Flying Long Haul - how do you pass the time!!

[shon7]

Ok - this question might border on the verge of being ridiculous. However, on long haul flights - say 7+ hours --- doesn't the cruise portion get extremely boring - even up at the front deck??

How do you pass the time? I've seem some pilots reading the newspaper and/or chatting it up? What do you do?

[Intruder]

Books, magazines, newspapers...

Often we also review the Flight Handbook and Flight Operations Manual, usually in response to a question posed by one of the pilots. We do this judiciously, though, because we all know what kind of sleep-inducers those books are...

Once in a while we even do a bit of navigation, communication, and fuel planning.

[typhoonpilot]

Flying domestic U.S. routes you are in continuous radar contact; speaking on VHF radio; and certainly not crossing any FIR boundaries. If flying an FMS equipped aircraft that leaves lots of time to concentrate on the expanded airman's information manual and other publications that pertain to safety of flight ;) I can see how you might think that would be boring if done 7+ hours.

As NF said, that isn't necessarily the case with international flying. Spending 45 minutes trying to get a hold of Bombay Radio on HF or close to an hour transiting the Amman, Damuscus, Nicosia, Ercan corridor tends to keep one busy. Couple that with reviewing information on airport's that you only go into a few times per year; keeping track of position reports; fuel monitoring; thundertorm avoidance; etc keeps one pretty busy. Sometimes it is amazing how fast 7 hours goes by.

Typhoonpilot

[Intruder]

As NF said, that isn't necessarily the case with international flying. Spending 45 minutes trying to get a hold of Bombay Radio on HF

Try Mumbai. maybe they'll answer more readily. :=

[pilotwolf]

And I thought you just spent the time drinking tea, doing the crossword and chatting up the hosties... ;)

Don't want to be an airline pilot if that not the case.... :)

[NILOC]

TRY FLYING SYDNEY - LA FOR 8 YEARS WITH A GRUMPY OLD CAPTAIN THAT WONT TALK AND WAS NEARLY DUE TO RETIRE. BUT NOW IM 50 AND HAVE BEEN DOING THE SAME LEG FOR 10 YEARS I SAY TIME FLYS WHEN YOUR HAVING FUN.............AND DONT WE HAVE FUN FLYING.......

[Pilocol]

Not to brag ...
Have done it in a corporate for a long time, so .... weather at high levels is not a problem..at least on the cruise portion!! .. after spending the required 45 min trying (Chenai-radio) we are left with the other 8 hours... done the manuals - done the SOP's - done the magazines and the News papers- We've even clean the cockpit with small brushes (good extra 45 min) .... soooo ... let's get in to the "What is happening in the word talk" ... ferries ... try some emergency procedures ... will put some exitement on the flight ... I will take any sugestions!!! ;)

Keep it safe!!

[Specnut727]

Who can remember the Marty Feldman sketch from a LOT of years ago ? .........I spy..........with my little eye...........something beginning with............C

[av8boy]

Although it has little direct application to commercial flying...

Six years in the USAF flying C141s. Early on (circa 1976) there was an aircraft commander who surprised the rest of the crew, when, one day out in the middle of the pond he announced on the intercom, "let's run through the ditching checklist just for grins " (yes, we were certain that he didn't know anything that the rest of us didn't know about the need to run the ditching checklist at that particular moment!). It was unique because, unlike the casual approach I'd seen before, he included everybody (FE, Nav, Loadmasters), and, when we got through the checklist itself, made a point of asking, "now, what would you add to that checklist? What are you going to do that the Air Force didn't think of when they wrote this thing?" The one that sticks in my head was the loadmaster saying that, given three or four minutes of free time, he'd string a series of 5000 pound straps from the handle of the flight deck ladder to the rear of the airplane to give the flight deck crew something to follow through the aircraft to the rear, should that be the only way out. This use of forebrain by the loadmaster sparked imagination among others on the crew who then contributed, and we all learned something. What's more, the rest of that trip we worked better as a crew. That was the point.

Again, this isn't radically different from other informal emergency procedure reviews I've seen throughout the years, and it certainly isn't very exciting, but it sticks with me. It reminded me that, although checklists are there for a reason, you shouldn't take solace in SOP and put your brain on automatic (although I probably am not expressing this very well...). It's something I've handed down to others as well.

Of course, it's probably difficult to drag all of the flight attendants away from crowd control to have them participate in a ditiching drill...

Dave :D

[ROB-x38]

And then there's the one where the flight crew wanted to see what would happen if they pulled one of the circuit breakers - the engine oversped, shed a fan blade and puntured and depressurised the cabin - ejecting the poor cabin attendant. One way to spice up your flight :oh:

[Flight Detent]

Hi,
When you are flying in the best, a '74 Classic, at least you have another crewmember to chat with - usually about some boring stuff, discussing how one system or another works.
At least there you've got somebody on board who knows.
He's also very good at some of the position reporting, fuel monitoring/flight plan following, and especially good at asking 'why is it so?' about all sorts of things aboard.
Can't beat 'em!!

Cheers;)

[Fright Level]

Or you can while away the hours over the Atlantic listening to the worlds most boring radio chat show, 123.45 :ugh: