FLIGHT OPS FLYER DECEMBER 4, 1998 **************** **************** Final Simulator Delivery Fills New Facility ------------------------------------------- The Flight Center took delivery this week of the final simulator that will fill its new 10-bay, F-building facility. The A320 Full Flight Simulator (FFS) -- United's fourth -- arrived in Denver Dec. 1, at 3 a.m. onboard a Russian Antonov 124 cargo airplane. The simulator was built and shipped by Thomson Training and Simulation in Crawley, England. "This simulator is one of two simulators which were procured under an innovative revenue sharing agreement negotiated with Thomson by a team from United made up of employees from Purchasing, UAL Services, and Flight Operations," explains Simulator Procurement Manager Bill Lang. "The revenue share concept provides a means for United to generate revenue from contract sales before there is an actual requirement by Flight Operations for the device. The agreement was designed to lower the cost of training devices, minimize the expenses and inconvenience of remote pilot training caused by unexpected training spikes, and defer large capital expenditures, while generating company revenue." The complete 10-bay facility consists of three B777 simulators, three A320 simulators, three 747-400 simulators and one 757 simulator. United operates 26 additional simulators on the original Flight Center complex (buildings C, D and E). Pilots Don't Need a Card for This Library ----------------------------------------- Your son or daughter recently asked you to speak at their school's career day to talk about the pilot career. You're great on your feet, but you need some facts. Where can you turn to quickly? Thanks to the efforts of B737-300 First Officer Rob Biddle, Denver Flight Operations supervisor, you can turn to the Resource Library. The Resource Library consists of a one- hour presentation package that includes: an outlined speech, a 10-minute video about the pilot career, poster boards, career magazine and pilot progression handouts, and games and activities. Biddle, who designed the package for the Denver domicile in 1997, expanded the program to all United domiciles and the Flight Center earlier this year. "I've spoken at high school and college functions in the past, so many pilots came to me as a resource when they were asked to speak," Biddle explains. "I saw that there was a need for organized information to share, and the program grew out of fulfilling that need for the pilot group. The Resource Library also supports United's Customer Satisfaction Philosophy plank of Community Service, which is something we should focus on more." The three Resource Library packages A, B, and C -- each designed for a specific target audience age level -- may be reserved for use by pilots at their home domiciles. Check with your domicile administrative manager for details. United Prohibits Use of Adulterants ----------------------------------- United recently issued a new policy under its Anti-drug and Alcohol Misuse Prevention Program to halt the use of adulterants by safety-sensitive employees (pilots, dispatchers and flight instructors) in their drug testing samples to prevent the detection of drug use. Due to recent scientific advances, drug-testing laboratories now have the ability to determine the presence of adulterants in the testing sample. The policy -- issued for posting on "must read" bulletin boards -- states that "the use of an adulterant by a safety- sensitive employee in either a Federally mandated or company required drug test is strictly prohibited and will result in discharge of that employee...There will be no offers of continued employment for an employee who uses adulterants in a required drug test." Please see a local "must read" bulletin board to read the entire policy statement. Skypath Usage Reaches Record High --------------------------------- Skypath usage this week reached a record high of 85 percent of the flights which can use the new flight planning system. Skypath is the new domestic flight planning system which dynamically builds the most optimum route between two cities, following the rules set forth by the FAA National Route Program. Skypath consistently saves, on average, 1 percent in time over stored Unimatic routes, and two to three percent in fuel. Additionally, Skypath provides dispatchers with an easy way to build optimum routes that avoid restricted areas, convective activity and turbulence. Skypath will be expanded to international operations in 1999. Welcome Aboard -------------- Twenty-three new-hire pilots began training at the Flight Center this week, bringing the 1998 total to 520. The latest assigned pilot number was 9770. The assignments are: 13 B727 S/O 3 to DEN, 10 to ORD 8 U-30 F/O 8 to SFO 2 B737 F/O 2 to ORD ************************************************************ Flight Operations Communications, WHQVF 847/700-7288 "Flight Ops Flyer" also is available in the United Airlines section of CompuServe under "Pilot Information." ************************************************************