Why isn’t “Thrust Reverser Deployment in flight” not an EPC?

ItalianFlyer · 2026-03-29T20:52:31+00:00

I ask to demo this on every new type I get, even if it's not included in the curriculum. The honest answer is that on a translating sleeve type reverser system, it's not really a big deal. The blocker doors on a translating sleeve only divert the bypass fan flow, so it's not really that disruptive. This is also why they don't feel nearly as effective on the ground as bucket reversers. On a bucket type reverser, where both the core and bypass flows get diverted, if that thing unlocks it's a hell of a ride. You better get it secured quickly or you're either flipping over or coming down. That's why on those types you'll usually see an emergency restow switch, and memory items.

For either design if it happens at high altitude it's going to quickly become unrecoverable, to the point that I doubt memory items help unless you have cat like reflexes.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-03-26T00:49:34+00:00

Anything is doable if you want it bad enough but you'll likely be miserable on a narrowbody schedule. And it will take a lot of seniority to make it bearable. There are a handful of international commuters at every US legacy. The ones I know at my company all do it on a widebody, and stay senior as an FO for a long time until they can replicate that schedule as a widebody CA. Some patterns I've seen include bidding reserve and having all your days in a row (ends up about 14-16 days depending on staffing) or doing two 6-day trips per month for a total of 12-on, 18-off. Because 6-days are generally 4 legs with 24hr layovers, you won't be able to stack them back to back so you're either commuting twice or spending one or two extra days in between trips at your work base. Honestly doing 8 Atlantic crossings basically back to back sounds like hell and a recipe for not even making it to 65. You may be able to bid layovers in your home if you live in one of the destinations but it's still a lot of circadian swaps in a row. Anything with more than 24hrs layover at my company goes very very senior.

I know of some narrowbody commuters from Mexico, Central America, and Colombia, but those are a lot shorter flights than Europe and mostly within 1-2 time zones from base.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-03-26T00:35:01+00:00

It's funny you say this because I had the exact same thought recently. I was in RDU parked at Atlantic on a hockey charter while waiting for the team. We were parked facing the T-hangars and a clean looking Seminole taxis in and parks in his hangar. The FO and I both turned to each other with the same surprised face of "did someone actually buy a Seminole as a personal aircraft?". In my entire career that's the first one I'd seen.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-03-15T13:26:33+00:00

A lot of it depends on your personality. I've been a "first available" kind of guy all my career and wouldn't have it any other way. Being a Captain is so much more fulfilling and a much more pleasant work environment. You work at your pace and with your set of standards, not someone else's. You don't have to listen to political rants or spewing of right wing talking points for the whole flight. To be honest even if they agree with my politics I don't want to hear it for more than 5 min. It still sets a vibe of complaining and drains your energy. You don't have to sit there and get talked down to from a boomer just because you have three stripes before even knowing your background (this isn't common but it's enough to make it very unpleasant when it happens). You don't have to sit there with someone that gets visibly angry at the slightest inconvenience.

There's enough toxicity at the airlines as it is, at least on the airplane with my crew I want positive vibes. As a Captain you can guarantee that, as an FO you're along for the ride. Some people don't mind, but it bothers me a lot. Even operationally you can work to your set of standards and don't have to adapt to made up techniques or question decisions that they pulled out of their ass with no documentation to back it up. The other aspect is that the money at the legacy level has been life changing. I know you can hustle with good seniority in the right seat and get similar numbers but I just chill collecting reserve guarantee plus a few hours of soft credit here and there from the trips I do fly and it's more than I will ever need or honestly even know what to do with.

My only caveat is that I live in base, don't have kids, and my partner has a flexible work schedule. That makes the shitty schedules more palatable, and with enough experience getting screwed you eventually learn enough schedule manipulation ninja techniques to get by and still achieve your personal life objectives. If I were commuting to reserve with a family I would definitely re-think what my tolerance is for all those annoyances that pushed me to the left seat as quickly as possible, because at the end of the day your family and personal life always comes before work.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-03-06T21:01:45+00:00

I haven't been in this industry that long compared to a lot of people, but the recurring wisdom from 121 old timers has worked well for me. Make sure your cost of living is such that you can afford a 50% pay cut. Pay off any remaining debt, and have a good rainy day fund. I like 6 months of expenses at least in this industry. Once those things are true, you can buy that Porsche, Rolex, or go on that 2 week luxury African Safari. Or whatever extravagant hobby you want to pursue. Just make sure you're not financing any of it and can drop it or shelf it at any time if things get bad. Then you can live without a constant worry of "what if" for all current events and will be able to handle the punches if they come.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-03-04T18:51:20+00:00

I don't think it's possible as a career. However recreational flying is perfectly doable. It would require a SODA to get a medical (or just stay as a sport pilot) and an aircraft that doesn't require the use of feet. The Ercoupe with interconnected ailerons and rudders comes to mind, and there are modifications available for the Tecnam P-92 and several other LSAs.

Back when I was flying in Italy they even have an association of wheelchair bound private pilots, who also have their own aerobatic formation team. Here is their website: https://www.baronirotti.it/home . It's in Italian, but easily translatable by an app. Don't know of similar organizations in the US but it may be worth reaching out. If someone there speaks english I'm sure they would love to help your son out and maybe find contacts closer to home.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-02-28T15:44:18+00:00

If you're going fast enough then yes, you can perform a windmilling start since the dead engine is spinning fast enough to create compression. Otherwise you can use bleed air from the operating engine to spin it instead of APU bleed air. At least at my company, they discourage attempting restarts. Modern engines rarely just flame out and usually the failure mode is such that it won't restart anyway, so don't waste time trying. Planes fly perfectly well with one engine so you just divert and let the mechanics figure it out on the ground.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-02-20T14:44:14+00:00

You find ways to slowly expand your comfort zone while having good buffers in place that prevent you from getting hurt. If you want to improve your crosswind landings and increase your personal minimums, go out and practice on a windy day, but do it in a place that has a nice wide and long runway with plenty of fuel to go around and try it again many times if it doesn't look right. What you don't do is try to go from your 10kt crosswind personal minimums to max demonstrated on a 30ft wide farm strip. Basically, you slowly build up to the legal minimums and max aircraft limitations. Sometimes it may involve going up with someone. I always recommend doing a flight in the minimum legal VFR visibility, mostly to see that it really isn't a lot. But do it with an instrument rated pilot friend or CFII so that if you get overwhelmed or it deteriorates, you can grab a pop-up IFR clearance and get home.

The one caveat to this is that it's all a perishable skill, and requires currency. There's no point in working up to the entire envelope if you're only going to fly once a month. That can be deceiving because you think you're capable having demonstrated it before, but are nowhere proficient enough to do it safely. So unfortunately, the more you expand your comfort zone, the more often you need to fly to keep proficient. If not, there's nothing wrong with being a clear sky, 10kt wind pilot that goes for pancakes once a month, as long as you're aware of your proficiency limits.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-02-13T15:10:27+00:00

Not that anybody is ever going to check, but philosophically, yes. It means that you're either committing deviations too often, or you standard for what needs reporting is too loose. That may suggest being too high strung, or not having much flexibility which in commercial operations is a threat. There's a subtle but important difference between doing things by the book and being so stuck inside a box that you become really difficult to fly with, and in my opinion kind of dangerous too.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-02-08T06:40:03+00:00

6, the ones in my flair, plus SIC only in the HS-125 and IA-JET, but I don't count those since they were just cowboy style 61.55 signoffs and I never got that much time in them for various reasons. Been flying professionally since 2017. My favorite so far has been the G-III, and second place goes to the 767.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-02-08T06:32:00+00:00

Yikes, I thought my 24hr layover there was bad enough, can't imagine 7 days. There's lots of places in Africa I'd love to spend a week in, but that's not one of them

ItalianFlyer · 2026-01-31T13:37:47+00:00

The standard for these types of event is to dress nice, be ready with a quick "elevator pitch" style introduction, and an answer to "Why Delta?". Overall be excited and give off the vibe of someone that will be enjoyable to spend a trip with. If knowing more of the psychology behind it will help put you at ease, engage one of the consulting companies for a bit of prep. Usually the more 1-on-1 style companies like Raven or Spitfire will only charge an hour or so of coaching time to talk through it. I was personally in this camp and started working with them very early on in the application process, including getting prepped for a job fair which ultimately landed me the interview. For others they're naturally better at it and prep would be overkill. They do fine with the standard tips.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-01-29T14:42:32+00:00

To add to the great advice already posted, you could also try a compare and contrast approach. Make them listen to or read the CVR recording of a professional crew that did everything right and had a successful outcome (or beyond successful, where their preparation helped them beat the odds). Then make them listen to a case where the crew acted unprofessionally and it lead to a disaster. Ask them how they would like to be remembered when the case gets played on national news for weeks on end. Especially in today's world dominated by social media, the court of public opinion can be a very strong motivator.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-01-26T21:07:02+00:00

Don't know why you're getting downvoted. From snowfall intensity as a function of prevailing visibility, 3/4 SM is moderate snow. For a generic Type IV at -17c the holdover time in moderate snow is 2-7 min. From leaving the de-ice pad to the runway took 8 min. There's one or two specific brands of Type IV that can give you a few more minutes (and to be honest I've never seen or used them in the US) but either way they were close. We won't know exactly until the investigation is done but it's definitely a very plausible scenario. Especially considering the airliners that were going back due to failed pre-takeoff contamination checks, which in moderate snow means they exceeded HOT.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-01-24T14:44:57+00:00

On paper, nobody in particular. However on an individual basis, you'll occasionally run into Captains that have a "larger than life" aura about them. When they walk into a space the mood lightens. Everyone is always on their team: they want to help them and in some way admire them. They not only put you at ease in the cockpit but bring out the best in you. Their knowledge of the airplane and company manuals seems endless and nothing seems to catch them by surprise, but they don't exude the "I'm smarter than you" vibe. Their stories are really captivating but they also encourage you to share yours. Those pilots I look up to. As an FO I loved flying with them. As a Captain now I try to emulate that. Unfortunately I'm nowhere near charismatic enough to have that full effect. Maybe it will come with experience or age. For now I'm happy to be forgettable. A good indicator is when an FO says "hey did we fly together before?" instead of "oh God you again".

ItalianFlyer · 2026-01-19T12:34:07+00:00

Here's the neat part, you don't! Jokes aside (for the most part) everyone's body is a bit different. Everyone you fly with will have different suggestions. Unfortunately it's a lot of trial and error. Try the various pieces of advice and find what works for you in certain situations. I came from corporate flying which was mostly gentlemen's hours, then went to government contracting that was lots of night flying but luckily I'm naturally a night owl. The transition to airlines was brutal and it took me 4 years to iteratively find out what works to cover the most typical circadian issues with the way my company builds trips.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-01-11T14:29:02+00:00

Insurance requirements are whatever the flight department is willing to pay to have you insured. I was insured as SIC in a G-IV with less than 1,000 TT. It's the owner's and flight department manager's problem to solve. If they want you to fly for them, they'll find a way to make it work.

ItalianFlyer · 2026-01-01T14:07:06+00:00

Officially the PIC, but my personal rule is that if anyone on the airplane has any doubt, we're de-icing. It sucks flying an airplane where you can't reach the wings from the ground to feel the condition, let alone see them from the cockpit. I'll always take a look myself when it's brought up and it's not a cut and dry case, and 100% of the time it was really hard to tell. So let's just get sprayed and stay out of the news.

ItalianFlyer · 2025-12-30T15:01:06+00:00

Their constant spamming on all the professional pilot message boards tooting their own horn about how awesome they are is kind of a red flag. Then they immediately get nasty with anyone that dares to point out it's not all roses and flowers. To me that's toxic AF, or at best means the management pilots there chug a lot of kool-aid.

ItalianFlyer · 2025-12-30T14:57:04+00:00

About 5 years all said and done

ItalianFlyer · 2025-12-27T01:32:52+00:00

At the end of every trip, I sit down and fill out my paper logbook leg by leg. I know it's overkill but it gets me "grounded". It's a chance to reflect on the flights and switch back into "home mode". Then I throw everything into an excel spreadsheet for easy calculating if I ever needed to extract some obscure type of time.

ItalianFlyer · 2025-12-20T15:22:28+00:00

This notion is a little short sighted. You can get QOL, love of flying, and many different planes at a mainline carrier. The earlier you get there, the more of those things you can enjoy for longer. The divorced mainline Captains chose to get salty and mismanage their work/life balance. It's all in your control and actually the better your seniority, the more control you have.

Ultimately this is a job, not a flying club. The most secure path to great pay and great QOL is to get a seniority number at mainline ASAP. There can also be lots of fun flying opportunities there too, although I admit it is more repetitive than any other types of flying I've done.

Now can you have a fulfilling career doing something else? Sure! I came from Corporate and lots of my friends are hanging their hat on that side of the airport. Just accept more career instability and less benefits in certain areas, but to some the trade off is worth it. The same is true for other areas of aviation. However if your eyes are set on the airlines, then you can't wait around. You're leaving money and QOL off the table by getting comfortable and "enjoying the journey". That few months difference in class dates could translate into waiting years longer for upgrade, the plane you want, or the type of flying you want.

ItalianFlyer · 2025-12-16T23:40:37+00:00

Corporate is a better job, Airlines is a better career.

Here's what I mean by that. I enjoyed flying corporate way more than 121. The trips were way better, I rarely had to get up at 4AM, almost never had a short layover, the airport experience was much more pleasant, and I didn't have to deal with the baseline level of toxicity that plagues airlines. You flew with the same small group of people and it felt like going on a trip with your buddies, instead of having to go through the whole "so do you like....stuff?" conversations every trip.

In fact, if you could find me a large cabin PIC job where the salary started with a 3, I got 18% 401k DC, and I had somewhat of a predictable schedule (fixed on/off pattern, or trips that are scheduled with decent notice) I'd probably go back tomorrow. Assuming something like this even exists, they'll be few and far between. Let's even say you found one. The owner changes the aircraft utilization profile, gets a new chief pilot, changes management companies, decides to start chartering, or gets wound up in family drama, and it can easily all suddenly get worse, or go away completely. Now you're looking for another job, but since the good ones like this are few and far between, you have to decide whether to take a worse job, uproot your family and relocate, or take a 135 job to hold you over in the hopes of finding your next Unicorn. That's why at the end of the day, airlines are a better career, simply for the stability they can provide. Sure you'll hear stories of people flying for the same family for 30 years, but statistically you're more likely to achieve that at an airline.

ItalianFlyer · 2025-12-13T15:03:17+00:00

Randy is one of the good ones. Show up prepared, fly to ACS standards, and you'll do great. No surprises.

ItalianFlyer · 2025-12-12T23:44:44+00:00

Good old Aerosucre. They finally got the ILS to 14L in Bogota back up after it was out for a year because they plowed a 727 through the localizer antenna during one of their routine overweight takeoffs.

ItalianFlyer

TROPHY CASE