The great big "ask an airline pilot" thread!

John_Mc

View Profile wrote: »

No fly-by-wire in my Boeing. Think only the 777 and 787 are FBW.

The NGs have Control Wheel Steering though, which is a flavour of fly by wire. I don't think it's every used though

tippilot

John_Mc wrote: »

The NGs have Control Wheel Steering though, which is a flavour of fly by wire. I don't think it's every used though

Hi John,

I wouldn't agree with that statement.

CWS is much older than the NG, it was on the -200.

It is probably the most basic of autopilot modes that just holds bank and pitch inputs. It is about as dumb an autopilot mode there is. Rarely used these days because being a very basic form of automatics it needs constant pilot input.

I see where you are coming from though with a fly by wire aircraft holding an attitude or bank after a manual control input, but FBW refers more to the underlying system rather than the handling quality.

CWS also holds the control wheel exactly where the pilot put it. When hand flying an FBW aircraft, you can neutralise the controls without affecting the aircraft's pitch attitude or bank.

John_Mc

tippilot wrote: »

Hi John,

I wouldn't agree with that statement.

CWS is much older than the NG, it was on the -200.

It is probably the most basic of autopilot modes that just holds bank and pitch inputs. It is about as dumb an autopilot mode there is. Rarely used these days because being a very basic form of automatics it needs constant pilot input.

I see where you are coming from though with a fly by wire aircraft holding an attitude or bank after a manual control input, but FBW refers more to the underlying system rather than the handling quality.

CWS also holds the control wheel exactly where the pilot put it. When hand flying an FBW aircraft, you can neutralise the controls without affecting the aircraft's pitch attitude or bank.

Thanks for the info, didn't realise it was that dumb!

maninneed

I have a couple of Questions for you pilots out there!! Maybe you might help me know certain things about my dream job...

1) What is the best route to take if you want to be a pilot that fly for Big Airlines like Air France, KLM, Lufthansa etc.

2) How many hours of PIC is needed to fly with Big Airlines?

3) After doing a lot of researches I found out that being a pilot is a very unstable career as in if you move from one airline to the next you start from scratch and that your career could end suddenly it made me wounder if it is possible to have a career as a pilot and lets say a dentist both at the same time?

4) Is there anyway to combine your pilot training programme with a University degree?

Thanks

xflyer

1. Becoming French, Dutch and German respectively. Not being smart just the way it is with those airlines.

2. Depends on what level of experience they look for. Zero for cadets, up to a couple of thousand for experienced airline pilots. Ryanair is a big airline and they hire pilots with 300 hours total time.

3. I know several pilots who have other interests. So it can be done. You will be very busy indeed though. But probably the best option it to become a Dentist, make lots of money, then become an airline pilot. Or else become a Dentist or Doctor, make lots of money and buy your own aeroplane. Eddie Goggins the well known aerobatic and display pilot is a Dentist.

4. Yes there is, usually some sort of aviation related degree.

maninneed

thanks for your answer and I know that you arent allowed to train to be a pilot once you are above 24years so I was woundering as I have my PPL now if I can get my CPL under 24 years of age and maybe study Dentistry for a while would I be allowed to go back to training for my ATPL and continue training to be a pilot? especially as I cant join the air force as I am taller than the maximum height requirement sadly.

Growler!!!

maninneed wrote: »

thanks for your answer and I know that you arent allowed to train to be a pilot once you are above 24years.

Whoever told you that is lying. Myself and many others on here started training well above that age.

To gain your CPL you can either do 9 CPL (and another 9 for the IR) exams or 14 ATPL exams. The clock starts running from the first exam you sit. You have 36 months to then complete all ATPL exams and to pass the CPL and IR. Otherwise you will need to resit all written exams.

Have a look on some of the school websites or the CAA's LASORS book available for download to give you some definitive answers - not just hearsay.

Tenger

maninneed wrote: »

.....I know that you arent allowed to train to be a pilot once you are above 24years.......

Untrue. As Growler says, someone is telling you lies. Perhaps you are mixing up an upper age limit of a particular companies entry requirements with actual legalities?

xflyer

You have been seriously misinformed. You can become a pilot at any age. Was this a parent talking? Your parent the Dentist? Trying to put you off the silly idea of becoming a pilot.

Whatever, if you want to be Dentist, go for it. You've plenty of time, just don't wait until you're forty to start pilot training. But if you really, really want to fly you won't be happy being a dentist despite what you've been told.

We don't have an air force by the way.

IngazZagni

xflyer wrote: »

You have been seriously misinformed. You can become a pilot at any age. Was this a parent talking? Your parent the Dentist? Trying to put you off the silly idea of becoming a pilot.

Whatever, if you want to be Dentist, go for it. You've plenty of time, just don't wait until you're forty to start pilot training. But if you really, really want to fly you won't be happy being a dentist despite what you've been told.

We don't have an air force by the way.

While this is true, I think it's becoming well known that airlines don't like to recruit cadets over the age of 30. So yes 24 is still perfectly fine to get a job but for somebody that is 30 or more, it could be a lot tougher.

scudzilla

After that 'incident' at Belfast earlier today i have a few questions on Fuel Dumping

1. When an Aircraft has to dump fuel is there a designated area for this? Like over the sea? What if the aircraft isn't anywhere near the sea??

2. If it's not possible to dump how will this affect any emergency landing?

roundymac

It was'nt dumping, it was burning it off, flew around for approx 90 minutes. If a plane can't dump this is what it does, not all aircraft are capable of dumping fuel.

scudzilla

roundymac wrote: »

It was'nt dumping, it was burning it off, flew around for approx 90 minutes. If a plane can't dump this is what it does, not all aircraft are capable of dumping fuel.

Yes, i know it wasn't dumping, now have you an answer to my question or are you just here to up your post count?

scudzilla

scudzilla wrote: »

After that 'incident' at Belfast earlier today i have a few questions on Fuel Dumping

1. When an Aircraft has to dump fuel is there a designated area for this? Like over the sea? What if the aircraft isn't anywhere near the sea??

2. If it's not possible to dump how will this affect any emergency landing?

roundymac wrote: »

Read my answer, if it can't dump, it will fly around to burn off fuel. As to affecting the landing, if it's over weight it could cause damage to the aircraft, it could even cause the undercarraige to collapse. And no I'm not trying to up my post count.:mad:

I didn't ask what it would do if it couldn't dump, i asked about designated dumping area's.

Are you qualified to answer any of these as it is an 'Ask a PILOT' thread

roundymac

I was actually in the wrong thread, I thought I was in the emergency at Belfast thread, apologies,

scudzilla

roundymac wrote: »

I was actually in the wrong thread, I thought I was in the emergency at Belfast thread, apologies,

Easy mistake to make :rolleyes::rolleyes:

martinsvi

Fuel dumping is done at a high altitude where the fuel will evaporate before reaching the ground. It's done using small nozzles so if done at low altitude it would be an environmental disaster as it would cover a large area

Pilotman

Not entirely correct, Martinsvi.
In the Irish FIR, there are no specifically designated fuel dump areas, and neither is there a minimum dumping altitude. Responses to a need to dump fuel in the Irish FIR would be managed in a scenario dependent manner. Other states publish specific restrictions, such as minimum altitudes and/or specific areas, but no such directive exists in the Irish AIP.

eatmyshorts

Where I'm based, the minimum jettison altitude is 6000ft.

Chuck Stone

Do all large aircraft have APU's? What happens if an APU fails mid-flight?

Gerard93

Chuck Stone wrote: »

Do all large aircraft have APU's? What happens if an APU fails mid-flight?

APU would not be used in flight, All large aircraft would have APU's. Of course not been a professional in the field, I stand to be corrected

Sacred_git

Have you ever nodded off during a flight, no doubt with auto pilot on? On one of my flights from OZ i ventured up around the cockpit and they had the door opened, think somebody went to the loo or was going but one of the lads looked to be out cold, it gave me a sense of calm:D best flight ever!

A320

Yes,all large jet aircraft have APU's,not normally used in-flight as the main aircraft power comes from the Engine Generators(IDG),In lay terms for a 2 engine aircraft i.e A320,the left engine powers AC bus bar 1 (and DC bus 1 via the Transformer rectifier Unit) and the right engine powers AC bus bar 2.

David086

So when the engines are powered up is the APU then switched off?

Bearcat

David086 wrote: »

So when the engines are powered up is the APU then switched off?

Pending no malfunction with the main generators the answer is yes. Being an auxiliary power unit if one of the engine generators is unserviceable the APU gen can replace the eng gen so the aircraft can dispatch. Another time the APU will be left on is for whats called a bleeds off take off. The engines normally supply conditioned air to the cabin but this also reduces the avail max thrust from the engines.....this scenario is used where one is at max take off weight or the runway is limiting and you need all the poke you can get to suffice legal requirements to get airborne with the said ambient weather conditions. The APU thru its pneumatic system can supply conditioned air to the cabin upto I think 22000ft on a 330......generally after take off circa 1500ft the conditioning system is reconfigured for the engines to supply bleed air and the APU is then switched off after its cool down period.

Sorry for the long reply but I couldn't think it out in lay mans terms any other way.

(I am aware that the bae146 is always a bleeds off t/o? Also a lot of operators do unpressurized take offs to save engine wear .)

maninneed

xflyer wrote: »

Was this a parent talking? Your parent the Dentist? Trying to put you off the silly idea of becoming a pilot.

well my parents don't mind what I become and no they are not dentists they are both surgeons. And I saw that info about the age limit in the qualifax careers portal but quite frankly after all you guys have said I am honestly not sure if the info I find online is even true!

A320

here with a GPU hooked up,a general view of A320 ECAM ELEC page

Pilotman

In addition to Bearcat's excellent response, the principal purpose of an APU is as a source of bleed air and electricity. Being little jet engines (gas turbines) themselves, they're ideally suited to providing both. Bleed air can be used for starting engines and providing air conditioning on the ground, or a pneumatic (air) source for attempting to restart engines in the air in the event of an engine failure/flameout. It is an excellent and dependable source of AC (alternating current) electricity to power the aircraft on the ground, or to supply AC to the aircraft in flight, if an engine driven generator fails. Most APU's, especially in large aircraft, have limitations in altitude that apply to their starting, operation and use. That is to say, they can only be used to a certain altitude, by which they need to be either no longer drawn upon or shut down entirely, depending on manufacturers recommended limitations. For any who might be interested, AC electricity is used in aircraft over DC because it is vastly more sensitive to minor fluctuations in voltage, crucial to the operation of sensors in modern, especially jet, aircraft.

xflyer

Strange one maninneed. You do have to be careful with general career websites. There are often mistakes like that. You also have to be careful with flying school websites. They often paint a very rosy picture of the job prospects. They like to list 'airline partners' as if they'll get you a job in one after you finish. Not only that, they often have lists of companies their graduates got jobs as if they placed them. Generally speaking you'll get minimal help from the flying school.

As for your original question, you could combine the jobs of Dentist and Pilot. One would have to be part time though. If the money is there you can train for both at the same time. The flying when you're attending classes using the modular route. Done right you could be sending out CVs for both disciplines by the time you graduate as a Dentist.

donutheadhomer

boeingboy wrote: »

Worst few months ago into San Diego managed to wollop it on after a bounce its a very tricky approach into the heart of a fantastic city with great layover.

Best this morning into Paris CDG 9L absolutely greased it on. Surprised myself.

But really any landing you can walk away from is good, if you can use the plane again after........its a great landing.

Passengers clapping its been awhile. On most if not all American carriers people are afraid to show any emotion! Clapping hands might be seen as an attempt to self destruct your palms!!!!!!

Its become "just a job" now :mad::mad:

a bit different but my first flight was snn-jfk MANY years ago - a priest led the passengers in saying the rosery mid atlantic - some on our knees