Ask The Pilot

[jb747]

Could a pilot please comment on QF107/108 SYD-PEK-SYD.
QF107 typically flies north then overland China to PEK. 108 on the other hand flies east taking care not the venture into North Korean airspace then turns south near Seoul then skirts the Japanese islands before heading south via TSV
What is the reason for the difference?

Andmiz operates in that part of the world and can probably give the definitive answer. Chinese airspace is unusual in that all of it belongs to the military, so many of the tracks are a lot less direct than you'd expect in other parts of the world.

 

[petercr]

That is a lot. I'd probably have about 3-4,000 flights, but very likely many more hours. There was a pilot in Scotland (that part of the world anyway) who retired with a huge number of flights...all of about 5 minutes.

Sounds like he flew this...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westray_to_Papa_Westray_flight?wprov=sfla1

 

[andmiz]

Could a pilot please comment on QF107/108 SYD-PEK-SYD.
QF107 typically flies north then overland China to PEK. 108 on the other hand flies east taking care not the venture into North Korean airspace then turns south near Seoul then skirts the Japanese islands before heading south via TSV
What is the reason for the difference?

I don't want to go delving into China airspace documents to see if there is a preferred route....because likely it doesn't exist. An educated guess is that QF108 quite rightly tries to exit China airspace as quickly as it can, hence the easterly turn to South Korea, whereas QF107 wants to spend some time in China airspace on the way up, to coordinate its arrival; I could only imagine that coordination for slots into PEK from adjoining airspace is tricky to say the least.

 

[eric2011]

Sounds like he flew this...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westray_to_Papa_Westray_flight?wprov=sfla1

Hard to get status with those frequent flyer miles

 

[alieninperth]

That is a lot. I'd probably have about 3-4,000 flights, but very likely many more hours. There was a pilot in Scotland (that part of the world anyway) who retired with a huge number of flights...all of about 5 minutes.

Sort of related to this, with those short flights, and I'm thinking about the 5 minute island hops, is a full preflight check done before each departure or is it just done at the start of the run?

 

[por930]

Sort of related to this, with those short flights, and I'm thinking about the 5 minute island hops, is a full preflight check done before each departure or is it just done at the start of the run?

Each of these flights are full stop with a several hour wait before return. The climate there can be a tad wet and cold, so I imagine the warm up of the engines, and testing magneto's etc in both directions is far longer than the actual flight, but essential. Before each morning flight, a full preflight, including water in the fuel and walk around check would be done. After parking all day at the other airport, all sort of things could have happened to the aircraft. I would carry out a similar preflight check, maybe excluding the water in fuel check.
I worked on a cattle property where some flights were 10 minutes, parked all day, then returned. A very hot and dusty environment. I always did a full preflight both directions, especially checking pitot tubes for wasp invasion.

 

[andmiz]

Sort of related to this, with those short flights, and I'm thinking about the 5 minute island hops, is a full preflight check done before each departure or is it just done at the start of the run?

I used to operate the shortest scheduled passenger service in Australia (SKP383/Q6-383). All of 5 nautical miles between the two airports. The full preflight was only done once per day, with a quick walkaround between each sector. Mainly looking to ensure all doors & hatches were closed, no leaks, tires were inflated, no birdstrikes and everything was generally secure.

 

[D747]

I used to operate the shortest scheduled passenger service in Australia (SKP383/Q6-383). All of 5 nautical miles between the two airports. The full preflight was only done once per day, with a quick walkaround between each sector. Mainly looking to ensure all doors & hatches were closed, no leaks, tires were inflated, no birdstrikes and everything was generally secure.

Which two airports?

 

[straitman]

Here is a Wodonga resident and Regional Express pilot who is extremely unlikely to have done the most miles (or kilometres) but with 13800 flights under his belt, that strikes me as a lot!

Pilot on a high after big salute | The Border Mail

How would anyone know how many flights they have done as no one counts them? I have done 4 - 5 flights some days but still only put one log book entry for each a/c flown that day.

 

[jb747]

Not so hard in my log book, as it's kept as an Excel file.

A bit over 21,000 hours, and 4680 sectors.

Greatest number of flights in a year....fairly predictable really...318 during a year of instructing at Pt Cook.

Basically about 110 per year on the Classic. 220 per year on the 767. About 80 on the -400. And 55 or so on the 380.

If the 787 is used solely for very long trips, the guys flying it will be lucky to do 45 sectors.

 

[Boris spatsky]

How would anyone know how many flights they have done as no one counts them? I have done 4 - 5 flights some days but still only put one log book entry for each a/c flown that day.

Not sure about helo world but since RAAF Herc days i have always logged all destinations on the one line. Don't want to spend days adding them up though...

 

[straitman]

Not so hard in my log book, as it's kept as an Excel file.

My last log book was/is an Excel file but still logged the same way.

Not sure about helo world but since RAAF Herc days i have always logged all destinations on the one line. Don't want to spend days adding them up though...

Even in the RAAF we logged all flights in one a/c on one day on one line. (fixed or rotary)

 

[D747]

I realise crews are swapped out at DXB but I have two questions in relation to the "stop-over" of aircraft at any waypoint of a 2 leg flight. What part of the stop takes the longest to complete? Refuel, baggage, passengers, catering, cleaning, brake cooling, etc? Also, what personal preference do JB and others have when it comes to the longer versus shorter legs on the MEL/SYD - DXB -LHR run? Please forgive any incorrect terminology.

 

[jb747]

I realise crews are swapped out at DXB but I have two questions in relation to the "stop-over" of aircraft at any waypoint of a 2 leg flight. What part of the stop takes the longest to complete? Refuel, baggage, passengers, catering, cleaning, brake cooling, etc? Also, what personal preference do JB and others have when it comes to the longer versus shorter legs on the MEL/SYD - DXB -LHR run? Please forgive any incorrect terminology.

Catering and cleaning both have to be complete before passenger boarding starts, but they run concurrently, so probably about 30 minutes each. Pulling the containers off the aircraft doesn't take long, and it's always complete before the next crew arrives...basically you never see it. Coming back on is another matter, and waiting for the containers to go back on is often the very last thing to happen.

Passenger loading takes about 30 minutes, and 99% is fast and smooth. That last couple who disappear are the problem...especially if we then have to pull their luggage. I've never been able to work out where they go. You'll need to account for the previous passengers disembarking too.

Brake cooling would naturally take about 2 hours...but we don't always get them hot. That's affected by the taxiway that ATC want us to use, the conditions (heat, wind - especially tailwind, aircraft weight), and by our technique, or lack thereof. By using air tapped from the terminal air-conditioning system, the engineers will normally have them back to a useable temperature within 30-40 minutes.

Time of day affects our preference for the flights. Leaving Melbourne in the middle of the night is hard. Easily the worst sector of the pattern The pattern build generally has the 9's DXB-LHR sector being flown by the crew who came out of Sydney on the 1, so the crew from Melbourne will flick to the 1. Again all at night, but not too hard on the body. I don't mind doing that sector 2 man crew...guess I spent too long on the 767, but many hate it. Returning we leave London on the 10 at lunchtime, and it's by far the easier of the two departures from London to operate. Any time you go flying, just as your body wants to go to bed is difficult. The last sector is largely daylight, and is much better than the alternative timing of the 2.

 

[Quickstatus]

But you prefer the 2 rather than the 1 otherwise you have to pax SYD INT-DOM on the cattle truck then QF4xx?

 

[jb747]

But you prefer the 2 rather than the 1 otherwise you have to pax SYD INT-DOM on the cattle truck then QF4xx?

I'm based in Melbourne, so the only patterns I'll be given are always planned to start and finish with the 9 & 10. The 1 & 2 may appear on the London sectors...at the moment, the most common is 9/1/10/10. Once the pattern starts, it may be changed due to disruptions. If I end up coming back to Oz on the 2, then it will be replanned to stay in Sydney for the day, and pax to Melbourne the next day.

 

[Quickstatus]

Ah sorry I meant to say "you would prefer the 10 to the 2"

 

[Melburnian1]

I asked this in the QF delays thread but it was back a couple of pages so our contributing flight crew may not have seen it.

LHR has an annual limit ('quota') on night flights of 5800 (which may be the total of landings and takeoffs, not 5800 for each) and if I read it correctly no passenger departures are timetabled between 2300 and 0600 hours. There is the chance of airlines using what is referred to as the 'quieter A380s' obtaining permission, and the note refers to 'operational' delays:

http://www.heathrow.com/noise/heathrow-operations/night-flights

When a flight runs badly late - the current example is QF1, which on Saturday 4 March arrived LHR at 0101, so it was allowed into the airport at a 'restricted' time - and the airline wants it to turn around in an hour or two and head back from whence it came, meaning say an 0300 hours departure - does LHR allow such non-timetabled passenger aircraft movements to occur?

In the current case, perhaps for this (or other reasons such as crew having adequate rest, or even passenger 'convenience') QF2 has been retimed to depart almost 12 hours late at 0830 hours, so that may or may not be a good example.

Essentially, if the crew was available and passengers too, and there were no other constraints such as the SYD curfew at the other end, would a flight like this that isn't in the timetable during the 'restricted' hours be allowed to depart?

 

[Captain Halliday]

What should you do if you see a UAV close to an active approach?

I live very near the end of RWY11 at DRW. Tonight I saw someone who lives nearby fly a drone very close to the approach. I estimate it was operating between 0 and 500ft and around 700m north of the extended centreline. Certainly within 5nm of the field.

A quick google for a phone number to the TWR turned up nothing. Not surprising really, because I guess they don't want it to become a noise complaint hotline and or have a stream of pranksters.

I also couldn't find anything useful on the Air Services page. And of course DRW is Defence operated anyway.

I'm not entirely comfortable knocking on the bloke's door.

Suggestions?

 

[clazman]

If you had two aircraft of the same type, one being serviced in the US and one in Australia, how similar are the maintenance plans?