The Alpha Premonition
a gathering storm
By Steve Catalano
Book 1
Table of Contents
Dedication
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
About the Author
Copyright
Dedication
To the Mother that gave me life, and a past, present and future, Patricia
To the Wife who gave our children life, and a past, present and future, Sonda
You were both taken away from us far too soon, but we think of you every day.
To my Children Amanda and Christopher you will build a bright, wonderful future.
My Admiration and Love for you is infinite and eternal.
Acknowledgments
To Brenda, Annie and Martha thank you for your encouragement, support and editing skills.
Your kind help brought me from notes to manuscript to Book 1 of a 3 book trilogy.
1
Premonitions are funny things. As the alarm sounded at 0430, Paul awakened to beeping followed by smooth jazz. Was it a forgotten dream, or just a garden-variety premonition? Or perhaps one that would change his life forever.
After making his bed and popping in his contact lenses, he gazed outside.
“It’s going to be a beautiful day in the Northwest, and lucky me, I’m commuting down to Los Angeles to fly an airline trip to Hawaii,” thought Paul. He shaved, showered and suited up into his airline uniform, which put him 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
He always felt closer to his two offspring when looking in on them before leaving the house. As he looked in on his son, it was hard to believe that this 240-pound offensive lineman was the same child that used to ride on his shoulders. Looking in on his daughter, Michelle, she looked so loving and compassionate, even in her sleep. Paul mused, “No matter how old she gets, she’ll always be my little Sweet Pea, the nickname I gave her over 20 years ago.”
With only a ten minute drive to the airport, he hoped his journey through security would be as quick. After the encoded ID check and palm scan, he was almost to the West Coast Airlines gate.
Seeing the customer service agents, Paul greeted them with, “Good morning, y’all. Any chance of a ride to LAX this morning?”
“Why, of course, Captain! And thanks for the leis you brought us back from that last Hawaii trip.”
“My pleasure, it’s what I live for,” Paul said with a smile, as he leaned forward to access the optical scanner used to verify his ID.
“How about an aisle exit-row seat?”
“Perfectomundo,” he replied. Walking down the Jetway, he was thinking how ordinary airline travel had become for many people. It was still exciting to him, even when riding as a passenger
“Okay to beg for a ride?” he asked the Number 1 Flight Attendant, as he pointed towards the cockpit.
“Have at it!” She exclaimed with a smile.
“Morn’n guys. Any chance I could sweet talk you out of a ride to LAX today?”
“Absolutely. I’m Pete Marvel.”
“Nice to meet ya, Captain Marvel. I’m Paul Christian,” he said with a grin.
“Jeff Jones. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” as the First Officer also reached out to shake Paul’s hand. “How are things at Universal Airlines?”
“Well, still have part of my pension and some of my pay. I guess it’s really true - the only way to make a small fortune in aviation is to start with a large one,” Paul joked.
Captain Marvel then asked the First Class Flight Attendant to put Paul in a ‘big seat’. She pointed him to seat 4A in First Class.
“Thank you very much,” Paul said, as he stowed his airline carry-on in the overhead bin and relaxed into his seat. Closing his eyes for a short rest, he awoke to find them just east of Lake Tahoe. The hour that had transpired seemed like just a very few minutes.
Paul wondered what Professor Einstein would have to say about that, and yet, there was that premonition that now had coalesced into a feeling that this day was going to be unmistakably different from any day that he had experienced in his 50 plus years.
“You’re lucky to get a First Class seat,” the Flight Attendant said, “We’re full almost all the time.”
“I never forget my first rule of commuting…the worst seat on the plane is always better than the best seat at the airport terminal, and I got the best one today for sure.”
“How about some lunch? Salad and fruit ok?”
“That would be wonderful, and thanks again. Maybe a club soda to wash it down?”
“Say, do you know Captain Ben Howard?”
“I do. He’s one of my best friends. We have children the same age and he is also a Boeing 767 Captain at Universal, flying Hawaii and the Carib. I’m always teasing him about being junior to me on the seniority list, and being older as well. I tell him he should at least be better looking!”
“You are too funny.”
“I have more. Do you know the difference between God and a pilot?”
“No, should I even ask?”
Smiling broadly Paul said, “God doesn’t think he’s a pilot!”
“Ok, back to sleep for you!”
He smiled and opened his aviation periodical.
As they began their approach to LAX, he could see it was a gorgeous day in Southern California, too. After a great landing and short taxi to the gate, Paul repeated his thanks and wished the entire crew a good day.
He thought that at least it was a short ‘bag drag’ from the West Coast’s gates to the Universal Airlines flight operations area, where he was headed.
“So, Paul, where you off to today?” asked the Chief Pilot for the Los Angeles crew base, Dan Ashcroft.
“Doing Flight 297 to Honolulu.”
“You’re here early.”
“You know me, I’m a conservative commuter. I like to give myself a few back-up flights to get to work, just in case.”
“You sure you don’t have a girlfriend down here?”
“Dan, at present I’m girlfriendless.”
“Oh, another one got wise and dumped you, huh?” They both smiled and laughed. Such is the gentle ribbing and teasing that is common among aviators.
“Heading to Hawaii? Be sure and surf a couple of waves for me.”
“Dan, I like to think of my surfing as my brand of stand-up comedy; people are always pointing and laughing at me when I’m up on my long board.”
“No worries, mate, and try to fly better than you surf!”
“I’m too lazy to work and too scared to steal. About all I can do is fly safe. Have a good one.”
After ensuring that all his charts were current and manuals were up-to-date, it was time to take another quick snooze in the ‘quiet room’ adjacent to Flight Operations. Paul used the lighted display from his cell phone to find an empty recliner and pillow and promptly fell asleep.
As Paul’s watch alarm sounded, he awoke and searched for his shoes. “Now, did I leave them on the right or left side? I’m left handed, so they may be to the left of the chair. Let’s see if I can just find that door,” as his brain worked on catching up with his body.
Back in
Flight Operations in front of the weather computer, was the First Officer for Flight 297 to Honolulu, Jerry Hitchcock.
“Hey Jer, pull us up some good weather for our trip! And I’ll buy the coffee!”
“Done deal. You want just the winds at 34,000 feet, or 30, 34, and 39?” They both scanned the High Level Significant Weather prognosis, the winds aloft, and last but not least, the satellite weather picture.
“Let’s go all the way, Jer.”
“Hey, bro, you’re scaring me now!”
“I thought all you Marines were fearless.”
“Paul, you’ve obviously never met my wife!”
As Jerry went off to the jet, a Boeing 767-300 wide-body, Paul went to stand in line to get a couple of fancy coffee drinks. The line was long. It’s funny; people will pay $200-300 for a hotel room, $50 dollars for a cab ride to the airport, and $5 dollars for a fancy coffee. Many of those same people will complain about $250 for a trans-continental ticket. As the line progressed, Paul thought for a moment that perhaps he was in the wrong business.
With his suitcase and flight bag in tow and two coffees in hand, Paul stepped up to the boarding gate and asked the customer service agents, “How goes the battle?”
They smiled back at him. “Another full load to Hawaii.”
“All newlyweds and nearly-deads?” Paul queried.
“No, a lot of singles and families today as well.”
After his ‘in house’ security check, Paul walked down the jet way to the big Boeing.
“Thanks for the coffee, bro.”
“You are buying beer and pizza in Hawaii right?” Paul said, as he handed Jerry his coffee concoction.
Then Paul turned his attention to the Purser, or the head flight attendant in charge of her subordinates.
“Hi, I’m Paul. Here is your briefing sheet to Hawaii.” This contained the flight deck crew names, time en route, and the current Honolulu weather. “If something does not sound, smell, or even feel right, please call us anytime. That includes “‘sterile’ time, if you deem it important enough.”
The FAA requires a sterile cockpit below 10,000 feet. None but flight related communication is allowed, so stories and jokes have to wait their turn in time.
“We are anticipating a smooth flight - no weather, and 5 hours and 1 minute enroute, nice weather upon arrival. Standard security protocols and procedures remain in effect. I have a zero tolerance policy in regards to passengers that are non-compliant or disrespectful,” explained Paul.
“Thanks very much, I will brief the other Flight Attendants. You know your First Officer says you’re perfect.”
“Hey, I resemble that statement! You know, with all the political correctness and diversity sensitivity, I guess I need to be careful what I say.”
The flight attendant laughed and introduced herself, “I’m Amy; pleasure to meet you. And don’t worry about me, I like a good come-on line.”
“Just remember Amy, in my airplane we don’t report sexual harassment, but we do grade it.”
“With all the pay cuts and craziness of this airline job, it’s nice to fly with someone who hasn’t lost his sense of humor,” Amy said with a smile.
As Paul smiled back, he thought, “We’re going to Hawaii with a nice 24-hour layover. Thank goodness for small favors.”
Now it was time to make his nest, as they say. Put the flight case in its berth to the left of his Captain’s seat, adjust that seat, plug in his headset, and set up his charts for the journey westbound to Hawaii.
“Oxygen mask checked on the left; right side too.”
“Thanks, Jerry.”
“Paperwork here yet?”
“Yes, Paul, security, fuel slip, and lavatory and water slips as well.”
As Paul looked out the window at the flurry of activity outside, the ship’s clock said 20 minutes to departure. Looking back from the flight deck to the rear, the aircraft looked about 2/3 full. Looking left, up the Jetway, was the other third of their passengers.
“How ‘bout the Before Starting Engines Checklist please, Jerry.”
As all airline pilots do, they followed standardized procedures and utilized a challenge-and-response checklist. A bit ironic that they must commit to memory seldom used emergency procedures, but day-in day-out-normal procedures all utilize a manual checklist.
“Paul, I’m going to take a quick bathroom break.”
“No worries, mate. Mention my name, and you will get a good seat!”
“Man, you never stop, do you?”
“Jerry, you had the answer to that before you asked the question.”
“That’s what I was afraid of. It’s going to be a long flight to Honolulu!”
As Jerry came back into the flight deck, Paul informed him that he had just radioed San Francisco Aeronautical Radio, or AIRINC for short. They had assigned them a primary HF (High Frequency) of 8843 as their primary communications frequency, and 5574 as a secondary or backup frequency. Most airlines communications utilize VHF or Very High Frequency communications. However, long over-water trips utilize HF communications, which has been used since early days of oceanic airline flying. Very soon there will be the transition to satellite communications or SATCOM, as it’s called.
“Well, Paul, it’s about time you start earning your pay.”
“Jerry, you know I’m over-worked, under-paid, and under-loved!”
As Jerry and Paul chuckled, the gate supervisor came up and asked, “All ready to go, Gentlemen?”
“Let me double check with Amy. Amy, are you all set back there?”
She said, “Let’s go to Hawaii!”
The supervisor gave Amy the final passenger paperwork and closed the left forward entry door.
“Cabin is secure, and we’re ready.”
“Thanks, Amy. I’m going to cage the animals.” Paul closed and secured the flight deck door, and he and Jerry were ‘caged’ inside electronically.
“Fuel pumps?”
“Six on.”
“Hydraulic pumps?”
“Two engine, four electric on.”
“Cargo and entry doors?”
“All closed.”
“Flight Deck door?”
“Closed and secured.”
“Anti-collision beacon?”
“It’s blinking away.”
“The Before Start Checklist complete, Paul.”
“Thanks, Jerry. How about pushback clearance?”
As Paul communicated with the ground crew, Jerry received clearance for pushback. An airline tractor would push them back into the alleyway and then tow them forward to Spot One, just short of the taxiway.
Paul told the lead Ground Man, “Parking brake is parked; two good starts. You’re cleared to disconnect. Standby for a departure salute.”
As Paul flashed his nose-wheel taxi light, he gave the Ground Man a crisp military salute, and the tractor pulled away.
“I have a salute. Clear on the left side. Taxi clearance, please.”
The Co-pilot called, “Los Angeles Ground - Universal 297. Spot One, taxi.”
“Universal 297, straight out to Taxiway Bravo, taxi to Runway 25R.”
As they taxied out to the runway, Jerry brought up the Load Closeout Manifest from their data link ACARS unit, the link to dispatch and load control.
“All the numbers are good. Weight, temperature, runway, and all security checks complete.”
“Good deal, Jerry. How about flaps 15 degrees and the Before Takeoff list?”
“Takeoff Data/Speeds?”
“Numbers are for 25 right standard power,” Paul responded.
“Flaps?”
“Fifteen, fifteen green light.”
“Verified 15. Auto brakes?”
“RTO.”
“NAV radios/FMC?”
&
nbsp; “Set for departure.”
“Takeoff briefing?”
“Jerry, in addition to the items we previously discussed in the operations room and at the gate, if you see anything you are uncomfortable with, please bring it to my attention.”
They always discussed any discrepancies in the maintenance history of the aircraft. They then reviewed standard and emergency procedures, and briefed who will fly and who will handle air traffic control communications. Since Jerry flew the previous trip from Honolulu to LAX, and Paul handled communications and position reports, it was Paul’s turn to fly.
“Universal 297, contact tower on 120.95.”
They tuned to the LAX tower frequency. “Universal 297, taxi into position and hold Runway 25 right full length.”
Selecting public address on his radio communications selector, Paul keyed the button and said, “At this time we would like our favorite Flight Attendants to prepare for take-off.”
“Paul, didn’t you tell the last cabin crew they were your favorites?”
“Jerry, they’re all my favorites!”
As they taxied onto Runway 25R, the tower cleared them for takeoff.
“Universal 297, cleared for takeoff 25 Right. Fly heading 250 after takeoff.”
“Cleared for takeoff 25 Right. Universal 297.”
“Lights?”
“On.”
“Clocks?”
“Running on the left. On the right.”
“Here we go. Auto throttles arm, select EPR.” (engine pressure ratio.)
“Armed and selected,” as Jerry toggled the switch up and selected the EPR button on the glare shield control panel.
As they accelerated down the runway, Jerry called, “Power set… 80 knots.”
At the point at which Paul always crosschecked their airspeed speed for continuity, the runway centerline stripes appeared to be one continuous line. He noticed the 4000 Runway Remaining marker off to the left. They were fairly heavy, but still considerably below the maximum weight this afternoon.
“V1, rotate, V2.”
This indicated that they had accelerated past the decision take-off speed, at which they continued rather then attempted to stop on the remaining runway, followed by the rotate speed, at which they raised the nose approximately 3 degrees per second to establish the initial flight deck angle for the climb.
The Alpha Premonition: Book 1: A Gathering Storm Page 1