Techniques of the Professional Airline Pilot

[Chris_Ford]

''wind check''

I hate that!

I do it all the time on short final if the wind seems to be different than what the METAR says... Or if I have a high crosswind at 500 or so AGL to be aware for windshear. I'm terribly sorry my 2 seconds of radio chat bothers you.

 

[Snuggle]

I do it all the time on short final if the wind seems to be different than what the METAR says... Or if I have a high crosswind at 500 or so AGL to be aware for windshear. I'm terribly sorry my 2 seconds of radio chat bothers you.

It's ok man, I forgive you.

 

[CRJDriver]

''wind check''

It's blowing.

 

[NJA_Capt]

With regard to the whole "slow down so you're not waiting for a gate", that may not be completely applicable to other airlines but it's definitely a smart idea for us and is almost being demanded by the chief pilots...

That may work in a perfect world when you are the only airplane in the sky. The other 20 aircraft are now going to be late because you decided to slow down a little early. It is really a pain when you have to reduce speed 150-180kts because someone in front doesn't want to get there early. If you really want to slow down that bad, please do it before beginning the arrival. That will allow ATC to sequence faster traffic ahead of you instead of forcing everyone on the arrival to fly your speed. We had :30 min added one night because the CRJ that took off ahead of us (same route, LEX-CLT) wouldn't exceed 250 kts.:banghead: Imaging taking off in your CRJ and being kept behind a PA-28R for 250nm.

Slowing down going the opposite direction from your route? Great sarcasm, the people going that way can't speed up or climb because you are in the way. It's like the guy on the interstate that slams on the breaks for no reason. It doesn't have that much effect for him, but the chain reaction affects the 20 cars behind him.

''wind check''
I hate that!

Try landing a plane with a 40 degree wing sweep and a 2 degree bank limit in a strong wind and you'll be asking for it too. Also handy when the ATIS winds are <5 kts and I am looking at the runway through the side window.

 

[Snuggle]

Try landing a plane with a 40 degree wing sweep and a 2 degree bank limit in a strong wind and you'll be asking for it too. Also handy when the ATIS winds are <5 kts and I am looking at the runway through the side window.

It could be because I don't fly a swept wing airplane. I'll hear the ATIS, but I know that information could be old and often times is way off, it's just natural to feel for it. Now that I think about it, this may also be because I go to the same airports all day long and kinda know what to expect.

 

[Alchemy]

That may work in a perfect world when you are the only airplane in the sky. The other 20 aircraft are now going to be late because you decided to slow down a little early. It is really a pain when you have to reduce speed 150-180kts because someone in front doesn't want to get there early. If you really want to slow down that bad, please do it before beginning the arrival. That will allow ATC to sequence faster traffic ahead of you instead of forcing everyone on the arrival to fly your speed. We had :30 min added one night because the CRJ that took off ahead of us (same route, LEX-CLT) wouldn't exceed 250 kts.:banghead: Imaging taking off in your CRJ and being kept behind a PA-28R for 250nm.

Slowing down going the opposite direction from your route? Great sarcasm, the people going that way can't speed up or climb because you are in the way. It's like the guy on the interstate that slams on the breaks for no reason. It doesn't have that much effect for him, but the chain reaction affects the 20 cars behind him.


Try landing a plane with a 40 degree wing sweep and a 2 degree bank limit in a strong wind and you'll be asking for it too. Also handy when the ATIS winds are <5 kts and I am looking at the runway through the side window.

Okay....of course before I slow down in order to comply with my comapny's demand to arrive no more than 10 minutes early, I ask ATC if slowing to that speed is going to create any problems and accept an altitude changes if necessary. That goes without saying, it's common courtesy and required by the FAR's (at least to inform them). If they say it's going to cause problems even with a minor altitude change, I just maintain whatever we're flight planned at and deal with it. We're usually cruising in the mid to low 30's which is probably well below what you're at most of the time anyway.

And whenever I do slow down, of course we do it before the arrival. Maintaining a slower airspeed during the descent has a minimal effect on your ETA anyway. It's the 2-3 hours of cruise time that makes the difference. The routes where we typically slow down are the 800-1200 NM routes where going from .78 to .70 or .65 can save 500 lbs or more at the cost of 15-20 minutes when done at TOC. Also, the slowing usually occurs on routes in the southwest where the airspace is a lot less congested than most other parts of the country. I make sure to readvise center when we change from one facility to another, as sometimes the notes don't get passed from ZAB to ZLA.

When I start the descent I go ahead and fly redline (normal speed) because I certainly don't want to clog up the arrivals. Likewise I fly the normal climb profile in these scenarios. I'm just assuring you that I do try and keep the needs of others in mind! I certainly make every attempt not to be a discourteous, stereotypical RJ drivin' fool.

 

[sigpilot]

Just going up to explain things calms a lot of people down. The passengers have a LOT more respect for the pilots than the gate agents. They think we are lying fools, and they think its cool that you guys get to fly airplanes.

This summer we were going from ACK to LGA and a line of storms was over New York and we had our wheels up time pushed back like five or six times. We would go out and be ready to depart and they would push it back, all-in-all we were over 4 hours late departing and returned to the gate several times. We gave updates in the plane to let them know what was going on, but it got to a point like what DO you tell them now cause it was getting ridiculous. Everytime we went back to the gate, instead of hiding, we went back and talked to the pax face to face and they really appreciated that and were much calmer afterwards.

On a side note, talking with the pax we met a guy who does the voice-overs for a lot of networks like NBC and Discovery channel. He started doing some voices and it was by far the funniest most interesting pax i've had.

 

[Hacker15e]

When we depart, we have an alternate on our paperwork, as well as a calculated reserve fuel. We have enough fuel on board to get to our destination, to our most distant alternate, then 45 minutes of extra fuel for contingencies. It even says in our flight manual that burning into reserve fuel is permitted when appropriate for undue delays.

There have been a few times where we have arrived at our destination to find a line of storms moving through. In a few of these instances, we decided it was more prudent to hold and wait for the storm to pass at the destination, thereby letting us get to our intended point of landing safely. When you are holding halfway between your destination and alternate waiting for a storm to pass, are you going to land below minimum fuel if you wait for ten extra minutes and divert? No.

The same goes for situations where you might have had to go-around for a non-weather related reason. Say a traffic conflict, or an unstabilized approach. On your flight computer, it says that you only have enough fuel to get to your alternate and have 45 minutes of reserve fuel. Do you have to divert, or can you burn another couple hundred pounds of fuel to go fly another approach?

Take it for what it's worth, since I don't fly pax around for a living, but I still don't buy it.

There'a reason why there's that 45 minute reserve. What if the next guy that lands after the thunderstorms roll through shoves a strut up through the wing and the runway is going to be closed for the next 30 minutes while they clear it? What if someone else is holding and hasn't planned their fuel well and is suddenly emergency fuel...and completely screws with the sequencing of everyone else because of his traffic priority.

There are a million reasons why there is a requirement for a reserve.

In my business -- again, not flying paying pax anywhere that need/want to be a particular place at the scheduled time -- divert gas is not open for discussion. Hold until you hit it, then you're gone to your alternate, period. There is no stigma attached to diverting.

In a fighter, we're fuel limited from the time the gear hits the well, so we tend to have a very rigid mindset when it comes to fuel management. I have been in situations where pushing gas a little has bit me in the @ss bigtime when other outside factors randomly spoil my plan. I have actually run the "prepare to eject" checklist in my jet prior to a situation in which I painted myself into a corner, had to go to my divert field below divert gas, and when I arrived at my alternate the weather had crumped, I flew the approach to mins, and did not break out. I had one opportunity to fly the approach, and if I did not break out, I was going to have to get out of the airplane and send it into the ocean. Fortunately I broke out.

So, maybe I have a little more fixed opinion about fuel management than other people, but only because it was forged out of my own mismanagement in the past.

 

[FlyChicaga]

There'a reason why there's that 45 minute reserve. What if the next guy that lands after the thunderstorms roll through shoves a strut up through the wing and the runway is going to be closed for the next 30 minutes while they clear it? What if someone else is holding and hasn't planned their fuel well and is suddenly emergency fuel...and completely screws with the sequencing of everyone else because of his traffic priority.

Is that a trick question? You divert to your alternate.

What happens when you do not have an alternate airport and the arrival in front of you has a nosewheel collapse? What happens when you don't have an alternate and every airplane in front of you had done a go-around for windshear when it was not forecast? What happens when you don't have an alternate and an international B757 arrival is emergency fuel and you are sequenced behind?

The point is, we have all these plans and contingencies, yet always there is something that can happen to mess up this plan. That is why it is important to think outside the box, hence my comments about reserve fuel. When you are holding waiting for a thunderstorm to pass over the airport, knowing it is clear behind, sometimes it might be more advisable to wait another ten minutes and get into your destination than to divert and possibly get stuck in an even more dire situation.

We have had this situation twice... Holding for a thunderstorm at the destination, about 20 miles from the airport. We got to the point where we would be burning into our reserve fuel if we were forced to fly to the destination, go missed, and fly to our alternate. We felt it was a better choice to hold for a few more minutes and wait for the weather we could see to pass than to divert to an alternate with questionable conditions and get stuck in a worse situation. What happens when you divert and find a thunderstorm at your alternate?

Things are not black and white. I am not suggesting you hold and burn into your reserve fuel hoping the fog will lift. When I say "weather, " I mean thunderstorms... and I guess you can throw irregular operations in that as well.

Notice I said two things... Sometimes you should hang out for a few minutes knowing that you'll probably get in. Sometimes you should divert early and not waste the time and fuel. It depends on the particular situation.

 

[BobDDuck]

We have had this situation twice... Holding for a thunderstorm at the destination, about 20 miles from the airport. We got to the point where we would be burning into our reserve fuel if we were forced to fly to the destination, go missed, and fly to our alternate. We felt it was a better choice to hold for a few more minutes and wait for the weather we could see to pass than to divert to an alternate with questionable conditions and get stuck in a worse situation. What happens when you divert and find a thunderstorm at your alternate?

On the CRJ our 45 minutes of reserve is 2000 pounds or so.

I don't touch that fuel unless I need it.

Let me repeat that. I don't burn into that fuel unless, per the FARs I have gone to by destination, gone missed and diverted to my MOST DISTANT alternate and THEN something goes wrong.

Bad experience twice.

But that's just me. Other people have other standards.

 

[Velocipede]

Hacker,

All I can tell you is fighter/attack pilots are much more "Bingo" oriented. You hit that bingo number, you're gone. On your OWN authority.

Airline pilots have to coordinate diverts with Dispatch, get a new release, etc., etc. That tends to encourage the "hang around another 10 minutes" mentality. You'd seriously be surprised how many airline pilots who should know better fall into that trap.

Its symptomatic of the unwillingness to exercise Command Authority among people who haven't been trained by the military. That goes for pilots AND dispatchers. Pilots who are hesitant to do it and dispatchers who harbor residual resentment when Captains rightfully exercise the Command Authority that is theirs by law.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

Okay....of course before I slow down in order to comply with my comapny's demand to arrive no more than 10 minutes early, I ask ATC if slowing to that speed is going to create any problems and accept an altitude changes if necessary. That goes without saying, it's common courtesy

You would think so, but sadly, it's not. If I had a nickel for every time some dimwit in an RJ slowed to .70 just 20 miles in front of me, causing ATC to vector me off course or slow me down, then I'd be a very rich man. If you're going to fly something different than flightplan speed, then make absolutely sure that you're not slowing down anyone behind you. Our block times aren't usually padded very much, so someone slowing down in front of us can really screw up our arrival times.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

• If you are really motivated, go back and help the flight attendants do a water service. I've done this a few times, and it absolutely floored both the flight attendant and the customers. Really... They still like talking to the pilots.

I like most of your post, but this is just horrendous advice. Do your damned job and stay out of other people's jobs. You're a professional air line pilot. You shouldn't be serving the passengers drinks, cleaning up the cabin, tossing bags, pushing wheelchairs, etc.... You should do your job to the absolute best of your ability, but you shouldn't be doing anyone else's job. It undermines your profession, and it intrudes on the work of your fellow employees.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

Just because you're the Captain doesn't mean you are responsible for everyone else's job on the airport.

Best piece of advice in this thread.

 

[Hacker15e]

Airline pilots have to coordinate diverts with Dispatch, get a new release, etc., etc. That tends to encourage the "hang around another 10 minutes" mentality. You'd seriously be surprised how many airline pilots who should know better fall into that trap.

Its symptomatic of the unwillingness to exercise Command Authority among people who haven't been trained by the military. That goes for pilots AND dispatchers. Pilots who are hesitant to do it and dispatchers who harbor residual resentment when Captains rightfully exercise the Command Authority that is theirs by law.

Interesting perspective. Thanks, Velo.

 

[GaTechKid]

ERJ is a much more fuel efficient airplane than the CRJ. For us, slowing down doesn't really help much at all in my experience. It MIGHT change your EFOA .1 or .2. A lot of the fuel savings is also driven by corporate culture. XJT guys are working well with management b/c they work as a team. They're more motivated to save gas b/c there's more at stake for them.

SlyWest is all about fuel savings programs. Pulling the power back to fly at .74 on the CRJ will generally save at least 200 lbs on an hour flight.

 

[FlyChicaga]

YIf you're going to fly something different than flightplan speed, then make absolutely sure that you're not slowing down anyone behind you.

It is a required ATC report when you slow down.

You shouldn't be serving the passengers drinks, cleaning up the cabin, tossing bags, pushing wheelchairs, etc....

It's not about stepping in and doing anyone else's job. It's about helping out your fellow employees when they are overwhelmed. There are plenty of times I am sitting doing absolutely nothing, just watching our agents trying to juggle a million different things. If pushing a wheelchair up to the gate or helping with a few of the gate-checked items gives them the opportunity to do some of the more important work, then so be it.

If being helpful and polite to my fellow employees degrades the profession, then so be it.

 

[Speed Pilot]

As someone who still works the ramp it is great to see other employees regardless of whether they are pilots or gate agents or cargo agents help out. If we're dragging and understaffed as usual and one of the pilots helps us throw a few bags for a couple minutes so we can free up someone to service his lav or see that we're swamped and wash their own windshield it makes us want to try to hurry up and help this guy with whatever he needs that we can do not just that time they fly in but every time thereafter. No one expects anyone else to do their job but man it sure is nice to know your fellow employees will do what they can to help if they are in a position to do so. But I may be spoiled by working for an airline where that kind of behavior is common, encouraged and rewarded(not monitarily unfortunatly but free food is nice). Thanks for the help guys even if couldn't do anything, the consideration for your coworkers is nice.

 

[mrivc211]

Do you wear the hat also? Does that make some one more professional? How about aviator sunglasses or a sticker from a really big flight school on your bag? Is that being a professional?

So burning a little gas make you a slob? On my aircraft that about 60 lbs of fuel. I do not give a damn if I burn 60lbs of extra fuel. I can't recall on departure more than once going completely the opposite direction as we are supposed to in 5,000+ hours so that seems like a non event to me.

Following SOP and flying with in profile is professional. When I see some on float outside the the touch down zone to grease it on that is unprofessional. I think making PA announcements while taxiing which is an obvious violation of sterile cockpit is unprofessional. Nothing wrong if there is a delay to keep people informed. At our company it would be bizarre to say the least if a pilot used the CSA's PA. I understand a lot of people get a hard on from putting on a uniform and releasing a lot of hot air over a PA and think that is professionalism. If thats your opinion, thats just great.

in this day of 100/barrell, yes, burning an extra XXX lbs of fuel may be the difference between having a job, or being out on the street. At my airline, we have over 2400 flights/day. Saving 100lbs of fuel per flight per day is 876,000 lbs of fuel per year.

 

[mrivc211]

That may work in a perfect world when you are the only airplane in the sky. The other 20 aircraft are now going to be late because you decided to slow down a little early. It is really a pain when you have to reduce speed 150-180kts because someone in front doesn't want to get there early. If you really want to slow down that bad, please do it before beginning the arrival. That will allow ATC to sequence faster traffic ahead of you instead of forcing everyone on the arrival to fly your speed. We had :30 min added one night because the CRJ that took off ahead of us (same route, LEX-CLT) wouldn't exceed 250 kts.:banghead: Imaging taking off in your CRJ and being kept behind a PA-28R for 250nm.

Slowing down going the opposite direction from your route? Great sarcasm, the people going that way can't speed up or climb because you are in the way. It's like the guy on the interstate that slams on the breaks for no reason. It doesn't have that much effect for him, but the chain reaction affects the 20 cars behind him.


Try landing a plane with a 40 degree wing sweep and a 2 degree bank limit in a strong wind and you'll be asking for it too. Also handy when the ATIS winds are <5 kts and I am looking at the runway through the side window.

I'm not sure which carrier you were following, but we flight plan our cruise for 290/.77 in the CRJ. Whoever was flying at 250 was doing it either in the climb, or just trying to run up the clock in cruise flight.