Oldman tell us your stories about your flying experiences.

I remember when we would fly out of Orange County (John Wayne) Airport in California. They had a noise abatement restriction in place to keep the noise of the planes from being too disturbing to the residents living in the area. Planes, due to their jet engines, are very loud when taking off. That's when we use maximum thrust or takeoff thrust. To combat not disturbing the local residents too bad, we would have to takeoff with about a and then kind of do a steep climb. We always warned our passengers not to become alarmed when we takeoff and the reason why followed. We have to lift off from the runway carefully, at about 5-6 degrees, so as not to have a tail-strike. Once we have cleared the tail, then we can increase the climb out angle to about 20-25 degrees until we get well above the houses at about 10,000 feet and level off before making our next step climb. Not all pilots step climb like I did. Some prefer to keep going up. I preferred to step climb, so as not to over-stress the engines.

Most, if not all airports, have noise abatement rules or restrictions. It's up to the ATC to tell the pilots what our climb-out will need to be for that area. Some are not as picky as others. Noise abatement procedures also change depending on what direction we are flying. If a runway is set to go north and south and there is a community at the end of the South runway, we will have to adjust accordingly, but if there is no community at the North end of the runway, then we can use our discretion on the climb-out.

To answer your question, "Have you ever stalled?" Well, yes, a few times in the simulators, but never in the air, although I did come close a few times. When pilots are about to stall, they get a warning from a mechanical device called a "stick shaker." It's a small motor attached to the column of the control wheel or the Yoke. When a stall is about to occur, the stick shaker will engage by vibrating the column of the control wheel. It's unmistakable and it can scare the crap out of some pilots. It's another one of those, "OMG, what do I do?"

Isn't this stuff boring to you?
 

oldman said:
There are no passenger jets that have a tailhook that I am aware of and yes, I was referring to military jets only. I try to be as accurate as I can, but sometimes my fingers type faster than my mind works.

I have been told by pilots that flew in the military that the G-force is terrific when flying and doing acrobatic stunts. I would think being stopped in less than two seconds while going 175 mph is also something else. I never saw in the cockpit of a fighter jet, but there must be a special seat for them to be able to keep their neck from snapping. Maybe something like that of a NASCAR car's seat.


Don't be sorry. It's cool. I just have to think a lot sometimes before I answer. I wanted to also state another reason why pilots must descend at a slower rate than say a fighter jet. Even though we have a pressurized cabin, it's possible that if we descend to rapidly passengers and crew (without using oxygen) could become dazed and confused by falling victim to spacial disorientation. It puts the person into a state of confusion. It's like when we were kids and we would spin around and around several times and then stop suddenly, What happened? We ended up falling on the ground. This is an example of being disoriented.
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I wanted to mention that the NTSB stated in their report that it's their belief that JFK, Jr suffered from this event and may have been the main reason why he crashed into the ocean. (Spacial Disorientation) This episode of dysfunction has happened to many pilots who have also crashed.
 
Having many international flights under my belt, this stuff is interesting to me. I commend all pilots for their knowledge (and stamina), and for getting passengers to their destinations safely.
 
Have you ever wondered how runways got their numbers? OK, so let's cover this kind of quickly, if that's even possible. First of all, runways have been positioned for an airport according to the direction of the majority of their prevailing winds. For some airports, it may be as simple as having two runways; one runway running North and South and one runway running East and West. So, wee'll stick with this hypothetical airport to make it easy for us. Keep in mind that airplanes takeoff into the wind to gain lift. Air flowing over the wing, both in top and underneath gives the plane its lift needed to climb and not stall, thus the reason why flaps and slats are extended prior to takeoff. The more surface we give the air to go over and under, the more lift the plane will have.

OK, so true north on a compass is what? Zero degrees or 0°. So "00" on a runway would be true north. So, if a runway is paved East to West and is tilted 10° to the right, that would make it Runway 10R and the opposite end that is pointing West would be numbered, 28L. Why? Because it has to be 180° difference. All runways use only two numbers. We drop the zeros, so the number 10 is actually 100, so therefore; 280 minus 100 equals 180. Easy, right?

I am sure that if you check it out, you would find a better explanation on the internet. But, you get the idea.
 
Pinky said:
Having many international flights under my belt, this stuff is interesting to me. I commend all pilots for their knowledge (and stamina), and for getting passengers to their destinations safely.
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It can take awhile to learn so much information. The hardest thing for me was learning to fly in the many different types of weather patterns that we have in the U.S. I never had a desire to fly international, which many pilots bang heads to get a job in International. They talk about going to London, Rome, Athens, Paris and so on. On those flights, there are always two flight crews that switch in the middle of the trip, which is OK, but I think that I would feel competitive when flying. I have a very unique style. I call it flying by the book and break no rules. While one crew is fly, the other crew is sleeping. I don't think I could do that.

I think the guys that flight several legs in one day have the stamina. I mean, you start at 6:00 in the morning for your first flight and you'e parking your last flight at 10 or 11 at night, that's a long day of flying. Yeah, the pilots get a break here and there, but still, those cat naps can make a person tireder than he really is. I fly across country in say 6 hours and take a 2 hour break and then fly maybe another 2-3 hours and I'm done for the day. Sometimes, about half the time I get only the one flight and have the rest of the day to do whatever.
 
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How does it work on international flights that last 16 hours? Do the pilot and co-pilot take turns flying the plane, or do both have to be on constant alert? I always wondered if they both have to fly the full 16 hours without a rest.

edit: Okay, you just answered my question!
 
Pinky said:
How does it work on international flights that last 16 hours? Do the pilot and co-pilot take turns flying the plane, or do both have to be on constant alert? I always wondered if they both have to fly the full 16 hours without a rest.

edit: Okay, you just answered my question!
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You probably have noticed, but maybe not, that the person who served you drinks or a meal, was a different person who served you before you landed. Two complete flight crews on most international routes.
 
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I think I spent half my time on international flights, sleeping .. or trying to sleep, with the blanket over my head. First time was roughest. Truly appreciated the wonderful service on every flight but one, when the workers were in strike mode.
 
Pinky said:
I think I spent half my time on international flights, sleeping .. or trying to sleep, with the blanket over my head. First time was roughest. Truly appreciated the wonderful service on every flight but one, when the workers were in strike mode.
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I found that most passengers traveling on long flights like, on coast to coast flights of about 5 1/2-6 hours in length, are using those little sponge earplugs to block the noise from the engines and the plane’s a/c or heating blowers. It seems noise and being warm are most important with sleeping on a plane. I also used to recommend taking a few ounces of Zzzquil along. Just keep it under 3 ounces to get through TSA.

When I travel overseas, I like taking the overnight (red eye) flight, and so I eat a light snack in the United Club and then have dinner onboard. After dinner, I grab my Zzzquil, put in my earplugs, extend the seat to 180 degrees and make use of my pillow and blanket. Ask the F/A to wake me 15 minutes before breakfast, go clean up, eat breakfast and get myself together. After we land, I go to the United Club and clean up better, maybe shave and change clothes and shoes for the day. I carry on a change of clothes and a United gives travelers a nice toiletry bag.
I also like to call the hotel where I am staying and attempt to arrange for early check-in. I do not use the airlines free pj’s, but I will use the throw away slippers.

So, how do you travel when flying abroad?
 
I've always flown for fairly extended stays, so I packed heavy. I always dressed casually and put on the socks that come with Qantas' freebies. It took me a couple of flights to learn to eat light on those long treks. Nothing like sitting for 16 hrs. with a heavy stomach. I make sure to get a pillow and blanket from the get-go, and an aisle seat, if possible. On my very first flight to Australia, the plane was less than 50% full, so most passengers got to stretch out on the 3 seats in the middle aisle. That was great.

Wish I'd known about the Zzzquil back then. I'm a light sleeper and very sensitive to noise, air flow, etc.

By the way, of all the airports I've passed through, I dislike LAX the most. Confusing, not enough
signage, unhelpful employees. Oh, if you pull out a tenner, they help you.
 
Pinky said:
How does it work on international flights that last 16 hours? Do the pilot and co-pilot take turns flying the plane, or do both have to be on constant alert? I always wondered if they both have to fly the full 16 hours without a rest.

edit: Okay, you just answered my question!
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One thing I did forget to mention, on some airlines, three people are required to be in the cockpit with at least two all the time. No more than one pilot may leave the cockpit on an international flight. I remember back when Qantis Airlines was flying an overnight flight from Australia to Canada, I think. Anyway, they flew too near an active volcano and their engines sucked in the ash from the burning lava and rock. This caused all four of their Rolls Royce engines to choke and shut down.

The good part is that is that they were flying at a high altitude when this happened. Maybe around 38,000 feet, so they had plenty of time to work it out and try to recover. As the plane continued to descend, the pilots were becoming very nervous, as can be imagine. They kept trying to start the engines. I think when they got down to around 10,000 feet, the engines started firing up in order. The plane was a Boeing 747, so they had four engines, all up and running

They were able to restart because the hardened lava that had collected on the fan blades inside the engines and in turn caused the shutdown, broke off from the blades allowing the engines to restart. Everyone landed safely.
 
oldman said:
One thing I did forget to mention, on some airlines, three people are required to be in the cockpit with at least two all the time. No more than one pilot may leave the cockpit on an international flight. I remember back when Qantis Airlines was flying an overnight flight from Australia to Canada, I think. Anyway, they flew too near an active volcano and their engines sucked in the ash from the burning lava and rock. This caused all four of their Rolls Royce engines to choke and shut down.

The good part is that is that they were flying at a high altitude when this happened. Maybe around 38,000 feet, so they had plenty of time to work it out and try to recover. As the plane continued to descend, the pilots were becoming very nervous, as can be imagine. They kept trying to start the engines. I think when they got down to around 10,000 feet, the engines started firing up in order. The plane was a Boeing 747, so they had four engines, all up and running

They were able to restart because the hardened lava that had collected on the fan blades inside the engines and in turn caused the shutdown, broke off from the blades allowing the engines to restart. Everyone landed safely.
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I got this wrong. I just had to research my story to find out if I had the facts correct. The plane was actually flown by British Airways and the flight number was 9. If you watch the encounter with the Volcano ash, it shows the plane when it became engulfed in "St. Elmo's Fire." Really cool to see.
 
They certainly would not have seen the engines running because they had flamed out. I would think that they would have been able to observe some of St. Elmo’s fire. I would also be willing to make a small wager that it was very quiet on the plane as it slowly descended towards the ocean. I would also imagine that many prayers could have been heard.

It’s Important to keep in mind that this was a B-747, which is an extremely heavy plane, but it’s also very airworthy. There were many variables that needed to be considered in a short amount of time. I think the fact that smoke entered the cabin, that the oxygen masks deployed and the smell of the sulphur only heightened many fears.

You have to give a lot of credit to that flight crew for following their training and keeping their calm.
 
Yeah, I heard about this. Small planes like the one that landed on this highway fare a lot better than a passenger jet would. The dynamics are completely different. The pilot was lucky he had a nice place to land and didn’t have to ditch it in a field or on water. I’m glad it ended well.
 
I just found this picture of a plane landing on the ocean that I took up in Sitka. (that was my husband, in the picture) If a plane can land in the water,does that mean it cannot land on a runway? or the opposite? (except for Sully) Why doesn't someone invent a way to do both by the flip of a switch by the pilot? You know, a hydraulic lift of the floaters?)
 
Gaer said:
I just found this picture of a plane landing on the ocean that I took up in Sitka. (that was my husband, in the picture) If a plane can land in the water,does that mean it cannot land on a runway? or the opposite? (except for Sully) Why doesn't someone invent a way to do both by the flip of a switch by the pilot? You know, a hydraulic lift of the floaters?)
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I’m not sure what picture you are referring to, but seaplanes are capable of landing on water and land. As for inventing a plane that is capable of flipping a switch to gave the floaters drop down, well, like the engineer I once was and just thinking about that, I would say, yes, it could be done, but why? Are you thinking that if a passenger plane was flying over the ocean and had a mechanical problem it could land on water?
No, it wouldn’t work because you would need very huge floats to maintain buoyancy for the weight of a passenger jet, especially a plane like a 747, 767, 777, 787 or an Airbus A380. Just way to heavy although if the pilot would make an incredibly great landing and keep the pain one piece, the plane may stay afloat for a short time.
 
But it COULD work on small planes though, right? I'm not going to try to invent something like that. It was just a thought.
MY GOD! You were an engineer too? Is there ANYTHING YOU CAN'T DO?
You deserve all the jelly beans you can eat!
 


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