Ask The Pilot

[jb747]

Speaking of HARS, is SandyH still involved with it?

As far as I know.

 

[jb747]

... Prior to the take-off the SO gave me a briefing telling me amongst other things that if we needed to use the hatch to get out that you could get a leg up using a rope ladder (from memory). The skipper also said there was a plaque mounted somewhere in the coughpit commemorating the non stop LHR-SYD flight....

There weren't any ropes in the 747, though there were in the 767. In the 74, there were a number of 'escape reels'. They looked like a handle with some cable attached. The cable would feed out under load, but slowly, so you were basically winched down to the ground. Long way if you happened to let go.

Maybe the Fleet Air Arm Museum at HMAS Albatross could get one of the 767's back from Victorville?

I doubt that the FAA museum would have the interest, or money, to take an airliner. Even some of their own aircraft are being run by HARS.

 

[jb747]

I was the newish Sunday evening QF17 744 service from SYD-LAX. The flight path took us up over Hilo climbing to FL390. We got into an unusually lengthy amount of chop with the seatbelt sign being on for around 70 minutes with passengers and crew being seated. The question is when do you go looking for another level to find clearer air? Do the tech crew typically know where the areas of forecast turbulence are? Do they rely on other aircraft at various levels to report the in flight conditions?

We generally have fair idea where there will be extensive bumps. Predictions are on the nav logs, as well as the weather charts. It's pretty much a rule that there will be chop between Honolulu and the mainland. It's normally worse higher up, so because the aircraft are heavy and lower heading home, it's less of an issue southbound.

The US carriers tend to have lot of radio chatter about the chop, and you'll get any hints on smoother levels by listening to them.

Looking for other levels isn't always an option. We tend to be fairly close to the maximum altitude anyway, and unless you can climb at least 4,000 feet it's unlikely to be worthwhile (with the exception that any climb is worth it if you happen to be right at the top of a cloud layer). Descending enough to get out of it may well have an unacceptable fuel penalty...more of a problem for QF94 than for the 12.

70 minutes is a long time, but not unusual.

 

[jb747]

NEW QUESTION! (talking about chop, bumps etc)
is there a way of telling what type of wind is causing the chop? There are many different high level bumps, from chop (I assume this to mean the equivalent of driving on a bumpy dirt road), to more of a roller coaster ride, with bigger dips and oos and ahhs.....
Looking forward to some thoughts...

The short cycle rough stuff is mostly associated with mixing layers of air. Within cloud masses, the turbulence is heavier, but longer cycle (big bumps with a gap). The ups and downs, like a roller coaster...not all that common, but standing wave will give that effect. Mostly found downwind of large mountains.

 

[Wests Tigers]

Many thanks JB,
I assume in high altitude a head wind, or tail wind, will create to turbulence, but cross winds will?
The chop you talked about earlier from HNL to the mainland, is crosswind...or just lotsa high level jetsteam?
Many thanks

 

[Captain Halliday]

I'm OT here, but just noting that this thread is up to page 747! Hooray for JB, Boris & co... that's a lot of commitment to answering our questions. Thanks.

 

[clazman]

The US carriers tend to have lot of radio chatter about the chop, and you'll get any hints on smoother levels by listening to them.

Is there much chat between the carriers during the flight passing on this info / gossiping?

 

[Quickstatus]

Well this thread has reached page 747

 

[QF WP]

My neighbour (VA Check Captain) has his annual medical today and his wife says he is a bit nervous (well she used other language, something to do with razorblades ).

What specific things are in an aviation medical? Is it possible to fail (because of a short term issue) and have to be re-examined.

 

[drross]

My neighbour (VA Check Captain) has his annual medical today and his wife says he is a bit nervous (well she used other language, something to do with razorblades ).

What specific things are in an aviation medical? Is it possible to fail (because of a short term issue) and have to be re-examined.

lots of reasons for a DAME to fail a pilot - though it's not usually the DAME but CASA. Shortly DAMEs will be able to recertify (or otherwise)private pilots without CASA having to do it.

 

[jb747]

Is there much chat between the carriers during the flight passing on this info / gossiping?

Very little, though some nationalities are more prone to it than others. The radio frequencies are not private. Anything you say will be heard by everyone within a circle about 500 miles across. As we all listen out on a couple of the frequencies for safety reasons; having them taken over for gossip is extremely annoying, and a 'shut up' generally appears sooner rather than later.

 

[jb747]

I assume in high altitude a head wind, or tail wind, will create to turbulence, but cross winds will?
The chop you talked about earlier from HNL to the mainland, is crosswind...or just lotsa high level jetsteam?

As far as the aircraft is concerned, there is no such thing as a headwind, tailwind, or crosswind. Those components of the wind only assume any relevance when associated with the ground (i.e. for navigation). The aircraft moves within the air mass...there is no sideslip/crosswind.

Jet streams are very strong winds, but not normally over a very wide area. They're basically channels, or rivers. The air isn't one homogenous mass. There are layers moving in different directions, and speeds, and it's where they mix that you get the chop. You can get 100 knot winds that aren't jet streams..it's just windy. Sometimes, as it was last night, it was quite extensive vertically, and impossible to climb out of (at the rather heavy weight we were at).

 

[welltravelled]

There are also "non airline" commercial simulators available for hire in most capital cities in Australia that you can pay to experience from the pointy end, there are B737, A320 and B777 that I am aware of

 

[welltravelled]

We can access all the required information on our ipads now, even the actual flight plan, so if in transport en route to the airport, can have most of the information, weather, notices, weather maps, warnings etc to hand and when arrive at the airport perform the necessary pre flight prep.

 

[por930]

Hi JB, Was just reading an article in a flight magazine talking about "the pilot shortage, and is it a mirage". It really seems the airlines and authorities in Europe and maybe other areas, favour the pilots who are purpose trained for a given aircraft and have no need for an airline transport pilot licence, as a commercial licence is fine....

“The US pilot shortage is home-made, as it is triggered by the unfortunate new requirement that Part 121 co-pilots need an Airline Transport Pilot certificate [not just a commercial pilot licence], a conclusion which is based on the fatal fallacy that the collection of flight hours implies the existence of the necessary competencies. The stakeholders in the USA are currently trying hard to correct this unpleasant situation and to find a solution using the principle of competency-based training.” and
"Why go to BA and take 10-15 years to get a command when you can achieve this in five years at a low cost carrier"

Do you see Australia going this way. Or..have we already gone this way. I am sure the bean counters will bring up all sorts of logic why a purpose trained pilot will be just fine.

From an air passengers point of view, when things seem a little rough outside....I often think about the crew and hope there is some one like you up there that has experienced these circumstances many times before and knows what needs doing.

 

[QF WP]

My neighbourly VA Captain passed his ME - he's had the same DAME for 35 years (who now is 75). Looks like a clean skin apart from his wife saying he needs to eat less NZ Ice Cream. Are there set BMI measures for passing?

 

[welltravelled]

BMI is certainly considered but there is no number specified to fail the medical. Trend, lifestyle, food intake, bloods etc are all considered. If the acceptable number of 28 was used I think the airlines would find themselves in a massive recruitment drive!
The medical looks at the overall picture rather than one particular ailment or problem, that said, if anything is flagged then it is an opportunity to develop a preventative/corrective approach.
Age is no barrier for the DAME, I had one who passed away last year, he was 82 and still as sharp as he was in his younger days.
He actually trained the DAME's for CASA.

 

[Fruitcake]

Are there set BMI measures for passing?

In the words of my DAME, the BMI itself is irrelevant up until the point where you have difficulty physically entering the aircraft and manipulating controls. Obviously a high BMI tends to be correlated with other indicators that may attract scrutiny, but the parameters for those factors are set independent of BMI. ie high blood pressure will get flagged regardless of whether you are a BMI of 25 or 35. The biggest problem for a GA pilot like myself is that you end up being unable to fly a lot of two-seat trainers with a friend because of forward centre of gravity limits and limited useful load!

Basically in addition to few basic measurements the medical is about 50 questions that should be answered "no" (alcohol consumption etc) and one that should be answered "yes" (regular exercise). Class 1 (commercial) will have higher standards, my DAME has said CASA will probably direct me to a stress test when I want one of those.

 

[jb747]

Hi JB, Was just reading an article in a flight magazine talking about "the pilot shortage, and is it a mirage". It really seems the airlines and authorities in Europe and maybe other areas, favour the pilots who are purpose trained for a given aircraft and have no need for an airline transport pilot licence, as a commercial licence is fine....

“The US pilot shortage is home-made, as it is triggered by the unfortunate new requirement that Part 121 co-pilots need an Airline Transport Pilot certificate [not just a commercial pilot licence], a conclusion which is based on the fatal fallacy that the collection of flight hours implies the existence of the necessary competencies. The stakeholders in the USA are currently trying hard to correct this unpleasant situation and to find a solution using the principle of competency-based training.” and
"Why go to BA and take 10-15 years to get a command when you can achieve this in five years at a low cost carrier"

Do you see Australia going this way. Or..have we already gone this way. I am sure the bean counters will bring up all sorts of logic why a purpose trained pilot will be just fine.

From an air passengers point of view, when things seem a little rough outside....I often think about the crew and hope there is some one like you up there that has experienced these circumstances many times before and knows what needs doing.

The European solution has been to take pilots who, in my opinion, are minimally qualified...at least for the role they are playing. Airlines love them, because they are cheap, so cheap that in some cases the money passes the wrong way.

"Why go to BA and take 10-15 years to get a command when you can achieve this in five years at a low cost carrier"

Because command in BA is hard to get, whilst it comes in a packet of breakfast cereal at some LCCs. My initial (airline) command course took the better part of 6 months. Somehow I don't think it's the same as a course that takes 5 weeks.

Perhaps one system is too long and painstaking, but I'm sure the other is way too short.

'Competency based training'...is another term that came from the same management bin as 'world's best practice'. It's being pushed by the schools and the airline accountants. And, it does seem to solve a problem that has come from the destruction of GA, and the shrinking of the military (the traditional sources have dried up). The issue is that simulators are not aircraft. Knowing how to push the switches does not make for intelligent decision making.

Anyway, the passengers will get to decide. So far it seems that they prefer cheap.

 

[TomVexille]

Looks like a clean skin apart from his wife saying he needs to eat less NZ Ice Cream.

Blasphemy