Ask The Pilot

[jb747]

For international flights, how long do you normally layover at a port between flights? Is the layover length the same for cabin crew?

Cabin crew patterns may be the same, but can also vary dramatically from the pilots' patterns. Different legalities, and contracts.

Would they ever have a pilot do eg; QF21 and QF22 with only the ~15 hr rest between flights?

It would not normally be planned that way...as the particular pair you mention involves 'daytime' rest, which is notorious for being no rest at all. On the other hand, there may be short slips planned overnight. I recall one 767 pattern that operated SIN-HKG-BKK, and return, with just on 9 hours slip in Bangkok. Short slips also run into problems if there are any delays, as they may be unable to absorb the delay within the legal requirements.

In the case of the 2 sector flights (JFK/LHR), do you ever return to JFK/LHR after a stop in DXB/LAX, or do you always head back to AU after a rest? (eg, ever do MEL-DXB/DXB-LHR/LHR-DXB/DXB-LHR/LHR-DXB/DXB-SYD, or would it always be more like SYD-DXB/DXB-LHR/LHR-DXB/DXB-MEL?)

At the moment there aren't any shuttles, but there is nothing to stop them being built. One of the issues with them is that they end up giving a bunch of short sectors to one group of pilots, whilst allocating the high density long trips to another. The people on the long sectors then run out of hours very quickly, whilst the others are perpetually at work. Balance is good.

 

[Alanslegal]

Hypothetically, can you fly different A380 carriers? Just say one day you were allowed to fly a continuous SYD-HKG (QF) HKG-FRA-JFK (LH) JFK-CDG (AF), CDG-BKK (TG) and somehow home. Would you pretty much just hop in and off you go?

 

[jb747]

Hypothetically, can you fly different A380 carriers? Just say one day you were allowed to fly a continuous SYD-HKG (QF) HKG-FRA-JFK (LH) JFK-CDG (AF), CDG-BKK (TG) and somehow home. Would you pretty much just hop in and off you go?

I expect the aircraft would be close enough to identical, but the procedures and cabin would differ quite a bit. Licences, training, insurance would be big hurdles.

 

[moa999]

Assume different engine types would also be a bit different?

 

[jb747]

Assume different engine types would also be a bit different?

There are only two engines. Thrust ratings differ. Engines aren't all that much of a problem...I seem to recall flying three different ones on our 767s.

 

[JohnPhelan]

Also what mass do you attribute to a qantas passenger for your calculations and does it differ between each class of passenger?

In other words - are F pax heavier than Y pax ??!!

 

[jb747]

In other words - are F pax heavier than Y pax ??!!

The pilots don't calculate the load sheet. It's done by a central load control. For last minute changes, we assign 100 kgs to each passenger.

As to which class is heavier...perhaps F carry more luggage, but from wandering around the aircraft, I think that all classes carry a representative share of the varieties of mankind....

 

[mjt57]

Every Sunday QF7586 does AKL MEL, it's an Atlas Air 744F. All the A380s go to DXB after AKL via MEL/SYD and BNE.

http://www.airplane-pictures.net/images/uploaded-images/2011-12/17/172674.jpg

Thanks Markis.

That photo of the F does look like the A/C in the mate's photo...

 

[777]

Random question but interested in whether the discipline/ routine/ approach to problems that you learn as a pilot spill over to the rest of your life. For example, do you/other pilots always read the manual, do the checklist when assembling furniture? When a piece of routine machinery (computer, lawn mower, etc) goes on the blink do you ever hit/kick it as some of us are prone to do.

* question inspired by 3 months of home renovation and realizing I can be very shoddy about this stuff. Not great at RTFM as they say but imagine its drilled into you through aviation/ the military...

 

[jb747]

Random question but interested in whether the discipline/ routine/ approach to problems that you learn as a pilot spill over to the rest of your life. For example, do you/other pilots always read the manual, do the checklist when assembling furniture? When a piece of routine machinery (computer, lawn mower, etc) goes on the blink do you ever hit/kick it as some of us are prone to do.

* question inspired by 3 months of home renovation and realizing I can be very shoddy about this stuff. Not great at RTFM as they say but imagine its drilled into you through aviation/ the military...

I suspect that we're every bit as prone to not reading the manual as anyone else. On the other hand, I think we probably have a quite good general understanding of machinery, so that we're less inclined towards kicking it...though I'm sure that method comes into play every now and then.

 

[moa999]

CCTV in planes.

With seemingly some level of increase in bad behavior on planes (eg. Thai airways knife fight, then Etihad airlines fires) was wanting to understand how much CCTV there is to record incidents such as these - and are these viewable by flight deck or head CSM.

In the A380 there are obviously tail and wheel cams, and I assume one for the coughpit door, but do airlines also monitor passengers.


And I guess as the MH370 investigations seek to boost recording and transmission capabilities of black boxes etc, whether this should extend to video recording of the coughpit itself


It always surprises me that in most capital cities we have a huge bunch of visible CCTV on trains, buses, public places etc, but seemingly not so much in planes.

I appreciate that the design of planes is much more complex - and that each additional cable or camera for example would need to be carefully planned in any build.

 

[jb747]

CCTV in planes.

With seemingly some level of increase in bad behavior on planes (eg. Thai airways knife fight, then Etihad airlines fires) was wanting to understand how much CCTV there is to record incidents such as these - and are these viewable by flight deck or head CSM.

In the A380 there are obviously tail and wheel cams, and I assume one for the coughpit door, but do airlines also monitor passengers.

Not as far as I know.

And I guess as the MH370 investigations seek to boost recording and transmission capabilities of black boxes etc, whether this should extend to video recording of the coughpit itself.

I guess a camera would be a good place to hang one's hat. There is more than enough recording to work out pretty well anything aviation related...as long as you can actually find the recorders of course.

Perhaps cameras in the toilets would be of more benefit, though I can't see the passengers being all that keen....

It always surprises me that in most capital cities we have a huge bunch of visible CCTV on trains, buses, public places etc, but seemingly not so much in planes.

And all of those cameras don't seem to have done much to improve behaviour.....

I appreciate that the design of planes is much more complex - and that each additional cable or camera for example would need to be carefully planned in any build.

More weight. More to go wrong. Very limited, if any, gain.

 

[Must...Fly!]

The pilots don't calculate the load sheet. It's done by a central load control. For last minute changes, we assign 100 kgs to each passenger.

As to which class is heavier...perhaps F carry more luggage, but from wandering around the aircraft, I think that all classes carry a representative share of the varieties of mankind....

Don't know if this is sensitive info with regards to QF policy etc but what is the limit for LMCs on the A380/747?

 

[Robbi]

Perhaps cameras in the toilets would be of more benefit, though I can't see the passengers being all that keen....



And all of those cameras don't seem to have done much to improve behaviour.....

Toilet cams could be set to come on when the doors are unlocked so there is no privacy issue. I think all public toilets should have CCTV because I am sick of vandalism which really seems to be prevalent in our wonderful country.

We have CCTV cameras across our rail network and while some of our staff feel a modicum of "comfort" from their presence we like to remind them that at best they might identify the person who assaults them; we know they have no immediate impact on the actions of drugged, drunk, psychiatrically affected or angry patrons.

 

[harvyk]

Toilet cams could be set to come on when the doors are unlocked so there is no privacy issue. I think all public toilets should have CCTV because I am sick of vandalism which really seems to be prevalent in our wonderful country.

We have CCTV cameras across our rail network and while some of our staff feel a modicum of "comfort" from their presence we like to remind them that at best they might identify the person who assaults them; we know they have no immediate impact on the actions of drugged, drunk, psychiatrically affected or angry patrons.

Whilst this is getting into a discuss what the pilot said rather than ask the pilot, I see no real need to start installing security cameras on planes. There have been many incidents on planes, now tell me how many of those incidents did not end up on youtube often before the police even had a chance to board the plane and arrest the person involved? In a world where everyone carries a camera with them at all times, and has a method to broadcast that footage out to everyone (and / or to hand over to police on arrival at an airport), official surveillance is becoming less and less of an issue.

Had 9/11 happened in this day and age, we'd have been given a live screening of inside each of the 4 planes...

 

[jb747]

Don't know if this is sensitive info with regards to QF policy etc but what is the limit for LMCs on the A380/747?

I don't recall what they were for the 747. 380 is 1,000 for passengers and 400 for fuel, but because of the electronic way in which it's all handled, those numbers never come into play.

 

[jb747]

Toilet cams could be set to come on when the doors are unlocked so there is no privacy issue. I think all public toilets should have CCTV because I am sick of vandalism which really seems to be prevalent in our wonderful country.

Yes, but it's only what goes on behind locked doors that's really of interest. I'd expect that given the way the security world is at the moment, if they were viable, they'd already be there.

Perhaps they are, and they just haven't told us.....

 

[petercr]

<excuse ignorance hat on>

Can you de-acronym LMC?

<hat off>

 

[jb747]

<excuse ignorance hat on>

Can you de-acronym LMC?

<hat off>

Last minute changes.

Things that are within the tolerances for a late change without needing a new load sheet. But, as load sheets are actually the last thing generated these days, not something that is relevant on many occasions. Much more pertinent when we used hand delivered or manual sheets.

 

[petercr]

Ah ha.. like Mrs Smith trying to board with 5 bags of duty free and them having to be put somewhere (and probably lots of other things too)?