Ask The Pilot

[Craigie]

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

The problem is the passengers remain largely uneducated/ignorant of the issues. I would say the general consensus amongst friends of mine would be that because the airline industry has built a fairly solid safety record, that then extends to all airlines. For example because of the Qantas safety record, ALL Australian airlines are that safe. It worries me.

To end my opinion and actually ask a question. If you don't mind me asking JB or any medically certified pilots, what do you do for "regular exercise"?

 

[Boris spatsky]

If you don't mind me asking JB or any medically certified pilots, what do you do for "regular exercise"?

I run marathons, some friends race mountain or road bikes, or kayak, or play team sports. Others do absolutely nothing. It's as varied as a cross section of the general public i would think.

 

[jb747]

I run marathons, some friends race mountain or road bikes, or kayak, or play team sports. Others do absolutely nothing. It's as varied as a cross section of the general public i would think.

My marathon days are long behind me...if they ever existed. I'm a regular gym person, with a small one at home. And I ride a pushbike (but without lycra) quite regularly.

 

[Dmac6345]

jb, slightly OT, but can you please recommend to whoever does the roster to fly QF 93 on Wed May 20 or QF94 on Wed 27.
(or both)
Thanks in advance

 

[jb747]

jb, slightly OT, but can you please recommend to whoever does the roster to fly QF 93 on Wed May 20 or QF94 on Wed 27.
(or both)

Next roster, which won't be available until around the last week of April. Won't be me...on annual leave.

 

[Alanslegal]

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.

Hi there welltravelled, sounds like you are a pilot as well, so mind me asking what kind of plane do you fly?

I run marathons, some friends race mountain or road bikes, or kayak, or play team sports. Others do absolutely nothing. It's as varied as a cross section of the general public i would think.

Hey Boris, thanks for your contribution as well. I know you have probably answered this like tens of times already but similar to the above question, what kind of plane do you fly?

 

[jb747]

Hi there welltravelled, sounds like you are a pilot as well, so mind me asking what kind of plane do you fly?

For a number of reasons, it's easier for some of us to be identifiable than others. Boris flies a twin engined jet for an Australian airline. WT, I don't know, but I've asked him the same question...but off line. Other blokes who have cropped up, but not stayed, have flown for Rex and QLink.

I don't care who people fly for, or what they fly...as long as they aren't the flight simmers of pprune.

 

[Alanslegal]

For a number of reasons, it's easier for some of us to be identifiable than others. Boris flies a twin engined jet for an Australian airline. WT, I don't know, but I've asked him the same question...but off line. Other blokes who have cropped up, but not stayed, have flown for Rex and QLink.

I don't care who people fly for, or what they fly...as long as they aren't the flight simmers of pprune.

That's all I'm after and I agree - maybe I should have phrased my question if they are a pilot (past, present) instead. After all a pilot is a pilot, doesn't matter what they fly - just like a car driver is a car driver regardless if its Toyota Yaris or a Lamborghini Aventador.

 

[jb747]

That's all I'm after and I agree - maybe I should have phrased my question if they are a pilot (past, present) instead. After all a pilot is a pilot, doesn't matter what they fly - just like a car driver is a car driver regardless if its Toyota Yaris or a Lamborghini Aventador.

Perhaps...wasn't it Alan Moffat who said, "Just because he drives a Ferrari, it doesn't make him a Ferrari driver..."

 

[TomVexille]

Perhaps...wasn't it Alan Moffat who said, "Just because he drives a Ferrari, it doesn't make him a Ferrari driver..."

Unless he drives a SF15-T?

 

[welltravelled]

I don't run so much these days but do enjoy walking, I have set routes around my layover ports which vary in length from 8-12 km.
I like to get outdoors when the weather permits since we sit in an air conditioned tube for such long times.
I water/snow ski, train with both my kids in basketball and still have the odd knock of tennis when able to.

 

[mjt57]

I just finished reading Bill Anderson's book about his and fellow cadets days in Qantas. (I'd like to read the second edition but I can't work out how to have my Kindle linked to the US and Australian Amazon services).

I suffer greatly just doing MEL-LAX-JFK every couple of years or so. Dunno how you guys do it every couple of weeks (or whatever your schedules work out to be). I have to wonder if being exposed to low(er) oxygen, low humidity environments for protracted periods does your body any good.

It's interesting to read how the generations change too. There seemed to be a focus on crew socialisation, centering on the captain's choice of venues (often the SO's room) but these days they say that lot of the people just want to retire to their rooms and their laptops.

I suppose that in one sense it's not too bad an idea of it means not getting plastered every time you slip somewhere (if indeed that's what the usual course of events were).

JB and others, what are your routines, particularly in places like Dubai where alcohol isn't the norm as far as entertainment goes?

 

[johnrm]

LuxInterior

Was your Dad John Lindsay who worked at CASA? If so I knew him well. Great man!

 

[welltravelled]

For a number of reasons, it's easier for some of us to be identifiable than others. Boris flies a twin engined jet for an Australian airline. WT, I don't know, but I've asked him the same question...but off line. Other blokes who have cropped up, but not stayed, have flown for Rex and QLink.

I don't care who people fly for, or what they fly...as long as they aren't the flight simmers of pprune.

Hello all,
I can assure you I am not a simmer or a pruner.
I have flown Team B - 10,000+ hrs and currently flying Team A -and love it.
2 totally different concepts but have enjoyed flying both types.

330 is a great piece of kit and hope one day to see it replaced with the 350!

Sorry for not responding, I have been a member for a while now, however, unable to respond to PM until a certain number of posts??

 

[welltravelled]

I did my CPL flight test with John Lindsay, and my father worked with him many years ago at RVAC.

Legend!

 

[Alanslegal]

Hello all,
I can assure you I am not a simmer or a pruner.
I have flown Team B - 10,000+ hrs and currently flying Team A -and love it.
2 totally different concepts but have enjoyed flying both types.

330 is a great piece of kit and hope one day to see it replaced with the 350!

Sorry for not responding, I have been a member for a while now, however, unable to respond to PM until a certain number of posts??

Pretty cool to have you and the other fellow pilots on here to answer some of our questions this thread has been one of my favorites here giving me a bigger insight to what u guys do, what happens behind the scenes, some technical info described in layman terms and just quality information to make flying much more enjoyable!!

 

[jb747]

I suffer greatly just doing MEL-LAX-JFK every couple of years or so. Dunno how you guys do it every couple of weeks (or whatever your schedules work out to be). I have to wonder if being exposed to low(er) oxygen, low humidity environments for protracted periods does your body any good.

On the positive side, nobody smokes, especially in the coughpit, these days. That must be a winner.

I find the US trips to be much easier on the body than the trips in the other direction. When I get back from the USA, I slip into zone pretty easily, whereas a couple of UK trips really wreak havoc on the sleep cycle.

It's interesting to read how the generations change too. There seemed to be a focus on crew socialisation, centering on the captain's choice of venues (often the SO's room) but these days they say that lot of the people just want to retire to their rooms and their laptops.

Getting together isn't quite the rule it once was, but places like LA and London certainly offer the opportunity to do lots of things, either with other pilots, or solo.

JB and others, what are your routines, particularly in places like Dubai where alcohol isn't the norm as far as entertainment goes?

Dubai...laptops are good, especially in summer. There isn't much drinking there, and not heard anyone complain about that. It's a good place to prepare for a sim...not too many distractions. I make use of the gym and sort out the sleep. There's plenty of things available if you're interested, but I'm not a shopper, and don't care about the beach.

 

[welltravelled]

Have to agree - coming home eastbound always seems harder to recover from as opposed to westbound.

 

[ChrisGibbs]

JB747 - I was on the QF129 SYD-PVG A330 service over the weekend. To get to regional China I typically take this flight connecting with China Eastern or Shanghai Airlines or QF127 SYD-HKG connecting on Dragon Air. The dozen or so times I've been on QF129 the typical SYD-PVG track follows the QF127 SYD-HKG track flying over Manila and tracking towards Hong Kong. At what looks to be around 150 miles out of Hong Kong QF129 makes a series of right hand turns and tracks the coast of China on into Shanghai. The question for you is why doesn't QF129 take what appears to be the most direct track to Shanghai which would be a more Northerly track from Manila up over Taiwan as opposed to the North Westerly track from Manila to Hong Kong. Is there some form of flow control for traffic coming into Shanghai that requires anything coming from the South must join the standard Hong Kong to Shanghai track at a particular reference point and height? The only other reason I can possibly think of is more political in that aircraft may not be allowed to overfly Taiwan when landing China - similar to when flying on JAL from Tokyo to Beijing requires a dog leg so as not to fly over North Korea....

As an aside its surprising the number of Australian accents you hear with tech crew on Dragon, Shenzhen, Shanghai and other Hong Kong / Chinese based airlines. Is this still a legacy of the demise of Ansett or a reflection on the lack of employment opportunities in Australia for pilots?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jb747]

JB747 - I was on the QF129 SYD-PVG A330 service over the weekend. To get to regional China I typically take this flight connecting with China Eastern or Shanghai Airlines or QF127 SYD-HKG connecting on Dragon Air. The dozen or so times I've been on QF129 the typical SYD-PVG track follows the QF127 SYD-HKG track flying over Manila and tracking towards Hong Kong. At what looks to be around 150 miles out of Hong Kong QF129 makes a series of right hand turns and tracks the coast of China on into Shanghai. The question for you is why doesn't QF129 take what appears to be the most direct track to Shanghai which would be a more Northerly track from Manila up over Taiwan as opposed to the North Westerly track from Manila to Hong Kong. Is there some form of flow control for traffic coming into Shanghai that requires anything coming from the South must join the standard Hong Kong to Shanghai track at a particular reference point and height? The only other reason I can possibly think of is more political in that aircraft may not be allowed to overfly Taiwan when landing China - similar to when flying on JAL from Tokyo to Beijing requires a dog leg so as not to fly over North Korea....

Lots of things affect route choice on any given day. The route to HK can be up to about 500 miles either side of the Philippines. Weather, volcanoes, wind, and traffic can move routes a very long way. Whilst China/Taiwan isn't a route that I fly, I'd very much expect there to be major political issues. Also, virtually all Chinese airspace belongs to their air force, so civil routes are severely constrained.

As an aside its surprising the number of Australian accents you hear with tech crew on Dragon, Shenzhen, Shanghai and other Hong Kong / Chinese based airlines. Is this still a legacy of the demise of Ansett or a reflection on the lack of employment opportunities in Australia for pilots?

In years past Cathay and Dragon were prime choices for Australian pilots (in particular ex military) who did not want to work for QF et al. Now those people go to Emirates and their ilk. There's probably a residual group from '89, but they'd mostly be retired (or very close to) by now. Ansett people presumably ended up all over the place...there are many in QF and Jetstar. There are also many QF pilots on "leave without pay" flying in the area too.