With the implementation of the 2017 Wide Body EBA – it’s time to revise the spreadsheet I developed to track and check Overtime, Callout, etc for the 2011 EBA. Part and parcel has been seeking clarification from the AIC/CP on certain aspects of the EBA’s implementation. Most particularly clarification over the MCG, how RP changeovers […]
Playing Private, Workshop Maps Matches in Rocket League
So Rocket League is a phenomenally successful physics based game that is basically Car Soccer in a variety of Cars that Accelerate, Boost, Handbrake Turn, Jump, have Rocket Boost and have three dimensional Roll, Pitch and Yaw while airborne (including barrel roll). It’s a natural next step for a 777 pilot like me. Apart from […]
Runway Change
Recently I was given a runway change on pushback. Despite operating out of LAX where runway change is a real likelihood, it’s been quite a while since I’ve had happen to me on taxi. Once we got the changes made – we ran the ECL Runway Change Checklist to tidy things up. Meanwhile our next […]
I’m Sorry – Did You Want To Fly This Thing?
Ken : The following article is written by a current B737 First Officer, after a discussion we had on Flight Deck Crew Dynamics. Have you ever been in the situation as the Pilot Flying where your off-sider has interfered with the Mode Control Panel (MCP) or lowered the landing gear without you asking? If so, […]
Budget Planning Spreadsheet
I recently resurrected a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet I built to budget out 12 months to assess the likely impact of moving back to Australia – which included a combined 50% drop in salary and an increase in expenses. This was 2008 – but I now find myself doing something similar. My income has dropped (closer […]
Low Visibility Operations – Boeing 777
As a second officer in the B747-400 in the early 90’s, my exposure to Low Visibility Operations (LVOPS) or LWMO as Cathay called it then (Low Weather Minima Operations) was pretty minimal. Thus my first real exposure to racing down a runway at 300kph in 75m visibility Fog – or someone calling “LANDING!” on approach […]
Infinidim Training Videos
Infinidim Training Videos The following training videos are specific to the Boeing 777 – but might well have relevance to your operation as well. For now, they’re listed as I create them – I’ll organise later. All the Training Videos are on YouTube. Note that on the right you can also access my B777 Procedures and […]
Unreliable Airspeed on Takeoff – A Simulated Scenario
So after a carefully walk around the outside of the aircraft where the Static and Pitot ports are checked un-obstructed; no indications from your EICAS that there are any problems with the Air Data System during taxi; you barrel down the runway, cross check the airspeed when you hear the call “Eighty Knots!” and see […]
B777 – Rejected Landing
While this article still has relevant content – the procedural aspects of the Rejected Landing After Touchdown manoeuvre have been superseded by changes to the Boeing FCTM and are reflected in the subsequent post Boeing 777 Baulked (Balked) Landing. While it’s far too early to tell what actually happened, in light of EK521 it’s perhaps germane […]
Excel FIFO Calculator
After 6 years on the outskirts of Parramatta, our simulator is moving to Brisbane airport. For our small fleet of 5 aircraft and 150 pilots, it’s a big change. As part of the process I had a look at the simulator slot timings, especially since we would be moving to 24×7 operation for a disparate […]
PF vs PM : Who Flies; Who Talks; Who Configures; Who Briefs
I have been given cause recently to review the roles of Pilot Flying (PF) vs Pilot Monitoring (PM) during Normal (NM) and Non Normal (NNM) operations. This has come about from simulator observations of both relatively senior as well as relatively junior crew. Background While most aircraft have a Captain and a First Officer with […]
Danger and the Mind of Pilots
I refer to the article “Danger and the mind of pilots” in The Saturday Paper by Martin McKenzie-Murray, of Saturday, 4th April 2015. Thank you for the first thoughtful article in the mainstream media I’ve encountered so far on the issue of pilots and depression/suicide, outside of the professional journals of the aviation industry. It […]
Flightpath and Automation Management Workshop
Recently I attended Day One of an industry workshop sponsored by CASA and the University of NSW on “Human Factors and the Automated Flight Deck.” Day One consisted of a series of highly qualified and experienced speakers across a range of regulatory based automation management subjects, and Day Two we moved into a series of […]
Flight Podcast
Several years ago, I was part of a team that developed and deployed a series of aviation podcasts – Flight Podcast. We started off with a bang with an interview with the Eric Moody Captain of Speedbird 9, the British Airways 747 that flew through volcanic ash and lost all four engines over Indonesia. We […]
Airspeed Unreliable
The Airspeed Unreliable scenarios is one of the more challenging non normals faced by pilots in the simulator. Of the many serious malfunctions I’ve witnessed crew deal with in the simulator – this one more than any other has caught crew out to the point of a serious limitation exeedence (high/low airspeed) or potentially an […]