Hours or Sectors - which is more significant?
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Hours or Sectors - which is more significant?
I was pondering FTLs the other day and the following thought crossed my mind : There seems to be much made of monthly and yearly hourly totals WRT pilot fatigue and all the attendant implications, but, bearing in mind that it is generally accepted that take off and landing are the most critical stages of a flight, would it not make sense to also take into account the number of sectors completed? I know for a fact that for some UK regional TProp operators, 5+ sectors per day are common though the annual hourly totals accrued wouldn't come anywhere near those of our longhaul bretheren.
I am not an expert on FTLs so apologies in advance if this is a daft question or one that has recently been asked.
I look fwd to your comments. Cheers, Sid
I am not an expert on FTLs so apologies in advance if this is a daft question or one that has recently been asked.
I look fwd to your comments. Cheers, Sid
Join Date: Jun 2004
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Speaking as one who lives a mix of long (15-16 hours) and short (25 mins) sectors, I am of the opinion that a "high sector" day is much more tiring than a single long sector.
There's a reasonable "adrenalin factor" for me in operating 4 X 25 minute sectors (Singapore - Kuala Lumpur) in a day, which keeps up the level of alertness. Oddly, on the other side of the coin, a Singapore Amsterdam / Manchester is not so fatiguing because of relief crew, and the mental approach of settling in for the long haul. What I do find fatiguing is a medium length day return (i.e. 2 sectors) of 3.5 to 4 hours each way, such as Singapore - Manila / Hong Kong, particularly if it's 'back of the clock'.
That's just a subjective report, the way that it affects me. But then, it's all legal isn't it?, so I must be just imagining it!
Regards,
Old Smokey
There's a reasonable "adrenalin factor" for me in operating 4 X 25 minute sectors (Singapore - Kuala Lumpur) in a day, which keeps up the level of alertness. Oddly, on the other side of the coin, a Singapore Amsterdam / Manchester is not so fatiguing because of relief crew, and the mental approach of settling in for the long haul. What I do find fatiguing is a medium length day return (i.e. 2 sectors) of 3.5 to 4 hours each way, such as Singapore - Manila / Hong Kong, particularly if it's 'back of the clock'.
That's just a subjective report, the way that it affects me. But then, it's all legal isn't it?, so I must be just imagining it!
Regards,
Old Smokey
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UK FTLs (based on CAP 371) do take into account the number of sectors being operated, as well as the time of day of start and finish, etc. I would imagine they all do, in other countries too.
