Ask The Pilot

[Skyhigh777]

What are the "rules" for lithium batteries? And is that what ipads, ipods, iphones and other gadgets have in them? If so, and if these batteries are a problem why are they allowed on board at all?

I believe the idevices use [FONT=arial, sans-serif]Lithium ion polymer batteries.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]I guess they're considered safe enough to use in flight. Apple announces iPad battery meets AC 120-76B standards - iPad Pilot News [/FONT]

 

[jb747]

What are the "rules" for lithium batteries? And is that what ipads, ipods, iphones and other gadgets have in them? If so, and if these batteries are a problem why are they allowed on board at all?

Lithium batteries are contained in just about every modern consumer device. Cameras, laptop, iDevices, non iDevices, pacemakers. Everything. The only solution to not allowing them on board would be to ban the carriage of any of these devices. That would work.

As a general rule, the batteries are reasonably safe whilst in these devices. The biggest issue with them comes up when they are being charged, when they can overtemp, and catch fire. Your laptop or iPhone will immediately end up in a bucket of water in that case.

Spare batteries are another animal entirely. Basically large ones are not allowed on aircraft at all. Smaller ones must be packaged (that's why they all come with some form of terminal covers), and are to be carried in the cabin, where if something does happen they are at least accessible. All of this is contained on the back of the ticket...the part that nobody reads.

Lithium batteries, as cargo, are banned from airliners, and are currently being blamed for at least two recent 747 freighter losses.

 

[RooFlyer]

I'll go over to this thread to ask about JB's last post, to not take this thread off topic

 

[jb747]

Soft vs Hard landing

Would a pilot always be boxed in as a Soft or a Hard lander ?

No, I'd hope not. You shouldn't get out of training unless you're coming up with reasonable landings. Some aircraft are prone to either sides of the scale. Of course my version of reasonable and yours (and the cabin crews') is likely to be quite different. Very smooth landings...the ones that feel like glass, are, as often as not, the result of overly long flares (i.e. floats), and aren't graded very well by us. Firm landings are most likely the result of an underdeveloped flare. I am much more interested in the aircraft being 'on the spot' than I am in how smooth the landing is.... Extended floats put runway behind you, give much more opportunity for any crosswind to move you off the centreline, and also put the tail ever closer to the ground.

The 747 and the 380 are both inclined to floating if given half a chance, so my aim is always to just kill the sink rate, and then immediately let it land. The 767 just about can't be landed really smoothly. It sits down quite solidly, but it's a function of the way the gear compresses and the spoilers rise that give that effect, not the landing itself.

As a bit of a generalisation, I find the FOs are generally the ones that give the really smooth landings. The Captains are much more concerned about everything else....

Smooth landings are much more likely on long runways, than they are on short. (And taken to an extreme, naval aviators do not flare AT ALL).

Or that is entirely out of his control : winds, weight etc.....

Some flights you'd hardly notice the plane has landed whereas some other flights land with a thud.

What are the variables that determine if the plane is going to have a soft vs a hard landing ?

The lap of the gods to a degree. You're unlikely to get a nice landing out of an unstable approach. Gusty days are hard work. Some runways are problematic ... for instance Melbourne 36/16 is uphill in one direction and downhill in the other. Most guys get the uphill bit right (it will give a very solid landing if you don't), but onto 16 many landings float. Hot days are harder than cold. The 767/747 and 380 are all much easier to land at heavy weights than at light (though as a passenger you'll never see the very light weight landings).

Ps: waiting in line for some sushi @ Tsukiji Market, Tokyo (QF21 landing 4 hrs ago - with a thud !)

Tokyo can be one of the more difficult places to land. The runway alignment has more to do with land acquisition than it does with prevailing winds, so it often has very nasty crosswinds. It regularly features on youtube videos. A thud is likely to be perfectly acceptable...

Tokyo was sufficient fun that the pilots would often congregate in a bar that gave a view of the landing zone, and grade all the landings. It was much easier to be critical if you'd already done yours for the day.

The Aviationist » [Video] Airbus A380 scary crosswind landing at Narita airport

 

[anat0l]

Tokyo can be one of the more difficult places to land. The runway alignment has more to do with land acquisition than it does with prevailing winds, so it often has very nasty crosswinds. It regularly features on youtube videos. A thud is likely to be perfectly acceptable...

Tokyo was sufficient fun that the pilots would often congregate in a bar that gave a view of the landing zone, and grade all the landings. It was much easier to be critical if you'd already done yours for the day.

Zurich seems like another hairy place to land at times. Thuded hard onto a runway at ZRH with what seemed like pretty strong winds, in a LH 737. I think a glass or two shattered in the galley trolley. Plane constantly rocked from side to side ambling to the gate.

I guess we were on the ground and if we make it to the ground under difficult weather conditions (or even not), the last thing anyone should do is start complaining about the landing!

 

[jb747]

I guess we were on the ground and if we make it to the ground under difficult weather conditions (or even not), the last thing anyone should do is start complaining about the landing!

Some people are hard task masters.... I once had a woman complain about the landing as she was disembarking in Brisbane. It was a limiting crosswind (38 knots), and I was quite happy with it.

I asked her how the last landing that she'd personally done was, but never got an answer.

 

[jpk]

QF93 06/1 MEL-LAX

I'll be on this flight
I was also on one of your SIN flights last year, but only realised when you did your PA and thought "I recognise that name!". It sounds weird, but it is quite nice and reassuring to know who the guy in the pointy end is.

 

[Must...Fly!]

What are the "rules" for lithium batteries? And is that what ipads, ipods, iphones and other gadgets have in them? If so, and if these batteries are a problem why are they allowed on board at all?

Lithium batteries are contained in just about every modern consumer device. Cameras, laptop, iDevices, non iDevices, pacemakers. Everything. The only solution to not allowing them on board would be to ban the carriage of any of these devices. That would work.

As a general rule, the batteries are reasonably safe whilst in these devices. The biggest issue with them comes up when they are being charged, when they can overtemp, and catch fire. Your laptop or iPhone will immediately end up in a bucket of water in that case.

Spare batteries are another animal entirely. Basically large ones are not allowed on aircraft at all. Smaller ones must be packaged (that's why they all come with some form of terminal covers), and are to be carried in the cabin, where if something does happen they are at least accessible. All of this is contained on the back of the ticket...the part that nobody reads.

Lithium batteries, as cargo, are banned from airliners, and are currently being blamed for at least two recent 747 freighter losses.

Passengers are not used to this being a big issue just yet. The immediate shaking of the head when the term dangerous goods is mentioned at check-in often gives way to blank stares when spare batteries are mentioned!

 

[defurax]

Hi JB,
I recently flew on a Finnair A340 and during takeoff and landing the TV screens in the cabin were streaming a video feed from a camera that must be somewhere on the belly (or nose?) of the plane. It was really nice as a passenger to be able to see the markings on the runway on approach to HEL. I think I’ve read somewhere that the A380 also has an undercarriage camera. I know this must not rank high in the priorities of an airline…but would it be possible for a pilot to switch that camera on before landing for the passengers to enjoy the view? I know we have access to the tail cam, but I really enjoyed the belly cam, made me feel like I had the view from the flight deck

 

[RooFlyer]

Speaking of cameras. Are there actually more on board, available for the flight crew? In a number of air incidents, I've read/heard that the flight crew were unaware of the actual cause of mis-handling instruments / controls because of their limited visibility behind (QF 32 I think it was only when the SO went back to the F cabin to have a look he realized that the passengers had a better view of the wing damage via the tail cam, than the flight crew .. at least that what I read ) I imagine that after the first few minutes of an 'incident' knowing what's caused it would help the flight crew in remedial actions.

So does the A380 have camera vision for the flight crew on additional areas of the plane not available to the pax - I'm thinking of one with a view of landing gear (help with down/locked issues) ; cargo area(s); tail area (rudder, elevators) ?

 

[jb747]

Hi JB,
I recently flew on a Finnair A340 and during takeoff and landing the TV screens in the cabin were streaming a video feed from a camera that must be somewhere on the belly (or nose?) of the plane. It was really nice as a passenger to be able to see the markings on the runway on approach to HEL. I think I’ve read somewhere that the A380 also has an undercarriage camera. I know this must not rank high in the priorities of an airline…but would it be possible for a pilot to switch that camera on before landing for the passengers to enjoy the view? I know we have access to the tail cam, but I really enjoyed the belly cam, made me feel like I had the view from the flight deck

There are two cameras outside. They cameras are really there to help us when taxying. The tail camera, when displayed in the coughpit, has the positions of the main landing gear superimposed upon it.... Makes it easier to keep the rubber on the black stuff.

The second camera is on the fuselage behind the nose gear, and it allows us to see exactly where we are placing the gear.

The feed to the cabin is hard wired. We have no control over it.

 

[jb747]

Speaking of cameras. Are there actually more on board, available for the flight crew? In a number of air incidents, I've read/heard that the flight crew were unaware of the actual cause of mis-handling instruments / controls because of their limited visibility behind (QF 32 I think it was only when the SO went back to the F cabin to have a look he realized that the passengers had a better view of the wing damage via the tail cam, than the flight crew .. at least that what I read ) I imagine that after the first few minutes of an 'incident' knowing what's caused it would help the flight crew in remedial actions.

So does the A380 have camera vision for the flight crew on additional areas of the plane not available to the pax - I'm thinking of one with a view of landing gear (help with down/locked issues) ; cargo area(s); tail area (rudder, elevators) ?

As I said above, there is a camera that looks forward from behind the nose gear. The feed from the tail cam actually shows all of the wing out to the outboard engines. Sending a pilot back for a look will give a better report than anything you can see on a camera. The leak and hole in the upper wing was visible on the display anyway.

We can tell what all of the control surfaces are doing, as we have readings of all of their displacements. Really much the same with the gear. It either goes down or it doesn't....there are sufficient switches indicating the position that it's very unlikely to differ from what it tells us.

We were talking about this last night, after reading about BAs demolition job...we decided that rather than a camera in the wingtips, we'd like those parking sensors that cars have....

 

[petercr]

Didn't think a 744 or 380 had much of a bumper to mount the cams in or do you mean the 'yeah I can squeeze into that parking space' type sensors ? Just need to get the main gear trucks to be able to rotate 90 deg (and self-back) then it could park itself.

(slightly off-topic - was speaking to Ms 9yo about all the people who have to work on Xmas Day, JB thanks for everything this year and enjoy your Xmas away from home)

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>
We were talking about this last night, after reading about BAs demolition job...we decided that rather than a camera in the wingtips, we'd like those parking sensors that cars have....

Oh, Lordy, of all the stuff the crew of the BA plane will have to endure, the opinions of their peers must be some of the toughest.

Many thanks for your views and answers through the year. I love flying (as a passenger) and knowing a bit more about how it all comes together makes it better still.

Have a great Christmas (as much as your location will allow anyway) and may all your landings be firm.

 

[Milboo]

Like many others here, I am grateful for the time you give to answer questions and satisfy curiosities.

I am curious about circumstances from a recent flight - young girl (under 10) was unwell on a LAX - SYD flight. Started vomiting on taxi and continued for several hours. Sounds like crew were in contact with medical as she was given wafers.

On arrival in Sydney, we had paramedics waiting (2 sets as someone else obviously had issues too).

Is is it standard practice to have medical personnel attend in such circumstances or is it a case by case assessment?

Is this a call the Captain makes or is it one made by cabin manager?

thanks!!

 

[jb747]

I am curious about circumstances from a recent flight - young girl (under 10) was unwell on a LAX - SYD flight. Started vomiting on taxi and continued for several hours. Sounds like crew were in contact with medical as she was given wafers.

On arrival in Sydney, we had paramedics waiting (2 sets as someone else obviously had issues too).

Is is it standard practice to have medical personnel attend in such circumstances or is it a case by case assessment?

Is this a call the Captain makes or is it one made by cabin manager?

Normally it isn't made by either. The crew will be in contact with 'Medlink' whilst in flight, and they provide any medical advice, and will also make any arrangements, necessary.

 

[Simo]

Merry Xmas JB747,

Hope you and your family have a great Xmas.
If you are working I hope ATC is very nice to you and i hope Santa's schedule doesn't make it hard for you as you and him cross the globe at the same time.

 

[flychrisfly]

This might be a question for 'Ask the Engineer' but we'll see how we go...
These days when the gear is lowered on large commercial jets I believe there are two sets of doors per gear both of which open and one of which then closes leaving the gear down and one set of doors open and one set of doors closed. Has this always been the case? I think I recall as a kid that the doors opened, the gear came down and that was that.

 

[jb747]

This might be a question for 'Ask the Engineer' but we'll see how we go...
These days when the gear is lowered on large commercial jets I believe there are two sets of doors per gear both of which open and one of which then closes leaving the gear down and one set of doors open and one set of doors closed. Has this always been the case? I think I recall as a kid that the doors opened, the gear came down and that was that.

Partial closing of the doors is so common that it's probably the standard. If you look at pictures of the 707 you'll find that the main doors are closed after gear extension.

Closing the doors after the gear is down reduces the drag, stops water, slush, etc from being blown into the gear wells, and increases the clearance under the aircraft.

As a side effect..when retracting the gear, the first thing that happens is that the drag increases. In the 380, the leads to lowering the pitch attitude by 2º to stop any speed decay.

It's also the place of choice for stowaways to sit....

 

[Kerrodt]

It's also the place of choice for stowaways to sit....

JB, have you ever had a stowaway?

Also, to JB and all of the other experts who entertain and educate us with their knowledge in this thread, Merry Christmas, and may the joy of the festive season be with you and your loved ones.