Ask a Pilot anything....

[Mastiff]

phil squares said:

Interesting stuff

Many thanks for this.

[PistonBroker]

AstonZagato said:

IforB said:

Willy Nilly said:

2-300 hours is a moderately busy month,

Doing what? In an office maybe, but not flying, especially when your hours only count when the aircraft is in motion.

If you were only judged by the amount of time you did something useful in an office, I guarantee your hourly total would be a lot less...

Does reading Pistonheads count?

I hope so! :-p

[Ayahuasca]

Re military hours, consider an F35 from the Queen Elizabeth (use your imagination...) screaming to North Wales, doing a quick low-level circuit of the Mach Loop, and returning to the ship. Now consider a B777 trundling from Heathrow to Los Angeles. Which demands more skill, and which generates more flying hours?

Edited by Ayahuasca on Tuesday 2nd January 17:10

[Willy Nilly]

IforB said:

Willy Nilly said:

2-300 hours is a moderately busy month,

Doing what? In an office maybe, but not flying, especially when your hours only count when the aircraft is in motion.

If you were only judged by the amount of time you did something useful in an office, I guarantee your hourly total would be a lot less...

I've clocked up over 80 engine hours in a week. Those hours don;t get clocked up when the machine is being maintained or when the operator is doing other things which the machine parked up.

[IforB]

Willy Nilly said:

IforB said:

Willy Nilly said:

2-300 hours is a moderately busy month,

Doing what? In an office maybe, but not flying, especially when your hours only count when the aircraft is in motion.

If you were only judged by the amount of time you did something useful in an office, I guarantee your hourly total would be a lot less...

I've clocked up over 80 engine hours in a week. Those hours don;t get clocked up when the machine is being maintained or when the operator is doing other things which the machine parked up.

How on earth can doing that many hours be remotely safe? In any airline with a proper FRMS (Fatigue Risk Management System) ((All of them)) then you never be allowed anywhere near that sort of silly hours and be allowed to operate.

It just isn’t safe to be operating any kind of machinery for that amount of time in such a short period.

[48k]

phil squares said:

a very informative and considered post

Thank you for taking the time to post that, very interesting.

[48k]

IforB said:

Willy Nilly said:

IforB said:

Willy Nilly said:

2-300 hours is a moderately busy month,

Doing what? In an office maybe, but not flying, especially when your hours only count when the aircraft is in motion.

If you were only judged by the amount of time you did something useful in an office, I guarantee your hourly total would be a lot less...

I've clocked up over 80 engine hours in a week. Those hours don;t get clocked up when the machine is being maintained or when the operator is doing other things which the machine parked up.

How on earth can doing that many hours be remotely safe? In any airline with a proper FRMS (Fatigue Risk Management System) ((All of them)) then you never be allowed anywhere near that sort of silly hours and be allowed to operate.

It just isn’t safe to be operating any kind of machinery for that amount of time in such a short period.

He drives a tractor. Well, I say drives, it's all done with computers and GPS these days so he just sits up the front because the crops like to see a human being up there.

[Countdown]

Willy Nilly said:

I've clocked up over 80 engine hours in a week. Those hours don;t get clocked up when the machine is being maintained or when the operator is doing other things which the machine parked up.

When I was a kid my dad used to work in a cotton mill (16 hours a day/ 6 day weeks). From what I remember he'd be watching 2-4 machines turning raw cotton into yarn. I'm not saying it wasn't difficult but it was tedious, just watching stuff mainly.

I don't think flying a plane is comparable somehow.

[RichB]

Willy Nilly said:

I've clocked up over 80 engine hours in a week..

What's that flying Willy?

[Hifly130]

In the cruise if there's no weather/tech issues/ passenger issues or busy airspace then yes there might not be a massive amount to do in a modern jet airliner.

We very occasionally have company office /operations staff with no flying experience who are given a day on the jump seat to see what happens on the front line. The most common comment is how busy we are with the radio. I was pleased that with one operations staff she experienced a 4 sector day with longest flight 1hr15mins and on every sector there was some sort of issue with either tech/pax or weather. We were extremely busy.To top it off last sector we had a go around due to another aircraft still on the runway.

If there's no issues on the sector then yes can be an easy day out but every now and then you get a day where it would be nice to have a pause button. Turnarounds with atc strike delays a tug disappearing on your slot, De icing fluid holdover time running out and it starts snowing again all add to the pressure .

Sometimes the tricky bit is having your max concentration at the end of your working day. Try landing an Airbus in max crosswind conditions at 2am after a 13 hours duty!

Not saying it's the busiest/most stressful or most skilled job out there but just sometimes...

[dave_s13]

Hifly130 said:

Not saying it's the busiest/most stressful or most skilled job out there but just sometimes...

The skill is spotting and dealing with the complex scenarios surely? That's the same in most professions.

I had a piss easy day at work today. Sometimes I'm chasing my bloody tail from the get go.

[99dndd]

Can you barrel roll a commercial jet?

[V8LM]

Yes

[IforB]

dave_s13 said:

Hifly130 said:

Not saying it's the busiest/most stressful or most skilled job out there but just sometimes...

The skill is spotting and dealing with the complex scenarios surely? That's the same in most professions.

I had a piss easy day at work today. Sometimes I'm chasing my bloody tail from the get go.

The excellent pilot uses their excellent skills to get themselves out of any troublesome situations.

The superb pilot uses their superb skills to avoid getting into the troublesome situations in the first place...

[Willy Nilly]

IforB said:

How on earth can doing that many hours be remotely safe? In any airline with a proper FRMS (Fatigue Risk Management System) ((All of them)) then you never be allowed anywhere near that sort of silly hours and be allowed to operate.

It just isn’t safe to be operating any kind of machinery for that amount of time in such a short period.

Compare to others in my industry I don't do many hours. How does 118 hours in a week grab you? That's what a combine driver did last harvest according to his boss on line.

I still can't see how 2000 hours doing anything, be it flying or what ever can be considered particularly experienced and 2-300 hours a year is next to bugger all.

[donutsina911]

General question...what kind of percentage increase in landing distance does a wet runway and an icy runway cause? And are there any major airports where ice or a bit of rain can lead to butt clenching moments for pilots?

[Brother D]

Willy Nilly said:

IforB said:

How on earth can doing that many hours be remotely safe? In any airline with a proper FRMS (Fatigue Risk Management System) ((All of them)) then you never be allowed anywhere near that sort of silly hours and be allowed to operate.

It just isn’t safe to be operating any kind of machinery for that amount of time in such a short period.

Compare to others in my industry I don't do many hours. How does 118 hours in a week grab you? That's what a combine driver did last harvest according to his boss on line.

I still can't see how 2000 hours doing anything, be it flying or what ever can be considered particularly experienced and 2-300 hours a year is next to bugger all.

Have you read what others who fly actually wrote down at length? If someone puts down 1hr in their log book, that doesn't cover the several hours of preperation/planning/pre or post checks/documentation etc.
For an instructor (which I think G15 started all of the 2000hr comments), explained that 1hr training sortie would be several hours either side, and tbf, have you looked inside cockpit? It's a little more involved than a combine harvester, and the crew have to intimately familiar with every single system and training manuals can be measured in feet of paper deep.

[Europa1]

A couple of questions arising out of the above photo:
- how easy is it (practically, not rank-wise) to switch between seats given the joysticks are on different sides? I'd be bloody useless in the left hand seat, I suspect; and
- what do the rotating wheels just poking out of the centre console signify/do?

Thanks!

[VansDriver]

Europa1 said:

A couple of questions arising out of the above photo:
- how easy is it (practically, not rank-wise) to switch between seats given the joysticks are on different sides? I'd be bloody useless in the left hand seat, I suspect; and
- what do the rotating wheels just poking out of the centre console signify/do?

Thanks!

Its fairly easy to switch sides although most people (including me) tend to prefer to fly with their right hand. On my Airbus fleet the Captain and Copilot can fly in either seat so we get practice flying with both hands, however, its not a difficult aircraft to fly manually. When flying in "normal law", its flying, but not as we know it Jim- the aircraft holds bank and auto trims in pitch so when flying manually it only really feels like you are gently "nudging" it around the sky rather than actively flying it as with a more traditional aircraft. Strong crosswind landings can be tricky to do well though. (Its brilliant by the way- a great system).

That looks like an A330 cockpit which I don't fly, so I'm only guessing but I think the wheels are the pitch trim.

[Chuck328]

VansDriver said:

Its fairly easy to switch sides although most people (including me) tend to prefer to fly with their right hand. On my Airbus fleet the Captain and Copilot can fly in either seat so we get practice flying with both hands, however, its not a difficult aircraft to fly manually. When flying in "normal law", its flying, but not as we know it Jim- the aircraft holds bank and auto trims in pitch so when flying manually it only really feels like you are gently "nudging" it around the sky rather than actively flying it as with a more traditional aircraft. Strong crosswind landings can be tricky to do well though. (Its brilliant by the way- a great system).

That looks like an A330 cockpit which I don't fly, so I'm only guessing but I think the wheels are the pitch trim.

You routinely fly in either seat? As in long haul cruise pilot style?

That pic is an A320. If you fly those you will know exactly what that wheel is.

( It is the pitch trim)