The great big "ask an airline pilot" thread!

smurfjed wrote: »

Wow interesting question Any fleet change is based on seniority, we have about 70 pilots but only 3 are still First Officers, so my Captain seniority is terrible. If we get a replacement for the G4, then i will get to move to that, or if the fleet size increases, i might get a sniff of something else.
Alternatively, once i get 500 hours as Captain, then i can jump across and fly the A320 in the airline side, or if i want to stay corporate, i can move to our charter operation and fly the 7X.

There are pros and cons to each of these plans, I'm happy and quite spoilt where i am now, so i have no desire to move anywhere

Well done and conrats on your command, wish you all the best with your career

I've got a question I've wondered for a while, one of my dreams when I was younger was becoming an airline pilot, but it became something I decided against, due to a number of reasons. But, from the time that it was my dream, I had always wondered, what is it like flying a long haul flight? Are you constantly doing work, or are you occupying your time with something else while performing checks at set intervals?

A typical atlantic crossing would involve a busy climb and early cruise phase as you obtain an oceanic clearance for the tracks, liaise with domestic atc, obtain weather, check systems and fuel, discuss a strategy for a diversion, and a quick PA to the pax before the punters get into the service and IFE. Prior to entering the ocean and track system we have various belts and braces checks that we do to ensure we are going in on the right track at the right mach no, level and time. There are further checks as we travel across the ocean to avoid a gross navigation error. Every 30 minutes we check fuel and the systems but most of us will be keeping a keen eye on the key things on a more regular basis. New forecast and actual weather will be obtained for the etops and operational alternates and a suitable strategy discussed and agreed should it be needed. We will also be listening out to both the distress and chat vhf frequencies and providing turbulence reports back to the office for any following company aircraft. Sig wx charts will be consulted to try and avoid and surprises for the pax - ideally with the seatbelt signs going on generally in anticipation of any bumps.

In between there is chatting, food, coffee & tea, newspapers, books, ipads and all the company manuals for consultation. The latter especially when you have a visit to the sim or ground school training coming up. Getting up to stretch the legs and a wander is invaluable as well.

Every crossing is different, for some the time flies and others you may be into the teeth of strong headwinds watching the minutes slowly tick by.

Darwin wrote: »

Does each airline have their own SOP which describes what SLOP to apply for atlantic crossings or is at the discretion of the commander? How are weather diversions handled if you have to further deviate from this offset (e.g. is the avoidance reported to Shanwick who keeps tabs on things). Thanks

SLOPs are standard in the NATS. You can SLOP 0, 1 or 2nm to the right. No other SLOP positions are allowed. Each commander is expected to choose a 1 or 2nm SLOP if the aircraft are capable of doing it automatically. If the aircraft does not have that facility, you are expected to stay on the centreline. All other things being equal, the choice should be random, but pilots will look at what other traffic in the area are doing, wind direction, direction of likely diversion etc when making their decision.

Weather deviations require an ATC clearance from whichever control centre you are working at the time. If it is not possible to get one there is a standard procedure that involves deviating from the track and either climbing or decending 300ft depending on which direction you deviate, if you deviate by more than 10nm. You must also declare a mayday, and you would be expected to broadcast your intentions on 121.5 and 123.45.

Quick Q: When you see flight crew coming out of the Customs hall into Arrivals at DUB, are they usually before the pax from that flight, or after most of the pax, or is it not possible to say with baggage delays etc? IOW, are you first out, or last out?

I get around.

Thanks, that's what I thought.

PS: I worked in DUB before I was an airsofter IT Support for DAA, as was. Job was a complete nightmare, trying to keep the networks, screens and Duty Free systems up while the builders were rebuilding T1 under us. I lasted 5 months, but I wasn't too upset about that, 'cos the guy before me lasted 2 weeks, and the one before him 3 days. Loved watching the pax - well certain pax - go by though. I even wore a tie, most days.

smurfjed wrote: »

Thats it, training DONE!!! 6 months of "fun"..... i had to do a couple of observed flights once qualified, so first was to Paris and the second one was today, the grand total distance of 98 nms boy was it fun. We took off from a military airfield that is close to 5000 feet high, climbed to 16,000 feet, asked for direct to final approach fix and started descent, 300 kts down to 10,000 feet followed by 250 to about about 5 miles to the fix, then slowing down, configuring and landing, after that it was kinda strange as we got parked in unique parking. Full guard of honour to meet us, ceremonial guard etc, it was quite impressive. Total flight time, about 16 minutes ( i should add that all of the ceremony was for a visiting King, we just got to park in his spot before him )

Talk about two total extremes of our flight regimes

Congratulations!

Maybe something to do with the fact that the jets might be moving a bit faster than the props and need the heading change a bit quicker...

Or is it water being ingested into jets that seems more concerning?

water ingestion is generally not an issue. Jet engines are designed/tested to operate in extreme weather conditions (monsoon type rains). There are some good videos available of these tests https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faDWFwDy8-U

nd001 wrote: »

When I do be listening to dublin atc you sometimes hear I think its the pilots or dispatchers talking to each other when the flight is on approach do dublin talking about stands for aircraft and loads for the next flight and fuel required. Is this calculated by the pilots before they even make it down or are they passed on the info via company. Thanks in advance

Most times it is the Flight Deck speaking to whats called 'station control', the station controller will then pass the figures onto the relevant dispatchers, most flight crews will know their next fuel load needed. Station Control also send all the relevant info of pax loads, flight crews, a/c type, reg and any specials on board to the destination airport of the flight.

We have a "flight plan" which states how much fuel we require for each flight based on the distance we fly, amount of passengers and baggage, fuel weight, head/tail wind, flight level flown, expected departure and approach procedure, indivudual aircraft engine burn performance, as well as holding fuel, diversion fuel etc.

Using this info and our own experience of the route and possible weather issues, we calculate the required fuel we need.

Growler!!! wrote: »

The pilots will get a Pilot LOG (PLOG) from their flight planning department which will advise them of the fuel burn at various altitudes. The optimum level will generally have the lowest fuel burn. But the captain can select a different level if for example the winds are more favourable or the time is shorter.

The fuel carried will be the total used for:

Taxi
Trip - how much used from A to B
Contingency - 5% of trip fuel to allow for changes in weather
Alternate - how much used from B to C if needed
Final Reserve - minimum in tanks to hold over the airfield for 30 minutes
Extra fuel - additional fuel carried at captains discretion

Everything except for Extra fuel, is considered the absolute legal minimum to dispatch with.
A prudent captain will always carry a little more.

Well now, that's going to cause a row!