Ask The Pilot

[Himeno]

Just one??

I would say get rid of the hourly cap at SYD. Many a time we have pushed back on time only to be delayed 10mins at the holding point because the cap had been reached for that 15min block. So we were burning fuel and time just waiting only to burn more fuel to make up time at the other end and avoid being late.

How many more flights could SYD have if they got rid of the movement caps?

 

[AviatorInsight]

How many more flights could SYD have if they got rid of the movement caps?

From what I've read from the company (a couple of years ago?) 90 would be easily achievable, with a stretch to maybe 100?

 

[jb747]

Very quick Mel to Sydney flight last night to beat curfew. From wheels up to wheels down 50 minutes. No cruise power was on all the way, it didn't seem to back off much during the descent either.

You can't pick power settings from the cabin, other than gross changes. As mentioned, they possibly flew lower, though northbound on that route, higher normally works better. You can save some time in the descent, simply by descending 30 or so miles later, using full speed brake. Use of power in the descent will actually cause the whole thing to be slower.

 

[PMHI]

Hey JB747 - Have been reading your very interesting posts for years - Noting your comments about upcoming retirement after a lifetime of flying, what comments/suggestions could you make to someone considering starting a flying career? - Assuming a teenager has the interest in flight and maths and physics, any comments about trying to start via the Military versus Academy versus Private Lessons? - Trust a future with fully automated planes with no pilots is a long way away (I have yet to experience perfect software)

 

[jb747]

All of us who comment here came to aviation via different channels. I came from the military, and I loved my time there. If not for some government decisions, I may have stayed there and not moved to the airlines at all.

Fully automated aircraft will happen. I don't think it will be any time soon. It will always amount to alpha software, with a minimal number of testers. Systems that use less pilots, or remote ones, are touted by people who have no idea. Nevertheless, given enough time, and a few smoking holes...

Airline management, pretty much worldwide, is constantly at war with pilots, and generally has no actual aviation expertise. It makes for a tiring industrial environment.

Getting anywhere in aviation has always required a pretty fanatical desire to do so. An interest won't cut it at all. Most people with licences never end up in one of the better jobs. Historically aviation has been a culling machine.

Anyone who is fanatical enough to actually make it, won't be listening to any advice to not follow their desires.

 

[flyer89]

JB,

FYI I have found some form of explanation to the BA ops I asked you about a little while back and which you were perplexed by. Someone asked a BA 380 captain on instagram why BA always carry out monitored approaches and his response was that they believe it’s the best way to do things and in low viz ops they are able to keep the same procedure.

 

[jb747]

I have found some form of explanation to the BA ops I asked you about a little while back and which you were perplexed by. Someone asked a BA 380 captain on instagram why BA always carry out monitored approaches and his response was that they believe it’s the best way to do things and in low viz ops they are able to keep the same procedure.

And by pretty much the same reasoning, we believe that it isn’t the safest way to do things at all. Basically, their system involves a change of pilot flying, probably at low level. The switch is always a point at which issues can occur. What they are actually trying to avoid is the transition from looking inside to outside, which I don’t consider to be a problem. At least it’s a lot easier than trying to fix the approach that someone else has given you.

 

[mjt57]

And by pretty much the same reasoning, we believe that it isn’t the safest way to do things at all.

While I don't understand this concept that you're discussing, it's interesting to note that 2 major airlines flying the same aircraft seem to have significantly different operating philosophies here.

Whilst BA has appeared to have few if any prangs in recent times, QF has had none. So, I think that I'd be more comfortable with your line of reasoning, not, as I wrote, that I understand it.

 

[flyer89]

To illustrate the point these two video may help.

Same aircraft, same phase of flight. Different airlines, different procedures.

After doing some more digging apparently it’s origins go back to the BOAC days and was a response to a number of incidents.

 

[RooFlyer]

This story about a pilot and ATC at JFK having a mild 'dispute' about how the aircraft should proceed in a climb, made me wonder:

Do pilots, when you are about to commence the take-off roll, have a mental picture of where other aircraft are within, say, 5 minutes of take-off? That is, where previous departures have peeled off to, where traffic transiting the airport region are, and what level? Reason being, that if you have to take emergency action either to avoid another aircraft or maybe a drone etc, you can do so with some 'confidence' and not have to wait for ATC to catch up and direct you?

Or, even ignoring the emergency thing, do you picture where the aircraft are, so you have a bit of a check against an errant ATC directive?

 

[WheelieBagWanderer]

Regarding the MH incident in BNE recently...

Malaysia Airlines flight emergency caused by plastic covers left on gauges - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

I know there's various check lists on the flight deck for various phases of the flight but is there an "official check list" for the tech crew walk-around pre-flight?

During the take off roll how would the crew know when they got to V1 etc if these covers were left on? Are there other devices on the aircraft to measure airspeed? Surely there must have been some sort of alarms going off in the flight deck, it not in the crew's own minds?

Just wondering what the opinion of our pilots here might be on this situation - how could this flight have gotten off the ground without anyone from the flight or engineering crews realising the covers were left on, and, without some sort of alarm/ECAM going off on the flight deck?

 

[jb747]

This story about a pilot and ATC at JFK having a mild 'dispute' about how the aircraft should proceed in a climb, made me wonder:

Do pilots, when you are about to commence the take-off roll, have a mental picture of where other aircraft are within, say, 5 minutes of take-off? That is, where previous departures have peeled off to, where traffic transiting the airport region are, and what level? Reason being, that if you have to take emergency action either to avoid another aircraft or maybe a drone etc, you can do so with some 'confidence' and not have to wait for ATC to catch up and direct you?

Or, even ignoring the emergency thing, do you picture where the aircraft are, so you have a bit of a check against an errant ATC directive?

New York has multiple airports in quite close proximity (as do any number of other major destinations). The upshot is that the departure tracks will tend to merge and pass through each other, in ways that aren’t considered by the pilots. Whilst you may have some idea of who has just departed from London, you have no idea what is going on at Gatwick. So, relatively random motions by the aircraft, in an attempt to get away from weather will be problematic. But, it is not up to ATC to be deciding whether any particular cell is of a magnitude that aircraft can accept. Just because someone else flew through it without issue, does not mean that the next aircraft to try won’t come a cropper.

ATC in London tends to be cooperative and helpful in these situations. ATC in JFK is abrupt, rude, and argumentative. That’s all the time...

 

[jb747]

Regarding the MH incident in BNE recently...

Malaysia Airlines flight emergency caused by plastic covers left on gauges - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

I know there's various check lists on the flight deck for various phases of the flight but is there an "official check list" for the tech crew walk-around pre-flight?

Airbus love to prescribe every tiny detail, so there’s a laid down sequence to be followed, and probes are very much part of that. But, the issue in Brisbane is that the mud wasps can cause issues if given a gap measured in minutes. External preflights are carried out about 45 minutes before departure. I don’t know for sure as I haven’t operated through Brisbane since 2004, but I think there is a local procedure for them to be left in place until much closer to start. In that case you need the engineers to remove them, and you then need some form of check between them and the pilots.

During the take off roll how would the crew know when they got to V1 etc if these covers were left on? Are there other devices on the aircraft to measure airspeed? Surely there must have been some sort of alarms going off in the flight deck, it not in the crew's own minds?

Ground speed is displayed, though not as prominently as IAS.

V1 is really irrelevant. As the aircraft accelerates, not only does the airspeed start moving on the PFDs, but a speed trend vector appears (showing your speed in a few seconds). The lack of IAS display should be evident within seconds of the start of the roll. An abort should have happened from about 50 knots or so.

Just wondering what the opinion of our pilots here might be on this situation - how could this flight have gotten off the ground without anyone from the flight or engineering crews realising the covers were left on, and, without some sort of alarm/ECAM going off on the flight deck?

The only reason for getting airborne after this was discovered, would be if it wasn’t noticed until so late that the ground speeds was already up around V1. Whilst many aircraft have crashed in this situation, it’s not inherently as bad as you might expect. If you set a power and attitude, you’ll get a known outcome which includes speed. You don’t need IAS to fly an approach. Basically, it should have been noticed early enough to comfortably stop, but having decided to get airborne with the issue, they seem to have done the right things and so safely landed.

The aircraft has what Airbus call the ‘backup speed scale’. Whilst it displaces IAS on the PFD, it’s actually an angle of attack display (without any reference numbers). Naval aircraft historically fly angle of attack, and not airspeed, for approach. GPS can provide rough altitude, and ground speed. That can be converted to give an idea of IAS.

 

[flyer89]

These are supposedly images taken from the incident to backup what JB was explaining.

 

[AviatorInsight]

Regarding the MH incident in BNE recently...

Malaysia Airlines flight emergency caused by plastic covers left on gauges - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

I know there's various check lists on the flight deck for various phases of the flight but is there an "official check list" for the tech crew walk-around pre-flight?

There is an official check list for the walk around. It's located in the Flight Crew Operating Manual stating what needs to be looked at on a walk around. Like JB mentioned, it's due to the mud wasps, that have been disturbed from their original home further south of the field and are now looking for new homes. Pitot tubes are great for that. So on every turnaround as soon as the aircraft chocks, the engineers will put the covers on.

Our procedure is that a big red placard is put on the lower DU stating that the pitot covers are on. During the walk around I'll actually notice that these are on (which is a good thing). About 5 mins prior to push the engineer will remove the covers and take the placard away. I'll always open the window to make sure that the covers are off as a last check.

During the take off roll how would the crew know when they got to V1 etc if these covers were left on? Are there other devices on the aircraft to measure airspeed? Surely there must have been some sort of alarms going off in the flight deck, it not in the crew's own minds?

While I can't speak for Airbus, the Boeing is a lot quieter even with an unreliable airspeed. There are no alarms, it doesn't know it's blocked. The trend vector is a good indication of performance and I'll always cross check my ASI with the standby at 80kts. At the back of the pitot tube is a drain hole. I can't remember if the covers block this or not. If it does then the ASI will eventually read zero. If not, then during the climb the ASI will read like an altimeter.

Just wondering what the opinion of our pilots here might be on this situation - how could this flight have gotten off the ground without anyone from the flight or engineering crews realising the covers were left on, and, without some sort of alarm/ECAM going off on the flight deck?

A few things could have cause this. It was dark. It was late at night. Fatigue could have been an issue (on either side). OTP is another issue (pressures). Perhaps the flight crew got distracted with something else and forgot to check the book. The list goes on.

 

[harvyk]

<snip> OTP is another issue (pressures). Perhaps the flight crew got distracted with something else and forgot to check the book. The list goes on.

Just on OTP's (I'm assuming means On time pushback), obviously the marketing departments of most reputable airlines push the safety over schedule line, but how much pressure is there from higher ups about getting away on time?

 

[jb747]

Just on OTP's (I'm assuming means On time pushback), obviously the marketing departments of most reputable airlines push the safety over schedule line, but how much pressure is there from higher ups about getting away on time?

We can only ever speak for our own airline...and from QF there is no comment whatsover about departure times. Other areas do have to answer for any delays, but any comment directed at us would almost certainly be passed directly to CASA.

 

[AviatorInsight]

Just on OTP's (I'm assuming means On time pushback), obviously the marketing departments of most reputable airlines push the safety over schedule line, but how much pressure is there from higher ups about getting away on time?

There’s always pressure, more so in other departments than flight ops, and if we are late we’ll put down a delay code and that’s as far as it’ll get for us. I’ve never known any captain to be called over why they were late on a certain sector. This includes curfew. I can honestly say that if there’s a safety issue then OTP (on time performance) goes out the window.

As a side note anything within 15mins is counted as on time.

 

[mjt57]

There’s always pressure, more so in other departments than flight ops, and if we are late we’ll put down a delay code and that’s as far as it’ll get for us. I’ve never known any captain to be called over why they were late on a certain sector. This includes curfew. I can honestly say that if there’s a safety issue then OTP (on time performance) goes out the window.

As a side note anything within 15mins is counted as on time.

I wish that Vline (Victoria's regional rail service) could claim the same...

Hey, if your "on time" means that I make it to my connecting flight without having to stress, then that's fine. Otherwise, you can take all the time in the world as far as I'm concerned.

(don't know who you fly for, but we're taking a VA flight MEL-LAX on Monday week, then connecting to SEA-TAC, so hopefully no issues there).

Although, I remember the captain of a Deathstar flight out of SYD to MEL walking at a very brisk pace with a concerted look on his face as he rocked up to the gate for our considerably late departing flight.

Dunno what the story was, but he didn't seem to be too happy about it.

Last thing that we need are stressed out tech. crew.

 

[AviatorInsight]

Hey, if your "on time" means that I make it to my connecting flight without having to stress, then that's fine. Otherwise, you can take all the time in the world as far as I'm concerned.

(don't know who you fly for, but we're taking a VA flight MEL-LAX on Monday week, then connecting to SEA-TAC, so hopefully no issues there).

Although, I remember the captain of a Deathstar flight out of SYD to MEL walking at a very brisk pace with a concerted look on his face as he rocked up to the gate for our considerably late departing flight.

Dunno what the story was, but he didn't seem to be too happy about it.

Last thing that we need are stressed out tech. crew.

It’s no secret, I’m with VA on the 737 now after being on the 777 so won’t be me taking you to LAX unfortunately.

As long as your connecting times aren’t ridiculous such as 30mins between flights then you’ll be fine, and yes the number of calls I get from cabin crew asking about a connector’s next flight with a 30min gap and if they’re going to make it makes me wonder sometimes.