Ask me about being an airline pilot or flying in general
I wasn't even aware of OOT until someone recently suggested I start this thread here. (I had posted a question about Ve
Dan-Air flight 1008, 1980 (B-727). The crew attempted an unpublished holding pattern in an area of high terrain. There were 146 fatalities with no surivors.
In 1995, American Airlines flight 965 (B-757) crashed in similar circumstances (holding in an area of high terrain) when the crew inadvertently selected the wrong fix from the FMS. In their defense, the fix was a non-directional beacon (NDB) with the designator "R". Their FMS had it coded slightly differently due to the fact that there are many NDBs worldwide with the same designator. iirc, they had their flight spoilers (sometimes called speed brakes) deployed which impeded recovery. Apparently they had used them to slow and then neglected to retract them. So when the GPWS (Ground Proximity Warning System) alerted the crew to the danger of impact ahead, they could not achieve the climb necessary to avoid the terrain.
For this reason, this scenario became a staple of recurrent training. We would purposely leave the spoilers extended while also purposely flying toward high terrain (two things we hopefully would never do in the real world, but it was necessary for the training). Once we got close enough to receive the aural warning "TERRAIN, TERRAIN. PULL UP! PULL UP!" we would execute the recovery process which was essentially to firewall the throttle and retract the speed brakes.
Walks0ff
curious your thoughts on the passing of Jim Lovell
seems as pilots in adjacent era spaces there may have been some awareness and potential inspiration
Walks0ff
curious your thoughts on the passing of Jim Lovell
seems as pilots in adjacent era spaces there may have been some awareness and potential inspiration
It's really funny you bring it up. When I saw this news, I fired off a text to my siblings about it. Why? Well, my father knew Jim Lovell from his days at the Naval Academy. My dad was Class of '50; Lovell was Class of '52. I think they were in the same squadron (or whatever they call it at USNA). In any case, he and my dad went on more than one double date. I don't think they had been in touch for several decades.
My father always spoke very highly of him.
I never met Lovell, but have interacted with some astronauts for work (I have done some black box work and software for the F-22), but astronauts are amazing to me. So smart and brave.
And yes, what a great connection.
mad respect for any human who chooses to make a living primarily spent at altitudes over a mile above the crusty earth
let alone go balls out and willingly be the first to steer a slingshot projectile into orbit around the moon and return it to the globe
mad respect for any human who chooses to make a living primarily spent at altitudes over a mile above the crusty earth
let alone go balls
and willingly be the first to steer a slingshot projectile into orbit around the moon and return it to the globe
.
If you take what Red wrote as sea level, I spend nearly all of my time more than a mile up. Internets say I'm at 5,263 ft now.
I heard about that earlier and while I don't excuse the pilot, it sounds like the controller was also being very unprofessional in his answers to crews requesting information about the delay. I've been in those situations and one of the major concerns for the flight crews is the DOT delay fines that hang over our heads. You have to make a plan on when to initiate a return to the gate so that passengers can exercise their right to deplane rather than wait it out. For domestic flights, I think two hours is the max time allowed between pushing back and taking off. (It might be 3 hours...my memory of this is hazy now.)
But ground stops often engender taxiway gridlock so the decision can't wait until the 1:50 point because it can easily be 20-30 minutes to get back to the gate, as the controller has to make a path for the airplane that decides to pull out of line.
I'd love to know what comes of the phone call this pilot had to make. When they listen to the tapes, I think the controller will also have a little 'splaining to do. But calling the controller an idiot is really not excusable.
I'd love to know what comes of the phone call this pilot had to make. When they listen to the tapes, I think the controller will also have a little 'splaining to do. But calling the controller an idiot is really not excusable.
I don't know how Victor of VAS Aviation got this, but here's the call.
What are black boxes made of and how do they survive such insane plane crashes?
Do a lot of pilots have sexual relations with the flight attendants?
How often are pilots drug tested?
There are several faster civilian biz jets. The Citation 10 holds the record for fastest cruise speed. It can cruise at .92M but the additional fuel to go this fast is usually not worth it and most of them flight plan for a more economical speed.ATC can assign a speed and this is usually for metering into an arrival flow, but speed reductions can be issued hundreds of miles fro
Ha! I remember it now, it was called Citation X, and the magazines featured it on all the covers when it came out.
That is how these conversations go a lot of the time. I like the way the supervisor handled it. He didn't just come out 100% on the controller's side. I flew in and out of LGA and JFK for 30 years and my exchanges with controllers were overwhelmingly positive and professional.
I've been in this exact situation where the ground stop is indefinite and we've pulled off on a taxi to shut down our engines to save fuel. Our best resource is our Dispatcher, who often gets the ungarbled word on delays before the ground controller (they're in touch with the FAA command center in Herndon, VA).
The biggest challenge for the pilots is explaining to the passengers in a way that they can accept. In the case above, heavy thunderstorms were right over the airport, so it wasn't hard to convince the pax that waiting was prudent. In this situation, since the engines were shut down, I walked through the cabin to make myself available for questions and explanations. I always like to tell them a line my first instructor told me: "It's better to be on the ground, wishing you were flying, than to be in the air, wishing you were on the ground."
Do pilots/controllers ham it up, hoping to make tomorrow's ATC highlight reel? And how many of those clips are staged?
Do pilots/controllers ham it up, hoping to make tomorrow's ATC highlight reel? And how many of those clips are staged?
Absolutely not.
I can't speak for controllers, but most pilots are very happy to keep a low profile. In fact, part of my first pre-flight briefing with a pilot I've never flown with (this is over 50% of the time), I would always include: speak up if I do something that confuses you or that you disagree with. Our goal is to stay out of the news and the Chief Pilot's office.
It's kind of an old joke among pilots that a successful career is when you turn in your badge on the last day and then go home, and the Chief Pilot says "Who was that guy?"
(I did not achieve this.)
Upon take-off, the planes you drove are going much more than highway speed, right?
If so, does driving around in a car seem slow to you?
Upon take-off, the planes you drove are going much more than highway speed, right?
If so, does driving around in a car seem slow to you?
The takeoff speed in the B757 increases with the weight of the aircraft and varies a little among different models. The 757-300 was a stretched version of the original 757 and carried 224 passengers vs. about 190 on the model 200. Because of the increased length and weight, takeoffs and landings were not to be taken lightly because of the increased likelihood of a tail strike. I remember approach reference speeds in excess of 160 kts (184 mph). Takeoff speeds were similar.
Driving doesn't strike me as slow because it's all in the relative motion of nearby reference points (including other cars).
No, I didn't mean to imply that I ever had to do the carpet dance in the CPO's office. It's just that my personality is not one that blends into the background. Many of the Chief Pilots I worked for had been guys I had flown with earlier in my career. I was asked to join their ranks at one point, but couldn't see myself commuting to LGA or JFK daily for what's essentially an office job.
not to harp on such a wonderful phrase but
carpet dance has now been filed in my 'wish i could but never will get to use in an actual conversation' rolodex
What does a "Chief Pilot" do from day to day?
Are they primarily managing the pilots? Or something else? What makes a good Chief Pilot in the eyes of the staff (pilots) and in the eyes of the airline leadership?
From Google Gemini:
The role of a Chief Pilot for a commercial airline is primarily a management and administrative position, focusing on the safe, legal, and efficient operation of the entire pilot corps and flight department.
Unlike a typical line pilot, a Chief Pilot often spends more time at a desk managing people and compliance than flying. Their day-to-day work revolves around three main areas: personnel, regulation/safety, and operational control.
��*✈️ Daily Management and Personnel Duties
The Chief Pilot is the "boss of the pilots," and a large part of their day is spent on people management and administrative tasks:
Crew Scheduling: They oversee the creation and management of pilot schedules, ensuring a fair and balanced rotation while meeting flight requirements and adhering to strict flight and duty time limitations set by regulatory bodies. They also manage time-off requests.
Supervision and Leadership: They direct, lead, and mentor all pilots, maintaining a professional and positive departmental culture. This involves holding regular pilot meetings and managing team communications.
Staffing: They are responsible for ensuring the airline has an adequate roster of qualified and current flight personnel. This can include being involved in recruitment (screening and interviewing) and recommending staffing level adjustments.
Performance and Discipline: They evaluate pilot performance, provide feedback, and may lead or oversee investigations into incidents and implement corrective actions for non-compliance.
�� Regulatory and Safety Compliance
A crucial and legally mandated aspect of the job is ensuring the airline's flight operations fully comply with all regulations. The Chief Pilot acts as the ultimate guardian of safety and regulatory adherence:
Training Oversight: They establish, maintain, and conduct all crewmember standardization and training procedures. They oversee flight crew testing, simulator training, check rides, and proficiency checks to guarantee pilot skill and currency.
Record Keeping: They maintain and monitor the official records for every pilot, including training, proficiency, and flight/duty time limitations, to prevent illegal assignments.
Documentation: They manage and update all required company and regulatory manuals, checklists, and operational procedures, ensuring all flight crews have current and correct information.
Liaison with Authorities: They act as the primary point of contact (liaison) with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or other national aviation authorities regarding operational certificates, training, and compliance issues.
✈️ Operational Control and Contingency
While they don't typically fly "the line" (regular scheduled passenger flights), the Chief Pilot retains ultimate authority over operational decisions:
Operational Control: They are responsible for the operational control of the company's flights. This means they have the authority to initiate, terminate, or divert any company flight for safety reasons.
Crisis Management: They are expected to monitor day-to-day logistics and be ready to address immediate operational issues, such as coordinating with the Director of Maintenance on mechanical repairs that affect the schedule or canceling flights in the interest of safety.
Flying Duties (As Needed): To maintain their flight qualifications and support the operation, they typically perform flight duties as a Captain on qualified aircraft, often serving as a Check Airman (an authorized instructor and examiner) during evaluation flights.
From Videopro's research, Chief Pilot does seem less fun than pilot.
Also, as Red pointed out, "carpet dance" is an awesome turn of phrase.
