Ask The Pilot

[Saab34]

To the Airline Pilots, who is your boss? Is there like a base captain pilot or someone who you report to?

Basically the goto person for queries in regards to questions, roster issues etc..?

 

[mjt57]

A servo for the thrust levers, so that their position would move and correspond to commanded power.

What happens now when you want to select manual thrust? If the levers are sitting at say, idle but you want to maintain or increase thrust what do you need to do to match them?

 

[Boris spatsky]

Can you tell us the rest of the story?

Checked smoke alarm; nothing wrong; turned alarm off; landed as per normal? Or something else?

We cancelled the master warning, ran the checklist (which in this case was fairly simple for a cabin smoke alarm), visually confirmed there was no obvious indication of fire, advised ATC, continued high speed descent for landing. This particular alarm can be triggered by some sensors that you can't see or get to, hence the checklist stating ' land as soon as practicable'

 

[eric2011]

Unlike some USA airline crew.

Flew from LAX Saturday on AA73 to SYD, arriving this morning - as far as i could tell the seat belt sign was never turned off the entire flight.

This was an absolute first time such a thing has happened on a Transpacific flight I've been on in over 60 crossings.

What were conditions like, was it justified, what about food, drink service??

 

[serfty]

What were conditions like, was it justified, what about food, drink service??

Turbulance was not obviously worse or better than the majority of flights I have flown.

As for the signs, they were basically ignored (as is typical of most flights operated by USA carriers).

 

[jb747]

To the Airline Pilots, who is your boss? Is there like a base captain pilot or someone who you report to?

There have been a couple of structures over my time in the airline. Currently there's a base Captain at each major base. But there are still fleet managers. So, whilst a leave or welfare issue would go to the base system, anything related to the aircraft still goes to the fleet managers. There is very little (close to zero) interaction with any of the management pilots.

Basically the goto person for queries in regards to questions, roster issues etc..?

If I have question about the aircraft, or operations at any port other than Melbourne, I'll go to the fleet manager. Welfare to the base. Scheduling, directly to scheduling in Sydney.

 

[jb747]

What happens now when you want to select manual thrust? If the levers are sitting at say, idle but you want to maintain or increase thrust what do you need to do to match them?

In the A380 the levers can move over a normal range from idle to max. But there are a couple of gated positions at the extreme extension. TO/GA, MCT/FLEX, and CLB.

Normally, you take off in TO/GA or MCT/FLEX. Shortly after take off, you pull the levers back to the CLB detent, and they'll stay there, not moving, until you land (which is what that 'RETARD' call is there to remind you of). Autothrust is not active in TO/GA, and almost always inactive in MCT/FLEX. The exception for MCT is if you have an engine shut down, in which case the levers will be positioned to MCT, and the auto thrust will remain active.

The button on either side of the thrust levers is called the 'instinctive disconnect switch'...but, don't press it instinctively. As the levers are normally at the CLB detent, pressing that switch will disengage the auto thrust, and then give you CLIMB (which is where the levers are). You have to pull the levers back, to approximately match the selected and actual power, before pressing that button. Pulling the levers out of CLB with the auto thrust engaged has the effect of limiting the A/Ts authority...and has no use in day to day ops.

In the Boeings, the levers are moved by an auto thrust servo system, so that the lever position always matches the commanded power. If you disconnect the auto thrust, nothing happens, because the levers and actual power are always matched.

Overall, I think the Boeing is better system, especially as it doesn't have the effect of disconnecting the pilots from thrust lever position and motion, something they'll need if they have to revert to manual thrust.

But....

In an Airbus, you activate go around mode by pushing the levers all the way forward to the TO/GA gate. In Boeing by pushing the 'go-around' switch. As we've seen recently, this can lead to a pilot group that pushes the button but doesn't follow up by pushing the levers up. There's video of a 777 in Munich, and the accident at Dubai, in which this plays a part.

So, the perfect thrust lever system would be a mix of the two.

 

[jb747]

Are pilots allowed to sleep during flights?

In 'heavy' crews, which would include most long haul flights, the crew consists of more than the minimum two pilots. On these flights, a rotating roster will ensure that all of the pilots get some rest during the flight. On flights that don't have extra crew, most airlines (and national authorities) allow 'flight deck rest', which means that one pilot can close his eyes for about 20 minutes at a time. There are many rules to be followed with this...mainly to ensure the other pilot stays awake.

 

[jb747]

Unlike some USA airline crew.

Flew from LAX Saturday on AA73 to SYD, arriving this morning - as far as i could tell the seat belt sign was never turned off the entire flight.

I've seen similar on both US flights and various Asian ones.

As far as I'm concerned, it's an appalling practice, which basically teaches the passengers that the signs don't mean anything. If the signs are on, then EVERYONE should be seated. Crew included.

Watching a Singapore girl trying to pour champagne whilst in quite nasty bumps was interesting on many levels.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

If the signs are on, then EVERYONE should be seated. Crew included.

Watching a Singapore girl trying to pour champagne whilst in quite nasty bumps was interesting on many levels.

Is this standard procedure on QF flts and is it actually enforced / complied with?

it is certainly an interesting point - I will be in SQ R tonight I will ask IFS for SQ's actual protocols.

 

[mjt57]

Unlike some USA airline crew.

Flew from LAX Saturday on AA73 to SYD, arriving this morning - as far as i could tell the seat belt sign was never turned off the entire flight.

This was an absolute first time such a thing has happened on a Transpacific flight I've been on in over 60 crossings.

All our flights with UAL seem to be OK, much as JB has outlined. Only on for the rougher sections. Same with Deathstar on our light to HNL.

Of course, one of us got caught in the loo when we hit a rough patch and the lights came on...

 

[lastrow]

As far as I'm concerned, it's an appalling practice, which basically teaches the passengers that the signs don't mean anything. If the signs are on, then EVERYONE should be seated. Crew included

.

My experience has been that passengers are advised to keep their seat belts on in case of unexpected turbulence. There have been many instances (including QF) where clear air turbulence has caused a sudden and steep decent leaving passengers momentarily weightless. Those who are strapped in are generally ok however those without restraint collide with the ceiling and then fall back often sustaining quite serious injuries.
For me, I would consider the seat belt on sign as a safety default, after all this is an aircraft not a cruise liner and sitting on stools around a bar is inviting trouble.

 

[jb747]

Is this standard procedure on QF flts and is it actually enforced / complied with?

Yes. There are two different PAs that we might give in association with the signs being turned on. The normal one gives them a minute to be seated, whilst the second will include the word "immediately".

If we see something that we think will require the signs, we'll generally give the CSM a call and let him know, with an estimate of when, and how long. So, they'll often get about 4-5 minutes warning before the signs come on. When the cabin crew are all seated, it's reported over the phone, and we'll hear if there's anyone trapped in the toilets. We try not to dump on them.

 

[jb747]

. [/COLOR]

My experience has been that passengers are advised to keep their seat belts on in case of unexpected turbulence. There have been many instances (including QF) where clear air turbulence has caused a sudden and steep decent leaving passengers momentarily weightless. Those who are strapped in are generally ok however those without restraint collide with the ceiling and then fall back often sustaining quite serious injuries.
For me, I would consider the seat belt on sign as a safety default, after all this is an aircraft not a cruise liner and sitting on stools around a bar is inviting trouble.

And here we'll differ.

If you leave the seat belt signs on, then how is anyone to go to the toilet. How will there be any service....unless you're then accepting that everyone will ignore the signs. Which means that there is no way of separating your default, and the case of real sudden turbulence. This is a dangerous, and unnecessary practice. If I turn the signs on, then I mean it. If I turn them off, it means that I've assessed the risk as low. It's a real call, based on experience and what I can see, both out the window, and on the radar.

The QF default is "to keep your seat belts loosely fasted, if you don't need to move around the cabin". That covers the times I don't see it coming, but it does not degrade the importance of the signs.

 

[Franky]

and we'll hear if there's anyone trapped in the toilets. We try not to dump on them.

or perhaps, dump them in..

 

[Cruiser Elite]

[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Ok so had a chat to IFS on SQ346 and this what I have gleaned:[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Text]
[/FONT][FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]SQ also have 2 level protocol for turbulence / fasten seat belt sign:[/FONT][/FONT]

1. [FONT=.SFUIText]Turbulence - if and when Captain foresees turbulence he will push the button to activate 'Fasten Seat Belt' sign. At this point ALL crew will imm stop serving hot beverages AND hot food items such as soup etc - normal meal / drink dispensing can continue. Should such an occurrence take place IFS will not be notified as simple deploying 'FSB' sign will alert ALL crew.[/FONT]
2. [FONT=.SFUIText]Severe Turbulence - if and when Captain foresees SEVERE turbulence he will imm notify IFS via warning lights to all on board stations and ALL crew will imm discontinue meal / drink dispensing and take up crew seating positions. [/FONT]

[FONT=.SF UI Text]
[/FONT][FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Excuse me for the layman translation but given my limited grasp of airline intracies this is best I can offer. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SFUIText]
[/FONT]

 

[jb747]

[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Ok so had a chat to IFS on SQ346 and this what I have gleaned:.....[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]

Which fits in with what I saw, but still leaves you in the situation of having cabin crew moving around, and even serving, whilst the signs are on. So, if it's good enough for them to ignore the signs, then why shouldn't the passengers.

But, as we've discussed previously, there's a percentage of passengers who never do the belts up, and will even hide that fact from cabin crew when they check.... With this sort of behaviour from the airlines themselves, what chance is there of ever educating them.
[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[MEL_Traveller]

[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]

Which fits in with what I saw, but still leaves you in the situation of having cabin crew moving around, and even serving, whilst the signs are on. So, if it's good enough for them to ignore the signs, then why shouldn't the passengers.

But, as we've discussed previously, there's a percentage of passengers who never do the belts up, and will even hide that fact from cabin crew when they check.... With this sort of behaviour from the airlines themselves, what chance is there of ever educating them.
[/FONT][/FONT]

It's not really comparing like for like. Qantas is the odd one out here with their 'all or nothing' approach. Other airlines are more risk averse when it comes to potential harm and will use the sign when it might not be suitable for some pax to be up and about, but it's fine for crew.

by and large passengers on airlines other than qantas know the score...when the sign's on it means you stay seated, regardless of what the crew might be up to.

 

[RooFlyer]

I've seen similar on both US flights and various Asian ones.
As far as I'm concerned, it's an appalling practice, which basically teaches the passengers that the signs don't mean anything. If the signs are on, then EVERYONE should be seated. Crew included.
Watching a Singapore girl trying to pour champagne whilst in quite nasty bumps was interesting on many levels.

Absolutely. An extract from a recent TR of mine (MEL-SIN sector):

The flight had periods of turbulence, some a bit rough. One time, the captain came on and said there would be about 30 minutes or more of turbulence, due to cross winds before we got into the smoother ride above it. So what happened next? They started the meal service, as scheduled! :shock: Wine bottles on the carts clinking all over the place and wine and water in glasses sloshing all over. Honestly, wouldn't you think they would delay the meal service by 30 mins or so till the time the Captain forecast a smooth period.

Yes. There are two different PAs that we might give in association with the signs being turned on. The normal one gives them a minute to be seated, whilst the second will include the word "immediately".
<snip>.

When you say 'immediately', should the FAs take the nearest available seat, or still make their way to their assigned station seat?

 

[jb747]

When you say 'immediately', should the FAs take the nearest available seat, or still make their way to their assigned station seat?

Ah, does "immediately", mean 'immediately'?

It really does mean immediately. Lock the carts, and sit in the nearest seat, or even wedge themselves into a gap.

I've never used it, BTW. Well, not for turbulence....