Page 19 - April 2016

Bro’sWith a two-person crew, you back each other up and catch each other’s mistakes – like things on a checklist, spotting traffic and sharing tasks when things get busy. You also have someone to verify what was heard on the radio. Or not heard. Joe is my FO on this trip and he’s a retired military pilot. Furloughed for over 13 years, he stayed sharp flying King Airs. Both of us came from the USAF fighter community; he flew F-15’s and me F-16’s.The military is composed of a widely diverse group of professionals in which discrimination and racism has been virtually eliminated. It took a long time but it’s true and it’s a wonderful working environment. And we all participate in diversity training at our carrier. In a job like this, there is neither a time nor a place for racism, sexism, or any other derogatory ‘ism’. Joe thought that he heard ground control tell a ground vehicle that his “bro’s truck” was on the way to 5L. He was shocked. I had to take a second to regain my composure before telling him that the transmission he heard was the “broom” truck was on its way. The ice pellets were too thin to remove with plows, so the method of removal was by using multiple, giant, broom trucks. The rest of the day he was jokingly addressed as the racist old-white-man.By the time we finished deicing an hour later, 5L was clean. Cleaned by the BROOM trucks. I asked for braking reports and the Mμ was 40 – equivalent to “good”. It would be a simple matter of taxiing downhill to the other side of the field. Or perhaps not so simple.This is where we, and the airliner ahead of us, encountered SaOS surfaces as we taxied downhill on Charlie. For some reason, the other plane and I were on different frequencies. Ground called to warn us the aircraft in front was sliding. Thinking back, this should have come as no surprise, since we heard that an airport vehicle had slid off someother taxiway. When I heard the jet in front of me was sliding, I tapped the brakes and braking was poor. Moving at about five mph, I tapped them again a couple of seconds later and had nothing. Not even the sound of the brake pucks squeezing the discs or any physical sensation of wheels touching the ground. I reported this to ground and suggested they close the taxiway. I prepared to use the thrust reversers if needed. Luckily, the jet in front of me was about three airplane lengths away and still moving– or sliding that is. Fortunately, the crown on the taxiway is slight so we both remained on the centerline. At the bottom of the hill was 5L, which had been swept by the BROOM trucks. Ground control instructed us to follow the jet ahead, back-taxi on 5L and turn off about 1,000 feet before the end of the runway. The taxiway from where we exited the runway to the approach end of 5L was just as bad as the hill, but taxiing at 2-3 mph made it manageable. As the sky began to glow on the eastern horizon, we rounded the corner onto 5L, shoved the throttles up and accelerated down the swept surface. The entire length was clean, with a ten-inch berm of ice pellets lining both sides.The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days.– Mark TwainBraking reports are from other airplanes, a good source of information when available. Mμreadings are taken using ground vehicles and their friction-testing devices employ a trailing wheel. Various types of friction-testing equipment can provide different readings, so not all conditions are reported precisely the same. Also, the tests are accomplished using an automobile at speeds well below our normal approach and landing speeds. So, like the owl story, take the Mμ reports with a grain of salt. Owl snot was never researched by DuPont or Fiction Friction, of course, nor was it found in the pyramids– April fools. But that shouldn’t stop us from promoting the SaOS/Mμ scale in aviation. It •can get slippery out there flying airplanes, and not just on the ground. Watch your step, my friends, and have a tissue ready if you spot an owl. T&T-Kevin Dingman has been flying for over 40 years. He’s an ATP typed in the B737 and DC9 with 21,000 hours. A retired Air Force Major, he flew the F-16 then performed as a USAF Civil Air Patrol Liaison Offi- cer. He flies volunteer missions for the Christian organization Wings of Mercy, is employed by a major airline, and owns and operates a Beechcraft Duke. Contact Kevin at Dinger10d@gmail.comNational Flight Simulator Sixth Page4/C AdAPRIL 2016 TWIN & TURBINE • 17