Ask The Pilot

[jb747]

Worth a read,

iPad glitch delays over 50 American Airlines planes | World | News | Daily Express

Given how many flights AA has, all of which have iPads, and all of which were using the same software, 50 delays would seem quite a mild outcome.

The general advice when using these systems is to update, and load, the software before you come to work. Updates can take a very long time, so leaving anything until you're at the airport is a recipe for things to go wrong. I'm flying tomorrow morning, and as I write this, my iPad is just finished updating the Airbus software (manuals and performance), and is about to start the Jeppesen. The AB update took about two hours.

The software has been rapidly improving ever since these systems arrived, and it now far surpasses the paper that it replaced. Not only does it offer the old information, but much that is new, as well as being readily searched.

Whilst media reports made much of the fact that the overall weigh reduction would translate to cost savings, the reality is that the iPads are a much more effective, and therefore safer, way of presenting the vast amount of information that we need to operate.

 

[Dmac6345]

Given how many flights AA has, all of which have iPads, and all of which were using the same software, 50 delays would seem quite a mild outcome.

The general advice when using these systems is to update, and load, the software before you come to work. Updates can take a very long time, so leaving anything until you're at the airport is a recipe for things to go wrong. I'm flying tomorrow morning, and as I write this, my iPad is just finished updating the Airbus software (manuals and performance), and is about to start the Jeppesen. The AB update took about two hours.

The software has been rapidly improving ever since these systems arrived, and it now far surpasses the paper that it replaced. Not only does it offer the old information, but much that is new, as well as being readily searched.

Whilst media reports made much of the fact that the overall weigh reduction would translate to cost savings, the reality is that the iPads are a much more effective, and therefore safer, way of presenting the vast amount of information that we need to operate.

Hi jb.
How is your home time (updating i-pads etc) taken into consideration when wages are payed?
Do you need to record this time and get reimbursed? I hope this isn't taken as a rude question.

 

[por930]

Given how many flights AA has, all of which have iPads, and all of which were using the same software, 50 delays would seem quite a mild outcome.

The general advice when using these systems is to update, and load, the software before you come to work. Updates can take a very long time, so leaving anything until you're at the airport is a recipe for things to go wrong. I'm flying tomorrow morning, and as I write this, my iPad is just finished updating the Airbus software (manuals and performance), and is about to start the Jeppesen. The AB update took about two hours.

The software has been rapidly improving ever since these systems arrived, and it now far surpasses the paper that it replaced. Not only does it offer the old information, but much that is new, as well as being readily searched.

Whilst media reports made much of the fact that the overall weigh reduction would translate to cost savings, the reality is that the iPads are a much more effective, and therefore safer, way of presenting the vast amount of information that we need to operate.

I guess JB, with the A380 onboard airport navigation system you can see the airport moving map display and the onboard information system display for the departure and approach plates, you can easily change page information than the paper version clipped in view.

Other commercial aircraft systems not possessing this sort of technology, these guys still use the nest of paper surrounding them?

 

[jb747]

Hi jb.
How is your home time (updating i-pads etc) taken into consideration when wages are payed?
Do you need to record this time and get reimbursed? I hope this isn't taken as a rude question.

The job entails lots of study, so there are many things that you do at home, or in hotel rooms, that are directly related to work. They aren't separately accounted for...the rate when we go flying covers all such things.

 

[jb747]

I guess JB, with the A380 onboard airport navigation system you can see the airport moving map display and the onboard information system display for the departure and approach plates, you can easily change page information than the paper version clipped in view.

Other commercial aircraft systems not possessing this sort of technology, these guys still use the nest of paper surrounding them?

We use the OAN system, but the on board system for charts sucked to such an extent that it has been abandoned. Something else the iPad disrupted....

 

[por930]

We use the OAN system, but the on board system for charts sucked to such an extent that it has been abandoned. Something else the iPad disrupted....

Where do you clip the ipad to when looking at the STAR and ILS chart on approach? or do you read the charts and remember them prior to approach? I have always opened the relevant charts and had them clipped some where, as in the heat of battle when things go wrong, correct info needed quickly.

 

[Melburnian1]

Tonight on ABC television news there was a lengthy piece about a report that has just been produced discussing RAAF personnel's exposure to aviation jet fuel particles and how some $15 million in compensation has already been paid out by the Federal Department of veterans affairs. A former RAAF (pilot?) was interviewed and talked about the 1975 period.

The report then moved on a bit to a quicker discussion of how aviation turbine fuel molecular exposure allegedly can affect regular public transport aviation sector employees' health. The report did not refer to the previous media featuring Bae146 fuel exposure problems of a few years back.

Is this a subject of discussion among pilots and other avition staff or was the report a bit of an exaggeration? The reporter claimed that the report would 'open the floodgates' to more compensation claims. There was the usual USA-style 'class action' solicitor trying to drum up business (not a good idea for our hitherto superior UK based legal system, as class actions have barristers and solicitors as the major 'winners.')

 

[jkhastings]

Hi. Flew on a Jet Airways 737-800 yesterday from Chennai-Bangalore and notice that the Middle canoe under the Portside wing was missing it's back section (the pointed piece). I brought it to the attention of the FA who passed it onto the captain. I received word back that everything is fine and he knows about it.
My question is - was it fine? Should that plane have been in the air? It freaks you out to see a missing piece and exposed screw holes.

 

[jb747]

Where do you clip the ipad to when looking at the STAR and ILS chart on approach? or do you read the charts and remember them prior to approach? I have always opened the relevant charts and had them clipped some where, as in the heat of battle when things go wrong, correct info needed quickly.

On the 380 a fitting was developed that sits just above the handles for the sliding #2 windows. Other aircraft in the fleet have similar. Some overseas operators use a suction system that goes directly on to the glass. There are a couple of power points in the coughpit that can be used for charging, plus it can be plugged in the the OIT laptop(s), which won't charge it, but will reduce the rate of discharge quite dramatically.

 

[jb747]

Tonight on ABC television news there was a lengthy piece about a report that has just been produced discussing RAAF personnel's exposure to aviation jet fuel particles and how some $15 million in compensation has already been paid out by the Federal Department of veterans affairs. A former RAAF (pilot?) was interviewed and talked about the 1975 period.

The report then moved on a bit to a quicker discussion of how aviation turbine fuel molecular exposure allegedly can affect regular public transport aviation sector employees' health. The report did not refer to the previous media featuring Bae146 fuel exposure problems of a few years back.

Is this a subject of discussion among pilots and other avition staff or was the report a bit of an exaggeration? The reporter claimed that the report would 'open the floodgates' to more compensation claims. There was the usual USA-style 'class action' solicitor trying to drum up business (not a good idea for our hitherto superior UK based legal system, as class actions have barristers and solicitors as the major 'winners.')

Not a topic of discussion at all.

 

[jb747]

Hi. Flew on a Jet Airways 737-800 yesterday from Chennai-Bangalore and notice that the Middle canoe under the Portside wing was missing it's back section (the pointed piece). I brought it to the attention of the FA who passed it onto the captain. I received word back that everything is fine and he knows about it.
My question is - was it fine? Should that plane have been in the air? It freaks you out to see a missing piece and exposed screw holes.

The flap fairings (sailboats) can be missing entirely. They reduce drag to a minor extent, but mainly keep the dirt and muck of things. Your pilot was quite correct.

 

[por930]

Tonight on ABC television news there was a lengthy piece about a report that has just been produced discussing RAAF personnel's exposure to aviation jet fuel particles and how some $15 million in compensation has already been paid out by the Federal Department of veterans affairs. A former RAAF (pilot?) was interviewed and talked about the 1975 period.

The report then moved on a bit to a quicker discussion of how aviation turbine fuel molecular exposure allegedly can affect regular public transport aviation sector employees' health. The report did not refer to the previous media featuring Bae146 fuel exposure problems of a few years back.

Is this a subject of discussion among pilots and other avition staff or was the report a bit of an exaggeration? The reporter claimed that the report would 'open the floodgates' to more compensation claims. There was the usual USA-style 'class action' solicitor trying to drum up business (not a good idea for our hitherto superior UK based legal system, as class actions have barristers and solicitors as the major 'winners.')

As I recall, the RAAF maintenance guys had to fit through a very small hatch into the fuel tank and be in contact with fuel and fumes to de-seal and later reseal the fuel tanks for a prolonged period of time. I do not think any 'normal' operations crews would be in such intimate contact with the obviously harmful chemical.

 

[QF WP]

Thanks for giving details on your latest sims jb747. My neighbour (the VA check captain) is back in BNE for the weekend, so will let him read your sim exercises and I'll try and get him to tell me his latest sims (he keeps copy of paperwork), to see what similarities there may be.

 

[Quickstatus]

Given how many flights AA has, all of which have iPads, and all of which were using the same software, 50 delays would seem quite a mild outcome.

The general advice when using these systems is to update, and load, the software before you come to work. Updates can take a very long time, so leaving anything until you're at the airport is a recipe for things to go wrong. I'm flying tomorrow morning, and as I write this, my iPad is just finished updating the Airbus software (manuals and performance), and is about to start the Jeppesen. The AB update took about two hours.

The software has been rapidly improving ever since these systems arrived, and it now far surpasses the paper that it replaced. Not only does it offer the old information, but much that is new, as well as being readily searched.

Whilst media reports made much of the fact that the overall weigh reduction would translate to cost savings, the reality is that the iPads are a much more effective, and therefore safer, way of presenting the vast amount of information that we need to operate.

JB747,

Does the company give you an internet allowance toward your home internet usage,

do you keep ipad charged via a usb slot in the coughpit and does the cable interfere with your workflow?

 

[fresherbill]

Got into Singapore yesterday on an A333 and one of the engines was shut down very shortly after vacating the runway. I've seen plenty of single engine taxis on narrowbodies, but this was a first on a widebody. Is this common? Is it any more challenging on a larger aircraft? I did notice that there was an engine on a trolley at the bay when we pulled up, but have no idea whether it was eventually bolted on to that aircraft.

 

[jb747]

Does the company give you an internet allowance toward your home internet usage

No, but there is a SIM in the iPad, and they don't care if we make private use of it.

do you keep ipad charged via a usb slot in the coughpit and does the cable interfere with your workflow?

There are no USB slots in the coughpit, other than those that are on the laptops....and they don't provide enough power to charge the iPad, though they will slow the discharge. There are a couple of AC power points in the coughpits and crew rest. I don't normally need to connect it to any power source at all during a flight. Just finished the 94, and it's still got over 50% charge.

 

[jb747]

Got into Singapore yesterday on an A333 and one of the engines was shut down very shortly after vacating the runway. I've seen plenty of single engine taxis on narrowbodies, but this was a first on a widebody. Is this common? Is it any more challenging on a larger aircraft? I did notice that there was an engine on a trolley at the bay when we pulled up, but have no idea whether it was eventually bolted on to that aircraft.

Shutting one or two engines down is common. We can do it on the 380 too, but we are generally parked before we reach the end of the 5 minute cool down period.

 

[Dmac6345]

No, but there is a SIM in the iPad, and they don't care if we make private use of it.



There are no USB slots in the coughpit, other than those that are on the laptops....and they don't provide enough power to charge the iPad, though they will slow the discharge. There are a couple of AC power points in the coughpits and crew rest. I don't normally need to connect it to any power source at all during a flight. Just finished the 94, and it's still go over 50% charge.

Saw the 94 come in this morning. Quite Foggy south of Melbourne today. Did you have any issues with this this morning?

 

[jb747]

Saw the 94 come in this morning. Quite Foggy south of Melbourne today. Did you have any issues with this this morning?

We were in the clear the whole way. It would have been an issue if it had been at the airfield, as we couldn't carry enough fuel to allow for either holding or an alternate if the fog that was on early forecasts had actually eventuated. In that case we would have dropped in to Sydney, but it was already acceptable when the decision had to be made.

 

[medhead]

There are no USB slots in the coughpit, other than those that are on the laptops....and they don't provide enough power to charge the iPad, though they will slow the discharge.

I've found that computer USB ports will charge an iPad slowly while the screen is turned off, even if it's not charging when the screen is on. Of course, I imagine you need the screen on for a fair amount of time.