Ask The Pilot

[Quickstatus]

Hopefully this thread won't die out.

Thanks @jb747.
Was your landing today manual?

 

[AviatorInsight]

JB, firstly congratulations on your final flight. From one aviator to another, thank you for all you have done throughout your stellar career, no doubt you would have seen plenty of changes and constantly keeping our profession as safe as possible.

Thanks for allowing me the privilege of sharing such an awesome thread with the knowledge and experience that you display, I continuously learn from you. It definitely shows in your professionalism. Here’s to many more years of sharing this passion that is aviation.

Oh, and if you ever need a ride somewhere I’ll be glad to give you a lift. Have a great retirement. You’ve earned it Captain. Cheers.

 

[straitman]

JB.

You are making me feel old by retiring!

jb747,

Congratulations on joining the ranks of the unemployed.

I am surprised that nobody picked up on my previous comment in post #13308.

Many years ago when I was instructing at Point Cook you rocked up with the rest of your pilots course. Like every good course there was a share of extraverts and slightly different people but beyond that the vast majority were/are great people. Funny we should meet again all the years later on AFF. Thanks for all your input here as it really is appreciated.

Enjoy your retirement but don't slow down too much. I fully relate to the idea of not flying as I last flew on 19th April 2009 and still don't really miss it. (Though I have had a couple of PC-21 sim rides recently)

If you need any extra ideas for filling in some time then give me a yell.

...and with that I'm off on a cruise tomorrow! (Oops, later today)

 

[jb747]

Thanks @jb747.
Was your landing today manual?

Manual...as were all of the others on the trip. Last automatic one was a few weeks ago, when I qualified the GLS autoland on 34 Melbourne for the company.

 

[Quickstatus]

Now you can fly to LHR with just a few hrs layover at a transit point and maybe even get into a lounge or three

 

[jb747]

Now you can fly to LHR with just a few hrs layover at a transit point and maybe even get into a lounge or three

I‘ve done that many times over the years. Getting off for a day or two is much nicer, and is how we’ve planned our Europe trip later in the year.

The exception would be the sandpit...

 

[Quickstatus]

Turbulence Q:
As a passenger, Is it better to sit in an airplane forward of CoG?

Approx which region of seat rows on the A380 can a passenger be on CoG on aircraft for at least some of the flight . (Understanding it moves forward a bit as the flight progresses).

I have a friend who thinks an aircraft travels through the air like an arrow - nose stable about the axis of flight but the tail wobbles about that axis. At least that’s his theory on why he feels worse after travelling in the tail.

 

[jb747]

Turbulence Q:
As a passenger, Is it better to sit in an airplane forward of CoG?

Approx which region of seat rows on the A380 can a passenger be on CoG on aircraft for at least some of the flight . (Understanding it moves forward a bit as the flight progresses).

I have a friend who thinks an aircraft travels through the air like an arrow - nose stable about the axis of flight but the tail wobbles about that axis. At least that’s his theory on why he feels worse after travelling in the tail.

Roughly in line with the intakes of the 1 and 4 engines would be close to the mid-point around which the aircraft moves. The tail does experience the most motion by far (which makes it an appalling choice for those airlines that put crew rests back there). Yaw damper motion in particular is quite noticeable (small yawing motions, at any stage of flight).

 

[lastrow]

to jb747 - here is your retirement present, I hope you have many happy hours burning the snags. Note the auto fire extinguishing system has been disconnected.

 

[eric2011]

Love to see that on the Saturday morning trip to the big green shed

 

[Major]

A question for AviatorInsight.

The new ILS at OOL is supposed to come online early 2019. Has VA introduced any new SIM's or training for this or is it just a matter of following ATC instructions to line up ?

 

[Quickstatus]

Why do aircraft have that yaw motion when flying through the air?. Are there also movements about the other 2 axis?

 

[jb747]

Why do aircraft have that yaw motion when flying through the air?. Are there also movements about the other 2 axis?

There are small movements around all axes during flight, and all are normally too small to see on the AI, or even to feel. Yaw is the least comfortable, and so the most noticeable, even though it's generally just a fraction of a degree.

Ignoring any flight control or autopilot input, aircraft should be stable in all axes. If it pitches up, it will slow down, and then gently pitch down. Then it will speed up, and go through the opposite cycle. A small amount of roll will also be self damping. Yaw should be too. But, there is an interaction between one axis and another. If the aircraft yaws, it will also induce a rolling input. In some aircraft, especially swept wing aircraft, this can lead to an undamped cycle called 'dutch roll'. Yaw dampers (basically automatic rudder input), are installed to help eliminate this.

Dutch roll - Wikipedia

Form and Function: Dutch Roll - AOPA

 

[mjt57]

Hopefully this thread won't die out. Firstly, I'll continue answering questions, though my internet connection may not always be as reliable as it is when at home...also because I'm not the only person who answers. AV is going great guns, and we've had a number of other posters from quite disparate aircraft types...so hopefully that will continue.

But...I don't intend doing any more flying myself. For a lot of reasons, but mainly because I doubt that anyone is willing to lend me a 767 level aircraft, and to also pay the bill.

So...this is probably the last landing...

View attachment 151757

Excellent shot. Yet again, I ask for settings.

How did you get the centre shot like that?

 

[Quickstatus]

Would you feel it as much sitting in the nose?

 

[jb747]

Would you feel it as much sitting in the nose?

You tend not to feel the rudder inputs, as they are a couple of hundred feet away, and the entire motion has been damped by the structure. Also we simply become used to the various motions, and cease noticing anything that is normal. When I moved from the 767 to the 747, for the first couple of flights I was very aware that the fuselage flexed more than the 767....and then I simply stopped noticing.

 

[jb747]

Excellent shot. Yet again, I ask for settings.

How did you get the centre shot like that?

Settings. ISO 100, 3 seconds, F8. Shot in RAW and a lot of fiddling in Lightroom. 3 shot brackets. These shots are much easier at night. In this instance the outside was pretty much burnt out, and the inside in darkness.

As to how I got the location...trade secret...but it is exactly in front of the centre seat.

 

[AviatorInsight]

A question for AviatorInsight.

The new ILS at OOL is supposed to come online early 2019. Has VA introduced any new SIM's or training for this or is it just a matter of following ATC instructions to line up ?

According to Airservices the calibration was completed late last year so hopefully should come online soon. We may get some notes on it internally from the company about any quirks that may have popped up during calibration, but a sim won't be required as it's just a standard ILS. The benefit of this is (hopefully) a lower minima and visibility meaning there's more chance of us becoming visual during poor weather and hence less diversions.

 

[Quickstatus]

On what other airline do pilots fly more than one type:
Investigation: AO-2010-027 - Operational non-compliances - Airbus A330, 9M-XXB, Gold Coast Airport, Queensland, 4 and 29 May 2010

In the downloaded pdf report the operator made this "enhancement" in response to the 2 incidents:


I dont understand why it's "minor"

 

[jb747]

On what other airline do pilots fly more than one type:
Investigation: AO-2010-027 - Operational non-compliances - Airbus A330, 9M-XXB, Gold Coast Airport, Queensland, 4 and 29 May 2010

In the downloaded pdf report the operator made this "enhancement" in response to the 2 incidents:
View attachment 151933

Airbus have always pushed the mixed crewing idea, but the reality is that apart from having coughpits that are similar, the different types are quite different. Systems differ. Eye height at the flare. Take off and landing techniques. All sorts of stuff. If you were doing this sort of thing properly, you'd have a couple of sim sessions before a type change, and even then you'd keep the types very similar. I know the 380, but have been pretty much lost any time I've looked in a 330 coughpit.

The A340 and 330 were designed together, and were pretty well identical other than the engine count. And the weight...and we know how that worked out for one airline.

Cathay crews fly the A350 and 330. They are of similar size, but have vastly different systems and coughpits. I'd expect CX to at least train properly though, and they would be the sort of operator that could probably make it work. I don't feel the same about any branch of Air Asia.

I dont understand why it's "minor"
View attachment 151944

I guess because they didn't hit anything. It does not strike me as minor. The inability to fly what is actually quite a simple, and very standard style of approach, tells us much about their training system.