Ask The Pilot

[harvyk]

Sunrise?

As these are solid state, I suspect that the hardware difference to have anything from 1 hour to 100 hours, is minimal. So perhaps it's a number chosen to minimise pushback over privacy and company behaviour concerns. I can see cases where the accident investigators could have had value from being able to look further back, even to previous flights.

Back of the napkin calculations, 70 or so days of CD quality audio uncompressed can be stored for around $100 on solid state devices these days. Hey you could easily put in multiple SSD's cheaply to record the same data to multiple devices in case one was damaged during a crash, and it would require less power than the older tape style CVR.

Even adding the aviation tax (since everything in aviation is much more expensive than it's ground based counterpart) it's still incredibly cheap. I always find it amusing that accident investigators only ever have 2 hours of audio to deal with (if they are lucky).

 

[oz_mark]

Back of the napkin calculations, 70 or so days of CD quality audio uncompressed can be stored for around $100 on solid state devices these days. Hey you could easily put in multiple SSD's cheaply to record the same data to multiple devices in case one was damaged during a crash, and it would require less power than the older tape style CVR.

Even adding the aviation tax (since everything in aviation is much more expensive than it's ground based counterpart) it's still incredibly cheap. I always find it amusing that accident investigators only ever have 2 hours of audio to deal with (if they are lucky).

Aviation is one of the few areas where everything people say gets recorded, so there are definitely privacy concerns around it all. From a technology perspective, black boxes aren't typically built using today's (or even last years) technologies, but most these days are actually solid state.

 

[harvyk]

So to bring this back to "ask the pilot", I'm starting my own journey towards getting a pilots licence. What was some of the things that most surprised you when you where starting out getting your own licenses?

 

[AviatorInsight]

I guess the thing that surprised me the most when starting out was the fact that I got my first real lesson in English when I sat for my first CASA exam for the PPL.

 

[jb747]

So to bring this back to "ask the pilot", I'm starting my own journey towards getting a pilots licence. What was some of the things that most surprised you when you where starting out getting your own licenses?

In many ways I'm a bad person to ask, as I was one of the lucky people for whom the journey was quite straightforward. I'll have a think about it.

 

[flyer89]

I guess the thing that surprised me the most when starting out was the fact that I got my first real lesson in English when I sat for my first CASA exam for the PPL.

I’ll second this. After that I think whenever I passed an exam I was more pleased that I had defeated CASA than I was that I had passed the actual exam!

In terms of the mystical ATPL Flight Planning Exam I was surprised at how quick and accurate I could be. First time I practiced a question using the textbook took 3 hours. The entire exam is 3 hours. The first full run through of the exam untimed took 8 hours. I had some work to do as ultimately you had to allocate on average 8-10 minutes per question at most.

Reminds me of a story a now retired A380 captain told me. He was sitting the flight planning exam in the late 70’s. In those days they were written exams and held at the Bondi Life Savers. He had run out of time for the final question which was make or break as it was worth the highest mark. He simply wrote “this flight is unable to depart”. It was the correct answer.

 

[jb747]

So to bring this back to "ask the pilot", I'm starting my own journey towards getting a pilots licence. What was some of the things that most surprised you when you where starting out getting your own licenses?

One thing you may see along the way, is the difference in the way different students see things. For one, something might be immediately, blindingly obvious, whilst for another, no matter how many times and ways it’s looked at, it remains clouded in mystery. And, then, if they’re going to proceed at all, they‘ll suddenly have a light bulb moment. It has little to do with how smart they are, or how much work they’ve put in.

Something I saw when I was instructing at Pt Cook, was a student who was mostly made up of positives, but with one negative. He was smart, always did the work and came prepared. He understood everything. And his flying could be excellent. But his problem came when he made a mistake. He simply couldn’t recover from even the most minor issue. It wasn’t that he’d suddenly crash, it’s just he couldn’t put them aside, and any trip would go downhill from there. We all make mistakes, and that never stops. The idea is to simply fix them and move on. What’s behind you doesn’t matter (unless you’re in a dogfight).

Re the CASA exams. Remember that I was an observer/navigator before I became a pilot. After I’d done the ATPL flight planning exam I actually got a phone call from the bloke who set the exam. Turned out he was an ex RAAF navigator whom I vaguely knew. Anyway, in one question I’d actually come up with a way of working it out that they hadn’t considered. I was smart once.

 

[flyer89]

Something I saw when I was instructing at Pt Cook, was a student who was mostly made up of positives, but with one negative. He was smart, always did the work and came prepared. He understood everything. And his flying could be excellent. But his problem came when he made a mistake. He simply couldn’t recover from even the most minor issue. It wasn’t that he’d suddenly crash, it’s just he couldn’t put them aside, and any trip would go downhill from there. We all make mistakes, and that never stops. The idea is to simply fix them and move on. What’s behind you doesn’t matter (unless you’re in a dogfight).

I think many people who step into an aircraft are susceptible to this, it’s a great point. I certainly was. It can spiral very quickly (even as petty as something like an incorrect frequency input) can change the game if you let it.

 

[eric2011]

I read this on another site regarding the Alaska air flight, Is it garbage or not ??

"Last night I read the plane in question was out of service for a few days for some electronic upgrade by another company and they had the door plug off. Then the first three flights after it was returned to service it triggered pressurization alarms each time then finally blew."

 

[exLXCXFF]

I read this on another site regarding the Alaska air flight, Is it garbage or not ??

"Last night I read the plane in question was out of service for a few days for some electronic upgrade by another company and they had the door plug off. Then the first three flights after it was returned to service it triggered pressurization alarms each time then finally blew."

There is a very lengthy discussion thread ongoing about exactly that part on airliners.com.

 

[jb747]

I read this on another site regarding the Alaska air flight, Is it garbage or not ??

"Last night I read the plane in question was out of service for a few days for some electronic upgrade by another company and they had the door plug off. Then the first three flights after it was returned to service it triggered pressurization alarms each time then finally blew."

I find it hard to believe the aircraft was leaky enough to set off a pressurisation alarm. The previous flight was across the USA at FL340, and they certainly wouldn't have been able to stay up there with a pressurisation fault. And as I've said previously, the noise from a leaky door seal is horrendous, and that's with a leak that has no effect on the cabin at all. For one that did, I'd expect it would be well beyond noticeable.

And a look at FR24 shows that it flew every day, multiple times from the 7th of December until the incident. The only exception was New Year's Day, when it didn't fly at all. Prior to the 7th it was having wifi fitted, and here's a quote regarding that:

"KOCO 5 learned of an Oklahoma City connection to the specific airplane. The plane was in Oklahoma City for maintenance for 10 days in November and December, just weeks before Friday's mid-flight explosion.

KOCO 5 also learned the first of several pressure warning lights popped up on the day it flew out of Oklahoma City. The maintenance received in Oklahoma City was not related to the door plug.

AAR, the maintenance company in OKC contracted with Alaskan Air, said it was putting a new Wi-Fi system on the plane. In a statement, they said, "AAR did not perform any work on or near any mid-cabin exit door plug of that specific aircraft."

 

[D747]

As Door Plugs are in the news of late, are the renovated QF A380s upper right door 3 using a similar set up to the 737Max9?

 

[jb747]

Interesting article about Boeing.

Boeing's Shift from Engineering Excellence to Profit-Driven Culture: Tracing the Impact of the McDonnell Douglas Merger on the 737 Max Crisis

Boeing's journey, particularly with its 737 Max, reflects a dramatic shift in the company's core values and operational philosophy, a change significantly influenced by its late-1990s merger with McDonnell Douglas. This pivotal event marked a departure from Boeing's storied commitment to...

www.airguide.info

 

[jb747]

As Door Plugs are in the news of late, are the renovated QF A380s upper right door 3 using a similar set up to the 737Max9?

The plug installation on the Max makes use of the hinge and locking system of the doors. I'd actually expect the plugs on the 380 to be similar, but in this case the hinge point is on the front of the door, which I'd see as a much more secure option. To be honest, I really have no particular beef with the setup that was used on the Max. As long as the lock bolts were installed it would have been quite secure. Because the 380s were a stand alone modification, I think it much more likely that they would have been properly scrutinised during assembly, which would have been done by actual LAMEs, not unqualified assemblers.

Having said that, I actually have an issue with the removal of any doors from the aircraft. As we've just seen, assuming any number of doors will be available after an accident is wishful thinking, and removing an existing door is simply profit over safety.

I've put a question out to the guys who are flying it to see if anyone actually knows how the work was done.

 

[jb747]

I asked about the 380 on a QF forum, but somewhat predictably, nobody knew the details of what work was done. The only reply came from a Boeing fan, who suggested a tube of "No More Gaps", though perhaps Boeing will be buying out the entire supply.

 

[flyer89]

The only reply came from a Boeing fan, who suggested a tube of "No More Gaps",

Those in glass houses…..

 

[jb747]

Reading something yesterday, that adds to the perception of Boeing as a wonderful company.

Way back after the TWA 747 fuel tank explosion (which is almost 30 years ago) there were a number of changes to design rules. Some had to do with the way wiring was routed around the area of the tanks. This wasn’t something that could be introduced overnight, but it was intended to slowly come into force as new aircraft were built. Boeing obtained an extension to the time limit on this for the 767. Now, at the time, that wasn’t illogical, as the 767 was winding down, and the 787 was due to totally replace it. But, as it turned out, the 767 found an ongoing niche in the freight world, and new ones are still being made. And, they are still being made without the safer wiring. Boeing has just requested that this exemption be extended until the mid ‘30s. Apparently still too hard, and expensive, to do the work. But, on the SAME production line, they are making the KC-46, a 767 derived tanker for the USAF. And all of them have the fixed wiring!

Yep, a truly wonderful company.

 

[747sp]

I was wondering does the weight of the wing ( being full of fuel) make any difference to the lifting capacity of the wing?
Does the fuel in a wing dampen the twisting of the wing?
Is there a preference for the distribution of the fuel in wing as you are using up the fuel beyond balancing the plane?

 

[Saab34]

Gents. On some of these longer domestic missions, do you find it hard to not doze off? What sort of things do you do say on a long trek? Read books? Talk to the other person on the seat?

 

[AviatorInsight]

Gents. On some of these longer domestic missions, do you find it hard to not doze off? What sort of things do you do say on a long trek? Read books? Talk to the other person on the seat?

All of the above. During the day it’s not so bad. There’s plenty of chatter on the radio, frequency changes, etc.

It’s harder on the red eye, but we can do controlled rest where one person naps for 20mins at a time. We tell the cabin crew we are about to do it and they will call after that time to make the other guy hasn’t also nodded off.

We used to also get the cabin crew come up for a chat to keep us awake but unfortunately for some reason that is no longer the case.