Hey, as some of you may know, im a captain for Bmi (British Midland), so i thought it might be good to write about the flight i did yesterday.
ENJOY!!!
Route : London Heathrow to Nice
Airline : Bmi
Aircraft: A319
Sched Departure :11:55
Actual : 12:22
Sched Arrival : 13:35
Actual : 14:02
So i left home at about half 9, and i walked through to meet the rest of my crew, who i have flown on this route with many times before.
First Officer - Matthew Hughes
Pursur - Laura Conway
Crew 1 - Gemmah Oldham
Crew 2 - Sebastian Pole
Crew 3 - Jessica Gonzales
We watched out plane arrive in from Durham, and then we boarded onto the A319, which is unusual as the route is usually an A320.
The previous crew had left the heading and altimeter etc at what they had used, so we changed them to ours:
Altitude : 36000 (not set)
Heading : 175 (not set)
Speed : 270 (not set)
So then the Laura came over the PA that the passengers' bus had arrived, so we prepared for an on time departure.
The passengers boarded easily and we were all set to depart, and when the door was closed, one of the ground crew said that there was a faulty cap on the fuel tank.
So while they fixed that the crew went around with water to the pax, and to us.
Then when they fixed it we were off immediately, and as Matt was flying the plane, that ment i was in command of the radio.
I requested T/O and ATC said wait for the incoming planes, a BA 757-200 from Manchester, BA 747-400 from Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, and finally a LOT 737-700 From Krakow.
Then we taxied on and Matt powered her up, we just made sure that it was all fine with the Fuel tank etc, and madean unusualy long take off, lifting off just before the end of the Piano Keys.
I put the gear up and contacted departure.
"Midland 461 turn right heading 175, climb and maintain 12,000"
"Turning 175 ,climbing one two thousand,midlnd 461"
Untill 12,000, it was pretty uneventful, apart from the odd bit of turbulence.
Then when we got to 12,000:
"Midland 461 climb and maintan 29,000"
"Climbing29,000 Midland 461"
So we did.
Then Gemmah came in with coffee and newspapers for us,and breakfast.
In the air, it was pretty normal, Contacting the usual, Shoreham,Le Harve,Paris,Marseille centers.
After about and hour and a half, "Midland 461 descend and maintain 14,000"
"Down to 14,000, Midland 461"
So we did, and Gemmah came to collect our rubbish,and all the stuff she gave us, and then went out to help Laura with Business class.
When we got to 14,000:
"Midland 461, Descend and maintain 2,500"
"Down to 2,500, Midland 461"
When we got to 7,000:
"Midland 461, Contact Nice Approach on 119.200"
"Over to 119.200, Midland 461"
.
.
.
"Nice Approach, Midland 461, with you, descending through 6,700 for 2,500"
"Midland 461, Nice Approach, roger"
When we got to 2,500:
"Midland 461, airport is at your 2 'o' clock, please report the runway in sight"
"Nice Approach, Midland 461 has the runway in sight"
"Midland 461 cleared visual landing runway 6R"
"Cleared to land, Midland 461"
Matt used the manual approach system to land at Nice as there is no ILS,
And he made a small right turn, and lined up,he questioned his height and told me we might need to go around, i told him just to continue, and he made another small right turn and used the rudder to make the plane face the runway.
We hit the ground hard, and i deployed the spoilers and the thrust reverser,when the reversers were full i put the spoilers down and then slowed her slowly, and then Matt turned off the runway.
I put the flaps up and made sure everything was off, then:
"Midland 461 contact Nice Ground on 119.120"
"Over to 119.120, Midland 461"
.
.
.
.
"Nice ground, Midland 461 request taxi to the gate"
"Midland 461, taxi to gate 14B using taxiways Juliet, Zulu and Alpha."
Matt heard and taxed straight to gate 14B
"Roger, thank you, Midland 461 out"
We parked up, and i put the parking brake on,and turned the engine off.
The door opened and the passengers waved to us in the flight deck as they disembarked.
Then a boy about 13 years old asked Jess if he could come in the Cockpit,Jess askedme and i said yeah sure.
The boy came in, he seemed shy, and asked about what the different dials were,and told us he wanted to be a pilot when he was older.
We chatted for a bit then he left and said a big THANK YOU to us all.
The cleaners took their time boarding, but they did a great job in under 10 mins.
I prepared the Controls and got ready for the return.
Route : Nice to London Heathrow.
Airline : Bmi
Aircraft: A319
Sched Departue : 14:25
Actual : 14:52
Sched Arrival : 15:15
Actual : 15:17
So i watched the passengers board, and immediately i could tell that the flight was PACKED.
The passenger manifest said 131 passengers.
We tried to get off ASAP.
The door shut, and i contacted Nice to see if we could leave.
"Nice ground, Midland 462 request Departure IFR to Heathrow"
"Midland 462, Taxi to and hold short of runway 6R, When there Conatct Departure"
When we were pushing back, i took some time to look at the other aircraft,a Braathens 737-300 to Bergen, SAS A321 to Somewhere is scandinavia i guess, BA 737-400 to Gatwick, Easy Jet A319 to Gatwick and a Air france A320 to Amsterdam.
Matt taxed over to 6R.
"Nice Departure, Midland 462 IFR to Heathrow Ready to go, runway 6R"
"Midland 462, hold short runway 6R , a boeing 737 is on final"
"Hold short runway 6R, Midland 462"
It was a Lufthansa from Munich.
"Midland 462 cleared for take off, runway 6R"
"Cleared for take off, runway 6R, have a good day"
Matt lifted her off and turned right back towards home.
The weather there was beautiful, and even though it was "hot" in London, 12 degrees,here it was 19.
Anyway i didnt have to do much in the climb.
"Midland 462 climb and maintain 36,000"
"Up to 36,000, Midland 462"
Obviously Lunch was being served down in France.
Nothing to do, We were bang on course, climbing, all under control.
Gemmah again came in with different newpapers,coffee and other things like lunch.
I contacted Paris, Le harve,Shoreham, then back to Le Harve, then onto London.
"London center, Midland 462 Is at Flight level 360, with you"
"Midland 462, we have been expecting you, descend and maintain 9,000"
"Down to 9,000, Midland 462"
We descended, slowly,i put the seat belt sign on and then it got a bit bumpy.
We got out of the turbulence, and then Matt took over from the auto-pilot, and turned right to left up with the runway.
We flew right over London, 02 Arena, London eye, London city airport , Griffin Park etc...
"Midland 462 Cleared to land, runway 27, number 5 to land"
"Number 5 to touch down, Midland 462"
I told the crew to sit for landing and then we lined up.
Matt put the finishing pieces of ino into the ILS and then sat back to let the plane do the rest.
It was a smooth landing, and we hit the ground gently, Matt put the spoilers up and reversers on as usual.
Flaps up and then we turned off the runway.
"Heathrow ground, Midland 462, Request taxi to the gate"
"Midland462 , taxi to Charlie 12, via taxiways Whiskey and Bravo"
"Thank you, Midland 462 out"
Matt Taxied over to C12, in between a United 777 and an Iberia 320.
The jetway connected, the door opened and the passengers disembarked.
Me and the crew left and shut the door behind us, this baby wasnt going anywhere for the rest of the day.
Well i hope you enjoy this, if you like my Passenger view flights then please tell me. If you like these then ill be happy to write more.
THANX FOR READING !
ENJOY!!!
Route : London Heathrow to Nice
Airline : Bmi
Aircraft: A319
Sched Departure :11:55
Actual : 12:22
Sched Arrival : 13:35
Actual : 14:02
So i left home at about half 9, and i walked through to meet the rest of my crew, who i have flown on this route with many times before.
First Officer - Matthew Hughes
Pursur - Laura Conway
Crew 1 - Gemmah Oldham
Crew 2 - Sebastian Pole
Crew 3 - Jessica Gonzales
We watched out plane arrive in from Durham, and then we boarded onto the A319, which is unusual as the route is usually an A320.
The previous crew had left the heading and altimeter etc at what they had used, so we changed them to ours:
Altitude : 36000 (not set)
Heading : 175 (not set)
Speed : 270 (not set)
So then the Laura came over the PA that the passengers' bus had arrived, so we prepared for an on time departure.
The passengers boarded easily and we were all set to depart, and when the door was closed, one of the ground crew said that there was a faulty cap on the fuel tank.
So while they fixed that the crew went around with water to the pax, and to us.
Then when they fixed it we were off immediately, and as Matt was flying the plane, that ment i was in command of the radio.
I requested T/O and ATC said wait for the incoming planes, a BA 757-200 from Manchester, BA 747-400 from Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, and finally a LOT 737-700 From Krakow.
Then we taxied on and Matt powered her up, we just made sure that it was all fine with the Fuel tank etc, and madean unusualy long take off, lifting off just before the end of the Piano Keys.
I put the gear up and contacted departure.
"Midland 461 turn right heading 175, climb and maintain 12,000"
"Turning 175 ,climbing one two thousand,midlnd 461"
Untill 12,000, it was pretty uneventful, apart from the odd bit of turbulence.
Then when we got to 12,000:
"Midland 461 climb and maintan 29,000"
"Climbing29,000 Midland 461"
So we did.
Then Gemmah came in with coffee and newspapers for us,and breakfast.
In the air, it was pretty normal, Contacting the usual, Shoreham,Le Harve,Paris,Marseille centers.
After about and hour and a half, "Midland 461 descend and maintain 14,000"
"Down to 14,000, Midland 461"
So we did, and Gemmah came to collect our rubbish,and all the stuff she gave us, and then went out to help Laura with Business class.
When we got to 14,000:
"Midland 461, Descend and maintain 2,500"
"Down to 2,500, Midland 461"
When we got to 7,000:
"Midland 461, Contact Nice Approach on 119.200"
"Over to 119.200, Midland 461"
.
.
.
"Nice Approach, Midland 461, with you, descending through 6,700 for 2,500"
"Midland 461, Nice Approach, roger"
When we got to 2,500:
"Midland 461, airport is at your 2 'o' clock, please report the runway in sight"
"Nice Approach, Midland 461 has the runway in sight"
"Midland 461 cleared visual landing runway 6R"
"Cleared to land, Midland 461"
Matt used the manual approach system to land at Nice as there is no ILS,
And he made a small right turn, and lined up,he questioned his height and told me we might need to go around, i told him just to continue, and he made another small right turn and used the rudder to make the plane face the runway.
We hit the ground hard, and i deployed the spoilers and the thrust reverser,when the reversers were full i put the spoilers down and then slowed her slowly, and then Matt turned off the runway.
I put the flaps up and made sure everything was off, then:
"Midland 461 contact Nice Ground on 119.120"
"Over to 119.120, Midland 461"
.
.
.
.
"Nice ground, Midland 461 request taxi to the gate"
"Midland 461, taxi to gate 14B using taxiways Juliet, Zulu and Alpha."
Matt heard and taxed straight to gate 14B
"Roger, thank you, Midland 461 out"
We parked up, and i put the parking brake on,and turned the engine off.
The door opened and the passengers waved to us in the flight deck as they disembarked.
Then a boy about 13 years old asked Jess if he could come in the Cockpit,Jess askedme and i said yeah sure.
The boy came in, he seemed shy, and asked about what the different dials were,and told us he wanted to be a pilot when he was older.
We chatted for a bit then he left and said a big THANK YOU to us all.
The cleaners took their time boarding, but they did a great job in under 10 mins.
I prepared the Controls and got ready for the return.
Route : Nice to London Heathrow.
Airline : Bmi
Aircraft: A319
Sched Departue : 14:25
Actual : 14:52
Sched Arrival : 15:15
Actual : 15:17
So i watched the passengers board, and immediately i could tell that the flight was PACKED.
The passenger manifest said 131 passengers.
We tried to get off ASAP.
The door shut, and i contacted Nice to see if we could leave.
"Nice ground, Midland 462 request Departure IFR to Heathrow"
"Midland 462, Taxi to and hold short of runway 6R, When there Conatct Departure"
When we were pushing back, i took some time to look at the other aircraft,a Braathens 737-300 to Bergen, SAS A321 to Somewhere is scandinavia i guess, BA 737-400 to Gatwick, Easy Jet A319 to Gatwick and a Air france A320 to Amsterdam.
Matt taxed over to 6R.
"Nice Departure, Midland 462 IFR to Heathrow Ready to go, runway 6R"
"Midland 462, hold short runway 6R , a boeing 737 is on final"
"Hold short runway 6R, Midland 462"
It was a Lufthansa from Munich.
"Midland 462 cleared for take off, runway 6R"
"Cleared for take off, runway 6R, have a good day"
Matt lifted her off and turned right back towards home.
The weather there was beautiful, and even though it was "hot" in London, 12 degrees,here it was 19.
Anyway i didnt have to do much in the climb.
"Midland 462 climb and maintain 36,000"
"Up to 36,000, Midland 462"
Obviously Lunch was being served down in France.
Nothing to do, We were bang on course, climbing, all under control.
Gemmah again came in with different newpapers,coffee and other things like lunch.
I contacted Paris, Le harve,Shoreham, then back to Le Harve, then onto London.
"London center, Midland 462 Is at Flight level 360, with you"
"Midland 462, we have been expecting you, descend and maintain 9,000"
"Down to 9,000, Midland 462"
We descended, slowly,i put the seat belt sign on and then it got a bit bumpy.
We got out of the turbulence, and then Matt took over from the auto-pilot, and turned right to left up with the runway.
We flew right over London, 02 Arena, London eye, London city airport , Griffin Park etc...
"Midland 462 Cleared to land, runway 27, number 5 to land"
"Number 5 to touch down, Midland 462"
I told the crew to sit for landing and then we lined up.
Matt put the finishing pieces of ino into the ILS and then sat back to let the plane do the rest.
It was a smooth landing, and we hit the ground gently, Matt put the spoilers up and reversers on as usual.
Flaps up and then we turned off the runway.
"Heathrow ground, Midland 462, Request taxi to the gate"
"Midland462 , taxi to Charlie 12, via taxiways Whiskey and Bravo"
"Thank you, Midland 462 out"
Matt Taxied over to C12, in between a United 777 and an Iberia 320.
The jetway connected, the door opened and the passengers disembarked.
Me and the crew left and shut the door behind us, this baby wasnt going anywhere for the rest of the day.
Well i hope you enjoy this, if you like my Passenger view flights then please tell me. If you like these then ill be happy to write more.
THANX FOR READING !

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