Ask The Pilot

[OzEire]

Waiting to deplane a VA 737 today the aerobridge was connected and J class pax disembarked. FAs held Y pax onboard with the explanation that they were awaiting rear stairs to be connected. A row 3 pax (prob a WP) asked why. The answer was "weight and balance, we don't want the plane to tip over".

Really? I can imagine that situation might happen (maybe) in reverse by 180 pax pushing toward the tail might lift the nose, but how many times does a 737 only use the door 1 aerobridge without a problem.

In the end our rear stairs didn't arrive and we used the aerobridge anyway!

 

[eric2011]

Waiting to deplane a VA 737 today the aerobridge was connected and J class pax disembarked. FAs held Y pax onboard with the explanation that they were awaiting rear stairs to be connected. A row 3 pax (prob a WP) asked why. The answer was "weight and balance, we don't want the plane to tip over".

Really? I can imagine that situation might happen (maybe) in reverse by 180 pax pushing toward the tail might lift the nose, but how many times does a 737 only use the door 1 aerobridge without a problem.

In the end our rear stairs didn't arrive and we used the aerobridge anyway!

Maybe they were taking into account weight down below as well

 

[andmiz]

Waiting to deplane a VA 737 today the aerobridge was connected and J class pax disembarked. FAs held Y pax onboard with the explanation that they were awaiting rear stairs to be connected. A row 3 pax (prob a WP) asked why. The answer was "weight and balance, we don't want the plane to tip over".

Sounds like they may have been repeating something they heard once before, without giving it much real thought....

 

[RailFlyer]

There are many places where the skies become saturated, not so much because of a lack of space, but because of military activity. Afghanistan is the obvious example...

Have you ever seen military jets in operation (or to/from operations) in areas like this from the [Qantas] coughpit? What about other interesting non-natural flying things, e.g. air force 1, space shuttle launches, weather balloons, Richard Branson in a balloon, UFOs, etc?

 

[jb747]

Have you ever seen military jets in operation (or to/from operations) in areas like this from the [Qantas] coughpit? What about other interesting non-natural flying things, e.g. air force 1, space shuttle launches, weather balloons, Richard Branson in a balloon, UFOs, etc?

You see military transports (C17s, etc) regularly enough, as they fly the same airways as the rest of us. The only fighters I can recall was a flight of four F15s flying with a KC10, out over the Pacific somewhere. Bombers...we saw a B-1 loitering over Afghanistan. Very high contrails show up every now and then, but they're just as likely biz jets.

You'd need to be in Florida or the Atlantic to see a space shuttle launch. I tried to see one from ground level, but it didn't work out. Small weather balloons very occasionally. Last time I saw them it was a bunch of five or six over Indonesia.

UFOs...are only UFOs if you don't make a habit of looking up. Unusual clouds, twinkling planets, and Iridium satellites are all there to be seen, but there's nothing unidentified about them.

 

[jb747]

A couple of pages ago, I was asked what would push us past the line with regard to ditching. Here's a good example, but I doubt that the time available would be long enough to allow a successful outcome, even if you made the decision at the start of the event (at which point you wouldn't know enough to make that call). Crash: Asiana B744 near Jeju on Jul 28th 2011, fire in cargo hold

 

[jb747]

Waiting to deplane a VA 737 today the aerobridge was connected and J class pax disembarked. FAs held Y pax onboard with the explanation that they were awaiting rear stairs to be connected. A row 3 pax (prob a WP) asked why. The answer was "weight and balance, we don't want the plane to tip over".

Really? I can imagine that situation might happen (maybe) in reverse by 180 pax pushing toward the tail might lift the nose, but how many times does a 737 only use the door 1 aerobridge without a problem.

In the end our rear stairs didn't arrive and we used the aerobridge anyway!

I'm not sure that I see a question here. Sounds like a bit of class warfare.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

A couple of pages ago, I was asked what would push us past the line with regard to ditching. Here's a good example, but I doubt that the time available would be long enough to allow a successful outcome, even if you made the decision at the start of the event (at which point you wouldn't know enough to make that call). Crash: Asiana B744 near Jeju on Jul 28th 2011, fire in cargo hold

Difficult call. I suppose (sadly) the decision to ditch immediately (on limited information) rather than continue to an airfield will come when the number of successful landings falls below the number of hull losses at sea. That is, the statistics will need to show that in the event of a smoke alarm, in 6 times out of 10, you have X number of minutes to make land, or the preferred option is a ditching.

I suspect the stats are well in favour of continuing to airports at the moment.

 

[clazman]

Trying to get my mind around how some airlines are still flying out of Bali and can only surmise they are pushing the safety boundaries. We all know Australian airlines aren't flying there, CX HK to Perth normally flies over Bali, they are flying via Vietnam and Singapore. Watching air Asia and Garuda flights on flight radar they were taking off to the east and climbing out at 3200-3400 FPM, which seams extreme when I look at other aircraft taking off and climbing to 10000+ feet at other airports. I know that I won't fly Garuda and air Asia now

 

[jb747]

Trying to get my mind around how some airlines are still flying out of Bali and can only surmise they are pushing the safety boundaries. We all know Australian airlines aren't flying there, CX HK to Perth normally flies over Bali, they are flying via Vietnam and Singapore.

We don't know what information they are using. Their flights will all be from/to closer locations, so decisions on whether to go or not can perhaps be made a bit later than other airlines operating from further away.

Watching air Asia and Garuda flights on flight radar they were taking off to the east and climbing out at 3200-3400 FPM, which seams extreme when I look at other aircraft taking off and climbing to 10000+ feet at other airports. I know that I won't fly Garuda and air Asia now

Why? Because the climb rate seems high? I've seen way better than that in the 767, and probably matched it in a light 380. All a function of how much power you use (which varies with lots of factors), how heavy you are, and whether ATC have restricted your climb at all. It's not a reason to choose, or not choose, to fly with someone.

 

[day-heg]

Another update from me after these previous posts… last week I finished a multi-crew cooperation course and an airline qualification course (aka jet orientation course). It was one week in the classroom, followed by nine 4 hour details in a fixed base 737-300 sim. These were split with a training partner, 2 hours as pilot-flying, 2 as pilot monitoring. Also worth noting that there would be no RNAV (GPS) use - all the navigation would be VOR and NDB tracking and vertical profile management would be either hand flown or LVL CHG; no VNAV allowed...


Up to this point, my training had all been single pilot operation culminating with the IR test in an unpressurised twin-engine piston driven aircraft (the Diamond DA42) with a cruise speed of about 140KTAS, so an operating ceiling (without oxygen) of 10,000ft. I was now transitioning to a multi-crew jet capable of cruising 4 times faster and 4 times higher, as well as being about 25 times heavier, with inertia and momentum etc that we’d never really had to consider before.


Week one in the the classroom, and was split between technical and non-tech. We started with a rundown on the ‘profiles’ we would be flying; (precision and non-precision approaches, single engine approaches, twin and single engine go-arounds, engine failures after V1, rapid decompressions & emergency descents… the list goes on!) followed by revision of the SOPs, memory items, etc etc.
Then three days all about CRM and flight deck management… we looked at the roles of pilot-flying and pilot-monitoring, situational awareness, capacity, stress, decision making models, human error, the 'swiss cheese model’, communication and more.. Lots of focus on the coughpit authority gradient… it will and should always exist to a degree, but with low-hour pilots it is often exaggerated. We also looked at a few incidents where CRM played a part in the outcome. The Asiana SFO crash was talked about, as was QF32.


Into the sim for week two, and the first 5 details were using the automation; autopilot and auto thrust. We looked at the different AP/AT modes, the differences between a jet and what we had been flying, experimented with the inherent momentum and inertia, experienced the pitch-power couples (as JB has alluded to in the past there is a huge pitch up moment when you spool up the engines, which can get away from you - it doesn’t take long to get to the stick shaker and stall if you’re not careful). Then we started introducing failures (minor and major), and how to identify them and how to deal with them in the two-crew environment. The week finished with a line-orientated flight training (LOFT) exercise from Manchester to Stansted and return.


Week two was broadly similar, but we were hand flying. Automation was only to be used in the cruise and when setting up for the approach. As PF, capacity is dramatically reduced when hand flying, as the focus is on flying accurately & smoothly, energy management, getting it trimmed etc etc as opposed to using the automation and monitoring it. In turn, the PM’s workload goes up - it was a challenging week. Hand flying a single engine procedural ILS approach to minimums followed by a go-around and diversion in a heavy jet that is so much more reluctant to accelerate/slow down/turn than I was used to was not much fun! Realistically, it would be a pretty bad day at the office if that scenario came up for real, but we need to consider the unexpected, and they wanted to test our capacity…which they really did!


The week finished with a LOFT exercise from Prestwick to Manchester. Reasonably straightforward SID and brief cruise at FL170, followed by a STAR and hold into MAN. The ILS was under maintenance which meant a VOR-DME approach, but the weather was allegedly above minima so in we went. Of course, the runway lights were nowhere to be seen at minimum, so we carried out a missed approach & go-around, and got reports of further deteriorating cloud base and visibility. We discussed fuel, how long we could hold for and where we could/should go if needed... the weather at Leeds was great, but lo & behold, the airport was closed due to a bomb scare (the scenarios these instructors come up with!?!) but Liverpool was OK. Quick fast forward to closer to the decision time and off to Liverpool it was... just as I was briefing the "cabin crew” - also played by the instructor - about the diversion we had a low engine oil pressure followed by failure which lead to a shut down. Run the memory items, call for the checklist, re-brief the approach for single engine ops, adjust the approach speeds for flaps 15, check the increased landing distance against available RW length, review and agree on the decision to divert, and then vectors to Liverpool and in on the ILS, single-engine.
Finally, when I thought it was all over, just for sh!ts and giggles, a hand-flown take off to 4000ft with engine failure just after V1….

Fun times overall, with good exposure for what is hopefully to come... job interviews and type ratings are up next, hopefully in the next few months...

 

[Alanslegal]

If it's just a diversion for a splash and go, then it will hopefully only take about 30 minutes, and is quite likely to be parked at a remote stand. As soon as you add issues of getting loaders to remove your luggage, then that will add to the delay...so we won't allow it.

But with cabin luggage only, it may be allowed. Not guaranteed though. Last time I saw this, the delay in getting one person off would have stopped the entire operation due to crew hours.

Awesome response and made so much sense, thanks!

 

[Melburnian1]

Overflight fees are hardly in passengers' top of mind but they exist. Here's one example:

Overflight Fees

Boris spatsky, jb747, A330 driver or others, do airlines (note that I'm not referring specifically to QF or VA) ever vary their flight plans to prefer a routing over one country rather than another if one nation's such fees are cheaper, or is this insignificant in the overall cost base? I am assuming that there are alternative Great Circle routes that are each perceived by the airline operations department to be as safe as another: no considerations such as not flying over say Syrian airspace apply for the purposes of my question.

 

[jb747]

Overflight fees are hardly in passengers' top of mind but they exist. Here's one example:

Overflight Fees

Boris spatsky, jb747, A330 driver or others, do airlines (note that I'm not referring specifically to QF or VA) ever vary their flight plans to prefer a routing over one country rather than another if one nation's such fees are cheaper, or is this insignificant in the overall cost base? I am assuming that there are alternative Great Circle routes that are each perceived by the airline operations department to be as safe as another: no considerations such as not flying over say Syrian airspace apply for the purposes of my question.

Without knowing exactly what the algorithm looks like, they most certainly include overflight costs into their planning.

 

[Shan Man]

Overflight fees are hardly in passengers' top of mind but they exist. Here's one example

Excuse the ignorance... but what is in the yellow circle to the East of LOTFAP?

 

[por930]

Excuse the ignorance... but what is in the yellow circle to the west of LOTFAP?

Looks about where you would find Bermuda - L.F Wade International

 

[raleyoz]

It is amazing that such a major investment decision that is arguably critical for Victoria's future seems about to occur with such limited public debate. Stakeholders in industries like tourism have been silent, at least in the public media.

Nothing surprising here, we have been doing it in SA forever, think desal plant, one way freeway, adelaide oval
Oh and they just happened to be the 3 biggest investments too

 

[joey1695]

Hi Jb.
In regards to landing the aircraft..
When landing on a nice visual day, do you still fly the needles or just 'point and shoot' (so to speak) at the runway?
What methods do you use to keep yourself aligned with the runway? Any special techniques or visual cues that indicate when the pilot is straying off the centreline? Or am i overcomplicating the process entirely?
Once again, many thanks for your thoughts and input.
Joe.

 

[jb747]

In regards to landing the aircraft..
When landing on a nice visual day, do you still fly the needles or just 'point and shoot' (so to speak) at the runway?

If there is an ILS, it will always be tuned for the approach and landing. If there's no ILS (or GLS), then we initially tune the best aid available. For non precision approaches (everything other than ILS/GLS), we turn the flight director off at the minima. The visual segment is flown without any need to be looking at 'needles'.

What methods do you use to keep yourself aligned with the runway? Any special techniques or visual cues that indicate when the pilot is straying off the centreline? Or am i overcomplicating the process entirely?
Once again, many thanks for your thoughts and input.

The process that a trainee pilot will have bashed into him (or her) will involve continually looking at, and fixing, the airspeed, the lineup, and the aiming point. It's no different in an A380 or 747.

Vertically, you aim at a point around 1,000 to 1,200 feet into the runway. The aircraft extends quite a way below your eye line, so if you didn't flare at all, that aim point would give you an impact at about the 700' mark. It's extremely important to fly the right approach angle. Nominally that's 3º. Anything shallower makes early (short) touchdown much more likely. Steeper will need less power, and a bigger flare (the flare is only a couple of degrees, so even a 1º increase is relatively huge). Noise and obstacle constraints sometimes throw up 'steeper' approaches, but they're normally only about a third of a degree, or less. Some runways slope appreciably (Melbourne 34 is about 1º uphill), and that makes the visual picture look quite wrong.

Runways that large aircraft operate to will invariably have some form of visual guidance. This could be a PAPI or VASIS (or T-VASIS). Basically they use a series of lights to help you judge the vertical approach angle to a specific point on the runway. Useful further out, but once below 300' or so, you're better off doing it just like any Cessna pilot.

Line up is quite simple to see...'am I on the imaginary extension of the centreline or not'? If not, fix it. Crosswind confuses the image, and basically you'll want to be displaced slightly upwind of the centreline.

 

[joey1695]

Great answer, much clearer now!
On the topic of a 'short' touchdown. What are the repercussions of missing the touchdown point? Obviously the remaining length of runway to decelerate the aircraft after touchdown decreases if you land 'long'. Is there any danger in a short landing or is it a matter of consistency?
Thanks again for your insight.
Joe.