I’ve gotten some inquires about what I actually do during my normal shift, so I'm chosen to do a mass response in the form of a blog. Since there is a lot of info to cover, I will divide the responses up over several blog postings. For this first one, I’ll focus on my duties prior to departure.
Pair Twin Otters Awaiting Departure
At the end of each month, I bid for a work schedule for the next month. For the month of July, I was awarded a schedule that has me working five days per week with Wednesday and Thursday off. Next month may have totally different days off, but that comes with the territory. The night before I am scheduled to work, I normally call and find out my schedule for the following day. Unlike most airlines, the shift (time) a pilot works at Scenic Airlines is not determined till the day before because pilot quantity levels are based on demand. At Southwest or United, a flight is scheduled to leave at a certain time with or without all their passengers aboard. At Scenic, if a certain amount of tickets were not sold for a flight, then those passengers will get moved to another flight leaving at the same time. In some situations, a flight may be canceled if no tickets were sold or inclement weather is present. What does weather have to do with anything? If it's overcast, people may not be able to see the Grand Canyon from the air, and thus would not get any value out of the tour. Because of this, pilot schedules can not be determined till the night before and pilot shifts may vary from 12 hours to 3 hours. Again, that comes with the territory when flying at an airline like this.
Company policy dictates that I am required to show up 1 hour before my first departure of the day. This hour allows me to complete all the required First Officer (FO) duties and ensure there is ample time to address any mechanical issues before my first flight. When I arrive, I clock in and go to the Flight Following/Dispatch office to verify my daily schedule. During this time, because changes could happen at any time, I am looking to verify a few things such as what Captain I’m flying with, what plane I am flying in, and what flights (to and from where) I am assigned to fly. Some days I'm assigned to the same aircraft and Captain, while other days I may fly 3 or 4 different planes with just as many Captains.
After I’ve found out what my day will look like, I make my way out to the aircraft (the view looks similar to the picture below). The Scenic Airlines aircraft are serviced overnight by the maintenance team, so for the most part, there is nothing substantial wrong with the plane at first glance. As the FO, I am required to check certain aspects of the cabin and cockpit. These checks include verification of all required documents, expiration dates of fire extinguishers and first aid kits, and the operation of the cockpit voice recorder and the passenger narration system. In all, this check usually takes about 10 minutes to complete.
Twin Otter - Passengers Board Through Rear Door
Twin Otter Cabin View From Cockpit
Looking Forward From The Rear Door
When done with the cabin and cockpit check, I make my way back to Flight Following/Dispatch to obtain a daily weather briefing packet. The packet, which is usually about 10 pages, contains all pertinent information regarding weather and NOTAM’s (Notice to Airmen) for our area of operations. Lately, this packet has only confirmed that it’s going to 100+ degrees and windy with the occasional smoke making its way over from the California fires. In the early and late months of the year, these weather packets become useful in avoiding much more inclement weather like snow and icing conditions. Yes, it snows in the desert!
About 10 minutes prior to departure the Captain and I will get our flight manifest from Dispatch. The manifest is an essential document that must be looked at carefully and carried in the plane during the flight. The manifest contains several key pieces of information. At the top, the manifest shows our flight number, destination, and scheduled departure time. Next, there is a list of all the passengers and their corresponding weights and country of origin. Finally, our fuel quantity and total weight are listed. Once the Captain has approved and signed the maifest, I am able to calculate a few critical performance figures needed for the flight. Depending on the weight of the aircraft, altitude of the airport we are flying to/from, and the temperature outside, the Twin Otter’s performance can be greatly affected.
About 5 minutes prior to departure, the Captain and I walk out and
greet the passengers waiting in the terminal. The passengers, if all went as planned, should have shown up about an hour early to check-in. Once we line up the passengers and verify the headcount, we escort them out to the aircraft. Prior to b
oarding the aircraft, each group of passengers has a photo taken with the FO under the wing of the aircraft. This is a pretty good money maker for the company, because the picture is for sale for $16 once they arrive back in Boulder City. To think, a photo of Nick Thomas in his pilot gear may be on living room walls in homes from Tokyo to Dublin.
Once everyone is seated in the aircraft, I walk through the cabin and ensure all seat belts are on and bags are stowed under their respective seats. Some other airlines that fly out to the Canyon do not require a cabin walk through, but Scenic Airlines does. Because we have so many non-English speaking tourists, simply saying “fasten your seat belts and place your bags under the seat” is not good enough to ensure 100% compliance. From my experience thus
far, a visual inspection by the FO is a must. Once I have insured that the cabin is ready for departure I conduct my passenger safety briefing. This is similar to the one you would see on a major airline, but in this case, the FO is completing it, not the Flight Attendant. At a minimum, I cover the following:
- Seat belt demonstration
- Carry on baggage instruction
- Fire extinguisher location and usage
- Emergency exit location and usage
- First-aid kit location and usage
- No smoking policy
- Cell phone policy
- Flotation device location - in the highly unlikely event of a water landing in the desert)
- Cell phone/digital camera policy
- Audio system usage – we have an audio portion to the flight that provides a narration about the scenery outside in a variety of languages
When I get some sort of a verification that my words did not go in one ear and out the other, I climb in to my seat and the Captain and I begin our Before Start Checklist.
Twin Otter Cockpit View From Cabin -
Captain Sits On Left and FO Sits On Right
Next stop, the air…
Twin Otter Departing Grand Canyon West Airport
