Actually, I asked if you would be willing to start the thread - so I guess I will ask:
Since most of us have no idea what goes on behind the cockpit door:
1. How do passengers affect your job? i.e. is there anything we do that makes your job more/less enjoyable?
2. What regular part of your job do you enjoy most, or maybe paraphrased as what makes you tick as a pilot?
3. What is the most annoying part of your job?
1. In Japan, we dont interact with the passengers at all. The door is closed prior to boarding and not opened until the last passenger is off the plane. I can't really think of anything from my old job at a US regional that passengers regularly do that make my job less enjoyable. I did have one guy stick his head in the cockpit after the comair crash in CVG and said jokingly "make sure we get the right runway today." That did leave a bad taste....
2. I love to fly and I love to travel. This job allows me to do both and as an added bonus, I never have to take my work home with me. When I leave the airport, I dont have to think about work until I go back to work. I rarely have to see my boss, and the sunrises and sunsets never get old either...
3. Being locked in a small area with another person who hates their job and does nothing but complain for 8 hours.. oh...and management
1. Who makes the decision to board the plane and wait on the tarmac vs. wait at the gate and board when delays have cleared? Pilot? ATC? Company?
2. During delays, particularly when waiting on the tarmac, some pilots are very forthcoming about what is going on, what they know and don't know, and when to expect updates while others say very little. Does UA issue guidelines to pilots for providing information during delays or is it entirely at the pilot's discretion?
Thanks for the opportunity to ask questions. I think all of us appreciate this new group of pilots adding their perspective to FT.
sometimes it seems like for better or for worse pilots are given a lot of leeway with things like that and can update passengers as per their preference or style.
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Thanks so much to the OP for taking the initiative to start this thread. I think waterfalls123 will be surprised by how many questions we have, even as frequent flyers. I hope that other UA pilots feel free to chime in as well.
Here's my question for now- how do you guys feel about visits to the cockpit before the flight? I know some days you're busier than others, which makes it tough, but what's your general view of a passenger sticking their head in the cockpit to say "hi" before the flight?
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Hey... Wasn't this supposed to be ask the PILOT?
With all the helpful posters jumping in with answers, particularly the ones saying, in effect, "Your question has been (more than) answered", this thread will 1) get diluted and much longer than necessary, and 2) discourage questions (when those less frequent posters get the brush off). We can, and do, answer each other all day and all night. But this is the special opportunity to get not only an answer, but a perspective.
Thanks, waterfalls123 for tending this thread. If everybody clears the deck for you, it's probably gonna be like drinking from a fire hydrant (enough metaphors?). Hopefully, some of the others like gumpf who were covering for the pilots in the "no job action" threads will stick around and help you cover this.
Last edited by Firewind; Jan 4, 08 at 12:12 pm.
Reason: Sorry, writing while waterfalls123 was writing the above posts
Actually, I asked if you would be willing to start the thread - so I guess I will ask:
Since most of us have no idea what goes on behind the cockpit door:
1. How do passengers affect your job? i.e. is there anything we do that makes your job more/less enjoyable?
2. What regular part of your job do you enjoy most, or maybe paraphrased as what makes you tick as a pilot?
3. What is the most annoying part of your job?
1. Passengers affect my job because you're the reason I come to work for United, of course. The biggest problems we have with passengers that make our jobs very unenjoyable is just disruptions in the cabin. Passengers harassing flight attendants, passengers harassing each other, passengers blaming and provoking flight attendants/CSR's for things that are completely out of their control, etc., etc. That's a big problem in my opinion and makes life very unenjoyable for the cockpit crew. It's also a distraction we don't need. Avoiding the above examples makes my life at work much more enjoyable.
2) It's funny that you ask "what makes a pilot tick." There's an answer/punchline to that question that the old timers on the property are fond of: sex, seniority, salary- in that order is the cocktail party answer they'd give you
In today's more PC world, I'd say that most of us have wanted to fly airplanes since we were very young. The most enjoyable part of my job is being in the cockpit, actually flying the airplane. Takeoffs and landings are fun because they can be dynamic and challenging. The cruise portion of the flight can be a bit boring at times (assuming good weather, good airplane, good passengers) as we are monitoring aircraft systems, following the progress of the flight, and answering radio calls.
3) The most annoying part of my job is probably the most annoying thing for you, too- having to deal with the stresses that the airline industry collectively puts us through.
1. In Japan, we dont interact with the passengers at all. The door is closed prior to boarding and not opened until the last passenger is off the plane. I can't really think of anything from my old job at a US regional that passengers regularly do that make my job less enjoyable. I did have one guy stick his head in the cockpit after the comair crash in CVG and said jokingly "make sure we get the right runway today." That did leave a bad taste....
2. I love to fly and I love to travel. This job allows me to do both and as an added bonus, I never have to take my work home with me. When I leave the airport, I dont have to think about work until I go back to work. I rarely have to see my boss, and the sunrises and sunsets never get old either...
3. Being locked in a small area with another person who hates their job and does nothing but complain for 8 hours.. oh...and management
1. For the more tenured pilots, have you seen the quality of ATC and FAA deteriorate in the past few years per all the latest news about near misses? Will new technology really help prevent this, or, as I presume, will the AA and UA prime-time schedules have to be trimmed? Is there any teeth to this story, or, is it hype? What do you see on the front lines that we don't see that can help with this?
2. What airport has the best quality controllers? I've heard ORD is tops hands down. God forbid, who's the worst?
3. Do you really think we can hear that first in-flight announcement when we're still climbing? The PA systems are terrible, and nothing you say is audible, ever. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.
4. Can you comment mid-flight at night? "Those on the left side of the aircraft have an excellent view of downtown Albequerque". You know precisely where we are, and on long flights most of us have a general idea but really aren't ever 100% sure. I'd hazard more of us would like to know where we are.
5. How many ALPA union people are responsible for negotiating your contracts? Now, how many UA management are involved? Finally, how many elite mileage plus customers does UA have?
6. What do you think should be done to reinstate air travel as a luxury good and not a commodity? Is this even possible at this point?
-How early do you arrive at the airport for a flight? Home much planning is involved for the routes/equip that you fly?
The Captain and First Officer are required to be in UA operations one hour prior to departure time. During that time, we look for our flying partner (we rarely fly with the same person), we review about 10 pages of type-written information, which mostly consists of weather and the maintenance status of the aircraft we're about to fly, and we read company-related internal information.
Quote:
-During the flight, how much do you use the autopilot? Just at cruise, or do you switch it on fairly early in the climbout?
That totally depends upon the individual pilot. As you probably know, all modern airlines have autoflight systems that, under the guidance of the cockpit crew, can help fly the aircraft through all phases of flight, including landing. However, we're pilots and we normally don't let the autopilot do all of the fun stuff, and the autopilot can't be used for takeoff. So most guys/gals will fly the takeoff up to about 18,000 feet or so and then turn the autopilot on. On landing, most people will hand fly the approach. However, if the weather is really low, the autopilot is used, and in some cases required.
A note about the autopilot. The autopilot doesn't do our job for us. The autopilot is a very "stupid" machine, even in the most modern airliner, that does only what we tell it to do. It always bugs me to read in the press or on the internet that modern airplanes can "fly themselves." Maybe in 50 or 100 years from now that will be true, but it certainly is not the case now. It's a tool we use to do our job, and that's about it.
Quote:
-During an ILS approach, do you use the APPROACH HOLD feature of the autopilot, or do you fly the needles manually?
If the weather is bad (low visibility, low clouds), we use the autopilot. If the weather is really bad (i.e. horizontal visibility less than around 1800 feet or so), we are required to do an autoland, where both autopilots fly the approach to the touchdown while we monitor its performance. In decent weather, we "fly the needles manually," which we refer to as "hand flying."
Quote:
Originally Posted by yofra
When you do the walk around before the flight, is there honestly anything that you can really see that is out of order? Have you ever caught something awry during the walkaround?
Great idea for the thread!
The thread wasn't my idea, but glad to answer your questions. Hopefully other UA pilots will chime in, too.
Yes, during the walk around you can see lots of things, and yes, it's not uncommon to find something amiss. Normally, it's just a bulb in an exterior lens that is burned out or perhaps some peeling paint that needs to be addressed or a fluid level that needs to be topped off, but we do a pretty thorough evaluation of the exterior of the aircraft before every departure. We check the general exterior condition of the aircraft, tire condition and pressure, instrument probes, the interior of the engines as far as we can see into it, flight control surfaces, hydraulic plumbing in the wheel well, etc., etc. There are many things that are visible to us as we do our "walk around" before each flight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by raptor288
how often are CAT II/III approaches shot when the conditions are there (assuming all aircraft/pilot req's are met) or are the flights just delayed/diverted until the weather clears?
Personally, in my 10+ years at UA flying Cat II/III equipped airplanes, I've shot maybe 5 or 10 "no kidding" CAT III approaches. Weather conditions that low simply aren't very common.
For those of you wondering what a CAT II/III means, it simply describes a category of approach that we use in very low visibility weather. Most approaches fall under the CAT I (category one) designator. When the visibility gets below around 1,800 feet horizontally, we need an aircraft and an airport approach that is CAT II and/or CAT III certified in order to land. Often these types of approaches are autoland approaches as I described above.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peacock
What is that annoyingly loud hum that is heard on Channel 9 on 767s (when Channel 9 is tuned to ATC). Is it 400Hz pickup? Why is it so much more pronounced on 767s than other aircraft? Thanks in advance.
Sorry, I don't know the answer. It may be interference or some sort of bleed through, but I'm just guessing.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Sep 18, 09 at 9:11 am.
Reason: merge
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thank you waterfalls123 for your wonderful offer and i vote to make this a sticky.
i have 3 simple questions (and you may decline answering the first 2 if you like )
where are you based?
what do you drive?
have you become one of my tootsie-pop victims yet?
edited to add: oops-never mind question 2. must be too much rain in my face today as i didn't see your earlier post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lucky9876coins
Thanks so much to the OP for taking the initiative to start this thread. I think waterfalls123 will be surprised by how many questions we have, even as frequent flyers. I hope that other UA pilots feel free to chime in as well.
Here's my question for now- how do you guys feel about visits to the cockpit before the flight? I know some days you're busier than others, which makes it tough, but what's your general view of a passenger sticking their head in the cockpit to say "hi" before the flight?
down boy
__________________
just my humble opinion but i used to try and stop hockey pucks so what do i know . Nighthawks fans are everywhere
One of my heroes from my late teens had the same nickname as you. He was a motocross rider, John DeSoto. I'm still a dirt-biker, as I hope he (or you?) is/are
1. Who makes the decision to board the plane and wait on the tarmac vs. wait at the gate and board when delays have cleared? Pilot? ATC? Company?
2. During delays, particularly when waiting on the tarmac, some pilots are very forthcoming about what is going on, what they know and don't know, and when to expect updates while others say very little. Does UA issue guidelines to pilots for providing information during delays or is it entirely at the pilot's discretion?
1. ATC (air traffic control) doesn't care where we take the delay assuming they have room to park us somewhere. The Captain has the ultimate decision, but I make that decision with my First Officer's and my Purser's and our Dispatcher's and my Company's input.
2. I hate to say it, but it totally depends on the personality of the Captain. Some guys are very talkative and some aren't. Yes, we're issued guidelines by the company, but those are very vague. Personally, I update my Purser and the passengers every 30 minutes during extended delays, whether I have new information or not.
Also, keep in mind that sometimes we're in the dark about extended delays as well. I don't know exactly how long it will take a mechanic to fix something- he/she might not know either. I don't know exactlyhow long we'll be sitting on the ramp before we depart for LGA on a stormy day because ATC doesn't know either and can't predict how long a thunderstorm is going to stay over the airport. I can give you educated guesses (and that's what I call them when I talk to you) as to what I think might happen in the future, but many pilots are hesitant to "say too much" in a dynamic situation simply because if they're wrong, invariably an angry passenger will exclaim, "But you just said......."
>>>Here's my question for now- how do you guys feel about visits to the cockpit before the flight? I know some days you're busier than others, which makes it tough, but what's your general view of a passenger sticking their head in the cockpit to say "hi" before the flight?<<<
I welcome visits, and if there's time, I'll shoot a pic of you or your kid in the seat with either your camera or mine , then e-mail it to you.
I actually have a photo album on my computer of kids in the cockpit.
Most pilots LOVE their job. Most pilots have gone through tremendous sacrifice (especially financial) to attain just an entry level job at a major airline. If they didn't love their job, most are educated enough to go do something else.
I hope that other UA pilots feel free to chime in as well.
Sorry.
)
