Aviation lifestyle blog. Airlines. Training. Travel.
Managing a departure with a performance limited takeoff can be one of the more challenging tasks that face the Captain of an aircraft today. It all sounds simple enough in theory. Based on the Airport/Runway, Ambient Weather Conditions and Aircraft, a computer will spit out down to the kilogram how much weight you’re allowed to lift off the runway. From this number a passenger/cargo and fuel load is determined – and off you go. But all is not as it seems.
As Boeing’s first Fly-By-Wire aircraft (although not necessarily fly-by-wire by the Airbus definition) the 777 introduced a flight control augmentation system that the first fly by wire Airbus aircraft did not – Thrust Assymetry Compensation, or TAC. The basic problem is clear. During an engine failure on a twin wing-mounted engine aircraft there is an [...]
When I arrived at V Australia in 2008 I discovered that what was missing was the institutional knowledge that an established airline develops over time, but never writes down … so I did. Eventually it became the SOP Guide : Practices & Techniques document. This blog series documents the continual growth of this training resource. [...]
One of my first tasks when I arrived at V Australia in early June 2008 was to watch simulator transition training being conducted at our new simulator in Silverwater, Sydney. The students were straight off the street pilots who had come from regional airlines – in most cases it was their first jet, their first [...]
Recently I was asked to write an article for an internal company training newsletter about flying slow. Having finished it I thought I’d replicate it here for others. Note the following article is aimed specifically at the Boeing 777 series aircraft, although the concept is common across all transport category jet aircraft flying slow at [...]
In episode 5 of Flight Podcast we talk with John King of King Schools. Kings Schools has a hand in training over 50% of the pilot population in the United States at some point in their career via a library of over 90 courses that can be completed using interactive DVD’s or online via their [...]
Friend and fellow podcaster Karlene Pettit recently blogged on managing the A330 speed/configuration during approach. I thought it might be interesting to explore the topic on the 777.
Recently I conducted some research into the concept of the requirement for the Pilot Flying (PF) to guard the flight controls when the autopilot is engaged during critical phases of flight such as takeoff or landing. So many of the habits and procedures we use as professional aviators are instilled in us by previous instructors, [...]
The FAA freely releases all their questions and answers making them a useful took for flying schools engaged in that level of training. The data, however, is often difficult to implement into other online applications because the data is generally disseminated as a text file or PDF. We’ve parsed the data into a MySQL database [...]
For the purpose of pre-solo consolidation, Tony and I were back at Bald Hill where we had undertaken a few tandem flights prior. The goal of today was to fly repeated approach and landings in preparation for my own first solo flight off either Bald Hill (Stanwell Park) or at Hill 60. With a 15 [...]
On a day planned for final consolidation of the approach and landing technique from a hilltop glide, we were again blessed with the opportunity to do something other than actual flying thanks to Mother Nature who – in truly typical female fashion – decided to make life difficult. Although the wind strength and direction was [...]
The glider relies on a combination of headwind and the pilot moving forward in combination to generate the required lift for takeoff. In true Flintstone fashion, the pilot essentially uses peddly power to work through a number of defined stages before a safe takeoff can be achieved. Tony was adamant that the takeoff is one [...]
My first taste of hang gliding was at Hill 60 to the Southern side of Port Kembla and about 90 minutes drive South of Sydney. The 15-knot Easterly airflow redirects upwards off the mild cliff face and provides the pilot with an unbelievable and virtually unlimited source of lift. This flight was essentially the equivalent [...]
Some time back we set up a number of Twitter accounts that would automate the hourly posting of … [Read More...]
From all of the contributors at flight.org, we would like to wish you all the best of the holiday … [Read More...]
One of my fellow pilots was diagnosed and treated for Prostate Cancer about two years ago. … [Read More...]
It's Tax time again and as since I'm one of those lazy people who does all the work at the end, … [Read More...]
In March of this year, a Southwest pilot inadvertently broadcast a homophobic tirade of foul mouthed … [Read More...]
The industrial unrest within the Qantas group is no secret. The long-haul pilot body, engineers, … [Read More...]
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