Ask The Pilot

[QF WP]

From this report on the QF8 incident, it may have been a combination of being near their max hours, terrible weather that they needed to do some serious flying around and ...

I can understand a SO questioning the inputs (I think that is healthy) but I'd put pounds to peanuts that there is definitely more to the story. Where would the relief crew have been found - in the US??

 

[simongr]

Are there many things which are a matter of opinion rather than fact/procedure in the day to day operations? Are there many actual opportunities to disagree based on preference rather than on the accuracy of facts?

 

[jb747]

I can understand a SO questioning the inputs (I think that is healthy) but I'd put pounds to peanuts that there is definitely more to the story. Where would the relief crew have been found - in the US??

Either in Dallas itself by cutting slips short, or out of LA, or a mix of both.

 

[jb747]

Are there many things which are a matter of opinion rather than fact/procedure in the day to day operations? Are there many actual opportunities to disagree based on preference rather than on the accuracy of facts?

Certainly not about most things. There can be different options available and they might merit some discussion. Many a time somebody has come up with a better idea than me...so the plan is changed. Quite honestly, it's an easy way to operate....I'm given a crew to keep me out of trouble.

Disagreements have no place in any civil workplace. Discussion does.

 

[jb747]

I'm under the impression that numbers are so important for virtually all flights regardless of length, it's not just limited to the ultra long haul flights.

To a degree. The cases that come to mind that have gone badly wrong had numbers that were grossly in error (Singair and Emirates were both out by about 100 tonnes).

We have a system (on the 380) in which we must have a rather esoteric number match up. We compare calculated runway excess. It's very sensitive to the slightest change in our data entries. If it doesn't match to the metre, then we have done something differently (not necessarily wrong...entering the weight as 540.1 gives a different answer to 540100).

There is some fat built into the numbers, so a minor change in the environmental variables won't stop the plane from flying safely. Even ultra heavy flights still have some margin built in.

 

[Awesom Andy]

Either in Dallas itself by cutting slips short, or out of LA, or a mix of both.

Can all crew who operate the normal 744 simply jump into the ER and fly it, or do they need to be "qualified" to fly it?

 

[jb747]

Can all crew who operate the normal 744 simply jump into the ER and fly it, or do they need to be "qualified" to fly it?

The differences with the ER are quite minor, and there is no special qualification for it.

 

[Major]

I was sitting in the Lounge at OOL yesterday and noticed the Captain of a 738 slide his window open to talk to ground crew. I was wondering about their design.

Are they similar to doors in that the inner panel is larger and cannot be opened in flight while pressurised and is there a locking mechanism on them ?

 

[jb747]

I was sitting in the Lounge at OOL yesterday and noticed the Captain of a 738 slide his window open to talk to ground crew. I was wondering about their design.

Are they similar to doors in that the inner panel is larger and cannot be opened in flight while pressurised and is there a locking mechanism on them ?

They all open inwards, pulling back in, and then sliding aft. I think all the ABs can open, and the 737/767. Don't know about others. They can be opened in flight, as long as the aircraft is depressurised and the speed is low. We don't like them being opened though, as there is no way of testing the integrity of the seal when they close, and if a tiny leak remains, then it will make a horrid squealing racket...bad enough to be permanently damaging to hearing in one short flight.

 

[juddles]

JB, just a simple question, but one I have pondered a few times in those moments of boredom on flights:

What are the mechanics of the passenger windows?

It appears to me that there are three separate sheets - a completely sealed outer, a completely sealed inner, and a middle sheet with a tiny hole at the bottom, often with ice crystals deposited on the outer sheet. Twice now I have seen small dead moths trapped inside.

How does this work?? How does an insect get in there??

 

[jb747]

JB, just a simple question, but one I have pondered a few times in those moments of boredom on flights:

What are the mechanics of the passenger windows?

It appears to me that there are three separate sheets - a completely sealed outer, a completely sealed inner, and a middle sheet with a tiny hole at the bottom, often with ice crystals deposited on the outer sheet. Twice now I have seen small dead moths trapped inside.

How does this work?? How does an insect get in there??

The windows were covered on page 244. Dunno about the moths....perhaps they escaped from wallets.

 

[juddles]

Thanks JB - I thought I had asked but somehow missed that reply back then - my curiosity was retriggered by the second moth the other day.

 

[virginaus2012]

Hi JB, firstly thanks for your time on this thread and the spectacular videos on YT!

Just a couple of questions, apologies if they have already been asked..

- When you came from the armed forces to the commercial sector, did you have to do a sort of licence conversion (similar to converting international licences) or do you get a type of 'honorary' commercial licence?

-Secondly, with regards to your weather radar, is this turned off on the ground or is it on at all times? I was wondering if it could be hazardous to ground crews if it was left on? If it is turned off/on, at what point does this take place?

Thanks

 

[jb747]

- When you came from the armed forces to the commercial sector, did you have to do a sort of licence conversion (similar to converting international licences) or do you get a type of 'honorary' commercial licence?

You're asking me to remember some pretty ancient history there.

I had a private licence before doing the RAAF course. I think the deal was that graduates were automatically given a commercial licence, or a senior commercial upon doing the air legislation exam. I recall that I had to do the ATPL flight planning, navigation, and SCPL air leg exams before QF would talk to me. CASA didn't honour the military instrument ratings, so you either had to hire a lighty and take an examiner for a fly, or 'borrow' whatever you were using at work. All a bit silly really, given what the 'unlicensed' and 'unrated' military pilots were doing (i.e. flying the PM around for a start). QF didn't care whether the military guys had a civil instrument rating or not, as one would be issued as a part of their conversion.

-Secondly, with regards to your weather radar, is this turned off on the ground or is it on at all times? I was wondering if it could be hazardous to ground crews if it was left on? If it is turned off/on, at what point does this take place?

The radar has to be off at the gate, or when the ground crews are nearby. They're low powered compared to radars of old, but still potentially dangerous.

The AB radar will turn itself on when airborne, but we normally select it on as we are taxying out. On those aircraft in which you need to turn it off, it happens during the cleanup after landing (spoilers, flaps, lights, radar, APU).

 

[virginaus2012]

Interesting answers! thanks!

 

[Skyring]

Interesting answers! thanks!

I suspect jb747 could wax fat and ruin his liver at no cost by attending AFF dinners and drinks. "Interesting" doesn't really begin to cover the contributions, and let me join those voices clamouring for a book. Possibly a retirement project, once the heavy-metal driver days are done.

Pete, fan

 

[led-zep]

Hi JB,

I know the question of mobiles being used on planes has been covered before. However, on my recent flight back to Syd from BNE (flying Virgin) i noticed the pax next to me had his iPhone on and in 3G mode just before taxing to the run way.. Now i did ask him to put this on flight mode, which i felt like a douche asking, but id rather be safe.

What is the process here, can you tell in the coughpit if anyone has their phones switched on? What would have happened if we took if with his phone on and in 3G mode (his phone was not put into flight mode until i asked)?

 

[jb747]

I know the question of mobiles being used on planes has been covered before. However, on my recent flight back to Syd from BNE (flying Virgin) i noticed the pax next to me had his iPhone on and in 3G mode just before taxing to the run way.. Now i did ask him to put this on flight mode, which i felt like a douche asking, but id rather be safe.

What is the process here, can you tell in the coughpit if anyone has their phones switched on? What would have happened if we took if with his phone on and in 3G mode (his phone was not put into flight mode until i asked)?

I'd expect that the vast majority of passenger flights contain a large number of fully activated phones. As I pax regularly, I watch people 'turn off' their devices. Some select aircraft modes, but many simply put them to sleep. I'm not sure if that's wilful, or simply lack of knowledge.

The average device transmits in a number of ways. We've got the telephone 2/3/4 G, Bluetooth, and wifi (and rf noise too I guess). I'd expect a serious scan to show numerous examples of all types of transmission. Some recent information is that Bluetooth is potentially the worst of the bunch.

The only way we can check is to turn on our own devices, and to see what connections show up.

Are the potential problems real? Yes, they are.

Are they likely. No...in fact they are extremely unlikely.

The problem is that nobody, and I mean nobody, can say for sure that any particular device, on a particular day, seat and aircraft, won't cause some sort of issue. Even the magnitude of the potential issue is totally unknown. I've seen first hand the results of a child's toy, that simply contained a noisy processor, that was able to make the aircraft autopilot gently rock the wings. Not an issue in the cruise (though it distracted us for quite a long while...perhaps an issue in itself), but I expect it would have caused problems if we had tried an autoland (most likely the system would have failed a cross check, and dropped to a degraded, 2 channel mode).

I must admit that I really don't understand the reluctance of some people to at least select airplane mode. A momentary glitch like QF72 would be more than enough to ruin a lot of days if it happened at the wrong time. You don't necessarily need bad digital data...it only needs the right form of interruption or corruption. Chaos theory reigns here, because the results are totally unpredictable.

 

[simongr]

Interesting re Bluetooth as QF allow Bluetooth and CX don't...

 

[SeatBackForward]

The only way we can check is to turn on our own devices, and to see what connections show up.

If the ability to quickly scan the cabin (say using a hand held meter) and detect where transmitting devices were to enforce the "off" policy, would you encourage the use of such a device?