Today is 080808! These last two days have been pretty stressful because I’ve had to take three pretty tough tests. The first one was a systems test over the 747. Systems tests are over the mechanics of the airplane, like how the hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic, and other systems work, and how they integrate together. This is the type of stuff a pilot needs to know to have a working knowledge of what’s going on inside the plane he is flying.

I also had to take a second systems tests covering the differences between the different types of 747s that Cathay flies. Finally, I took a math/performance calculation test to see if I could work the numbers manually. There are four different ways to calculate our performance numbers automatically, but, in that one rare time that all fail, I can dig out my calculator and save the day, I guess. 

I passed all three tests and am proud and relieved to have that all behind me. It’s a much needed hair cut for me this afternoon, and then a short weekend before I have to kick it into high gear again, as we start learning about the emergency equipment on Monday. That part sounds like fun — in the pool working with life rafts, sliding down emergency slides from the cabin door, and more. After that, it is into the simulator — both fun and terrorizing.

The sim could be the biggest challenge while here in Hong Kong, because it’s the toughest part of the learning process. But with challenge comes great reward, and if I keep it up and study hard, that too, will be hurdle passed.

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Sometimes spelled Taifun here in Asia, we have a small hurricane bearing down on Hong Kong today. Winds are about 40 miles per hour and there is lots of rain flying through the air in sheets.

There are a lot of glass doors around Cathay City, and because tropical storms are so common here, they bar these doors with special metal plates that come up and out of the floor below the doors. They also have metal garage door style covers that pull down over some glass doors. This city is certainly prepared for high winds and lots of wind. Maybe New Orleans could take a few hints from Hong Kong?

The bummer for me, is that today I was poised to take my first big test for Cathay. The test is over 747 systems, and I crammed a lot last night and stayed up late to prepare for today. My classmates and I showed up at 8:00 a.m. to take it, and no one was there! The storm is a “level 8” which means that local traffic should be minimized and travel in the large double decker busses should be avoided. This means that most people who work at Cathay City, the test proctor included, was not in today. Bummer! Now I have to sit on pins and needles and try and take my test tomorrow. Hopefully the storm clears soon. At least it will give me some more time to look over things and study.

In Hong Kong, typhoons occur all the time, especially in the stormy season — summer time. They aren’t a big deal unless they get to level 10. If they get that strong, it’s time to take shelter. The hotel here is really great, as it has soundproof windows (because we are so close to the airport) so we never even heard the rain and wind last night.

Now, I just have to hope the weather improves so I can get my test out of the way.

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Enough of talking about Hong Kong for a little while. Let’s talk about awesome low approaches into St. Martin airport, SXM, in the Caribbean. It is a famous airport for large airplanes and low approaches. It is a tiny island, and the runway is only 7,200 feet long.

SXM is a favorite visiting spot for many from the Netherlands and France, two countries that share ownership of the island. There is such demand for flights into SXM, that both Air France and KLM fly large aircraft into that small airport, because of the popularity of the island. This is a great combination for large airplanes close to the ground because of the size of the plane and the length of the runway. 

Planes cross over the beach with sometimes 10-15 foot clearances over the heads of the sun bathers on the beach! I’m in training to fly the 747, pictured above, and the close proximity to the people on the beach shows just how big the plane really is, and how amazing this approach is. Too bad that Cathay doesn’t fly there!

This YouTube video below, is one of the best I’ve ever seen, of any landing in SXM. The picture at the top of the post shows the landing from another angle. Just look at how close the landing gear come to the fence next to the road, which runs next to the runway. In the picture above, you can see two white specks — those are two guys who just had the plane cross over their heads, and I’ll bet their looking for a bathroom! Just a little bit low by the pilot means a huge crash and certain death to anyone standing that close to the fence. To dispel any rumors, there have been no major crashes at St. Martin.

There are a couple bars that are close to the runway on the beach, and I can imaging how cool it would be to sit there drinking a cool drink and watching jumbo jets pass by just a few hundred feet away.

Normally, planes try to touch down 1,000 feet down the runway, marked off by runway markings. Here in SXM, the runway is too short to do that, but landing beyond the runway threshold is always a must — the threshold being a white painted line or bar across the runway. But, some of these guys touch down prior to the runway, in the run-up area, marked off by yellow lines, seen above. Pretty wild and pretty cool.

Below will be the best landing I’ve ever seen in SXM. Enjoy

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As we taxied from the gate in JFK, in our Cathay Pacific 777-300ER on our way to Hong Kong, back in June, I was struck by this music in the inflight entertainment headphones. It was simply magnificent. The music started playing automatically from the “Classical Moods” section of inflight music.

At first, I had no idea what it was. Was it some British anthem? Was it the some score written for Cathay Pacific? Was it some majestic melodious music meant for meditation? Whatever it was, I knew I was listening to greatness. It was so powerful, so majestic, so imperial.

The notes in harmony, along with the rumbling timpani drums was so much I almost shed a tear! A tear of pride. I was traveling on a plane operated by the company that I was going to work for — a highly esteemed company that flies all around the world in amazing airplanes and is considered the zenith of aviation aspirations (at least my own).

The music made me think of old British royalty, with their white wigs, long canes, and curled pipes, all marching into a throne room. To be in that room would have meant to be amongst greatness. And for me, sitting in that business seat, behind that Cathay cockpit crew, on that beautiful 777, headed for Hong Kong, I too, was seated amongst greatness. The music made it all the more real for me, as it painted a picture of pride in my mind. Proud to be apart of such a great team. Proud to have made it this far. And hopefully, humble enough to attain the greatness that exudes from an international flight crew like this one, skillfully navigating half way across the world with hundreds of lives in their hands.

I know this all sounds like my head has exploded, but really, it was just an overwhelming experience, riding on that plane and hearing such wonderful music. I felt a little like Salieri, when he first met Mozart, and realized his own insignificance because he was truly in the presence of greatness.

This is truly one of my favorite passages of classical music — so much so, I bought the album! Want to hear it yourself? I found out the title is Music for the Royal Fireworks, by Handel. Preview and buy it here:

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There isn’t a lot to update on this week. The first week of training is over and honestly, it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. But having said that, it is a lot easier than the rest of training will be.

The first two weeks are orientation and then tests that I have to pass to convert my F.A.A. license into a Hong Kong license. Cathay really doesn’t care much about me at this point, because I’m just in the conversion process. I took two tests on Thursday and one today. I’ll take one more next week, and then I’ll have my Hong Kong licensing taken care of. The following week is when I’ll actually start training on the 747 and Cathay Pacific procedures.

Laura and I are looking forward to the weekend and will probably head downtown again. I’ve run into several of my friends here and it’s been fun to get caught up a little bit. I bought a sim card for my mobile phone, so that I can make local and international calls from my T-Mobile phone here in Hong Kong for reasonably cheap. I found on the internet a string of codes to enter into the phone so that it would accept a new sim card. Then I went to the local 7-11 and bought a sim card with prepaid minutes on it. I can refill the card with minutes at any local convenience store. So, I just popped out my T-mobile sim card and popped in my new card and, “presto,” I have a local phone now, with a local number and all. Now I just have to figure out how the voicemail setup tutorial works, because I can’t figure out how to hear it in English! Either way, local calls are just pennies a minute, and calls to the U.S. are the same. When I know for sure I’m going to stick with this card, I’ll give out its Hong Kong number so you can call my H.K. number!

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As I type this Tuesday morning, I’m still recovering from the ill effects of expelling some bad lunch I got yesterday, with fever, aches, chills, and more, which I won’t go into detail about, but involves both ends of my body.

Things started well on Monday, where I met up with three other guys, all from the U.S. and we stopped by the HSBC bank to get bank cards and new bank accounts that Cathay wants us to have. I spent an hour in this bank on Friday, but that did me no good, because I found out that I needed a different account. Bummer! The bank opened at 9:00 am and we all needed to be up at the sixth floor to begin orientation at 9:45. The first guy was finished at 9:30, and then I finished at 9:45. I rushed up to the sixth floor, but they said just to wait on the other two guys. All that rushing around for nothing.

Thanks to Deby’s help, Laura’s mom, I had one form letter that I left back in Ohio in my hands, and it’s a good thing, because I definitely needed it. Deby was able to find it in our house and e-mail it too me. I printed it off while waiting for the others to finish up in the bank.

Once everyone was on the sixth floor, we all met Amy Cheung. I had corresponded with her a lot via e-mail, but this was the first time to meet her. Everyone else was in suits because they had e-mailed her and asked what to wear for day one. I, on the other hand, hadn’t asked, so I was in a shirt and tie — there’s always one in every crowd, right? We signed a bunch of forms, were given a syllabus, handed over the forms we were to bring, got our ID pictures made, were given tours, and signed more forms.

It was during lunch that I got some chicken curry, one of my favorite dishes, and things weren’t the same after that. My stomach felt uneasy, and for the rest of the orientation, I felt light headed, my back ached, and I was sweating a lot. “Nerves,” I thought. Well, it was all I could do to finish the orientation before heading back up to the room, taking a shower, and going to bed. This was about 6:00 p.m. Around 7:45 is when the troubles hit me. Let’s just say that I felt much better after my episodes in the bathroom, but even this morning (Tuesday) I still feel bad and achy. I hope this all passes because I have to study for a test I have to take on Thursday.

The other three guys are Dave, Barrett, and Chris. Dave is from Peru and living in Miami, and flew for American Eagle. Barrett flew for ASA, a Delta Connection airline like my own Chautauqua, and lives in Atlanta, and Chris is former Navy, flew at Southwest for a year and then came here. They seem like really great guys.

We had a vice president come in and talk to us about Cathay. He was really nice and talked about the culture and business model that guides Cathay. He said that we are completely independent, and receive no government help. He talked about how in the U.S., the airlines seem to be run more by lawyers, than managers, free to have a bad business model and then just bail into chapter 11 for recovery. Chapter 11 for Cathay here in Hong Kong is not an option. He also talked about how Cathay isn’t a government sponsored airline like Singapore or Thai, where the government gives breaks to the hometown airline. For example, Cathay built a maintenance hangar in between the runways here at the airport. Believe it or not, that hangar was the most expensive real estate in ALL of Hong Kong, per square foot! More than property on Victoria peak or anywhere! But, Singapore Airlines built a similar hangar at their airport, and the government charged the airline one dollar for the whole building!

Cathay feels like the only way to survive in this market of uncertainty and to be profitable for the long haul, is to have lots of money on the balance sheet. Some airlines, like Emirates, would rather buy big shiny airplanes, where as Cathay, being more conservative, would rather have money in the bank, than a big shiny airplane sitting on the ramp, not making any money.

I tell you, after arriving here, I feel a lot better about the stability of my career than had I stayed at Chautauqua. No place is perfectly secure, but I think Cathay is about as sure a bet as any. Now, being on the bottom of the seniority list, I hope they keep growing! Rumor is that Cathay has enough money, that if all income stopped, they could still operate for two and a half years! Amazing. Could a U.S. airline do that? No way.

We’ll, I’m feeling a little better, and the trips to the bathroom are fewer and fewer, so it’s time to start studying. We’ll see how the test goes . . .

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