The great big "ask an airline pilot" thread!

amen

smurfjed, I think you mentioned a while back that you are now a captain.

If you transition to the 777 do you still keep the captain grade and fly as a 777 captain or do you switch to the other side?

what about airlines where captains move type ?

smurfjed

Wow, good memory. Officially we don't have any First Officers, so the job title is B777 Captain, but we will be limited to the right seat for a specific number of hours based on experience. So I get to fly a bigger aircraft but lose the "star" above my 4 stripes and the hotel suite :)

eatmyshorts

smurfjed wrote: »

Wow, good memory. Officially we don't have any First Officers, so the job title is B777 Captain, but we will be limited to the right seat for a specific number of hours based on experience. So I get to fly a bigger aircraft but lose the "star" above my 4 stripes and the hotel suite :)

So no 3 stripers at all? What's the reasoning behind that policy?

smurfjed

Greater experience and cost not a factor.

eatmyshorts

smurfjed wrote: »

Greater experience and cost not a factor.

Does the same policy apply to both the corporate and commercial operations?

smurfjed

Nope, commercial starts cadets with 270 hours, but with close to 2000 pilots, they don't have a choice

eatmyshorts

How do things work out with a very flat authority gradient? Tends to go against industry best practice.

smurfjed

There is a trip Captain, so everything goes through him. In the cockpit the roles of PF/PM/CM1/CM2 are clearly defined, so its the same as flying with a Check Airman in the right seat.

eatmyshorts

smurfjed wrote: »

so its the same as flying with a Check Airman in the right seat.

A nightmare then?! :-)

When I got my wide body command I was 32. Setting the correct tone and management style was tricky when the FO is 45 and has more command experience than me.
Then the next trip he's 23 and barely any experience at all!

Swings and roundabouts!!

Lustrum

CM1/CM2????

Also in a company like that where there's presumably a wide variety of nationalities represented, do you find that's ever an issue for the authority gradient? Is there cultural differences that need to be addressed as part of the CRM training?

eatmyshorts

Lustrum wrote: »

CM1/CM2????

Also in a company like that where there's presumably a wide variety of nationalities represented, do you find that's ever an issue for the authority gradient? Is there cultural differences that need to be addressed as part of the CRM training?

Crew Member 1....left seat
Crew Member 2....right seat

It's Boeing terminology.

Cultural differences are definitely an issue. But among pilots it tends to be not much of an issue due to training and standards.

The cultural differences when dealing with the mixture of cabin crew can be a much bigger challenge. Especially when you have 18 of them and 16 different nationalities. "like herding cats" is a suitable analogy!

rudders

I was just listening to Dublin ATC on liveATC and the controller was instructing pilots to "max out" on the approach. What does this mean?

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Not standard phraseology but I imagine he wanted them to fly as fast as they could on approach.

Cessna_Pilot

rudders wrote: »

I was just listening to Dublin ATC on liveATC and the controller was instructing pilots to "max out" on the approach. What does this mean?

Could have been new final approach fix, MAXEV :pac:

Fionn101

Can I ask please about equipment going unserviceable.

I know there is a list (MEL ??) that tells you if you can fly , but I was just wondering when was the last time you flew with an item being U/S and how much of an annoyance was it for you ?

Secondly , what is your pet hate about flying ? Is there a particular ATC voice you know and despise ? or is there a switch or lever you keep depressing when climbing into your seat by accident ?

asking out of curiosity really. I have found the pitot tube once with my forehead before my eyes sighted it. (C172)

oh and while I think of it , when was the last time you gave yourself a fright while flying ?

thanks in advance folks, great thread.

smurfjed

Decided that training is like a steeple chase... lots of hurdles that you have to clear, this morning i passed the FTD checkride. Now I have to wait for simulator training, its going to be a slow summer

smurfjed

Minimum Equipment List, I think that its easier to ask when did someone fly without an MEL item, considering that a lot of them are seats etc, they are quite common. Ones that would annoy is something like the APU when the temperature is super hot.

Pet-hate.... my present pet-hate is training at 3am... my body really doesn't know where it should be. As for aircraft, it has to be the G4 flap handle, total pain to jump in and out of the seat and avoid it.

As for fright, well a little one... got cleared for takeoff, entering from the left side of a runway... started to taxi only to discover that a B747 decided that he was the aircraft cleared for takeoff and entered from the right side, so we were both on the runway. Luckily we were small enough to turn around and taxi off, the 747 couldn't understand why ATC were upset with them.

Tenger

smurfjed wrote: »

...............
................started to taxi only to discover that a B747 decided that he was the aircraft cleared for takeoff.............. the 747 couldn't understand why ATC were upset with them.

"But I'm the Queen of the Skies?"

rudders

I've a question, it's more involved with the phyics of speed though but applied to airplanes.

How come when I'm in a car and give it full throttle and reach about 80mph I feel like I'm being dragged back into my seat. But in an airplane going 500 mph you dont feel this?

amen

I was watching the above YouTube video of a 737 takeoff in a snow storm.

The cabin was unpressurised on t/o due to supplemntary and was then pressurised after t/o.

Why would this be done ?

amen

rudders wrote: »

I've a question, it's more involved with the phyics of speed though but applied to airplanes.

How come when I'm in a car and give it full throttle and reach about 80mph I feel like I'm being dragged back into my seat. But in an airplane going 500 mph you dont feel this?

Its nothing to with speed but rather the acceleration.

If you are in your car and stopped and then floor the accelerator you will feel a force which pushes you back into your seat as the car accelerates. Depending on the car performance the force experienced i.e. a greater force in a Ferrari with a 0-60mph of about 3 seconds compare to a Ford Focus of about 10 seconds.

When an airplane accelerates to takeoff speed you feel a force which pushes you back into your seat.

In a car if you are travelling at 60pmh and suddenly accelerator to 80 you may/may not experience depending on the car performance. If you gently press the accelerator the speed will gradually increase to 80 and you will experience no force.

Although I'm not a pilot I would imagine that once the plane has taken off the speed is gradually increased to improve passenger comfort and increase engine lifespan. No need for sudden acceleration in cruise.

If you want to work out the force you can use F=ma
where mass is mass of body (car, person etc)
a is acceleration.

Note Acceleration is independent of the speed you are travelling and can also be a negative number i.e. slowing down.

rudders

amen wrote: »

Its nothing to with speed but rather the acceleration.

If you are in your car and stopped and then floor the accelerator you will feel a force which pushes you back into your seat as the car accelerates. Depending on the car performance the force experienced i.e. a greater force in a Ferrari with a 0-60mph of about 3 seconds compare to a Ford Focus of about 10 seconds.

When an airplane accelerates to takeoff speed you feel a force which pushes you back into your seat.

In a car if you are travelling at 60pmh and suddenly accelerator to 80 you may/may not experience depending on the car performance. If you gently press the accelerator the speed will gradually increase to 80 and you will experience no force.

Although I'm not a pilot I would imagine that once the plane has taken off the speed is gradually increased to improve passenger comfort and increase engine lifespan. No need for sudden acceleration in cruise.

If you want to work out the force you can use F=ma
where mass is mass of body (car, person etc)
a is acceleration.

Note Acceleration is independent of the speed you are travelling and can also be a negative number i.e. slowing down.

Clears everything up perfectly thanks

smurfjed

Why would this be done ?

it's called a PACKS OFF takeoff, it allows more engine thrust and usually a greater takeoff weight.

amen

it's called a PACKS OFF takeoff, it allows more engine thrust and usually a greater takeoff weight.

Thanks. So if it makes a difference is the extra thrust in the order single digit % or double digits?

Would you only use this for a heave t/o weight or would you also use it in bad weather ?

Lustrum

amen wrote: »

Thanks. So if it makes a difference is the extra thrust in the order single digit % or double digits?

Would you only use this for a heave t/o weight or would you also use it in bad weather ?

Depends on the weather. On what I'm flying, we can't take off with the cabin pressurised and engine anti-ice on, it's either one or the other or neither. If you're expecting icing conditions, that will take priority. If you wanted to be really nice to the passengers you could take off with the airs on, but as was pointed out, you lose thrust and it reduces the max take off weight. If anti ice is not required, we'd normally take off with both off and calculate the performance based on that, then pressurise the aircraft once we're up and assured of immediate obstacle and terrain clearance

FWVT

Lustrum wrote: »

Depends on the weather. On what I'm flying, we can't take off with the cabin pressurised and engine anti-ice on, it's either one or the other or neither. If you're expecting icing conditions, that will take priority. If you wanted to be really nice to the passengers you could take off with the airs on, but as was pointed out, you lose thrust and it reduces the max take off weight. If anti ice is not required, we'd normally take off with both off and calculate the performance based on that, then pressurise the aircraft once we're up and assured of immediate obstacle and terrain clearance

Is there a separate checklist for this type of takeoff as there is the risk of forgetting to turn on the pressurisation once airborne?.

eatmyshorts

Lustrum wrote: »

Depends on the weather. On what I'm flying, we can't take off with the cabin pressurised and engine anti-ice on, it's either one or the other or neither. If you're expecting icing conditions, that will take priority. If you wanted to be really nice to the passengers you could take off with the airs on, but as was pointed out, you lose thrust and it reduces the max take off weight. If anti ice is not required, we'd normally take off with both off and calculate the performance based on that, then pressurise the aircraft once we're up and assured of immediate obstacle and terrain clearance

Which type is that?

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amen wrote: »

Thanks. So if it makes a difference is the extra thrust in the order single digit % or double digits?

Would you only use this for a heave t/o weight or would you also use it in bad weather ?

The additional thrust gained with a bleeds off take off would only be in the order off around 1-1.6% N1 on my type (737) and that would give you approximately 800kg extra weight to play with.

Environmental conditions have a huge part to play with when you would consider using a bleeds off take off. These include tailwinds, high temperatures, low atmospheric pressure, and airports of high elevation. However these departures are normally used when the runway is short in length.

Yes there is a separate checklist for this procedure for both prior to takeoff and after takeoff. The big risk in this procedure is forgetting to reconfigure the pressurisation system, passing through 10,000ft and having a subsequent cabin altitude warning- pax masks deploying- and tea and biscuits with the chief pilot.

smurfjed

For us its part of the after takeoff checklist, PACKS ON - ANTI ICE AUTO and should be completed by 3,000 feet. I dont know the % thrust increase, but its around 4-5000 kgs at one of our main airports, combine it with improved climb and we get a whopping 16,000 kgs.

APM

FWVT wrote: »

Is there a separate checklist for this type of takeoff as there is the risk of forgetting to turn on the pressurisation once airborne?.

A320/321 in my company has no separate checklist. We just turn the packs off rather than the bleeds. Just before lining up on the runway we have 2 items, one of which is packs and we turn the packs off if required.

After Takeoff the ECAM will alert us if we have forgotten, but again its in the After Takeoff Checklist. We put 1 pack on at thrust reduction altitude (1500ft AGL at most airports) and the second pack 5 seconds later.