Ask The Pilot

[Quickstatus]

Swept wing - Wikipedia

Covers it all pretty well.

Also Supercritical airfoil - Wikipedia

Thanks - explains why the airliner wing is fairly flat on top.

 

[jb747]

BTW how many SIMS to go before as you say “permanent leave”

3.

Should be 2, but the one that was scheduled last week was cancelled at the last minute.

So, 3 sims. 1 EPs. 1 security. 1 ID renewal. 1 medical.

 

[Quickstatus]

3.

Should be 2, but the one that was scheduled last week was cancelled at the last minute.

So, 3 sims. 1 EPs. 1 security. 1 ID renewal. 1 medical.

Geez that’s a lot for a few months?

 

[jb747]

Geez that’s a lot for a few months?

Well, it's a bit like that. Always some clock ticking that's about to run out. Visa for USA every 5 years, passport every 10. Sims 4 per year. EPs once per year. Security, once every two years. ID card once per 18 months. About 10 courses on timers.

It's rare to get a couple of months that doesn't require something. And all of that becomes increasingly unattractive.

You'll get a roster with a nice few days off...and something will always be stuck right on the middle.

And just to make it nicer...the medical will require an appointment with the DAME (aviation doc), blood test, CASA opthalmologist, cardiologist...and that's for a heathy guy. None of these specialists are easy to get appointments with, and the roster won't make any allowances.

 

[Quickstatus]

So 65 might not be the trigger. Could be say the Visa?

 

[jb747]

I'm told that the average is actually about 63. And that fits in with my thinking.

The visa is a PITA and I swore last time that I would never renew it.

In my case, the loss of London flying affects my plans. What remains makes for a pretty unattractive roster.

 

[Quickstatus]

An A380 FO said to me today:
Re SYD-LAX
A380
40min slower
40T extra fuel
40 extra passengers

Compared with B744

He thought the A380 was not as compelling a proposition as portrayed in popular media for that route. Would appreciate other insights

 

[jb747]

An A380 FO said to me today:
Re SYD-LAX
A380
40min slower
40T extra fuel
40 extra passengers

Compared with B744

I'm not sure just what 747 he's talking about. The fuel figure is about right, but it carries 140 extra passengers not 40, and cruises at about the same speed, so the 40 minutes is pretty much imaginary. To get a figure of 40 minutes you'd need a speed differential of about 5%, or .06 mach. Jumbos don't cruise at .91, nor do 380s cruise at .79. Both aircraft are around .85, depending upon the cost index chosen by the company. The 747 is slightly faster, but it's neither here nor there.

He thought the A380 was not as compelling a proposition as portrayed in popular media for that route. Would appreciate other insights

Compared to what? The alternatives at the time it was ordered were the 777-300 and the 747-400. The 747-800 was still pie in the sky. It works very well, as long as you aren't carrying just a 777/747 load of passengers. To be honest though, I've never understood why the 777 was overlooked. Rumour at the time had it the Boeing considered QF to be a 'Boeing' airline, and as such unlikely to order from Airbus....and the prices they offered were ludicrous compared to what was being given to others.

The media portrayal of any aircraft is mostly hot air. The current 'Dreamliner' fad is a great example. It's an accountants dream...

 

[mjt57]

The media portrayal of any aircraft is mostly hot air. The current 'Dreamliner' fad is a great example. It's an accountants dream...

Or a Nightmare-liner.

I don't care what the media or other industry pundits say. It's as noisy as any other aircraft that I've flown in, except for the A380. I didn't notice any difference with regards to cabin air quality, either.

When we go back to England, if QF is still operating the 380 to there, we'll fly up to Sydney, then catch the flight from there.

 

[Ansett]

Or a Nightmare-liner.

I don't care what the media or other industry pundits say. It's as noisy as any other aircraft that I've flown in, except for the A380. I didn't notice any difference with regards to cabin air quality, either.

When we go back to England, if QF is still operating the 380 to there, we'll fly up to Sydney, then catch the flight from there.

Or fly MEL-SIN QF35 A380 then QF1 SIN-LHR A380

 

[mjt57]

JB, Is this in your library?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...&pd_rd_r=598aa337-6ed6-492a-be0b-2f8a027f1a76

 

[jb747]

JB, Is this in your library?

I don't have any additional publications. The ops manual covers the laws in depth.

 

[jb747]

And the joys of rosters and sim sessions. I came up to Sydney last week to do two sims. Got the first one done, but lost the second due to a scheduling issue. So, up here again today to pick up that session. The schedulers had planned it quite neatly....pax up from Melbourne, do the sim, then stay overnight in Sydney and start my Melbourne Singapore trip from Sydney.

But, the sim is playing up, and now the exercise has slid to the late session. Too late to have legal rest before starting duty tomorrow, so now I lose the Singapore trip entirely.

 

[mjt57]

And the joys of rosters and sim sessions. I came up to Sydney last week to do two sims. Got the first one done, but lost the second due to a scheduling issue. So, up here again today to pick up that session. The schedulers had planned it quite neatly....pax up from Melbourne, do the sim, then stay overnight in Sydney and start my Melbourne Singapore trip from Sydney.

But, the sim is playing up, and now the exercise has slid to the late session. Too late to have legal rest before starting duty tomorrow, so now I lose the Singapore trip entirely.

Will they give you another one in return?

As for starting that MEL-SIN (is that correct?) trip from Sydney, how does that work?

 

[mjt57]

I don't have any additional publications. The ops manual covers the laws in depth.

I was browsing Amazon to use up my gift card before they stop us from accessing the store from here. For whatever reason, that book came up in the "recommended" list.

I was wondering why such a book would be needed if you folks use the factory manuals and whatever the airlines produce.

 

[jb747]

Will they give you another one in return?

Whilst I won't lose pay from the trip, I'll owe them the number of hours that it was worth. That most likely means that they'll assign a couple of standby duties over the next few weeks. They have the ability to totally mess up a roster. So, a period that I might have originally had free would now be a bit of a target for the schedulers. I'm tempted to just drop the trip unpaid.

An even worse outcome would be if they assigned a standby just prior to a scheduled LA. In that case you can just about bet that you'll be called out to do a low value ($) trip. Then paying back that few hours will have the outcome of costing you dearly.

As for starting that MEL-SIN (is that correct?) trip from Sydney, how does that work?

Melbourne - Singapore sectors aren't all that long, so it's quite legal to start the sector in Sydney, by either operating or paxing.

 

[Quickstatus]

What about a MEL-SYD-SIN // SIN-LHR and return?

 

[jb747]

I was browsing Amazon to use up my gift card before they stop us from accessing the store from here. For whatever reason, that book came up in the "recommended" list.

I was wondering why such a book would be needed if you folks use the factory manuals and whatever the airlines produce.

I guess I'm not the target market. I wonder if they aren't bought by people who are just interested in the subject, or by people doing self funded training in an attempt to get into the LCCs.

 

[jb747]

What about a MEL-SYD-SIN // SIN-LHR and return?

It could be done, and pretty much exactly that is done by Sydney based crews, passing through Melbourne. But, for reasons unknown, the Melbourne based FOs and Captains aren't getting any Londons. I guess they just don't love us enough.

 

[lastrow]

Hi jb, you are taking a plane load of passengers to LA , you have reached cruising altitude ,all systems are on auto and it looks like a quiet flight. What do you do then? Do you watch the IFE , read a book, play scrabble or nod off. It must be quite a challenge to remain alert and on station for 14+ hours.