Gadling

I've always wanted to visit Costa Rica. And it's not just because I want to stay in the Boeing 727 hotel. The incredibly talented Fdean55 (this guy is a real pro) captured a taste of Costa Rica with this shot of two dolphins basking in the sun near Golfito.

Think you can top his work?

Submit your Flickr pic to Gadling's Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!

Today's photo of the day is of Flagship Detroit, a fully restored DC-3 that's operated and maintained by current and former American Airlines employees. This crisp black and white shot was taken by Flickr user CaptBrando.

Two years ago I had my own DC-3 adventure as my dad and I delivered one from New York to Seattle, so how could I not choose this?

That and it just seems appropriate to take pictures of classic airplanes using black and white, doesn't it? Well done CaptBrando!

Are you a Flickr user who'd like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling's Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!

I've had a few questions come in concerning the rather egregious error made by the Northwest pilots last week. I hesitated to discuss the incidents, since there's absolutely no defending what they did.

But when my own sister Kim, asks:

"I would love to hear your opinion as to what the NWA Pilots were really doing when they "missed" MSP."

Well, for you, Kimmie, I just can't say no.

It's the topic of the week among pilots.

Speculation has been rampant, but the NTSB and FAA released some preliminary information from the pilots that has all but squashed any speculation on what exactly they were doing. The more pressing question has been, "How could it happen?"

The conversation among pilots so far has ended with claims of dismay. How did they disconnect from flying enough to lose that kind of situational awareness?

By coming clean and explaining their story, the pilots admitted to something essentially no better than falling asleep; something that took their attention from flying the airplane. And they sought to set the record straight, confess and explain what diverted their attention; I can appreciate that.

As a result, the FAA has immediately revoked their certificates.

Most notable in their story was the fact that they had their laptops out inflight. Many airlines encourage the use of laptops to access an electronic version of their flight manuals. These "EFBs" are more useful than their paper counterparts because of the quick searching capabilities a laptop offers. However, it's my understanding that Delta and Northwest don't use any EFB on board their aircraft. Regardless, the pilots admitted that they were discussing new scheduling procedures that were to take effect with their laptops, something that's prohibited even at airlines that use Class I (laptop) EFBs.

Today's photo of the day is a shot taken at Watkins Glen, NY by Peter Rivera. Peter obviously used a long exposure to highlight the flowing water-a technique perfectly suited for waterfalls. Note how it bounces off the rocks, almost like light reflecting from a mirror. Nicely done, Peter.

Are you a Flickr user who'd like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling's Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!

Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Justin asks:

I have seen advertisements lately that have been saying that there will be a large number of airline pilots retiring in the next few years and that the demand for new pilots will be high. Is this just a rumor or what?

If so what do you suggest as the best route in becoming an airline pilot?

For the next three years, we'll likely see some of the fewest pilot retirements since the end of World War II. On December 13th, 2007, the mandatory retirement age for pilots was raised by Congress from 60 to 65 years. This has drastically reduced retirements for the past two years, and we're likely not going to see those numbers pick up until after December of 2012.

This may seem like bad news, but if you're in your late teens to early twenties, you may be in a good position to take advantage of this stagnation while you work on your 4-year college degree and pick up the ratings and flight time needed to be competitive when the hiring resumes.

Most people would question their career choice after working for five different airlines in their first six years as a pilot. But the early '90s were a turbulent time in the industry, and I was simply happy to be working, even if it was as a flight engineer on the 727. Flying is what I wanted to do.

But a flight engineer doesn't actually fly. This position, once reserved for experienced mechanics, was now populated with junior pilots working their way up the seniority ranks until they could hold a co-pilot or captain seat. I seemed to have had the unfortunate luck to be at my third airline working at that very junior flight engineer seat by 1996.

There I was, sitting in another indoctrination class, in a windowless room featuring six Office Depot particle board tables with twelve swivel-type desk chairs looking at a white dry erase board.

This time I would be learning about Kittyhawk Air Cargo; their rules, procedures, insurance benefits and hazardous material policies among other things.

If I had, even for a moment, felt that my career had been less than charmed up to this point, those thoughts would soon be eclipsed by a pilot sitting behind me and to my left. He was someone with a very well known past.

In the previous row I heard the typical banter of two new-hire pilots. The first pilot answered the most often asked question in this setting; where'd you come from?

It sounds rather direct, but there's no better way to get to know a fellow aviator; their experience and maybe even if they've flown with someone you know.

My ears perked up when I heard my classmate mention he'd flown in Alaska, since I had spent the first 3 years of my career up there. I quickly realized from eavesdropping, that we'd flown in different parts of the state.

"How about you?" The Alaskan pilot asked his neighbor sitting to the left.

"Remember those Northwest pilots who were arrested for flying under the influence?" He said, as everyone in the class glanced toward him like the famous EF Hutton commercial where people stop talking and turn to listen to a far more interesting conversation.

"I was the flight engineer on that flight."

This picture was taken near Mashobra, India by arunchs. I like how he cropped the picture to highlight the lines formed by each ridge. An amazing capture, indeed!

Given the great visibility and forested mountains, this probably isn't the first image to come to mind when thinking of India.

Nice job arunchs.

Are you a Flickr user who'd like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling's Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!

You'd like to choose the most eco-friendly airline, a company that goes above and beyond the others to fly efficiently, burn less fuel and maybe even offset its carbon.

But does an airline like that exist?

Airlines have gone to great lengths to operate efficiently in their struggle to survive, but some companies are touting practices they hope will cast them as greener than the rest. What's hype and what's really effective in reducing an airline's fuel emissions?

The Greenest Airline

Since the price of fuel represents as much as 40% of an airline's expenses, the industry has been on a quest for new technology and operating techniques to fly in a more efficient manner.

But if every airline is doing it, how can one company set themselves apart from their competitors and declare themselves the most green airline?

Virgin America offers the opportunity to voluntarily buy carbon offsets based on the length of your flight and Delta offers an option to plant a tree with each listing at a cost of $5.50 for a domestic flight.

Ethiopian airlines has already planted 7.5 million trees in Ethiopia, one for each passenger flown since 2005 at no extra charge to their customers.

But Nature Air in Costa Rica claims to be the first carbon neutral airline, and it looks like they've managed to accomplish that with carbon offsets and the use of 100% biofuel in their fleet of deHavilland Twin Otters.

But the airline many think of when discussing green initiatives in aviation, Virgin Atlantic, has an offset plan, too.

Virgin Atlantic has agreed to offset each and every one of its upper class customers limo rides to the airport by planting a few hundred trees each year. This is far short of the 59 million trees needed, according to the Guardian, to offset a year's worth of flying.

Carbon credits and offsetting are likely going to play a larger part in the airline industry, but airlines will always try to reduce their emissions.

Let's look at some of the efforts, and the impact it's having.

Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

John asks:

Hey, I was wondering what pilots do before a flight. How much time before a flight do you need to be at the airport and other than flight planning and aircraft inspection, what do you do? Do you inspect the airplane then come back to the terminal and grab a bite to eat? Do you file your flight plan then hangout in the boarding area if (for example) the plane you're flying hasn't arrived yet?

We're required to 'sign in' at least an hour before the flight. We stop in operations (an office with computers and a bunch of mailboxes) to check for any revisions to our manuals, print out depictions of weather along our route of flight as well as the paperwork required for the leg. If we have any revisions, we'll do them. A few revisions can involve changing out a few hundred pages in our manuals, so it's helpful to show up a bit earlier to work in that case.

Once both pilots are ready, we'll go through security and then to the gate. Occasionally the inbound flight may be late or passengers are still deplaning, in which case there's really nothing else to do than to wait around, just as the passengers are doing.

Assuming the airplane is at the gate, the captain will talk to the flight attendants about anything that might be unusual for the flight, including the ride reports, any cabin items that might be inoperative such as an oven or coffee maker, and then he may grab a coffee in the terminal before setting up his side of the cockpit.

Mingthein posted this picture to our Flickr group page a few years ago, but I've only just now stumbled upon it. Karen Walrond wrote in her Gadling feature, Through the Gadling Lens, about shooting cities at twilight, and she also covered cloud and sky photography just prior to that.

So it seemed fitting to post this, a picture from Kuala Lumpour that effectively used the techniques featured in both of Karen's articles. I've never thought of exposing for a distant cloud. Way to go, Ming!

Are you a Flickr user who'd like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling's Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!