tweak]

I wish you wouldn't do that. It doesn't just increase your work load, and doesn't make me think you're a bad ass either.

The beauty of aviation is that when you're the PIC, you can do it your way, and when I am I can do it mine.

My comment about the coronary was over the top, and had he expressed discomfort, or if the workload was becoming unmanageable, the autopilot would have gone on. The guy I was flying with jokes about how he's exactly the opposite and turns on the automation at close to the minimum altitudes.

I don't hand fly to impress anyone. I hand fly because I've seen how quickly my skills atrophy if I don't use them and because I enjoy it.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Richman]

One one valentines day, I bulked out a 208 with 950 pounds of flowers on a run from DFW to Temple TX. It wasn't because the loaders screwed up either, we used every cubic inch. There was a metro and two MU2s at the same destination, all bulked out as well. I think to total weight was 3000 lbs, but it took four planes to get it there.

Don't forget this goodie from Cessna's marketing dept
View attachment 41013

This is why it is so important to neuter your cubes....

 

[mshunter]

The beauty of aviation is that when you're the PIC, you can do it your way, and when I am I can do it mine.

My comment about the coronary was over the top, and had he expressed discomfort, or if the workload was becoming unmanageable, the autopilot would have gone on. The guy I was flying with jokes about how he's exactly the opposite and turns on the automation at close to the minimum altitudes.

I don't hand fly to impress anyone. I hand fly because I've seen how quickly my skills atrophy if I don't use them and because I enjoy it.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

There is only one PIC in the airplane, and it isn't the FO (and I'm an FO). There is a PM and a PF. Don't mistake that as the FO is flying and is also the PIC.

Hand fly some. You should. But there comes a point where it's a bit much. If every flight is hand flown 290 and below, it usually irritates the guy sitting next to you.