Ask The Pilot

[jb747]

Would you have diverted if ATC stood firm?. I suspect airport is trying to see what the pilots can tolerate.
And it will be a case of "who blinks first"

All you had to do was to say you required runway X. They'd come back with "Is it an operational requirement". The answer was "yes".

What was sad was listening to them running through this rigamarole with people who didn't speak English as their native language, and who never operated to place that needlessly gave them tailwind.

 

[jonboixxx]

We're back talking about the frog in boiling water.

A two knot increase, in itself is probably not such a big deal. The problem is that they shouldn't have the 5 knots in the first place. Any operation to a tailwind is inherently less safe than operating into a head wind. Not dramatically perhaps, but reducing safety for a non operational reason is very poor management. As you increase the tailwind, it simply becomes less safe. Go arounds (with all the noise they bring) become more likely. Floating and long landings are more likely. In many cases you're only a couple of knots away from the aircraft's limit...so a slight gust and over the limit; go around. Approaches with a tailwind are flown with less power, which means slower engine response, and in itself might force the use of more flap (for the drag) just to help with power/speed stability. The difference between landing with a 7 knot headwind and their proposed 7 tail is in the order of 20% more energy to get rid of after touchdown.

I always knocked ATC back when they were pushing downwind landings. Interestingly, they don't 'force' it, because then the authorities would have to accept some level of responsibility when it eventually goes awry. Which, sooner or later, it will.

Thanks for your response. I do live (within 5km of BNE), under said flight paths before and after, and I don't really notice much difference in aircraft noise (which was always negligible anyway). Certainly some may be more affected, but the political and "expert" response in Brisbane has been confusing, so thanks for a decent explanation of the practical aspects.

 

[Saab34]

Gents. A a lot of talk recently around flight crew grooming standards, a few British big carriers relaxing rules also.

Do you think flight crew grooming standards need to be relaxed? Times have changed? I know tattoos seem to be the norm now.

 

[jb747]

Within limits, nobody cares about tattoos anyway. Not allowing beards is an oddity.

But, beyond that, I'm ex-military. If you can't be bothered looking the part, you should get a job elsewhere.

 

[AviatorInsight]

Gents. A a lot of talk recently around flight crew grooming standards, a few British big carriers relaxing rules also.

Do you think flight crew grooming standards need to be relaxed? Times have changed? I know tattoos seem to be the norm now.

Tattoos don’t change your ability to do the job. However there needs to be a line drawn if the airline wants their staff to be taken seriously, especially during an emergency.

 

[Carrots]

If you can't be bothered looking the part, you should get a job elsewhere.

This applies to so many things in life!
Always remembers as a kid the old man reminding me to tuck the cricket shirt in or pull the footy socks up.... because at least you'll look like the part! (thanks for the sledge dad!)

 

[mjt57]

Tattoos don’t change your ability to do the job. However there needs to be a line drawn if the airline wants their staff to be taken seriously, especially during an emergency.

Indeed.

Saw news item about a police response to something. Cop being interviewed looked like a hippy. Hard to take seriously, I think.

Agree with JB and yourself. Need to "look the part". Makes you look professional, not like someone who does the occasional joyflight around the local circuit.

Anyway, back to aviation, when are you guys going to start US-AU flights again?

 

[jb747]

Anyway, back to aviation, when are you guys going to start US-AU flights again?

Me, personally? Never.

 

[TheRealTMA]

I’m sure you plane nerds will like this link from New Scientist.

”Delivered to pilots studying at MIT in 2019, this is a jaw-dropping account of why fighter jets are easier to fly, and more frightening, than you could imagine.”

 

[eric2011]

Not allowing beards is an oddity.

Do beards allow complete sealing when your oxygen masks are needed

 

[jb747]

Do beards allow complete sealing when your oxygen masks are needed

Whilst you might have some issues with the more extreme beards, BA allows them, and I'm sure they would have looked at the implications. The Royal Navy has always allowed them, and you'd think the sealing issue, if real, would have popped up in their Phantoms or Harriers, which operate with cabins at quite high levels.

I think it's generally just an excuse to say no.

 

[NM]

Whilst you might have some issues with the more extreme beards, BA allows them, and I'm sure they would have looked at the implications. The Royal Navy has always allowed them, and you'd think the sealing issue, if real, would have popped up in their Phantoms or Harriers, which operate with cabins at quite high levels.

I think it's generally just an excuse to say no.

A cousin of mine who served in the Royal Navy (as did his brother) explained that while beards were allowed, there were restrictions around what style of facial hair was permitted and it did vary depending on your role on board the vessel. And he did state that the restrictions were there due to being able to achieve the required seal for mask wearing. He was not an aviator and the discussion was not in relation to pilots, but naval crew in general, when his ship was in Brisbane during a Pacific tour.

Things may have changed since our discussion which would have been sometime in the early 1980s. The topic arose because he was clean shaven and his brother always had a very bushy full red beard (still does more than 30 years after leaving RN). He says his beard provides extra insulation for living in Scotland! He was either considered expendable or his role did not require him to wear a full-seal mask.

 

[jb747]

”Delivered to pilots studying at MIT in 2019, this is a jaw-dropping account of why fighter jets are easier to fly, and more frightening, than you could imagine.”

His qualifications are impressive...and he missed out on astronaut selection!

 

[Dale Eastham]

A cousin of mine who served in the Royal Navy (as did his brother) explained that while beards were allowed, there were restrictions around what style of facial hair was permitted and it did vary depending on your role on board the vessel. And he did state that the restrictions were there due to being able to achieve the required seal for mask wearing. He was not an aviator and the discussion was not in relation to pilots, but naval crew in general, when his ship was in Brisbane during a Pacific tour.

Things may have changed since our discussion which would have been sometime in the early 1980s. The topic arose because he was clean shaven and his brother always had a very bushy full red beard (still does more than 30 years after leaving RN). He says his beard provides extra insulation for living in Scotland! He was either considered expendable or his role did not require him to wear a full-seal mask.

Firefighting roles on a ship would likely have much less tolerance for beards - toxic fumes, etc when fighting fires mean that sealing a mask securely when jumping around takes on a whole new level of urgency.

 

[jb747]

Firefighting roles on a ship would likely have much less tolerance for beards - toxic fumes, etc when fighting fires mean that sealing a mask securely when jumping around takes on a whole new level of urgency.

Would or do?

From what I remember of my ship time, the navy trains everyone in firefighting. The length and style of beards is regulated, but I do not recall there being any (dis)allowance based on a person's job. We aren't talking Harley Davidson beards here...

 

[Saab34]

Is the cabin temperature set the same all year round? Ie- during winter in a Melbourne cold morning is it set at a higher temp? I always find cabin’s cold.

 

[Quickstatus]

I always find cabin’s cold.

I find cabin temps hot. What to do with variable passenger demands?

 

[jb747]

Is the cabin temperature set the same all year round? Ie- during winter in a Melbourne cold morning is it set at a higher temp? I always find cabin’s cold.

I find cabin temps hot. What to do with variable passenger demands?

The cabin temps are always selected to the same settings by the pilots. But…

First thing in the morning, the aircraft is just being woken up. So, it’s probably sat there all night, shut down. In the days before APU run time, or fuel use, became an issue, the APU might have been started up by the engineers a hour or more before the aircraft was due to be used. Now, that probably won’t happen until the pilots decide to start it. And that means that there won’t be any heating (or cooling) for any length of time prior to passenger boarding. In this circumstance, adjusting the target temperature does not help, but it does lead to much more uneven temps through the aircraft, until the system catches up…which it probably won’t do before engine start.

Some gates do provide air conditioning, but in general that’s all about cooling, and less so heating. Also not available at most places, especially in never hot or cold Australia.

The APU itself is not able to supply the amounts of air that the engines can, and so, even if it is used, it’s rarely as effective as even a single engine.

Doors. When the aircraft is parked, there’s almost always doors open. Not only do these bleed the conditioned air away, but in some aircraft they also inhibit the behaviour of the system.

The upshot is that the systems are designed to keep you reasonably comfortable when the engines are running and all doors are shut. At other times they almost always struggle.

 

[Cheatah]

Slightly odd question jb747 however a recent thread of PPrune was talking about UK military food way back when a a contributor mentioned that BA crew in the early days they used to have drinks on the plane at the end of every flight from the bars.

Wondering if things at QF were similarly quite relaxed back in the 70s/80s in terms of crew having access to First/Business class food?

 

[jb747]

Slightly odd question jb747 however a recent thread of PPrune was talking about UK military food way back when a a contributor mentioned that BA crew in the early days they used to have drinks on the plane at the end of every flight from the bars.

Wondering if things at QF were similarly quite relaxed back in the 70s/80s in terms of crew having access to First/Business class food?

In the good old days, there was occasionally a round of champs, though you had to down it pretty quickly as the new crew would want the aircraft. Right to the time I retired, cabin crew would sometimes offer something from one of the galleys, mostly towards the end of the flight, when unused items were about to be binned. There was certainly no entitlement to anything from any galley.

Like most things that improve team spirit, it was beaten out of people.