Ask The Pilot

[joey1695]

Hi JB. Might be a silly question, but here goes. Boeing have LNAV and VNAV. What is the Airbus equivalent? Does it operate in the same way as the Boeing systems? Or does it differ quite a bit?
Thanks, Joe.

 

[jb747]

Might be a silly question, but here goes. Boeing have LNAV and VNAV. What is the Airbus equivalent? Does it operate in the same way as the Boeing systems? Or does it differ quite a bit?

There are equivalent modes in the Airbus. They are simply described as 'managed', and are engaged by pushing the speed, heading and altitude buttons, to engage the FMC in the appropriate mode. About the biggest difference is that you cannot be in a managed vertical mode whilst in heading, whereas the Boeings will allow heading and VNAV to be engaged simultaneously. So, if you pull heading in the AB, you'll get an automatic reversion to open climb or open descent, which is similar to the Boeing FLCH.

 

[jb747]

JB, that nasty video of MH17 was released today. The tasteless of it aside, in the comments sections many were decrying the airline asking why they were overflying a warzone in the first place.

Is this a valid question? Was MH17 on a normal cleared track? Also, there are comments which point the finger at The Ukraine's ATC service. What were other airlines doing during that period?

Historically, most low level wars involve, at the most, shoulder launched weapons. These can be safely overflown at normal operating altitudes. Whilst heavy anti aircraft systems exist on a large percentage of the world's borders, they are operated by competent, and strictly controlled crews. They generally represent little danger. I don't think anybody expected people would be so incompetent, and careless, as to start firing them as was done here.

Malaysian were no more remiss than any number of major airlines who were overflying the area. From what I understand, both Singair and Emirates were quite close by. If any fingers are to be pointed, I think the people who provided the system are at most fault.

 

[joey1695]

So in that regard.. How is heading, altitude and speed selected seperately from the FMC, say, following a heading or altitude given by ATC?
What are your thoughts on the inability to be in a managed vertical mode? A simple inconvenience? Is there a reason behind it?
Thanks again! Joe.

 

[mjt57]

Malaysian were no more remiss than any number of major airlines who were overflying the area. From what I understand, both Singair and Emirates were quite close by. If any fingers are to be pointed, I think the people who provided the system are at most fault.

Thanks JB.

What prompted me to ask were all the accusations and finger pointing which were flying in the "Readers Comments" sections following the article on that video.

And as we know, most of us non pilots know very little about this stuff, the media less so, and "eye witnesses" even less when it comes to things aviation. Still people MUST have their opinions aired for all and sundry to see, I s'pose.

 

[straitman]

Thanks JB.

What prompted me to ask were all the accusations and finger pointing which were flying in the "Readers Comments" sections following the article on that video.

And as we know, most of us non pilots know very little about this stuff, the media less so, and "eye witnesses" even less when it comes to things aviation. Still people MUST have their opinions aired for all and sundry to see, I s'pose.

If you go back and look (try google) you will find that most airlines were flying the route at the time as it was considered 'safe' for all the normal reasons.

 

[dbrykman]

I am internested in your opinion as to the safety of Air China (flights from either PEK or PVG to Melbourne/Sydney).
I have heard rumours that allege they may not be as safe as other major airlines.

Do you have an opinion?

 

[JohnM]

I am internested in your opinion as to the safety of Air China (flights from either PEK or PVG to Melbourne/Sydney).
I have heard rumours that allege they may not be as safe as other major airlines.

Do you have an opinion?

Do you seriously expect any of our pilot contributors to pass a public judgement on another airline?

 

[CaviAck]

Do you seriously expect any of our pilot contributors to pass a public judgement on another airline?

This sort of question has been asked here previously and JB has answered in a more general response.

That being said I wouldn't expect to see an answer in direct context to CA.

 

[JohnM]

This sort of question has been asked here previously and JB has answered in a more general response.

That being said I wouldn't expect to see an answer in direct context to CA.

Yes, indeed - but the question was quite specific.

 

[dbrykman]

Thanks. Quite new to this and thought it would be good to have a pilot's perspective.
Not wanting to put anyone in a difficult position.
Maybe you could tell me what factors a pilot would take into consideration in evaluating which airlines they would and wouldn't fly from a a safety perspective.

 

[docjames]

Along the same lines, I've asked previously but it would be helpful to summarise what <publicly available> information can be used for the "general consumer" to assess the (relative) safety of a particular operator?

 

[coriander]

ABC News this morning are reporting delays on departures ex-MEL account frost and ice on wings. Nine flights delayed so far (at 0800h). Do they have de-icing system in MEL, or do they wait for the rising sun to warm the wings?

Or lots of people with hair dryers?

 

[Ansett]

ABC News this morning are reporting delays on departures ex-MEL account frost and ice on wings. Nine flights delayed so far (at 0800h). Do they have de-icing system in MEL, or do they wait for the rising sun to warm the wings?

Or lots of people with hair dryers?

No De-Icing equipment at Tulla. Apparently it does not get cold enough to be a problem!

 

[straitman]

I am internested in your opinion as to the safety of Air China (flights from either PEK or PVG to Melbourne/Sydney).
I have heard rumours that allege they may not be as safe as other major airlines.

Do you have an opinion?

Do you seriously expect any of our pilot contributors to pass a public judgement on another airline?

This sort of question has been asked here previously and JB has answered in a more general response.

That being said I wouldn't expect to see an answer in direct context to CA.

Yes, indeed - but the question was quite specific.

The answers that jb747 gives here tend to general by nature and non airline specific. It is often not appropriate to comment about other airlines.

I no longer work or have affiliations with any specific airline (other than as a passenger) or company so I'm happy to answer but once again I'll be somewhat non specific.

In the past I have been involved with training pilots from several countries including China. The biggest problem with them is cultural in that lower ranked people will not easily challenge higher ranked people and no one readily will publicly acknowledge if they have made an error.

In the coughpit that can translate to some very awkward situations if you think about it. It can mean, as an example, that if you have a Captain doing something not quite right he is reluctant to acknowledge it and the copilot is reluctant to challenge him. That is the setup for a disaster.

Needless to say that Asian airlines are not high on my list of priorities when it comes to choosing travel options.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks JB.

What prompted me to ask were all the accusations and finger pointing which were flying in the "Readers Comments" sections following the article on that video.

And as we know, most of us non pilots know very little about this stuff, the media less so, and "eye witnesses" even less when it comes to things aviation. Still people MUST have their opinions aired for all and sundry to see, I s'pose.

To provide some context and I have responded in the dedicated MH17 thread: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....n-airlines-mh17-crashes-ukraine-61668-87.html (last page, post 868)

 

[harvyk]

No De-Icing equipment at Tulla. Apparently it does not get cold enough to be a problem!

Only major airport I can think of with de-icing equipment in Australia is CBR, of course my definition of major and the rest of Australia might not align (me being CBR based)

Historically, most low level wars involve, at the most, shoulder launched weapons. These can be safely overflown at normal operating altitudes. Whilst heavy anti aircraft systems exist on a large percentage of the world's borders, they are operated by competent, and strictly controlled crews. They generally represent little danger. I don't think anybody expected people would be so incompetent, and careless, as to start firing them as was done here.

Malaysian were no more remiss than any number of major airlines who were overflying the area. From what I understand, both Singair and Emirates were quite close by. If any fingers are to be pointed, I think the people who provided the system are at most fault.

Is there any special rules when flying over war zones? Just thinking I've heard that when flying over high mountains, you need to have an "escape path" so if you need to rapidly descend you have a way to get down to lower altitudes without running into mountains, is there similar things when overflying conflict area's (eg if you need to do a rapid descent, you take a left turn so you don't descend into weapons range etc)

 

[jb747]

Is there any special rules when flying over war zones? Just thinking I've heard that when flying over high mountains, you need to have an "escape path" so if you need to rapidly descend you have a way to get down to lower altitudes without running into mountains, is there similar things when overflying conflict area's (eg if you need to do a rapid descent, you take a left turn so you don't descend into weapons range etc)

War zones....try not to fly over. The trouble is that the world seems to be having a lot of lower level 'insurgencies'. They generally don't involve the sort of heavy weapons that are a danger to high flying aircraft. Places like Afghanistan have restrictions on the lowest flight levels that can be used (basically nothing in the 20s).

Escape tracks for high terrain are considerations in the event of a depressurisation. They are chosen to allow you to get out of the high terrain, within the duration of the passenger oxygen system. Aircraft that use oxygen generator systems only have from about 10 to 20 minutes of oxygen available, whereas bottle gas systems can have hours available.

 

[jb747]

ABC News this morning are reporting delays on departures ex-MEL account frost and ice on wings. Nine flights delayed so far (at 0800h). Do they have de-icing system in MEL, or do they wait for the rising sun to warm the wings?

It's not a case of having a (singular) deicing system. You need many. Larger aircraft will use 2 or 3 simultaneously, and even the small need two trucks. I expect there may also be EPA rules that affect their availability and use too.

 

[jb747]

Along the same lines, I've asked previously but it would be helpful to summarise what <publicly available> information can be used for the "general consumer" to assess the (relative) safety of a particular operator?

In reality the vast majority of people don't care. The cheapest flight will suffice, and they figure the odds will cover the rest of it.