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User:HuffTheWeevil/Experience

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My aviation experience includes piloting, baggage and cargo handling, customer service, ticketing, and fueling.

Oshkosh is the biggest annual airshow in the US

Aviation introduction

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Before I was even born, my dad was a pilot. When I was very young, he co-owned a Piper Cherokee, which I had the enjoyment of flying in as early as 2 years old. Throughout my youth, we went to various airshows including Willow Grove. I have made the "pilgrimage" to Oshkosh twice, in 2003 and 2008, and plan to go again soon.

When I was a teenager, my dad decided to build his own airplane. He chose the RV-7A by Van's Aircraft. I have assisted him with many parts of the building process, including riveting and working with aluminium.

Pilot training

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During the summer before my senior year, I attended ACE Camp (Aviation Career Education) at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, NH. After high school, I was accepted into Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). I attended the Daytona Beach campus and began my Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Science with the goal of becoming an airline pilot.

I began my training in a Cessna 172 without a glass cockpit. I soloed at Flagler County Airport in Bunnell, FL, located just north of Daytona Beach. At the time of my first solo, Flagler was the one of the busiest uncontrolled airports in the United States. It has since gotten an air traffic control tower and changed it's identifier from X47 to XFL. It is also famous for it's fly-in restaurant, Hijackers, a common stop for a $100 hamburger. A year after I soloed, the aircraft that I soloed in, N434ER, was destroyed in the Christmas Day Tornado of 2006.

I obtained my private pilot license in the category of Airplane Single-Engine Land a few days before my 19th birthday. I then trained for my instrument rating in brand new Cessna 172s with the Garmin G1000. I then opted to take a track that would let me obtain my commercial pilot license before my multi-engine rating. I trained for my commercial pilot license in the Piper Arrow.

The G1000 I used to get my instrument rating
The view I had when performing patterns at DAB

I have logged the following airports in my pilot log:

Aviation career

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Baggage handler

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I have worked on every MD-88 in Delta's fleet

I was first introduced to the aircraft ground handling industry in Daytona Beach, FL while attending college. A friend of mine got me a job as a baggage handler with PrimeFlight Aviation Services at Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB). My duties included loading and unloading checked baggage, reading bag tags, utilizing the baggage handling system and baggage carousel, aircraft marshalling, performing pushbacks, cabin cleaning, and operating various ground support equipment such as tugs, baggage carts, belt loaders, ground power units, air start units, and even lav carts.

We represented Delta Air Lines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA)[1], operating as Delta Connection. The aircraft that we had regularly was Delta's MD-88 and ASA's CRJ-700. Delta would occasionally substitute a 737-800 or MD-90. ASA would occasionally substitute a CRJ-200 or ATR 72[2]. Some of the Delta Connection flights were operated by Comair[3], with a CRJ-700. During the Daytona 500, Delta operated some 757-200s to accommodate the increase in traffic. Once we had to handle a diverted Delta Connection ERJ-145 operated by Freedom Airlines[4].

At PrimeFlight, we were also contracted to handle a few charter flights. Sky King[5] and Pace Airlines[6] each operated a 737-200 once in a while. Miami Air International operated a 737-800 on occasion.

While at DAB, I also helped out the local fixed base operator, Sheltair, with some charter flights. In particular, I assisted a military charter flight operated by an ATA Airlines[7] 757-200.

Cargo technician

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ULDs can weigh up to several thousand pounds each

I moved to Orlando, FL and gained a seasonal job as cargo technician with Quantem Aviation Services at Orlando International Airport (MCO). Quantem was contracted to ground handle several air cargo operations. My job was to load and unload unit load devices onto and off of aircraft using container loaders.

We handled a daily 727-200F, operated by Capital Cargo International Airlines[8] for BAX Global. We also handled a daily DC-8-70F, operated by Astar Air Cargo[9] for DHL Express.

Our largest operation was the daily operations of UPS Airlines. Our regular aircraft were several 757-200Fs, a few DC-8-70Fs[10], and an A300-600F. The A300 was substituted by a 767-300F a few times. And during the week of Christmas we handled a few extra aircraft. UPS brought in an MD-11F, and Arrow Air[11] was contracted to operator a DC-10-10F.

Ticket agent

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The 747-400s we had in Orlando held 450 passengers each

I was then hired as a customer service representative by Swissport USA, the ground handling agent for Virgin Atlantic at MCO. We handled, at a minimum, three daily flights: two to London-Gatwick and one to Manchester. Extra sections were operated on the weekends during certain seasons, and we added Glasgow for some parts of the year. All flights were red-eyes and operated on the 747-400.

My duties began as a check-in agent where I utilized the aircraft seat map to check passengers into Economy class and Premium Economy. I utilized Timatic, a system for checking passengers' passport and visa requirements before they depart for another country. Then I checked the passengers baggage allowance, tagged their bags, and issued them their boarding passes. I pointed them in the direction of the tram to get to the gates. Occasionally I had to deal with an unruly passenger, and only once did I have to call airport police.

I also worked in the customs hall where I assisted arriving passengers before and after they cleared customs. I also performed the tasks of gate agent including escorting the Upper Class passengers from the airport lounge, making announcements in the terminal, checking prams, and conducting the boarding process.

After some time I was invited to become a ticket agent. I was flown to Norwalk, CT, Virgin Atlantic's USA headquarters, where I took a two-week training course on SHARES. I learned things such as e-tickets, paper tickets, flight interruption manifests, airline codes, bereavement flights, codeshare agreements, fare basis codes, one-way travel, passenger name records, the standby process, the Warsaw Convention, layovers, stopovers, and connections, and overselling.

The 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption affected millions of passengers worldwide

In 2010, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano of Iceland erupted, leading to major air travel disruption. All of our flights were cancelled for six days, stranding millions of passengers around the world. Ten thousand of those passengers were Virgin Atlantic flyers stuck in MCO, and were thus partly my responsibility for getting home when airspace reopened. Our own flights were quickly booked solid for the next two months, but thousands were still stuck. I re-booked passengers on other carriers, through other US cities. But that still wasn't enough. Finally, Virgin Atlantic added a few extra sections, including an A340-600, and also chartered a few aircraft. We had two 767-300ERs, one each operated Arkefly[12] and North American Airlines, and a few DC-10-30s[13] operated by Omni Air International.

Fueler

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Our typical fuel trucks hold 10,000 US gallons of Jet A

I moved back to Philadelphia, PA and obtained a job as aircraft fueler with Aircraft Service International Group (ASIG) at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). ASIG is contracted to perform the fueling operations for US Airways and the operators that make up US Airways Express. PHL is a hub for US Airways, which is currently in the middle of merging with American Airlines.

When fueling, I operate a fuel truck that contains Jet A. PHL is the largest airport in the world that still trucks fuel, whereas most airports use an underground hydrant system.

I have fueled numerous types of aircraft: E190s, A319s, A320s, A321s, 737-400s[14], 757-200s, 767-200s, A330-200s and A330-300s for US Airways; E170/E175s for Republic Airlines; CRJ-200s for both PSA Airlines and Air Wisconsin; and DHC-8-100s for Piedmont Airlines.

In June of 2014 we began fueling American Airlines aircraft, in preparation of their merger with US Airways. I have fueled 737-800s and MD-82/83s for American.

I have also trained five individuals to become fuelers themselves, and I trained new leads, as well.

Fueling lead

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In June of 2014 I was promoted to fueling lead, which, at PHL, is like an air traffic controller for fuel trucks. Each shift, I coordinated six to ten fuel trucks on one of the seven terminals of PHL to fuel 40 to 60 flights.

Tower Supervisor

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I was promoted to Tower Supervisor in September of 2015. Specifically, I supervisor the entire fueling operation during a shift at PHL. I work in both the ramp towers, located above the terminals between A and B, and above Terminal F.

Experience summary

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By type of experience

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Aircraft Type Piloting Baggage/
Cargo		 Ticketing Fueling
Piper Arrow checkY
Cessna 172 checkY
Douglas DC-8 checkY
McDonnell Douglas DC-10/MD-11 checkY checkY checkY
McDonnell Douglas MD-80/90 checkY checkY
Bombardier CRJ checkY checkY
Bombardier Dash 8 checkY
ATR-42/72 checkY
Embraer ERJ checkY
Embraer E-Jet checkY
Boeing 717 checkY
Boeing 727 checkY
Boeing 737 checkY checkY
Boeing 747 checkY
Boeing 757 checkY checkY
Boeing 767 checkY checkY checkY
Boeing 777 checkY
Boeing 787 checkY
Airbus A300/A310 checkY checkY
Airbus A319/A320/A321 checkY
Airbus A330 checkY
Airbus A340 checkY checkY

checkY indicates extensive experience checkY indicates a one-time occurrence

By airport, company, and aircraft type

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Airport Company Operator Aircraft
DAB N/A Embry-Riddle C-172
Arrow
PrimeFlight Delta Air Lines MD-88
MD-90
737-800
757-200
ASA CRJ-200
CRJ-700
ATR-72
Comair CRJ-700
Freedom Airlines ERJ-145
Sky King 737-200
Pace Airlines 737-200
Miami Air Intl 737-800
Sheltair ATA Airlines 757-200
Sky King 737-200
MCO Quantem Capital Cargo Intl 727-200F
UPS Airlines 757-200PF
DC-8-70F
767-300F
A300-600F
MD-11F
Arrow Air DC-10-10F
Astar Air Cargo DC-8-70F
727-200F
Swissport Virgin Atlantic 747-400
A340-600
Arkefly 767-300ER
North American 767-300ER
Omni Air Intl DC-10-30
PHL ASIG Piedmont Airlines DHC-8-100
PSA Airlines CRJ-200
CRJ-700
CRJ-900
Air Wisconsin CRJ-200
Republic Airlines E-170
E-175
US Airways E-190
737-400
757-200
767-200ER
A319
A320
A321
A330-200
A330-300
American Airlines MD-82
MD-83
737-800
Delta Air Lines 717-200
MD-88
MD-90
A319
A320
757-200
Compass Airlines E-170
E-175
Endeavor Air CRJ-900
ExpressJet CRJ-700
Chautauqua Airlines ERJ-145
Shuttle America CRJ-700
United Airlines 737-700
737-800
737-900
A319
A320
757-200
GoJet Airlines CRJ-700
Trans States Airlines ERJ-145
Sky Regional Airlines E-175
jetBlue Airways E-190
Frontier Airlines A319
A320
Southwest Airlines 737-300
737-700
737-800
Spirit Airlines A319
A320
British Airways 777-200
787-8
Lufthansa A340-300
A340-600
FedEx Express A300-600F
A310-200F
757-200F
767-300F
MD-10F
MD-11F

Footnotes

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  1. ^ ASA is now known as ExpressJet
  2. ^ ASA retired their ATR 72s in 2008
  3. ^ Comair ceased operations in 2012
  4. ^ Freedom Airlines ceased operations in 2010
  5. ^ Sky King ceased operations in January 2014
  6. ^ Pace Airlines ceased operations in 2009
  7. ^ ATA Airlines ceased operations in 2008
  8. ^ Capital Cargo has since been merged into Air Transport International
  9. ^ Astar Air Cargo ceased operations in 2012, due to the DHL's termination of their contract
  10. ^ UPS retired their DC-8s in 2009
  11. ^ Arrow Air ceased operations in 2010
  12. ^ Arkefly is now known as simply Arke
  13. ^ Omni Air retired their DC-10s in 2012
  14. ^ US Airways reetired their 737-400s in August 2014
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