The great big "ask an airline pilot" thread!

Tenger

faceman wrote: »

This is kinda a 'live' question!
......
What could be causing the need for the engines to throttle high and low like that?

Just the engines making adjustments to maintain speed as airflow fluctuates.

Neilw

I thought sheepskin seat covers went out of fashion years ago
Seems like most flight deck seats are this way, any reason behind it?

billie1b

Neilw wrote: »

I thought sheepskin seat covers went out of fashion years ago
Seems like most flight deck seats are this way, any reason behind it?

Breathability, it allows air circulation to flow behind the pilots back to stop them from get too hot and sweaty, also very comfortable

latynova

Hello pilots :-)

I just flew back from the UK on a 737 in 27 minutes (Manchester-Dublin). I'm wondering: what is the minimum distance/flight time that such a plane needs in order to operate safely?

Thanks!

Growler!!!

latynova wrote: »

Hello pilots :-)

I just flew back from the UK on a 737 in 27 minutes (Manchester-Dublin). I'm wondering: what is the minimum distance/flight time that such a plane needs in order to operate safely?

Thanks!

If the take off weight is more than the max landing weight (MLW) the aircraft must remain in the air until enough fuel is burned to bring its weight below the max landing weight. 73 drivers will give you the average figure.

If the the weight is already below max landing weight then it can safely fly short sectors as the Americans say " all day long "

thisisadamh

Hi all,
I am a student studying Engineering at UCD at the moment with the aspiration of eventually becoming an airline pilot. I would like to begin by obtaining a PPL. I was going to start the PPL after completing my degree but I am finding it harder and harder to wait. If I begin now I would only be able to do a lesson once a month max (for financial reasons). Is this advisable? Or would it be better to wait until after my degree where I am able to do a lesson every week?

I have already completed 2 introductory flights with NFC.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

eatmyshorts

latynova wrote: »

Hello pilots :-)

I just flew back from the UK on a 737 in 27 minutes (Manchester-Dublin). I'm wondering: what is the minimum distance/flight time that such a plane needs in order to operate safely?

Thanks!

I once operated a 737 from Edinburgh to Glasgow. 7 minutes in flight.

latynova

eatmyshorts wrote: »

I once operated a 737 from Edinburgh to Glasgow. 7 minutes in flight.

So there is no minimum 'cruising' height that must be reached? You can just take off and come right back down again?

Thanks all for the replies.

billie1b

latynova wrote: »

So there is no minimum 'cruising' height that must be reached? You can just take off and come right back down again?

Thanks all for the replies.

Nearly sure the record for Manchester on a 732 is 21 minutes, RWY to RWY, took of on RWY 23 in MAN and landed on RWY 28 in DUB and I think LPL to DUB is 17 minutes on the 732

Jack1985

Miss the 732's, might have been old but were impressive aircraft!

billie1b

Anybody on here know if British Airways had or leased an Airbus A340 in the year 2000? I know its a long time ago but its annoying me

basill

If I begin now I would only be able to do a lesson once a month max (for financial reasons). Is this advisable? Or would it be better to wait until after my degree where I am able to do a lesson every week?

As with any new skill you are trying to learn continuity and regularity of training is key IMHO. If you plan on a lesson a week then you will soon find due to the vagaries of Northern European weather that you will miss flying for a few weeks on the trot. The result will be you forget your last lesson and so you end up rehashing old ground. In the end you will go over hours and pay through the nose for it. As far as I can tell most Irish schools only see the minimum hour requirement as a base target. Most people seem to go through with 15-20% more than the min hours. Whether that is a failure of the student, the school or the legislator I will let you be the judge.

If you can find a way to fly more regularly or take yourself off somewhere with nice weather and knock the PPL off in one go then you will probably find the course more rewarding and certainly cheaper than in Ireland.

Having said all of the above the trend for the past 5 years or so is for the airlines to recruit through integrated rather than modular courses. So you could well find that your employment chances are limited at best.

Have you discovered a website called pprune? Has loads of gen aimed at wannabe commercial pilots including where and how to train. The jobs and interview section will give you a flavour for who is recruiting and what their requirements are. In a nutshell though the largest recruiter of low hours fatplers is Ryanair. Many are from Oxford, some modular and many more from mainland Europe schools. The next biggest is probably Easyjet and the larger charter operators who recruit through the CTC integrated scheme. Aer Lingus takes on a few experienced direct entry pilots and type rated contract copilots BUT mainly its cadets that have passed internal selection and jumped through many hoops to get onto a mentored integrated course at Jerez. Stobart Air seem to take some who have paid for their own ATR rating through Simtech. Cityjet and Air Contractors take a mix but have few opportunities generally so competition is high.

KnotABother

basill wrote: »

Having said all of the above the trend for the past 5 years or so is for the airlines to recruit through integrated rather than modular courses. So you could well find that your employment chances are limited at best.

I would dispute this aspect of your post. I know a lot of people who have been interviewed and hired off modular courses. Integrated courses are expensive and a little bit restrictive. If you are referring to cadet programs then of course integrated works well, however to say integrated is openly favoured would be untrue in my opinion. I know if fact that there have been issues with certain integrated students due to the "rushed" and commercial nature of their FTO's training program.

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latynova wrote: »

Hello pilots :-)

I just flew back from the UK on a 737 in 27 minutes (Manchester-Dublin). I'm wondering: what is the minimum distance/flight time that such a plane needs in order to operate safely?

Thanks!

I did Liverpool (runway 27) to Dublin (runway 28) a few days ago. It took only 29 minutes flying time. That stll left enough time for a chat and a coffee.

The only operational restrictions would be having enough time to complete your checks and landing briefings before commencing your approach. If done on the ground a flight time of just 15 minutes or less would be perfectly safe.

bikeman1

18 minutes on a Ryanair Prestwick to Belfast City was the record for me. Still got the trolley through and they even took hot food pre-orders while on the ground!!

That was some route, the shortest flight on their network in their history I believe?

So very possible to have a short flight with a jet.

L1011

The issue with short flights on bigger jets really only becomes apparent if all they do is short flights - that Ryanair plane wasn't going to do PIK-BHD-PIK-BHD-PIK all day; but its a big issue for Hawaiian Airlines island hopping; that's why they use the 717s which are more suited to it (think the BR700 series engines don't need as much air cooling as a % of runtime).

basill

KnotABother wrote: »

I would dispute this aspect of your post. I know a lot of people who have been interviewed and hired off modular courses. Integrated courses are expensive and a little bit restrictive. If you are referring to cadet programs then of course integrated works well, however to say integrated is openly favoured would be untrue in my opinion. I know if fact that there have been issues with certain integrated students due to the "rushed" and commercial nature of their FTO's training program.

Quantify "lots". Then do some maths on who is hiring and who has hired consistently over the past 3-5 years cross Europe. I wouldn't be basing a life changing decision on a few lucky students in the right place at the right time. Instead I would play the percentages.

In this country a modular course and zero hours will get you interviews with potentially 1 or 2 small airlines on either a turbo prop or regional jet. The only modular trained fo's that I am aware of getting into AL in the last 3-5 years have experience. All the rest were either cadets from integrated courses or are contract copilots through an external agency and type rated with hours and airline experience.

In the UK with BMI now gone the majority of entry level opportunities are with BA, Easyjet, TP outfits or the charter operators. Flybe look like they are back in hiring mode but do so through either the integrated schools, MPL or a select small number of "tagged" schools which they accept referrals from the chief instructor only.

Ryanair are the biggest hirer by far across Europe and are full of Oxford graduates plus a whole host of people from far and wide. Many will have completed the MCC through a "connected" school. There are reports that they would appear to change with the wind which nationalities are the flavour of the month. I would be loath to make a decision about a flight school based on hoping to achieve a contract position with them.

I don't necessarily agree with where the industry is heading but it seems pretty obvious to most of us that the airlines are moving more and more towards the integrated/MPL type of cadet. It's all driven by cost reduction during training.

KnotABother

basill wrote: »

Quantify "lots". Then do some maths on who is hiring and who has hired consistently over the past 3-5 years cross Europe. I wouldn't be basing a life changing decision on a few lucky students in the right place at the right time. Instead I would play the percentages.

In this country a modular course and zero hours will get you interviews with potentially 1 or 2 small airlines on either a turbo prop or regional jet. The only modular trained fo's that I am aware of getting into AL in the last 3-5 years have experience. All the rest were either cadets from integrated courses or are contract copilots through an external agency and type rated with hours and airline experience.

In the UK with BMI now gone the majority of entry level opportunities are with BA, Easyjet, TP outfits or the charter operators. Flybe look like they are back in hiring mode but do so through either the integrated schools, MPL or a select small number of "tagged" schools which they accept referrals from the chief instructor only.

Ryanair are the biggest hirer by far across Europe and are full of Oxford graduates plus a whole host of people from far and wide. Many will have completed the MCC through a "connected" school. There are reports that they would appear to change with the wind which nationalities are the flavour of the month. I would be loath to make a decision about a flight school based on hoping to achieve a contract position with them.

I don't necessarily agree with where the industry is heading but it seems pretty obvious to most of us that the airlines are moving more and more towards the integrated/MPL type of cadet. It's all driven by cost reduction during training.

By a lot I mean over 70% of those you could call my "classmates" during training. We have all found jobs here there and everywhere, got places on TR courses or reached late stage interviews. Granted of course you are correct, it has not been with flag carriers, however as you yourself stated generally having experience or a type rating is a large portion of the game if you want to get into AL, BA etc having paid your own way.

There may well be a higher percentage of integrated fATPLs getting jobs, but I would put that down to the fact there is more of them in general. The market is saturated by Jerez, Oxford and other such schools spraying out students. If you go to flight expos you will see the throngs around the integrated stands because they are the glitzy one with the zero to hero in 12 months tag. Pay 100k and hope someone doesn't set light to it and the world is your oyster. It seems there are fewer and fewer people willing to look into the reality of the sector. I spoke to an integrated MEIR student recently on a flight back from London who insisted Ryanair could not charge for a TR and laughed the idea off!

On the issue to training cost to airlines I would say that in Ryanair you pay your own way and dig your own grave as such, but recently I have found occasion to speak to an airline TRI who said that the standard of some integrated students defied belief and questioned if they had ever flown before. Now they stated that there were still a few modular puddings but that the trend was rushed training in integrated FTOs to meet deadlines as far as the next crop of students.

Tenger

Anyone care to guess the aircraft type?

Anyone care to guess the aircraft? by tearbringer, on Flickr

Jack1985

747-800?

BonkeyDonker

Tenger wrote: »

Anyone care to guess the aircraft type?

Anyone care to guess the aircraft? by tearbringer, on Flickr

Looks like a 787

Tenger

BonkeyDonker wrote: »

Looks like a 787

Its does.........



But Jack1985 wins the (non monetary reward) bet. Its a Lufthansa B747-8i... #1 engine and port wingtip.

smurfjed

When flying in a private jet, it is recommended you tip your pilot, and co-pilot, at least $10,000, boasts the Rich Kids of Instagram.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2691758/Always-tip-private-jet-pilot-10K-How-spoiled-Rich-Kids-Instagram-spending-summer.html#ixzz37TMGstVy
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Umm gotta talk to my passengers :)

adlima

Hi all. I have noticed over the past few months while spotting at Shannon that certain aircraft are given non-standard departures just before takeoff clearance. What is a non-standard departure? I could never figure it out as I've often seen 2-3 aircraft taxiing for departure but only one aircraft is given non-standard instructions. Thanks for your help.

the_monkey

I thought i'd stick this in here - don't think it deserves its own thread :

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-28324975

scary ... but then again, couldn't have been that serious if they continued from KL to HK ..

smurfjed

adlima..... the last time that i flew out of Shannon, we were given an ATC clearance for a SID, but upon line up they told us non standard departure, right turn direct xxxx (Our oceanic entry point). This basically meant that they had little traffic and were making life easier for us...

cgill

I spent the last two weeks or so reading this thread which is great and is really informative for an aspiring pilot like me. I have two quick questions (for now):
1) When listening to ATC and the pilot is being given their clearance why are they sometimes told "cleared Dublin to Destination" instead of "cleared Dublin to Manchester" for example as it usually would be?
2) I just saw that a Ryanair flight is delayed by nearly 10 hours and the reason given on their website is an "ATC Delay", what does this actually mean as it seems to be used as a reason quite often?

Jack1985

cgill wrote: »

I spent the last two weeks or so reading this thread which is great and is really informative for an aspiring pilot like me. I have two quick questions (for now):
1) When listening to ATC and the pilot is being given their clearance why are they sometimes told "cleared Dublin to Destination" instead of "cleared Dublin to Manchester" for example as it usually would be?
2) I just saw that a Ryanair flight is delayed by nearly 10 hours and the reason given on their website is an "ATC Delay", what does this actually mean as it seems to be used as a reason quite often?

1) No real reason, sometimes you'll here the ATCO say for example cleared to Barcelona and then sometimes to destination - it just quickens up the process, fun times before when all those new Eastern Europe destinations opened around 2004. There was some very funny pronounciations, for example if you were to pronounce Wroclaw as you see it you'd be very far off the actually pronounciation so saying destination just avoids all that - there is actually no reason though!

2) I think to be honest sometimes the reasons given for delays on Ryanair's website are wrong, they got in a bit of trouble for it recently when flightradar24 followed up one of there reasons and it was false information given on FR's website to avoid paying out EU261 compo.

KnotABother

cgill wrote: »

I spent the last two weeks or so reading this thread which is great and is really informative for an aspiring pilot like me. I have two quick questions (for now):
1) When listening to ATC and the pilot is being given their clearance why are they sometimes told "cleared Dublin to Destination" instead of "cleared Dublin to Manchester" for example as it usually would be?

I actually asked about this before when talking to a controller and she told me that sometimes the clearance controller is not quite sure how to pronounce the exotic(or not so) destinations Ryanair fly to...so they save the blushes and say destination

cgill

Thanks for the replies. Hadnt heard about the flightradar24/ryanair story but saw it there on facebook, interesting that airlines would do that, I wonder if it happens regularly...