Portimao Air Festival

Last week I went to Portimao Air Festival, a new air show in the southern cost of Portugal. The air show was three days long but the events were pretty much the same during those three days. Regardless, I stayed there for the all show. It was an interesting weekend. Here are some photos:

Breitling Jet Team

Team Guinot

Rotores de Portugal

Portuguese Air Force

Portuguese Navy

G-Flight

Ramón Alonso

Svetlana Kapanina

Aerovip

Aerobática

Some photos from my hotel room

Me acting as a co-pilot (at least until he crashed on landing…) for one of the Breitling Jet Team pilots while he goes for a spin on Flight Simulator.

Dornier landing at Corvo

Corvo is the smallest island of the nine that make the Azores archipelago. The island, just like any other Azorean island, has an airfield. The only scheduled passenger flights are made by SATA Air Açores using a Dornier 228 which flies there three of four times a week. The following video was recorded during a windy day:

First aviation class

Last Wednesday [April 16th, 2008] I finally had Human Performance and Limitations, my first aviation class. The professor is Major Joaquim Alves, head of the Portuguese Air Force physiology department.

On this first class we were basically presented to the professor who told us a little a bit about himself and what to expect during the next 72 hours of his subject.

This is what we will discuss during the next weeks, obviously with a lot of sub-items:

• Introduction to Human Factors
• Aviation medicine - Respiration and circulation
• Aviation medicine - The effects of altitude
• Aviation medicine - Health and hygiene
• Aviation medicine - Diet and digestion
• Aviation medicine - Metabolism, excretion and heat regulation
• Aviation medicine - The eye
• Aviation medicine - Visual illusions
• Aviation medicine - The ear - Hearing and vestibular system
• Aviation medicine - Vestibular illusions
• Aviation medicine - High altitude environment
• Sleep
• Stress
• The nervous system
• Human information processing
• Situational awareness and attention
• Communications
• Personality and behavior
• Leadership
• Decision making
• Error making
• Learning
• Automation
• CRM and MCC

By the end of class I felt that unlike me, most of my colleagues didn’t really enjoy HPL… too bad! In that first class we spoke about some aviation accidents and incidents. I’ve always believed that we can learn a lot from other peoples mistakes, that is why I’ve read a lot of crash reports so that in the future I might avoid making the same errors.

Today I will once again have Human Performance and Limitations then, until Thursday, I’m free… At OMNI we start with only two subjects per week and then as time goes by we end up having a complete schedule.

This is it for now!

Flying in a Piper Cub

The Piper Cub is one of those airplanes everyone loves, and I am no exception. I’ve been waiting for the right time to fly in a Piper Cub and that time finally arrived last Sunday [April 13th, 2008], day in which the aviation meeting organized by Gonçalo Santos Pinto, from the Portuguese aviation forum LinhaDaFrente.net, joined together pilots and aviation enthusiasts at Santarém.

The aircraft I flew in was CS-AIA, piloted by captain Luis Rodrigues. Initially we flew low and slow over the river and then we headed back to the airfield at about 800ft to perform some stall turns. What a flight! I loved it!

Mathematics!

In high school I didn’t have 12th grade Math and Physics so the Portuguese civil aviation institute (INAC) says that I need to have some classes and then make an exam before beginning the pilot course. These classes are lectured at OMNI but unlike other aviation schools in Portugal, OMNI’s classes are free!

From Monday to Wednesday [March 31st to April 2nd, 2008] me and some other classmates had Mathematics with an helicopter pilot called Pedro Vilela. It was quite easy but even so there was some stuff I couldn’t remember…

During those three days I got to know some people who are starting the course with me. Everyone seems to be rather nice and I’m sure they all love airplanes almost as much as I do. Also during those days I arrived at OMNI about 35 minutes before each class. That allowed me to simply stand near the aircrafts in the hangar and apron and… well, watch them. I really can’t wait for my turn to be the guy speeding up on the runway for departure.

Getting back to the Math business: the exam was last Thursday. I think I did ok… Next week: Physics (plus some minutes of standing still and watching airplanes before class ).

This is it for now. Things will get more interesting once the actual course starts.

Presentation day at OMNI

OMNI’s Cessna 152 CS-AYG . Photo by André Garcez

Today (Monday, March 24th, 2008) was my first day at OMNI’s new professional pilot course.

From the place where I’m currently living to OMNI Aviation Training Center facilities at Tires airfield, it’s a 5 minutes car drive or a one billion hours bus ride. Since I left my car in the Azores I have to take the one billion hours bus ride to reach the school. This means getting two buses and a lot of waiting in the cold. Also, the ticket is 1.80€ per bus, so, 7.20€ a day for a round trip to the airfield!!! What a steal!!! Although it’s something I’ve been avoiding, I’ve decided to buy a used car so I can go to school in a cheaper, faster, warmer, and more comfortable way.

New students were expected to be at OMNI at 18:30h. I got there a little bit early and so did everyone else. At least we are all punctual, a quality a pilot should have! lol

After waiting for some minutes in the hangar near a Cessna 172 and a Piper Seneca II, we were greeted by Mr. Rui Sarmento, the person in charge of the theoretical instruction at OMNI. He spoke about details of the course, what we should expect during the next two years and rules from INAC we have to comply to, then he told us to which class we belonged to. I belong to class PLAA 04-2008 along with another 10 students. We were also introduced to Mr. Joaquim Oneto the school director and to Mr. Rui Mateus, who is in charge of the practical part of the course.

The ambient was casual, but we, students, were hardly talking to each other… I guess it’s normal. Everyone was probably excited to be there (I sure was!) but feeling a little bit “strange”. Seemed almost like the first day of high school! I hope to meet someone who shares the same sort of passion for aviation as I do.

Starting next week, students without high school Mathematics and Physics have to attend some special classes. This means the actual course is only going to start on April 14th.

This is it! I really enjoyed the presentation and the relaxed environment in the classroom. Hope things continue to be professional and casual at the same time!

Ah! Before I forget, in about 3 months we can start flying!

Take care.

Leaving the Azores…

Hello!

For the past few days I’ve been saying good bye to my family and friends in the Azores islands. Today (Monday - 17/03/08) I flew from Ponta Delgada to Lisbon and started a different stage of my life - the one in which I have to take care of myself.

Moving into a new place, almost 2000 km from the one I’ve always called home, was not easy. Leaving everyone and everything behind was painful and scary but also the chance for a fresh start. I only hope my mother forgives me for leaving in such a rush…

I’m now sharing a house near Tires airfield with a fellow student pilot from OMNI. Tomorrow I will have to find a suitable bus route to the flight school, If I can’t I will have to buy a car - which would be bad!

Next Monday is the presentation day at OMNI. I can hardly wait.

Pilot training - coutdown

Training starts in 24 days. I can hardly wait!

I will be leaving the Azores in one or two weeks. I will write more about the subject as soon as I have a chance.

Take care.

Holding pattern

I’ve been having some issues with my Internet access, until they are solved this blog will remain on the holding pattern.

Take care!

Three islands, three airports, zero profit.

Today, while driving back home, I heard on the radio that the Azorean government was going to extend São Jorge’s island runway to make it available to international traffic.

I almost drove against a tree to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

Let me start by giving you some facts. São Jorge is one of three islands that belong to the “Ilhas do Triângulo” (Triangle islands), named this way because they are all quite close to each other. São Jorge is 14nm from Pico and about 27nm from Faial. São Jorge has a population of 10.500 inhabitants, Pico 14.806 and Faial 15.063.

All nine islands in the Azores have airports. From those, Faial, Terceira, São Miguel and more recently, Santa Maria and Pico, have flights to mainland Portugal. These last two only have a weekly connection to Lisbon on an A320.

The runway of Faial airport is 1595 meters long and has a TORA (Take-off run available) of 1595 meters and a LDA (Landing distance available) of 1580 meters. During the IATA Faial has five weekly flights to Lisbon, three from TAP and two from SATA. Both companies operate an A320 on that route. That is the only scheduled route from Faial to anywhere outside the Azores.

Pico had until 2004 a runway 1520 meters long with a TORA of 1460 meters and a LDA of around 1400 meters. It was extended to be able to receive flights to/from mainland Portugal. Currently it has a runway 1755 meters long with a TORA of 1655 meters on runway 09 and 1745 meters on runway 27, and a LDA of 1580 meters on 09 and 1655 meters on 27. Four years later only TAP flies there once a week with an Airbus A320 and they stop at Terceira to get more passengers when returning to Lisbon. The total cost of the runway extension, new passengers terminal, appron, storage facilities, lighting system, other miscellaneous work, and ILS which is soon to be installed, was roughly 25.000.000 euros.

Right now, São Jorge airfield has a runway about 1350 meters long and receives daily flights from SATA Air Açores. To extent the runway the estimated cost is 20.000.000 euros. This is pretty much everything I know about São Jorge’s airfield.

The Azorean government says that extending São Jorge’s runway is the first step to, and I quote, “internationalize the airfield”. …Are they mad? The extension to the runway will be of only 200 meters in length and 15 meters in width. How can there be international flights to anywhere from an airport with a runway 1550 meters long, located in the middle of the Atlantic ocean? An A320 at MTOW needs at least 2000 meters of runway to take-off! Even if someone got it wrong and meant to say that the intention is to open the airport to flights from/to Lisbon like it happens in Faial and Pico, that is just stupid! It’s difficult for an airplane to operate at an airfield with such characteristics. TAP, who flies to Pico and Faial ,only allow Captains to make the landing at both those airfields and they need special training for that. Why not create two or even three hubs with good connections? I honestly believe that the best solution for the “Ilhas do Triângulo” is to have only flights from Lisbon - maybe they could even generate enough traffic for flights from Porto - to Pico and then, using a smaller aircraft, feed passengers into Faial and São Jorge. This makes it easier for airlines to make some profit on those routes. Any airline that wishes to fly to São Miguel or Terceira from Lisbon is forced to fly to three - soon to be four - non-profitable islands. This is also part of the reason that makes flying into the Azores very, very expensive.

Guess what’s even better? Faial has been for many years demanding to have it’s runway extended so the airport is able to have charter flights from other destinations, especially from the United States and Canada. Again… What’s the point? Why spend another 30 or 40 million euros when there are already good connections from the US and Canada to the other islands of the Azores trough São Miguel and Terceira? The other argument Faial presents to have it’s runway extended is to improve the safety of the flights from Lisbon. I could go with that but… hasn’t the runway of Pico just been extended to about the same size as the one in Faial, to be able to receive the same sort of planes/routes? Is the length of Pico safe for an A320 but the same length at Faial is no longer safe for the same aircraft? Even so, I still find this last argument a good one but an unnecessary one if something like I suggested was put in practice.

I think that if the Azores continues with these “weird” policies regarding air transport, airlines will continue not wanting to fly into the Azores from Lisbon and the ones that actually fly here, have very high prices in order to coup up with the expenses of flying almost empty air buses into some islands.

The reality of the Azores is that each island wants to be better then the other and demands everything for themselves… in the end, all nine islands end up loosing more then what each one gains.

I’ve pretty much just lost of my chances of getting a job at SATA in the future and I can already imagine the argument that is going to come up from people of Faial and Sao Jorge, initially against me and then against each other. This will be fun to watch!

Feel free to comment in English or in Portuguese.