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Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Iqaluit FSS and the sleeping pilots

Airliner and cumulonimbus clouds
Airliner and cumulonimbus clouds

In the early 1990s, I was working at the Transport Canada flight service station (FSS) in Iqaluit, providing air traffic services. While I was in charge of the HF radio communications allowing the tracking of transoceanic flights, I received a call from a controller asking me to try to contact an airliner of a big European company.

Their pilots had crossed 60 degree west without communicating with Iceland radio and it was now necessary to ensure that the projected passage time for 70 degree West and the altitude of the aircraft were still valid.

I tried to communicate with the crew using all means at my disposal, among which the SELCAL system which sent an alarm signal on board the aircraft. Nothing worked. Other airliners flying nearby the aircraft were requested to help by trying some calls on VHF emergency frequencies. But again, there were no replies.

Suddenly, about one hour after the moment that the pilots should have given some sign of life, I received an answer to my repeated calls. I told the crew that all the efforts had been made to contact them but without success. I asked them an official position report and an estimate for the next mandatory point of contact. Calmly, the pilot answered that he did not know why I had not received his calls and he immediately prepared an official position report.

It was kind of strange that on a day where the HF reception was excellent, and when all other companies were communicating with Iqaluit radio without any problem, this company stayed silent for such a long period of time.

I finally received the new position report but it clearly looked like an invention. If the data provided by the crew was correct, this aircraft would successfully fly 400 nautical miles in the next ten minutes. It would mean that at this speed, the crew expected to cross most of Canada in about one hour.

I advised the pilot to redo his calculations since, visibly, he seemed to have no idea of his position. He came back with new numbers, very different this time, which match what was expected.

I guessed that during the long transatlantic flight, both pilots slowly fell asleep while the automatic pilot kept the aircraft in flight. Suddenly woken up by the multiple calls, the crew did not take into account the movement of the aircraft during the hour where everybody was asleep and, worried not to get caught, rapidly transmitted totally erroneous calculations.

Nonetheless, the story ended well since the crew, now rested, provided exact information for the following position reports, allowing for a safe flight until destination.

For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit

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Flight Simulation

Flight simulation : Lukla, the most dangerous airport in the world (FSX)

If you are looking for a challenging virtual flight, why don’t you try the route SyangbocheLukla with the Aerosoft Twin Otter? It is a very short flight, few minutes only, where the aircraft will be constantly descending until its destination.

A Twin Otter aircraft is on descent from Syangboche towards the Lukla runway
A Twin Otter aircraft is on descent from Syangboche towards the Lukla runway

A Twin Otter aircraft is on approach for runway 06 at Lukla
A Twin Otter aircraft is on approach for runway 06 at Lukla

The approach in Lukla can be tricky due to a 12 degree sloping runway. You have a feeling of coming in too quickly, but you must resist the temptation to reduce speed since, at this altitude, the stalling speed increases with all aircrafts.

Runway 06 is used for landing, and 24 is for departures. There is no possibility of a missed approach. You either succeed or you crash since there is a high rock wall at the end of  runway 06.

A Twin Otter aircraft is on final for runway 06 at Lukla
A Twin Otter aircraft is on final for runway 06 at Lukla

A Twin Otter is about to land on runway 06 in Lukla
A Twin Otter is about to land on runway 06 in Lukla

So the flight is made from Syangboche (OACI code:VNSB, altitude : 3748m and a 400m runway) towards Lukla (OACI code:VNLK, altitude 2860m and a 460m runway).

A Twin Otter aircraft is landing on runway 06 in Lukla
A Twin Otter aircraft is landing on runway 06 in Lukla

The scenery and objects around Syangboche are a creation of ORBX. Once you get closer to Lukla, you will notice a change in the scenery details, since you are entering the Aerosoft Lukla scenery (you have to buy this additional scenery to make the flight more realistic).

A Twin Otter aircraft has just landed on the runway at Lukla
A Twin Otter aircraft has just landed on the runway at Lukla

A Twin Otter aircraft exits the runway in Lukla
A Twin Otter aircraft exits the runway in Lukla

The integration of the two scenery styles is very well achieved.

This flight will require all your attention. Good luck! For other challenging virtual flights, visit my website.

For more articles on flight simulation on my web site, click on the following link : Flight simulation

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Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Ravens fly under -85C around the Iqaluit flight service station

Corbeau photographed by Brad Hill in 2010
Corbeau photographed by Brad Hill in 2010

February 1990 in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, Canada. Activities have slowed down a bit today. A temperature of -43C combined with 35 mph north-west winds means that the wind chill factor has gone down to -85C (NOAA Wind Chill Chart). We see far fewer pedestrians and even less motor vehicles on the city’s few roads. Many engines refuse to start and the motor oil has almost the consistency of maple taffy.

A special day indeed as, from the Transport Canada flight service station (FSS) tower, we can watch a very interesting performance. Huge ravens have picked that very windy day to have fun, regardless of the temperature. Flying under the wind near the FSS cab, they benefit from the venturi effect. There is no need flapping their wings. They just glide while occasionally correcting the angle of attack to adjust for the gusting wind.

The wind chill factor affecting living organisms, I find it quite spectacular to see those huge black birds having fun while we would expect that, with a -85C factor, ravens which must not absolutely fly would stay under cover until the weather improves a bit.

We can clearly hear the noise made by the wind on the wings of a huge raven when it glides over us. One day, I was walking near the Apex village under total silence. Suddenly I heard a raven glide low over my head. He was possibly checking if there was anything eatable out of that deformed shape transformed by multiple layers of winter clothing. There was only the rustling of the wind on its large open wings and no other sound. That was a very special experience.

Apex village in 1989
Apex village in 1989

For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit

Categories
Screen captures

Flight simulation: a CP Air B-737 is approaching the Juneau virtual airport in Alaska

CP Air B-737 on approach for the Juneau airport in Alaska
CP Air B-737 on approach for the Juneau airport in Alaska

Here is a slightly modified screen capture showing a CP Air B-737 in a virtual flight towards the Juneau runway in Alaska. The Boeing is a creation of the Captain Sim company and the scenery is the result of the hard work of the ORBX pros.The meteorological system is a combination of three elements: Cumulus X, the “Heavy snowstorm” selection in FSX and the improvements to snow appearance obtained through PrecipitFX.

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Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Iqaluit FSS and the overloaded DC-8

Trans Ocean DC-8-63F N794AL in Iqaluit in 1989
Trans Ocean DC-8-63F N794AL in Iqaluit in 1989

On a summer day of 1989, a DC-8-63F took-off from Iqaluit airport’s runway 36, on Baffin Island, heading towards Los Angeles. In order to do the flight without any stopovers, the tanks had been topped. The combined fuel, passengers and cargo weight required an extremely long ground run before the wheels could leave the runway.

Viewed from the Transport Canada flight service station tower, it seemed to us that the pilot had waited until the last moment to pull on the stick. Once airborne, the aircraft flew horizontally and stayed very low over the flat terrain to profit from the ground effect.

However, few kilometers from the threshold of runway 18, the terrain started to rise enough to request a positive climb rate. The pilot slightly pulled on the stick but avoided any turn to maximize lift.

Using binoculars, the flight service specialists (FSS) watched the aircraft as it should have made a left turn a long time ago. When the turn was finally attempted, the aircraft started to sink and lose much of the altitude precedently gained. We could follow the changes of altitude through the long trails of dark smoke left behind the aircraft.

Realizing the airplane was not ready to turn yet as it was going down, the pilot had started to fly it horizontally again. Moments later, the pilot tried again and the aircraft made a five to ten degree bank before starting to climb very gently. The aircraft would not have handled anything more.

It was the first time that we were considering pressing the red button used to alert airport emergency services. But this would not have been very useful since very little help could have been provided quickly enough, taking into account the position of the aircraft, its enormous amount of fuel on board and the total absence of roads in that isolated Arctic region.

N795AL DC-8-63 Trans Ocean airborne runway 18 in Iqaluit in 1990
N795AL DC-8-63 Trans Ocean airborne runway 18 in Iqaluit in 1990

Nationair C-GMXD DC-8-61 in Iqaluit in 1989
Nationair C-GMXD DC-8-61 in Iqaluit in 1989

For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit

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Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Iqaluit Drug Haven

In 1990, Stacey Campbell, a News North journalist, wrote an article that she titled: “Iqaluit Drug Haven”. She wrote that the Iqaluit airport was the main point of arrival for the entire drug being used all over the Baffin Island region, in the Nunavut. Mail was also another tool used by drug trafficker. It was quite easy to find marijuana, hashish and cocaine.

On the top floor of the eight stories building in which I lived, there were an increasing number of drug users. While only a year ago the place was relatively quiet, it was not the case anymore. From my small apartment, I could hear the shouting in the corridor or in the neighbouring rooms and the “OPEN THE DOOR!” ordered by the RCMP police officers.

There were cases of domestic violence, fights, people which I had to step over to walk in the corridor as they were lying down on the floor in their vomit, totally intoxicated. Near where I lived, somebody was thrown out of an apartment in a rather radical way: the door and its fittings were now missing and there was blood on the wall. The place is far less peaceful than last year.

At the center of the picture, a high rise building inhabited by single people in Iqaluit in 1988.
At the center of the picture, a high rise building inhabited by single people in Iqaluit in 1988.

In a nearby room, several drug users met, mostly on Friday nights. Quite often, tension rose between card games. The place had become unsuitable for somebody trying to rest while on a seven days a week shift work providing air traffic services at the local Transport Canada flight service station.

I remember one time when somebody started to kick on my door while I was studying quietly in my room. I could hear him shout: “I am going to kick your ass!” Since I had no idea of what was going on and as it seemed that I was directly concerned, I opened the door.

I then recognized a person whom I politely asked, at least six months ago, to try to lower the noise level. All those months went by and tonight, in an altered state, he suddenly remembered that request. He visibly took my request as a personal insult. He was now under the influence of an unknown substance and was angry.

He was standing in the corridor. Any moderate reaction on my part seemed useless, considering his situation. It appeared that only a quick and radical move would bear some success.

I tried to slowly close the door but he blocked it with his hand. The situation was getting worse. I waited few seconds and tried again, calmly and without a word. In few seconds, if nothing was working, there would only be one solution left. I gently pressed on the door and he totally surprised me by letting go so that in about twenty seconds, the door was closed again.

All this was done in total silence. In my room, I stood few feet away from the door, expecting it to be slammed open but nothing happened. Only that silence all around. After few minutes of having stood still, waiting for the next logical step, I realized that everything was over. What a weird night! This would not have ended the same way in a big city down South.

I can really say that in 1990, Iqaluit was in fact a drug heaven. Moreover, the floor where I had my room was no exception. I was eventually able to move to another floor where there were people with a more balanced lifestyle and the need to sleep once in a while…

For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit

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Political economy

Political economy: supercapitalism

Supercapitalism

The transformation of Business, Democracy and Everyday Life

Robert B. Reich "Supercapitalism"
Robert B. Reich “Supercapitalism”

Robert B. Reich is a professor at the Berkeley University in California. He also worked for the American government under President Bill Clinton as secretary of labour.

Here is a quote from the New York Times on their review of “Supercapitalism”: “Reich documents in lurid detail the explosive growth of corporate lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions since the 1970s. . . . Supercapitalism is a grand debunking of the conventional wisdom in the style of John Kenneth Galbraith”.

Ferocious competition on an international scale

During the first few decades that followed the Second World War, before the globalization of the economy, the author shows that in United States, profits derived from mass production were based on rules that insured stability. There was a better redistribution of a company’s profits between workers, shareholders and managers. The CEO even had the possibility to take decisions that would benefit to both the society and his company. The middle class was in better shape.

At the same time as capitalism progressively gained terrain around the planet, increasing inequalities of incomes and wealth followed.
The rise of supercapitalism, around the 70s, is due to the globalization of the economy and, consequently, to an increase of the international competition. Consumers and investors have been benefiting a lot from supercapitalism, but the citizen who feels a social responsibility and looks for the common good gradually lost ground.

The “consumer/investor” versus the “citizen”

The author writes that each person is of two minds: a “consumer and investor” but also a “citizen”. The consumer wants to acquire quality goods at low price and the investor wishes that the money invested towards his retirement provides a great rate of return. If the consumer finds a better price somewhere else, and if the investor considers that the return on investment (ROI) is not adequate, both will look towards the competition.

Meanwhile, the “citizen” in us wishes only good things for the society and the planet: companies must respect the environment; workers must have decent working conditions, etc. The paradox is that while we want the best, we encourage the worst.

Wishing the best while encouraging the worst

The fact that a superstore does not offer good working conditions to his employees irritates the “citizen” in us. However, the superstore’s lower operating costs allow us to save money. If prices go up, we will buy somewhere else.

As investors, we possess, through our mutual funds, numerous financially performing companies. In many countries around the world, profits redistributed to shareholders are the result of minimal working conditions given to employees and abuse on the environment. The investor regularly compares the rate of return of several mutual funds and other investments and he will not hesitate to sell his shares if profits are insufficient.

Increased pressure on the company’s CEO

Globalization and increased competition are forcing managers to think only in terms of return on investment. The CEO is accountable to his dissatisfied shareholders and mutual fund managers who both can sell their shares of an underperforming company.

Consequently, the role of a CEO is not to spend for reasons that would please the “citizen”, but instead to maximize profits using all the legal means at his disposal. This way, he satisfies the consumer and investor. He knows that all his competitors do the same.

As citizens, our role is to forbid companies to establish the rules of the game. Those rules must be set by the government in order to preserve democracy and encourage social responsibility.

Companies are not against new rules that would apply globally to all competitors. What they want to avoid is that a specific company benefits more than another one in the new deal.

Winning or preserving a competitive advantage because of lobbyists

Considering the strong international competition between companies, it is easy to understand that massive amounts of money and other efforts deployed to gain a competitive advantage are in constant growth.

After having worked in Washington, the experienced politician is hired by big corporations as a lobbyist (3% in 1970, 30% in 2005). While the politician’s attention is focused on consumers and investors, the citizen’s voice wishing a greater social equality is not heard.

Supercapitalism thus modifies the way the democratic system operates.

Mutual benefits between politicians and lobbyists

Politicians use that competition to demand important amounts of money to finance their political campaign. In exchange, they support and help push the agenda of a specific company: “That’s how politicians keep their hold on power, and lobbyists keep their hold on money”.

Democracy is perverted by the actions of lobbyists and the attraction that money and other advantages has on politician’s decisions. The government is not managed from the inside but by external powerful economic interests.

Better regulations can improve democracy

The author writes that companies cannot take personal initiatives to correct the situation since it will undermine their position towards other competitors in a global market. “Supercapitalism does not permit acts of corporate virtue that erode the bottom line. No company can “voluntarily” take on extra cost that its competitors don’t also take on, which is why, under supercapitalism, regulations are the only means of getting companies to do things that hurt their bottom lines”. Regulations can only be imposed by political actions.

Learn to recognize the actions used to distract the population

It is necessary for citizens and Medias to recognize the half-truths and distortions that “confound efforts to prevent supercapitalism from overrunning democracy”. The author names a few:

The public blame that changes nothing: beware of politicians who publicly blame corporations for actions that respect the law but that the public despise. The corporation works for the consumer and investor, not for the citizen. A public blame is easy and makes the politician look good. The latter must instead work at improving the law and corporations will then be forced to respect the new parameters.

The corporation that pretends to act on behalf of the public interest: do not believe a corporation that says it works for the public good. It is not its role. It is possible that, in order to improve its image or to satisfy the consumer (and ultimately its shareholders), it does something that looks like it is good for the public. But, basically, there is no acknowledgment of the public good, only a desire to preserve or improve its competitive position.

Lobbyists who pretend to look for the public good: lobbyists and experts who pretend that their initiatives are in the public interest only detract attention from their real objectives that are to protect or advantage a specific corporation.

The private sector and the “voluntary” cooperation: beware of politicians who claim that the public can count on the voluntary cooperation of the private sector in order to protect the public good. It is not the private sector’s role and it will not spend any money unless all of its competitors do the same. Those are only words aimed at buying time and confuse the public. If the public good is so important, then a law must be voted.

Public relation campaigns aimed at one specific corporation: beware of public relation campaigns and pressure groups working to force a specific company to be more socially virtuous. Try to discover the real goals behind those efforts. If all this seems reasonable to you, then ask yourself if a new law or new regulations forcing all the competing corporations to modify their behaviour would better serve the public.

Conclusion

A final quote summarizes very well the author’s thoughts: “In general, corporate responsibilities to the public are better addressed in the democratic process than inside corporate boardrooms. Reformers should focus on laws or regulations they seek to change, and mobilize the public around changing them”.

Title: Supercapitalism
Author: Robert B. Reich
Edition : Vintage Books
ISBN : 978-0-307-27999-2
©2007

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Real life stories as a flight service specialist (FSS): Iqaluit FSS

Aviation photography: Air UK Leisure B737-4YO G-UKLB

In 1982, Air UK ceased its charter flight operation. But five years later, the company was back in that business, under the name of Air UK Leisure. It started its operation by using three Boeing 737-200s but soon realized more aircrafts would be needed. In 1988, Air UK Leisure ordered seven new 737-400s, the first of their type in Europe.

Those 737-400s, built at Boeing Field in Seattle, had to fly to Europe by passing over northern Canada. The aircrafts could not do that long trip without stopping for fuel. They landed at the Iqaluit airport, on Baffin Island, in the Nunavut.

Air UK G-UKLB Boeing B737 arriving in Iqaluit
Air UK G-UKLB Boeing B737 arriving in Iqaluit

In the unique aviation photography above, taken from the local Transport Canada flight service station (FSS), you can see one of those new Boeings, a B737-4YO, G-UKLB.

During the same period, many companies having recently acquired some B737-400s and 500s did the same trip from Seattle to Europe by stopping in Iqaluit. Among those, Aer Lingus and Hapag-Lloyd.

Aer Lingus B-737 on final in Iqaluit in 1990
Aer Lingus B-737 on final in Iqaluit in 1990

A new Hapag-LLoyd (D-AHLL) Boeing B-737 has just arrived from Boeing Field in Seattle. Next destination: Germany.
A new Hapag-LLoyd (D-AHLL) Boeing B-737 has just arrived from Boeing Field in Seattle. Next destination: Germany.

For more real life stories as a FSS in Iqaluit, click on the following link: Flight service specialist (FSS) in Iqaluit