Fed up with your airline? Rent a billboard!

by Scott Carmichael on

Back in April, Jeffrey wrote about a new initiative by some American Airlines pilots to try and get public attention to the large number of delays and cancellations the airline was experiencing. At that time, they invited people to their web site, where they could “tell their AA story”.

They have now taken things one step further, with their own billboard. The billboard is about 2 miles away from Chicago O’Hare and next to one of the busiest highways leading to the airport. The Allied Pilots Association is behind the billboard, and they want to make it clear that they don’t think you are AA’s top priority. It’s a pretty eye-catching way of delivering your message, and if I had the money, I’d love to rent one every time an airline messed up my trip.

Plane Answers: Medical issues for pilots and the FAA

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!

Tom asks an interesting question:

Hi Kent,

I am a big fan of your website and your weekly additions here. Great stuff. But my true question comes down to this. I had a seizure two weeks ago and they did all the testing and EEG and MRI and CT scans and blood work and all came back negative. They are thinking that it was once in a lifetime type of thing. So I started wondering will I be able to still receive my First class medical if I have no seizures and I am on no medications and the doctors told me I am fine?

Hi Tom,

I checked with my AME (Aviation Medical Examiner) and he pointed me to this document from the FAA. It seems the FAA will look at your specific case and after you submit all pertinent medical records and a current status report, they’ll render a decision.

Good luck! I’d love to hear what you find out.

Steve asks:

I’ve been told that I’m red/green colorblind. Will this disqualify me for an FAA medical? Would I even be able to fly private aircraft just for fun?

Hi Steve,

In the U.S., apparently 8% of males have some sort of color deficiency. That percentage drops to just .04% of females.

Most have Deuteranomaly, which occurs in 5% of males. It’s more commonly known as the red/green color confusion.

Only .0005% of the population is totally color blind.

Most people won’t even realize they’re color blind until they try to get an FAA medical. If they can’t read the numbers in the color blind test, they’re given a restriction on their medical that says, NOT VALID FOR NIGHT FLYING OR BY COLOR SIGNAL CONTROL.

Take a look at this picture. What number do you see?

With normal color vision, you’ll see a five and If you’re red/green color blind, you’ll see a two. Of course, different monitors may affect the test, so you’ll want to be tested by an eye doctor to be sure.

If a pilot applicant is color deficient, they can apply for a waiver by demonstrating to an FAA representative that they are able to see the lights associated with a Farnsworth lantern test or, alternatively a light ‘gun’ test that’s beamed from the tower to aircraft that have lost radio communication, an extremely rare situation to be in as a pilot, but it’s an effective test apparently.

If the prospective pilot wants to get a first class medical, which is needed to fly for an airline, they would also have to fly with an FAA inspector to come in contact with the lights most commonly encountered inflight. If they can demonstrate proficiency during this flight test, they will then be issued a waiver.

I have met a number of pilots at various major airlines who’ve successfully gone through this process.

So for most U.S. pilots, the color vision issue is not disqualifying. You might want to try to get the waiver early on in your flight training, to be sure you’re able to continue commercially. Of course, this is all based on the current FAA U.S. rules which are rumored to be changing soon. I don’t know what the requirements are in Europe or Asia. Good luck!

Luke asks:

Do pilots need to have perfect vision to fly at the airlines?

Their vision needs to be correctable to 20/20 or better to be eligible for a first class medical. Most airlines have long since dropped the requirement for uncorrected 20/20 vision, but the military still requires it at the time you begin your flight training. After getting through your flight training, you’re allowed to wear glasses, from what I understand.

Do you have a question about something related to the pointy end of an airplane? Ask Kent and he’ll try to use it for next Friday’s Plane Answers feature.

Plane Answers: Radio altimeters, 737 rudder safety and 757/767 flying differences

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!

Martin asks:

Upon landing a bigger plane…

Is there a sensor or gauge/indicator that shows the pilot the distance between the airplane’s wheels and the runway?
Yes, Martin, there is. As I’m sure you know, we have an altimeter that displays our height above sea level. But we also have a radio altimeter that shows our height above the ground from 2500 feet all the way down to zero feet. It’s actually very accurate, and we often judge our flare based on the automated call outs of “100, 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10.

It also displays our altitude in feet on our primary flight display. Occasionally the other pilot (who’s not flying) might add a call out of 6, or 2, if you’ve flared and you’re no longer descending, which can be helpful.

Long wonders:

Hi Kent, The only hassle I hate while traveling is the paperwork for the visa. I was wondering whether pilots require a visa to fly to certain countries? Does the airline take care of it, or do you guys have some sort of special permit/passport?

I can only speak for those of us flying from the U.S., and since I don’t fly to every country, I don’t know all the specifics, but the most common country we fly to that requires a VISA in our passports is France. This allows us to ‘work’ in their country.

Every five years we have to go into a major city that has a French Consulate and fill out the paperwork and turn over our passports to have a VISA stamp inserted.

I’m sure there are other countries that require this, but France is the only one I’m aware of at this point.

Tev asks:

Does the 737 still have rudder issues?

Tev is referring to the full deflection rudder issues that United and USAir experienced years ago with 737-200 and 737-300. Boeing came up with a fix for the problem and they claim that the new generation 737s, which are the most common 737s flying today, do not have the same issues. Given the number of hours that these new generation 737s have flown, it appears they have the problem solved.

Finally, Vic asks:

Kent, you wrote earlier about preferring to fly the 767 over the 757. One reason was greater familiarity with the 767. What are the other reasons?

Actually Vic, I fly the 757 probably 90 percent of the time. So I’m really more familiar with the 757. Perhaps it’s because I only get a chance to see a 767 infrequently, that I enjoy that airplane.

As you’re probably aware, the 757 and 767 are unique in that pilots can be trained to fly both airplanes interchangeably. We occasionally have a trip that will have a leg with a 757, followed by a wide-body 767 flight right afterwards.

SInce the cockpits of the two airplanes are nearly identical, and the systems (the hydraulics, the fuel system, engines, air conditioning and pressurization) are very similar, the FAA determined in the 80’s when both airplanes were certified that they would share a common type rating.

But they don’t fly exactly the same. The 767 is more light and sensitive on the controls, and it tends to feel larger, but more sporty. The 757 has great climb performance, but it’s controls are heavier and you sit lower to the ground, which makes for a different ‘feel’ during the landing flare.

It’s probably easier to make a smoother landing in the 767, even though we don’t fly them as often. They seem to settle to the ground after touching down with less momentum. It’s a beautiful airplane to fly, and it is closer in feel to a 777 than it is to a 757.

But as I’ve explained in a recent Cockpit Chronicles, the winglets that are being installed on the 757 have somehow softened the landings.

Have a question of your own that you’d like answered on Friday’s Plane Answers? Ask Kent!

Crash survivors debate whether to eat the pilot

by Iva Skoch on

Let’s suppose you survive a plane crash a spend five days “huddled in a broken fuselage in sub-zero temperatures.” You are running out of crackers. You have no idea how long you’ll be there (especially if you are a Lost fan.)

The question is: Do you, or do you not, consider cannibalism?

The Cessna 208 with nine passengers crashed into a mountainside in Patagonia, near La Junta, a town across the border in Argentina, on Saturday. Recent volcanic explosions in the region have forced air routes out to sea, taking experienced pilots off their normal course, The Guardian reports:

The pilot died in the crash. “He had a cut on his head, a big wound and he lost lots of blood,” said Victor Suazo, a Chilean police officer who was aboard the flight. “We couldn’t do anything for him and he died around noon on Monday.” Soon after, the survivors’ hunger began to deplete their strength and they debated whether to eat the pilot. “We thought about the pilot, I don’t know how to say it … to feed ourselves from him. We thought about this, but some people were not in agreement because the situation was already so extreme.”

Well, what do you think? Would you, or would you not, eat the pilot, folks?

Plane Answers: When do pilots use the autopilot?

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!

Justin asks:

My question concerns the autopilot. During the course of a flight how often is it used? Are there times where it can not be used because of heavy turbulence and other weather phenomenon?

Great question, Justin.

First, I should describe the autopilot system in a jet. It’s essentially a device that a pilot will program to climb, descend or hold an altitude while following a specified route of flight. The system also includes autothrottles, which maintain the speed of the airplane in cruise and adjust the power automatically for climbs and descents.
The autopilot in an airliner is really analogous to the cruise control feature in your car. Just as you wouldn’t use your cruise control when leaving your driveway, we never use the autopilot for takeoff. In fact, there’s a limitation on the 757 and 767 that doesn’t allow the autopilot to be used below 1000 feet, after takeoff. Above that and it’s the flying pilot’s option if they’d like to use it.

I usually prefer to ‘hand-fly’ the airplane to about 18,000 feet before turning on the autopilot. We generally don’t hand-fly after leveling as it becomes rather tedious after a while. And one sudden push of the yoke would cause the passengers to float toward the ceiling. Some airlines charge for this weightless experience, but our passengers tend to prefer a straight and level ride.

Some pilots will bring the autopilot on right after takeoff, and again, that’s their option. When I first started flying commercially, we tooled around in a commuter airplane that didn’t have an autopilot, so I sometimes crave a little stick and rudder time.

But there are times when the other pilot is busy making the PA or talking on the radio and you need to take a closer look at the weather radar up ahead or you’re trying to decide what the best cruise altitude will be. In these cases, the moment you start getting busy, it’s a good idea to get the autopilot on to reduce the workload for you and the non-flying pilot.

Some airplanes (I’m looking at you, 737-800) have a tendency to hunt or oscillate during climbs and especially descents. The airplane will go from 500 feet per minute down to 2500 feet per minute and back again before eventually stabilizing. This makes for a rather uncomfortable ride in the back and it’s probably why many 737 pilots prefer to hand-fly most of the climbs and descents.

The autopilot can handle a significant amount of turbulence. There’s no requirement to turn it off during the bumps, but if you feel it’s not doing an effective job at holding an altitude or airspeed, then you’re encouraged to ‘click it off’ using a thumb activated button on the control yoke and fly the airplane yourself.

There are times when the weather is below a certain level of visibility where airplanes must be flown using the autopilot. If the visibility is less than 1800 feet (550 meters) and the airport has the capability, we will still be able to land using the autopilot. In fact, the 757, 767 and the 777 can be flown down to a visibility of 300 feet (75 meters) with touchdown occurring without actually seeing the runway.

When we print out the current weather and it reports a low enough visibility to require an autoland you can just about read the disappointment on the flying pilot’s face. Hand-flying the landing is the icing on the cake for pilots, and to fly all the way across the country only to be denied a landing takes some of the fun out of coming to work.

These autolandings (known as Cat III approaches in pilot-speak) also require more setup to fly, and a significant amount of monitoring to be sure the airplane is tracking correctly. We don’t have to fly them very often–I think I only had two autolandings last year.

Have you ever been curious about what goes on at the pointy end of an airplane? Ask Kent and maybe he’ll use your question for next Friday’s Plane Answers feature.