Roehris Aviation Pages - Gallery on the job

A310 Final Line Check / Munich (EDDM) - Paphos (LCPH) - Munich (EDDM) / D-AHLA (10.03.2005)
After my supervision phase which was marked by many delays and dutysheet changes due to crewmembers reporting ill, I finally was called to the final line check on Thursday, 10.03.2005. The trip should lead us from Munich (EDDM) to Paphos (LCPH) in western Cypria and back, with a scheduled stop of 3h35min at Paphos. I was in the crewroom 30 minutes before show-up time, and prepared all the necessary forms and figures even more precise than normal, in order to be well prepared for the checkride briefing. On time, my assigned check captain, Mr. Jörg Aldenhoff, joined, and together we went through the whole paperstuff, weather forecasts and significant weather charts, NOTAMS, chart notams, and the operational flightplans. Fuel figures were discussed and a blockfuel decision done. Then we met our lovely cabin crew who was already briefed by Purser Annemarie Senkel. Captain Aldenhoff informed the crew about the routing and the weather conditions to be encountered, and - due to the 3h35min break - proposed to the crew to go out to a nice restaurant at a beach for lunch. We appreciated this proposal very much, as normally we don't have the time for such niceties. Soon after we found orselves in a crewbus, being transported to our "'bus".
	After an outside check and cockpit setup, we call in at Munich De-Icing by radio, to get us into the sequence. The whole aircraft is covered with patches of snow due to the winter conditions during the night, and has to be de-iced before take-off. After a single engine taxy to the de-icing pads at the western end of runway 08R (a normal procedure for the A310 due to his mighty engines and the resulting huge idle power, you always ride the brakes when taxying on both engines, so for longer taxy runs, the Nr.1 engine is left dead). (File photo Airlines.net: Jeffrey S.deVore)
	Engine 1 is started shortly before we reach the deicing pad, because after the deicing, we most probably won't reach the mandatory warm-up time for the engine, so we warm her up idling during the de-icing process. D-AHLA is really "wintered", and even on the nose of the aircraft, large patches of snow have to be removed. Therefore, the de-icing personnel is splashing large quantities of de-icing fluid onto our pointy end.
	This funny process somehow reminds me of the car-wash tunnels I always enjoyed when I was a child. In the meantime I have grown, the aircraft has grown in size as well, but I still enjoy the view.
	Hello Mister de-icer! Don't smash our front windows with your equipment! The de-icing takes much longer as we anticipated, and after a mere 25 minutes, our big bird is de-iced, and covered with Type IV anti-icing fluid, preventing further snow and ice accumulation before take-off. We check back in on ground frequency, and report our hold over time (the "validity time" for our anti-icing fulid, after which we have to go and get some new anti-icing) which has shrunken to a mere 10 minutes now. We are handled expeditiously, and after the next landing, we are told to line up on runway 08R.
	Takeoff thrust is set, and the aircraft accelerates, pushed by its two large CF6-80 engines. With only around 180 passengers, we do not weigh a lot, and halfway down the runway, "Vr" is reached, the moment when I start to lift the bird's nose. We defeat gravity, and a short pulling feeling in the stomach tells us we have gone airborne, to join the element we love and we belong to - the air. The landing gear is retracted, and we find ourselves rocketing into the bavarian sky with a nice climbrate of around 5000 feet per minute. We take caution not to trigger any other traffic's TCAS (traffic and collision avoidance system), when we climb that fast. (File Foto Airlines.net: CPH Aviation)
	A tribute to one of our crewmembers, because...
	...it's his/her living place: Wasserbug am Inn.
	Soon after, we overfly the Chiemsee, heading towards southeast.
	West of Salzburg, we cross the contrails of a preceding aircraft.
	A funny view into an Austrian valley, view towards the west. Most probably view towards Zell am See direction Pinzgau.
	What else do you want? Driving a large "bus" over the alps, Lido charts to guide your way, a nice stock of non-alcoholic liquids, breakfast will be served in a couple of minutes... It's a good day today... :-)
	A lovely place to be. In an advertisement for a loft, I'm sure they would advert it as a "room with a view".
	My office.
	On the way towards Macedonia, we encounter a company B737-800 on her way towards the greek islands.
	The only politically correct position for a B737: below us, behind us, and slower. :-) :-) (I'm gonna be slapped for this joke by the Boeing crews. But it's a longtime humourous relationship between the two pilot groups at Hapag, so insiders might excuse this one :-) ).
	My two younger siblings aged 13 and 14 can't get enough of "travel stories". To prove that they are all true, my sister offered me a small toy cat which now travels with me in my crewbag, and every now and the is awarded by some good looks out the front window and a "poser shot" for my sister.
	Finals to land at Paphos, having penetrated the first towering cumulus clouds of my flying season 2005 during approach. (File photo Airlines.net: Luc Verkuringen)
	We are the only aircraft on the whole ramp, except for some inoperative militray planes. (Might these be Shackleton bombers? Dunno...)
	The passengers have left our aircraft and vanished inside the terminal.
	So we have some time for the official "linecheck picture". But someone is missing..
	...ah here we go. The one who has to "survive" the linecheck! :-)
	The "core team" (f.l.t.r): Myself, Purser Annemarie Senkel, and Check Captain Jörg Aldenhoff.
	Because of our de-icing delay at Munich, we landed at Paphos some 45 minutes later than planned, and so it is too risky to leave to the nice beach restaurant for lunch. We ask the handling agent if there is a restaurant or bistro at the airport, and he gives us a very complicated heading towards a small hangar.
	Hmmm, suspicious... but we try it.
	In the meanwhile, our purserette and two of our cabin attendants will take care of the aircraft.
	Hading towards the hall, our crew looks like the cast in a sequel of "gone by the wind" :-) But the winds were really quite strong. (I remember the hairspray advertisement: "nine o'clock, New York, The hair sits..." :-) ).
	This is the ominous small hangar. Somehow we feel there is no space for a cuisine in there. But let's see.
	We dig deep into the darker sides of Paphos airport.
	But finally, after passing about 3 nonsense security checks, we enter the departure hall, and find ourselves...amidst our return flight passengers! (Oh no...) At least there is some hot (or let's call it warm) food provided by the lady in the top left corner. She offers spaghetti with a choice of either napoli or bolognese salsa, and on special request some parmiggiano cheese on top. Brilliant...
	While we eat, stray cats walk around...
	...looking for a chance to catch some of "Mamma's" spaghettis.
	Every movement and every word is supervised by our 271 waiting passengers, and somehow we feel like sitting in a zoo. I am already sure that at this moment, at least 34.7% of all passengers have taken a "derivative judgement" of our flying skills from the way we eat our spaghettis... "Oh look, he can't even eat noodles, so how will he be able to bring us to Munich? Eek...!"
	But except from a B737-800 which is 2hrs late, no one will be able to take them to Munich, so they will most likely have to accept us as their crew, with or without spaghetti eating skills.
	Check-in, Cyprus style...
	We finally managed to swallow the quickly cooling spaghettis, and are happy to return to our "bus" again.
	The wind is still blowing, but at a still air temperature of 18 degrees C it's of no harm.
	A cool perspective...
	...and therefore another shot.
	Imagine how the crew laughed at me, lying on the Paphos apron as flat as a pancake to catch these pictures...
	Our big bus is waiting for the passengers.
	But tehre's still some more time for some more pictures.
	No comment...
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	Welcome on board!
	And after all of these egomaniac pictures g, now to a much more beautiful part of the crew. :-)
	The 737 has finally arrived, as we slowly taxy out of our stand, to be airborne within the next minutes, homebound towards Munich. Ah yes, and despite my extensive photographic work, I passed the final line check ;-)
	...hope you enjoyed it!