Position: KONZL intersection
Indicated Airspeed: 310 knots
Altitude: 17,050 feet
Equipment: A319
Pax-on-Board: 123 plus three jumpers
Airborne...
The cradle of humanity, as it appears, is stretched before us... The Los Angeles basin. Millions of yellow sodium vapor street lights all the way to the black edge of the Pacific. Never ceases to amaze me! We can see the KLAX complex from here, but only because we know exactly where to look. We are not lined up with the runways yet and still have not received a runway assignment. I have 25-Left in the primary flight plan and 24-Right in the secondary ready to go with a couple of button presses.
The co-pilot is one of my favorites... I have flown with him many times; one that I have stood with in the hallway outside the Chief Pilot's office getting our stories straight. Yeah, we have a history. He was telling two jump-seating pilots, sitting behind us in the cockpit, exaggerated tales of rowdy behavior in crew hangouts in every corner of the Empire. I maintain that I have no recollection of any of it.
To his credit, when we started our descent into the basin he flipped the bravo-sierra switch to OFF.
LAX approach...
LAX approach control is hyper-busy issuing rapid fire instructions. The controller is a very competent female... Cool under pressure. Voice pitch remains steady even when repeating instructions to crews who missed the initial transmission. Squealing frequencies from pilots keying the mike at the same moment have caused me to pull the nub a little further out of my left ear. It is a busy night in SoCal...
We are staying out of her way with short, precise read backs and rapid compliance with her speed and altitude instructions. We can sense her appreciation... Not to mention I have this thing for keeping the TAT (total air temperature) friction heating on the leading edge of the wing as high as possible...
She releases us from the speed restrictions on the arrival STAR... three hundred or better and I will call reduction.
Flight deck noise is increasing as Fi-Fi slices through the thickening atmosphere, engines and gravity assist maintaining 310 knots, fuel flows almost idle. The smile on my face hurts... This is my favorite kind of flying. I slept well this afternoon and am halfway through a cooling Starbucks Bold. The pilot portion of my brain is miles ahead of the aircraft looking back.
Frequency change...
Another female controller clears us direct to SEAVU intersection and descent via the published altitudes for runway 24-Right, disregard speeds... Perfect!
The co-pilot selects and activates the secondary flight plan which replaces all the old nav data with our new clearance for 24-Right. It is a major cool feature of Fi-Fi nav and falls into the same category as fast motorcycles and Wright R3350 engines.
SEAVU at 13,000 feet...
The 24-Right localizer is about nine miles ahead; we are approaching it from the east at a 30 degree angle; I will use the nav computers course line tracking to merge on the beam for a smooth interception... No localizer caused wing waggling from this captain. When we get closer to the runway, I will engage the localizer and glideslope capture mode.
The Electric Jet banks left intercepting the NAV course that overlays the 24-Right localizer beam. I glance at the localizer pointer... Centered. Time to start slowing to 250 knots; we are about to descend below 10,000 feet... Stop the descent and raise the spoilers a tiny amount... Just enough to tickle the speed trend arrow, but not enough to disturb the passengers with the rumble of lift shear; 300-290-280-270-260-250... Spoilers stowed and continue descent with vertical speed command.
The controller points out traffic two o'clock... 737 going to same runway. They will be three in front of you.
Yep, traffic in sight...
Roger... Slow to 210 knots. Maintain that to ten. Follow the 737; cleared for the visual runway 24 right.
OK... 210 to ten. Follow the seven three, cleared for the visual 24 right...
Yeah, baby! Engines to idle, raise the spoilers a few degrees... 240-230-210. Spoilers stowed.
A couple of Love Field cowboys in a 737 Longhorn roll onto final in our twelve o'clock low. Those guys are good! They nail the localizer without an overshoot. We can see their heat plume, dark profile in a thirty degree bank, and blinking strobes against the city lights. The fish-finder (TCAS) shows them three in front of us... Good controlling from ATC.
One seventy or better to JETSA, spacing is good on the 737... Contact the tower at JETSA
One seventy or better... Tower at JETSA... See ya later
Click-click
JETSA... 2200 feet... 190 knots... Leading edge slats extended
Three RED gear unsafe lights are replaced by three GREEN as the landing gear locks into place against the slipstream. The co-pilot extends more flaps as I introduce the localizer and glideslope to the auto-pilot. Indicated airspeed continues to bleed-off toward our landing speed of 140 knots. We need to be on speed at 1,000 feet above the ground to meet company policy of a stabilized approach. Auto-thrust begins to feed more fuel to the hot sections; engines come out of idle... Thrust trend arrows appear. I am trying to think of something cooler than thrust trend arrows... Mental exercise for later over Kansas.
We complete the landing checklist... Tower has cleared us to land.
Ahead, the approach lights and runway lights are bright and clear. We can see the Longhorn about to touchdown.
Auto-pilot OFF, flight directors OFF... Gimme the bird and runway heading please. The 737 turns at the first high speed; the runway is clear.
Over the fence...
Fi-Fi crosses the end of the runway at 100 feet, 140 knots, gear down and locked, flaps three-quarters, nose pitch about four degrees. I can feel it coming... It's going to be a smooth landing. The ducks are lined up and quacking in sequence. The wind is calm.... We are getting a few light bumps from the Longhorn that just landed.
Ground effect can be felt at fifty feet, barely... Feels like a soft pillow being compressed under the belly. At twenty feet, the sensation is strong and can be used to enhance a landing without wasting precious runway... Nothing more worthless than runway behind you.
Ten feet... Increase pitch with finger tip pressure; easy does it.
Five feet... Decrease pitch the same amount. You are tweaking the main gear inches above the concrete. Hold that pitch until touchdown and...
The mains roll on smoothly, gently, almost imperceptibly. It's the best landing I've had in several weeks and in front of an audience of three pilots. The two jump-seaters work for other airlines, so they are complimentary with a very nice and an all right... The co-pilot says he gets lucky once in awhile.
Softly lower the nose gear, check for full spoilers, and pull the reverse thrust triggers... At one hundred knots, start applying main-gear wheel brakes. The high speed turn off is coming up fast on the left; Fi-Fi is slowing rapidly. Before we get to the high-speed, LAX tower clears us to cross 24-Left and contact ground control on the other side.
Close the reverser vanes, ease up on the brakes and take the high speed at 50 knots while still slowing... My goal is to cross 24-Left at about 20 knots. Briefly look left, hard left... Any traffic rolling? All landing lights are still ON. One hundred thirty-one souls are at stake here... Serious business.
Left is clear...
Right is clear...
Our 319 rolls through the intersection and clears all runways... I slow to about ten knots and call for flaps up.
If we were going to the hotel, I would be relaxing now... But, we are turning this baby as quickly as possible for the transcon leg. My mind is already calculating fuel burn for the all-nighter. The load forecast is showing every seat full eastbound... Probably have jump-seaters, too. Got to keep it moving.
Life on the Line continues...
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