Could someone describe what the pilot does before, during and after for a typical long haul flight? For example on a flight SYD-SIN.
Well, if you believe some people, we just sit there and count our dollars.
But, the reality is that it is often very busy, and rarely is nothing happening for a long time....and quite honestly, if you, as a pilot sit there doing nothing, then you're in the wrong job. And equally, if you think nothing is happening, then you don't know what is going on.
Before flight, you will have a few minutes to look at the flight plan, the weather, aircraft status, and to make up your mind how you are going to tackle the flight, and how much, if any, extra fuel you will take. Once you get to the aircraft, with 3 people working, it takes about 40 minutes to get an A380 ready for push back. In that time, every switch in the coughpit will be looked at, the FMC loading will be checked at least twice, the performance data will be done at least four times. Charts pulled from books, read and briefed, clearances gained, numerous applications loaded (some of which you need before take off, some just in case).
Once established in the cruise things settle down, to roughly a 20 minute cycle. You will have a look at every system in the aircraft, make a radio call, check the fuel roughly every 20 minutes. You will be loading the FMC with alternative destinations as you go, not only keeping them updated in the nav system, but also keeping an eye on their weather. You might also use some of the time to have a look at the approaches available as you go (for instance what approach can I do at Baku?), because, its too late to look after something goes wrong.
You constantly need to keep an eye out for what other aircraft are up to. Has somebody got a block clearance, that might include your altitude? ATC are good, but you see them get things wrong quite regularly, especially near some of the national boundaries.
Heading up to Europe can be a bit of chess game. Do you try to climb early, and accept the fuel penalty, in the hope that that will get you a better height across Afghanistan. Or accept low, and slow down, in the hope that it won't get any worse.
At some point you need to look at your destination. Load the FMC with the expected arrival options. Get the weather. Look at the performance and or fuel options. Make up a plan, and have some fall back options. It's a bit late to start thinking of what you'll do as you go around off an approach. You never know when things will change, so have enough info to be flexible (for instance after a go around in London a couple of years ago, plan one was to got to Stansted...but we ended up in Amsterdam, which was about plan 4).
There's plenty to do. There are, of course, quiet periods, and there are others where everything happens at once (actually it's a rule that if somebody rings up the coughpit, as soon as you answer the phone, there is a radio call for you....). And yes, there is time for discussion of most topics under the sun, but as much time is spent pulling out and reading manuals, refreshing oneself on how we'll be handling the icing conditions that will exist when we arrive, or just looking up some sections of the manual, when you've actually got the aircraft there to look at as well.
How far in advance do you know what route you will be flying?
We work on a two month roster, so you could know up to two months in advance. On the other hand, if you have a 'blank line', you have no allocated flying for the roster, and just respond to whatever appears. Mostly you will have about 36 hours notice, unless....
Do you get late call ups like if the scheduled pilot falls ill?
....you are 'standby', in which case you're supposed to be able to launch in 3 hours from the time of the phone call. Two weeks ago, I was on a day off, and was asked to operate a flight out of Melbourne, leaving in about 2 hours.
What work on the ground do you do before the flight? Check weather? Calculate fuel requirements?
Yep, you've got 5 to 10 minutes to do that. A flight plan package (plan/notams/weather) to Europe could consist of up to 70 pages..and you need to find the important, and disregard the tripe...so we split up who does the various sections.
Many years ago (before 9-11) I visited the coughpit of a 747 during a long haul flight (the view was amazing). The pilot and co-pilot weren't doing a lot.
By definition, you were permitted up there when things were quiet. And even then, if you were to walk into a coughpit, and it seemed busy, then I'd suggest I'd rather not be on that flight. A lot of the time you are watching what the aircraft is doing, and hopefully, thinking out ahead of time, what comes next. Even when talking to you, the pilots will almost invariably rest one hand on the control wheel (on a Boeing anyway), and they will be turned in towards the centre...they can feel what the autopilot is doing, and see the centre displays, and the opposite flight displays. And of course, they can listen to the radio.
And were free to talk for quite a while. Are visits like this still even possible after 9-11? How do you pass the time when your full attention is not needed?
No. Totally banned these days. And, as I've said there's a lot to do so it's never boring. Though, perhaps boring would be good, as it means nothing is going wrong.
After the flight I assume you go to hotel and rest. How long before your next flight?
Varies depending upon what you've done, and what you'll do next. 767 domestically, you might be back at work in 9 hours, but long haul stuff will normally be at least 12 hours, and most likely 24 to 36. Longer slips exist of course, but they only happen when there isn't an earlier flight to put you on.
