Ask The Pilot

[jb747]

Apology if this has been answered before, but is there any particular reason why the 'main' pilot is on the left in fixed wing aircraft and on the right in helicopters?

There is a theory that it relates to the fact that the very earliest aircraft were easier to turn to the left than the right (which was because of huge gyroscopic effects with some of the engine designs), but now it's really much the same as the question of why some countries are right hand drive, and others left.

There has to be some convention though, as many systems are 'sided'. As an aircraft loses electrical systems, great effort is put into ensuring that the left hand instruments will always have power. Terminal parking systems rely on the aircraft being taxied into position by the person sitting on the left.

As for helicopters though, perhaps straitman might have an explanation. I think it's just because they're a bit different.

 

[ChrisGibbs]

On the QF26 HND-SYD service departing HND on Friday 24/10. On approaching the arrivals gate the SO gave a PA requesting everyone remain seated as the APU had failed and we had to wait a couple of minutes to hook up a GPU. After about 15 minutes the Captain came on the PA saying the GPU had failed and they had to go and get another one. He also went onto say they needed ground power to open the doors and disembark the passengers. I understand with the A380 they have an electronic push button open / close switch operated by the CSM / FA. On the 737's and 747's the ground crew assist in opening the doors (on the 737's the CSM / FA's cracks the door open and waits for the ground crew to give the thumbs up) with what looks to be zero power provided from the aircraft.

How does this work when you've had an incident on the ground that shutdown all power? How do they open the doors in that situation?

 

[jb747]

On the QF26 HND-SYD service departing HND on Friday 24/10. On approaching the arrivals gate the SO gave a PA requesting everyone remain seated as the APU had failed and we had to wait a couple of minutes to hook up a GPU. After about 15 minutes the Captain came on the PA saying the GPU had failed and they had to go and get another one. He also went onto say they needed ground power to open the doors and disembark the passengers.

Without an APU or GPU they would have had to keep an engine or two running to provide electricity. That's why they wouldn't be able to connect a bridge and open the doors. Seat belts will remain on until after the engines are all shut down.

I understand with the A380 they have an electronic push button open / close switch operated by the CSM / FA. On the 737's and 747's the ground crew assist in opening the doors (on the 737's the CSM / FA's cracks the door open and waits for the ground crew to give the thumbs up) with what looks to be zero power provided from the aircraft.

Whilst some of the doors can be powered open, all of them can be opened manually, without any power at all. The reason the ground staff initiate the opening from outside is related to the emergency slides. Even though they should have been disarmed by the cabin crew, there's always the possibility that a door was missed, so as an extra precaution the opening is done from outside. The slide does not activate if the door's outside handle is used.

How does this work when you've had an incident on the ground that shutdown all power? How do they open the doors in that situation?

Again all the aircraft vary, but in an emergency the doors can be pushed open. There is a power assist system, which is operated by a gas bottle that activates once the door is slightly opened in the armed mode.

 

[Quickstatus]

I had a dual air data computer failure in an A380. The sim had been programmed to respond to that by dropping to alternate law 1, with all automatics still available. But, the actual aircraft behaviour was different, with it dropping to alternate law 2, and the loss of all automatics. One had very little effect on workload, whilst the other increased it dramatically.

Did you fly it manually to destination?

 

[jb747]

Did you fly it manually to destination?

Yes.

The biggest issue was that we lost the aileron trim (it's automatic, there is no manual aileron trim), so when the system reverted to alt 1, the ailerons went to their faired position, and took out the existing roll trim. Automatic pitch trim remained active, and yaw was available manually. The upshot was that to hold wings level, you needed about a quarter of the aileron input. Whilst there is no feedback on the side sticks, force is required to move them, and holding a lateral force of any amount whilst trying to accurately fly is extremely tiring. In the end we used a secondary effect of yaw, and flew the aircraft with a small amount of sideslip to get it to a trimmed state.

 

[Quickstatus]

Yes.
In the end we used a secondary effect of yaw, and flew the aircraft with a small amount of sideslip to get it to a trimmed state.

Ok thanks
So you had constant asymmetric rudder input? Would asymmetric thrust give the same result?.
Does sideslip increase cabin noise?
Fuel consumption must have gone up. Substantially?
How many hours did your team do this for?

 

[ozfflyer]

noticed a 737 using right hand doors for boarding & deplaning. Thought the normal convention was to use left hand doors. Any reason an airline would use right hand doors only ?

 

[jb747]

So you had constant asymmetric rudder input?

There was a rudder trim input. I don't know if the system actually applies a little of both the upper and lower rudder, or just the lower. It would have been a very small amount, which I doubt would have been noticeable even if you'd been able to see it.

Would asymmetric thrust give the same result?

Not really. A little bit of extra thrust on one side would certainly give a roll input, but as a result of the yaw. So, if you just want the yaw, the rudder trim is the best way to get it. The thrust would have been much harder to smoothly control, and anyway, the autothrottle system would have taken it out.

Does sideslip increase cabin noise?

I suppose it might, but we aren't taking about much. A degree perhaps.

Fuel consumption must have gone up. Substantially?

Not noticeably.

How many hours did your team do this for?

My crew did it for 5 hours. Dunno what the team were doing.

 

[jb747]

noticed a 737 using right hand doors for boarding & deplaning. Thought the normal convention was to use left hand doors. Any reason an airline would use right hand doors only ?

There used to be an aerobridge in Melbourne, which would attach to right 1 on the 747s. I have no idea how it ended up that way. The convention exists because the cargo doors are on the right, but nothing inherently stops you from using the right hand side for passengers.

 

[RSD]

JB747 - if you was captaining a sector with an FO and SO's that you didn't know would you try to find out their experience and experience on type during the briefing etc?

 

[jb747]

JB747 - if you was captaining a sector with an FO and SO's that you didn't know would you try to find out their experience and experience on type during the briefing etc?

I knew who was new to the fleet...basically because I'd been on it long enough to have come across everyone. That applied on the 767 and 747 too. The 767 was the only aircraft on which you'd encounter new FOs, the 747 and 380 (FO positions) were only available for bidding to FOs, so no SOs were trained on it (for about the last 20 years).

If you are concerned about people catching you out, then it wasn't only the new people you had to watch. The problem children normally announced themselves with some form of attitude, and were thankfully pretty rare. When I first got my command on the 767, I was warned by the training manager to watch out for my mates, as they were the ones I was most likely to relax with.

 

[RSD]

Was Qantas pretty good at making sure that nobody snuck through the cracks that shouldn't have done? I know of a couple of organisations that weren't so good at that and are now burdened with people that they would like to get rid of but can't...

 

[jb747]

Was Qantas pretty good at making sure that nobody snuck through the cracks that shouldn't have done? I know of a couple of organisations that weren't so good at that and are now burdened with people that they would like to get rid of but can't...

QF has some pretty nasty failure rates on training, especially command training. They try very hard to make sure nobody slips through. But, they have no compunction about demoting people if needed too.

There is always a range of skill levels. The average is pretty decent. I generally found the weaker FOs were quite aware of their shortcomings, and were inherently conservative. The occasional coughy one needed a attitude adjustment. I'm sure that they say that about captains too.

 

[RSD]

QF has some pretty nasty failure rates on training, especially command training. They try very hard to make sure nobody slips through. But, they have no compunction about demoting people if needed too.

There is always a range of skill levels. The average is pretty decent. I generally found the weaker FOs were quite aware of their shortcomings, and were inherently conservative. The occasional coughy one needed a attitude adjustment.

Human factors and team dynamics is always an interesting subject, I was part of a team doing some high risk work recently and unfortunately we were stuck with one person who wasn't up to scratch and that made us have to pull right back on what we were doing. He was over-qualified but what we were seeing didn't match the quals at all.

 

[747sp]

I find i sometimes feel a sideways movement of the plane just before takeoff. Sometimes it happens on landing but not as much. It is always gone once we takeoff or just after landing but before we have have really chance to slow down. It always makes my wife nervous and would please explain what is happening?

 

[flyer89]

QF has some pretty nasty failure rates on training, especially command training. They try very hard to make sure nobody slips through. But, they have no compunction about demoting people if needed too.

There is always a range of skill levels. The average is pretty decent. I generally found the weaker FOs were quite aware of their shortcomings, and were inherently conservative. The occasional coughy one needed a attitude adjustment. I'm sure that they say that about captains too.

I have been told of one that joined as a cadet in ‘60s and retired a few years ago a career FO. I assume he never met the standard. No doubt you flew with him on the 747 and know who I mean. I’m sure he’s not the only one.

 

[jb747]

I find i sometimes feel a sideways movement of the plane just before takeoff. Sometimes it happens on landing but not as much. It is always gone once we takeoff or just after landing but before we have have really chance to slow down. It always makes my wife nervous and would please explain what is happening?

Most likely correcting for crosswind.

When you are on the runway during take-off, the tyres keep the aircraft pointed down the runway, but as soon as you rotate, the wind gets control, so there are always corrections at that point. During takeoff and landing, they are most noticeable in the aft part of the aircraft.

On landing, before touchdown, it's probably removing the drift and pointing the aircraft down the runway. After touchdown, it's fixing any drift you didn't manage to get rid of.

It's probably not all that comfy, but it's basically normal.

 

[jb747]

I have been told of one that joined as a cadet in ‘60s and retired a few years ago a career FO. I assume he never met the standard. No doubt you flew with him on the 747 and know who I mean. I’m sure he’s not the only one.

There are many FOs who retire in that rank. You shouldn't read too much into that.

There are many reasons that people choose to forgo further training. In many cases there are personal reasons that make keeping themselves at the top of a roster more important than chasing rank (think family illness). Others have decided that command can be a poisoned chalice, and choose not to partake. They are still good pilots, and actually make the best FOs.

Yes, there are some who have missed out. Invariably, they are still performing at the rank they wear. And there are some whom I just don't understand...I think they'd make excellent captains, but they don't want to make the move.

You have to be willing to accept that the buck will always stop with you.

 

[Quickstatus]

The other QF30 incident in ?2011?, involved a pilot who was supposed to operate QF30 HKG-MEL but who was offloaded with his son in HKG and had to make his own way home because of some industrial matter. Do you know what happened to him?

 

[747sp]

With the new Brisbane Chicago flight how are the pilots trained on the layout of chicago airport. I assume everyone will have a map but is there anymore support beyond that ?