Ask The Pilot

[Awesom Andy]

Does it ask for any flying experience?

It does, actually, but I interpret the requirement as needing hardly any time in the air. Copied from the Jetstar website, showing only the lines regarding experience and licencing.

Hold an Australian ATPL; Have passes in all Australian ATPL subjects or equivalent;
Hold an Australian Class 1 Multi-Engine Command Instrument Rating;
Minimum 1500 hours total aeronautical experience of which only 500 hours may be helicopter time;
500 hours Pilot in Command or First Officer on Multi Engine Aircraft; and
250 hours Pilot in Command of fixed-wing aircraft of which 150 may be ICUS
Please Note: Glass coughpit and multi-crew experience preferred.

I would make a guess that the Jetstar A320s/A330s are equipped with glass coughpits.

 

[petercr]

I would make a guess that the Jetstar A320s/A330s are equipped with glass coughpits.

They've gotta have something to see out the front of the plane through...

(pilots in glass coughpits shouldn't thrown stones ??)

 

[Awesom Andy]

Jokes aside, it seems to me that there are some who are not familiar with what a glass coughpit is. I think wiki has a reasonable description Glass coughpit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, however, I'll leave any further questions on this to the pilots.

 

[ts911993]

There is a third view - that QF hires good pilots, trains them well, maintains safety standards and that is one of the common links - good pilots and good safety standards.

This is why I make the choice to fly QF

 

[Julesmac]

It's from Ben Sandilands - originally here: ATSB report on Qantas Manila oxygen bottle incident has parallels with QF32 A380 accident | Plane Talking

Ben Sandilands. Say no more

 

[MiriamP]

Roster:

12/7 QF9 MEL-DXB
15/7 QF9 DXB-LHR
17/7 QF2 LHR-DXB
19/7 QF2 DXB-SYD

27/7 QF9 MEL-DXB
30/7 QF9 DXB-LHR
01/8 QF2 LHR-DXB
03/8 QF2 DXB-SYD

12/7 QF9 MEL-DXB
15/7 QF9 DXB-LHR
17/7 QF2 LHR-DXB
19/7 QF2 DXB-SYD

The normal provisos apply...no trip is firm until we actually take off....

Oh yay! I'll be flying with you on the 12/7 QF9 flight.

Having just read pages and pages of this thread today it's quite exciting

 

[Hvr]

Jokes aside, it seems to me that there are some who are not familiar with what a glass coughpit is. I think wiki has a reasonable description Glass coughpit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, however, I'll leave any further questions on this to the pilots.

Thanks Andy, that actually answers my question quite succinctly.

 

[mjt57]

Roster:

12/7 QF9 MEL-DXB
15/7 QF9 DXB-LHR

How you finding DXB? ie, as an airport to deal with and somewhere to stay overnight (or for however long you're there for)?

 

[jb747]

How you finding DXB? ie, as an airport to deal with and somewhere to stay overnight (or for however long you're there for)?

The airport is very busy, and that's one reason that the QF1 has had it's departure time out of Australia adjusted slightly. The timing adjustment hopefully means that there'll be a bit less holding on arrival. Of course Singapore was no better...if you didn't get held, they vectored you, at relatively low levels, all over the place.

I find that the overall timings of the trip, are much easier on the body. I'm especially happy that we're now not leaving Singapore at what was about 2-3 am body clock time. Departure from DXB is a much easier to handle 7 am or so (body clock). It's never nice starting work already feeling like death warmed over.

Hotel is outstanding. I wonder if they even have any bad ones?

Whilst the city doesn't have the depth of Singapore, the train system makes it very easy to get around, and there's plenty to keep me amused.

 

[docjames]

How does it go in the reverse (LHR-DXB-SYD/MEL) in terms of timings / body clock?

 

[jb747]

Jokes aside, it seems to me that there are some who are not familiar with what a glass coughpit is. I think wiki has a reasonable description Glass coughpit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, however, I'll leave any further questions on this to the pilots.

"Glass coughpit" is simply the term that was invented to cover the aircraft that used displays (be they CRT or LCD, etc) instead of mechanical flight instruments. I expect the real driving force behind their development wasn't that they are inherently better, but that they don't need expensive avionics workshops and technicians.

Basically they present exactly the same data the older instruments did. Some displays have pushed previous systems aside...for instance we virtually always fly with a map presentation instead of a HSI, though we can still select that form of display.

In many ways they are better, as they allow the display of data that was never easily displayed previously. For instance vertical 'cuts' of the radar display, and having radar superimposed upon the map. The are often let down though, by designers who clutter up the displays, hiding important information in amongst the rubbish. Information overload becomes an issue.

I truly don't understand why any airline would even mention glass coughpits in their recruiting. If anything, young pilots brought up solely on glass have less understanding of the world around them than those who've had to use the old stuff. Or perhaps that's just an old pilot bemoaning the ways of youth.

 

[jb747]

How does it go in the reverse (LHR-DXB-SYD/MEL) in terms of timings / body clock?

You depart London at around 9pm London time...or about 7am body clock, if you've managed to stay in the Australian time zone. Out of Dubai it's around lunch time body clock.... Overall it seems easier.

 

[straitman]

"Glass coughpit" is simply the term that was invented to cover the aircraft that used displays (be they CRT or LCD, etc) instead of mechanical flight instruments. I expect the real driving force behind their development wasn't that they are inherently better, but that they don't need expensive avionics workshops and technicians.

Basically they present exactly the same data the older instruments did. Some displays have pushed previous systems aside...for instance we virtually always fly with a map presentation instead of a HSI, though we can still select that form of display.

In many ways they are better, as they allow the display of data that was never easily displayed previously. For instance vertical 'cuts' of the radar display, and having radar superimposed upon the map. The are often let down though, by designers who clutter up the displays, hiding important information in amongst the rubbish. Information overload becomes an issue.

I truly don't understand why any airline would even mention glass coughpits in their recruiting. If anything, young pilots brought up solely on glass have less understanding of the world around them than those who've had to use the old stuff. Or perhaps that's just an old pilot bemoaning the ways of youth.

Agreed though it is fair to say that the learning curve swapping from analogue to glass can be quite steep.

 

[erkpod]

I truly don't understand why any airline would even mention glass coughpits in their recruiting. If anything, young pilots brought up solely on glass have less understanding of the world around them than those who've had to use the old stuff. Or perhaps that's just an old pilot bemoaning the ways of youth.

This is the first time that I've posted in this thread but it is a great read. Thanks, JB!

I'm a train driver here in Sydney & we are often compared to the world of aviation - indeed some of the concepts (eg CRM) & people have come across.

I know that driving a train is a totally different way of flying altogether but my recent experience reminds me of concepts I've read in this thread.

To use the aviation terms, I have to be type related on all the different trains in my fleet, not just one type like the an airline pilot would. I recently was upgraded to the new type of train & I was one of the last to be upgraded in my depot. This was despite my skill with computers & glass coughpits - we've had a glass coughpit in one way or another since 1988 (best described as half steam, half glass) to the modern stuff (al l glass.) If it was me doing the rostering, I would have started with the trainers & then started then with the younger (in age) people - especially on a new type.

Some of my older colleagues struggle with a glass coughpit & it is easy to see why. Many of them are really steam era & a computer is strange to them - pen & paper works for them. In fact, I remember doing an off train section of the conversion course & some of the senior guys had to be really convinced that it was indeed ok to touch the screen on the computer.

I can't see the need to advertise glass coughpit experience in a job ad, either. I don't think that would be the deciding factor to see if someone gets an interview/job.

As an aside, until my latest conversion course, I'd had more stick time in a B737 sim (2 hours) than my own simulators. I've got an experience booked for an A320 sim at Bankstown & I did an hour on a racing sim on the Gold Coast on the weekend.

 

[Julesmac]

So JB, what do you do in your layover time in Dubai? I'm wondering how pleasant it will be in their summertime, compared to Singapore; you would still be able to get out and about in the heat of Singsapore but definitely not in Dubai?

 

[jb747]

Agreed though it is fair to say that the learning curve swapping from analogue to glass can be quite steep.

I think it depends upon just whose glass coughpit we're talking about. When I went from the analogue 747-300 to the 747-400, it was a 6 week course, and the first time I set foot on the aircraft, I was the actual FO. It was an amazingly easy transition.

On the other hand, after 20 years of Boeing glass, Airbus glass took some getting used to....

 

[jb747]

So JB, what do you do in your layover time in Dubai? I'm wondering how pleasant it will be in their summertime, compared to Singapore; you would still be able to get out and about in the heat of Singsapore but definitely not in Dubai?

I doubt that summer will be all that pleasant at all, though I never found the wet season in Singapore to be all that wonderful either. Everything I need to go to is air-conditioned...and there's always the ice skating rink at the mall. I do a fair bit of night photography, and I haven't worked out the local ins and outs of that yet, so it will keep me amused for a while. It isn't a holiday destination, but as a transit point, I see no problems with the place.

 

[Must...Fly!]

On a clear night, the view from the top of the Burj Khalifa is quite something. General advice for all, pre-purchase online otherwise you are up for a hefty on the day charge. You must nominate a time online and dusk is the most popular, however that time is the entry time, once you are up the top you can stay as long as you wish. The water show nearby the mall is also spectacular - absolutely stunning, I was gobsmacked.

 

[mjt57]

Hotel is outstanding. I wonder if they even have any bad ones?

Whilst the city doesn't have the depth of Singapore, the train system makes it very easy to get around, and there's plenty to keep me amused.

Which hotel in Dubai do you stay at?

And what about London?

We stayed in Earl's Court at a Premiere Inn. Saw a few near the airport and I was wondering if you guys would stay there. Might've been a Hilton.

When meeting up for a tour we had to walk around the corner to a more fancy hotel. Whilst waiting we chatted with a US aircrew. Normally they stay somewhere else but whoever it is who organises their accomodation had put them up in this particular one. Quite nice.

 

[markis10]

I doubt that summer will be all that pleasant at all, though I never found the wet season in Singapore to be all that wonderful either. Everything I need to go to is air-conditioned...and there's always the ice skating rink at the mall. I do a fair bit of night photography, and I haven't worked out the local ins and outs of that yet, so it will keep me amused for a while. It isn't a holiday destination, but as a transit point, I see no problems with the place.

Your next trip sees DXB during Ramadan, from what I am told its quite a significant change, I will be interested to hear of how much from a crews perspective.