Ask The Pilot

[Must...Fly!]

All this talk of turning has reminded me.

I had my first flight on big bird last weekend to LHR (shiny -OQL actually, beautiful aircraft and product, would fly again in a heart beat).

Something I noticed was the steering, it seemed very sharp. Does the A380 have better steering, compared to the 747 or other widebodies? Can it turn sharper?

Hope my question is clear, thanks jb747!

 

[jb747]

A couple of questions, first I noticed the relief pilot was sitting in your seat for part of the flight, how many relief pilots did you have on board for the flight and if only 1 other, did the relief pilot spend some time in the FO's seat as well?

One, and of course...

Also you turned the coughpit lighting off a short while prior to landing, is there any hard and fast rules as to when coughpit lighting needs to be switched on and when it's switched off?

Dealers choice...set it up however you like it. Mostly it is pretty dim on arrival though. Keeping it a bit brighter in flight seems to make it easier to stay awake.

 

[meloz]

I have a family member who is right seat EK 777 and he assures me they shut down one engine on taxi to save fuel.

Meloz

 

[jb747]

Something I noticed was the steering, it seemed very sharp. Does the A380 have better steering, compared to the 747 or other widebodies? Can it turn sharper?

No. Quite the opposite really. It can manage all of the turns it needs to, but generally at slower speed than the 747, and with more tendency to stop in the middle of turns than the jumbo. The lack of true body gear steering is quite noticeable.

 

[jb747]

I have a family member who is right seat EK 777 and he assures me they shut down one engine on taxi to save fuel.

Talking about this with some other crew yesterday, and it's apparently quite common for it to be done on the smaller jets, but I must admit I'm surprised it's being done on big twins. That throws up some interesting jet blast issues for anyone who might be following, as you can normally taxi at idle on two engines, but on one, you'll need quite a bit of power at times, especially in turns and if you are stopped at any time. Anyway, I'm bound to run into some 777 people over the next few days.

 

[Must...Fly!]

No. Quite the opposite really. It can manage all of the turns it needs to, but generally at slower speed than the 747, and with more tendency to stop in the middle of turns than the jumbo. The lack of true body gear steering is quite noticeable.

Perhaps it was the slow speed and relative height that threw me off. Thanks for answering!

I noticed during our flight that a smoke alarm went off (the unmistakable beeps, plus it was noted in the cabin control panel near the rear galley in Y). Is there a procedure for the crew on the flight deck once an alarm does go off in the cabin? Or is it just a wait for a report from the F/As?

 

[jb747]

I noticed during our flight that a smoke alarm went off (the unmistakable beeps, plus it was noted in the cabin control panel near the rear galley in Y). Is there a procedure for the crew on the flight deck once an alarm does go off in the cabin? Or is it just a wait for a report from the F/As?

Toilet smoke alarms are surprisingly common. One of the most common causes is the smoker who just can't hold out. Another very common cause is the ladies going in for a spruce up in the last hour or so, and using some hair spray. That will set the alarms off every time. There is a very well rehearsed procedure for it. The alarm will come up as a warning in the coughpit, and initially, we listen in on the phone and give the cabin crew a chance to carry out their drills. There will be an "all stations" call very quickly, and at that point it is normally resolved...if not then it is obviously more serious, and we'll get involved.

Other causes...galleys and recirculation fans (the fans that drive the air vents over your head). If the galley isn't a simply burnt meal, the procedure will entail shutting off the power to that galley. Ventilation fans are shut off at the start of every smoke procedure for two reasons....they might be the cause, so shutting them off fixes the problem, and if they aren't you don't want them distributing the smoke.

Pretty obviously, anything we turn off in flight, we won't turn on again. Leave the trouble shooting to the engineers on the ground.

 

[Must...Fly!]

This was indeed in the last hour or so of the flight to LHR, so my bet is that hairspray was the culprit!

Thanks again

 

[The Rok]

1. What causes a jet stream behind a plane.

2. Why does it not continue indefinitely (i.e I say a plane over Perth today and the jet stream pretty much stopped after a couple of km's for no apparent reason)

3. Why do only some planes have it and not all

I have to be honest I don't spend my days looking at the skies but I rarely see a jet stream any more, not like 20 years ago I saw them every 10 mins.

 

[jb747]

1. What causes a jet stream behind a plane.

2. Why does it not continue indefinitely (i.e I say a plane over Perth today and the jet stream pretty much stopped after a couple of km's for no apparent reason)

3. Why do only some planes have it and not all

I have to be honest I don't spend my days looking at the skies but I rarely see a jet stream any more, not like 20 years ago I saw them every 10 mins.

You mean contrails. Explanation here: Contrail - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jet streams are extremely strong winds (which are often present between Perth and the eastern states), with winds up to a couple of hundred knots....

 

[jb747]

Discussion about sickness a while back on the thread.

I've just arrived in London, and have only been at the hotel for a couple of hours. A note has just slid under my door to the effect that they'd like me to operate the 10 tomorrow night (a day earlier than planned), and to then pax home from Singapore. A replacement for me should have left Sydney a few hours ago.

 

[Simo]

Is that good or would you prefer the extra day in London?

Does this happen very often?

 

[Flashback]

Discussion about sickness a while back on the thread.

I've just arrived in London, and have only been at the hotel for a couple of hours. A note has just slid under my door to the effect that they'd like me to operate the 10 tomorrow night (a day earlier than planned), and to then pax home from Singapore. A replacement for me should have left Sydney a few hours ago.

Given I'm on R&R at the moment, if you've got time / the inclination for a quick catch-up tomorrow morning PM me and let me know!

 

[Simo]

Given I'm on R&R at the moment, if you've got time / the inclination for a quick catch-up tomorrow morning PM me and let me know!

I thought you might have been going to offer to fly 10 back for him..LOL

 

[Wannabee]

I echo the thanks of others to JB for his tireless answers to all the questions. Here's a couple from me:

When paxing (which I think I have read will be in the highest class so first on your routes) are you allowed to partake in all the offerings ie alcohol? Or is it a case of do you choose not to 'just in case'?

How much fuel would you typically have left after a sector with no delays, holding, diversion due weather etc. Flying helicopters we pretty much plan to the kg. Do you plan to the nearest 100kg, 1000kg?

 

[Wannabee]

A new video....Melbourne to Singapore in 4 minutes - YouTube

What settings did you use for this? Is yours a GoPro 2? I will give it a go on my next helicopter flight (won't go for 4 minutes though).

 

[jb747]

Is that good or would you prefer the extra day in London?

Does this happen very often?

Changes happen with reasonable regularity. As a rule, if you plan something, then there's a 100% chance of a change.

London in winter doesn't greatly excite me. But, these slips are in large part about sorting out sleeping patterns. I had two and a half days to get over the flight up here, and to prepare for the return. Reducing it to 36 hours makes that more of a problem.

 

[jb747]

What settings did you use for this? Is yours a GoPro 2? I will give it a go on my next helicopter flight (won't go for 4 minutes though).

Yeh, it's a 2.

It was set to take a shot every 5 seconds. I put the time lapse together in "Time Lapse Assembler", and then converted it to m4v, 720P, and cropped it to widescreen, in Handbrake. It required two internal batteries, plus an external to make it last the duration.

 

[jb747]

When paxing (which I think I have read will be in the highest class so first on your routes) are you allowed to partake in all the offerings ie alcohol? Or is it a case of do you choose not to 'just in case'?

You're a normal passenger. As most regular travellers find, it's much better to partake very lightly of food and drink. I find it all sits very heavily in an aircraft.

And if "just in case" happens, I'll order another drink.

How much fuel would you typically have left after a sector with no delays, holding, diversion due weather etc. Flying helicopters we pretty much plan to the kg. Do you plan to the nearest 100kg, 1000kg?

It's planned to hundreds of kgs. The company plans to a minimum arrival fuel of 12,000 kgs, and will top it up to that. I work to a slightly higher number. Shut down this morning with a bit over 13k.

 

[mannej]

1. What causes a jet stream behind a plane.

2. Why does it not continue indefinitely (i.e I say a plane over Perth today and the jet stream pretty much stopped after a couple of km's for no apparent reason)

3. Why do only some planes have it and not all

I have to be honest I don't spend my days looking at the skies but I rarely see a jet stream any more, not like 20 years ago I saw them every 10 mins.

I think you are referring to the Air Austral (?) flight from Sydney to Mauritius hitting Perth around 3. The missus thought it was a plane exploding!

There is some nut on YouTube with a truckload of clips about these "chemtrails" and how QF are evil...