Ask The Pilot

[jb747]

When you decide to detour around weather is it a pattern you can see and didn't like the look of it, or did it show up on radar ?

If it's a visible pattern then I assume at night that you only detour around radar weather (apart from obvious lightning)

Reading weather radar is a bit of an art.

Basically the radar shows intensity of returns in different colours. Green, yellow, red, magenta. The A380 radar also attempts to show them vertically, 'hashing' areas it thinks are below you. Generally, green isn't an issue (but you may need the seat belts), yellow is worth avoiding, and red and magenta you'd like to give a wide berth to. Lightning will be in the red and magenta areas. The absolute intensity is important, but so is the gradient. A yellow wall of weather could well be nastier than a gradual rise to a large red area.

Like everything though, it isn't quite as simple as that. Sometimes the weather is so extensive that you have no choice but to transit the nastier areas, and then you have to manage the radar to find the weakest areas. The automatic modes aren't much good at that, you going back to manually controlling the gain and angles that it is sweeping come back into their own. It's actually something that the new generation of pilots are very weak at, simply because they've grown up with automatic radars, and never seen purely manual ones.

There are some particular shapes that you may see that are particularly worth avoiding. Hooks, in particular can be a very nasty side of cells.

In daylight the radar remains the arbiter of what is avoided. Sometimes things that look quite nasty (i.e. black), show minimal radar returns. So the question then is 'what would I do at night', and if the answer is go through it, then I generally do. The eye isn't all that good a judge. A peek does come into its own sometimes when it shows that returns that the radar has placed at your altitude are actually below you, or you can see a gap that is too small for the radar to find.

Whilst it would be nice to avoid all weather by many miles, the reality is that it is often so extensive that any avoidance is futile. Some airways too are so restricted as to not allow more than a token deviation.

 

[jb747]

With the Olympics in LHR are you seeing more flights from QF appearing or even some charter flights taking over large qty of sporting equipment with some people on board.

I've carried quite a few people up there over the last couple of trips. As far as I know, there are no charters on the way up, though historically there has been at least one after the event.

My take on the Olympics is that the normal tourists and business people will avoid the place like the plague, so that the overall loads are quite likely to be less than normal. When they were on in Sydney, flights in were open, and flights out (locals getting out of town) were heavily loaded.

 

[mjt57]

Just watched the latest episode, this time the ILS approach into LHR. Visuals and audio were excellent. I could actually decypher what you guys were saying (albeit most of it akin to a local dialect of Swahilli).

The camera picked up loud thumps after landing. Presumably expansion joints in the runway. Certainly they sounded amplified.

I was trying to work out who did the landing as the FO had his hand on the sidestick, but didn't seem to be moving it. Was it autoland and he was "hovering" over it in case of something?

 

[mjt57]

Quick question; a fellow I know got a job in a similar field to mine. In his intake one of the others is an ex-Jetstar pilot. His story is that he was a Qantas pilot but got "relegated" to Jetstar for whatever reason. Got sick of the lower pay, hours away from family, being jerked around and so on, so he quit.

I thought that the two airlines were separate entities in terms of who your employer is. Is this not the case? Can aircrew be moved between JS and QF?

 

[jb747]

Just watched the latest episode, this time the ILS approach into LHR. Visuals and audio were excellent. I could actually decypher what you guys were saying (albeit most of it akin to a local dialect of Swahilli).

The camera picked up loud thumps after landing. Presumably expansion joints in the runway. Certainly they sounded amplified.

I was trying to work out who did the landing as the FO had his hand on the sidestick, but didn't seem to be moving it. Was it autoland and he was "hovering" over it in case of something?

The nose gear thumps heavily over the lines of paint, and it gets quite rough in the coughpit. The solid thumps are most likely the centreline lights.

The non flying pilot will have his hand on the stick. You can take over by pushing a button on the stick. In the case of an FO, it's a defence against any form of subtle incapacitation of the captain. And when the FO is flying, the captain has his hand ready as a defence against the FO....

Because the non flying joystick does not move (there is no feedback) resting your hand on it does not interfere with the flying pilot's inputs, as it would in a Boeing. On the other hand, you didn't actually have to take over in a Boeing to 'help' a flare, or stop an over rotate...a bit of pressure would suffice.

It was a manual landing from the left seat.

 

[jb747]

Quick question; a fellow I know got a job in a similar field to mine. In his intake one of the others is an ex-Jetstar pilot. His story is that he was a Qantas pilot but got "relegated" to Jetstar for whatever reason. Got sick of the lower pay, hours away from family, being jerked around and so on, so he quit.

I thought that the two airlines were separate entities in terms of who your employer is. Is this not the case? Can aircrew be moved between JS and QF?

Nobody is relegated to Jetstar other than by choice. There is an agreement that lets people move in both directions, and it has been taken by some (a very small number) QF pilots who want a promotion. Nobody has come the other way, as they currently don't have enough seniority to even have an equivalent seat. As the years go by, if QF ever recruits again, that will change.

There will be much more to the story.

 

[JohnM]

Pardon my ignorance, JB but you often mention the 'flare'. Could you quickly explain just what that is please?

 

[jb747]

Pardon my ignorance, JB but you often mention the 'flare'. Could you quickly explain just what that is please?

An approach is flown at a descent rate of 700 feet per minute. A VERY HEAVY landing, would be about 300 fpm at impact. A normal landing is somewhere around 50 fpm. A flare is the act of pitching up the nose, and reducing the power (and in a crosswind getting rid of the drift), so as to go from that 700 fpm to a smooth(ish) touchdown.

It is extremely height sensitive. Do it too soon, and you'll end up landing long, and because of the speed loss, will increase the risk of tail scrape. Do it too late and you increase the risk of a heavy landing, and/or bounce. The aircraft behaviour in the flare will vary with weight, speed and flap settings. Wind gusts will also affect it. It's not a 'canned' manoeuvre. Every time you do it, the behaviour is different...which is why not all landings are equal.

 

[mjt57]

There will be much more to the story.

Sounds like it. While our job ain't that bad (certainly he'll be earning more than he would have been with Jetstar) if I were in his shoes there's no way that I'd leave such a flying career unless he was "encouraged" to leave.

Thanks for the explanations of the LHR video.

I noticed too, that you weren't reading out wind conditions as you've done in the past in the 744 videos. Does the 380 not require you to read out this info?

 

[jb747]

I noticed too, that you weren't reading out wind conditions as you've done in the past in the 744 videos. Does the 380 not require you to read out this info?

Calling the wind is really a Boeing thing. The Bs all show the actual wind, and the FMC also shows the wind broken into headwind and lateral components. The AB shows the actual wind, and that's it. There's no point in making calls that aren't needed...in that last video the wind was quite light (actually there is a wind call at about 400 feet "10 knots, all headwind".)

One of the previous videos had something like 40 knots washing out as we descended, so it's more relevant.

 

[Flashback]

I've carried quite a few people up there over the last couple of trips. As far as I know, there are no charters on the way up, though historically there has been at least one after the event.

My take on the Olympics is that the normal tourists and business people will avoid the place like the plague, so that the overall loads are quite likely to be less than normal. When they were on in Sydney, flights in were open, and flights out (locals getting out of town) were heavily loaded.

Can't say I blame them. If it wasn't for the fact it gave me a chance to catch-up with a few good friends from AFF, I'd be off too! I was out in town last weekend and the number of tourists around is cringeworthy....

 

[jukebox333]

JB - a question for the heart, not the head: I've been flying (only ever as a pax) since I was 8 years old in 1976. When I first flew, it was infrequent, and a total joy - just the sheer thrill of being above the clouds, the feeling as the plane banked and turned at take off and landing, was all so new, and unique - it felt magical.

Then, by my late teens and through my 20's, I was flying because of family moves overseas, and then beacause of work, and it literally became like catching as bus: dull, soul-less, and all those countless hours at airport terminals waiting for planes and connections felt like time wasted away from family or girlfriends.. hours that I would never get back (and I didn't).

Then, after 9/11, flying took on an even more arduous tone, with pointless security checks and rules, and a sense of anxiety that had never previously been there amongst crews and passengers.

Today when I fly, it is rare for me to feel any of the joy I used to feel. It does happen every once in awhile - a few weeks back when I flew to the NW of WA, we were almost fogged in at PER, and as we punched up through the fog, the way street lights of the suburbs were diffused was very unusual, and later as the sun rose on the horizon and coloured the clouds for a few minutes, I was reminded of how I used to feel. And it got me thinking...

So, my question (I bet you were wondering when I'd get to it!) is: as a career flyer, with some incredible experiences both in the military and civil aviation, after all those years, do you still have those moments when it is special, or has familiarity taken the edge off it for you? If you do still get inspired by what you do, what sorts of things trigger that response? I'm sure you "like" what you do... but I mean the sights or experiences that send a shiver up your spine for the right reasons, that make you smile and feel glad you've taken the path you did.

 

[jb747]

Then, after 9/11, flying took on an even more arduous tone, with pointless security checks and rules, and a sense of anxiety that had never previously been there amongst crews and passengers.

So true. I don't think people would mind if it wasn't just the charade that it normally is. Some countries are good at it. I recall the blokes in Germany were efficient and pleasant...the vast majority are anything but.

Today when I fly, it is rare for me to feel any of the joy I used to feel. It does happen every once in awhile - a few weeks back when I flew to the NW of WA, we were almost fogged in at PER, and as we punched up through the fog, the way street lights of the suburbs were diffused was very unusual, and later as the sun rose on the horizon and coloured the clouds for a few minutes, I was reminded of how I used to feel.

Even in the biggest jets the pilots still have the occasional 'play' with the clouds.

So, my question (I bet you were wondering when I'd get to it!) is: as a career flyer, with some incredible experiences both in the military and civil aviation, after all those years, do you still have those moments when it is special, or has familiarity taken the edge off it for you? If you do still get inspired by what you do, what sorts of things trigger that response? I'm sure you "like" what you do... but I mean the sights or experiences that send a shiver up your spine for the right reasons, that make you smile and feel glad you've taken the path you did.

I tell people that we do it for the view. Sometimes just a spectacular bit of astronomy (moon, Jupiter and Venus rising over the Ukraine the other day). Or a bit of nature....ice flows into the northern Black Sea. And occasionally something man made...like the Chernobyl reactor which we also spotted on the last trip. Or something odd/silly, like the 777 we saw the other day in Singapore, that was taxying with smoke pouring off one of the undercarriage trucks, and which was ignored by the crew (even though they knew) until the aircraft took it into its own hands, and they were unable to continue. Actually, thinking about it, it would be a very rare trip on which you don't see lots of interesting things.

Little things happen to remind you of what you're doing too. Sometimes it's as simple as seeing your own shadow, surround by a circular rainbow, as you're about to enter a cloud layer.

The satisfaction of doing a nice sector is real, as is the very real annoyance that comes from a poor landing, or just a silly mistake. Nobody is perfect, but reminders are never welcome. Walking away from an aircraft, it's always a pleasant stroke of the ego to look back and think that you, and your crew, have just flown it a large portion of the distance around the world. And I always look up at the big jets as they rumble overhead...as often as not wishing I was there.

It can become terribly mundane too. The domestic guys call Melbourne-Sydney 'the monorail' for good reason. The trouble with aviation is that as soon as you let it become monotonous, it has a habit of reminding you that it shouldn't be taken for granted.

 

[mjt57]

Qantas is introducing iPads on some of its routes...

Qantas to provide passengers with iPads

We're flying to London next May (touring England and a Mediterranean cruise). Hopefully we'll either be able to use them if the A380 gets them, or to use our own (at the least, to charge them).

Speaking of the A380 and London, what's the chance that we could get a B744 instead? This may be my last overseas flight and I'd like to do it in modern style.

 

[jb747]

Qantas is introducing iPads on some of its routes...

Qantas to provide passengers with iPads

We're flying to London next May (touring England and a Mediterranean cruise). Hopefully we'll either be able to use them if the A380 gets them, or to use our own (at the least, to charge them).

Speaking of the A380 and London, what's the chance that we could get a B744 instead? This may be my last overseas flight and I'd like to do it in modern style.

As I understand it, the iPads are only coming onto the 767s. That aircraft has always been a problem child with regard to in flight AV systems, and the advent of the iPad provided a neat solution. Other aircraft already have installed systems (of varying quality), but which don't require replacement right now. I'd hazard a guess that any replacements, whenever they come, will be based upon iPads. Another business which Apple has neatly sorted out, or disrupted.....

The A380 AV system is the best I've dealt with, and whilst it occasionally needs a reboot, in general it behaves pretty well.

There is no chance of you getting a 744 on your flight. You can charge your iPad on the 380.

I wonder what an Apple coughpit would look like?

 

[anat0l]

I wonder what an Apple coughpit would look like?

Be careful what you wish for!

I'd guess most of the coughpit would be completely touch screen. There'd be a lot more flicking and pinching gestures. The autopilot and some other systems would be addressed as Siri. And to read the contents of the black box, you'd need a Mac system with the latest version of iTunes.

Just guessin'... :mrgreen:

Sent from my GT-I9300 using AustFreqFly

 

[Flashback]

I've carried quite a few people up there over the last couple of trips. As far as I know, there are no charters on the way up, though historically there has been at least one after the event.

My take on the Olympics is that the normal tourists and business people will avoid the place like the plague, so that the overall loads are quite likely to be less than normal. When they were on in Sydney, flights in were open, and flights out (locals getting out of town) were heavily loaded.

Be careful what you wish for!

I'd guess most of the coughpit would be completely touch screen. There'd be a lot more flicking and pinching gestures. The autopilot and some other systems would be addressed as Siri. And to read the contents of the black box, you'd need a Mac system with the latest version of iTunes.

Just guessin'... :mrgreen:

Sent from my GT-I9300 using AustFreqFly

... and it would look pretty, with very little useful functionality *puts on flame suit* :mrgreen:

 

[jb747]

Be careful what you wish for!

I'm currently surrounded by two iMacs, a Mac mini, 2 Airs, 1 Macbook Pro, and a number of iPads and iPhones. How could it be worse? Oh, the aircraft...well three Panasonic Toughbooks running Win 1895 is the current state of the art. I think there is room for movement.

I'd guess most of the coughpit would be completely touch screen. There'd be a lot more flicking and pinching gestures.

A quoted Apple motto, is that 'it just works'. Whether that actually comes from Apple or not, it's certainly the opposite to that used by a number of other companies. 'It will not happen' must the the motto of one.

Touch screens have been tried already. They don't work in coughpits. Firstly some of the screens are outside easy reach. They get VERY dirty. Moisture levels change dramatically. A work in progress at best.

Gestures? Not sure I want to follow that line of thinking. But, coughpits are not rooms. Anything based upon free motion must be suspect.

The autopilot and some other systems would be addressed as Siri.

The aviation industry is way ahead of the IT industry here. We've had voice control for decades. And it handles all accents without issues. Called FO.

And to read the contents of the black box, you'd need a Mac system with the latest version of iTunes.

Got that, and anyway, who wants to read the black box....that's scary.

 

[jukebox333]

*snip*

Little things happen to remind you of what you're doing too. Sometimes it's as simple as seeing your own shadow, surround by a circular rainbow, as you're about to enter a cloud layer.

The satisfaction of doing a nice sector is real, as is the very real annoyance that comes from a poor landing, or just a silly mistake. Nobody is perfect, but reminders are never welcome. Walking away from an aircraft, it's always a pleasant stroke of the ego to look back and think that you, and your crew, have just flown it a large portion of the distance around the world. And I always look up at the big jets as they rumble overhead...as often as not wishing I was there.

It can become terribly mundane too. The domestic guys call Melbourne-Sydney 'the monorail' for good reason. The trouble with aviation is that as soon as you let it become monotonous, it has a habit of reminding you that it shouldn't be taken for granted.

Some great moments there, indeed, JB.

I'm glad to hear you still have that level of pride and sense of achievement in what you do.

I'd wager that many, many AFF'ers also look up at every wide-body* passing overhead and wish they were on board...

*unless of course it was... (<--- insert name of three most disliked airlines here)

 

[tuppaware]

A quoted Apple motto, is that 'it just works'. Whether that actually comes from Apple or not, it's certainly the opposite to that used by a number of other companies. 'It will not happen' must the the motto of one.

Touch screens have been tried already. They don't work in coughpits. Firstly some of the screens are outside easy reach. They get VERY dirty. Moisture levels change dramatically. A work in progress at best.

I whipped up an example of the UI of an Apple coughpit .