Let me get back to you on that one:)

Actually for a real thrill, you takeoff from Osaka with 20,000 pounds of ballast pallet, in an empty MD-11, on the way to Narita. By the end of the runway, you're almost at 10,000 feet. Now that's a wild ride.

Huck, perhaps you've actually discovered why the old guys like myself have decided to stick around. Could it be that they actually enjoy flying???

JJ

There's a few. And they are a joy to fly with. JJ I count you in that group, and I'm sorry you're still sidelined.

Would you agree, though, that there are also those who stick around purely for the money, due to greed and selfishness?

I flew with a guy last winter who has a twin-engine plane, a huge boat and houses in the northeast and the Carribean. He's been a widebody captain for 20 years. He's staying to 65 because, and I quote, "This is the best part-time job in the world!" He plans to max out his sick leave usage before he goes. Not much "love of flying" involved there.

Huck....brother....

Gotta admit, you sound a little jealous

you can access the LMS system on your mac you don't need to load windows to do it

Huck,

Thanks for your comments. Yeah, I loved to fly, and miss it. Not enough to come back to work and put up with all the crap that you guys are going through, but I am jealous when I look up at a passing jet. There were only two times in my entire flying career when I had wished I was on the ground and not in the air, as opposed to the reverse. Anyway, I agree with you that many guys have lost that love of flying, and not just the older guys. A real pity, as I would guess that the vast majority of us initially took up flying because we liked it. I'm sure some are sticking around for purely selfish reasons, or because they didn't plan their lives well; a lesson for you younger guys. But, if a guy is gaming the system, ie, staying till he has to leave, and gaming the system by judicious use of vacation/sick/etc, I can understand your disdain for that individual, but it is a reasonable approach, at least from his standpoint. I'm sure that if the company were to write a check for unused sick leave, that coupled with selling back the next years vacation, would be such a windfall, that most older guys would bail much sooner. Just my take, though.

JJ (WD)

I can't personally comment about how similar it is to the DC-10, since I never flew that one. But all the Capts in my class were DC-10 guys.

What I would suggest by observing them is to remember not to get too wrapped around the axle about accomplishing the same task using different procedures. Just play the game.
It may be an electronic DC-10, but the MD community wants you to learn it their way.
If you show up having learned all the phase 1s (definitely do that), note that there are "quotes" (things you're expected to say out loud) within the phase 1s. Only one guy in our class noticed this more than about 2 minutes prior to all of us taking the written phase 1 test. They do expect you to know what you have to say out loud. This caused great consternation in our class.
It may be death by acronym, but don't get too worried about that. The classroom instruction is excellent, and they'll teach you what you have to know to get through it.
They repeatedly will tell you, "you don't need to know that". If you really have a burning need to know something, they'll want you ask the question after class so you don't confuse others in your class. You're not expected to build the airplane.
As others have said, AQP is 'No pilot left behind'. I'm just glad they heard I was coming to the airplane and made it kinder and gentler for me. :D

There is a set of flash cards available from Kinko's/FedEx Office on Poplar in MEM that helped me greatly. On the first day of training, they will beat you about the head and shoulders that 'gouge=unupdated crap'. That may be, but the flash cards are a great tool to pull out of your bag on a trip to review. More than any other airplane I have flown, I have to review on a fairly regular basis...

Definitely have the LMS done prior to first day of class. For my puny brain, there were JUST enough hours in the day to get everything done not including all the hours of LMS.

Good luck!

Updated MD11 Gouge website
 

Greetings fellow MD11 Pilots-

My famous MD11Gouge.com website has been updated with GoDaddy software due to malicious activity by unknown parties with my old Apple program.

It has all the same PDF gouges are there but is not all that graphically appealing due to limits of the GoDaddy web design software. GoDaddy tells me it's a work in progress so you'll see updates along the way.

I still update these gouges and solicit your input. I can me reached at md11PROFer 'at' iCloud dot com

Fly safe, Brad Alberts
MD11 Capt FedEx Express