Ask The Pilot

[harvyk]

JB, you mentioned that on days which you are on call you'd fly upto SYD just in case, what do you then do whilst waiting to find out if you are flying anywhere, eg would you book a hotel, is there an employee lounge you can wait in, do you simply wander the streets of SYD \ SYD Airport etc?

 

[jb747]

JB, you mentioned that on days which you are on call you'd fly up to SYD just in case, what do you then do whilst waiting to find out if you are flying anywhere, eg would you book a hotel, is there an employee lounge you can wait in, do you simply wander the streets of SYD \ SYD Airport etc?

As often as not it's two or three days of standby, and they are 12 hours each. So, no, wandering the streets isn't all that viable an option. Hotels don't work either, as their check-in/out times never work out for anyone.

Normally I just stay with my sister in law.

 

[RSD]

If you have to divert because of a medical emergency does the quality of healthcare available in various locations play a part in your decision as to where to divert or do you just divert to wherever is closest? I can think of a few places that get overflown on popular routes where I would not like to be a patient.

 

[jb747]

If you have to divert because of a medical emergency does the quality of healthcare available in various locations play a part in your decision as to where to divert or do you just divert to wherever is closest? I can think of a few places that get overflown on popular routes where I would not like to be a patient.

We will have inflight advice from medical specialists (sat comm is a wonderful thing), and the diversion point will be chosen as a balance between the aviation needs, and the medical.

 

[bryanjones]

As often as not it's two or three days of standby, and they are 12 hours each. So, no, wandering the streets isn't all that viable an option. Hotels don't work either, as their check-in/out times never work out for anyone.

Normally I just stay with my sister in law.

Do you only fly the 380 now - if so, once the last flight goes off do you get to go home (with only 10 or so I'd imagine the standby demand is not so high?)

At least its not the mother in law

 

[jb747]

Do you only fly the 380 now - if so, once the last flight goes off do you get to go home (with only 10 or so I'd imagine the standby demand is not so high?)

Sadly no. The standby duties are somewhat odd in that the last flight goes at 16:30 or so, but you have to hang around until 22:00. Perhaps worse is the fact that half of the departures are from Melbourne, and yet I still have to go to Sydney.

 

[harvyk]

When your on standby, does that count towards any hours? Eg if you are on standby for 11 hours, and your then asked to fly a 14 hour flight, even with a rest period in the middle I could imagine being fatigue might come into play even if you start resting only a few hours into a long haul flight. Or could you sleep (next to the phone) for a good proportion of those standby hours incase the call come in?

Also is there any reason why Transpac flights leave during the middle of the day before to arrive at say LAX at 7am (or 2 am according to body clocks)? Would it make more sense to fly later in the evening (say leaving at 8 or 9 pm, to arrive at LAX at say 2pm (or 9 am according to body clocks), leaving the plane free for say some TT runs during the day in AU?

 

[jb747]

When your on standby, does that count towards any hours? Eg if you are on standby for 11 hours, and your then asked to fly a 14 hour flight, even with a rest period in the middle I could imagine being fatigue might come into play even if you start resting only a few hours into a long haul flight. Or could you sleep (next to the phone) for a good proportion of those standby hours incase the call come in?

It counts to a degree, with CASA having applied a limit to the total standby plus duty that you can do. Off the top of my head, I don't recall what it is, but it does allow a call out, and then transpacific flight.

Also is there any reason why Transpac flights leave during the middle of the day before to arrive at say LAX at 7am (or 2 am according to body clocks)? Would it make more sense to fly later in the evening (say leaving at 8 or 9 pm, to arrive at LAX at say 2pm (or 9 am according to body clocks), leaving the plane free for say some TT runs during the day in AU?

The 380 won't ever be used by QF across the Tasman.

I think the real answer is connections. There have been flights that departed later in the day, but I don't think there are any at the moment.

 

[harvyk]

During the cruise stage of the flight (say a long haul where there may be 13 or 14 hours of cruise), what typically happens in the coughpit?
I've heard that there are checklists which need to be run over at set intervals (I believe every half an hour), and obviously there would be certain things you'd be monitoring at all times, but is there much talking about non flying duties, or other things which are done? (eg Laptops in coughpit playing games just like a couple of DL pilots a couple of years ago causing flying right past destination airport :shock

 

[jb747]

During the cruise stage of the flight (say a long haul where there may be 13 or 14 hours of cruise), what typically happens in the coughpit?

In simple terms, you keep an eye upon what the aircraft is up to, generally with a roughly 20-30 cycle of running through all of the systems. There's a constant track being kept of the navigation and fuel use. As much as you can, with data link systems, you keep track of any other aircraft in your vicinity. Weather for any airfield of interest is kept updated, and on the 380 approaches that might be of interest are loaded onto the OIS.

Basically, if you find yourself with nothing to do, you've either forgotten something, or don't know what's going on.

I've heard that there are checklists which need to be run over at set intervals (I believe every half an hour), and obviously there would be certain things you'd be monitoring at all times, but is there much talking about non flying duties, or other things which are done? (eg Laptops in coughpit playing games just like a couple of DL pilots a couple of years ago causing flying right past destination airport :shock

A lot of time is spent looking through the manuals. Any alerts that come up invariably start a lengthy investigation of whatever the OIS manuals have to say.

Playing a game on your laptap, or pulling out a book or manual unrelated to the job, would result in surgical removal of something you're closely attached to. You have time off for that sort of activity.

There's lots of discussion, about all sorts of topics. 95% of the time would be pretty quiet.

 

[SenZubEanS]

Playing a game on your laptap, or pulling out a book or manual unrelated to the job, would result in surgical removal of something you're closely attached to. You have time off for that sort of activity.

What things do you normally do in your down time during a long haul? Im sure you try to get a bit of shut eye, but for the times when you can't sleep or aren't tired.

 

[jb747]

What things do you normally do in your down time during a long haul? Im sure you try to get a bit of shut eye, but for the times when you can't sleep or aren't tired.

It depends upon the time of day (body clock-wise). Out of Australia to Singapore, all of the departures are late afternoon, so you'll normally get two breaks of about an hour each, so in the first I normally say hello to as many of the passengers as I can, and in the second read something. Singapore to London, we'll try to run one break, you just try to get some sleep. Out of London, if you are on the 32, we'll normally go for two breaks, and again passengers and perhaps watch something in the first, and sleep in the second. On the 9, it's sleep first, read or watch on the second. Going to LA, you'll probably not sleep, whereas on the way back, that's all you try to do.

The 380 crew rest area has a bunk and video feed, so it's normally a good place to have a sleep.

 

[harvyk]

When picking possible diversion airports along the route, does there need to be ground \ ramp \ firies crew trained for your particular aircraft type at the airport for it to be considered a viable alternative? eg, say the A380 did SYD-PER frequently, but for example there was no A380 trained ground crew at ADL, could you still consider ADL an alternate airport for an emergency diversion if you flew across in an A380?

 

[jb747]

When picking possible diversion airports along the route, does there need to be ground \ ramp \ firies crew trained for your particular aircraft type at the airport for it to be considered a viable alternative? eg, say the A380 did SYD-PER frequently, but for example there was no A380 trained ground crew at ADL, could you still consider ADL an alternate airport for an emergency diversion if you flew across in an A380?

The company gives us a listing/maps of airports that are categorised as mains, alternates, and emergency.

A main is one that we might be scheduled to fly to...in your example, Adelaide is actually a main. It basically has all of the facilities needed for normal operations, and we carry all of the charts, etc, needed to go there. There won't necessarily be any 380 trained ground crew there, but as long as the refuelling man can connect the hose, we can take care of the rest (assuming there are no aircraft issues).

An alternate is one that we can use if needed for weather diversions and planning. We'll have all of the charts, but it may not necessarily have all that is needed for day to day ops. Going there might entail fairly long delays, but it's certainly quite safe to do so. Battam, about 25 nm from Singapore fits that bill.

A main for a 330 or 767 could well be an emergency or alternate for us...and their emergencies may be unusable to us.

The third category, emergency, is something that we might elect to go to when the poo has really hit the fan. We may not have charts for it, but the runway is adequate. We may not be able to get off the runway after landing on it, but that's not a consideration.

 

[RSD]

Does an A380 need a longer runway for landing than a B747? If so are there plenty of airports around that have a runway long enough to take an A380?

 

[jb747]

Does an A380 need a longer runway for landing than a B747? If so are there plenty of airports around that have a runway long enough to take an A380?

No. The aircraft has shorter runway length requirements than the 747. Approach and take off speeds are surprisingly low given the weight. But, it requires quite wide runways and taxiways, and its track and turning circle are appreciably worse. Most of the places we operate to have quite severe restrictions on just which taxiways we can use.

 

[DeSchmidt]

Hi JB,

Firstly, thank you so much for the time you have spent responding to our queries. You have brought a lot of joy and produced many hours of facinated reading for us! Hearing the goings-on in the coughpit brings back memories for many of us as we dreamt of becoming a pilot in our younger years (until reality and other ailments set in!).

I would be keen to know whether you have received a favourable/unfavourable response from your fellow pilots re your involvement in this forum? How do they view this form of "engagement" with fellow aviation tragics?

 

[Simsy85]

Back from the bush. If you haven't been to NT, make sure you add it to your bucket list. I just love the place.

Mate,

I wish I had known you were up here, we would have taken you out and about!!!

 

[jb747]

Mate,

I wish I had known you were up here, we would have taken you out and about!!!

Wasn't in Darwin for long. Spent most of the time at Dorisvale.

 

[harvyk]

Talking specifically B747, can multiple autopilots be engaged at the same time (eg have L \ C \ R engaged all at once) or is approach mode during an autoland the only time this happens?
If only one is engaged which one is typically engaged (assuming all three are working, not sure if it's part of the MEL or not) or does it depend on which button is closer (eg L or R) to the pilot pressing it?