Ask The Pilot

[workingman]

Hi JB

The U2 article I read said that for 90% of its flight that it is 5 knots above stall and that early models at high altitudes only had 10 knots between maximum speed and stall speed.

That was rather bad grammar by me to imply the Provost was not controlled, just that at that time I had never flown commercial planes, and the turns and banks made were often very abrupt (or seemed it at the time) whereas when I first flew commercial everything was a lot more 'gentle', but then I suppose have passengers feeling or being sick would not be good for the industry.

It was huge fun for me as a 15 year old boy.

 

[stewiejp]

Funnily enough I was part of a team that won an air race...and the prize was a Chipmunk. Southern Cross Air Race from 1984. Three teams tied at the end, a civvy from the Moorabbin aero club, the Army with a Kiowa, and the RAAF with a CT4. I was half of the RAAF team, even though I had a black uniform.

There's a blast from the past - my dad and a few of his mates used to compete in the Southern Cross Air Race back then - he loved it, got a few prizes too.

 

[jb747]

The U2 article I read said that for 90% of its flight that it is 5 knots above stall and that early models at high altitudes only had 10 knots between maximum speed and stall speed.

I'd expect that wasn't just the early models. That's the classic 'coffin corner'. Maximum speed is defined by a mach number, so as you go higher the indicated airspeed for that mach is constantly reducing. At the other side of the equation, the indicated airspeed for the stall stays the same (but of course the TAS will be rising). Eventually, as you climb, the max mach number and the stall speed will occur at the same IAS.

That was rather bad grammar by me to imply the Provost was not controlled, just that at that time I had never flown commercial planes, and the turns and banks made were often very abrupt (or seemed it at the time) whereas when I first flew commercial everything was a lot more 'gentle', but then I suppose have passengers feeling or being sick would not be good for the industry.

The rates that are used for control inputs, and then the subsequent movements are very abrupt. They become an order of magnitude greater (or worse, depending upon your point of view) when you move from a trainer like the Provost (or Macchi) to a fighter. About the only time relatively gentle rates are used is when instrument flying. Aircraft like the A4 or Mirage had roll rates in the order of 720º per second...quite a world away from the max rates of 15º or so per second of an airliner.

 

[tgh]

Just another me too thanking jb747 for a wonderful thread that has been both educational and inspirational.

Memory lane is a nice place to visit as the years dim.. special memories relate to an early solo in what was essentially a primary glider with a fuselage, and around the same era , being locked onto by a raaf winjeel who was practicing bombing runs and thought I looked sus on my bike.
Rambling on in typically expansive Australian fashion ( through a mild alcoholic haze ) on a cruise ship , an American befriended me and was impressed and envious of my youthful motorless flight adventures.
I was to discover , over time , that he was a retired Boeing "boffin" who had been seconded to NASA for many years.
He and had done and seen more in his life than I had in a week.

(this note has gone way o/t... mods please remove if inappropriate)

 

[Skyhigh777]

JB, have you done any flying lately?

 

[jb747]

JB, have you done any flying lately?

Not for the past six or seven weeks. CASA decided I had a glitch in my last medical, and it has taken that long and a couple of visits to specialists to prove them wrong...though I'm still waiting for their admission.

 

[Dmac6345]

Well I hope they hurry up and clear you to drive. I'm heading to LHR in November and was hoping to rub shoulders with Captain jb747. Fingers crossed JB.

 

[jb747]

Well I hope they hurry up and clear you to drive. I'm heading to LHR in November and was hoping to rub shoulders with Captain jb747. Fingers crossed JB.

You and me...

Currently scheduled to do the 9 ex Melbourne on the 9th and 28th of November. Ex Dubai to London on the 11th and 30th.

 

[LiamR]

Not for the past six or seven weeks. CASA decided I had a glitch in my last medical, and it has taken that long and a couple of visits to specialists to prove them wrong...though I'm still waiting for their admission.

I know the feeling. Took me 4 months after CASA disputed some information in my medical. Good luck.

 

[mjt57]

Not for the past six or seven weeks. CASA decided I had a glitch in my last medical, and it has taken that long and a couple of visits to specialists to prove them wrong...though I'm still waiting for their admission.

Not good to hear.

A fellow I know has had his PPL cancelled (but can still fly his Jabiru). Some sort of heart palpitation condition which wakes him up when sleeping, doesn't cause him to lose conciousness.

Another fellow had a heart condition. Licence cancelled or suspended. Did the heart surgey. CASA won't reinstate it despite top heart surgeons giving him the all-clear.

Doesn't sound like a pleasant organisation to deal with at all.

Hope you're good to go, soon. Well, at least Jul/Aug 14 when we travel to NY...

 

[Jgs110]

Hi guys,
First time posting... but long time reading. Thanks for may hours of enjoyment.

if there's a medical emergency on board and a call goes out for "any doctor on board", is the decision to land the plane solely at the discretion of the captain or does the doctor who responds to the PA call then make the call to divert?

 

[Shorns]

There's a whole thread on that, search for something like "is there a doctor on board"

 

[jb747]

if there's a medical emergency on board and a call goes out for "any doctor on board", is the decision to land the plane solely at the discretion of the captain or does the doctor who responds to the PA call then make the call to divert?

The decision to divert, or not, rests solely with the Captain. We will generally also have access to emergency specialists at the end of the sat phone, who also have detailed information on the medical facilities available at any possible diversion field. They will provide the medical advice that will be used by the Captain in making his decision. Any on board medical assistance will be used to help the passenger, but it won't generally affect where the aircraft goes.

 

[ChrisGibbs]

JB747 - last week instead of taking the QF108 JKF-LAX-SYD flight I did the JL05 JFK-NRT / QF22 NRT-SYD. A couple of questions / observations:

- The JAL flight was on the 777-300ER. Around 14.5hrs total flight time. We followed what appeared to be a very northerly flight path (looked to be very close to the Great Circle route) over the northern part of Alaska then gradually turning south to cut across the Western part of Russia. Not understanding the opportunities for alternates - what are the ETOPS requirements on the 777-300ER on a flight such as this and does this make the flight track less cost effective than if a 4 engined aircraft was used. BTW IMHO the 777-3xxER is a very nice aircraft. Having flown on the 787 as well as the new 777-3xxER I'd rate the 777 way above the noisier and more plastic 787. Pity QF didn't or are yet to go down down the 777 path.

- On the QF22 flight from NRT-SYD. We commenced our long taxi from Gate 82 down to RWY34R. Part way through the taxi we stopped and held position for about 7-8 minutes. Once we got rolling again we taxi'd across to and took off on RWY34L. The Captain advised that an aircraft had become disabled on 34R hence stopping the taxi midmay and having to recalculate performance data for a take-off on 34L. What is involved in this recalculation? Is it a manual process or something the FMC calculates? From the looks of things 34L is around 5000ft longer than 34R. Would this then allow for a reduced power take-off?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jb747]

- The JAL flight was on the 777-300ER. Around 14.5hrs total flight time. We followed what appeared to be a very northerly flight path (looked to be very close to the Great Circle route) over the northern part of Alaska then gradually turning south to cut across the Western part of Russia. Not understanding the opportunities for alternates on - what are the ETOPS requirements on the 777-300ER on a flight such as this and does this make the flight track less cost effective than if a 4 engined aircraft was used.

The 777 most likely operates to 3 hour ETOPS. I don't think that would affect the routes available in that part of the world. There would be a few, albeit very cold, places to go. The only route that I know for sure gave the 777 trouble compared to the 747, was across the Indian Ocean to South Africa. When Virgin were doing it their route was long way north of that used by QF.

BTW IMHO the 777-3xxER are very nice aircraft. Pity QF are yet to go down down this path.

Most pilots agree with you.

- On the QF22 flight from NRT-SYD. We commenced our long taxi from Gate 82 down to RWY34R. Part way through the taxi we stopped and held position for about 7-8 minutes. Once we got rolling again we taxi'd across to an took off on RWY34L. The Captain advised that an aircraft had become disabled on 34R hence stopping the taxi midmay and having to recalculate performance data for a take-off on 34L. What is involved in this recalculation? Is it a manual process or something the FMC calculates? From the looks of things 34L is around 5000ft longer than 34R. Would this then allow for a reduced power take-off?

The data is worked out on either laptops or iPads. It has to be worked out by multiple pilots, each sourcing the raw data themselves.

34L is about 1500 metres longer than 34R. Its use would certainly allow more derate to be used (I doubt that they'd get any off the right). It would also affect the Vspeeds...in particular the use of the longer runway would reduce the V1. Local rules can affect derating, and cleanup.

 

[vitagen]

You and me...

Currently scheduled to do the 9 ex Melbourne on the 9th and 28th of November. Ex Dubai to London on the 11th and 30th.

Bigger! Won't have you on QF10 on the 8th Nov then!

 

[bass_ke]

Folks,

Today I heard an aircraft get told it was outside it's off blocks time and therefore non compliant with airport flow procedure, what does this mean?

Thanks!
Nate

 

[jb747]

Bigger! Won't have you on QF10 on the 8th Nov then!

Getting the paperwork for my medical back from CASA is still dragging on. I've been off long enough now that I'm bound to miss my next planned flight anyway. At this point I'll need two sims and a route check before they let me loose again.

 

[jb747]

Today I heard an aircraft get told it was outside it's off blocks time and therefore non compliant with airport flow procedure, what does this mean?

I haven't done any domestic stuff for a long time, so I'm not up on the details of the system they're using. But, each aircraft (at certain times of day) will be allocated an off chocks time that it has to meet to for airport congestion management. Basically a slot time, but applied at the gate. Miss your slot and it may mean a long wait, or even cancellation of the flight.

 

[flychrisfly]

I haven't done any domestic stuff for a long time, so I'm not up on the details of the system they're using. But, each aircraft (at certain times of day) will be allocated an off chocks time that it has to meet to for airport congestion management. Basically a slot time, but applied at the gate. Miss your slot and it may mean a long wait, or even cancellation of the flight.

Does "off chocks time" = "push back time"?