Ask The Pilot

[mjt57]

JB, did you say that many of the A380 captains had retired? If so, where will the next lot come from?

First Qantas Airbus A380 superjumbo returns to Australia after 10 months in storage

The first Qantas A380 superjumbo returns to Australia today after almost 600 days of storage in California's Mojave desert.

www.traveller.com.au

 

[jb747]

JB, did you say that many of the A380 captains had retired? If so, where will the next lot come from?

First Qantas Airbus A380 superjumbo returns to Australia after 10 months in storage

The first Qantas A380 superjumbo returns to Australia today after almost 600 days of storage in California's Mojave desert.

www.traveller.com.au

By my maths, somewhere between 50-60% left the company.

I'd expect that they'll mostly be replaced by converting A330 Captains. There might be a few from the 747, but I'd expect most of them to go to the 787. It ripples down...

 

[docjames]

The glideslope (as in the transmitter that is part of the ILS) is aligned to the aiming point and usually 3 degrees (can be steeper). If you follow that down to the ground (eg for an autoland) you won't hit the keys. On the approach plate it will state the TCH (Threshold Crossing Height), which as below for YSSY 34L, is 52 feet. This is a relative height, so actual height for 34L is 66 feet.

View attachment 264342

But if you were descending on a 3 degrees decent profile to the keys on a visual approach, you would still not hit anything as the clearance starts from the end of the strip initially at 2 degrees and later at 2.5 degrees, as per the following diagram.

Usually if an aircraft lands well short, the first thing to go will be some of the HAIL globes (High Intensity Approach Lighting - aka the Christmas Tree) - but you've got bigger problems if that happens.

Surely the EK407 issue out of MEL shows the problem in reverse (and electronic structures encountered)……

Investigation: AO-2009-012 - Tailstrike and runway overrun - Airbus A340-541, A6-ERG, Melbourne Airport, Victoria, 20 March 2009

 

[Dismounted]

BA and VS did a symbolic parallel takeoff for the reopening of US borders the other day - are there any special procedures that the pilots / ATC needed to have in mind for this?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1457652867800522757

 

[jb747]

Surely the EK407 issue out of MEL shows the problem in reverse (and electronic structures encountered)……

Well, if you go driving off the end of the runway, there are almost always things you'll run into. Nevertheless, a 3º slope to the threshold is clear, but as you suggest, being a tad low will generally be extremely embarassing.

BA and VS did a symbolic parallel takeoff for the reopening of US borders the other day - are there any special procedures that the pilots / ATC needed to have in mind for this?

These are widely spaced runways, and their respective SIDs increase the separation, so there aren't any issues.

 

[Saab34]

JB how do you feel when you see stuff like this. I feel a little sad actually! In my book it’s one of mankind’s engineering masterpieces in regards to size and haulage. What was a truly amazing piece of metal, pity it’s going to have such a short lifespan. I guess with the efficiencies of the future, we will probably look back in 20, 50 years and think of it nothing but a lemon.

9V-SKG | Airbus A380-841 | Untitled | Andrew Hunt | JetPhotos

Ready for scrapping [Sony A1]. 9V-SKG. Airbus A380-841. JetPhotos.com is the biggest database of aviation photographs with over 6 million screened photos online!

www.jetphotos.com

 

[jb747]

It is sad. It's a great aircraft, but sadly that isn't the arbiter of whether an aircraft is successful or not.

 

[Quickstatus]

I'd expect most of them to go to the 787

One of them did go from 767-747-330-787. Or similar.

Now 787 management/check captain, paramedic and also involved as Faculty member in medical simulation training. I didn’t ask how he came into the last role but possibly Covid induced. Back flying and he did LAX-SYD previous weekend.

(Interestingly one pax on his flight subsequently became Covid+. SG said the 787 flight deck has a higher air pressure than passenger cabin and so likely protected).

You might know SG @jb747?

He did some instruction for us on this weekend on human factors and non technical aspects of team performance. Nice guy. The medical profession is way behind re implementation of human factors in the curriculum.

 

[jb747]

One of them did go from 767-747-330-787.

I think his actual progression was 767-747-767-330-787. So started as a 767 SO, then 767 FO, 744 FO, 767 Capt, 330 Capt, 787 Capt. In normal times, you don’t step backwards in rank, nor can you go to a lower graded aircraft, unless it’s for a promotion.

We flew together once, on what was called a ”rice bowl”, a 10 day trip around Asia on the 767. My favourite trip on the aircraft.

Now 787 management/check captain, paramedic and also involved as Faculty member in medical simulation training. I didn’t ask how he came into the last role but possibly Covid induced. Back flying and he did LAX-SYD previous weekend.

I don’t know that he was in management, as I didn’t keep track of the fleets that I wasn’t currently on, but he was a senior check Captain (i.e. the sim) on the 767, and probably 330 and 787. Good choice for the job. I don’t know where he found the time, but from what I heard, he actually did the paramedic training before covid. Perhaps it was a continuation of what he was doing before flying. There were well qualified people who moved from their roles to become pilots.

 

[Flying Fox]

Tripped over this video on the weekend.

Did you ever have to do this training? It looks fun.

 

[jb747]

Did you ever have to do this training? It looks fun.

Imagine the liability when someone breaks a leg, or worse. The escape reels were there, and their use was covered on the annual EP day, but there's no way they'd be letting people use them for real. I guess the young blokes would look at it as a way of getting a better seniority number.

They did once have an escape slide trainer for the upper deck, and its use was discontinued after a poor landing.

 

[NM]

The 777 has a similar system. I remember a basic briefing on its use when invited to a BA 777 flight deck for a landing into LHR many years ago. The instruction was something like "grab that handle and follow the FO out the window to the ground". Nothing mentioned about removing my shoes and putting on white "socks" in the procedure.

 

[jb747]

The 777 has a similar system. I remember a basic briefing on its use when invited to a BA 777 flight deck for a landing into LHR many years ago. The instruction was something like "grab that handle and follow the FO out the window to the ground". Nothing mentioned about removing my shoes and putting on white "socks" in the procedure.

The idea is to let a few go first, and then the bodies will cushion your landing. It was a rope in the 767 and 380.

 

[AviatorInsight]

The idea is to let a few go first, and then the bodies will cushion your landing. It was a rope in the 767 and 380.

If trying to get out of a window isn’t incentive enough for guys to lose weight then I don’t know what is.

Luckily there’s a rope on each side.

I used to laugh at the fact that they told us to be careful about the pitot tubes on the way down. Yeah…if I’m having to climb out of the window I’m having a pretty bad day already. But thanks I’ll keep it in mind as I try and stop myself swinging around in the wind trying to get down.

 

[Saab34]

So 100kg and above no chance of getting out the window?

 

[AviatorInsight]

So 100kg and above no chance of getting out the window?

I wouldn’t say there’s no chance, even 1% is something right?

But I’d say there’s no chance of doing it as gracefully as they show you on the demo video every year during your emergency procedures revaluation day.

 

[Saab34]

AV I noticed a video on one of the Virgin social channels around Cabin Crew Safety and they need to be able to swim a certain distance and so on. They do a live swim/rescue demo as such in some training centre.

Do Pilots do the swim training modules also?

 

[AviatorInsight]

AV I noticed a video on one of the Virgin social channels around Cabin Crew Safety and they need to be able to swim a certain distance and so on. They do a live swim/rescue demo as such in some training centre.

Do Pilots do the swim training modules also?

Only on initial induction to the company, yes.

 

[jb747]

So 100kg and above no chance of getting out the window?

There was a tale about a student who managed to escaped from a Winjeel via a tiny side window. I don't know the details, but I think it was a bail out. When he tried to get out the same window on the ground, he couldn't do it. Incentive is an amazing thing.

 

[747sp]

JB how big does the pool of pilots need to be to keep one A380 flying normally . Also have you heard if the Melbourne A380 pilot base is open or is opening again?