Plane Answers: Crew rest seats and identifying pilot uniforms

by Kent Wien on

Welcome to Gadling’s feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Ignacio asks:

Say you’re on a Boston-Paris trip. The flight is totally loaded up, so there are no free seats, neither First nor Tourist class. When it comes to rest-time, what do you pilots do? Is it possible for a scheduled flight to have no seats available?

The policy varies by airlines, but the FAA requires that a seat be provided somewhere in the back for the third pilot on flights over 8 hours. Whether that seat is in coach or business class is something that’s determined by contract negotiations. At my company, we’re lucky to have a seat in business, often with the seat next to us blocked as well.

Jocelyn asks:

Regarding airline pilot uniforms;

1. What is the difference between the different colored epaulets airline pilots wear on their uniforms. Some wear white and some wear gold, that I have seen.2. Is 3 stripes for a co-pilot and 4 stripes represents a captain?

3. Is there a 1 or 2 stripe epaulet and if so what is that rank or what do they do?

4. Does the hat have to match the epaulets i.e., gold band and gold leafs on the brim of his hat if he wears gold epaulets?

5. What is the gold or white band and why the gold or white leafs on the brim of his cap?

I never imagined there could be five questions relating to epaulets and uniforms, but I’m thrilled with the unique query.

Individual airlines can choose, often with their employees’ input, the color and style of uniform. The more modern pilot uniforms have moved to thinner stripes on the jacket sleeve for example.

Four stripes on either the shirt epaulets or the jacket sleeve are reserved for the captain, and three stripes for the co-pilot. Years ago we had mechanics who were licensed as professional flight engineers on the 707, 727 and DC-10 at my airline and those non-pilots sported two-stripes on their sleeves. There was no retirement age for these professional flight engineers, so you would occasionally see an FE in his 70’s flying the DC-10 before they were (both) retired.

Later, when qualified pilots were hired to work as flight engineers, they were given three stripes when sitting at the sideways seat.

Captains can also be identified by the ‘scrambled eggs’ on the brim of their hats and some airlines have slightly different design on the captain wings, occasionally adding a star, for example. The color of the epaulets, scrambled eggs and trim is again decided by the airline, but silver and gold are the most common examples.

I’ve seen thin single or double stripes used on the sleeves that are now reserved for flight attendant uniforms.

Do you have a question about something related to the pointy end of an airplane? Ask Kent and maybe he’ll use it for the next Plane Answers. Check out his other blog, Cockpit Chronicles and travel along with him at work. Twitter @veryjr

Plane Answers: Who sets crew rest rules and are MD-80s safe?

by Kent Wien on

Welcome to Gadling’s feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

John asks:

Are commercial airline pilots allowed to be flying for up to a maximum number of hours by FAA, or is this at the discretion of the airline they are flying for?

The FAA allows a two-pilot aircraft to be scheduled to fly for up to 8 hours. This is flight time only and doesn’t include any time waiting between flights or getting ready. The duty-day, or the time a pilot can be on duty is sixteen hours, but some airlines have rules, often negotiated by their unions for thirteen or fourteen hour days.

When an extra ‘relief’ pilot is added for a total of three pilots, the flight time can increase to a scheduled 12 hours with a total duty time of 18 hours.

Finally, if four pilots are aboard, the scheduled flight time can be up to 16 hours and the duty time up to 20 hours.

There are other rules designed to keep fatigue out of the cockpit; no more than six days on duty without a full day off, no more than 30 hours of flight time in a week (32 hours for international flights) and no more than 100 hours of flying a month (120 hours for international pilots).

One exception: The FAA has established different flight and duty time regulations for the state of Alaska.

Many of these regulations are likely to change in the next year. The FAA has announced plans to review these regulations and to update them as a result of new alertness studies and last year’s incident in Hawaii where both pilots fell asleep after flying a rather brutal schedule.

Joe asks:

Hi Kent,

I love your site and visit often. I have a question about the MD-80 series airplane. When I was a child, my Mom missed Northwest flight 255.

Her Physician was not so lucky. Ever since that incident, I have been terrified to fly on the MD-80 and have not flown on one! I realize they are very popular and have a fairly good safety record, but I prefer the Airbus 320/321, 737, 757 and the ultimate – 767 for my travels. How do you feel about the MD-80s? Are they a more difficult airplane to fly? I ask because I will be flying on an AA MD-80 in September and I’m very nervous about it. Keep up the Plane Answers! I love them!

PS – Took your advice after watching the DA20 video – After 31 years on this earth and 11 years of police work, I finally have saved the $ to chase that pilot’s license!
Wow, congratulations Joe. One of my primary flight instructors was a police officer, in fact. I’m sure you’re going to love flight training.

I flew the MD-80 for only a year, but I remember it to be a safe airplane that does well in a crosswind, has a reasonable approach speed and isn’t lacking in performance. The technology in other airplanes has improved and the MD-80 has been retrofitted with some of those same features such as GPS and an EFIS (electronic flight instrument system) display.

There isn’t a quieter airplane for those sitting in the front of an MD-80. In the descent, at less than 250 knots, it’s as if you’re flying a glider. It’s not very difficult to fly and it doesn’t rely on any fly-by-wire system for the flight controls.

The NW255 accident was caused by a failure of the pilots to conduct a before takeoff checklist that, among other things, assured the flaps and slats were extended. Contributing to the accident was a failed takeoff warning horn that had a tripped circuit breaker preventing it from working.

Today, we have a checklist (at American it’s a mechanical checklist that’s hard to miss, the importance of which is drilled into every aviator’s head from the beginning of their career. I realize how close to home, so to speak, this occurred for you, but I think you can feel safe on an MD-80. I’m even considering upgrading to it when I have the seniority for captain.

Do you have a question about something related to the pointy end of an airplane? Ask Kent and maybe he’ll use it for the next Plane Answers. Check out his other blog, Cockpit Chronicles and travel along with him at work.