My last L-1011 TriStar flight
Maio | May 2008
Maio | May 2008
Depois do regresso de Dakar, não esperava voltar a voar pela Luzair. Em breve começaria uma nova etapa na minha vida e estava ainda a terminar um manual para a companhia.
After my return from Dakar I didn't expect to fly again for Luzair. Soon I would begin a new phase in my life and I was still busy writing a manual for Luzair.
After my return from Dakar I didn't expect to fly again for Luzair. Soon I would begin a new phase in my life and I was still busy writing a manual for Luzair.
Na noite de 17 para 18 de Maio, estava precisamente num último esforço para terminar esse manual até que (julgava eu) vencido pelo cansaço (após algumas noites a dormir muito pouco), decidi deitar-me, perto das 2 da manhã. E é precisamente nesse momento que recebo uma chamada/convocatória para uma última missão. A companhia precisava mesmo de mais um tripulante e eu próprio queria ir voar... "mais uma última vez" no L-1011!
The night of 17-18 May, I was precisely on a last effort to finish that project when overcome by fatigue (I thought so), I decided to go to bed around 2am. That's when I received a call from the airline for my very last mission with the L-1011!
Não sei onde fui arranjar forças, mas às 4h30 lá me apresentei no aeroporto para uma jornada que seria bem longa. Esperava-me um Lisboa-Helsínquia-Chania-Helsínquia-Lisboa, tudo de seguida, numa operação para a TUIfly Nordic (BLX).
I still don't know where I found the strength to respond to this call (I slept only a few hours the previous night) but at 4:30 am I was already at the airport for a long journey: LIS-HEL-CHQ-HEL-LIS. We would be flying for TUIfly Nordic (BLX).
Seguimos posicionados para HEL num voo com a duração de 3:52. Numa tripulação reforçada de 13 elementos, calhou-me a posição E8, a última a ser atribuída. Sentia já uma grande nostalgia em todos os meus passos dentro do avião. Por imperativos de calendário estes seriam seguramente os últimos momentos enquanto tripulante de cabine na Luzair.
Neste voo havia uma novidade: estavam a ser largados dois novos colegas.
Os briefings na Luzair costumam ser inquisitivos em termos de questões relacionadas com salvamento, uma filosofia herdada da Air Luxor. O saber responder às questões sobre procedimentos de emergência é obrigatório e conta para a avaliação contínua do tripulante, além de que obriga o tripulante a estudar e a manter-se actualizado ao longo do tempo.
No caso destes dois colegas era ainda mais importante pois estavam a ser largados. O natural nervosismo que demonstravam fez-me lembrar o meu voo de largada (4 de Agosto de 2007) e os colegas que me acompanharam nesse dia. Sorri ao lembrar-me das incidências e semelhanças, confiante de que também eles seriam capazes de superar essa prova.
The first leg to HEL was a position flight with a duration of 3h52. With a reinforced cabin crew of 13 members, I was assigned the last position (E8). Each step I took inside the aircraft, I was already feeling nostalgic. This time for sure, this would be my last duty as a Luzair crew member.
Two newly arrived colleagues would be examined during this set of flights.
Briefings at Luzair used to be inquisitive regarding safety procedures - a philosophy inherited from Air Luxor. It was very important to feel comfortable with those procedures and to demonstrate that knowledge by answering correctly to the questions posed during the briefings. It was part of our continuous evaluation and it was one way of obliging crew members to study regularly and keep themselves updated.
In this case, it was even more important for the new colleagues because it was their examination flight. They looked a little bit nervous which was normal. It made me remember my own examination and the colleagues that were with me that day in the same situation. But I was confident that they would answer the briefing questions without problems.
The night of 17-18 May, I was precisely on a last effort to finish that project when overcome by fatigue (I thought so), I decided to go to bed around 2am. That's when I received a call from the airline for my very last mission with the L-1011!
Não sei onde fui arranjar forças, mas às 4h30 lá me apresentei no aeroporto para uma jornada que seria bem longa. Esperava-me um Lisboa-Helsínquia-Chania-Helsínquia-Lisboa, tudo de seguida, numa operação para a TUIfly Nordic (BLX).
I still don't know where I found the strength to respond to this call (I slept only a few hours the previous night) but at 4:30 am I was already at the airport for a long journey: LIS-HEL-CHQ-HEL-LIS. We would be flying for TUIfly Nordic (BLX).
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| Plano de voo | Flight plan LIS-HEL |
Neste voo havia uma novidade: estavam a ser largados dois novos colegas.
Os briefings na Luzair costumam ser inquisitivos em termos de questões relacionadas com salvamento, uma filosofia herdada da Air Luxor. O saber responder às questões sobre procedimentos de emergência é obrigatório e conta para a avaliação contínua do tripulante, além de que obriga o tripulante a estudar e a manter-se actualizado ao longo do tempo.
No caso destes dois colegas era ainda mais importante pois estavam a ser largados. O natural nervosismo que demonstravam fez-me lembrar o meu voo de largada (4 de Agosto de 2007) e os colegas que me acompanharam nesse dia. Sorri ao lembrar-me das incidências e semelhanças, confiante de que também eles seriam capazes de superar essa prova.
The first leg to HEL was a position flight with a duration of 3h52. With a reinforced cabin crew of 13 members, I was assigned the last position (E8). Each step I took inside the aircraft, I was already feeling nostalgic. This time for sure, this would be my last duty as a Luzair crew member.
Two newly arrived colleagues would be examined during this set of flights.
Briefings at Luzair used to be inquisitive regarding safety procedures - a philosophy inherited from Air Luxor. It was very important to feel comfortable with those procedures and to demonstrate that knowledge by answering correctly to the questions posed during the briefings. It was part of our continuous evaluation and it was one way of obliging crew members to study regularly and keep themselves updated.
In this case, it was even more important for the new colleagues because it was their examination flight. They looked a little bit nervous which was normal. It made me remember my own examination and the colleagues that were with me that day in the same situation. But I was confident that they would answer the briefing questions without problems.
À chegada a Helsínquia, já com luz do dia, deparámo-nos com um tecto de nuvens denso e espesso que só se dissipou segundos antes da aterragem.
We landed in Helsinki already with daylight, although we descended through a dense layer of clouds which only dissipated a few seconds before landing.
Segue-se o vídeo da aterragem e algumas fotografias durante o taxi-in e o turnaround em Helsínquia.
Here is the video of the landing and some photos I took during the taxi-in and turnaround time at Vantaa Airport:
The catering for the passengers was loaded in Helsinki and soon we would be heading to Greece.
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Catering com etiquetas em... espanhol. Fica a boa intenção :)
Trying to impress our crew writing information in Spanish? :)
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I don't remember many details of the flight itself except for the moderate turbulence we had heading back to Helsinki (the strongest I ever experienced on board a L-1011). While seated during this period, I chatted with one of the new colleagues that was next to me, introducing him to the airline.
Esgotados, regressámos de novo posicionados a Lisboa. Às 3 horas e 25 minutos do dia 19 de Maio de 2008 sucede aquela que provavelmente terá sido a minha última aterragem num L-1011. Os novos colegas foram largados e foi com alguma emoção que me despedi da companhia nas chegadas do Aeroporto de Lisboa.
Already exhausted, we flew back empty to Lisbon. At 3:35 am, 19th of May 2008, I probably made my very last landing on a L-1011. The new colleagues successfully passed their examination flight and it was with some emotion that said goodbye to the airline that gave me my first job.
Enquanto tripulante, contabilizei um total de 382 horas de voo e 95 aterragens no CS-TMP, tendo sido o voo mais longo um AMS-FOR com a duração de 9h15. Estão todos guardados num logbook pessoal que mantive actualizado. Foram 382 horas de puro prazer e que me permitem dizer: valeu a pena, valeu bem a pena!
As a crew member, I logged a total of 382 hours of flight time and 95 landings on our CS-TMP, being the longest flight one AMS-FOR with a duration of 9h15. Every flight is religiously saved in a personal logbook that I kept updated. It was 382 hours of absolute pleasure (job?) that made me feel: it was worth it, it was really worth it!
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