It is always great to read of someone who has made transformed their desires into reality. Desiree has done exactly that and not in the easiest of worlds. Rotary wing flying, in my experience anyway, has tended to be dominated by our ex-military brethren who have had huge figures spent on their training.
Their experience portfolio can be varied; how does a civilian get to train with large underslung loads in high terrain? Afghanistan and the Middle East generally provide lots of ‘fun’ for those who are that way inclined and it sets them up (should they want to continue with helicopters when they return to the world) for almost anything they want to do in the arena. Chopper Chick does all that.

All this makes Desiree’s achievement impressive, couple that to her being ‘just a girl’ in a dangerous man’s world and you get an impression of how hard she has worked and what an investemnt she has put in – and puts in every working day. Hats off to Desiree!

Visit her blog.

I am beginning to feel like an obituaries column, fun stuff for a while now.

There has to be a bright side……

Spanish airline suspends flights

LTE website announcing suspension of flights. LTE announced its suspension of flights on its website. Spanish-based airline LTE International has suspended operations after telling Spanish authorities that it was in serious financial difficulty.
LTE’s website stopped taking bookings late on Thursday after it said it could not cover costs for the next few days.

LTE operates services from UK airports to Spanish holiday resorts including Malaga and Tenerife. Some passengers were holidaying in Tenerife with Cosmos, which has laid on a flight to get them home.

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT SERVICES SUSPENSION
Lte International Airways S.A. wish to inform you that due to the financial situation of the company, that make it difficult to meet the operational expenses in the next days, we have had to suspend our charter and scheduled operations.

Lte is doing everything to minimize the impact of this suspension of services on its clients and providers. After 20 years operating with maximum dedication to our clients it just was not possible to avoid this situation given world events lately.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause to our passengers, clients and suppliers.

Lte International Airways S.A.

Indian downturn continues as AI offers furloughs, Kingfisher reports loss
Friday October 17, 2008 (ATW)

Volatility in the Indian market continued yesterday as Air India said it is working on a plan to offer unpaid 3-4-year leave to up to 15,000 employees and Kingfisher Airlines reported a heavy third-quarter loss.

The AI announcement came one day after Jet Airways, which had just unveiled its alliance with former rival Kingfisher, revealed a controversial plan to lay off approximately 1,900 workers (ATWOnline, Oct. 16).

AI told the Press Trust of India that the “scheme is purely voluntary,” and Chairman and MD Raghu Menon said those who accept the furlough (if approved by the carrier’s board) will be allowed to return at the same seniority and pay level. AI employs around 23,000. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told PTI that there will be no permanent cuts, although the current market downturn “will affect the growth plans [and] future employment opportunities.

This comment from ATW demonstrates how rapidly demand and overcapacity can accentuate the ‘feast – famine’ cycle in pilot supply. Only a short time ago Air India and India generally were suffering a significant pilot shortage, now they offer furloughs and whistle in the dark over the short term.

One of my colleagues, an Indian ex-Kingfisher captain said at the height of the expansion and hiring frenzy in his home country that, “This will end in tears, there is a massive oversupply of capacity building that will collapse if the market slows.” He was right of course though what will happen in the medium turn is another matter.

Sir John Harvey-Jones (God rest his soul) maintained that recession, though painful, was very good for well constituted companies. He figured that market downturns sweep away the cowboys and inefficient ‘dead wood’ so that when hard times abate and the markets start to return to health, those ‘puckka’ companies left are well placed to forge ahead from a strong position. Let’s hope that not too many Indians fall by the wayside because if this recession bites hard, it may well be the Asian Tigers who once again lead the way out.

I don’t know if large flying machines ring your bell but if they do, this blog might pass a few minutes in a pleasing fashion. I had a ride in an airship from Cardington many years ago and to this day see a bright future for them now that Hydrogen has been taken out of the formula. Great fun to fly aboard and an entirely different pace to air travel. What a fantastic job!

Today, the Zeppelins have returned. In 1997, the Zepplin Luftschifftechnik built a new airship — the LZ NT. The ship is certified. Commercial passenger flights began 15 August 2001.

Continue Reading…

Speaking metaphorically here. We are experiencing a strange, strange ride in the grasp of turmoil. I feel as though our industry is aboard a vehicle that has just cleared the upper atmosphere and made it to the edge of space. The planet is beneath us blue and round, my pen and flight reference cards prove that we just transitioned to weightless flight – or trajectory.

The craft is starting the slowest of rolls to the right and a pitch nose down has commenced at the same glacial rate. We tumble – what next?
What is the right control input – what is the safe action – what will hold or restore stability – what do we do to prepare for what comes next? Are we orbital or are we going to degrade; do we need a second burn to make it orbital or are we going to re-enter and fry? “Holy sh1t Batman!”

Continue Reading…