The great big "ask an airline pilot" thread!

Clonmel1000

Thanks a million fir the replies lads.

Clonmel1000

Hi again

Just wondering is the UK visible from the cockpit on a clear day when overflying Dublin

Thanks

bkehoe

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

Hi again

Just wondering is the UK visible from the cockpit on a clear day when overflying Dublin

Thanks

Easily, and if you want to do the same without overflying Dublin, you can actually see parts of Wales from the Wicklow mountains on a clear day.

Clonmel1000

So how far Shea can a pilot see at an altitude of 35000 feet.

smurfjed

In theory 1.23 times the SQRT of altitude if i remember by ATPL courses correctly, so about 230 nms.

But it will also depend on the quality of the air.

Irish Steve

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

So how far Shea can a pilot see at an altitude of 35000 feet.

Lomg time ago, when flight deck visits were not a problem, flew back on the jump seat of a flight from Brussels to Heathrow. 757. so climbed like a homesick angel, and we crossed Dover at FL310, it was a gin clear day, and out of the right hand windows, we could see the Wash, and out of the left, Portland Bill was clearly visible. Doesn't very often happen that way, visibility that clear would be rare.

In the same vein, I've seen the green and white beacon at Dublin from quite some way before Aberystwyth, in the middle of Cardigan Bay, especially on the late night flight back from Heathrow.

Clonmel1000

So effectively flying west over Dublin you would see the Atlantic ocean?

smurfjed

A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 from Sydney was forced to make an unexpected stopover after methane gas set off the fire alarm.
The Aviation Herald reports the cargo flight from Australia to Kuala Lumpur, with 4 crew and 2186 sheep on-board, was flying just to the south of Indonesia when the smoke alarms sounded on October 26.
Crew on-board SQ-7108 descended the aircraft immediately and diverted to Bali where they landed about 45 minutes later.
Emergency services didn’t find any trace of fire or smoke and identified the cause to be the result of exhaust gasses and manure produced by the sheep.

Is there a squark code for this?

smurfjed

http://https://www.facebook.com/Break/videos/10153787426267792/

Life of a corporate pilot....

Pat Dunne

smurfjed wrote: »

http://https://www.facebook.com/Break/videos/10153787426267792/

Life of a corporate pilot....

Feckin brilliant
https://www.facebook.com/Break/videos/10153787426267792/

Rabbitt

A couple of questions.
I was on a flight to Dublin which the captain said was in to string head winds. For the majority of the flight it seemed that the engines were powered down or slowed down every so often and then powered back up ( this based on the noise and feel of the plane ) . Why is this?
Secondly ,on the approach to landing we were being hit with strong cross winds. Is it possible for the plane to be blown over on to its side when on the final approach? The landing itself was very good but the majority of the approach the wings were going up and down and was very bumpy

martinsvi

Rabbitt wrote: »

A couple of questions.
I was on a flight to Dublin which the captain said was in to string head winds. For the majority of the flight it seemed that the engines were powered down or slowed down every so often and then powered back up ( this based on the noise and feel of the plane ) . Why is this?
Secondly ,on the approach to landing we were being hit with strong cross winds. Is it possible for the plane to be blown over on to its side when on the final approach? The landing itself was very good but the majority of the approach the wings were going up and down and was very bumpy

1) autopilot (auto thrust) tries to maintain constant airspeed. As the gust blows, indicated airspeed increases thus auto thrust takes the power back to prevent air-frame from over-speeding. As soon as the gust settles, airspeed drops significantly thus the thrust needs to be increased dramatically. The gustier the winds, the more noticeable this will become

2) if you're traveling with dangerously slow airspeed, the wing that's facing away from the wind potentially could stall. If crew would mistreat this event you could potentially roll over. However normally commercial jets would have stall warners and other fancy features making sure you don't stall the plane in the first place.. if both wings create lift, strong crosswind will cause the plane to yaw. On the longitudinal axis it should remain fairly stable. The reason why you see wings going up and down is just pilot trying to earn his salary by keeping the plane on track aligned with the runway center line despite nasty gusts blowing the plane off tack

Rabbitt

martinsvi wrote: »

1) autopilot (auto thrust) tries to maintain constant airspeed. As the gust blows, indicated airspeed increases thus auto thrust takes the power back to prevent air-frame from over-speeding. As soon as the gust settles, airspeed drops significantly thus the thrust needs to be increased dramatically. The gustier the winds, the more noticeable this will become

2) if you're traveling with dangerously slow airspeed, the wing that's facing away from the wind potentially could stall. If crew would mistreat this event you could potentially roll over. However normally commercial jets would have stall warners and other fancy features making sure you don't stall the plane in the first place.. if both wings create lift, strong crosswind will cause the plane to yaw. On the longitudinal axis it should remain fairly stable. The reason why you see wings going up and down is just pilot trying to earn his salary by keeping the plane on track aligned with the runway center line despite nasty gusts blowing the plane off tack

Thanks for the reply.
Answer no 1 makes perfect sense.

're answer no 2. It did seem like the plane was coming in sideways, is this to prevent stall on one of the wings?

martinsvi

Rabbitt wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.
Answer no 1 makes perfect sense.

're answer no 2. It did seem like the plane was coming in sideways, is this to prevent stall on one of the wings?

no, when you have a crosswind landing, to keep going in a straight track towards the runway, pilot has to turn the plane slightly into the wind. So you end up going slightly sideways with one wing lowered. Imagine a boat that has to cross a very rapid river - if you keep the nose facing other shore, you wont keep a straight line as the stream will push you away. So to keep a straight line, you need to turn your boat into the stream and go sideways. For planes it's the same principles except, instead of having to worry about 2 dimensions, they have 3..

Rabbitt

martinsvi wrote: »

no, when you have a crosswind landing, to keep going in a straight track towards the runway, pilot has to turn the plane slightly into the wind. So you end up going slightly sideways with one wing lowered. Imagine a boat that has to cross a very rapid river - if you keep the nose facing other shore, you wont keep a straight line as the stream will push you away. So to keep a straight line, you need to turn your boat into the stream and go sideways. For planes it's the same principles except, instead of having to worry about 2 dimensions, they have 3..

Cheers Martinsvi.
I wouldn't have the nerves to do many crosswind landings !!

pm.

Hi all, I was at Dublin Airport today and on Saturday and noticed that aer Lingus planes seemed to do more go arounds that any other airline.. Is the A320 more difficult to land in windy conditions? Or was it gusting more then?

I also had the phone tuned into the tower on Saturday and the aerlingus plane about to depart needed the wind speed to drop to 34 ( I think) it didn't go that low so the plane moved from the runway and a fly be and air France took off, again is the A320 more difficult to control at take off in windy conditions?

Gaoth Laidir

pm. wrote: »

Hi all, I was at Dublin Airport today and on Saturday and noticed that aer Lingus planes seemed to do more go arounds that any other airline.. Is the A320 more difficult to land in windy conditions? Or was it gusting more then?

I also had the phone tuned into the tower on Saturday and the aerlingus plane about to depart needed the wind speed to drop to 34 ( I think) it didn't go that low so the plane moved from the runway and a fly be and air France took off, again is the A320 more difficult to control at take off in windy conditions?

Different planes have different crosswind limits. Strong wind from a southwesterly direction (210-230 °) is most problematic at Dublin as it maximum crosswind component off both runways. When the runway is wet these limits drop even further, so given the angle of the wind there is a certain speed below which they will be safe to take off. That speed was 34 knots on the day.

Newbie1000

Hi, what are the criteria airlines use for deciding how many pilots are required for a flight? Thought it would be a simple length of time but I fly from the Middle East to Shanghai regularly enough with Emirates and sometimes it's 2 pilots and sometimes 3 so was wondering is there other criteria?

smurfjed

The regulations which the airline is operating under will dictate flight and duty time limitations, for a two man crew, its usually 8 hours flight time, some airlines will look at the planned flight time for the day and assign an additional pilot if the flight will be more than 8 hours, some will always assign an additional pilot for that route.

For longer routes, they will operate with double crew and there will usually be a policy on how they share the flight time.

eatmyshorts

Newbie1000 wrote: »

Hi, what are the criteria airlines use for deciding how many pilots are required for a flight? Thought it would be a simple length of time but I fly from the Middle East to Shanghai regularly enough with Emirates and sometimes it's 2 pilots and sometimes 3 so was wondering is there other criteria?

It depends on the time of departure and the time of year. Sometimes 2 pilots, sometimes 3. For a while there was an duty where eastbound was operated by 2 pilots, with an extra FO deadheading as a pax. That FO then operated back as a relief pilot with the same crew!

Flight time limitations vary according to the start time of the duty. Also, in winter, the westbound flight can be much longer due to the prevailing winds being stronger.

pepe the prawn

Just curious, a question for the airline pros on here, do many of you do any general aviation flying anymore?

Is it something that doesn't remotely interest you anymore?

Or maybe you look forward to letting the commercial environment behind you and doing some stick and rudder flying in a 172 or a Cherokee?

directPEPOD

Hi All,

Looking for some help via PM from anyone in the know regarding Ts&Cs for flight crew on the Airbus fleets at EI. For a possible new joiner

Thanks in advance!
dP

Cessna_Pilot

As a possible new joiner, I think you need to provide more info.
Ie you have obviously passed some form of initial selection to be asking guys to pm you and give away valuable information, correct?
I personally would be wary if I was a current Aer Lingus pilot to be broadcasting any info whether on the open forum or via pm to anyone who could be anyonr.
I'm not being a dick or anything, more exercising sound and cautious judgement but I wouldn't be expecting too many professionals to reply to you via pm without substantially for info up front on your part ☺
http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056943355/73/#post87589106

directPEPOD

With all due respect this is all the information I'd like to share in the public domain - if anyone requires anymore information about me they can ask via said PM. I am not going to be inquiring about any industry secrets or "valuable information" that will not be forthcoming anyways; am merely trying to confirm some information and solicit some opinions. As a 'professional' I certainly would have no problem with it...

duskyjoe

You could write to IALPA re the terms and conditions or lack of and see what they say. As for people pm-img the terms and conditions that are not readily available in the public eye, this is a big NO NO.

Tenger

directPEPOD wrote: »

Hi All,

Looking for some help via PM from anyone in the know regarding Ts&Cs for flight crew on the Airbus fleets at EI. For a possible new joiner

Im sure if you are really hoping to join EI, then the T's&C's wont be a no-go issue.
A hopeful cadet will have read over info online (boards.ie have a thread) and a currently employed pilot will know who to ask in the industry.
Generally EI are seen as about average employers for all roles in the company.

directPEPOD

Tenger,

While I'd love to join in a heartbeat my personal situation is such that I would like to confirm ppjn's figures (for example) and get a feel for the company. As has been said several times before, going into details may jeopardise my anonymity so I'll have to leave it there. I don't think it is too much to ask for a professional, particularly in our line of work, to plan for and prepare the best future for ones self?

I belong to the second of your two categories- I have asked on another popular aviation forum (where information is forthcoming and welcome about most European airlines albeit with very few Irish pilots on) but other than that I don't know who else to 'ask in the industry' as I don't know any current EI line pilots nor do I hail from Ireland, hence my return to the Boards.

I apologise for the fuss caused as I didn't realise it was such a sensitive issue here and did not intend for public posts to be the main thread of communication.

pepod

Cessna_Pilot

This is going to be blunt as I've had a long day at the pointy end myself and I'm ready for the cot

Flying jobs are few and far between.
If you want the job go for the interview, pass that and the following steps and get a contract.
The ts and cs will all be in there. Turn your nose up at them at your peril at that stage. At least you'll have the ts and cs in front of you then

martinsvi

directPEPOD wrote: »

Tenger,

While I'd love to join in a heartbeat my personal situation is such that I would like to confirm ppjn's figures (for example) and get a feel for the company. As has been said several times before, going into details may jeopardise my anonymity so I'll have to leave it there. I don't think it is too much to ask for a professional, particularly in our line of work, to plan for and prepare the best future for ones self?

I belong to the second of your two categories- I have asked on another popular aviation forum (where information is forthcoming and welcome about most European airlines albeit with very few Irish pilots on) but other than that I don't know who else to 'ask in the industry' as I don't know any current EI line pilots nor do I hail from Ireland, hence my return to the Boards.

I apologise for the fuss caused as I didn't realise it was such a sensitive issue here and did not intend for public posts to be the main thread of communication.

pepod

you make it sound as if you have been offered a position. Normally whenever an offer is made you have all the Ts and Cs in front of you. So have you received an offer or are you just dreaming of one?

directPEPOD

Cessna_Pilot wrote: »

This is going to be blunt as I've had a long day at the pointy end myself and I'm ready for the cot

Flying jobs are few and far between.
If you want the job go for the interview, pass that and the following steps and get a contract.
The ts and cs will all be in there. Turn your nose up at them at your peril at that stage if you get a better offer

Cessna

I appreciate the heads up but I believe your bluntness is wasted on me as likewise I already have a job (though a short day at pointy end myself). I don't know how much time I will have to make the decision so am preparing as best I can. Quite frankly I didn't expect such a hostile response to a simple take-it-or-leave-it question ; perhaps it's because people have assumed I am a cadet wannabe or looking for my first flying job, neither of which is correct. I believe, at my stage, I am entitled to ask such questions.

Bluntly(!), it is not my concern whether an individual chooses to share that information or what said individual thinks my attitude should be with regards to researching a job position - in which case I would have received no replies and be on my way and no harm no foul. Like I said while I appreciate the sentiment of your reply in being thankful for what I have, that is not required.

Unfortunately my inquiries appear to have been rather taken over by questions about my personal situation so am unlikely to get any meaningful response out of the discussion now, but thanks anyways.

pepod