Ask The Pilot

[harvyk]

Re: Hot days and performance

If you do find yourself in a city away from home, does QF arrange anything (either formally or informally) for their staff away from home? Or is it a case of you're on your own?

Taking things back to flying for a second, watched air crash investigations the other night, it was the Egypt air crash, a B767. Once of the comments made was that the yokes could be disconnected between the pilots, and thus have the pilot control the left elevator and the co-pilot control the right. How exactly would this be done? Eg the force of each pilot pushing / pulling in the wrong direction causing something to snap, or is there a button which can be pressed which disconnects the two yokes from each other?

 

[jb747]

If you do find yourself in a city away from home, does QF arrange anything (either formally or informally) for their staff away from home? Or is it a case of you're on your own?

We're big boys and girls..we can sort our own act out.

Taking things back to flying for a second, watched air crash investigations the other night, it was the Egypt air crash, a B767. Once of the comments made was that the yokes could be disconnected between the pilots, and thus have the pilot control the left elevator and the co-pilot control the right. How exactly would this be done? Eg the force of each pilot pushing / pulling in the wrong direction causing something to snap, or is there a button which can be pressed which disconnects the two yokes from each other?

They split if enough opposing force is put on them. It's a lot, so it would never happen accidentally. It's meant to allow overcoming something that might have jammed one of the control runs.

 

[erkpod]

Re: Hot days and performance

JB, leave taking.

Do you guys have any sort of leave preference roster for peak times (such as Christmas, school holidays and so on)? Or is that also worked out on seniority?

For example, you might want to attend a function in a month from now. How can you guarantee that you can either get the leave or won't be rostered to fly?

I have a friend who is a pilot in the US & he has enough seniority on his plane type & at his base (domestic) that he can work Monday - Friday only.

What he does in December is that he works as many hours as he can early in December so by the time Xmas comes, he is legally out of hours for the month.

 

[Quickstatus]

Re: Hot days and performance

I have a friend who is a pilot in the US & he has enough seniority on his plane type & at his base (domestic) that he can work Monday - Friday only.

What he does in December is that he works as many hours as he can early in December so by the time Xmas comes, he is legally out of hours for the month.

JB,


What are the hours for a A380 captain? month, week, day?

 

[Boris spatsky]

Re: Hot days and performance

Historically, there has not been a roster for Christmas, and it was allocated purely by seniority. Which meant that the same people had it off year after year. A rotation was introduced a couple of years ago, but it takes no notice of any Christmas prior to 2013... Which means it has no effect on most of us. I will retire having never had leave over Xmas. In fact I think I've worked for about 25 of the past 30.

I cannot guarantee ever getting to any function. I know of one young bloke who was denied a couple of days off for his own wedding.

Our company uses a seniority system but also rotational for Xmas. So if you take it this year, you drop to the bottom and then wait 5 or so more years until it comes back around. I am near the bottom so 5 years of Xmas day flying for me

 

[Boris spatsky]

Re: Hot days and performance

I have a friend who is a pilot in the US & he has enough seniority on his plane type & at his base (domestic) that he can work Monday - Friday only.

What he does in December is that he works as many hours as he can early in December so by the time Xmas comes, he is legally out of hours for the month.

That sounds like a good deal, if you can get it. There are plenty of different ways that rosters and bidding works amongst different airlines. Unfortunately in mine you can't plan to fly hard early on in the month to get the remainder off, it just doesn't work like that.

 

[jb747]

Re: Hot days and performance

What are the hours for a A380 captain? month, week, day?

There are a number of limits, all of which you have to stay inside. They are the same for all pilots.

Hours are flying hours, not hours at work or on duty.

Basically 900 hours per year. 100 hours in 30 days. 40 hours in 7 days in crew larger than 2, or 30 if two man. Max planned flying hours for one tour of duty varies with the crew structure. Anywhere from 8 to 18 or so (even I have to look it up at times).

As you think about those hours, imagine changing shift every time that you go to work.

 

[jb747]

Re: Hot days and performance

That sounds like a good deal, if you can get it. There are plenty of different ways that rosters and bidding works amongst different airlines. Unfortunately in mine you can't plan to fly hard early on in the month to get the remainder off, it just doesn't work like that.

Ah, the dreaded 'barons'. They've been eradicated here....at long last.

 

[por930]

Re: Hot days and performance

JB, When you fly say SYD-DXB,DXB-LHR, and /or LHR-DXB,DXB-SYD will your FO and SO remain with you for the entire trip, or when you get to say, DBX will they be sent off on another flight? and you may not see each other again for several weeks/months. I suppose your scheduling people need to be aware of every ones current flight/duty/standby hours and what training needs to be completed, making their job very complicated keeping you all circulating.

Prior to your flights, do you still go the 'ops' area for pre-flight briefings? or is this all done now via the iPads and you meet your crew at the aircraft

 

[Quickstatus]

Re: Hot days and performance

There are a number of limits, all of which you have to stay inside. They are the same for all pilots.

Hours are flying hours, not hours at work or on duty.

Basically 900 hours per year. 100 hours in 30 days. 40 hours in 7 days in crew larger than 2, or 30 if two man. Max planned flying hours for one tour of duty varies with the crew structure. Anywhere from 8 to 18 or so (even I have to look it up at times).

As you think about those hours, imagine changing shift every time that you go to work.

thx JB,

The hours seem very low. 900 hours = 17.5 hours per week.

flying hours = time in coughpit, or time in aircraft whether coughpit or crew rest?

what does a SYD-DXB-LHR-DXB-MEL accumulate in flying hours typically and how many days from time you close front door to open same of your house?

(I prefer to look at tour or duty/trips as front door of house to front door of house)

and unlike the RR engines you hopefully are not "paid power by the hour"

 

[mjt57]

Re: Hot days and performance

Ah, the dreaded 'barons'. They've been eradicated here....at long last.

I've seen how seniority works in some places, and it's not good. People getting promoted beyond their levels of incompetance, that sort of thing.

Obviously this doesn't occur in the airlines, but when it comes to leave, slots on the roster and so on, seniority seems to be a significant factor on whether or not "junior" captains (it's difficult to understand the concept that A380 captains can be junior to anyone) get a fair trot.

Would work conditions be better for all concerned if seniority was done away with?

As for the retired colleagues of CKS, I'm glad of that. It seems that a lot of the captains that I see around the airports these days are younger than me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I s'pose.

 

[jb747]

Re: Hot days and performance

The hours seem very low. 900 hours = 17.5 hours per week.

The problem with ever mentioning 'hours' is that people immediately make a similar calculation, and come to the conclusion that we don't work much. Any time you end up scheduled so that you're bouncing off the limits, you are also, invariably, bouncing off being chronically fatigued. The hours don't count sims, standby, any of the prep necessary for a flight (and for domestic ops, that's a ratio of close to 1:1). The comment about changing shifts every time you go to work is also very real. Try it. It knocks the daylights out of you.

flying hours = time in coughpit, or time in aircraft whether coughpit or crew rest?

Last time I looked, I was still the Captain, and still responsible, whether in the crew rest or the seat.

What does a SYD-DXB-LHR-DXB-MEL accumulate in flying hours typically and how many days from time you close front door to open same of your house?

Trip durations can vary a bit, but, a Sydney - LA, has an elapsed time of 66 hours. Dallas is 89. London ....the timings vary a bit. It can be as short as 170 hours, out to about 200 hours. So, on a States trip, you're actually at work (in some way) for about 45-50% of the time.

and unlike the RR engines you hopefully are not "paid power by the hour"

If you mean, am I paid by the hour, or a salary...then it's very much like an RR, though an hour can be an indeterminate duration.

 

[jb747]

Re: Ask the pilot

I've seen how seniority works in some places, and it's not good. People getting promoted beyond their levels of incompetance, that sort of thing.

Seniority is, in many ways, simply a queue. It does not entitle you to a promotion. It simply entitles you to bid for a slot. That slot can be nixed if you haven't got an adequate sim/flying record. The slot itself is always a course...which you then have to pass. Failure rates as high as 50% have existed on some of the courses, and none of them are done deals.

Obviously this doesn't occur in the airlines, but when it comes to leave, slots on the roster and so on, seniority seems to be a significant factor on whether or not "junior" captains (it's difficult to understand the concept that A380 captains can be junior to anyone) get a fair trot.

Unfettered seniority was the only issue. Seniority itself never was. Nobody really objected to the senior having the first choice of (say) flights, but the objections appeared when they took all of the flights, and left nothing. There are a number of ways of metering this. One very simple way is to have 'buckets', in which any given type of flight has a maximum number attached to it (for instance there is a limit of 3 US trips, only one of which can be Dallas). Another way is to place recency requirements on destinations. If everyone has to go to every place on the destination list at least once every six months, that changes the available bidding dramatically.

Rotational systems also exist. In them, seniority rotates on every roster, so that over the course of a year, everyone goes from junior to senior, and then back again.

Would work conditions be better for all concerned if seniority was done away with?

Would the checkout at Coles work better without a queue?

 

[jb747]

Re: Ask the pilot

When you fly say SYD-DXB,DXB-LHR, and /or LHR-DXB,DXB-SYD will your FO and SO remain with you for the entire trip, or when you get to say, DBX will they be sent off on another flight?

S/Os tend to appear and disappear sector by sector. It's quite rare to keep them for an entire trip. Generally you keep the F/O, but even that isn't guaranteed. On my next trip, over 4 sectors, I'll have 3 F/Os.

...and you may not see each other again for several weeks/months.

Sometimes you fly with someone, and never see them again. And others crop up all the time.

I suppose your scheduling people need to be aware of every ones current flight/duty/standby hours and what training needs to be completed, making their job very complicated keeping you all circulating.

Keeping track of it is supposed to be a joint responsibility. It's been made much easier by the advent of decent computer databases. On the program that I log on to for rostering, there are about 20 different 'recency' items, covering courses, licensing, sims, landings, approaches. And just having done one course, and two sims, I'm now clear for about 4 months.

Prior to your flights, do you still go the 'ops' area for pre-flight briefings? or is this all done now via the iPads and you meet your crew at the aircraft

Sydney is about the only place where the crew meet in an ops room. Everywhere else, it's iPad and coffee shop.

 

[Awesom Andy]

Re: Hot days and performance

Sydney is about the only place where the crew meet in an ops room. Everywhere else, it's iPad and coffee shop.

Why Sydney? Although it sounds like it's the only place where ops rooms are readily available?

 

[Mattg]

Re: Hot days and performance

Sorry to be slightly OT, but it seems that this thread has somehow been renamed "Hot days and performance"...

 

[por930]

Re: Hot days and performance

JB,

When you get your briefing notes for the forthcoming trip, does it include brief details of your flight crew per leg, eg, flight experience on type etc, or is it a case of you asking these questions so you can gauge flight duties of each member, or maybe your airline has set duties per crew member,depending upon pilot flying/pilot monitoring and they have worked this out?

Many pax complain of 'jet lag' after a long trip. The 'body clock' of an international pilot must either be exceptionally well conditioned over the years, or thoroughly 'stuffed', due to the zig zagging back and forth between time zones on a never ending cycle where you have to be 100% awake and compus. The few days off between flights would barely prepare your clock for the next onslaught. While we as passengers snuggle up for the night (well those in J and F), you have to meter your sleep pattern depending on crew numbers and flight duration. When I first saw the hours you 'worked", I too thought great job. Then I thought of the before mentioned issues, before flight preps, sitting in hotel rooms, different foods, training, sims, administration, sickness, vacations. Your duty hours are quite long.

After a particular grueling month, do you ever think....enough....domestic here I come, or are you a long haul pilot until retirement?

I realise there would be financial implications of such a 'reverse' move, do senior long haul pilots such as your self ever opt for the domestic option, especially nearing retirement? What is the current age policy of your airline for retirement from flight duties, and can you become some thing else within the airline after flying age....if you wanted to that is?

 

[por930]

Re: Hot days and performance

Sorry to be slightly OT, but it seems that this thread has somehow been renamed "Hot days and performance"...

Yes. I saw this as well and wondered how to change the title

 

[Kerrodt]

Ask The Pilot

Yes. I saw this as well and wondered how to change the title

I think I might have just fixed it.

 

[jb747]

Re: Ask The Pilot

Sorry to be slightly OT, but it seems that this thread has somehow been renamed "Hot days and performance"...

I guess we all know that performance suffers on hot days.....

When you get your briefing notes for the forthcoming trip, does it include brief details of your flight crew per leg, eg, flight experience on type etc, or is it a case of you asking these questions so you can gauge flight duties of each member, or maybe your airline has set duties per crew member,depending upon pilot flying/pilot monitoring and they have worked this out?

I can get the names of the crew off the roster. I don't really care what experience they have. The fact that they are there means that they've kept the training and checking people happy, and so they'll be more than up to the job. If people are very new to the type they normally volunteer the information themselves...but it still makes little difference. They don't get cleared to the line if there are any doubts about their performance.

Many pax complain of 'jet lag' after a long trip. The 'body clock' of an international pilot must either be exceptionally well conditioned over the years, or thoroughly 'stuffed', due to the zig zagging back and forth between time zones on a never ending cycle where you have to be 100% awake and compus. The few days off between flights would barely prepare your clock for the next onslaught. While we as passengers snuggle up for the night (well those in J and F), you have to meter your sleep pattern depending on crew numbers and flight duration. When I first saw the hours you 'worked", I too thought great job. Then I thought of the before mentioned issues, before flight preps, sitting in hotel rooms, different foods, training, sims, administration, sickness, vacations. Your duty hours are quite long.

You end up permanently knackered. You don't really realise how bad it is until you take a long period of leave...and just as you start to feel normal, it's time to go back to work.

After a particular grueling month, do you ever think....enough....domestic here I come, or are you a long haul pilot until retirement?

Domestic is every bit as tiring, though in different ways. Don't forget there's plenty of back of the clock flying, and people have this nasty habit of wanting to go flying both early in the morning and late at night. You probably can't imagine some of the patterns that are constructed..but, just because you're just starting your day, doesn't mean that the crew haven't already been up all night flying in the red eye from Perth.

I realise there would be financial implications of such a 'reverse' move, do senior long haul pilots such as your self ever opt for the domestic option, especially nearing retirement? What is the current age policy of your airline for retirement from flight duties, and can you become some thing else within the airline after flying age....if you wanted to that is?

You cannot remain an international Captain after your 65th birthday. At that point your options are to move to a domestic aircraft, or to take a demotion and continue as an FO. There's only dozen or so who have taken the first option, and a couple the latter. I couldn't imagine anything worse. Domestic is not easier, and the flying can actually be a lot more demanding.