Ask The Pilot

[Quickstatus]

This is interesting:

Can this be done if the Herc was fully laden?

 

[jb747]

This is interesting:
......

Can this be done if the Herc was fully laden?

Well, as none of us flew Hercs, we don't really know, but I very much doubt it. I expect that this was done partly as an information gathering exercise during the development of the C-2 Greyhound, which appeared a couple of years later.

Firstly, the carrier deck is empty. That just never happens on a US carrier. I don't think they even have parking for all of the aircraft below the flight deck. Clearance from the island is in the order of 15 feet! Whilst it's making the ship move a bit, they're being helped immensely by the weather conditions. It is very windy. According to one source, in the order of 30-40 knots. The ship is steering into the wind, so you've got wind over the deck in the order of 50 knots. So, there's half of the speed needed by the Hercules.

They're nicely flown approaches though. The pilots were test pilots from the USN's Patuxent River facility. The aircraft captain, was handed the project, and firstly had to learn to fly a C-130...he was actually a fighter pilot. Presumably the blokes who would have normally tested the C-130 were too sensible for the job.

 

[flyer89]

They're nicely flown approaches though. The pilots were test pilots from the USN's Patuxent River facility.

I think that place has produced the most astronauts as well or at least close to it.

 

[Altair]

I have seen the landings and a couple of take offs before. There was an episode of JAG where the Harm landed a C-130 on a carrier and at the end of the episode they showed the same video stating the storyline was not too far fetched.
For some of the landings I thought they used a tailhook by the way the C-130 pulled up but then the shot focused on the coughpit where the crew had painted "Look Ma no hook".

 

[RSD]

Is there a minimum height requirement for commercial pilots? A friend of mine can't make the minimum height requirement for the RAAF.

 

[RSD]

I recall one flight from Melbourne to Dubai, with four man crew. SO 1 wanted zero. SO2 about 2 tonnes. FO 6 tonnes. I took eleven. We needed every ounce. Whilst fuel, and carrying it, is expensive, fuel that you didn't take is possibly much more so.

What caused the others to think they needed less?

 

[AviatorInsight]

Is there a minimum height requirement for commercial pilots? A friend of mine can't make the minimum height requirement for the RAAF.

Definitely no minimum height requirement for a commercial pilot.

 

[eric2011]

Definitely no minimum height requirement for a commercial pilot.

Are your seats adjustable up and down as well as back and forward or do the shorties need a booster cushion

 

[Mogul]

Yesterday while driving past Sydney airport I saw a QF A380 take off from runway 25, I didn't think this possible but it obviously is. Would this be possible with a full payload ?

 

[AviatorInsight]

Are your seats adjustable up and down as well as back and forward or do the shorties need a booster cushion

In a Cessna 152, the shorties needed a booster. In a jet, the seats are a bit more expensive, perhaps more than the 152 is worth! So it comes with moving forward/back/up/down/lumbar support/thigh adjusters/ and you can move the seat back up and down also. You can also move the rudder pedals forward and aft too.

 

[jb747]

What caused the others to think they needed less?

Ah. SO1 was a 'company man' and didn't think it through. SO2 knew that he needed more, but again, didn't really think it through. FO was definitely headed in the right direction, allowing for much more holding than the flight plan, but he wasn't as pessimistic as me. He's a very good Captain these days.

Quite some years ago now, I was being route checked, by a pilot who was quite famous for the religious zeal with which he embraced the company minimum fuel flight plans. We were going from Sydney to Dubai, and the DXB weather was quite poor. The aircraft was already at maximum take off weight, so adding any extra was problematic. I thought he was going to choke when I had all of the freight offloaded, and replaced it with fuel. On arrival we landed in the gap between two thunderstorms. If we hadn't had it, we would have ended up in Muscat. I quite enjoyed that debrief.

 

[jb747]

Are your seats adjustable up and down as well as back and forward or do the shorties need a booster cushion

No booster seats. That would have to be certified. Some of our lady pilots, in particular, are quite petite. They don't seem to have any trouble adjusting the aircraft to fit.

The RAAF height requirements have a lot to do with ejection seats, which everybody will have to sit on during their training, even if not later.

 

[flyer89]

I quite enjoyed that debrief.

Did he make any concessions?

 

[serfty]

Checking the timing for my flight this morning I noticed QF50 (SFO-MEL) flying north of Mangalore.

This surprised me as from what I have seen, the most northerly arrival USA flights to MEL generally come in is over SYD to join the "rail" to MEL, sometimes coming in further south over Gippsland.

I know it was from SFO, but looking at the track, it flew North of Hawaii - I can guess weather, but what conditions would cause that and would there be other reasons be for such a route?

 

[AviatorInsight]

Checking the timing for my flight this morning I noticed QF50 (SFO-MEL) flying north of Mangalore.

This surprised me as from what I have seen, the most northerly arrival USA flights to MEL generally come in is over SYD to join the "rail" to MEL, sometimes coming in further south over Gippsland.

I know it was from SFO, but looking at the track, it flew North of Hawaii - I can guess weather, but what conditions would cause that and would there be other reasons be for such a route?

They can also follow the BNE-MEL routes. The weather in the Tasman is just a mess at the moment with jetstreams at all levels going in every which way. It looks like there was also a band of storms just south of Hawaii so you could be right in that they were avoiding the weather.

With the jetstream activity well south of that flight route, the system would have chosen the quickest flying time and that was the result.

 

[jb747]

Checking the timing for my flight this morning I noticed QF50 (SFO-MEL) flying north of Mangalore.

This surprised me as from what I have seen, the most northerly arrival USA flights to MEL generally come in is over SYD to join the "rail" to MEL, sometimes coming in further south over Gippsland.

I know it was from SFO, but looking at the track, it flew North of Hawaii - I can guess weather, but what conditions would cause that and would there be other reasons be for such a route?

It's not even the most northerly route possible. I've been north of Brisbane, going to Melbourne from LA. And far further north of Hawaii.

The wind is the deciding factor. The plan will be run for many potential routes, and the cheapest/fastest route will be decided from that.

 

[747sp]

Hi JB. Can the A380 fly Sydney/ Melbourne to London non stop with no passengers?
Also what was your preferred alternative if Changi airport was closed, and would it make any difference if you flew in from Australia or London?

 

[jb747]

Hi JB. Can the A380 fly Sydney/ Melbourne to London non stop with no passengers?
Also what was your preferred alternative if Changi airport was closed, and would it make any difference if you flew in from Australia or London?

I wouldn’t think so. It would be able to do the return, in the same way that OJA did when first delivered, as the A380 has quite a bit more range than the -400....but Sydney - London would be a leap too far.

I never saw Changi closed, other than for air shows. If you could manage an hour of holding, you’d generally be ok. KL was the most obvious alternate, especially for the flights coming from Europe. Batam was only a few miles away, and it could be used as well.

 

[flychrisfly]

Hi Pilots, with all other things being equal and assuming nothing too extreme would ATC be more likely to have planes land through weather or takeoff into weather?

 

[jb747]

Hi Pilots, with all other things being equal and assuming nothing too extreme would ATC be more likely to have planes land through weather or takeoff into weather?

ATC should be having the aircraft take off and land the aircraft into wind.