John's travel blog

Went to look at a new plane in Springfield IL

2010-06-09T10:30:00.001-07:00

Jeff (my boss) and I went out to Springfield IL to look at a new plane to add to our fleet. The plane came from the Tatta company in India and I gotta say, they don't take care of the interior of planes like we do over here. It was a wreck. The good thing is that they just spent 1 million dollars on an inspection that has the majority of the plane disassembled, inspected, and put back together.. Other than the asthetics of the interior, the plane is in excellent shape. If our client decides on this plane, we have given him info on a complete restoration of the interior which will include broadband internet and many many other upgrades from the planes I am flying now. I have my fingers crossed, because this thing is awesome.. It even has a heads up display like the military fighter jets..cool huh! Here are a couple pics of the same type of plane, it's called a Falcon 2000.

Quick trip to Washington

2010-06-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

I flew up to Washington for a few days to help Jim plant some trees in his yard and visit with some friends. It is always fun to head up there and get a quick dose of WA. After living down in the bay area for a while now, I'm definitely starting to feel much more at home here that up there. Now I just gotta figure out how to get everyone to move down my way. I had a lot of fun one night at Mom and Jeff's visiting with Jon, Brittany and the kids Delaney and Adelyn. It was funny, Mom kept looking at me and saying No! because I was getting the kids so wound up. At one point I was singing online karaoke kids songs with Delaney..She was a little nervous around me at first but quickly warmed up...Good times

Found a hot tub

2009-12-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

I found a nice used hot tub the other day. I've wired it underground to the house but need to have an electrician come out to do the hooking up, don't need a DIY disaster. I figured it would be better to start with a used one to see if I will use it that much. I'm planning on the bamboo curtains on a couple sides for privacy. I'm also going to build steps with the same wood as the deck. Still trying to figure out what bushes to put over by the fence and around the deck. I have also found a place to buy rock though it's hard to decide what type with so many choices.. We'll see, I'm being a little indecisive about all that right now.

The Pergola and deck are done!

2009-04-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

I just have to do some landscaping around it and find the perfect hot tub. I'm thinking of some climbing plants for the corners, Jim mentioned grapes... We'll see. These projects have given me such a feeling of accomplishment once they are complete. I was just telling Rob that it looks like a professional built it, but I'm gonna go ahead and say that I'm a pro at this point...Haha. The sun is here so all of you up in WA better start planning trips to come down south and make a stop at my place.

The sun is back!

2009-04-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

Work hasn't been super busy these days so I've decided to build a pergola and deck in my back yard, for an eventual hot tub. I started in on this project thinking it would be fairly simple. All I'd have to do is level the ground and build it. Well, easier said than done but I've enjoyed every minute of it. The first picture shows the the area I had to dig to make it only one step onto the deck from ground level. Probably would have been nice to have a bulldozer since it seems like that was the amount of dirt I ended up moving with the shovel and wheel barrel. Once I had it all leveled out, I placed the blocks and started building. It's taken about three days to get to the stage I'm at in time for the delivery of all the wood. This project also gave me an excuse to go buy a couple more man tools :-). I have a little more sanding, constructing and staining until it is finished, but so far I'm very happy with how it is turning out. Thank goodness for youtube, there were a couple videos that really helped me out. I'll post a few pics of the finished product, but for now I'm gonna have to take a break. I have a trip to the Bahamas with the owner of the airplane.. They aren't letting us stay out there with the plane this time so I'll be airlining back and forth for this one, all part of the cost cutting.

Quick Day Trip to Seattle

2008-07-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

I had a day trip to Seattle and had lunch with Rob, Julie, Jeff and my Mom. My dad met us back at the plane to say hello too. Mom says I was lucky to have visited on such a nice day since it has been cloudy most days up there. It was convenient to have the coporate jet so I could fly a few boxes back down now that I have storage space in my garage.

Little more work on the house

2008-07-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

After a trip up to Calgary and Pittsburgh, I came home to put the baseboards and moldings in. A couple friends let me borrow a saw and nail gun to attempt this new project on my own. I am very happy with how it all turned out. I have also found a new roommate, her name is Liz and she works in Atlanta from Monday to Thursday. I'm probably going to take a break on the house project situation for a little bit, and start saving up to furnish the place since it is a little empty.

The floors are finished!

2008-06-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

I have been working most of the month and have only had a few days to work on the house before moving in on Monday. The one thing that needed to get done before the move was the hardwood floors in all three bedrooms, the living room, hallway and entry. I started in on the floors near the beginning of the month by tearing up the old carpeting and pulling what seemed to be thousands of staples out of the wood. I then had a few trips throughout the month which gave me plenty of time to read up on how to tackle this job. I got a few great tips, but nothing quite prepared me for what I was in for. The floors looked shiny before I started which I thought was a good thing and uh, not really. The wood had many clear coats that needed to be sanded through. I rented a sander that was not overly aggressive which made for sanding a total of about 24 hours. I couldn't believe the machine could handle that much work. 5 hours the first night then 15 hours the next day followed by 4 more hours the next morning for final touch ups. Needless to say, the machine wasn't made to strip old hardwoods that had years of layers put on. I vacuumed the whole house and ran tack cloth over the floor which is a sticky damp cloth that picks up dust. It was time to lay down the finish. I initially wanted a darker floor so I was going to stain, but after all that sanding, my test spot showed some fine swirls left behind by the sander which most people wouldn't have been able to see but I would always know. I opted to go natural which is better to hide the carpeting and sanding blemishes. I coated the raw wood with a product called Varathane. It took about an hour to lay down a clear coat and then I had to wait two hours between each. I put down four coats and headed back to the apartment at about 3 a.m. All together I put about 34 hours of work and $600 into the floor in about two and a half days... Today I went back to see how the floor was setting up and snapped a couple pics with my phone. I also replaced many of the old outlets with updated ones and bought a leaf blower and cleaned up the yard. I think I'll sleep well tonight because tomorrow I need to pack up my apartment and have everything ready for the movers on Monday. Busy busy few days!

Got the Keys!!!

2008-06-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

Well I'm officially a home owner! I have already done some painting and am working on refinishing the hardwoods before the end of the month in order to move in. I have had a few trips this month which is gonna make things close, but if I need to I'll just move everything into the garage so I'll have time not to rush through anything and make it all look perfect. Here are some pics; one of me getting the keys from my agent Steve, one of me painting on the second day, a pic from me sitting on the stairs looking across the street at the neighborhood and the hills, and where I had first pulled back some of the carpet to see what samples of baseboard and molding looked good with the floors. I'll post more pics soon. I went to the Nursery down the street to get some rose food for my bushes and it seemed the older ladies really liked helping a young confused guy out with that kind of stuff.. It was funny.

Latest trip

2008-05-26T01:39:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I just returned from a trip to West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and ending in Yakutat, Alaska. We had a great time bouncing around. I tried to straighten up my golf game a little in Atlanta, in preparation for a professional course I'll be playing in Texas next month with the bosses. Our last four days in Alaska went pretty quickly. We drove to Portage glacier where we took an ice breaking boat out on the lake that the glacier spills into. Our last day was also exciting when a pilot flew us out to land on the beach which was cool on those big tundra tires.

Buying my first house!

2008-05-05T01:21:00.000-07:00

I've been enjoying time down here in the bay area. I've met some great new people and am having a lot of fun flying with the guys at SP. I have a trip in a few days to Alaska which is cool since it is the only state I have not yet visited. I do have quite a bit of time on my hands lately, so I thought it would be a good idea to purchase a house and put some work into it. I found a small 3 bedroom 2 bath in the hills north of Oakland in a very homey, secluded neighborhood called May Valley. It is a one owner home and in very good condition, just a little dated. My closing date is at the end of May...I'll keep you posted!

My '66

2008-01-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

Well I bought an airport car that I'm gonna start to restore. It's a 1966 Beetle, which is in very good condition for the price I paid. It will be fun to have a project car that I can also drive around. I plan on putting an aftermarket, replica sliding rag top on it which is probably a sin in the VW world but I wanna make it right for me. I'll post more pics when I do anything significant to it in the future.

Left Washington and headed back down to Cali

2008-01-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

I left home a couple days after Christmas to relocate back to the bay area just in time to get ready for New Years. It only takes about fifteen minutes to take the train to the city from where I'm at in Alameda. I met up with some new friends Natalie and Heather for New Years Eve. New Years day, I had my first trip back with SP Aviation to Puerto Vallarta. After all the moving around, it was a nice relaxing break to hang out in MX for a few days.

Back Home in Washington

2007-12-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

I've been back for a few days and am enjoying being on American soil. I went to fly the Boeing 757 Sim for Costco which went very well, I've always wanted to see what it would be like to fly one of the big planes. Unfortunately I received a call a few days later and let me know that they are going to hire a woman for the position, which of course was another huge surprise being that I came off my contract early and thought I already had the job. I asked them if there was anything I could have done differently, to which they replied no and they'll see me in another position there when one becomes available in the future. All of this was very confusing to me. Anyway, I have accepted a position with SP in Hayward, CA and am very happy with their offer. I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas... These pics are from the Murphy Christmas Party. Their was a Mexican theme and by the end of the night we were getting into Chris's stash of funny coats.

Flying around the middle east.

2007-12-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

We have primarily been flying around Saudi Arabia and to Dubai. Our plane has had a number of issue's therefore we have been here in Dubai for about five days again. One night we could not find rooms anywhere and ended up at an unbelievable hotel called Raffles. It resembles a pyramid and may be one of the nicest rooms I've stayed in on this trip. I should be heading back around the 12th.

A few days in Dubai

2007-11-15T01:26:00.000-08:00

We have been here in Dubai for about ten days now and I think we are all ready to start working again. Fortunately for Jim, his brother has been here vacationing the whole time we have been here. The first night, I went out to dinner with Jim and his family at a great restaurant and then up to the lounge at the top of the Burj Al Arab hotel, the self proclaimed only seven star hotel in the world. Chanel has a few friends here also. I was able to hang out with her crowd with dancing, BBQ, and live music. We are heading to Saudi for a couple days, then to London and then on to Geneva. I can't upload pics for some reason in Dubai so I'll do it when I get to Saudi.

Pyramids of Giza

2007-11-07T06:10:00.000-08:00

We made it out to the Pyramids of Giza yesterday and had a great time! When we arrived in Cairo we had another flat tire. The problem has been diagnosed to the anti-skid system which is holding pressure on the brakes when we release them. Anyway, we decided to make use of our time on the ground and did the tourist thing. On our way to the Pyramids we crossed the Nile River then met with a man that arranged for a tour guide named Mohamed and a boy named Ali to lead us around the site on horses. I am so glad we got the horses, I've ridden before but not for this amount of time. I named mine Harold, he was a good horse and liked it when I scratched him behind his ear. The first thing I noticed about the Pyramids is how close they are to the city. I have always felt that they would be a bit away from the city. I snapped a shot from the car that may give you a little perspective. Mohamed let us know that if we wanted to buy anything we should tell him since we would be overrun by the merchants if we started pulling money out of our pockets. We first rode near some under ground structures on our way to the three largest pyramids, (The great Pyramid of Khufu, Pyramid of Kafhre, and the Pyramid of Menkaura). The guide wanted us to touch the great pyramid so we got off our horses and took a couple pics. We then rode to a vista point where we could see the pyramids from a distance. On our way Mohamed had each of us speed our horses up to a gallop. At first I was riding wrong (bouncing up and down) and my butt is feeling it today. After that we headed down to the Sphinx. I gotta say, it was an unbelievable day of site seeing. In the afternoon we headed to the airport to receive our new wheel/tire assembly and then flew the plane to Dubai to be repaired. We should now be here in Dubai for a few days which is cool because a large Airshow has come to town and will be performing. On another note, Costco has told me that they really liked me but I need a little more time before I can work with them, therefore I have accepted a great offer from my old company and will be heading back down to the bay area at the beginning of the new year.

Stonehenge

2007-11-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

We rented a car and drove out to see Stonehenge today. It is a pretty amazing site and the weather was perfect for it. London is overcast quite a bit like back home in Washington, but we've had a couple nice sunny days while here. Tomorrow we head back down to Saudi and from there, it's anyone's guess.

Hanging out in London

2007-10-31T04:24:00.000-07:00

We have arrived here in London. Jim and I walked around the city all day and had a great time. Our plan is to depart on Friday back to Saudi, but for now we are just going to be relaxing here. Tomorrow I'm hoping to go to Stone Henge, a friend of mine went there and it looks awesome.

Sitting in Riyadh

2007-10-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

We arrived here in Riyadh a few days ago and haven't moved. Jim and I have gone to the mall a few times but other than that we have just been sitting here at the Marriott. A BBQ in a compound that Chanel invited us to tonight was a great change from the norm. You would think a compound would be similar to some sort of military bunker but compounds here in Saudi are Oasis's that westerner's can live in and enjoy their own cultures. Chanel's friends invited us share their homemade wines and BBQ which were great. I just received a text telling that we will be flying to Dubai and then on to London, on Sunday and Monday.

Back to the other side

2007-10-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

After a phone call at about 8:30 Thursday morning informing me that I had a flight sending me back to Germany, and a crazy morning of running around to make it, I'm back on the other side. I first flew to Washington D.C. to pick up my passport which was having a visa put in it, then headed to Berlin. The flight from Seattle to D.C. seemed very short since I slept from takeoff to landing. The next day I caught a flight to Frankfurt which was also pleasant. I sat next to a girl that had practically the same blue North Face backpack and identical blue neck pillow as me. I was blown away when I found out that she was from Seattle and had bought her pillow at the same shop that I did the day before. Anyway, I am now here in Berlin, then on to London and Riyadh later this morning. The journey continues, it will be fun finding out where I may be going this time around.

Berlin, Germany then back to Seattle

2007-10-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

We flew the plane to Berlin, Germany for maintenance and had a chance to do a little touring around. Steve had a flight out the first morning, so Lina and I ventured out. Berlin is a nice city that reminded me a little of Geneva. The climate is much the same as Seattle. There is a destroyed church in the center of what used to be West Berlin. The damaged tower is a symbol of Berlin's resolve to rebuild the city after the war and a constant reminder of the destruction of war. We also came across pieces of the Berlin Wall which are placed around the city for historical and remembrance purposes. We caught our flights home the next day, my flight was first to JFK in NY then on to Seattle, a total of 14 hours of flying. I am so glad that my company airlines me on business class otherwise the flight would have been a little torturous.

One night in Bahrain

2007-09-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

We made a stop in Bahrain. This is a very small island country outside of Saudi Arabia. There is a bridge that connects the two countries and on the weekends, Saudi's flood in to enjoy freedoms like drinking and dancing. I took a couple pics on our way back to the airport. One thing that I haven't found for a long time is a place to get my hair cut. Our attendant has started to tell me that she won't talk to me anymore until I get my afro trimmed down.

Ramadan in the Middle East

2007-09-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

We've been flying around the Middle East for the last week. Most flights are in the middle of the night due to the fasting and sleeping during the day. I've been told that during Ramadan, you cannot eat or drink in public during the day or you will be sent to jail until it ends, and caned 40 times. Lately I've been sleeping through the day and staying awake at night which is good because my body is changing its clock back to our time. I'll be back in the US on the third and in Washington around the tenth. When I return at the end of Oct. there is talk of a trip to Kuala Lumpur and some other destinations that will be a lot of fun. I wish I had some pics to post but there really hasn't been much to take pictures of these days.

The plane is fixed and we're in Geneva

2007-09-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

After trying to get the brake assembly out of customs for 5 hours, I found a couple mechanics to get the plane back up and flying. We are now in Geneva, unfortunately we will have to leave tomorrow afternoon. I've snapped a pic of us with the new pilot Steve.

The wallet has been found!

2007-09-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

Someone has returned my wallet to the hotel in Spain. How great is that! We are in Riyadh now with a flat tire and a broken brake assembly. It is difficult to find anyone qualified to work on our airplane in Saudi Arabia so we are waiting for a mechanic to get his visa and come here from Dubai. When the plane broke, we were only flying a day trip and returning to Jeddah, therefore we left our bags at the hotel. Needless to say, I've had to do a little shopping. We have met up with our new pilot Steve, he is a great guy from Florida.

Lots of dancing in Vienna

2007-09-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

We arrived here in Vienna on Thursday and will be leaving tomorrow. Unfortunately it has been raining the whole time so we didn't do much sight seeing. We did however explore the night life and had a great time. Here are a couple of pictures from the night clubs we found. I haven't gotten to do a whole lot of dancing for a while, so it was fun to get out for a couple nights. I had to do a little Karaoke as well. I just received my training itinerary and it looks like I will be flying into Dallas for training from the 5th to the 9th.

All is well in London

2007-09-04T03:33:00.000-07:00

Well I did not find the wallet but I have a replacement of everything on the way. We are leaving London for Vienna tomorrow. The pilot with me now will be leaving and another sent near the middle of the month. The owner of this plane enjoys me as his Lead Captain so I'll continue to do this until I can get a great job in the Northwest, hopefully with Nordstrom, Costco, or something similar.

An unfortunate day in Malaga

2007-09-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

After a great night touring around Malaga, my wallet must have dropped out of my pocket in the taxi. Tonight I will have the hotel call the taxi dispatcher to tell the drivers that there is a handsome reward to anyone who comes up with the wallet. I went to the police station and not one of them spoke English which was surprising to me. The officer opened a drawer and showed me a few wallets that looked about 20 years old and covered in dust. We told them "Gracias" and continued our search.

Flying around

2007-08-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

The last few days we have been flying a lot. For example, we had a few legs a couple days back from Malaga, Spain - Milan, Italy - Amman, Jordan - Malaga, Spain. That was 10.5 hours of flying in a long duty day. The next day was much the same. This is the first time I've really had to work hard. Our schedule for September is a piece of cake with a 5 day stay in Vienna, Austria. Here are a couple pics from the last few days. The guy in the cockpit with me is Qadri, the clients trainer.

More touring around Paris

2007-08-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

We went to see a few more sites in Paris. Our first stop was back at the Eiffel Tower. We climbed the stairs to the second level then took an elevator to the top. It was perfect timing for us on this day because there was a lot of fog and not many people were in line yet. Once we made it to the top, the weather had cleared up and we had great views of the city. We then went to the area that Moulin Rouge is, which was pretty crazy, I imagine that it is a little like the red light district in Amsterdam. Very close to this area is an unbelievable church called Sacred Heart Basilica. Check out the photo's, it was a great day.

From London to Paris

2007-08-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

London started to get a little boring for me so we all spent alot of time in my room because I had free internet from the building across the way. The day before our departure from London, we decided to see Buckingham Palace. I really wanted to see the gaurd that doesn't change his expression when you do things to him, but I think this wasn't the place. Our schedule is ever changing and we have made a stop here in Paris again. Today we went to the Louvre museum which is very large. I really wanted to see some Michelangelo sculptures and the Mona Lisa. It is so great to be able to do these things that I've always wanted to do. We are now with our new pilot Bart, a pilot from Pheonix. In the evening we met up with Lina's aunt for dinner, it was nice that she could see family while we were in town.

Fun in London

2007-08-20T03:09:00.000-07:00

The first thing I noticed once arriving in London, was the right hand drive cars. Our driver stopped infront of the Abbey Road Studio. Bob and I jumped out of the van and Lina took a picture of us crossing the street like the Beatles did on the cover of the the Abbey Road album. Lina wanted to go dancing so we took a double decker bus to Cheers and had a great time. Sunday, we went out to see a few tourist sights like Big Ben, the London Eye, and The Observatory in Greenwich where all aviation time is used from. This is where the Prime Meridian lies. Lina and I thought it would be clever to take a picture with her on the East side and Me on the West,,, "kind of a East meets West picture".

Malaga, Spain...Now in London

2007-08-20T02:36:00.000-07:00

We flew in to Malaga late Thursday night with just enough time to run to a local restaurant for a drink. Friday, we had breakfast then Lina and I went to lay out and people watch at the beach. The hotel we are staying in is on a very commercialized tourist street so I'm thinking that when we go back on Thursday, we will try and find a hotel in a more secluded area. I snapped a few photo's the first night and the second day... The pics are of us around the restaurants and beaches in the town of Torremolinos. For Dinner the second day, we ordered a Red Snapper that was baked in a shell of salt, it was very good.

Still in Jeddah

2007-08-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

We've been sitting here in Jeddah for a few days, so not much going on. We are flying to Cairo then on to Malaga, Spain tomorrow. Saturday we will fly to London and be there for 5 days then back to Malaga for 8 days. I'll take alot of pictures. I'm planning on coming back to the U.S. at the end of September for training in Dallas and most likely will be heading right back out here because of a shortage of pilots. Anyway, hope all is well on the home front for all of you.

Write you soon,

John

Petra, Jordan

2007-08-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

Lina drove us the three hours from Amman to Petra and it was worth the drive. What an incredible place!

You start out walking through a canyon that opens up to a big area that has the Treasury, which is the tall structure that is seen in Indiana Jones and history books. The city is carved out of the very colorful mountain walls. I've been talking about riding a camel since I've come to the desert and I finally got to do it. The ride was more fun than I thought it would be because the camels kept trying to run and Lina was yelling for the guy to get ours to slow down, it was so funny. We had lunch down in one of the two restaurants in the city and rode the camels back up half way because of the long walk uphill. I'll post many pictures this time!

Cairo, Egypt and Amman, Jordan

2007-08-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

We arrived into Amman Jordan, and had a stop into Cairo for a few hours yesterday. I was amazed flying over Cairo, just how many pyramids, and apartment buildings there are. On approach, I handed my camera to Bob to snap a couple pics. You can see pyramids that were completed and others that were not. Lina our new flight attendant has joined us and has just finished taking me around Amman which is where she grew up. Tomorrow morning we will be flying to Bahrain early in the morning, then to Riyadh, and back to Amman Thursday. I am doing much better understanding just what these controllers are trying to telling us, which is a good thing. I've gotten a tentative schedule for the month and it looks like I will be in Malaga, Spain for two weeks!!!! How cool is that. Anyways here are a couple of pics...I haven't posted anything for a couple days because there hasn't been a whole lot going on.

Bummin' around Dubai

2007-08-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

We headed out today to find some new sandals for me. Dubai has many of the same stores in its malls as we do in the U.S., unfortunately I couldn't find what I was looking for. We would have headed down to the water to hang out but it is just too hot to do stuff like that. The heat has to be the reason they are building so much indoor activities. They have an indoor ski slope which was pretty interesting, being that it is in the middle of the desert. They are also constructing the tallest building in the world. I snapped a couple of pics while driving back and forth to the mall. We tend to hang out in the Executive Lounge much of the time here at the hotel, there is free Internet, drinks, and snacks. Chanel's friend invited us over for dinner, her husband flies the Boeing 777 for Emirates Airline.

Here in Dubai

2007-08-02T05:32:00.000-07:00

We have flown to Dubai to have the systems checked and they couldn't find any faults. I would now consider this an airplane with some stange things. Overall still a nice plane. We arrived here last night and checked into the very nice JW Marriott. Chanel the attendant's friend came out to meet us to head out on the town. We first stopped by the HardRock then to a place called the Buddha Bar. I was very surprised at how many huge buildings were going up everywhere. It is very hot and dusty, I am not sure why people would want to come here to vacation. I will take a tour around the city tomorrow. It was surprising to see all the regular restaurants like Chili's and Pizza Hut.

Here in Saudi Arabia

2007-07-31T09:49:00.000-07:00

I've arrived in Saudi Arabia. Last night we flew in from Europe and it was quite an experience for me. I had a very hard time understanding the controllers on the radio. Bob told me that I will get used to it making it a lot more easy. A few times they told us to do something and I would think to myself "Are they even speaking English?" Other than that, it was a great couple of legs. We flew from London down over France then along Italy on our way to Cairo. I could visibly see the boot that is formed by Italy. Unfortunately there was no stay in Cairo and we had to reposition the airplane down to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The airplane had a small issue once we were on the ground which actually has us grounded here until we can get a mechanic to fly out to check it out. There was a small amount of smoke in the cockpit while we were cleaning up. Today we started it up and everything operated properly with no smoke so I'm thinking that this one may be a head scratcher for the mechanics. I'll now have a few days to get used to the surroundings. Sorry that I have no pictures to post, I will take some tomorrow.

First Flight!

2007-07-29T11:29:00.001-07:00

I had my first succesful trip in the Challenger today. We flew to London Luton airport to pick up four women and flew them back here to Paris. The airplane is very nice to fly and has no strange sounds or oddities...That may sound funny but it is true, there are so many planes that I have flown that have some weird thing going on with them. This plane feels very solid. Tomorrow we will be flying back to London and then down to Cairo. I am excited about this trip since we will be in Cairo for a bit. I have always wanted to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Anyway, here are a few pics from today.

Got to see the plane

2007-07-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

Well Bob and I went out to see the plane today. I wanted to see if there was much similarity between this plane and my old one. It stays in the air a little longer do to an extra fuel tank in the tail and it looks a little bigger on the inside because the seats are smaller than my last.

I still didn't go to the Louvre Museum today, I think I'll have to save that for another time I'm up this way. We are going to be flying to London and back on Sunday, Then to a few other places like, Cairo, Riyadh, Dubai (excited about that), Amman, and Jeddah. I've received my itinerary and I am glad that I've had a chance to relax because it looks like I'm gonna start working quite a bit. Here are a couple pics of the plane. The plane will be going into maintenance next month so I will be spending a lot of time in Germany as well. This all seems like one big paid vacation.

More stuff in Paris

2007-07-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

Bob and I went to a cemetery today that he had been wanting to visit. Initially I wasn't sure if I wanted to go, but am glad I did. We had a great time exploring. Jim Morrison and Chopin were among the many grave sites. On the way back to the hotel we snapped a picture of me next to a big thumb and stopped McDonalds to see the French menu; "Royal w/Cheese". It was true too that they have a mayo dipping sauce for the fries :-D. We have a flight on Sunday to London and back, then I think there will be more hanging out until the next trip.

Little bit of Paris

2007-07-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

I was very sleepy so pilot Bob suggested walking around Paris to keep me awake and try to get a handle on my sleep schedule. Here are a couple of pics...I think we will be here for a couple of days so tomorrow I may go to the Louvre museum and see the Mona Lisa, art and sculptures.

Finally met up with the crew!

2007-07-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

I've met my crew and they seem very nice, which makes piloting easy having everyone getting along. In the picture the man to my far right is Jim, he is the Captain that I will be replacing, then our attendant Chanel, and Bob my copilot, he and I will be flying together for the next few days until yet another pilot comes out to fly with me. Jim handed over all of the airplane petty cash, the key, the airplane cell, and some expense sheets, then pretty much told me that she's all mine. I've found a couple pics of the plane online so I'll post one aswell. I'm on my way to see some sites around Paris so au revoir

Finally made it back to Paris after some drama

2007-07-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

I was anxiously waiting for the guy that had my passport to bring it back to me. It didn't feel very comfortable without identification so I just hung out in the hotel. My flight to Paris was at 3:30PM and the driver told me that he would be there to pick me up at 2:00, already cutting it close. The driver finally showed up at 3:00 to bring me to the airport. On the ride, I told him that I'd never make it and the flight was already boarding...He said nothing. At the airport I was escorted through security to check-in, but of course everyone was already gone...I had missed my flight and was now stuck at the Beirut airport. I asked about the next flight and found it wasn't until 2:00AM. I just sat down and accepted the fact that I was probably going to be sitting in that seat for the next ten hours of my life. The man that arranged for my SA Visa, brought a woman (Eliane) over that flies as attendant on a 727 for the same guy I'll be flying... She was in Beirut for the same purpose. I have no idea why they did not hook us up in the first place since she spoke Arabic and was such a help with the locals (possibly because she is Muslim and they have all those pesky men and women rules). Eliane made a few phone calls and a driver was on his way to bring me to the hotel.

I made the later flight and took a huge breath of fresh air at 5:45AM when walking off the plane in Paris. As you can see, the scene outside this hotel is a little more inviting than the last. I am enjoying this experience so far and can't wait to meet the crew and see the airplane today. For now I'll let them sleep in.

First few days...

2007-07-23T23:27:00.000-07:00

My flight out of Sea-Tac to Beirut that connected through Cincinnati and Paris didn't go quite as planned. An old lady on the plane had a heart attack causing us to divert and miss the connection. I arrived in Cincinnati to overnight and take the Paris flight the next day. At Applebee's I saw one of the passengers also heading to Paris. She was a nice Russian woman from Vancouver B.C. named Tatyana who invited me to eat dinner with her. She was on her way to Russia to visit her family. We met the next day and waited the few hours in the terminal for our flight. Because we sat in two different classes on the airplane, it was the last time I saw her. It was nice to have someone to chat with during our layover.

I arrived in Paris and made my connection to Beirut. I had planned on taking a picture of the guy holding my name on a piece of paper but felt it would be inappropriate seeing the environment in Beirut. I am going to head back to Paris today with my new Saudi Arabian Visa, and meet up with the other pilots (one of which I will be replacing).

I am posting some pics of Beirut taken from my Hotel...Not exactly the vacation hot spot, but it is visible that they are putting the city back together. My room was nice which was a surprise after driving through the neighborhood to get to it. I was supposed to stay at a very upscale hotel called the Metropolitan but my driver said "No, I am going to the Marriott" to which I replied "The Marriott it is" :-). Jim asked me if I felt any different being so far from home but I don't, at this point it feels like any other trip I've had to Mexico...I'm sure that will all change in the days ahead.