A pilot's perspective: landing on St. Barth

JEK

Senior Insider



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A PILOT’S PERSPECTIVE: LANDING ON ST. BARTH



April 22, 2016
by Gary Walther




“Cool and unsafe are not the same, says Eric Zipkin, President of Tradewind Aviation. “Mutually exclusive in fact.”
He’s referring to the famed landing at Remy de Haenen Airport, a 650-meter (2100 foot) runway welcoming visitors to St. Barth. "There's no doubt about it, it looks cool," he says. "It restores the romance of flying, something that has been lost in air travel. You're in a small plane, you can see the pilots, and there is a lot of flying going on in the last minutes of the day.


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Yet contrary to all the chaff found on the Internet, he also says it’s just as safe as any other landing in the Caribbean, or the world for that matter. The reason: a versatile aircraft that’s truly perfect for the job.
Tradewind flies the Pilatus PC-12 to St. Barth, scheduled from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Antigua, St Thomas, and private from points farther away—"we eliminate the immigration rigmarole in St. Maarten," he says. (St. Maarten was traditionally considered the main gateway to St. Barth.)
"It's the plane for the mission," says Zipkin, referring to St. Barth's short-field runway and distinctive landing: A steep glide (the angle depends on the wind) in order to clear the notch in the 150-foot hill right behind the runway, a quick down-slope flight at about 10 feet above ground, then a sharp pull-up and touch down.
Zipkin trains Tradewind St. Barth pilots himself: two days of ground training and five-to-10 hours of flight training. "St. Barth is not a carrier landing," he says, contradicting a phrase common on the Internet.


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The PC-12 is designed for just such challenges. In fact, it was designed for challenges far more taxing than landing on St. Barth—like North Slope oil fields and southern African game lodges, with all of their attendant drawbacks (extreme weather, maintenance hours away). In comparison, the Tradewind itinerary is a breeze.
What’s more, despite needing only one pilot on the PC-12, Tradewind uses two pilots on all of its flights. This not only allows pilots to cross-check each other, it also gives the pilot not flying the route a chance to service the cabin.
The PC-12 is equipped with a wing that produces a great deal of lift, meaning it is meant to land at low speeds, an advantage in St. Barth. "Close to the ground the PC-12 is operating at highway speeds," says Zipkin. It also gets off a short-field runway quickly.
"St. Barth does not take super-human flying skills," Zipkin says—referring to the sensationalist Internet videos about the landing—and says that one of the biggest challenges for a pilot is managing the distraction of tourists who gather on the hill crest to watch the landing.


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If you go, you'll probably end up on the hill at least once, too. It's part of the island's romance, and unlike almost everything else on St. Barth, the thrill is free.





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Recently heard reports of pilots being overworked & tired after an exhausting season. Lots of crew went back to the N-E for summer ops, few remaining in the Caribbean are still very busy. Avoiding flight crew fatigue is an important element of safety for any airline. Having constant roster changes and cancelled days off is not good... Perhaps a concern for TW management to look after?
 
Recently heard reports of pilots being overworked & tired after an exhausting season. Lots of crew went back to the N-E for summer ops, few remaining in the Caribbean are still very busy. Avoiding flight crew fatigue is an important element of safety for any airline. Having constant roster changes and cancelled days off is not good... Perhaps a concern for TW management to look after?


Heard this from Bruno? :D
 
Recently heard reports of pilots being overworked & tired after an exhausting season. Lots of crew went back to the N-E for summer ops, few remaining in the Caribbean are still very busy. Avoiding flight crew fatigue is an important element of safety for any airline. Having constant roster changes and cancelled days off is not good... Perhaps a concern for TW management to look after?



You wonder if aircrews work any harder as these people, especially since much of their work is automated?

A paradox for young docs: New work-hour restrictions may increase, not decrease, errors

U-M-led study of 2,300 first-year residents questions impact of the new 2011 duty rules


ANN ARBOR, Mich. — At hospitals around the country, young doctors fresh out of medical school help care for patients of all kinds – and work intense, long hours as part of their residency training.
tireddoc.JPG

tireddoc.JPG



Traditionally, residents were allowed to work more than 24 hours without a break. In 2011, new rules cut back the number of hours they can work consecutively to 16, (80 hrs max per week) in the name of protecting patients from errors by sleepy physicians.
But a new study of more than 2,300 doctors in their first year of residency at over a dozen hospital systems across the country raises questions about how well the rules are protecting both patients and new doctors.
 
You wonder if the pilots work any harder as these people, especially since much of their work is automated?

A paradox for young docs: New work-hour restrictions may increase, not decrease, errors

U-M-led study of 2,300 first-year residents questions impact of the new 2011 duty rules


ANN ARBOR, Mich. — At hospitals around the country, young doctors fresh out of medical school help care for patients of all kinds – and work intense, long hours as part of their residency training.
tireddoc.JPG

tireddoc.JPG



Traditionally, residents were allowed to work more than 24 hours without a break. In 2011, new rules cut back the number of hours they can work consecutively to 16, (80 hrs max per week) in the name of protecting patients from errors by sleepy physicians.
But a new study of more than 2,300 doctors in their first year of residency at over a dozen hospital systems across the country raises questions about how well the rules are protecting both patients and new doctors.

I thought Villa owners were more overworked 😆
 
It's comforting to know that these planes are "designed for challenges far more taxing than landing on St. Barth." On the other hand, its never a good to hear that pilots feel "overworked and tired."
 
I think it is interesting that the first article apparently originated on a Tradewinds publication. I took a Delta 757 long distance pilot to the top of the hill at the round-about once, and after he watched a couple of landings, he said that he would never get on a plane that would land there in a million years. Hence, the Carib's for me in the SXM airport prior to flying to SBH.

Not to hijack the thread, but with regard to the physician issue, my husband is one, and he has said that it is difficult to recruit new doctors because they don't want to work long hours. Not that I would want to be treated by an overworked med student, but staying awake and alert late at night is a learned skill, and to be awake and alert whenever necessary is a skill that physicians need. Of course, this is just my opinion, but one I determined from watching my husband through medical training. Human beings get sick at all hours of the day (and night).
 
I think it is interesting that the first article apparently originated on a Tradewinds publication.

Most businesses use blogs on their website as a promotional tool. People want a "story". And when the story is interesting, it's being retweeted through social media. It's a very effective way to gain additional business.
 
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