Re: Can someone explain all the components of this ORD METAR?

Plain English, no abbreviations in METARS, TAF’S and NOTAMS should be the required standard worldwide I agree with you on the NOTAM part, however for WX, METARs and TAFs work fine. I've never met a fellow professional pilot who was struggling to understand the coding (it's hardly rocket science, an...

Re: Can flight crew operate across 2 different AOCs?

zeke wrote:

mattyfitzg wrote:

U.K. Pilots can still fly European aircraft with a certification from an EASA Member state I believe, so it can still happen.

EasyJet for example converted all of their crews FCLs to Austria

Re: Why not put some fire extinguisher foam on the ground?

It might also be advisable to contact ops and engineering via ACARS or satcom so they can run numbers for you, and just generally support you with diversion options, available runways, RFF capability and so forth. They actually tried this via HF in that case, but were not able since the equipment a...

Re: WINK call sign

Usually when the call sign is a word it would be a military tactical call sign, when it is an abbreviation like SWA or UAL that is a FAA approved call sign. SWA and UAL are not call signs. They are ICAO identifiers. The ICAO identifier is used in flight plans and ATC systems for identification. Civ...

Re: Airbus technical "genealogy"

The triple chime, ("dit, dit, dit") is called the "triple click" and it does not indicate AP disengagement. It indicates an automatic mode reversion. AP disengagement is indicated by the "cavalry charge" sound. Ok, I stand corrected. It is the cavalry charge "blee...

Re: Etihad lands at TLV for the first time

Brilliant to see a bit a little bit of humanity and coordination to ease suffering if only that’s what comes out of this mess, Sometimes humanity wins out, even in the most challenging conditions. Side note: I would have been mercilessly upbraided by my lead for looking at my phone on a ramp. This ...

Re: How do I know if I can use CAT I, II, III in particular airport

Its always a good idea to advise the tower when performing CAT II/III approaches above minimums (for currency or what have you) as the ILS may be good for CAT I but not II/III. If i recall correctly here in the us it is announced on the ATIS if CAT II/III operations are in place (please correct me ...

Re: A350 Flight Deck Printer?

All the Boeing products including the MD11 have printers loctaed in various places. The one shown in the Airbus looks to be a wide carriage printer. It is indeed wide, with much wider paper than on the A330. I really dislike it because it is hard to fold the paper neatly to stay flat compared to th...

Re: A350 Flight Deck Printer?

Polot wrote:

I believe most modern aircraft (at least widebodies) have flight deck printers. I know the 777, 787, A330/A340, A350, A380, and at least some 767/747s do.

The base of the pedestal (as seen in your A350 photos) is generally the most common spots for them.

Re: Alcoholic beverage consumption in-flight

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

Is that a statement or a cry for help?

Re: No VS A340s left at LHR

jghealey wrote:

A few weeks ago an ex-VS A346 was delivered to Azman Air in Nigeria from BOH (in an especially weird configuration), might this be what's happening to the others?

Re: Stormy weather - Impact on fatigue?

Dear all, This is one question I would like to address to the flying personnel. As a rather hefty storm named "Sabine" is blowing over Europe, we aviation enthusiasts are served with some spectacular airport operation videos. But what is the impact of stormy weather and the resulting chal...

Re: Arkia's last B757-300 finds new life

Very surprised , Would have thought FI or DE would’ve snapped this bird up. I don`t think DE is in a position to snap a 757-300 anyway Beg to differ.... DE are in a strong position. They were/are very much separate from the Thomas Cook fiasco. And yet they needed a big loan from the German governme...

Re: AC MAD-YYZ: major damage to landing gear and engine on takeoff - circling MAD airspace

A couple things to remember though..... They were delayed due to the closure of Madrid Airport as a result of possible drone interference. They were among the first to depart after the closure was lifted. It may well have been a tire that caused the sequence of events, but they didn’t know that. Wh...

Re: A350 engine shutdown incidents linked to cockpit drink spills

The folding tray in the Airbus cockpits are nice. But they're not big solid cupholders like you get in a Boeing. I think it's funny how these somewhat stereotypical things are found in even aircraft design. In European cars the cupholders are small and few, in American cars they're big and plentyfu...

Re: Airlines with 2 nose wheel tillers

Maybe it's an insurance thing too? I know a few airlines that allows the FO to taxi from engine start all the way back to the final turn onto stand after the flight, but the captain has to make the final turn and park it.

Re: 5,5 hrs layover in IAH, what to do!

IAHWorldflyer wrote:

The new C North has some pretty good food and drink outlets as well. It's the newest terminal in the airport, and though it's a hike from the airside train, with that much time, it's worth checking out. Are you coming in from abroad, or domestic?

Re: 5,5 hrs layover in IAH, what to do!

Are you flying UA? If so, you can purchase a day pass for $59 each and enjoy food, drinks and a more relaxing environment than wandering the terminals. If not flying UA, check with your airline if they have a lounge/club or share one that would have day pass privileges as well. Otherwise, I persona...

5,5 hrs layover in IAH, what to do!

Hi guys, Travelling abroad soon and we have a layover of about 5,5 hours in IAH. Is it worth the trouble to go landside and visit the city? Distance / time wise, I know the airport is not that far away from the city centre, but just trying to figure out what to do. FYI, we arrive there around 10am. ...

Re: Airports with the worst weather

Maybe one of the Northern Italian airports? Big big thunderstorms in summer, lots of snow / fog in winter.

Re: Question: Function of a Certain Armrest KLM 787

Plenty on the web, search 'KLM stretcher service'. Can't say I've seen a 787 specific setup pictured yet though. Which brings us to the obvious place to ask, has the OP simply just asked KLM themselves? The social media teams of airlines are usually pretty good at coming back with information when ...

Re: ATR 42-600S (Short Take of and Landing) formally launched

Would love to see it in HGL, Helgoland Island :) Even Helgoland-Düne airport has three runways and all three concrete....which even many/most big international airports do not have.... The longest of the three is just 480 m. Maximum landing weight is 5 t. -> No, it is a little bit too short, so by ...

Re: October 7, 2019: KLM is 100 years old!

Van harte, KLM!

Re: When does the Pilot of an inbound flight receive the gate/stand information

In Europe, it's normally given to you by ATC. You could phone local OPS via VHF and find out if you really wanted to, but I don't see the point. Like Starlionblue said, it's normally in the same general area, so you roughly know where to go (which side of the rwy to vacate if it's in the middle), or...

Re: Norwegian plans to start domestic ops in Argentina by late October

dcajet wrote:

Norwegian Argentina has received its ICAO callsign: Noruega (rather uninspiring....)

Re: Why is there no EWR-TPE flight?

- Is it a crew issue? I've stayed at a hotel in Flushing in Chinatown (Hyatt Place) and it was full of crews from different Asian airlines (obviously from JFK). I talked to a few crew members and they said that they prefer that hotel because it was walking distance to both all of their favorite res...

Re: Pilots arrested at Glasgow Airport before boarding US flight

Back to the topic, seems the pilots at this point are asking for stricter alcohol policies. Where I work, strict rules are already in place and at some of the airports we operate out of, we get random breathalyser tests before our first flight. I don't think a stricter policy is the way to go, one ...

Re: Emirates 209 Tonight - Go Around ?

Why try and Monday morning quarterback that decision? They did the right thing to safely complete the flight. I don't get the obession with second guessing go arounds on this site, like they're some kind of dangerous, scary thing. They happen every day, at probably 60% of all major airports. It's n...

Re: BeNeLux Aviation Thread - 2019

The wadden island are part of a European nature reserve (Natura2000) called Waddenzee. Besides there are military flying zones in that area and a bombing area over Vlieland. A 0,5-1 hour ferry transit is more pleasant than a flight in a 19-seater to the island. Its much cheaper, And The ferry doesn...

Re: British Airways 744 cancelled domestics flights

I was surprised last week BAW announcement new service for 747-400 late summer London to Newcastle, Manchester and Glasgow for a while. But today BAW changed their minds all cancelled flights for 747-400 to those 3 cities. See the source: https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/284889/bri...

Re: EU AOC Process and duration

On the other, can you give us some exemple of established carriers operating with "exotic" EU AOC? Established carriers with AOCs outside their home country? SAS is probably the biggest offender among the legacy brands, with SAS Ireland. Lufthansa has Air Dolomiti, an Italian daughter tha...

Re: Ghost inside Aeromexico plane

Seriously? We're on an aviation web site, in the year 2019, with (mostly) adults discussing, and about half of the posters in this thread seem to be ok with some sort of "ghost" going for a pee in the rear lavatory on Aeromexico? Ghosts are what people name things they can't explain or co...

Re: ILS Categories US Major Airports

Fun fact about CAT II/III ILS's: due to the lower minimums and the safety involved CAT II/III systems have more stringent flight inspection tolerances meaning the CDI has to be centered about the centerline (or glidepath for GS) tighter than CAT I systems. When the A380 came onto the scene, because...

Re: Aircraft Brakes

You haven't looked at a 320 with no brake fans. I have had to delay takeoff after a long taxi because the brake temps were out of limits. Takes forever to get the temps down with no fans especially in OMAA The outside air temperature has little to do with rate brakes cool down. The characteristics ...

Re: BA plane flies to Scotland by mistake, should have been Germany

Had this been a flight operated by BA Cityflyer's own crew, their pilots would have almost certainlly noticed a mis-match between the flight number and the filed destination. I doubt it. Pilots might know a lot, but I can tell from my own experience that memorising flight numbers and destinations i...

Re: A3330/350 type rating

At CX we do, I can and have flown the A330-300, A350-900, and A350-1000 on the same day. The A330/A350 is only a common type rating under EASA, under FAA rules the A330/A350, 777/787 are not common types. What about the A320 family? Would it be possible for you to fly an A321, an A330 and an A350 o...

Re: The world's longest-running airlines

KLM did not stop flying during WWII. The issue is not about flying. It is the company that celebrates 100 years of existence. A company is incorporated and its shares are traded. The KLM company was founded on October 7th, 1919, so the company will reach 100 years of existence in October 2019. KLM'...

Re: The world's longest-running airlines

I've found BA's claim a bit farfetched too, it feels like they are trying a bit too hard. That said, you gotta love the retro jets!

Re: 787 style windows

I'd love to see them on more aircraft. On my last trip I wanted to look outside to see Northern Canada, whilst all the other shades were closed, I'm pretty sure my fellow pax didn't enjoy me opening my shade and letting in all the sunlight. With this, you can at least see something without pissing o...

Re: KLM widebody shortage

Weren’t Air France trying to of load a few A380s? AMS has 3 (?) A380 gates and stands so maybe this is a quick solution to both partners problems? Sandyb123 I'm pretty sure the French union would not like this a lot.. there already is a big issue about how capacity is divided between the two of them.

Re: El Al 747's Tel Aviv to Eilat??

I don't know about El Al, but I've done flights for airports 20 miles apart, in the 747. Many of them took four hours or more. How?? And why?? How and why did I make the flights? Same as any other flight; short legs because the aircraft had to be moved, and we couldn't very well taxi 20 miles. It t...

Re: Small plane disappears over English Channel

Bongodog1964 wrote:

What reason can there be for having a plane permanently owned and based in the UK on the US register ? Especially one that by virtue of its size and range would find it virtually impossible to fly to its place of ownership.

Re: Starting a new Airline

No news?

Re: Family sit on floor during flight, not enough seats.

I don't believe this. No way an airline would carry more pax than they can offer seats to, feels like somebody is in desperate need for attention... As for jumpseats, most aircraft have more jumpseats then needed, i.e. for extra crew on training etc, most of the time you have 1 or 2 jumpseats free,...

Re: Why is Flybe only valued at £2.2m?

According to data from the CAPA Fleet Database, half of the commercial aircraft in service with the world's airlines are leased. It's worse than I thought; don't you just hate all these merchant bankers … As much as I'm opposed to neoliberal no-rules investment banking which led us into the last wo...

Re: Family sit on floor during flight, not enough seats.

I don't believe this. No way an airline would carry more pax than they can offer seats to, feels like somebody is in desperate need for attention... As for jumpseats, most aircraft have more jumpseats then needed, i.e. for extra crew on training etc, most of the time you have 1 or 2 jumpseats free, ...

Re: Wind pushes Southwest plane into equipment

Did someone forget to set the parking brake? I have never heard of this happening. I certainly have. Aircraft aren't left with the parking brake set; it's set prior to chock insertion and released after insertion, and set prior to removal...and while holding during taxiing with engines running. Oth...

Re: Engine spinner pattern question

Spinner patterns are for ground crew, esp. the marshaller, to manage induction risk. Upon entry into a gate (stand), typically when the marshaller can see a pattern instead of a blur on the spinners, the marshaller signals "insert wheel chocks". I think they look at the beacon for that? E...

Re: Boeing 777 Wiper limit speed

The DC-8 used bleed air for windscreen clearance instead of windshield wipers. It did not use bleed air for TAI. It used a heated window, just like most modern aircraft. And, just for reference, the max speed for windshield wipers on our A300'a is 230 KIAS. None of our Boeings or McBoeings have a l...

Re: Where did Easyjet fail where others succeeded?

The 156 seats on the A319 requiring a 4 th flight attendant suggests Easy’s Grasp of how economies of scale work is pretty poor ... an aircraft really needs to hold closer to 200 if there are going to be 4 crew onboard . A simple mistake that Wizz and FR would never have made Well, they ordered a w...