Tweet
About the Trip
A few weeks ago I had to opportunity to jumpseat and accompany DC-9 flight crews along the western United States. I flew a total of 10 legs, but I’ve only wrote trip reports for two legs that I thought were more interesting and I had pictures of.
About Evergreen International Airlines
Evergreen International Airlines (EIA) with headquarters based in McMinnville, Oregon shipping cargo worldwide with its current fleet of 10 B747-100/200s and 3 DC-9-15; one of the largest all-cargo fleet in the industry. Evergreen is recognized as a world leader in air freight and aviation services with a broad base of customers including other airlines, aviation companies and governmental agencies. If you would like to obtain more information on Evergreen International Airlines and subsidiaries that operate under the Evergreen name, please visit http://www.evergreenaviation.com
PORTLAND, OR (PDX) – SEATTLE/BOEING FIELD, WA (BFI)
Evergreen International Airlines
Flight#: 800
Aircraft: DC-9-15F
After meeting the crew in the office, we walked out to the parked aircraft on the south cargo ramp. We were parked next to an Airborne Express B767-200 and a few FedEx aircraft. While the captain did the exterior inspection I went up the stairs with the F/O to the cockpit, so he could give me the jumpseat briefing. He showed me how to operate the oxygen mask, as well as how to open the doors and windows. The captain came on board and the crew started the pre-flight checks, with the F/O getting our clearance from Portland clearance delivery and the captain checking all the instruments and bells and whistles. During this time, the ground crew started to load the containers into the aircraft. With all the paperwork signed off and everyone strapped in, the crew started the engines and we got our taxi clearance to runway 28L. While taxiing to the runway, the taxi and pre-takeoff checklists were completed and behind an arriving American MD-80 we lined up and waited for our takeoff clearance. Once cleared for takeoff, the captain set the throttles to takeoff power, with the F/O calling 80kts…100kts….V1…Rotate…V2 and gear up. We climbed to 8,000ft with tower handing us over to PDX departure. We made a right hand turn heading north and continued to climb to our assigned cruising altitude of only 16,000ft for this short flight. The total airborne time for this was about 20 minutes. We got handed off to Seattle Center and were told to expect the OLYPIA5 arrival for runway 13R into BFI. The flight was short and sweet, with some great views of the snow covered mountains. Seattle was already visible in the distance and we started our decent. The F/O made contact with Seattle approach control and the crew started to prepare for the landing. We flew right past SEA-TAC, getting lower and lower and just before downtown Seattle, we made a sharp right hand turn to line-up for runway 13R. We contacted Boeing tower about 7 miles out with flaps full and gear, followed by a smooth landing at BFI. We slowed down and made a 180 on the runway taxied back, crossed runway 13L and came to a stop on the cargo ramp next to a few Ameriflight Metro’s and UPS B757s. I exited the plane to stretch a bit (the jumpseat is not the most comfortable ride) and to take some pictures and wait for the next crew to arrive. I saw some interesting planes across the field over at the Boeing plant. Here are some pictures I took of our aircraft while on the ground at Boeing Field.
After a stop in Seattle and a crew change, we continued on to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Boise. I didn’t take any pictures on the other legs, since it was night time and it was too dark. It was a great, but long trip. I was awake for more than 24hrs. I got into Boise the following day at 7 a.m. I spent the weekend with my parents, before jumpseating back to work, leaving Boise Monday night and arriving Portland the following morning at 7:15 a.m. Below is the trip report for the Boise to Salt Lake City leg.
BOISE, ID (BOI) – SALT LAKE CITY, UT (SLC)
Evergreen International Airlines
Flight#: 805
Aircraft: DC-9-15F
It was a beautiful, but another hot day (100s) in Boise with some thunderstorms moving in. I arrived at the airport about 2 hrs before scheduled departure, with the crew showing up a few minutes later. It was the same captain I flew with from PDX to BFI. I checked the weather with the F/O and he showed me on how to calculate the performance. After a short chat with the loadmaster, a van took us over to the cargo ramp. More dark clouds started to move with in the vicinity. The captain decided to get out, before the storm hits the airport. The good thing about flying cargo is, that you don’t have to worry about whiny passengers and that you can leave early. We all got settled in, with the F/O listening to ATIS and getting our clearance. We started up the engines and taxied to runway 28L. We held short off the runway and waited to see were the storms were moving. We got clearance from ATC and we lined up. The captain told me to hold on, and told me that this is going to be a rollercoaster ride. He asked the F/O to turn on the APU in case we get hit by lightning. At that point I was like “Oh, great!”, with the captain just smiling. We took off and we used most of the runway to get airborne. We might a sharp left turn to try and avoid the storms as much as possible. The captain was right, it was one hell of a bumpy flight all the way up to 28,000 ft. We continued our climb to 35,000ft while circling and navigating around the storms. Once we leveled off, things started to smooth out again. The flight down to SLC took a few minutes longer, due to the weather. No problem, since we left Boise 45 minutes early and with a two hour layover in SLC, we were just fine. We got closer to Salt Lake, with Salt Lake Center telling us to set up for the BEARR4 arrival.
Total airborne time was about 52 minutes. We started our decent, flying over the Great Salt Lake, flying past the airport on a downwind leg before turning base for runway 34R.
The captain made a smooth landing and a few minutes later we already arrived at the cargo ramp. We secured the plane and took the company car to a restaurant were I had dinner with the crew.
We got back to the plane about an hour before scheduled departure and we continued on to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland.
I had a great time. I’ve met a lot of great people along the way, including other pilots and loadmasters. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to ask.
A few weeks ago I had to opportunity to jumpseat and accompany DC-9 flight crews along the western United States. I flew a total of 10 legs, but I’ve only wrote trip reports for two legs that I thought were more interesting and I had pictures of.
About Evergreen International Airlines
Evergreen International Airlines (EIA) with headquarters based in McMinnville, Oregon shipping cargo worldwide with its current fleet of 10 B747-100/200s and 3 DC-9-15; one of the largest all-cargo fleet in the industry. Evergreen is recognized as a world leader in air freight and aviation services with a broad base of customers including other airlines, aviation companies and governmental agencies. If you would like to obtain more information on Evergreen International Airlines and subsidiaries that operate under the Evergreen name, please visit http://www.evergreenaviation.com
PORTLAND, OR (PDX) – SEATTLE/BOEING FIELD, WA (BFI)
Evergreen International Airlines
Flight#: 800
Aircraft: DC-9-15F
After meeting the crew in the office, we walked out to the parked aircraft on the south cargo ramp. We were parked next to an Airborne Express B767-200 and a few FedEx aircraft. While the captain did the exterior inspection I went up the stairs with the F/O to the cockpit, so he could give me the jumpseat briefing. He showed me how to operate the oxygen mask, as well as how to open the doors and windows. The captain came on board and the crew started the pre-flight checks, with the F/O getting our clearance from Portland clearance delivery and the captain checking all the instruments and bells and whistles. During this time, the ground crew started to load the containers into the aircraft. With all the paperwork signed off and everyone strapped in, the crew started the engines and we got our taxi clearance to runway 28L. While taxiing to the runway, the taxi and pre-takeoff checklists were completed and behind an arriving American MD-80 we lined up and waited for our takeoff clearance. Once cleared for takeoff, the captain set the throttles to takeoff power, with the F/O calling 80kts…100kts….V1…Rotate…V2 and gear up. We climbed to 8,000ft with tower handing us over to PDX departure. We made a right hand turn heading north and continued to climb to our assigned cruising altitude of only 16,000ft for this short flight. The total airborne time for this was about 20 minutes. We got handed off to Seattle Center and were told to expect the OLYPIA5 arrival for runway 13R into BFI. The flight was short and sweet, with some great views of the snow covered mountains. Seattle was already visible in the distance and we started our decent. The F/O made contact with Seattle approach control and the crew started to prepare for the landing. We flew right past SEA-TAC, getting lower and lower and just before downtown Seattle, we made a sharp right hand turn to line-up for runway 13R. We contacted Boeing tower about 7 miles out with flaps full and gear, followed by a smooth landing at BFI. We slowed down and made a 180 on the runway taxied back, crossed runway 13L and came to a stop on the cargo ramp next to a few Ameriflight Metro’s and UPS B757s. I exited the plane to stretch a bit (the jumpseat is not the most comfortable ride) and to take some pictures and wait for the next crew to arrive. I saw some interesting planes across the field over at the Boeing plant. Here are some pictures I took of our aircraft while on the ground at Boeing Field.
After a stop in Seattle and a crew change, we continued on to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Boise. I didn’t take any pictures on the other legs, since it was night time and it was too dark. It was a great, but long trip. I was awake for more than 24hrs. I got into Boise the following day at 7 a.m. I spent the weekend with my parents, before jumpseating back to work, leaving Boise Monday night and arriving Portland the following morning at 7:15 a.m. Below is the trip report for the Boise to Salt Lake City leg.
BOISE, ID (BOI) – SALT LAKE CITY, UT (SLC)
Evergreen International Airlines
Flight#: 805
Aircraft: DC-9-15F
It was a beautiful, but another hot day (100s) in Boise with some thunderstorms moving in. I arrived at the airport about 2 hrs before scheduled departure, with the crew showing up a few minutes later. It was the same captain I flew with from PDX to BFI. I checked the weather with the F/O and he showed me on how to calculate the performance. After a short chat with the loadmaster, a van took us over to the cargo ramp. More dark clouds started to move with in the vicinity. The captain decided to get out, before the storm hits the airport. The good thing about flying cargo is, that you don’t have to worry about whiny passengers and that you can leave early. We all got settled in, with the F/O listening to ATIS and getting our clearance. We started up the engines and taxied to runway 28L. We held short off the runway and waited to see were the storms were moving. We got clearance from ATC and we lined up. The captain told me to hold on, and told me that this is going to be a rollercoaster ride. He asked the F/O to turn on the APU in case we get hit by lightning. At that point I was like “Oh, great!”, with the captain just smiling. We took off and we used most of the runway to get airborne. We might a sharp left turn to try and avoid the storms as much as possible. The captain was right, it was one hell of a bumpy flight all the way up to 28,000 ft. We continued our climb to 35,000ft while circling and navigating around the storms. Once we leveled off, things started to smooth out again. The flight down to SLC took a few minutes longer, due to the weather. No problem, since we left Boise 45 minutes early and with a two hour layover in SLC, we were just fine. We got closer to Salt Lake, with Salt Lake Center telling us to set up for the BEARR4 arrival.
Total airborne time was about 52 minutes. We started our decent, flying over the Great Salt Lake, flying past the airport on a downwind leg before turning base for runway 34R.
The captain made a smooth landing and a few minutes later we already arrived at the cargo ramp. We secured the plane and took the company car to a restaurant were I had dinner with the crew.
We got back to the plane about an hour before scheduled departure and we continued on to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland.
I had a great time. I’ve met a lot of great people along the way, including other pilots and loadmasters. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to ask.
Comment