There is some fat in most sector times and not too difficult to stay on time
with not much wind to pay havoc with the flight time but ATC seem to like
some serious vectoring often down low. They speak very fast.
Turnarounds are generally and never less than thirty minutes. During this
time a small army descend upon the aircraft. The cleaning gang come in
through the cargo hold and transform the cabin to a state of orderliness.
My check to line went like this. Swamped with paper work and procedures.
Banglaore to Chennai (Madras) the ILS and “nice landing Captain”.
Hotel mode, 35 degrees, a light tailwind, hooked to a pushback tractor
then you guessed it NACELLE OVERHEAT, Shutdown.
Tower control the tarmac. “No you can't pushback”! “STANDBYE”!
50 degrees in the cabin. No recircs cos battery cart. No we can't start
with the propbrake off cos we can't push back with spinning propeller.
Oh well. “Bing Bong would you like a cold towel and a cup of tea
Captain” “What a damn fine idea, thank you”.
Another day familed to Mangalore on the Arabian Sea. An experience to
see a sharp Indian crew fly. They are very precise.
Today I saw a cloud. Every day in Mumbai has been the same clear of clouds
hot and smoggy so very pleased to have a change. Bangalore, where I started
the day is 3000 feet AMSL and nice and cool and lots of trees and wide
streets. This is both good and bad as the traffic is lighter but faster.
We came within mm of righting off a Tuk Tuk on the way to work and tonight
in a beautiful black Mercedes as the driver was regaling me with stories
of fifteen years of accident free driving he bravely took on an Indian
bus which are built like tanks. We didn't win.
From Bangalore, sort of in the middle but slightly towards the bottom
of the upside down triangle, we flew to Cochin on the coast, South of Goa,
and then across the sub C to Chennai which you may know as Madras (that's
on the East Coast butting up to the Bay of Bengal). I am overnighting here
then doing the same in reverse tomorrow then wandering home in the avo
Club class in a B737.
Really enjoy the flying. The F/Os are very competent. Though they may
have less than 500 hours flying time they do mountains of famils to get
the procedures, checklists, callouts sorted and their trainers are incredibly
demanding of them. Very procedural with absolute mountains of paperwork.
(“The rest of the world airplanes run on Jet fuel in India they
run on paper”).
