The great big "ask an airline pilot" thread!

TheBoss11 · 07-08-2014 09:06PM

View Profile wrote: »

If you can perform well in airline psychometric testing, interview and sim check then your school should be irrelevant.

Fantastic! Thank you very much.

Locker10a · 07-08-2014 09:52PM

TheBoss11 wrote: »

Fantastic! Thank you very much.

It should be noted certain airlines have affiliations with certain school, and its not been unknow for a full training group to be all hired straight after training by the same airline

smurfjed · 26-08-2014 05:28AM

28AUG14 THU TZ CA 0900 0900 1100 02:00

May not mean anything to you, but for me this indicates the start of 15 DAYS OFF..... 1st that i have taken in a couple of months, so its time to have fun

smurfjed · 28-08-2014 10:49AM

Djiboutian President Ismael Omar Guelleh was unharmed in a shooting at the Horn of Africa country’s main airport in the capital that left three people wounded, Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said.

A “young” member of the Republican Guard is under arrest after the incident in which Guelleh’s personal physician, Idris Abdi Gala, was shot twice in the chest and a third bullet caused a “small wound” to his head, Youssouf said in a phone interview today. The shooting took place yesterday about five minutes after Guelleh left the airport, where he had arrived after attending a regional summit in neighboring Ethiopia.

Change the word airport to airplane and this is almost correct, couple of friends had just dropped him off and the shooting began. Luckily the aircraft wasn't hit, but they apparently set a new record for preflight and departure.

Life is always exciting in the corporate world

bikeman1 · 28-08-2014 01:40PM

EI 585 / Shamrock 58W on landing at DUB this afternoon exited the runway at Echo 6. I was surprised to hear it on Live ATC as it was an A333 which I thought would need a bit more runway to make an exit off the runway? Usually it's further down E7 or E8 that they use.

So question is, what is the minimum runway for an A333? Is it a regular occurance to make E6 on RWY 28 at DUB?

I have made E5 with Ryanair once inbound from Torp Norway a few years ago. That was very quick stop for us pax in the back!

KnotABother · 28-08-2014 04:01PM

bikeman1 wrote: »

EI 585 / Shamrock 58W on landing at DUB this afternoon exited the runway at Echo 6. I was surprised to hear it on Live ATC as it was an A333 which I thought would need a bit more runway to make an exit off the runway? Usually it's further down E7 or E8 that they use.

So question is, what is the minimum runway for an A333? Is it a regular occurance to make E6 on RWY 28 at DUB?

I have made E5 with Ryanair once inbound from Torp Norway a few years ago. That was very quick stop for us pax in the back!

E6 is a rapid exit taxiway so airline SOPs will allow a higher speed to exit on a taxiway like this. I remember being told in the past that an A330's landing distance is only in the region of 10% longer than an A320.

At a busy international airport the pilots will have an exit strategy for the runway. You will be told in training that landing and vacating is much like the rules of Italian driving: "pay no attention to what is behind you" but in commercial reality you do not want to crawl down the runway so the guy behind has to go around. On a busy runway like Gatwick this comes in to play. If you touch down, reverser, spoilers, brakes etc and you slow to a speed that the pilots have control on the runway. For the sake of argument we'll say 80kts with the reverser stowed. The captain will then have control and use the tiller to steer on the ground. They may then with the aircraft down and under control choose to ease up on the braking a little bit to speed their journey to the taxiway they want. In this case we will say E6. As they approach they have the plan to slow and get off at E6.
You will find in a lot of cases that if an aircraft needs to get down and get stopped it will do so in a lot less runway than they use for every day landings. I do not know the exact figures involved but I would imagine with the distances in question an A330 would be more than capable of getting off comfortably at E6 if the crew wanted to. A quick google search of some data says that at 170T an a330 can stop in about 1000m with no reverser, no wind and at sea level. It's in the region of 1600m from the threshold to E6.

ProfessorPlum · 28-08-2014 04:10PM

330's can pretty much always get off at E6. Also, there is tiller steering on both sides, so the F/O can taxi, not just the captain.

basill · 28-08-2014 04:26PM

A nice light A333 landing around the 160T mark will have a vapp of around 132kts or so which is probably not that different to what an A320 will be landing with most days. The QRH is showing a landing distance on a dry runway of around 2130m using low autobrakes. The main runway 10/28 is 2637m. The reality is from operational perspective she slows up a lot quicker than what the QRH states but that is what we have to go with.

Also in AL whoever is flying the aircraft will taxi in. Its generally an old Boeing SOP from days gone by when the steering tiller was only on the LHS. Some 3rd world airlines still continue with this SOP even though their modern fleets may well have tillers on both sides which is a bit sad really. Also adds an unnecessary hurdle for the FO when it comes to command training as well.

KnotABother · 28-08-2014 05:20PM

basill wrote: »

Also in AL whoever is flying the aircraft will taxi in. Its generally an old Boeing SOP from days gone by when the steering tiller was only on the LHS. Some 3rd world airlines still continue with this SOP even though their modern fleets may well have tillers on both sides which is a bit sad really. Also adds an unnecessary hurdle for the FO when it comes to command training as well.

Some airlines have an SOP with relation to the Captain being in control for high speed taxi and rapid exit from the runway above company taxi speed limit.

Tenger · 28-08-2014 05:42PM

ProfessorPlum wrote: »

..... there is tiller steering on both sides, so the F/O can taxi, not just the captain.

What folly is this!
He should be in his seat quietly in awe of the Captain!

bikeman1 · 28-08-2014 07:49PM

Thanks for the reply guys. Interesting to hear the SOP's for the use of the tiller.

I suppose when landing on 28 you want to get off at the earliest exit to reduce the taxi to stand, but on 10, you often hear a request to roll to Echo 2 if it is AL, to be at the stand in moments.

keith16 · 28-08-2014 08:33PM

Hello pilots. I want to ask you someting.

Recently, I was on a friendly Ryanair flight from Dublin to Poland. Good times.

Anyway, it was a Sunday afternoon flight, and it was a little late to begin boarding, even though it was sitting at the gate in plenty of time from the previous flight.

Boarding goes grand and we are all sitting at the gate (aircraft doors open) for about 10 mins. Then doors are closed and a little more waiting before the pilot announces "that due to slow boarding, we missed our slot and it will be another 20 mins before we can push back".

I didn't really buy this tbh....is this really a thing? I understand landing slots at the likes of JFK / Heathrow etc. but departure slots from DUB on a relatively quite Sunday?

Growler!!! · 28-08-2014 08:38PM

keith16 wrote: »

Hello pilots. I want to ask you someting.

Recently, I was on a friendly Ryanair flight from Dublin to Poland. Good times.

Anyway, it was a Sunday afternoon flight, and it was a little late to begin boarding, even though it was sitting at the gate in plenty of time from the previous flight.

Boarding goes grand and we are all sitting at the gate (aircraft doors open) for about 10 mins. Then doors are closed and a little more waiting before the pilot announces "that due to slow boarding, we missed our slot and it will be another 20 mins before we can push back".

I didn't really buy this tbh....is this really a thing? I understand landing slots at the likes of JFK / Heathrow etc. but departure slots from DUB on a relatively quite Sunday?

The slot will not have been at Dublin. It would be somewhere else along the route as it passes through some of the busiest airspace in Europe.
It is imposed by ATC to reduce congestion at peak times.

keith16 · 28-08-2014 09:19PM

Growler!!! wrote: »

The slot will not have been at Dublin. It would be somewhere else along the route as it passes through some of the busiest airspace in Europe.
It is imposed by ATC to reduce congestion at peak times.

Ah that makes sense! Thanks Growler!!!! (The extra exclamation mark is my own).

Incidentally, I did look at the path afterward on FR24 and it did fly almost directly over London.

owenc · 28-08-2014 11:05PM

What is a plug? I keep reading up on a plug added to extend the 747 upper deck?

Could someone explain or post a link explaining how to read flightplans?

owenc · 28-08-2014 11:08PM

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

Does it take long to go from short haul to long haul?

owenc · 28-08-2014 11:12PM

OzCam wrote: »

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?

Yeah I was wondering if they have to go through the immigration at all. Ididn't see any when going to America

owenc · 28-08-2014 11:29PM

faceman wrote: »

This is kinda a 'live' question!

I fly a lot and make no secret of the fact I'm a nervous passenger. I visit this forum a lot because it's a great way of normalising air travel for me. I'm currently on a flight from Dub to SFO with EI.

We're over Iceland and the seat belt sign is on as we hit turbulence. I'm sitting near rear of plane. The turbulence is light but the engines are throttling from high to low to regularly but we seem to be at the same height and speed. I'm kinda freaking out silently.

What could be causing the need for the engines to throttle high and low like that?

That happened on the plane back. Don't know what it was, but it was scary sitting at the window

owenc · 28-08-2014 11:34PM

bikeman1 wrote: »

18 minutes on a Ryanair Prestwick to Belfast City was the record for me. Still got the trolley through and they even took hot food pre-orders while on the ground!!

That was some route, the shortest flight on their network in their history I believe?

So very possible to have a short flight with a jet.

I did Derry to Prestwick in 15 minutes.. Unbelieveable..
We had only got up and then we were going down again.

smurfjed · 29-08-2014 07:40AM

Does it take long to go from short haul to long haul?

Wow you did dig out an old message, I'm not exactly sure what you are looking for. But in general if you mean how long does it take for a pilot to move from doing short haul flying to long haul, well that depends on the aircraft type that they are flying. In our airline side, it takes about 2 years for a first officer to move from an A320 to the B777, so thats short to ultra long haul, 16 hours max as the longest route.

Does that explain it?

smurfjed · 29-08-2014 07:41AM

Ididn't see any when going to America

We do go through immigration just like everyone else and MUST have a special crew visa. But usually there are special crew lines.

smurfjed · 29-08-2014 07:45AM

What is a plug? I keep reading up on a plug added to extend the 747 upper deck?

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/2010_q3/2/img/A2_fig5-large.gif

Basically the cut the aircraft and add some more to the front and more to the back, they are called plugs.

smurfjed · 29-08-2014 07:55AM

I understand landing slots at the likes of JFK / Heathrow etc. but departure slots from DUB on a relatively quite Sunday?

http://www.acl-uk.org/acl-international/default.aspx?id=155

The CFMU issues delays by means of a CTOT (calculated take-off time), also known as slot time or simply slot. The slot is actually a period of time within which take-off has to take place; in Europe (Eurocontrol) it is defined between −5 and + 10 minutes from CTOT. The aircraft is required to be at the runway, ready for departure at its CTOT, the leeway is for air traffic control to integrate the aircraft into the other traffic.

If a slot is missed (or if it is already certain in advance that it will be missed), CFMU assigns a new one. A different aircraft which has a slot because of the same regulation may be issued an improvement on its slot to make use of the newly available capacity. The slot and any revisions are communicated to the aircraft operator as well as the air traffic control unit at the departure airport via a special network called AFTN.

It is perhaps surprising to some, that, for example, a delay in Istanbul may be incurred because inclement weather is expected at the destination in London, 3 hours later, even though the weather in Istanbul is good and there is no congestion. Blaming a delay on the departure airport or the airline is often not correct. Capacity limitations of the airspace between the two aerodromes, in the en-route segment, can also be a reason for delays.

taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_traffic_flow_management

owenc · 29-08-2014 08:37AM

smurfjed wrote: »

Wow you did dig out an old message, I'm not exactly sure what you are looking for. But in general if you mean how long does it take for a pilot to move from doing short haul flying to long haul, well that depends on the aircraft type that they are flying. In our airline side, it takes about 2 years for a first officer to move from an A320 to the B777, so thats short to ultra long haul, 16 hours max as the longest route.

Does that explain it?

Yes I wanted to know that yes. And whats wrong with asking that? Its pretty normal..

Tenger · 29-08-2014 08:46AM

owenc wrote: »

Yes I wanted to know that yes. And whats wrong with asking that? Its pretty normal..

Nothing wrong with it. However he was surprised that you quoted a post he made several months ago.
And the answer is...it varies from airline to airline. The overwhelming majority have a strict seniority system.
The usual progression will see you start in the right seat on a narrow body and wait till you are in line for right seat in a widebody/longhaul. Then you get a chance to get command and then you start in the narrowbody on the left seat and work your way back up.

harr · 29-08-2014 08:53AM

Hi
I am very nervous flying and I also suffer from a fear of small spaces,I have never let it stop me traveling but try and void smaller air craft if I can .
I have been on short trips to Europe where the flight is no more than 3 hours and this is ok and also to the US with virgin Atlantic which I found just about ok.
I have a group trip next week to Canada and we are going with air Canada rouge and the reviews of this operator is bad and it's all about cramped conditions and no in flight entertainment system to keep my mind busy.
The taught of being crammed in to a small plane for 7 hours plus is making me think twice about going.
Any body any tips or where I should sit ,I don't even know if I will be able at this stage to pick my own seats . HELP....:(

owenc · 29-08-2014 09:31AM

I recommend that you go up in a 2 seater aircraft.

I love flying but used to be crapping myself in small planes but then went up a few times and was fine after. I find that the smaller planes have less turbulence..

If you understand what turbulence is it does help.

I've flown with Continential airlines to PBI and there was just an overhead tv the whole way which was just a total disaster. For that you can't really do anything.. You are on a widebody so should have plenty of room... You are lucky as on my last flight to America they had the seatbelt sign on alot and we had only one isle. Its not really that bad as the pacific is worse, set you're watch for 4 hours and you will reach the continent.

To NYC it is only 6 hours so if you just grin and bear it you will be fine.

owenc · 29-08-2014 09:40AM

You can use this.

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_Canada/Air_Canada_Rouge_Boeing_767-300ER_V1.php

I must admit that does look dire, I thought there would be overhead tvs but it actually says none. On our 757 we had a choice of 60 movies which made the flight fly by. I think you are gonna have to download movies before.

billie1b · 29-08-2014 10:01AM

harr wrote: »

Hi
I am very nervous flying and I also suffer from a fear of small spaces,I have never let it stop me traveling but try and void smaller air craft if I can .
I have been on short trips to Europe where the flight is no more than 3 hours and this is ok and also to the US with virgin Atlantic which I found just about ok.
I have a group trip next week to Canada and we are going with air Canada rouge and the reviews of this operator is bad and it's all about cramped conditions and no in flight entertainment system to keep my mind busy.
The taught of being crammed in to a small plane for 7 hours plus is making me think twice about going.
Any body any tips or where I should sit ,I don't even know if I will be able at this stage to pick my own seats . HELP....:(

The AirCanada Rouge is a 767-300, its a widebody aircraft with two aisles, most likely bigger than any aircraft you've travelled around Europe on, when people talk cramped they are usually talking about the seating, the actual aircraft itself is big and you'll notice a big difference when you walk on compared to the single aisle birds you get around Europe, I wouldn't worry too much, bring a tablet with your own selection of stuff on it, will be much better than IFE as you know yourself what you like. Also books, music, crosswords and little snacks will help pass the time. Enjoy your flight, id love a flight on a classic like that

IRLConor · 29-08-2014 11:35AM

harr wrote: »

no in flight entertainment system to keep my mind busy.

According to a friend of mine who flew with them recently the in-flight entertainment isn't bad. You either use your own laptop or iPad or you can rent an iPad from them for $10.

Here are the details: http://www.aircanada.com/rouge/en/entertainment.html

The great big "ask an airline pilot" thread!

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