Ask The Pilot

[reductionist]

Sorry to bring this down a notch with a low-tech question:

I have heard/read that the further you sit towards the front of the aircraft, the less you will notice the effects of turbulence.

Is this generally correct?

 

[jb747]

Sorry to bring this down a notch with a low-tech question:

I have heard/read that the further you sit towards the front of the aircraft, the less you will notice the effects of turbulence.

Is this generally correct?

The middle of the aircraft would give what I would expect to be the best ride. Basically, the aircraft is a bit like a kid's see saw, with the centre of gravity (the pivot point) roughly in the middle of the wing. So, any motion, especially in pitch, tends to be magnified as you move forward or aft.

The rudder is often active with yaw damping commands, and they show up as lateral inputs, and are extremely noticeable in the tail.

The upshot is that back in the tail is by far the least stable place in the aircraft...and up front, even if it moves a bit, is just a much nicer place to be.

 

[QF WP]

jb747, my neighbour has just been made a Training Captain for Pacific Blue (he's based in Auckland ATM so a bit of deadheading BNE/AKL and vv).

Generally speaking, what does the role entail? It conjours up images of Internal Audit with the TC watching the conduct of the operating Captain & FO. What would be the procedure if he saw improper actions (writing them up in his report) and does he have the ability to take over the aircraft in the case of gross misconduct that may put the aircraft at risk of a crash or similar?

Interestingly, he married a FA...

 

[rechoboam]

R323 Military firing (R323A to 9000 flying) (R323B FL550 Firing)
R332 Radar Flares to 2000
R339 Flying, gunnery and Naval Activity to FL550

Its active fairly often, think Kalkara activity or LR35 (VH-LRX)!


R339 ACT DUE FLYING SFC TO FL550 FROM 09 252200 TO 09 280600 1109252200 TO 1109260600 1109262200 TO 1109270600 1109272200 TO 1109280600

Please explain? Kalkara/learjet??

 

[markis10]

Please explain? Kalkara/learjet??

Target towing aircraft, the Kalkara has replaced the Jindivic and they also use a Lear 35. In the case of the Lear, its towing line can be up to 9KM long, not sure what that indicates in terms of the gunners accuracy! http://www.airaffairs.com.au/

 

[casanovawa]

While the middle of the aircraft is probably the most stable, and up front is "much nicer", at least those of us at the back will hopefully be fractionally better off if the plane comes to a sudden stop with all that crumple area ahead of us...

 

[rechoboam]

While the middle of the aircraft is probably the most stable, and up front is "much nicer", at least those of us at the back will hopefully be fractionally better off if the plane comes to a sudden stop with all that crumple area ahead of us...

Probably partly true
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/aviation/safety/4219452

 

[jb747]

Probably partly true
Airplane Crash - Safest Seat - How to Survive Plane Accident - NTSB Data - Flight Records - Popular Mechanics

Whilst it does sound logical enough, I expect the sample probably isn't really large enough (which is good) to really say for sure. The only odd aircraft result also turns out to be the only wide body.

Now, the next question has to be 'is it safer upstairs or down?'. And hopefully they'll never have enough samples to work it out.

 

[ColinP]

Now, the next question has to be 'is it safer upstairs or down?'. And hopefully they'll never have enough samples to work it out.

I guess that would depend on whether the aircraft was inverted when it impacted terra firma :shock:

 

[alieninperth]

I have been looking a an upcoming trip and I was curious to see the return times.

I am going to make an assumption that the plane that is used for QF31/32 is the same and that QF9/10 will be the same.

I can see that the time between arrival and departure for QF31/32 is about 5 1/2 hours which (again assuming) would be ample time to clean and restock the plane. Why this is the turnaround for QF9/10 over 16hrs. Is this not a collossal waste of resources?

 

[jb747]

I have been looking a an upcoming trip and I was curious to see the return times.

I am going to make an assumption that the plane that is used for QF31/32 is the same and that QF9/10 will be the same.

I can see that the time between arrival and departure for QF31/32 is about 5 1/2 hours which (again assuming) would be ample time to clean and restock the plane. Why this is the turnaround for QF9/10 over 16hrs. Is this not a collossal waste of resources?

The assumption that the 9/10 and 31/32 are done by the same aircraft isn't correct. They will chop and change as required by engineering/ops/scheduling. Normally they will try to minimise any down time, but on other occasions it may be convenient to fit in some engineering work. When the 747s were doing all of the London services, two of the morning arrivals (1/9/31) would go out again at lunchtime (30 & 32), whilst the 29 would normally switch to being a 2 or 10.

There are only a couple of workable departure times out of London (and many other places). Too early, and nobody wants to fly on it, and it arrives at the mid point at a very inconvenient time. Too late and curfews come into effect. Leave much later than lunchtime, and you'll hit the Sydney curfew, and you can't leave any earlier than the evening aircraft already does, also because of Sydney curfew (whilst Melbourne thankfully isn't so afflicted). Upshot is that there's about 7 hour period in the afternoon, when you can't leave.

 

[globalexplorer]

Ahh, the good old days. In a past life I remembering firing a missile at one of these targets from the rear deck of a Navy destroyer escort. We were all good enough to either hit the target or get within a couple of metres but I still had huge respect for the pilots of the Lear because the missiles were by no means inactive. Having said that, from memory there is a correlation between the range of the missile and the distance it is towed behind the aircraft so the chances of the pilot having to change his pants to hide the stain if the missile goes rogue is very low.

Target towing aircraft, the Kalkara has replaced the Jindivic and they also use a Lear 35. In the case of the Lear, its towing line can be up to 9KM long, not sure what that indicates in terms of the gunners accuracy!
View attachment 3931

 

[SenZubEanS]

Don't suppose you got the call up for this JB?
A380 in domestic first to help clear passenger backlog caused by Melbourne weather | The Australian

 

[QF WP]

Would have been nice, no deadheading

How lucky to be a Plat or in J on that flight, presume they would have been on the upgrade lists to J or F.

 

[anat0l]

Would have been nice, no deadheading

How lucky to be a Plat or in J on that flight, presume they would have been on the upgrade lists to J or F.

How do you cater and serve food to a full A380 in only 70 minutes? :shock:

I suppose, in the interests of getting people to where they need to go ASAP, they might've forgone the catering. Many people wouldn't be very happy, though.

----------
This anat0l content, if it must be known,
Was sent via Aust Freq Fly app, but not from an iPhone.

 

[jb747]

Not me. I'd expect there'd be no catering. Heck, you couldn't come close to getting it out in the 30 or so minutes of the cruise.

Doing the 9 ex Melbourne on Friday the 25th, 9 ex Singapore on Saturday 256th, 10 ex London on Tuesday the 4th, and 32 ex Singapore on Saturday 8/10.

 

[harvyk]

I'd imagine there would be something, but I expect it'd be a can of coke and a biscuit...
QF8 from BNE-SYD manage to get something out as a B747 service (again not much, but it's food none the less) so I'd imagine they would be able to get something out to the pax in the short time between MEL-SYD

 

[rechoboam]

Not me. I'd expect there'd be no catering. Heck, you couldn't come close to getting it out in the 30 or so minutes of the cruise.

Doing the 9 ex Melbourne on Friday the 25th, 9 ex Singapore on Saturday 256th, 10 ex London on Tuesday the 4th, and 32 ex Singapore on Saturday 8/10.

Mel-lax 13th?

 

[jb747]

Mel-lax 13th?

No, a Fleet Air Arm reunion in Sydney.....

I rarely go to LA. I think the flight I did back there in March was the first for a year.

 

[jb747]

I'd imagine there would be something, but I expect it'd be a can of coke and a biscuit...
QF8 from BNE-SYD manage to get something out as a B747 service (again not much, but it's food none the less) so I'd imagine they would be able to get something out to the pax in the short time between MEL-SYD

A 380 movement between the cities is normally a ferry of an empty aircraft. There may have been something, but I wouldn't have held my breath for it. Nor is the aircraft set up for anything to happen quickly. I'm surprised they did it at all.