Ask The Pilot

[Sifor]

In contrast to my user name

JB.. rings a bell.... PIC of QF30?

 

[Ikara]

Ditto me for the thanks for your time. Maintained the radar on Nowra Hill and in the Tower

JB (another JB)

 

[schomers87]

This is a fascinating insight into things i had no idea about. Cheers JB

 

[kpc]

JB.. rings a bell.... PIC of QF30?

i found this interesting to listen to:
Episode 6: John Bartels & QF30 : Flight Podcast

 

[Sifor]

I've come across this link outlining the different flight control laws of Airbus aircraft.

Quite interesting, explains it nicely too.

 

[jb747]

The mechanical backup does not exist on the 380.

 

[doczim]

Great Thread.thanks for taking the time jb747

 

[williamsf1]

I have a question about who does up the front, when cabin announcements are made ie " this is your captain speaking " is he actually in control of the aircraft at the time or is the person doing the announcements acting as the copilot at the time ?

 

[QF029]

Hi JB. I'm really enjoying the info you provide in this thread.

How do different (QF) pilots end up in different aircraft? Presumably the 744 and 388 are the top of the tree. Is this skill, lifestyle choice, being in the right place at the right time or any other element of luck?

Do you miss the variation now you fly to SIN, LHR and LAX ( although presumably this will expand over time)?

 

[jb747]

I have a question about who does up the front, when cabin announcements are made ie " this is your captain speaking " is he actually in control of the aircraft at the time or is the person doing the announcements acting as the copilot at the time ?

If he says he's the captain, then I'd expect that he is. In the normal course of events, the captain will say hello whilst still on the ground, and then whoever is doing the sector gives a bit more info once you're under way. FOs normally say something like "FO Bloggs, on behalf of Captain Bligh", or some such variation.

 

[jb747]

How do different (QF) pilots end up in different aircraft? Presumably the 744 and 388 are the top of the tree. Is this skill, lifestyle choice, being in the right place at the right time or any other element of luck?

A combination of things.

Firstly there is a seniority list (all that really is, is a queue). That just provides a sequence in which things will be allocated. It may allow you to bid for training, but it won't get you past the course.

Luck can come into it...but that's often a case of making your own luck too.

Lifestyle varies dramatically across the fleets. The bigger aircraft will have fewer trips, and longer periods at home, but for most of that time off, you're in a time zone about 5 hours removed from the rest of your family. The smaller aircraft go to work more often, but also get to sleep in their own beds. By the same token, some people choose not to take promotion, because that would mean moving to an aircraft they don't want to fly...or because it would mean that they would become 'junior'. Lifestyle-wise, a junior captain will have a worse lifestyle than a senior FO, but he doesn't have to complain about the old fart in the left hand seat.

Some people simply don't like certain types of flying. Depending upon how you look at it, you could consider long haul boring, and short interesting, and vice versa.

Money...pay rates vary with both rank and aircraft type. Some aircraft (and routes) can also attract overtime payments.

If the 767 were still doing the sort of flying it was doing in 1996 (hardly any domestic, and very varied international), I'd still be there.

Do you miss the variation now you fly to SIN, LHR and LAX ( although presumably this will expand over time)?

Do we go to LA? I recently did my first of those in just over a year. The route structure is somewhat dull, but it won't really change all that much in the next few years. Bangkok or HK might appear, but not much change can really be on the cards with the number of aircraft that are ordered.

 

[Craigie]

Hi jb747, let me add my appreciation for your time, its fantastic. Although i've wanted to be a pilot more than anything else since i was 6, it never panned out due to circumstances out of my control. But its coming closer to the time when i'll be able to learn to fly for a hobby and i'm happy with that.

I met a guy when i was in Nice, France recently. He's a retired pilot. He finished his career flying a Learjet 55 all over the US and Europe for a american billionaire. He retired last year and reckons he'll never sit in the left seat again cause he's over it. This really shocked me cause his job is a dream i have played over in my head many many times.

Do you feel yourself burning out and enjoying the flying less? I can only imagine that flying the 380 would be a challenging and satisfying job, so can you ever see yourself running out of steam and not wanting to ever fly again?

 

[jb747]

I met a guy when i was in Nice, France recently. He's a retired pilot. He finished his career flying a Learjet 55 all over the US and Europe for a american billionaire. He retired last year and reckons he'll never sit in the left seat again cause he's over it. This really shocked me cause his job is a dream i have played over in my head many many times.

Most of us have lives, other than in the coughpit. I'm quite looking forward to the day that the biggest thing I'll have to worry about is the caravan.

Do you feel yourself burning out and enjoying the flying less? I can only imagine that flying the 380 would be a challenging and satisfying job, so can you ever see yourself running out of steam and not wanting to ever fly again?

To a degree, it's a job that you simply can't keep doing forever. We all complain about some of the 'old' drivers we see on the roads, and it's that way in aircraft too. Much better to leave whilst you still have it...rather than be pushed after it's gone.

The enjoyment of airliners can be quite limited once the novelty wears off. You are very constrained in what you can do. Whilst there's no paragraph in the books that says you can't have 'fun', that's certainly the intent.

Many pilots fly privately. Warbird flying is quite common. Others have interests that don't include flying at all.

The job itself is being badly affected by the rise of a very antagonistic form of management, that does not value any skills...other than their own.

The upshot is that in about 4 years time, I intend to hang up the wings. I have no intention of doing any private flying, and won't feel any need to fulfill CASA requirements. And I won't miss the permanent jet lag at all.

 

[nlagalle]

Most of us have lives, other than in the coughpit. I'm quite looking forward to the day that the biggest thing I'll have to worry about is the caravan.

To a degree, it's a job that you simply can't keep doing forever. We all complain about some of the 'old' drivers we see on the roads, and it's that way in aircraft too. Much better to leave whilst you still have it...rather than be pushed after it's gone.

The enjoyment of airliners can be quite limited once the novelty wears off. You are very constrained in what you can do. Whilst there's no paragraph in the books that says you can't have 'fun', that's certainly the intent.

Many pilots fly privately. Warbird flying is quite common. Others have interests that don't include flying at all.

The job itself is being badly affected by the rise of a very antagonistic form of management, that does not value any skills...other than their own.

The upshot is that in about 4 years time, I intend to hang up the wings. I have no intention of doing any private flying, and won't feel any need to fulfill CASA requirements. And I won't miss the permanent jet lag at all.

Until I read your last paragraph i was almost going to assume it was a Cessna Caravan!

 

[ps107]

I was on an Air NZ 744 last year that did the most smooth, gentle landing I've ever experienced on any plane. Even the cabin crew commented on it. I've been curious as to the factors that made it so notably different to any other landing. Would it have been a fluke, or was he the best pilot in the world, does SIN have better radar/long super-smooth runways etc? Even in 20-odd landings in SIN, I can't recall a smoother landing, but I also haven't been back since.

 

[jb747]

I was on an Air NZ 744 last year that did the most smooth, gentle landing I've ever experienced on any plane. Even the cabin crew commented on it. I've been curious as to the factors that made it so notably different to any other landing. Would it have been a fluke, or was he the best pilot in the world, does SIN have better radar/long super-smooth runways etc? Even in 20-odd landings in SIN, I can't recall a smoother landing, but I also haven't been back since.

Well, you've probably experienced that 1 in 20 landing. Realistically, mostly fluke.

It has nothing to do with Singapore radar, or their runway (which is actually quite bumpy these days).

Landings are judged by cabin crew and passengers quite differently to the pilots. Whilst smoothness is the only criteria available aft of the coughpit door, it's actually near the bottom of the factors that the pilots consider makes a landing good. Smooth on a wet runway is actually poor technique, and we'd just as likely consider it a bad landing. Smooth is easy to achieve on Melbourne 16...because it slopes downhill at almost a degree. Of course, at the other end, it's uphill by that same degree, and smooth is much harder to find.

So, what do we want? Well, backing up a little, we want the approach to be stable. Speed, sink rate, aim point, drift, all under control. Touchdown should be about 1300 feet in, and on the centreline. I don't muck around trying to hold the aircraft off for that smooth touchdown, but rather I reduce the sink rate to something acceptable, and then just let it land. That puts me on the ground, with the brakes working, much sooner than holding off for the next few hundred feet hoping for a smoother touchdown. I'll still get the occasional very smooth landing, but I'd rather hit the spot, with the energy vector pointed straight down the runway.

Some aircraft are easier to land smoothly than others, and I guess some of that comes back to the way the undercarriage works. The jumbo can be planted, but mostly it goes on quite well, especially at heavy weights. The 767 on the other hand, is almost impossible to land really smoothly. The 380...well I saw a really smooth one the other day, but it wasn't me. I'm mostly happy if they can use the jet again.

At the other end of the scale, you'll occasionally get complains about a landing. Well, firstly, the vast majority of people have no idea of what really constitutes a hard landing. They are, really, really, solid. And secondly, sometimes firm is the best you can do...one complaint came after a landing in a 38 knot crosswind in Brisbane...heck I was happy that it stayed on the runway.

 

[kpc]

....The 380...well I saw a really smooth one the other day, but it wasn't me. I'm mostly happy if they can use the jet again.

Beautiful comment...:mrgreen::shock:

 

[ps107]

Very interesting, thanks.

 

[serfty]

... The 380...well I saw a really smooth one the other day, but it wasn't me. I'm mostly happy if they can use the jet again. ...

FWIW, I did experience a memorably smooth landing in a 388 at MEL on 34! (Although the conditions were benign.)

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....a380-and-raaf-roulettes-22436.html#post314869

 

[jb747]

Although the conditions were benign.

When the conditions aren't benign....it gives you an excuse.

I'd forgotten that we'd had this discussion about landings before...it's all in the thread you referenced...and pleasingly, I haven't changed my story too much.