Ask The Pilot

[jb747]

I just sit down the back, but this video is amazing to give a glimpse of what military pilots experience.
Some of those cranes and building seem very close and I am wondering if this Brisbane show is about the closest these displays anywhere get to "obstacles"?

The image quality produced by GoPro and it’s ilk is truly amazing.

There’s quite a few interesting little points within the video. Firstly the pilot has an issue with his left parachute harness strap, which slides off his shoulder number of times, and he pushes it back up. It shouldn’t do that. The harness itself looks like it attaches to a Koch fitting, which is something that the A-4 used on our torso harness. Basically, it should be much tighter.

Watch the movement of his left hand on the throttles, each time there’s a pull of ‘g’. He’s very actively controlling the power. There’s also a couple of times that he uses both hands on the stick…which is surprising.

The leading edge of the wing continually moves in relation to the angle of attack.

As for obstacles…well I guess you don’t normally get any closer laterally to an occupied CBD. He’s not all that low. 200 feet perhaps. The RAAF will have very carefully worked out the separation from any of the city obstacles. I must try to see this show one day. We used 50’ and ”don’t run into them” as our normal rules for operating with ships, though we were probably less rule bound that modern aviators.

 

[D747]

When flying into large, busy and complex airports at what point do you recieve gate and taxi instructions? Do these ever change once issued? Is all this info input and then displayed as a moving map? How do QF/VA SOPs work, if relevant? Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

[AviatorInsight]

We will know our gate prior to top of decent. We’ll make contact with the company that will give us a gate on arrival (still subject to change).

After landing and while vacating the runway we will transfer over to the ground frequency. On initial contact to ground I’ll give the gate number as a confirmation to what they might have. If correct, they will then give us taxi instructions to the gate.

We do have a moving map on the iPad that shows the aircraft position. Much like google maps but it won’t show how to get there. Just where we are on the airport.

I’ll write down the clearance on the FMC scratchpad so the Captain can also see and confirm the clearance I have read back.

As far as SOP goes, once the captain has stowed the speedbrake, that’s my cue to clean the aircraft up with my after landing scan.

 

[jb747]

When flying into large, busy and complex airports at what point do you recieve gate and taxi instructions? Do these ever change once issued? Is all this info input and then displayed as a moving map? How do QF/VA SOPs work, if relevant? Thanks in advance for your answers.

Gate info would be given to us over ACARs, generally before descent. It often changed, mostly because the gate you'd been planned for was still occupied by a previous aircraft. There's normally only a few gates that would be used by any given airline, so most changes weren't all that dramatic. You do need to ensure though, that you follow ATC's instructions on how to get there, as there could be multiple viable routes, and you certainly didn't want to accidentally take one, just because you'd looked at it earlier. Once on the ground, the A380 map could be blown up to show all the details of the taxi routes, and it was also on the iPads. Neither showed the cleared route though. With the A380 we did need to be very careful to only use routes allowed for it, as wing tip clearance was always a big issue. Sometimes ATC would get that wrong, as they'd be used to handling smaller aircraft, so you really had to be on top of it. The Jeppesen maps on the iPad were colour coded for the allowed routings.

The easiest ATC instruction to follow was "taxi on the green", and they'd simply keep a path of green taxiyway lights running in front of you. If you reached the end of the greens, you just stopped. Singapore was the first place that I recall seeing this system.

For reasons I don't understand (but probably cost) most 737s aren't equipped with a tiller on the FO's side, which means that all taxiing is done by the Captain. That then affects who can do the pre takeoff and post landing duties. On the 747/767/380 both sides had a tiller and so taxiing was done by the pilot who was doing the sector, which meant that the duties also swapped sector by sector. The only thing that was always done by the Captain was the actual parking, mostly because many of the parking alignment systems only gave correct alignment from the left seat.

 

[D747]

With the A380 we did need to be very careful to only use routes allowed for it, as wing tip clearance was always a big issue. Sometimes ATC would get that wrong, as they'd be used to handling smaller aircraft, so you really had to be on top of it. The Jeppesen maps on the iPad were colour coded for the allowed routings.

When you knew a direction from ATC was wrong what took place?

 

[jb747]

When you knew a direction from ATC was wrong what took place?

Stop if you needed to, and then just tell them that the Jeppesen or SOPs (or whatever) say that you can’t use taxiway X. Resolving it was never an issue.

 

[Quickstatus]

the wing is also extremely flexible

I thought they were stiff. Im comparing with 787 though

 

[jb747]

I thought they were stiff. Im comparing with 787 though

767 was pretty stiff. 747 much less so. Apparently the 787 flaps like a bird, so perhaps it's Boeing's new mode of propulsion. A380 had a very rigid fuselage, but quite flexible wing.

 

[Saab34]

AV, in light of this new era of vaping, are you having issues onboard? I assume they don’t set off the toilet detectors?

I noted a young male discreetly vaping in the boarding queue the other week. He had it discreetly down his sleeve, and then raised it tried to go unnoticed. I would just assume they are trying it onboard

 

[AviatorInsight]

AV, in light of this new era of vaping, are you having issues onboard? I assume they don’t set off the toilet detectors?

I noted a young male discreetly vaping in the boarding queue the other week. He had it discreetly down his sleeve, and then raised it tried to go unnoticed. I would just assume they are trying it onboard

I’m certain it happens more often than we’re notified up the front. I haven’t been directly contacted saying it’s a problem. Probably because there’s different flavours and the toilets now smell of strawberries.

 

[defurax]

What would be the reason to lower the landing gear at ~3500ft and about 10 nautical miles from MEL?
I'm asking because QF6006 (a 789 ferry flight from SYD to MEL this morning) had the gear extended already over Melbourne CBD.

 

[Saab34]

When you knew a direction from ATC was wrong what took place?

Here is a good little video of an A380 and questionable a taxi routing from EK into Toronto. The comment at the end from the Captain pretty much underlines what JB Said, she is a big girl, and one needs to be careful.

 

[jb747]

What would be the reason to lower the landing gear at ~3500ft and about 10 nautical miles from MEL?
I'm asking because QF6006 (a 789 ferry flight from SYD to MEL this morning) had the gear extended already over Melbourne CBD.

That flight number shows up as an A330 a few days ago…so I guess that’s not it.

In any event, an early gear selection is pretty well always for energy management. He may have been fast/high or could even be rapidly overtaking someone in front. I was never a fan of using the gear as a speedbrake, but others felt differently. An early gear selection would also happen on many of the abnormal approaches (i.e. engine out) as it let you stabilise things nice and early. Or he might have just felt like it.

 

[defurax]

That flight number shows up as an A330 a few days ago…so I guess that’s not it.

In any event, and early gear selection is pretty well always for energy management. He may have been fast/high or could even be rapidly overtaking someone in front. I was never a fan of using the gear as a speedbrake, but others felt differently. An early gear selection would also happen on many of the abnormal approaches (i.e. engine out) as it let you stabilise things nice and early. Or he might have just felt like it.

Thanks. It was VH-ZNK

 

[jb747]

Okay, found it. I'd probably have to say that nothing stands out. It's quite a low energy approach so he certainly isn't using the gear's drag to help lose energy. Perhaps, being a non passenger sector, it's being used for training. If I recall correctly, the Boeing non precision approaches were flown gear down.

 

[Peasant]

@jb747 I heard a certain self-styled "celebrity" captain is seeking a seat on the QF board. I think it's fair to say there's been a severe lack of engagement between management and staff at Qantas, but what's your view on how this would work in practice? Would there be any practical use in a former Captain occupying this role? And even if he did manage to succeed in getting his candidacy endorsed, how would he be viewed by the rest of the organisation?

 

[Saab34]

Why don’t people just go and hang up the hat JB? Disappear and never to be heard of again. As mentioned above, some people seem to want to hang around, appear on morning television most weeks, become aviation experts.

 

[jb747]

@jb747 I heard a certain self-styled "celebrity" captain is seeking a seat on the QF board.

Perhaps I should put my hand up. On a more serious note, I can think of any number of somewhat less celebrity Captains who would make a good addition to the board. Sorting out an engine failure in an aircraft with 3 others is not what I’d consider a board qualification.

I think it's fair to say there's been a severe lack of engagement between management and staff at Qantas, but what's your view on how this would work in practice?

The more appropriate word would be ”war”. The board and management have treated all of the staff as totally expendable fodder. I don’t know how you’d go about repairing that sort of relationship, but I doubt that any members of the board or of management in general, have it in them to do so. I can think of only one management person whom I had any faith in, and he’s only middle management at the most.

Would there be any practical use in a former Captain occupying this role? And even if he did manage to succeed in getting his candidacy endorsed, how would he be viewed by the rest of the organisation?

I can see that there would be value. The board has zero aviation (as does virtually all of management) knowledge, so that would be an improvement for start. But, not, with all respect, RdC. Also not any of the management pilots. Remember too, that pilots are only a relatively small percentage of the staff, so how about some thought to all of the others.

 

[jb747]

Why don’t people just go and hang up the hat JB? Disappear and never to be heard of again. As mentioned above, some people seem to want to hang around, appear on morning television most weeks, become aviation experts.

I’m worried now. Do you mean me, and this thread?

The vast majority do just quietly go into the sunset. Some keep themselves involved in aviation, because it is a lot of fun. But, I don’t understand the ones who get involved in the media. Even when I could have, I kept as far away as I could. And writing a book opens you up to people like me, who can read between the lines.

BTW, this was my book.
It went bang.
We descended.
We landed.

Needs a bit of fleshing out.

 

[Saab34]

I’m worried now. Do you mean me, and this thread?

Haha no not you JB.

I see many of your ex colleagues vying for board positions, on breakfast TV, writing numerous books, newspaper columns, expert reports for selected networks and so forth. Soon as there is a crash or accident, some ex Qantas pilots are on Seven News giving us expert analysis.