The great big "ask an airline pilot" thread!

basill

It's both. Wait for the report and then we can debate the issue again.

L1011

ronan45 wrote: »

Allways wondered why they dont put cctv on passenger planes. I am an avid watcher of Aircrash Investigation. They seem to do a lot of guess work as to what the pilots was up to etc before the crash and moments up to it. Surely the cctv recorder disk could easily slot in the Flight Data Recorder?
Nothing fancy,just one in the cockpit
Is it a money issue/ privacy issue? They have them on buses.

Data capacity. Buses DVRs are not built to withstand extreme heat, impact, water permeation etc.

protog777

If you were to get a cadetship in the air corps how trained would you be in relation to a commercial piloting. Would you only have a type rating left to do or is it the wrong path to take? Thanks, protog777

John_Mc

L1011 wrote: »

Data capacity. Buses DVRs are not built to withstand extreme heat, impact, water permeation etc.

Flash memory is used for the FDR and CVR. No reason why they couldn't also use it for Video.

I'd imagine resistance from pilots unions would be a factor in it not happening

faceman

*puts on nervous flyer hat again*

I'm flying in an Embraer 190 for the first time in May for a flight from Boston to Detroit with JetBlue. I hear they handle turbulence very poorly. As the plane is so small, will it make any difference where I sit to maximise comfort? (e.g. Overwing) Should I bring a change of pants just in case?

martinsvi

faceman wrote: »

*puts on nervous flyer hat again*

I'm flying in an Embraer 190 for the first time in May for a flight from Boston to Detroit with JetBlue. I hear they handle turbulence very poorly. As the plane is so small, will it make any difference where I sit to maximise comfort? (e.g. Overwing) Should I bring a change of pants just in case?

they're not that small, E190 is only some 3-4 meters shorter than A320, but longer than A319

Over-wing seats will be the best whereas I would avoid tail end of the plane completely

Red Alert

About the sterile cockpit rule, which from what I read applies from when the plane leaves the gate until it reaches a predetermined altitude:

What's the interpretation of the sterile cockpit where say a plane is held in the queue on the ground for an hour? (i.e. queue is not moving, 3-4 planes ahead, engines on, cabin safety demo done etc.)

smurfjed

I had the pleasure of flying on a delivery flight from Brazil, 5x 4 hour sectors, the aircraft certainly didn't appear to be uncomfortable in turbulence.

Try sitting over the wings.

Negative_G

protog777 wrote: »

If you were to get a cadetship in the air corps how trained would you be in relation to a commercial piloting. Would you only have a type rating left to do or is it the wrong path to take? Thanks, protog777

Please do not waste your time and that of others by applying for an Air Corps cadetship with your sole ambition being focused on becoming an airline pilot.

Many Air Corps pilots have and continue to join the ranks of commercial airlines. However, I would argue that practically zero of those initially joined, solely with a view to going commercial a minimum of twelve years post commissioning.

CalmSummer

Chat, sparingly!

Growler!!!

If only there was a thread to ask airline pilots questions like this!

smurfjed

If only there was a thread to ask airline pilots questions like this!

What a great idea, they should really open one

APM

ProfessorPlum wrote: »

That's an airbus. It's a trim wheel, but on the airbus it doesn't spin like the 737. It actually has a very small range of movement. It's used to set the 'trim' - the angle of the horizontal stabiliser for flight - depending on the loading of the aircraft. And unless the **** has well and truly hit the fan, you don't touch it again. The trim is automatic except for in very degraded situations.

They certainly do "spin" on an Airbus, we set the THS position after engine start when the hydraulic systems are powered, in flight they move just that in normal law the pilots don't move them. In direct law (ie. after a serious/multiple failures) the PF would move them him/herself depending on how stable/configured the aircraft is when it enters direct law (on the A320 usually the transition from Alternate to direct law is when the gear is lowered. The aircraft would usually be configured to Config 3 and stable at landing speed before lowering gear thus reducing the amount of trim change needed by the pilot him/herself)

APM

View Profile wrote: »

Think Aer Lingus have carbon brakes while Ryanair only steel which doesn't aid brake cooling as much.

Can't speak for EI but on the A320/1 I fly we have brake fans which rapidly cool the brakes so we can get away with idle reverse on every landing and still have cool brakes for the next departure.

The fans help massively on a long taxi out for departure when the brakes can easily be over 100'C in 10mins taxiing around.

Turnaround time is usually longer for EI than FR also so EI probably will have naturally cooler brakes anyway.

amen

As the plane is so small, will it make any difference where I sit to maximise comfort?

Over the wing is best.

But the plane size does not necessarily mean a more bumpy flight. Its all down to wing loading. In general a lower wing loading should cause the passengers to feel the turbulence more. Of course many planes have anti-roll devices(or methods) which can improve turbulence handling

The wing loading also impacts take/off speed, turning radius etc.

Interesting report on http://avherald.com/h?article=4603ef59/0002&opt=0 where the plane did not stall at the stall speed due to a slight lower wing loading.

ProfessorPlum

APM wrote: »

They certainly do "spin" on an Airbus, we set the THS position after engine start when the hydraulic systems are powered, in flight they move just that in normal law the pilots don't move them. In direct law (ie. after a serious/multiple failures) the PF would move them him/herself depending on how stable/configured the aircraft is when it enters direct law (on the A320 usually the transition from Alternate to direct law is when the gear is lowered. The aircraft would usually be configured to Config 3 and stable at landing speed before lowering gear thus reducing the amount of trim change needed by the pilot him/herself)

They do move, but they certainly don't 'spin'! Have you seen a 737 trim wheel in action? That's spinning. As someone said earlier, it would take the hand / knee off you.

APM

ProfessorPlum wrote: »

They do move, but they certainly don't 'spin'! Have you seen a 737 trim wheel in action? That's spinning. As someone said earlier, it would take the hand / knee off you.

Yes, I have nearly 4000hrs flying the 73NG. Agree its a terrible design feature which could've been easily removed from Boeings after the 727 or at the latest the 732. I'd hope they are removed for the 737 max.

The point I was making is the Airbus trim wheels do move continuously in flight and do not stay fixed throughout the flight

NewSigGuy

APM wrote: »

The point I was making is the Airbus trim wheels do move continuously in flight and do not stay fixed throughout the flight

Depends which Airbus, the newer Airbus have done away with the trim wheel.

Tenger

NewSigGuy wrote: »

Depends which Airbus, the newer Airbus have done away with the trim wheel.

Are you referring to newer aircraft designs (ie A350, A380) or just newer builds of older models?

eatmyshorts

Tenger wrote: »

Are you referring to newer aircraft designs (ie A350, A380) or just newer builds of older models?

To the A350 and A380.

smurfjed

This translates into ZERO visibility, so it will be a fun night for some Worse thing about sand storms is that they are never forecast correctly, so you can happily depart on a 1 hour flight and arrive to find zero visibility.

smurfjed

This is also linked in the video thread, but it really shows how pilots earn their salaries :)

Apologies to Mod for cross posting :)

OzCam

That chinook party piece at the end is amazing. Also, insane.

JCX BXC

Whats the mental state of a Pilot when performing a go-around/touch and go?

Locker10a

smurfjed wrote: »

This is also linked in the video thread, but it really shows how pilots earn their salaries :)

Apologies to Mod for cross posting :)

3:54 aircraft right main landing light bulb blown:P:eek:

Tenger

Carnacalla wrote: »

Whats the mental state of a Pilot when performing a go-around/touch and go?

Its something they train for and plan for each time they make an approach.
A mate of mine refers to a landing as a "failed go around"

Growler!!!

Carnacalla wrote: »

Whats the mental state of a Pilot when performing a go-around/touch and go?

A good question but very badly put! You would be best asking what is the thought process involved in a missed approach.

During every briefing for landing the published missed approach profile will be discussed ( engine fail procedure also) and relevant threats highlighted.

It can be quite simple. If the weather for instance goes out of limits or if the approach becomes de-stabilised as in the video above, then it is an automatic go around - it's the law according to our SOP's.

It can also occur if for example clearance to land is given and another aircraft enters the active runway. The safest option is to carry out a go around and argue about the whys and why nots later.

Another example would be a bounce on landing which will de-stabilise the approach. This can be a snap decision by the Captain. But again it is an automatic thought process. The procedures are practiced in the sim numerous times every six months. Or you can get them on the line as my two examples above which happened in an 8 day period:)

Cessna_Pilot

Carnacalla wrote: »

Whats the mental state of a Pilot when performing a go-around/touch and go?

Mental state? Same as when landing, taking off, in the cruise etc

JCX BXC

Is it honestly worth the cost and effort of getting a commercial pilots licence nowadays? On top of them costs you'd have to pay for college to do another course anyway.

eatmyshorts

Carnacalla wrote: »

Is it honestly worth the cost and effort of getting a commercial pilots licence nowadays? On top of them costs you'd have to pay for collage to do another course anyway.

I love a nice collage. Very pretty.