Long Haul boredom
Warning Toxic!
Disgusted of Tunbridge
Disgusted of Tunbridge
Join Date: Jan 2005
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I don't think you will get far asking professional pilots a question like that without providing more information about yourself and why you are asking! Why do you want to know? How boring do you think flying longhaul aeroplanes is? Do you really think pilots play cards, flying 350 people in a 747 at 39,000' and nearly 600mph? Don't you think anything has to be done? I find your query rather insulting and demeaning. I don't like 'trap' questions thankyou! Cards? 'Read a book'? Get out of here!
*I've looked at your history. Quite honestly I'm surprised you ask a question like this in print. You appear to be in the bizjet/GA area interested in applying for longhaul flying. I take it is the the lure of the lucre and the party life only that attracts you to longhaul flying. With an attitude like that, I suggest maybe it's not the place for you.
*I've looked at your history. Quite honestly I'm surprised you ask a question like this in print. You appear to be in the bizjet/GA area interested in applying for longhaul flying. I take it is the the lure of the lucre and the party life only that attracts you to longhaul flying. With an attitude like that, I suggest maybe it's not the place for you.
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Come on Rainbow. It's a common idea amongst us who fly shorthaul/regional routes that longhaul can be quite boring enroute. We've never done it ourselves and I know there's a fascination with many to try it out. But those long hours on cruise seem scary to us who are used to making 2 landings per flown hour... Although not the most clever question (I understand how it must have come across seen from your side), but I think many of us are interested in knowing how you pass the time?
/LnS
/LnS
Join Date: Jun 2005
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Boredom on long sectors
Hola Shnee -
xxx
Let's see how we do again... Oh yes...!
I order a few after-takeoff cocktails (my round for the F/O and the F/E)... then after the third one (when we level-off at FL310) we invite a cute flight attendant to be the 4th player in a round of bridge... If too boring, she asks us to play strip-poker... then when she is down to her bikini, the F/O (who is generally a trained amateur gynecologist) will give her a 1st class physical...
xxx
Then when the SELCAL goes ringing... we let the answering machine say >
"This is flight nº 1234, unfortunately, we are not in the flight deck at the present time, so please leave us your call-sign, your frequency, and the time you called, and we will return your call as soon as possible"...
xxx
I wish it was like that...
xxx
OK, seriously now...
For me, it is listening to the BBC world service news on HF radios, get my 12th cup of double espresso, prepare the next position report to Recife, get the latest soccer game score and destination MET report from BAires operations to tell the passengers, and having a big discussion about company policies, or who is divorcing to get married to whom. or ask the engineer how to fix my old Peugeot 205 hand brakes...
xxx
Shnee, in a month's time, you get more landings, than I have got in the past 5 years... You are lucky not to be bored...
xxx
Happy contrails
xxx
Let's see how we do again... Oh yes...!
I order a few after-takeoff cocktails (my round for the F/O and the F/E)... then after the third one (when we level-off at FL310) we invite a cute flight attendant to be the 4th player in a round of bridge... If too boring, she asks us to play strip-poker... then when she is down to her bikini, the F/O (who is generally a trained amateur gynecologist) will give her a 1st class physical...
xxx
Then when the SELCAL goes ringing... we let the answering machine say >
"This is flight nº 1234, unfortunately, we are not in the flight deck at the present time, so please leave us your call-sign, your frequency, and the time you called, and we will return your call as soon as possible"...
xxx
I wish it was like that...
xxx
OK, seriously now...
For me, it is listening to the BBC world service news on HF radios, get my 12th cup of double espresso, prepare the next position report to Recife, get the latest soccer game score and destination MET report from BAires operations to tell the passengers, and having a big discussion about company policies, or who is divorcing to get married to whom. or ask the engineer how to fix my old Peugeot 205 hand brakes...
xxx
Shnee, in a month's time, you get more landings, than I have got in the past 5 years... You are lucky not to be bored...
xxx
Happy contrails
I always like the DL response to ATC's 3rd call...
"Sorry, I was on landline."
Non-yanks, that is the most common response from ATC for not answering.
"Sorry, I was on landline."
Non-yanks, that is the most common response from ATC for not answering.
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On a 3-man crew at night, on legs longer than 6 hours, if one of the three wasn't napping, it was a safety-of-flight violation! Three guys having napped during cruise (one-at-a-time, with the other two watching each other), were much more safe during a difficult approach than FAA-compliant sleep-deprived Zombies.
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Sound asleep...
Was my first few months as 707 captain...
Assignment - flying Viet-Nam "Boat People" from Asia to Travis AFB (USA)...
Long flight and duty time, we had FAR 121 waiver for time limits...
xxx
In these days, (1978) "napping" was not yet blessed by the FAA...
xxx
One evening, we left Guam (Andersen AFB) to go to Hickam-Honolulu, refuel there, then continue to Travis AFB, California. Not too far from Wake Island, I needed to close my eyes for a while, I asked the F/O and F/E to stay awake and wake me up 30 minutes later...
xxx
I fell asleep...
xxx
Suddenly the SELCAL chimes started... lights flashing... Woke me up... to my horror and dismay, looking at the compass cards (HSI-RMI), we were heading some 180º due South... Clocks indicated possibly 3 or 4 hours since takeoff, and looking at the F/E's fuel gages, we were with 5,000 lbs fuel in each 4 main tanks, total showed about 20,000 lbs... Worst, the F/O was asleep, and the F/E's head was down on his desk table, eyes closed... took me about 2 minutes to get back to reality...
xxx
I answered the SELCAL on HF... was Honolulu for position report... These two b**tards exploded laughing... While I was asleep, they had moved the compasses to DG and rotated the cards 90º to the right, they had moved the clocks ahead 3 or 4 hours, and the F/E had tested the fuel gages, then pulled the CBs to obtain a very low fuel reading...
xxx
I almost had a nightmare that night... I had imagined preparing for flame-out and ditching in the middle of the Pacific, with 187 passengers, swimming my way to a raft from the wing of the aircraft...
xxx
That is what you should do to your new captains...
PanAm Leasing was a jolly operation... I know my buddy 411A will love this one...
xxx
Happy contrails
Assignment - flying Viet-Nam "Boat People" from Asia to Travis AFB (USA)...
Long flight and duty time, we had FAR 121 waiver for time limits...
xxx
In these days, (1978) "napping" was not yet blessed by the FAA...
xxx
One evening, we left Guam (Andersen AFB) to go to Hickam-Honolulu, refuel there, then continue to Travis AFB, California. Not too far from Wake Island, I needed to close my eyes for a while, I asked the F/O and F/E to stay awake and wake me up 30 minutes later...
xxx
I fell asleep...
xxx
Suddenly the SELCAL chimes started... lights flashing... Woke me up... to my horror and dismay, looking at the compass cards (HSI-RMI), we were heading some 180º due South... Clocks indicated possibly 3 or 4 hours since takeoff, and looking at the F/E's fuel gages, we were with 5,000 lbs fuel in each 4 main tanks, total showed about 20,000 lbs... Worst, the F/O was asleep, and the F/E's head was down on his desk table, eyes closed... took me about 2 minutes to get back to reality...
xxx
I answered the SELCAL on HF... was Honolulu for position report... These two b**tards exploded laughing... While I was asleep, they had moved the compasses to DG and rotated the cards 90º to the right, they had moved the clocks ahead 3 or 4 hours, and the F/E had tested the fuel gages, then pulled the CBs to obtain a very low fuel reading...
xxx
I almost had a nightmare that night... I had imagined preparing for flame-out and ditching in the middle of the Pacific, with 187 passengers, swimming my way to a raft from the wing of the aircraft...
xxx
That is what you should do to your new captains...
PanAm Leasing was a jolly operation... I know my buddy 411A will love this one...
xxx
Happy contrails
Warning Toxic!
Disgusted of Tunbridge
Disgusted of Tunbridge
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There's a BOAC story (or 'legend'), never absolutely positively verified (I do like that sort of thing), but I shall repeat anyway as it's a good one- long haul boring flight in a narrowbody long ago- Captain calls for teas, then all 3 flight crew slip down hatch into electronics bay and close up behind them. Earnest young lady trips onto flight deck with tray of teas........
Another one had the pilots suddenly stripped down to underpants when she comes up with drinks. Not a pretty sight. I believe a dismissal resulted from that as it got back to 'the management'.
Nowadays, the most I dare to do is have the cabin crew up to show them the Aurora Borealis in full flow, or like last night, show them the Perseids meteor shower! I do have to confess though an evil pleasure in getting the girls to look at something in the middle of the night out of a dark flight deck- just as St. Elmo's fire is zapping the front window. They scamper off at a high rate of knots! I think Ma Rainboe must have dropped me on my head when I was young.
Another one had the pilots suddenly stripped down to underpants when she comes up with drinks. Not a pretty sight. I believe a dismissal resulted from that as it got back to 'the management'.
Nowadays, the most I dare to do is have the cabin crew up to show them the Aurora Borealis in full flow, or like last night, show them the Perseids meteor shower! I do have to confess though an evil pleasure in getting the girls to look at something in the middle of the night out of a dark flight deck- just as St. Elmo's fire is zapping the front window. They scamper off at a high rate of knots! I think Ma Rainboe must have dropped me on my head when I was young.
Shnee
I think the word should be tedious. When you are responsible for all those lives and working in an industry where, when things go wrong, you can go from "safe" to "staring death in the face" in a few seconds it's never boring
Even yesterday on an 11 hour sector I was only in the cruise for 6 hours. That is 2 hours to cover take off/climb/descent/landing and 3 hours in flight rest (slept like a log
) For the rest of that time I was busy doing what I do best - commanding the worlds largest passenger jet with nearly 350 people on board. Just navigating/communicating took the bulk of that - I did all the IFB calls whilst P2 did ATC and then fielding all the cabin calls (every 30 mins) plus the extra ones, pax not well, crew not well, where are we? etc etc and those 6 hours felt like 2 
But I did manage half the Telegraph crossword.........
I think the word should be tedious. When you are responsible for all those lives and working in an industry where, when things go wrong, you can go from "safe" to "staring death in the face" in a few seconds it's never boring
Even yesterday on an 11 hour sector I was only in the cruise for 6 hours. That is 2 hours to cover take off/climb/descent/landing and 3 hours in flight rest (slept like a log
) For the rest of that time I was busy doing what I do best - commanding the worlds largest passenger jet with nearly 350 people on board. Just navigating/communicating took the bulk of that - I did all the IFB calls whilst P2 did ATC and then fielding all the cabin calls (every 30 mins) plus the extra ones, pax not well, crew not well, where are we? etc etc and those 6 hours felt like 2 But I did manage half the Telegraph crossword.........
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Warships works well on the 320 and 321.
3 lives, choose from a - z, 1 - 25, just like the board game.
Once you have a coordinate, see which c.b. it was and whether it would have shut down a vital system
On the 330 it is iPod and movie on the laptop.
3 lives, choose from a - z, 1 - 25, just like the board game.
Once you have a coordinate, see which c.b. it was and whether it would have shut down a vital system
On the 330 it is iPod and movie on the laptop.
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I found some interesting sleepy pilots videos on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAoqq...elated&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LbF7...elated&search=
Ok, they're probably not exactly long-haul, but I still scary stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAoqq...elated&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LbF7...elated&search=
Ok, they're probably not exactly long-haul, but I still scary stuff!