Aviation Shorts: Captivating Stories from the Sky

First Impressions/Not for Nothing
It’s hard to fathom the idea that our first pointless jobs mattered at all. I remember
my first job at Sonic Drive-in when I was 16 years old. I worked the fryers and listened
to two radios at the same time. Every time something fried was ordered, Onion rings,
fries, jalapeno poppers, or french toast sticks I had to drop it in. Listening to two people
talk simultaneously did indeed help me with Air Traffic Control communication as a
professional pilot.
How do people perceive us? After all the clients, and their families or associates’
lives are in our hands. They do have to trust/like you within minutes of meeting you for
the first time before you are increasing 14,000lbs of thrust and slipping the bonds of
earth. In the hit movie Oceans 11 Brad Pitt said to his colleague. “They have to like you
and then forget about you the moment you leave their side”. While we’re hopefully not
conning our passengers with an elaborate casino heist. How we greet and make that
first impression is critical and shockingly not taught or talked about in the corporate jet
industry.
Through flight school, I was classically trained in fine dining. I worked at a 4-star
steakhouse because I realized one thing. It’s that people ultimately tip on percentages.
When your PPA(per person average) is $10. A table of two would be so inclined to tip
$5. When your PPA is $50 that same table would be inclined to tip $20, and even more
when you added expensive bottles to the tab. One thing that blew my mind in this
industry was how you speak descriptively had a direct result on how high that tab got to.
But how does any of this relate to the private jet industry?
Let’s start with the initial offering of a beverage when the passengers first board
the aircraft. Most pilots say something like “can I get you anything?”, or “you guys want
something to drink?” 90% of the time people don’t want to be needy and the answer is
mostly “oh no thank you”, or perhaps “were fine”. Now if we just added a little
descriptiveness to our offering and said something like. “Folks, could I offer you a cold
Fiji water or a cup of hot coffee”? The descriptiveness sells itself. The person then
visualizes a cold Fiji water and says “actually I would love a cold Fiji water”. It’s very
interesting how many times the passenger will throw back the descriptive word at you.
First impressions are very key in our industry. Leading psychologists agree that
you have merely 7 seconds to make the first impression. The term meta perception
refers to how an individual interprets other people’s perceptions of them. The best
advice I can give you is to check yourself before you wreck yourself. How many times
are we rushed, worried about weather, sweating, and in a hurry? Passengers can
indeed interpret this negatively resulting in nervousness. It’s critical to get yourself
together before that first introduction. I have found myself going to the bathroom,
checking my tie, and wiping sweat off my forehead before that first introduction. I used
to say a firm handshake is always a good first move, but the pandemic has changed my
thoughts on this. Instead, only shake hands if the passenger goes in for the shake. In
my experience, very wealthy people care more about time than anything so I will cut
right to the chase. “You folks headed to van Nuys? Hi, I’m…” Put your shoulders back,
and stand tall, and confidence is contagious. Remember these first seconds people are
sizing you up. If you’re frazzled try not to show it. If you need more time say something
professionally like. “Sir, we are still finishing up some final safety checks but expect to
be ready in about 15 minutes. Do you mind waiting here while we finish up?” You must
do some sort of greeting even if you’re not ready for them yet. Think about when you go
sit at a restaurant and 10 minutes elapse before you are offered a drink? It sets a bad
tone for the entire course of the evening. However, if a waiter or waitress comes up to
you and says, “ Sir I apologize for the delay, we have some incredible specials I can’t
wait to tell you about, and I’ll be right with you.” That took 5 seconds and the tone for
the entire evening may have been saved.
People can 100 percent tell if you are genuine or not. When you give your
FAA-required briefings it’s important to not sound like an MP3 player. Play track 39,
seatbelts, and shoulder harnesses must be worn… you get the idea. You can cover the
necessary items without being robotic. Be genuine, polite, and remember that manners
go a long way. I once heard that the true definition of a lady or a gentleman is one who
always makes sure the ones around him or her are as comfortable as possible.
You also have to read the room as it were. Some people are not going to warm
up and be chatty. If this happens, cut right to the chase as polite and as professional as
possible. Talk faster and make it seem like there’s an apparent urgency to get them on
their way fast. I was once flying the CTO of a major social media company. He barely
said two words to me and didn’t listen to my safety briefing. I had a notion in my head
that maybe he was just unfriendly. 45 minutes from our destination he came up and said
he had to change airports because his mother was sick and dying and things were
going south. I made it happen. I made a call to ops and informed them. I called him up
and gave him the FBO address where his car service would pick him up at. Then I
informed ATC as we diverted. We dodged a few storms and landed safely at the closest
international airport. Upon landing, we urgently got his bags and him on his way. He
handed us a stack of cash as a tip and said “ I appreciate you being flexible”. Don’t be
so quick to judge people as we truly have no idea what’s going on in their lives. Instead,
read the room and react accordingly. After all, manners maketh man.
I was once taught these 10 simple rules to be a Lady/gentleman, and I feel
obliged to share with all. These apply to dealing with passengers and crew.
#1. ALWAYS SAY PLEASE.
#2. ALWAYS SAY THANK YOU.
#3. LISTEN TO OTHERS.
#4. DON’T USE CURSE WORDS.
#5. DON’T TALK DOWN TO PEOPLE.
#6. DON’T INTERRUPT OTHERS.
#7. DON’T OVERSHARE.
#8. BE YOURSELF.
#9. THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK.
#10. DON’T TALK TOO MUCH ABOUT YOURSELF.
At the end of the day when you deal with passengers. Get yourself together, Be
confident, presentable, genuine, and professional. Try not to overthink or overshare.
Use descriptive words when offering beverages. These people are paying a premium
for world-class service. We have to table everything that’s going on and give them 100
percent of our attention to make that first impression count. If possible, take a deeper
look at how you handle interactions with passengers

One shot, Half speed
They were in the woods and Bob Lee Swagger was training special agent Nick
Memphis of the FBI to shoot accurately. Bob Lee Swagger said to Nick, “slow is smooth,
smooth is fast ”. While this was a simple quote I believe it has profound implications in
how we handle tense situations in flight.
What actually happens to our mind and bodies during a tense situation. You have
surely heard of fight or flight? I bet you have, but don’t call me surely! I remember from
Psych101 that when a threat arises, the human brain floods the bloodstream with
serotonin, epinephrine, cortisol, dopamine, testosterone, estrogen and norepinephrine.
Your heart rate begins to rise rapidly, pupils dilate, increased breathing rhythm, stomach
clenches, and your body begins to stiffen up in anticipation for the outcome. Note, I say
tense situations because you can definitely have some of these without an actual
emergency.
The old saying “fast hands will kill you” comes to mind. I have seen this first hand
during my days as a Flight Instructor, especially on Multi engine aircraft. I have seen
students feather the only good engine, or cut off fuel to the only engine running, making
it a very tense situation for me. The moral of the story is this all was a result of fast
hands. Now I remember Swagger’s saying, “Slow is smooth, Smooth is fast”. In my
opinion, these students reverted back to rote memorization and/or primacy.
We all love flows, we have a ton of them. But do we truly understand the “why” for
everything we do and every button we touch. We know about the four levels of learning;
Rote, Understanding, Application, and, Correlation. In my unscientific opinion based only
on years of experience, some levels can be skipped, making it easier to revert when
things go south. Relentless repetition of a flow can make any pilot appear that they
really know what they are doing, but when questioned on why we do it in that way, in that
order, you may get some shocking deer in the headlights looks from even the most
experienced of pilots. The antidote is to really dive into the books, visualize what’s
happening when you do it, and why it needs to happen, deepen your
understanding,application and correlation will follow. If you do this, checkrides will
become a cake walk and you will become a better pilot. Remember what Viper said; “A
good pilot is always compelled to evaluate what has happened, so he can apply what he
has learned”.
I remember going into Montrose, CO one day on very low IFR with crazy
crosswinds. The SIC’s 1000’ call, I recognized my body starting to exhibit symptoms as
previously stated. At minimum I saw the lights at the 2:30 position due to the crab angle
and I set her down gently. We all know the relief that follows. Nothing sweeter than solid
icy ground. Now we go backwards, the tense situation did indeed cause some tension,
stiffening of the muscles, and heavier than normal breathing. A technique I use is deep
breathing. I slowly inhaled deeply and said to myself “Calm – (exhale) Mind”. “Relaxed
(deep breath) Body”. I do this once or as many times as needed and the symptoms
subside for me. I don’t know if this will work for you, but I encourage you to find
something that does.
Remember, Don’t have “Fast Hands”! When a tense situation arises remember
Swagger’s saying “slow is smooth, smooth is fast ”. Slow down, grab the QRH, Use CRM,
and agree as a crew before you act. Now ok, there are a few times when you have to
take abrupt or evasive action. What I’m telling you is that you can be smooth and precise
without acting fast and wrong. Remember what is happening to our mind and bodies.
We have to be smarter than the human psychological/physiological response and
recognize it. A wise instructor once demonstrated the pace of an emergency in flight.
He said “Ok, Engine failure in flight what do you do?” I said “ full condition, Props Full,
Throttles max, Fuel pumps on, boost pumps on…etc”. He said “Wrong. Let me
demonstrate”.
He said “oh no, looks like we lost an engine do you agree?”. He took a slow sip of
coffee, Folded his Maxim magazine to mark his place. Instructed me to grab the QRH
and we went down the list together. It’s a little extreme but in this situation, I was wrong.
I had Rote skills from being in initial, I knew the procedure, I knew what to do, but I had
fast hands. It was a lesson that resonated deeply with me.
My goal in this Aviation short is that you take a look inside yourselves. My
grandfather always told me “ you will be learning till the day you retire your wings”. My
sincerest hope is that we all make this statement true and become better!

A Day in The Mind of a Charter DoGG
In the hollywood hit movie “The Replacements”. Shane Falco was getting
ready for the big game. Alone in the stadium Coach Mcginty walked up on Shane
asking, “what are you doing?” Shane replied “just watching the game”. Coach
Mcginty later asked how he was doing, Shane replied he was “cool”. Mcginty
laughed a little and said “ like a duck on the pond. Beneath the surface everything
looks calm, but underneath the water those feet are turning a mile a minute.”
In my experience a good captain is one who is always “watching the
game.” I don’t mean football, I mean an individual who’s always watching,
visualizing, preparing, anticipating, and pre-reacting to what might come.
A cardiologist once told me the difference between type A and Type B
personalities. To make it very short type A’s show the feet in the water and make
a splash, and type B’s show very little and remain calm. I’m sure you have flown
with both types.
Todays flight is a two leg flight day. Going from Teterboro, NJ to Miami, FL
and a short reposition over to West palm Beach, FL. The first live leg (with
passengers) begins at 9:00AM eastern time.
My flight planning begins the night before in the Teaneck Marriott by the
GW bridge. I have spent about two hours making flight plans, checking weather,
Notams, risk assessments, ground transportation, and even the hotel were
staying at tomorrow night to see some good spots for dinner. Works over so I go
grab some dinner with my First Officer. We share some laughs and stories and
return to retire for the evening. I check the weather one last time before a quick
shower and turning on MTV’s Ridiculousness. I watch for 2-30min before i am
usually out like a light.
My alarm is set for 5:45AM. I arise and open my curtain to view the lights of
manhattan across the hudson and brew a terrible cup of in room coffee, while
simultaneously turning on AMHQ on the weather channel. This is not an FAA
approved weather source but great for situational awareness of whats going on in
the US. I usually walk or Jog for 30 min and head back up. My First officer is
meeting me at 7AM for breakfast downstairs so I do my shower, shave, and pack
routine and head down for 7AM breakfast with suitcases in hand. At breakfast we
discuss whos pilot flying, and whos pilot monitoring today. He wants to fly so i
tell him to do the cockpit checks, clearance, and ill get the cabin and exterior
inspections. I tell him about the storms that we will have to dodge over the
Virginia area and what to expect. I like to set expectations and prepare for whats
to come.
1 hour prior we arrive to Atlantic Aviation in Teterboro, NJ. Ive been coming
here for years so im a greeted by first name by alot of the front desk and security
crew. After the brief pleasantries, I call out what we need. It the standard 1000
gallons of fuel, coffee, ice, papers, and catering. We walk out to the Jet and begin
getting the APU fired up and the cabin ready. If there’s no issues we are normally
ready for passengers in about 30 minutes. I proceed to the cockpit and double
check the work. All looks good to me so we are all set. I go back into the FBO to
pay out and wait for the passengers.
Passengers arrive so I greet them and verify their identity. I tell them its just
two hours and twenty six minutes to Miami. Were expecting a few bumps on
departure but its forecast to smooth out once we get above the clouds here. We
walk out to the jet. I load the bags while the FO catches them in the baggage
compartment. I always do a final walkaround and check the nosegear storage
door, fuel door, lav door, and every other door before getting inside and shutting
the airstair door.
I brief the Passengers and ask them about ground transportation in Miami.
Ilike to offer a cold or hot beverage, and we are all set. I take my seat and verify
the weight and balance numbers and send off the final. We call the Operations
control center and ask if we are “green” for departure. We start the engines and
start our systems checks. I like to brief a couple of times especially on the world
famous Rudy 6 departure where we have to level off at a low 1500 feet to stay
under inbound traffic to LGA. SInce the FO is flying I make sure he knows and
coach him through how to make it as smooth as possible. Lead with the power
reduction very smoothly and help it capture the altitude. “He knows”. We blast off
and execute it smoothly. Once we are at a safe altitude i Make sure my times and
paperwork are in order. One of us goes back to check on the pax and shut the
curtain to the entry door.
Look ahead to Virginia a massive severe storm system has exploded
blocking our route. I query ATC to see what others are doing. They offer me an
atlantic route east of the system. Problem is that its not legal due to us not having
enough life rafts so we have to stay 100NM from a shoreline. We request 45,000
feet to get us a better view of the tops of the storms. We are now cleared to
deviate left and right as necessary. Using all available information we navigate
around the storms to a beautiful clear and a million Georgia. Now its time to start
looking at the arrivals and approaches. We brief what’s coming and execute it as
planned. We touch down in Miami, FL where a black Cadillac Escalade is waiting
for the clients planeside. Its no more than 4 minutes and they are on their way.
The Repo flight to West Palm Beach, FL is quick. And we execute it as planned.
We shut it down, Clean and polish the old girl. I’ve got a ton of paperwork to
accomplish but it gets done and we are on our way to the hotel