Ask The Pilot

[mjt57]

Reality is that Patrick Smith was using the 'Ask the Pilot' tag for quite a while on Salon...so I think we borrowed it.

That was my point...

In any case, for years the punters over on aus.aviation would show extreme umbrage whenever the dreaded "plunge" word or a "plane forced down" phrase leaped out from the newspaper headlines.

And there's the ever-reliable eye witness accounts from people who had no clue as to what happened.

That's why forums such as this and to a lesser extent, A.A are the first that I turn to to see if there's any real info available on whatever incident has occured.

 

[Tortuga]

Morning JB !

Just landed at Heathrow noticed two of the Qantas A380's parked side by side. I'm guessing these planes standby away from the gate until a few hours before scheduled departure when they get taken to the gate?? Is it your job to take the aircraft from the standby location to the gate? I also noticed most of the planes have their rudder at an angle when parked at the gate, is this the last setting from when they landed or is it standard practice to keep it in a certain position when at the gate. Do you ever take off with the rudder at an angle?? Thanks

 

[Lowjhg]

Morning JB !

Just landed at Heathrow noticed two of the Qantas A380's parked side by side. I'm guessing these planes standby away from the gate until a few hours before scheduled departure when they get taken to the gate?? Is it your job to take the aircraft from the standby location to the gate? I also noticed most of the planes have their rudder at an angle when parked at the gate, is this the last setting from when they landed or is it standard practice to keep it in a certain position when at the gate. Do you ever take off with the rudder at an angle?? Thanks

The aircraft will be towed to the gate from the stand by the ground crew, the pilot does not enter the plane from the stand unless it is a non standard (bussed) departure.
the rudder at a certain angle is due to the shut off AC power unit when the plane switches off its power generators. The plane does not take off with the rudder at a certain angle as it will impact the aerodynamics of the aircraft.

 

[jb747]

Just landed at Heathrow noticed two of the Qantas A380's parked side by side. I'm guessing these planes standby away from the gate until a few hours before scheduled departure when they get taken to the gate?? Is it your job to take the aircraft from the standby location to the gate?

No. We park them at the terminal, and head to the hotel as soon as the passengers have disembarked. Engineering should bring the aircraft back to the gate a couple of hours prior to departure.

I also noticed most of the planes have their rudder at an angle when parked at the gate, is this the last setting from when they landed or is it standard practice to keep it in a certain position when at the gate. Do you ever take off with the rudder at an angle?? Thanks

It's more or less accidental as to where the rudder ends up when they're parked. The hydraulics are unpowered, but they do act as a brake on the rudder movement.

If you look at the aircraft when they are initially parked, the rudder will always be neutral, which is where we leave it. On take off we'll always start with neutral controls, and will apply them in response to any aircraft movement. In a strong crosswind you will always need rudder, but again it isn't preset. The only occasion I can think of where you will have a rudder preset is on the 747 when operating with a '5th pod', in which case you do apply some rudder trim, though it's more a case of using a new neutral.

 

[petercr]

(Politely...) I think Tortuga should search out Airport Live... was very informative (pity JB was keft on the cutting-room floor)....

 

[mjt57]

JB, an article in the paper today was about Airbus's push to encourage airlines to increase seating capacity in its aircraft, most notably the A380. It's suggested that they'd push for 11 abreast seating in economy. Do you think that Qantas would go down this path?

 

[jb747]

JB, an article in the paper today was about Airbus's push to encourage airlines to increase seating capacity in its aircraft, most notably the A380. It's suggested that they'd push for 11 abreast seating in economy. Do you think that Qantas would go down this path?

I very much doubt that any of the current operators would see it as a good idea. But, one never knows what the Ryanairs of the world think is sensible.

300 extra passengers is 30 tonnes...so it isn't something that could be done on long routes.

 

[oz74]

Any idea what your schedule is for August JB?

 

[petercr]

Given the news tonight about the bout of illness on QF28, are there any contingency plans for scenarios like this ??

 

[Julesmac]

I'm not sure what they actually teach the cabin crew with regard to this. I've seen a few variations, ranging from ignoring the perpetrators (for much of the flight actually), a stare that could just about kill, through to a quiz on completion. Plus, of course, that gentle reminder.

I've often thought, whilst paying attention to the drill, that it would be interesting to physically put a few of the chatty, ignorant pax through the "drill" and see how much they could actually recall correctly. As you say, it's just courteous to pay attnetion. One day your life might just depend on it. Though I'm blowed if I could actually put on the vest, tighten the cords and activate the light....hwre's that dammed whistle

 

[erkpod]

I've often thought, whilst paying attention to the drill, that it would be interesting to physically put a few of the chatty, ignorant pax through the "drill" and see how much they could actually recall correctly. As you say, it's just courteous to pay attnetion. One day your life might just depend on it. Though I'm blowed if I could actually put on the vest, tighten the cords and activate the light....hwre's that dammed whistle

I think everyone will be using the whistle & the light to attract attention...

 

[jb747]

Any idea what your schedule is for August JB?

#4379 covers as much as I know. I suspect I'll be on a blank line, but I won't know until the roster comes out in about two weeks.

 

[JohnM]

#4379 covers as much as I know. I suspect I'll be on a blank line, but I won't know until the roster comes out in about two weeks.

I'll be interested to know if you're driving the 9 on 2 Sept.

 

[jb747]

Given the news tonight about the bout of illness on QF28, are there any contingency plans for scenarios like this ??

There's a well known movie that covers the topic....

Rather a classic example of what happens when people embark on a flight when they are already sick. It's never a good idea.

The crew would have had advice from medical staff via the satphone.

 

[jb747]

Yeh but what about the other end?

As part of our arrival procedures, a message is sent to the ground stating whether we have any illness on board. If you do, then nobody is allowed to disembark until the authorities (quarantine) say so. In most cases that will cause about a 10 minute delay to disembarkation, but when a bit more complex, like this, you could expect a lengthy delay. In any event, it's not up to the crew or company.

 

[jb747]

I've often thought, whilst paying attention to the drill, that it would be interesting to physically put a few of the chatty, ignorant pax through the "drill" and see how much they could actually recall correctly. As you say, it's just courteous to pay attnetion. One day your life might just depend on it. Though I'm blowed if I could actually put on the vest, tighten the cords and activate the light....hwre's that dammed whistle

There are a lot of things that people do that show they aren't really thinking about the chance that things might go wrong. How many change into their pyjamas and have no shoes on during take off? I don't think they'd offer much protection down a slide. The chances of a depressurisation aren't high, but it's still nice to know that you have to pull the mask to make it work.

 

[erkpod]

#4379 covers as much as I know. I suspect I'll be on a blank line, but I won't know until the roster comes out in about two weeks.

How far in advance can you work out what you should be rostered to do? How far in advance can you bid for things?


I've heard various people talking about being able to bid in relation to rosters & I would love to see that at my Place of Employment.

 

[jb747]

How far in advance can you work out what you should be rostered to do? How far in advance can you bid for things?


I've heard various people talking about being able to bid in relation to rosters & I would love to see that at my Place of Employment.

Four weeks before the start of the roster period, the company has the planned flying available. We've then got two weeks to make our bids. You can bid for very specific things, or very generally. The more general the bid, the more likely you are to get it. In my case I simply ask for trips of over 4 days, that pax on the first sector. Whilst there are some exceptions, that basically translates as QF9 ex Melbourne (starts by paxing from Sydney). Rosters normally become available about a week before they start.

 

[mjt57]

Four weeks before the start of the roster period, the company has the planned flying available. We've then got two weeks to make our bids.

What happens if you don't bid? Do you get what's left over or do you not fly at all?

 

[D747]

In Feb I was fortunate enough to do a 747-400 sim session at the QANTAS jet base in Sydney. As part of the experience we were taken into the crew training area in what I thought was going to be a rather boring preamble for the main event. How wrong I was. It was a very confronting and eye opening experience. When we were in a smoke filled cabin with the FA yelling "BRACE BRACE BRACE" at us I began to get an inkling of what an emergency might be like. The reason for this post is to mention the life jacket part of the drill. I had never taken one out of the pouch before. I was amazed to see that it was in a plastic shroud and it was not immediately obvious how to open this container. We were asked for our feedback and we were told that we were not the first pax to mention this. I have noticed that on the latest version of the safety video that they have altered the life jacket section showing how to open the container. We can also see in the Pic that jb supplied that several life jackets appear to be over inflated. This happened to me and we were shown how to partially deflate and re-inflate them. I really pay attention to every safety video now! jb, how often do pilots go through the crew training facility please? Thanks in advance.