Operating Experience for Two
By Les Abend
December 2008
 One of the cool things about my new position with the airline is that the job is rarely routine. The trips are different. The people I fly with are different. The qualification requirements for each pilot are different. The side of the cockpit that I fly from is different. But what I hadn't anticipated was the fact that my own learning experiences would be different.
In that regard, when I shook hands with Leon in Operations, neither one of us had a clue that the evening would become a learning experience for both of us. Leon was flying his first trip as a new international 767 captain. I was his check airman. We were beginning the first leg of a three-day sequence that was scheduled to depart JFK for Bermuda at 1720.
Leon had been an international 737 captain for a few years and was upgrading to the 767. He commuted from the Washington, D.C., area. His last flight on the 767 was 17 years prior as a copilot. He had just completed simulator training at the flight academy.
Since Leon was already a seasoned veteran of Caribbean flying, my discussion in Operations was a quick review of pertinent flight planning subjects. Leon's eyes never glazed over, so I assumed my brief was worthwhile ... or perhaps he was on his best behavior.
When we arrived at the departure gate, passengers were just beginning to deplane from the previous flight. Since we wouldn't be able to access the cockpit for a few minutes, I suggested that Leon accompany me for the walkaround inspection on our 757. Except for a flight academy computer program, the opportunity to complete a walkaround inspection on the actual airplane is not available while in training. It has to be accomplished during operating experience (OE).
Leon and I walked into the jet bridge and squeezed past passengers still deplaning. I punched the code into the keypad on the jet bridge door. Leon and I walked down the metal steps and onto the ramp ... and into a gigantic toaster oven. The Northeast was in the midst of a June heat wave that would last almost a week. The outside air temperature at JFK in the late afternoon was hovering in the low 90s. I'd take bets that the ramp had exceeded 100°.
As I spewed out information about the airplane, Leon and I noticed that the ground crew had not made passenger comfort a priority. The pre-conditioned (PCA) air hose was coiled in the large bin below the stairs of the jet bridge -- its usual resting place. The ground crew was in the process of off-loading the arrival bags, a typical priority on a normal day. (Maybe none of these guys had ever experienced the joys of being seated in the last row of coach on a 188-passenger 757 when the A/C is shut down.)
 The source of PCA air is external. It originates from a heating/cooling unit below the bottom of the jet bridge cab. Through an access panel, the hose from the heating/cooling unit connects directly to a large hole at the bottom of the fuselage, which sends the pre-conditioned air into the cabin.
Unfortunately, we had one minor problem. The one minor problem would plague the entire operation, costing the airline thousands of dollars, notwithstanding the potential loss of future revenue due to passenger frustration. The APU had been rendered inoperative by maintenance. Maintenance had their priorities too and it wasn't to fix the APU. (With all due respect to my maintenance colleagues, their priorities are dictated by the policies of superiors.) The repair of the APU had been legally deferred through the MEL.
One of the hardest parts of the check airman job is to allow the new captain an opportunity to make decisions, no matter how simple. But for some reason, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. This was the beginning of the trip's learning experience for me. I took aside one of the ground guys and diplomatically emphasized the immediate need for cool air ... like right now. The ground guy diplomatically informed us that PCA air was inoperative at our gate. Wonderful.
The ground guy shuffled his feet and then looked over my shoulder and glanced at one of the baggage carts stuffed full of off-loaded bags. A well-defined bead of sweat outlined his forehead. The ground guy was probably hoping that I would just go away and take the other captain with me. I explained the inoperative status of the APU. Our only choice was to connect the two mobile air carts that we would require for starting. In addition to providing air for starting the engines, the carts also pressurize our air conditioning packs. This fact is often lost on the ground crews. The distinction between PCA air and start cart air is probably not explained. Nonetheless, our ground guy appeared to be getting the message. He walked off in the direction of the carts.
Leon and I completed the walkaround inspection. We climbed up the jet bridge stairs and back into the cockpit. We began our preflight preparations. When I heard the screaming whine of the air carts, I moved the pack switches to AUTO. I made periodic glances up at the overhead panel and the digital displays of cabin temperature. Despite everybody's best efforts, the coolest section of the cabin was 79° at boarding time. The sooner we got our customers onboard the sooner we could start the engines and the sooner we could cool the airplane. It was not meant to be.
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