Training Most pilots don’t land a commercial airplane dozens of times a day on the same airport runway, but it’s common for Tony Nogales and his colleagues. As Boeing pilots on the Flight Training–Airplane team, part of the Flight Services business within Commercial Aviation Services, they train airline pilots how to fly specific Boeing airplane models. Much of their time lately is spent training pilots on the new 787 Dreamliner, as Nogales and Brian Carlisle did earlier this year when they worked with Aeromexico’s flight crews. “We would take four pilots at a time and fly them to Acapulco, where we did touch-and-go landings in the airplane for four or five hours,” said Nogales, the Flight Training team’s deputy chief pilot. “We racked up over 160 landings in four days.” When an airline buys a new airplane from Boeing, it receives pilot training hours as part of the package. The pilots who conduct this training often are the “face of Boeing” for airlines after receiving a new airplane. “When you see a brand-new 787 flying away from a Boeing site, a majority of the time, we’re on board that airplane, flying it either by ourselves or with a customer pilot on that initial delivery,” Nogales said. “As everyone else leaves after the delivery ceremonies, we’re still there, interacting with the pilots and airline.” Serving as an ambassador for the company isn’t in the official job description, but it’s a role that pilots who work with Boeing’s customers keep in mind, said Darren Champlin, chief pilot, Flight Training–Airplane. “Our pilots are right there with the customer, working with everyone from its pilots to CEOs and directors of operations,” Champlin said. “Sometimes, we are just training them on touch-and-go exercises, sometimes it’s training between airports. Other times, it’s revenue service training, where delivery pilots will fly the route system with the airline’s pilots.” Between flights, Boeing’s training pilots lead on-the-ground technical training as well, often working on location for months. 28 Frontiers November 2014
Frontiers November 2014 Issue
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