Ask The Pilot

So using sky vector I'm assuming if I was to fly to AKL, I'd fly on airway L521, but I see no published SID's that would connect me from SY to EVONN (I could of course be blind and just missing it).

Is it a case that you'd expect vectors from ATC which would take you to EVONN to join L521, is there some other procedure which us mere mortals don't have access to, or am I simply in my own world and that's not how airways work at all?
You're not missing it at all. Not every SID will put you on the airway. Out of SYD there's a lot of RADAR transitions meaning that once you get to that waypoint on the SID expect to be vectored to cleared route.

Because EVONN isn't part of the SID expect a route discontinuity in the FMC. When ATC are ready you'll eventually be cleared to track direct to EVONN then the flight plan route.

Hope that made sense.
 
You're not missing it at all. Not every SID will put you on the airway. Out of SYD there's a lot of RADAR transitions meaning that once you get to that waypoint on the SID expect to be vectored to cleared route.

Because EVONN isn't part of the SID expect a route discontinuity in the FMC. When ATC are ready you'll eventually be cleared to track direct to EVONN then the flight plan route.

Hope that made sense.

made perfect sense, thanks :)
 
I agree, it's the best part! Unfortunately there's a few pilots out there that believe it should be maximum automatics...so I shut up and just let the flying do the talking once they disconnect.
I recall JB having a "discussion" with wannabe pilots on Whingepool about this very subject. Hopefully these guys are in the minority.

Whilst auto-this-and-that is all very well, if something fails, say a sensor which forces the aircraft mode to something other than fully auto, it'd be nice to know that up front the guys know how to handle it whilst I'm trying to get some sleep (note the emphasis on "trying").
 
I recall JB having a "discussion" with wannabe pilots on Whingepool about this very subject. Hopefully these guys are in the minority.
I don’t know that they’re in the minority overall, but they do tend to be weeded out. Well, they have been in the training systems that have existed thus far. I have my doubts about the future though. If we are talking about the same discussion, there was one group who thought that by flying ONE navigation exercise during basic training, that they would have ‘demonstrated’ their ability sufficiently to be then able to use GPS for any further navexs. Classic case of not knowing what you don’t know.
Whilst auto-this-and-that is all very well, if something fails, say a sensor which forces the aircraft mode to something other than fully auto, it'd be nice to know that up front the guys know how to handle it whilst I'm trying to get some sleep (note the emphasis on "trying").
A couple of examples to consider. I was the FO, and the pilot on duty, when a 747-400, in the middle of the Pacific, decided it would be a good time for ALL of the screens to go blank. I was also flying an A380, when it decided that it would revert to alternate law, and lose all of its automatics. In the case of the 747 the screens recovered, but the 380 didn’t. In both cases, we flew to destination, without waking anybody.
 
I recall JB having a "discussion" with wannabe pilots on Whingepool about this very subject. Hopefully these guys are in the minority.

Whilst auto-this-and-that is all very well, if something fails, say a sensor which forces the aircraft mode to something other than fully auto, it'd be nice to know that up front the guys know how to handle it whilst I'm trying to get some sleep (note the emphasis on "trying").
It’s not that they don’t know how to handle it, it’s more a case of, how precise are they?

I find that I’m able to put the aircraft right where I want it to. This definitely helps when doing a visual circuit into AYQ for example and it’s always turbulent there.

I’ll even fly “through” the flight directors because the autopilot commands a rate of change and in some cases (the SWIFT8 departure out of CNS) it reacts too slow.

A lot of guys don’t like to disconnect the autopilot but rather they leave it in to manage the aircraft. Which is fine, however the autopilot can’t make changes quick enough especially at low level like that and it’ll result in going through the centreline, or ending up too high/low, and generally becoming unstable.

I recently had a Capt on an RNP SID (which uses GPS for navigation and is supposed to be accurately flown) want me in clear conditions to use the autopilot.

I reminded him that it’s visual and that in the book the wording is should be engaged and not shall be engaged, tells me that it’s recommended but not mandatory. I continued to fly up to FL200.
 
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JB what went wrong here. Flare late? Bounce and potential tail strike seems to be two and two
Well the first thing that went wrong is that whomever shot the video did it in portrait format.

The approach looks very stable, so I don’t think there’s any wind involvement.

The flare looks to be slightly late, though not all that much. It’s also about the normal amount. I’d be curious to know how the power was being managed. Manual throttle or auto thrust. In either case closing off the power a bit early can have the aircraft ‘fall through’ the flare. But, if I have to pick one thing, I’d say the flare is about 10 feet too late.

There’s no tail strike risk. The pitch attitude is reasonably well controlled, though videos like this do show just how close aircraft get at times. I don’t consider the 380 to be all that prone to strikes.
 
When do the majority call it quits on the retirement front on the Domestic front?

Dare I ask do some try and venture into the 70s?

JB how forgiving is the old body as time goes on flying full time compared to the younger years :) !
 
When do the majority call it quits on the retirement front on the Domestic front?
Whilst some try to go on forever, from what was happening before covid, there wasn’t all that much difference between when people were calling it quits. International had crept up to 63, but I expect domestic would be been around 65.

Dare I ask do some try and venture into the 70s?
I don’t know that anyone in Oz has achieved that yet, though some have certainly gone close. You really need to be lucky for all of your components to still be working well enough to get past the sims and the medicals. Almost all become the subject of FO stories, which is not good.
JB how forgiving is the old body as time goes on flying full time compared to the younger years :) !
It creeps up on you. I hadn’t been to London for about a year, when I did my last flight, and as a special request, it was to London. It knocked me around far worse than I’d expected or remembered. A couple of months after retiring, it was amazing how much better I felt, and how my sleep patterns had settled down. Whilst the night flying components of international flying are obvious, domestic isn’t all that much better. Not only are there red eye flights, but early starts and late stops, as well as long days with numerous sectors, are every bit as bad.

During my time as an SO and FO, when the retirement age was 58 then 60, you still ran into the occasional bloke who had overstayed his welcome. With the age being extended, there’s no doubt that there‘s more opportunity for that to happen. Cunning and experience will only get you so far…but it‘s extremely good at getting you past checks.
 
AV, is your Sydney base now essentially closed down? Or are they letting you still fly around empty and so on due government subsidies.
 
AV, is your Sydney base now essentially closed down? Or are they letting you still fly around empty and so on due government subsidies.
My roster has basically been replaced with standby days. I’m getting the occasional return flight here and there due to a couple of commuting FOs not being able to do their flights, but essentially yes, it’s all come to a grinding halt…again.
 
My roster has basically been replaced with standby days. I’m getting the occasional return flight here and there due to a couple of commuting FOs not being able to do their flights, but essentially yes, it’s all come to a grinding halt…again.
How have other states responded? Presumably they don't want any interaction between Sydney based crew and their own staff....
 
Does Standby (assuming no shift offered) means no pay? Or is there some financial safeguard or something that is offered?

Eg- 2 weeks with standby and no call outs. Do they offer an allowance or something regardless if you go in or not?
 
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How have other states responded? Presumably they don't want any interaction between Sydney based crew and their own staff....
I have noticed I have been flying with more Sydney based flight crew, but cabin crew are still from all bases. I have been avoiding the crew room and just go straight from the car park to the aircraft avoiding the food court etc.

WA is the only state that I have to do a COVID test on arrival, and in Darwin we get sent to the Howard Springs Quarantine facility.
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Does Standby (assuming no shift offered) means no pay? Or is there some financial safeguard or something that is offered?

Eg- 2 weeks with standby and no call outs. Do they offer an allowance or something regardless if you go in or not?
No we still get paid otherwise they would just keep us on standby with no days off essentially. That’s illegal. But even if I am on standby with no call outs I just get the minimum day’s pay. There’s no extra allowances unless I overnight.
 
Pictures of the 737 that ditched off Hawaii are appearing. They show why most of us considered a night ocean ditching to be pretty well impossible....
 
Is there a procedure for ditching like smashing the window before landing on water to escape, do the windows just pop out?

I’d imagine landing on water is one thing but trying to somehow exit a sinking submarine is most certainly something I hopefully never need to try!
 
Is there a procedure for ditching like smashing the window before landing on water to escape, do the windows just pop out?

I’d imagine landing on water is one thing but trying to somehow exit a sinking submarine is most certainly something I hopefully never need to try!
Airbus have a checklist procedure, but I don’t think Boeing do. There are many problems with the whole concept of a night ditching. To have any chance at all, you need to ditch whilst you still have power, as you can’t just let it run into the water out of a glide at a couple of thousand fpm vertically. You’ll have nothing to judge the flare on, so the chances are that that will be miles too high or too late.

Those that have worked, more or less, are generally from misjudged landings, when the aircraft just flies, under power, into the water. There’s no info around yet on the Hawaii 737, but the fuselage has broken into two parts, so floating around whilst a calm abandonment takes place was never going to happen. Some coughpit windows can be opened, but not on all aircraft. You’d never be able to break one, even with the crash axe.

It has been done of course, but there’s more luck than anything else involved. Even in the case of the Hudson ditching, it wasn’t a controlled flare. The aircraft was held off until it ran into the angle of attack limit, and then it just mushed into the water.
 
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Airbus have a checklist procedure, but I don’t thing Boeing do.
Actually, there is and it's quite in depth. It assumes you still have engine power and instructs you to turn the APU off and at touchdown, reduce thrust to idle.

Is there a procedure for ditching like smashing the window before landing on water to escape, do the windows just pop out?

I’d imagine landing on water is one thing but trying to somehow exit a sinking submarine is most certainly something I hopefully never need to try!
In the 737 checklist it advises not to use the aft entry and service doors as they may be partially submerged, but after impact to open up the flight deck windows. This will ensure no cabin differential pressure exists that will prevent the opening of doors or emergency exits.
 
Actually, there is and it's quite in depth. It assumes you still have engine power and instructs you to turn the APU off and at touchdown, reduce thrust to idle.


In the 737 checklist it advises not to use the aft entry and service doors as they may be partially submerged, but after impact to open up the flight deck windows. This will ensure no cabin differential pressure exists that will prevent the opening of doors or emergency exits.
I’ve got to go to the fang bosun this morning, but when I get back I’ll dig out what I’ve got on the 767 and 747. I certainly don’t recall a procedural checklist, but that could well be a bit of memory filtering. I‘m certain though, that we never ran one in the sim, though we did go through the AB one.

Turning the APU off, and selecting idle, sounds like rather tongue in cheek instructions. I guess that if you’d just ditched, you might need a laugh.

As for balancing pressures…last week‘s 737 did that by breaking in half.
 
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