Shoup Airlines

It’s Gonna Be A Long Year

20.Dec.2007

Warning: This contains aviation jargon!

Picture if you will…yet another introduction brief at the airfield yesterday where they like to convince us that we’re incapable of studying on our own because we’re complete morons and ALL of this information is SO overwhelming that NONE of us have ever dealt with anything like it every before. Now keep in mind that most everyone here has a bachelor’s degree or some higher education, not to mention that we’ve all passed some of the most stringent military qualifications to get here. To prove his point the Flight Commander (our immediate supervisor of flight) proceeds to ask ridiculous aviation questions to the uninitiated. For some reason they always think setting one up for failure underscores the severity of this. In actuality, it does quite the opposite discrediting any respect we have for him to begin with. It gets even worse when he meets the initiated.

Flight Commander: Does anyone here have any stick time?

Stupidly, I raise my hand. But it’s more because they’ve already told us if we don’t divulge past flight experience that it’s an honor code violation, blah, blah, blah…whatever. However, even more stupidly, he doesn’t ask what my experience level is and assumes…

Flight Commander: How do you define night?

In aviation, the FAA has three definitions for night dependent on whether you’re logging night flight time, regaining night currency or certain aircraft requirements. The FC is basically just trying to prove that there are some confusing regulations out there. What I didn’t know was that he was also trying to upbraid anyone that “thought” they were a pilot. I quickly spew out all three definitions. He immediately jumps on one of the answers…

Flight Commander: No, it’s actually 30 minutes after sunset that you have to wait to regain currency, not one hour.

Now you all know how much I despise being contradictory so you can understand how difficult this was for me…

Shoup: Um, I’m pretty sure it’s an hour after sunset to one hour prior to sunrise. (Believe it or not, this is stated professionally and without a dram of sarcasm)

Not even skipping a beat…

Flight Commander: No, the regs clearly state in Part 95 or 97, I can’t remember which one it is, that it’s 30 minutes. It’s obviously been a while, you should read up on your regs. Now class this proves my point that the task you’re about to take on is extremely difficult, even experienced pilots have trouble.

Of course this throttles me to no end. How he treated me truly blows my mind but he also has me second guessing myself. Sort of. I already know he’s wrong because he means Part 91 when he says 95 or 97. I also know the currency requirements are in Part 61. Regardless, I can only sit there for the next hour while everyone ribs me simply because I could explain the real rules until I was blue in the face and they still wouldn’t understand. Luckily most of them believed me anyway…I think.

For some reason these guys have it out for anyone that has past fixed wing experience. I can only hope my IP (Instructor Pilot) is a little more level headed. Upon returning home, I finally looked it up:

§61.57 (b) Night takeoff and landing experience. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, no person may act as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying passengers during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise, unless within the preceding 90 days that person has made at least three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise…

I can’t wait until we tangle again. And we will. Oh, we will.