Ask The Pilot

[Skyhigh777]

JB, what was it about the A380 that made you want to convert to it from the 744? Was it time for something new? Do you ever miss flying the Boeing planes?

Thanks

 

[jb747]

JB, what was it about the A380 that made you want to convert to it from the 744? Was it time for something new? Do you ever miss flying the Boeing planes?

Lots of reasons. Flying the newest and the biggest is always good. Within the aviation world, a good bit of advice is to always try to have the highest qualification/status possible. Qantas also didn't have anything coming to replace the majority of the 747s within my career's time frame, so if I wanted to fly one of the new jets it was probably the only avenue available.

I miss some facets of the Boeings, but overall, not really. You become used to the character of whatever you fly...

 

[cove]

I sat next to a Qantas 747 captain who retired this year. As the 747s were being withdrawn from service there would now be quite a bit less work for those who did not train on the A380. Is that how it works?

 

[jb747]

As the 747s were being withdrawn from service there would now be quite a bit less work for those who did not train on the A380. Is that how it works?

The 747s and the 767s are being withdrawn. Some from both fleets have moved to the 330 and 737. There have been no slots on the 380 for quite a while, as it was originally crewed up for 14 aircraft, and the last two were deferred.

Handling the excess numbers is certainly a big issue for fleet management. The numbers have slowly whittled down as people take jobs elsewhere, some permanently, others for a few years. Retirement numbers will spike up quite dramatically in the next year, as the people who were able to extend past the old retirement age of 60 reach 65...and most of them are on the 747.

 

[alieninperth]

Sort of related to this jb747, did you hold qualifications for the 747 and the 380 at the same time, if so, how long did they overlap. If they did overlap where you able to flit between the types.

 

[jb747]

Sort of related to this jb747, did you hold qualifications for the 747 and the 380 at the same time, if so, how long did they overlap. If they did overlap where you able to flit between the types.

No. Operating the two types is very different indeed, so any flit between them would involve, at the minimum a couple of weeks in the sim, and a new brain transplant.

 

[mjt57]

Just a quick one; on either b744 or the a380 how many engines have generators? And how "fast" or what power output do they require to power the systems? Finally, do they automatically connect to the systems or do you need to sync/connect them manually?

 

[jb747]

Just a quick one; on either b744 or the a380 how many engines have generators? And how "fast" or what power output do they require to power the systems? Finally, do they automatically connect to the systems or do you need to sync/connect them manually?

All four engines on both aircraft have generators, and on both the operation of the system is largely automatic.

On the 380, they provide 115VAC at variable frequency. The APU has two generators operating at 115VAC and 400 hertz.

The 747 IDGs give 115VAC and a fixed 400 hertz.

Like all things electric, it's basically magic.....

 

[mjt57]

Like all things electric, it's basically magic.....

Yes, indeed...

Or as we say in my trade, it's "autogomagic..."

 

[petercr]

Like all things electric, it's basically magic.....

Except until the magic smoke escapes, at which time it's time to take the equipment on a 1-way fishing trip...

 

[harvyk]

A couple of weeks ago, an EK A380 had an engine shutdown mid flight. They decided to continue on rather than divert straight away. Now obviously we can't speculate exactly what was going on, but I'm under the impression that there is little risk of continuing on with 3 engines in a 4 engine jet if the failure has to do with the engine itself?

http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/travel-news/ek-a380-flys-over-5000-a-55489.html

 

[docjames]

Hi jb747,

Without expecting you to comment specifically on this incident ( http://www.australianfrequentflyer....k-a380-flys-over-5000-a-55489.html#post932910 ):

- What are the pros and cons of electing to continue vs divert immediately?
- What is the perceived "safety" of continuing "long haul" to destination with only 3 engines?


Thanks

 

[jb747]

A couple of weeks ago, an EK A380 had an engine shutdown mid flight. They decided to continue on rather than divert straight away. Now obviously we can't speculate exactly what was going on, but I'm under the impression that there is little risk of continuing on with 3 engines in a 4 engine jet if the failure has to do with the engine itself?

http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/travel-news/ek-a380-flys-over-5000-a-55489.html

Without expecting you to comment specifically on this incident ( http://www.australianfrequentflyer....k-a380-flys-over-5000-a-55489.html#post932910 ):

- What are the pros and cons of electing to continue vs divert immediately?
- What is the perceived "safety" of continuing "long haul" to destination with only 3 engines?

Every event has to be considered in isolation, because the overall circumstances are always totally different.

Engine failures are, in themselves, very rare, and from the coughpit there is very limited information on the exact state of the engine. My basic take is that I'd run a shut down engine for as little time as possible. You don't really know just what hours of windmilling are doing.

Fuel burn will be dramatically higher. In the order of 15%. It is extremely unlikely that you would have any chance of getting to your destination, unless you are within 2000 nm at the point of the shutdown.

An immediate diversion is not called for. The aircraft will need to be flown for some hours just to get to a reasonable weight, even allowing for dumping.

Weather at alternates is always a consideration. There is nothing in a shutdown that is important enough to force an approach to somewhere with poor weather.

Personally, I wouldn't be prepared to cross the Atlantic, much less fly past the innumerable European 380 capable airports.

 

[flychrisfly]

Engine failures are, in themselves, very rare, and from the coughpit there is very limited information on the exact state of the engine. My basic take is that I'd run a shut down engine for as little time as possible. You don't really know just what hours of windmilling are doing.

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't modern aircraft have systems that automatically send stats (performance, etc) to their home base every 10-20 mins inflight, and I understand there is information that is automatically sent to the engine manufacturers about the engines (though perhaps not during the flight) that could also be/is also sent to home base? So, is it possible that Emirate's operations in Dubai did know more than the pilots about the specific engine issue and could provide this information to them?

 

[jb747]

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't modern aircraft have systems that automatically send stats (performance, etc) to their home base every 10-20 mins inflight, and I understand there is information that is automatically sent to the engine manufacturers about the engines (though perhaps not during the flight) that could also be/is also sent to home base? So, is it possible that Emirate's operations in Dubai did know more than the pilots about the specific engine issue and could provide this information to them?

Monitoring via home base and the makers does happen. The manufacturers (on the power by the hour especially) have almost constant feed. But, the manufacturers will not provide advice to aircraft in flight...the potential repercussions of that are something they steer very clear of. The airline has similar information to the crew, though they do have more hands on expertise. The negative, is that they are engineers, not crew and have no valid knowledge of the issues involved in a long distance flight with an engine shut down. I expect they will always provide advice that gets you to an accessible maintenance point, not necessarily to a sensible alternate.

Basically a crew might decide to divert to somewhere close....but somebody on the ground might think a flight across the Atlantic is good idea.

 

[Awesom Andy]

jb747, so let's say that there's an engine failure on your A380 an hour out of LHR enroute to DXB, how would you decide which A380-capable alternate to use (assuming all have perfect weather and are available)? I understand that there's really not just one answer to this, but I'm more interested in the decision making process, e.g. what factor would you look at first and/or be considered more important, and so on?

 

[Skyhigh777]

Does the APU exhaust create any usable thrust?

thanks

 

[jb747]

jb747, so let's say that there's an engine failure on your A380 an hour out of LHR enroute to DXB, how would you decide which A380-capable alternate to use (assuming all have perfect weather and are available)? I understand that there's really not just one answer to this, but I'm more interested in the decision making process, e.g. what factor would you look at first and/or be considered more important, and so on?

Firstly, continuing to destination is unlikely to be an option, as the increased fuel burn would mean your arrival fuel would be inadequate.

There is nothing forcing an immediate landing. You don't have an emergency.

You will be overweight, but dumping won't correct that problem. So, you either need to fly around for a while (quite a while) to get below max landing weight, or you'll need to accept a landing at heavier. Landing overweight isn't a huge issue per se, but you should try to make it an autoland if at all possible.

What's the weather like at the possible destinations?

What's the terrain like at any possibles? In the European example, it's mostly flat around the places you'd consider, but if for instance you were looking at going to Hong Kong, any go around could take you towards high terrain, in which case you'd need to be thinking about the 'engine failure on take off' procedures, rather than the normal go around.

Is any sort of fix likely? Where are there spares and expertise? What about a replacement crew? Have curfews closed off some of your options (remembering that it isn't really an emergency, so you can't just go and bust them). What sort of support are you likely to get on the ground?

Where does the company want you to go? You may get a laugh out of their answer, but they'll have to pick up the pieces if you park it somewhere.

What's the terrain like on the route you're flying? How would you fare if a second engine failed?

So, the answer isn't as cut and dried as the question may seem. I can see cases where heading east and going to somewhere like Istanbul could well be a valid response. And Kuwait isn't all that bad an answer. My preference though, would be to go back to London.

 

[jb747]

Does the APU exhaust create any usable thrust?

To be crude...about the same as the average fart.

 

[Skyhigh777]

To be crude...about the same as the average fart.

Haha, very well put. Thanks for the answers JB.