Now Ye're Talking - to a Commercial Pilot

helimachoptor

Cool AMA, i've a few questions so feel free to pick a couple to respond to if you're tight on time

A good few years ago I was coming back from NZ, about 3 hours into the flight the pilot came on and said he expected turbulence, so switched on the sign, but anyone in the Q for the toilets could do their business as we'd about 15 mins to go.

3/4 mins later we dropped what was probably not very far :p but some of the overhead bins open, a couple of people ended up hitting the ceiling (i was in the last row of a 747) and one poor teenager ended up having the crew give him a change of pants.. I;m very much a "if we die we die" but for you, has there ever been a moment where you thought "fcuk thats it, game over"?


A couple of years back i was in heathrow, flight back to Dublin. Chap beside me who was a huge huge man, was incredibly nervous. He said he comes to Ireland 4 times a year on a business trip, but sails/rails to holyhead, however he was needed urgently. I told him i travelled a lot and never had issues.. and you guessed it we accelerated off down the runway and basically did a handbreaker off the run way ( i assume it was a proximity issue as we joined the Q to take off again). However he got very agitated and the crew to their credit did a good job calming him, have you ever needed to have the local police ready for when you land?

And finally and i'm surprised this hasnt been asked.. have you/have you had to stop people joining the mile high club:D

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

What kind of work hours have you? Is there a maximum number of hours/day/week/year that you can do and is there a minimum number of hours to fly to keep your licence?

Do pilots generally fly from one base or area and return back to there again every day or longer?

Thanks for doing this, very interesting insights.:)

Some people would say we only do 18 hours a week....:p

For what I do now, it varies between 20-30 flight hours a week dependent on the schedule. Duty time could be up to 50 hours, also schedule dependent. Total flight time across the year is normally between 700-800 out of a possible 900 maximum. Note the 900 hours is the time actually when the aircraft is moving, not the hanging around before, inbetween and after flights!

We are allowed to 100 maximum flight hours in any 28 days, I have been at that limit a few times (esp on short haul).

There are no minimum hours as such; it's more recency requirements e.g. conplete a flight every 30 days but that has only happened to me once where I was instructing in the simulator for an entire month. Luckily I had my own simulator check afterwards which reset the clock...

Depending on who you work for, you could be at home every night. Friends of mine in the US - when they go, they are gone for 4-5 days at a time, every time. Yet another reason why some pilots choose to stay in or move between airlines...

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA

helimachoptor wrote: »

Cool AMA, i've a few questions so feel free to pick a couple to respond to if you're tight on time

A good few years ago I was coming back from NZ, about 3 hours into the flight the pilot came on and said he expected turbulence, so switched on the sign, but anyone in the Q for the toilets could do their business as we'd about 15 mins to go.

3/4 mins later we dropped what was probably not very far :p but some of the overhead bins open, a couple of people ended up hitting the ceiling (i was in the last row of a 747) and one poor teenager ended up having the crew give him a change of pants.. I;m very much a "if we die we die" but for you, has there ever been a moment where you thought "fcuk thats it, game over"?


A couple of years back i was in heathrow, flight back to Dublin. Chap beside me who was a huge huge man, was incredibly nervous. He said he comes to Ireland 4 times a year on a business trip, but sails/rails to holyhead, however he was needed urgently. I told him i travelled a lot and never had issues.. and you guessed it we accelerated off down the runway and basically did a handbreaker off the run way ( i assume it was a proximity issue as we joined the Q to take off again). However he got very agitated and the crew to their credit did a good job calming him, have you ever needed to have the local police ready for when you land?

And finally and i'm surprised this hasnt been asked.. have you/have you had to stop people joining the mile high club:D

1. No, thankfully I've never been a situation like that.

2. Yes, most of the time people suddenly lose all their bravado and aggro when they realise their actions do have consequences. For some people it becomes a very expensive search to get back from their holiday...

3. Not telling and no, but there's been a small number of occasions where people have probably managed to get away with it but it's a diffcult thing to start accusing people of.....

mada999

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA wrote: »

listen to music (noise cancelling headphones really are brilliant).

Which make and model do you recommend ??

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA

mada999 wrote: »

Which make and model do you recommend ??

I have the Bose QC25 and I find them brilliant. Not only the noise cancelling but comfortable to wear for hours on end....

triggermortis

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

This is a genuine question and one that I personally wondered. What exactly is this guy doing?

He's replacing speed tape - probably over some wet or missing sealant. You can see the stuff he's already removed inside the intake - not a great work practice IMA

Elemonator

I usually ask this of any professionally skilled person in an industry when these AMA's come up either here, on Reddit or in person.

Question: What is something that you know now with experience that you wish you had known either prior to being a pilot or just after qualification? It can be a good thing/bad thing or both.

I'll tell you, I've always dreamed of being a pilot!

lionel ritchie

This is the best thread anywhere ever.

Mountainsandh

I'm back for more if you don't mind

Silly questions sorry : do you still look at the scenery ? (I could watch it out the window forever)
What do you like flying over most ? clouds ? land ? sea ? (the sea is boring isn't it ?)

Or are you just immune to it now, same old same old ?

What land is the most interesting to fly over ?

Did you ever notice something on the ground that you had to alert someone down there about ? (like wild fires or such)

On sunny summer days do you see me waving with my son ?
(I'm the one down there in the little cottage near the Knockmealdowns)

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA

Elemonator wrote: »

I usually ask this of any professionally skilled person in an industry when these AMA's come up either here, on Reddit or in person.

Question: What is something that you know now with experience that you wish you had known either prior to being a pilot or just after qualification? It can be a good thing/bad thing or both.

I'll tell you, I've always dreamed of being a pilot!

That's a really good question and I need a bit of time to think about it so bear with me..!

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA

Mountainsandh wrote: »

I'm back for more if you don't mind

Silly questions sorry : do you still look at the scenery ? (I could watch it out the window forever)
What do you like flying over most ? clouds ? land ? sea ? (the sea is boring isn't it ?)

Or are you just immune to it now, same old same old ?

What land is the most interesting to fly over ?

Did you ever notice something on the ground that you had to alert someone down there about ? (like wild fires or such)

On sunny summer days do you see me waving with my son ?
(I'm the one down there in the little cottage near the Knockmealdowns)

Yep still stare out the window, night sky is always glorious to me, you get to see lots and lots, like back one evening being able to the shuttle and the ISS in the sky at the same time. As the seasons change everything is interesting; the Alps in the summer vs. winter, Greenland I find fascinating to look at...you get to see how things change over time also, the list goes on and on...

It's difficult to spot stuff on the ground to any great degree that wouldn't already be apparent on the ground; we are able to receive signals from emergency locator transmitters and we relay to ATC if we hear them; hopefully it's helping someone down there.

It's been some time since I was over the Knockmealdowns but having flown into Cork on many occasions and even taking the route down via Clonmel I'm sure I've seen the house...

Blazer

What military plane would you love to fly? Or did fly ever?
I was always mad to become a fighter pilot in my younger days and have researched what I needed to do etc but then my eyesight started going so that was the end of that dream.
The F14 and the SR71 were the planes I fell in love with and nowadays its the Raptor.

mickdw

Does outright skill really matter in terms of being a pilot.
For example, most people can drive a car but very few in comparison can comfortably slide a car.
Obviously pilot training covers all sorts of scenarios and hand flying with all sorts of failures but is touch and feel still relevant to flying a commercial airliner.... I guess when things go wrong, ability really shows itself.

dense

Have you ever experienced a laser pointer?

smurfjed

Aviation terms and conditions have changed dramatically in the last 10-15 years, with the associated costs of training, the disruption to family life, the strange and weird working times, associated health concerns. Would you still recommend it as a career ?

Manic Moran

Was riding jumpseat in a Delta 757 a whiles back, and asked the pilots if they could pass the Private Pilot Test today: I was observing the reliance on computers, and the fact that for cost efficiency, they didn't do any particular flight planning or prep work: The legal requirement being for the pilot to be sitting in the seat, the flight planning (weight/balance, routing etc) can be done by someone cheaper on the ground, not burning into pilot rest time. The honest answer I got back was that no, they probably could not as it's been years since they did that sort of thing. Think that's a reasonable assessment of most pilots? (I have a US PPL, so know the standards)

Part of the reason for the US pilot shortage is Congress's wonderful decision to mandate 1,500 hours PIC before getting a rating for the co-pilot's seat on a commercial flight. Given the arguments in favour/against burning circles in a 172 for months, do you see US airlines starting to poach junior pilots from European or Asian airlines who presumably have the 1,500 hours much more quickly?

Every time I speak to a GA pilot in Europe, I'm astounded by all the hurdles and costs it takes to become a recreational flyer. It's bad enough in the US due to costs, contributing to the US pilot shortage. Has this resulted in more likelihood of the European airlines paying the full cost from 0-hours to ATP certification than it would have been previously?

Skuxx

I've often wondered if flying long haul, how many days do you spend down route? If you flew Dublin to San Francisco for example, would you come back the next day assuming there was a flight that day, or would you have a few days off down route.

Vojera

What length of flight do you like best? Short haul? Long haul? Somewhere in the middle?

What's the longest time you've had to circle above an airport before being allowed to land?

Are you really efficient at packing a suitcase now?

Do the pilots have their own bathroom?

Alicano

Q: How do you know if a pilot is at a party?
A: They'll tell you!

Do you have box sets of those flying programmes like Flying wild Alaska? Mad landing strips in crazy weather? Ever landed into Madeira, Salzburg, Gibraltar, Bhutan or the likes? Would Pilots love that or try to swap off that flight?
Great AMA and thank you.

lionel ritchie

This is the best AMA ever!

I'm sorry to dragging tragedy into it but I've taken an interest in the investigation into the shoot-down of MH17 in Ukraine in 2014. I'd like to ask you as a commercial pilot if you saw and what you thought of the NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) issued in the days prior to 17.7.14?

The allegation is that the NOTAM issued by Ukraine is scant on detail as to why they were raising the flight level to FL32 ( effectively closing the sky below 32,000ft to civilian traffic) compared to the much more explicit NOTAM issued by Russia which states 'Combat in Eastern Ukraine' as the reason they were imposing similar restrictions in their adjacent skies. The Russian NOTAM also makes curious reference to FL53 which I would have thought way beyond the parameters of commercial/civil flights.

More info on the NOTAMs here. http://www.whathappenedtoflightmh17.com/ukraine-did-not-inform-the-reason-for-airways-restrictions-in-their-notams-while-russia-did/

Cards on the table I'm not a conspiracy theorist or any such. I think the only reasonable evidence based conclusion is that the Russian armed forces shot that plane down with a SAM. But it's an aspect of the investigation I find particularly intriguing.

Kencollins

Whats your favorite waypoint?

I have the humor of an 8 year old and still giggle when I hear someone getting DCT DIKAS

Mitch Buchannon

Kencollins wrote: »

Whats your favorite waypoint?

I have the humor of an 8 year old and still giggle when I hear someone getting DCT DIKAS

On the waypoints I always smile when I hear BALIX (West of Scotland at 59deg. North)
There are lots of good ones in the States. Off the coast of Florida you have ZZTOP, BALOO, LAZEY, WILLY, GALWY, CWRLD, MINEE, There were a few named after Donald Trump but I believe these have now been changed. They were, DONLD, TRMMP UFIRD.

On the Westcoast around LAX and SFO you have ones related to movies, actors, and bands. HULLK, EMMY, MNROE, AVATR, OTOOL.

Up around Boston you have LBSTA, CELTK, PATSS, BRUWN, SSOXS.

There are lots more but thats a few for you.

funkey_monkey

You say you have flown both Airbus and Boeing planes. How much of a difference is there between the joystick controls on the Airbus and the yoke on the Boeing. Which do you prefer? Do you find flying the Airbus more awkward if you are in the seat opposing your preferred hand for control?

How often do you get briefed about updates made to the aircraft - such as engine software updates, flight control updates etc. Do you get asked about potential modifications or does that just get answered by a senior pilot who does less flying than you guys?

Do you ever watch anything like Air Crash Investigation and think 'I handled something similar without making that balls up' or 'Sh!t, I think I'd have f**ked that one up too'?

What is you thoughts on the the crash of AF447 where as perfectly serviceable aircraft was crashed by a pilot induced stall after a series of mistakes?

faceman

If airplanes were the equivalent of sexual attraction, would the 747 be the sexiest plane in town?

diomed

I see you say airplane. I was told aircraft.
Ever have a punch-up in the cabin over something as important as that?

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA

Elemonator wrote: »

I usually ask this of any professionally skilled person in an industry when these AMA's come up either here, on Reddit or in person.

Question: What is something that you know now with experience that you wish you had known either prior to being a pilot or just after qualification? It can be a good thing/bad thing or both.

I'll tell you, I've always dreamed of being a pilot!

After having a good think about this, I would tell myself that the time ahead that looks like a really long time is no time at all, so pay attention to all the stuff that you see and that happens around you as I’ve probably missed loads of stuff that was brilliant at the time.

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA

mickdw wrote: »

Does outright skill really matter in terms of being a pilot.
For example, most people can drive a car but very few in comparison can comfortably slide a car.
Obviously pilot training covers all sorts of scenarios and hand flying with all sorts of failures but is touch and feel still relevant to flying a commercial airliner.... I guess when things go wrong, ability really shows itself.

Does it matter, probably, does it make a difference? Definitely. There’s a good degree of coordination required and while a lot of it becomes a motor skill after lots of practice, just like any motor skills, some people are naturally better than others. Each aircraft you fly handles differently so while you can apply your basic skills you do have to adapt to the aircraft. This applies to handling failures too.

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA

dense wrote: »

Have you ever experienced a laser pointer?

Yes, many times, low altitude, high altitude, lots and lots of different places. Some people ask me is it a big deal, I ask them would they point one into their own eye to find out.....

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA

smurfjed wrote: »

Aviation terms and conditions have changed dramatically in the last 10-15 years, with the associated costs of training, the disruption to family life, the strange and weird working times, associated health concerns. Would you still recommend it as a career ?

So the only one of those that has dramatically changed in that time is the cost element. I would also factor in a very much downward pressure on wages. That’s a perfect storm for people trying to get their foot in the door. I wouldn’t advise anyone to take out a massive loan and go off and train as that creates a whole new dynamic to the personal pressures post qualification. There are longer, but less risky routes to attain the goal and you have to be clever about how you go about it. If you get the golden ticket of full funding grab it with both hands and work like hell and never ever forget the opportunity you were given.

I think it is a rewarding career overall. In family terms, you will need a partner who understands the challenges you will face and odd stuff that does happen.

I'm A Commercial Pilot, AMA

Manic Moran wrote: »

Was riding jumpseat in a Delta 757 a whiles back, and asked the pilots if they could pass the Private Pilot Test today: I was observing the reliance on computers, and the fact that for cost efficiency, they didn't do any particular flight planning or prep work: The legal requirement being for the pilot to be sitting in the seat, the flight planning (weight/balance, routing etc) can be done by someone cheaper on the ground, not burning into pilot rest time. The honest answer I got back was that no, they probably could not as it's been years since they did that sort of thing. Think that's a reasonable assessment of most pilots? (I have a US PPL, so know the standards)

Part of the reason for the US pilot shortage is Congress's wonderful decision to mandate 1,500 hours PIC before getting a rating for the co-pilot's seat on a commercial flight. Given the arguments in favour/against burning circles in a 172 for months, do you see US airlines starting to poach junior pilots from European or Asian airlines who presumably have the 1,500 hours much more quickly?

Every time I speak to a GA pilot in Europe, I'm astounded by all the hurdles and costs it takes to become a recreational flyer. It's bad enough in the US due to costs, contributing to the US pilot shortage. Has this resulted in more likelihood of the European airlines paying the full cost from 0-hours to ATP certification than it would have been previously?

1. If a guy hadn’t flown light aircraft in 10, 15, 20 years could you stick him in a 172 and expect him to nail it straight off the bat? I don’t think so. But I imagine a small amount of instruction and just a bit of time I think a lot of it would come back pretty quickly. And then they might think it’s a lot more fun than the day job!

2. It will take a seismic shift in the the USA before they will start handing out visas and residency to foreign pilots. And I mean a seismic political shift.

3. I think we are some time away from that yet. Accountants really don’t like seeing big new budgets taking money off the balance sheet for a return that is 18 months away. There is a school of thought emerging (or re-emerging) that there is a large benefit in oversight from day 1 as you have a lot of control over the end product that you get.