Well, since the fire season part of showing up at work has been so ably described here, maybe I'll give the scientists' version a shot.
In the off-season, I've been fortunate to do some work for varied aerospace - defense - research companies. The contracts are pretty short, usually -- a week, to maybe 4 or 5 weeks.
So... first, we show up at the hotel lobby and meet with the clients. Depending on the project, sometimes the weather is THE BIG deal. One company simply cannot gather data if there is even ONE cloud in the sky. So... if the weather is acceptable, then we head for the airport. Usually we're given a description of the area(s) to be flown... then our job involves trying to figure out if this is even feasible, possible, legal, etc. This can be a quick chore, or an enormous headache. Usually phone calls to Center, or other ATC facilities are in order, and sometimes it involves HOURS of coordinating with the military to work in their airspace. Faxing becomes a big deal here... with our proposed routes, etc. Papers fly back and forth....
All in all, I have been totally impressed with how well ATC, civil or military, works with us. We have asked them for some seemingly insane things. Sometimes, the projects are so large, and complicated, that we have formal briefings with the governing agencies. This happens when the airspace is very busy and/or when we are just one of many aircraft taking part in an exercise. Working in restricted areas almost always results in these larger briefings. The biggest one I have been involved in was held in a college auditorium, doing an international cloud study. There were hundreds of people in that one. One other had such complicated airspace requirements, a special military liaison met with us every morning and told us EXACTLY where we could fly, and at EXACTLY what times. (We had no vote on that one...).
Sometimes it takes only one phone call... every job is different. One client planned out a huge ocean survey but never thought to clear it with the Navy... that took a lot of work but we did finally figure out their schedule and they let us into their areas when they were not super busy. Of course, we get plenty of radio comments once the project starts, about how SLOW we are... obviously, they are not too used to Minivans plodding along!
Sometimes we go through all these contortions, and then the other a/c break down, and we have it all to ourselves! That is a little funny, I have to admit.
So... once we finally get to the flying itself, we can be involved in flying straight lines.. long or short... or circles.... or racetracks, etc. We have all the scientists on board on the intercom, so as they read their data, they tell us to make minor corrections, etc. Sometimes they change coordinates every 3 minutes, so fast fingers come in handy with the GPS units. Other times we drone along in relative silence, listening to them discuss the headier concepts they are trying to establish. The back of the airplane may have scanners, cameras, probes, lasers and/or radars installed... and many, many floor-to-ceiling racks of computers. Pitch angle can be a huge deal, and it can be a very trying thing to keep the airplane platform as still as absolutely possible. Most clients don't like any roll in their data, and that is the hardest for their computers to correct for, so we may do rudder-only directional corrections. One client requires cross-track errors of 8 feet or less... you see what fun that is on a rough day. Each one is different.
Sometimes, one project's equipment is installed in the nose, and another, separate bunch of gear is installed in the aft of the Minivan. That gets funny, trying to listen to two simultaneous projects going on, and making corrections for each of them, as need be. It's cool, though, because the scientists are always funny and really easy to work with, so it gets pretty entertaining. We fly with between 2 and 6 people, usually... so, the conversations can get pretty silly by the end of the day, when everyone is getting cross-eyed and rummy.
Once we get all the data they want, or we use up our good weather, or ATC's limits, we head back to the airport. On landing, sometimes we hang out and wait while they check the data on their computers, to check the results. Often, we take a short break, and go up again for another segment. Sometimes, the data is so complicated, they have to analyze it overnight, so then we refuel, put the airplane to bed, and head to the hotel. If it involves wacky airpsace, I try to call ATC and visit with them to make sure it went alright for them. One of the hardest places we routinely fly is right off the ends of the runways at LAX! I thought they were joking, the first time I heard that... but, nope, that is one prime area for one certain company. And, believe it or not, ATC there is incredible, and works with us to make it all happen. I'm so impressed with the abilities of these people!! But, after the relative isolation of fire season flying, it takes about a day for my heart rate to drop back down to normal on seeing a windshield that is ALWAYS full of airline aluminum. And, it is... ALWAYS full of airplanes. I can hear the grey hair sprouting.....
So... some jobs are LOW altitude... some at 25,000 feet... some over the desert.. or, oceans.... in military areas, or not... without a cloud in the sky, or trying hard to stay within the anvils of thunderstorms... it's a great variety. Which makes it all fun, and interesting!
I've probably left out big pieces here, but... you'll have that with a pea brain like mine. Often, we do SERIOUS debriefings over a few cold ones, and Pepe' (my trusty stuffed skunk) is always along. He is very well-known to many clients now, and they always ask if he will be there, too. He likes to ride along on the tops of the computer racks in the back of the airplane, and more than once, I have heard a frustrated scientist trying to troubleshoot computer glitches, muttering and asking Pepe "So.. what do you think?"
Cheers!
S'Mom**
