Ask The Pilot

[flyer89]

I was lucky enough to be part of a culture that treated the weather with respect, and so survived an entire airline career without ever having any weather surprises.

It was hammered into me early on that the moment you stop having a healthy respect for Mother Nature is the moment when you have signed your death warrant. It would appear not everyone subscribes to that philosophy.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Your wine will be pretty safe. Looking at many of the images I took in flight, the lowest temperature that I can find is 12ºC, and the highest is 20ºC. It was kept warmer with any animals in the hold.

Reminds me of Episode One - Abu Dhabi of the Cabin Pressure BBC Radio 4 comedy series. The pilots are reprimanded by the company owner for setting the temperature too high in the hold. Then there's the day they're carrying a customers pet.

 

[Saab34]

But we are now pulling in 4 sector days over 12-14hr shifts

It seems like it’s not a job one could do into the 70s. That is tough on the body those hours.

Is it easier on the fatigue side of things, doing those shifts and staying away in crew hotels, compared to say daytrips to and from the airport each day?

Just trying to think doing say 4x12-14 hrs shifts together while driving to Mascot or Tulla each day gives me a migraine.

 

[AviatorInsight]

It was hammered into me early on that the moment you stop having a healthy respect for Mother Nature is the moment when you have signed your death warrant. It would appear not everyone subscribes to that philosophy.

Yep, even with that same advice through GA I scared the cough out of myself. Sometimes it’s a wonder how I even got through.

But I definitely learned quickly once I had my first charter job that Mother Nature will always win and is to be given the greatest amount of respect.

 

[straitman]

It seems like it’s not a job one could do into the 70s. That is tough on the body those hours.

Is it easier on the fatigue side of things, doing those shifts and staying away in crew hotels, compared to say daytrips to and from the airport each day?

Just trying to think doing say 4x12-14 hrs shifts together while driving to Mascot or Tulla each day gives me a migraine.

This is the reason why I elected Corporate flying after leaving the RAAF. RPT seems like a glamorous life but not really. I have a close friend who was a Cathay 747 Captain and he quit in his mid - late 40s as the time zone changes were killing him. He simply couldn't adjust his sleep patters adequately.
My lifestyle on the other hand was (on average) 4 X 10 hour days per week and home nearly every night. The only regular away time was having to go to West Palm Beach Florida for simulator training. Always in Business or First and normally combined with some vacation time somewhere in the world.

 

[AviatorInsight]

It seems like it’s not a job one could do into the 70s. That is tough on the body those hours.

Is it easier on the fatigue side of things, doing those shifts and staying away in crew hotels, compared to say daytrips to and from the airport each day?

Everyone's needs are different, but for me I find it easier to just be on the road for 4 days straight, not have to worry about kids waking me up at all times of the night and then I can reset on my days off. Some guys who live close to the airport prefer the day trips without the need to drag luggage around.

I try and bid for longer sectors to help with getting trips away, getting my flying done without the need for 4 sector days. Doesn't always work but I have a trip this roster where I get into PER at 0020L and am then to be back at the airport 13hrs later at 1330L. It's pretty much day rest but at least it's only one sector back to SYD.

I've got myself into a pretty decent routine now with the hotels. They're not great but comfortable enough. They're always noisy so I need to have ear plugs, especially when I'm trying to sleep during the day for a red eye.

 

[tdimdad]

Out of curiosity, what would lead to this kind of a turn on a flight path? QF1 SIN-LHR last night (4/6 dep).

 

[jb747]

I'm usually pretty active with the radar, I'll take it out of auto and manually tilt it up and down to get a better picture of what is going on.

The 380 radar was basically a database. Not only could you look along a tilted line, but you could also look at a level platform, say, all the paints at FL150. And it also made 'cuts' vertically. They were normally shown along the track (on a display below the primary), but that could also be offset to any bearing you liked. It was an interesting radar system.

 

[jb747]

Out of curiosity, what would lead to this kind of a turn on a flight path? QF1 SIN-LHR last night (4/6 dep).

Mostly likely timing. Pakistan ATC are delaying the aircraft's arrival into Kabul's airspace. It looks to have lost about 7-8 minutes. Going off track, and so flying more miles, is the only way to do that...you can't just slow down.

If you fly two legs of an equilateral triangle, you'll be adding a distance equal to a single leg length, and delaying by the time it takes to fly one leg. So, turn 60º right, fly for 2 minutes. 120º left, 2 minutes. 60º right, back on track and you'll have lost 2 minutes.

 

[AviatorInsight]

The 380 radar was basically a database. Not only could you look along a tilted line, but you could also look at a level platform, say, all the paints at FL150. And it also made 'cuts' vertically. They were normally shown along the track (on a display below the primary), but that could also be offset to any bearing you liked. It was an interesting radar system.

That sounds like it would really come in handy if it gives you altitude returns. The radar now works best in the 40nm scale and if I point it -2° then I can tell if we will fly over it or not.

I was kind of hoping that kind of thing from the 380 could have been integrated with the Max given the bigger screens, but the good thing about the Max is the amount of weather we can actually see now on the displays. There is a lot more information on those returns which is definitely a good thing.

 

[jb747]

That sounds like it would really come in handy if it gives you altitude returns. The radar now works best in the 40nm scale and if I point it -2° then I can tell if we will fly over it or not.

Try pointing your radar down up and down until you have ground returns just inside 80 miles. Whatever tilt you have now, means that the bottom of the beam is hitting the ground at 80. Something that falls off the display at 40 is at half of your height. Anything that's still there at 20 is likely to be a concern.

One other thing that the 380 radar does is actually display weather that it considers you'll be above, and not need to care about, by cross-hatching it on the display, inside about 40 miles. Mid ocean, I'd have made my move well before 40 miles, but it was still interesting. This is, of course, part of the automation and processing, which you do need to be a little wary of.

Cross-hatching, and the vertical cut below the main display.

 

[RSD]

@jb747 - it is currently 4.5 hours after QF11 was supposed to depart to LAX and it still hasn't gone - how much longer would you normally leave it before calling time and cancelling? Obviously not much info to go on or how much longer the engineers are saying that it will take to fix the problem - all we really know is that the plane arrived back from maintenance at AUH earlier today.

Edit to add that the flight status has just updated to say that it has departed - 4 hours 28 mins late.

 

[jb747]

- it is currently 4.5 hours after QF11 was supposed to depart to LAX and it still hasn't gone - how much longer would you normally leave it before calling time and cancelling?

The Captain can call time on his own crew, which often has the effect of cancelling a flight, but especially out of the main base, all he'd be doing is passing the buck to the standby crew. Depending upon the issue, the standby people may well have already been called out by crewing. In this instance, I think the bigger issue was probably the approaching Sydney curfew, which would have put an absolute limit on the timing.

Obviously not much info to go on or how much longer the engineers are saying that it will take to fix the problem - all we really know is that the plane arrived back from maintenance at AUH earlier today.

The fact that it had just arrived back from AUH is probably irrelevant. Aircraft play up when they feel like it, and that means they can be problematic just off the production line, or just after release by the engineers. Fixing issues...well, it's always like asking the length of a piece of string. Some things are pretty simple, like changing a brake, and the estimates are likely to be reliable. Others require the computer systems to actually recognise the new components, and that can be frustrating. Length of the repair has surprisingly little to do with how much work is really required.

Edit to add that the flight status has just updated to say that it has departed - 4 hours 28 mins late.

Which would equate to approximately an 18:30 duty period for the crew. Still within the absolute limit, but into the crew's discretionary time.

 

[mjt57]

An Op-Ed in the paper today regarding QF's new non-stop flights around the world (well, almost).

JB, what ramifications does this have for crew hours, extra crews, etc.?

To those who'll complain about it being paywalled, The Age does allow you five free articles before having to subscribe (ie. pay) if you sign up.

An early review of Qantas’ new looooooong-haul flights. BYO gas mask

Of course, none of this should be interpreted as a defence of stopovers, which are one of the few good arguments for staying the course for 22 hours.

www.theage.com.au

 

[SYD]

An Op-Ed in the paper today regarding QF's new non-stop flights around the world (well, almost).

JB, what ramifications does this have for crew hours, extra crews, etc.?

To those who'll complain about it being paywalled, The Age does allow you five free articles before having to subscribe (ie. pay) if you sign up.

An early review of Qantas’ new looooooong-haul flights. BYO gas mask

Of course, none of this should be interpreted as a defence of stopovers, which are one of the few good arguments for staying the course for 22 hours.

www.theage.com.au

She’s obviously not a fan of ULH travel (and who would be if their child is a self confessed screamer).

But I get the point of sticking whY seats in. I’d probably pass Y+.

 

[MooTime]

Out of Interest, what is they leeway arriving into Sydney in curfew, 11pm.

Shirley planes land 5 or 10 past 11?
Would be an early call to divert elsewhere and a big hassle to pax.

A fine etc
You could expect to make the deadline then weather or something delays you slightly. Ramifications?

 

[AviatorInsight]

Out of Interest, what is they leeway arriving into Sydney in curfew, 11pm.

Shirley planes land 5 or 10 past 11?
Would be an early call to divert elsewhere and a big hassle to pax.

A fine etc
You could expect to make the deadline then weather or something delays you slightly. Ramifications?

Nope. It’s 11pm sharp. I have asked for dispensation before only to be told that the company couldn’t get one but to try and make curfew anyway. We got track shortening, high speed climbs/descents and at 500ft on final we got told it just ticked over to 11pm and we got our landing clearance cancelled and told to go around. So we clicked the TO/GA switches twice (to give maximum thrust) and made as much noise as we could on our way back to BNE.

Conversely at the other end we were 15 seconds too early before 6am and got sent around (again with maximum thrust to wake everyone up) before coming around for another approach.

 

[ausfox]

Can’t you land but be fined for breaking the curfew?

 

[jb747]

Can’t you land but be fined for breaking the curfew?

Someone, Singair I think, intentionally ignored the curfew as the fine was less than their costs in obeying it. So, the powers that be multiplied it by an order of magnitude (or two). It’s enough money to retire on.

Post automatically merged: Jun 7, 2024

For departure from Sydney, the cutoff for departure was having requested a taxi clearance (and not having done so in your car on the way to the airport).

 

[flyingfan]

How often do RPT into SYD come up against the curfew? I know lots of airlines operate in but wondering how often per day or week considerations and ATC conversations happen about trying to expedite clearances, rush passengers to get away in time etc.