Frequently Asked Questions - Email Collections 7

1.  How does the interior of a Boeing 777-200 Cabin looks like?
2.  Do pilots and air traffic controllers of different Nationalities have problems in the air?
3.  Queries of an aspiring pilot with slight color deficiency in the eyes.
4.  Where is the quietest part of the Boeing 777 Cabin in the Economy Class?
5.  Do you need 100 % power for the take off in a Boeing 777?
6.  What are the precautions taken by pilots and passengers when an engine fails? 
7.  Flying in turbulence over Bay of Bengal.
8.  Is the Boeing 777 more powerful than the Boeing 747?
9.  Many queries from a Microsoft Flight Simulator pilot traveling to Jamaica.

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1.  How does the interior of a Boeing 777-200 Cabin looks like?

Hello,

What does the inside of the Boeing 777 looks like? We will be flying on one and I would
like to see some photos of the seating.

Eeyorelover

Hi,

Kindly check it out in my B777 Images page and click on Interior and Exterior Photos of Boeing 777

Capt Kay

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2.  Do pilots and air traffic controllers of different Nationalities have problems in the air?

Dear Capt Kay,

I have one interesting question.

The English accent of the Chinese, European, American, French and African is very different.
So when an American pilot talks to a Chinese air traffic controller, how do they understand and cope with each other? 

Is there a standard phraseology which everybody follow, where irrespective of
your language and accent they can communicate very well?

Please let me know.

Warm regards

Srihari J

Hi Srihari,

It is not a major problem concerning the different accent of the various  people whose mother tongue is not English, communicating with each other.  All pilots and air traffic controllers have to pass a R/T (Radio/Telephony) Examination in English before they are allowed to even talk to each other. As you rightly noted, the English accent of the Chinese, European, American, French and African is very different and it can be problematic sometimes.   This can result in miscommunication and that is a flight safety hazard!  My simple rule of thumb is, if in doubt, get the Air Traffic Controllers to repeat!

In my experience, I find some American pilots speak rather fast. Furthermore, they have difficulty understanding the Chinese Air Traffic Controllers because of accent and language problems.  To overcome these anomalies, pilots and controllers are supposed to stick strictly to standardized R/T phraseology.  Where there is a misunderstanding, the onus is on the pilots to request that the instructions be repeated.   To confirm that an instruction given by the Air Traffic Controller is understood, the controllers will request the pilots to read back the instructions.  So, if these procedures are adhered to, then there will be no problems arising.

However, there are times when these procedures are overlooked and consequently they end up in near-misses.  Fortunately, radar monitoring and the TCAS (Traffic Collision and Avoidance System) have saved the days for many near-misses due to miscommunication!

So there is a Standard R/T Phraseology Manual for all pilots and controllers to follow irrespective of what Nationalities they come from.  It is the accent of the individual pilots and controllers that is hard to overcome sometimes! 

So, my motto is, if in doubt, please repeat!

Regards,

Capt Kay.

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3.  Queries of an aspiring pilot with slight color deficiency in the eyes.

Dear Capt Kay,

My name is Kit and I live in Malaysia. I have come across your Site during some research and I must say you have done a great job with your Website. I am 24 years old and have worked for 2 years. I am now planning on pursuing a flying career. Your site has given me encouragement  and though there are few niggling problems to iron out, I hope you could give me a few pointers about it.

Firstly, how wise is paying  approximately RM$100,000.00 to study for a CPL/ATPL in Australia if I can't get through the Cadet Pilot schemes of Singapore Airlines or Malaysia Airlines?

Secondly, what are  the options for me to pursue in order to obtain the necessary Licenses to join the Airlines?

Thirdly, are the future job prospects and pay/remuneration as a pilot good?  I need to convince my parents that I am not wasting their money.

Thanks for taking the time to read this mail.

I appreciate your comments and help.

Kit

Hi Kit,

If you have the basic qualifications and have an ambition to be a pilot, by all means, go ahead and make flying a career.  Australia is a good place to acquire a CPL/ATPL, but for a similar amount, you can also get the same qualification locally.  RM$100,000.00 will only get you less than two years of overseas education for an University basic degree. So if you are dead serious, it would be worth the while to spend the money on flying.  But I would like to remind you that the demand for pilots fluctuates with the economy.  In bad times, you may have to wait for a while before you can be employed if you are not sponsored by an Airline.

The second option is to be involved in general aviation by joining a Flying Club and work your way up.  It would be a very long process.  Read a similar FAQ of mine which touch on this topic somewhere in this Site. Alternatively, join the Air Force and get free pilot training.   When your contract expires, you can apply to join the Airlines when there is a shortage of pilots.  You must have your Flying Licenses and you can do them on your own. Your flying hours in the Air Force are generally recognized by the Civil Aviation Authorities.

The remuneration of a pilot is good and job prospect is uncertain at the moment in the short term.  But there will always be a need for the pilot profession.  You would certainly recover all the money spent on the training in the end!

Pursue your dreams!

Regards,

KH Lim.

Dear Capt Kay,

Thanks for the in-depth overview of being a pilot. Regarding the spending of RM$100,000.00 to study it in Australia, I have checked that taking an ATPL locally would cost about RM150,000.00. Would spending the similar amount of money in Australia provide for better quality of flying training? (Since they are renowned for aviation safety).

So even if  I don't get into a major Airline, would working as a pilot in any other Aviation Companies be as lucrative? How much is the pay of an instructor or a corporate pilot? 

My final problem is that I have a slight color deficiency and I have gone to see a specialist. I have just taken a Farnsworth100 Hue Test yesterday and I am still waiting for the results.
The doctor told me that he would advise against pursuing a career as a pilot, based on
the fact that an Airline could hire someone without a deficiency, so why hire me? What I would like to know is, being color deficient hinder the job of a pilot?

Has there been any accidents caused by a color deficient pilot? Some pilots today are color
deficient without even knowing that they have and still fly pretty well. Am I right? 

Please advise me on this.

Thank you Capt Kay.  

Kit

Hi Kit,

Doing your flying training in Australia is also a good choice.

Pay for instructor or a corporate pilot can vary so much that I can't quote you any figures.

If you are color blind, then you may not pass the medical test for pilot training. As you know, the medical examination for Airline entry is quite stringent as compared to other profession and recognition of colors is important in the air. 

I am not sure as to whether any accidents have been caused by a color deficient pilot because he would have been screened out in an aircrew medical examination anyway.

Regards,

Capt Kay

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4.   Where is the quietest seat in a Boeing 777 passenger Cabin?

Hello,

Where would one sit in Economy Class to experience the least amount of engine noise, or noise in general, in the Boeing 777?

Thanks

Aaron

Hi Aaron,

Generally, the least amount of engine noise is nearest to the front of the airplane. Now you know why the First Class and Business Class seats are at the front!  It gets progressively nosier towards the Economy Class.   I would say the difference in noise level throughout the Economy is very negligible except that at the front bulkhead of the Economy class, you may get babies crying because it has provision for installing of baby cots!

Have a pleasant flight on your next experience on the Boeing 777!

 Regards,

 Capt Kay

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5.  Do you need 100 % power for the take off in a Boeing 777?

Hi,

I have read your website with great interest, as I am about to take my first long-haul flight (well long for me!) from London to Dallas.  It has answered many many questions and anxieties I had, so thank you. 

One thing is puzzling me though - I am sure I have read on your website that one of the riskiest time is during take-off, when the engines are at 100% full throttle.  They are under the greatest stress, so why can't they operate the engines at a slightly lower rate, 85% or something? 

Do they need 100% engine power to take-off? I never drive my car through the gears, hitting the red line on the rev counter all the time! If modern engines are more powerful why can't they reduce the power and still take off? 

I guess this might all come down to economics. Not sure if I am explaining myself well. I will try this, powerful engine, big plane, requires 100% power from engines to take off. Same powerful engines as used in big plane but now in a smaller plane and only takes, say 85% power from engines, giving you are 15% margin and more reliability.

My late father worked in the aircraft industry for many years, he designed the under carriage for the now very old BAC111. That's the problem with being an engineer, you've just got loads of questions!!

Many thanks

Mike.

Hi Mike,

Curiosity is what makes a man thinks and ask questions! Your questions are perfectly natural from one whose father had worked on airplanes.

I agree with you that operating on full power put the engines on greatest stress, but remember, the take off is the most critical part of a flight. So you need all the power to lift off the airplane safely at a particular designed maximum weight.  

But most of the times, the airplane may not be at its maximum take off weight and so, on a Boeing 777-200 IGW (Increased Gross Weight), there are six power settings for take offs, depending on its weight and the ambient temperature.  These different power settings are precisely established to save the wear and tear of the engines. If the airplane is light with half a load of passengers on a cold day, the pilot would not use maximum power but opt for a lower take off setting.

When I referred to 100 % full thrust settings, I was describing a take off at its maximum designed take off weight.  However, these power settings are progressively reduced when the airplane is safely airborne by a further 15 to 20 % as it reached the cruising level.   So it is never at 100 % all the time as you would have assumed!

Have a pleasant flight from London to Dallas!

Regards,

Capt Kay.

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6.  What are the precautions taken by pilots and passengers when an engine fails?  

Dear Sir,

Q1.   What are all the precautions taken by the pilots and passengers during engine out condition ? ( I mean the aircraft is in cruise and suddenly one engine fails! )

Q2.   What are the differences in performance between a two engine and a four engine aircraft ?

Thanks and regards,

Raghavendra

Hi Rag,

1.   If you have read my Page on 'How safe is Flying?', you would have noted that most engine failures occur during the take off and climb phase of a particular flight.  This is because the engines are at it maximum or near maximum power settings.  Single engine failure during the cruise is very rare indeed.  If that ever happen, pilots are very well trained to handle this emergency.  In fact, a pilot is tested every 6 months on an engine out drill without fail.  There is a standard procedure for the pilots to carry out and I would not bore you with the details unless you are a Boeing 777 pilot.  Suffice to say, during an engine failure, an audio (during take off) and visual warning would be issued by the airplane.   Due to the asymmetric force caused by an engine failure, the yaw or the veering direction of the nose would be controlled by the autopilot automatically.  So the passengers would not really feel it.  

Depending at which point an engine failure occurs, the pilot would either continue to its destination or return to the nearest suitable airport.   If you have read my topic on ETOPS (extended twin engine operations), you would notice that the Boeing 777 is capable of flying up to about 3 hours or about 1200 miles on one engine.  So having an engine failure is not as critical as what one might think.

Will passengers know when an engine fails on the airplane?   Some frequent air travelers may detect it, whilst others may not even realize it until the Captain comes on the air and inform the passengers about it.  What should the passengers do?  Nothing really, except to heed the announcement by the  In-Flight-Supervisor to be securely fastened during the landing, or any further announcements if he wishes the passengers to know.  A single engine landing is just like a normal twin engine landing, except that it lands at a slightly higher speed that you may not be aware of.

2.   Differences in performance between 2 and 4-engines aircraft - A Boeing 777 has two powerful jet engines and carries about 300 passengers whereas a BAE 146 has four less powerful jet engines and carries about 80-100 passengers. So I cannot make any comparison in their performance unless you specify the aircraft types.

Regards,

Capt Kay.

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7.  Flying in turbulence over Bay of Bengal.

Hello,

I flew a little while ago to Melbourne from Europe. I am very petrified of flying now, mainly because of the severity of the turbulence. I know that there is nothing really a pilot can do about it. But, the pilot announced there would be a little bit of turbulence, not the stuff that would cause the aircraft to feel like it is descending 1000 feet. Also, at the time there was no fasten seat belt sign on. What is up with that when he stated there will  be turbulence?

Ok, I understand there is something called human error but why would such a case happen? This, as might be expected, was over the Bay of Bengal where there are many clouds that caused turbulence. Though September 11th has not changed my view on flying, that certainly did. I am aware that the airframe is capable of with standing quite a lot of turbulence.

Regards

David.

Hi David,

I appreciate your apprehension about turbulences.  Nowadays, I always make
it a point to switch on the "Fasten Seat Belt" signs whenever I suspect that some turbulences are expected because I do get a lot of feedbacks from passengers on the fear of the slightest turbulence.  I cannot understand why the pilot on your flight did not switch on the "Fasten Seat Belts" signs when there were turbulences. Perhaps, he anticipated it was only a light turbulence and of a short duration.  

Whenever I fly, I make it a point in my announcement to inform all passengers to have their seat belt on whenever they are seated even though the "Fasten Seat Belt" signs are off.   This is to preclude any unforeseen turbulences, especially CATS or clear air turbulence from rocking the airplane without warning!

Regards,

Capt Kay

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8.  Is the Boeing 777 more powerful than the Boeing 747?

Hi,

I was just looking at your Boeing 777 Website - it is very informative. I have flown on this aircraft twice on United Airlines in 2001. I noticed that the acceleration on take off and the climb rate was remarkable for the size and weight of the aircraft. If the B747 is a Ford then the Boeing 777 is a Porsche! 

Is this true or just my perception? I guess if it is, it must be due to the massive engines. Do you notice a difference between an RR, GE or PW powered aircraft? Can you feel the difference when you fly? Which do you prefer?

Is there any difference in reliability/safety/economy of the different engine models? If you have a choice, which would you choose, based on all these factors?

I was just interested. Hope you have many safe and enjoyable flights!

Howard Shaw,
Teacher, England

Hi Howard,

The Boeing 777 has two very powerful engines (90,300 pounds of thrust on each of the Rolls Royce Trent 892 engines). On a light load, it appears to shoots off like a missile!   Okay, it may be your perception but to a certain extent, it may be true. A Boeing 747 is slightly bigger than a Boeing 777 and so the rate of acceleration may not be so apparent. A Boeing 747 cruises at Mach .86 (86 % speed of sound) whereas a Boeing 777 cruises at Mach .84 at high level.  

I have only flown on Boeing 777 fitted with Rolls Royce engines and I have yet to make a comparison whether there are much differences between the RR, GE or PW engines.   If there are any, it would be slight provided they are of similar thrust rating.

Choosing which engines to fit on the Boeing 777 are policy decisions made by the Management at the top.  To me, the differences in reliability/safety/economy are not that significant and I do not mind flying a Boeing 777 fitted with any of these engines. Ultimately, they all still cruise at the same speed!

Regards,

Capt Kay

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9.  Many queries from a Microsoft Flight Simulator pilot traveling to Jamaica.

Hi Captain,
 
Thanks for a very interesting Website. Recently, I spent a nice weekend in Jamaica, and we flew into the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. When I took a look at the Airport in the MS flight simulator, I noticed that this airport seems to lack ILS equipment. Up to now, I thought that landing of large commercial aircraft (we came in with an A300) requires ILS by regulations, but obviously not :-)
 
This made me a bit curious about landing without ILS. Here are some questions:-:

1. Is it true that Airports with usually good flying weather, refrain from investing in ILS equipment? What is the cost of installing an ILS equipment?
2. How common are Airports used for larger commercial Airliners, lack ILS equipment?
3. How does weather conditions affect Airports, with and without ILS? 
4. Are VOR equipment important for Airports where visibility normally is good, given that the pilots get altitudes and vectors from the ATC?  Is it possible to make fully visual landings in good cloud and visibility conditions on large aircraft?
5. How important are VASI/PAPI lights  for real life pilots with or  without ILS?
At what altitude does the aircraft enter the glide path (I assume that one must be quite close to runway to see the VASI/PAPI  lights even in good weather conditions)?
6. Obviously, landings of large aircraft in darkness without ILS are straightforward since I noticed many landings during the very dark evenings in Montego Bay. What are the main tools to the pilots to make a successful landing under these circumstances?
7. I also noted from the Flight Simulator that there is an NDB beacon at the Montego Bay Airport. Is NBD commonly used today for commercial aircraft and  what are their main purposes?
8. What are the typical cloud base and visibility requirements for landing with and without ILS?
9. Is the nose wheel controlled by the rudder pedals on all types of aircraft? When the speed is high just before rotation, even a small correction for the nose wheel direction  would have a very large impact on the direction of the aircraft. Is the nose wheel controlled by computer or latched in some way during acceleration so that the pilot does not  have to make corrections with their feet?

Would highly appreciate any answers,
 
Best regards,

Dan Tillberg
Stockholm, Sweden.
Brooklyn, New York.

Hi Dan,
 
The following are the answers to your FAQs:-
 
1.   Whether landing of large commercial aircraft require an ILS (Instrument Landing System) by regulations? What is the cost of an ILS equipment?

It is not a requirement that an Airport must be equipped with an ILS before any large commercial aircraft can land.  If a particular Airline concerned feels it is commercially profitable to proceed to an airport without an ILS, they would do so.  Most pilots would prefer to land with the aid of an ILS because it is safer and easier to fly with this system.
 
It is not true that an Airport will not invest in an ILS because the weather prevailing in that area is always good.   The main reason is financial.  It is cheaper to equip the Airport with other less precise landing aids like the VORs or ADFs.
 
I am sorry I do not know the cost of installing an ILS equipment.  I believe it is quite expensive for a small Airport when compared to the other less accurate navigational aids.

2.  How common is it that airports used for larger commercial traffic airliners lack ILS?
 
 It is not very common for large Airports not to have ILS if they want to have more large commercial airplanes to land there.  Airports with deficient landing aids are often blacklisted.  So if the Airport wants to attract more tourists coming in big numbers, then they have to upgrade their landing facilities.
 
3. How sensitive are airports on weather conditions with and without ILS. (I know this is a bit non-stringent question, but it could be interesting to hear some aspects on this, at least in qualitative terms)?
 
I am not very clear as to what you meant by ‘sensitive’ in reference to Airports caused by weather.   Do you mean that the reputation of a particular Airport would be affected if it were not equipped with an ILS for bad weather landing?  As I have mentioned above, an Airport with poor landing aids (without an ILS at least) would be blacklisted as ‘unsafe’ in certain circumstances.  That would be ‘sensitive’ and ruin its reputation.  I hope that is answer you are looking for.
 
4. Would you consider the VOR equipment important for such an airport where visibility normally is great and given that the pilots get altitudes and vectors from the ATC? Or another way to put it: is it possible to make totally visual landings in nice cloud and visibility conditions with large aircraft?
 
A VOR is classified as a non-precision landing aid.   That is self-explanatory.  It is not an accurate landing aid in any bad weather situation and there are many cases of air accidents attributed to using this airfield approach aid.  In good weather and great visibility, you don’t really need it as a landing aid at all.   ATC do not provide you with altitudes and vectors in VOR approaches unless you are controlled by radar as well.
 
Of course, it is possible to make a full visual landing on a large commercial aircraft when the weather is excellent.
 
5. How important are VASI/PAPI lights (whichever exist at Montego Bay Airport - I did not see any from outside the Airport) for real life pilots with and without ILS? On what altitude is the aircraft entering the glide path  (I assume that one must be quite close to runway to see the VASI/PAPI lights even in good conditions)?

What is the difference between VASI and PAPI and which is the most common in "commercial" airports?
 
VASI/PAPI Lights (Visual Approach Slope Indicator/Precision Approach Path Indicator) are very useful for visual approaches. On a good day with very good visibility, you can see them from quite far.  A normal glide slope is normally fixed at 3 degrees.   As a rule of thumb, if you want to know when you will enter a glide path, just multiply your distance from the Runway by 300.  If you are 10 miles from the Runway, you should be exactly 3000 feet and if 4 miles away, you should be 1200 feet. 

VASI and PAPI are almost similar in providing glide path guidance to a pilot for visual landing.   The interpretation of the warning lights as to whether an airplane is above or below the glide path is slightly different.  Both of them are commonly used in most commercial airports.

 
6. Obviously, landings of large aircraft in darkness without ILS are straightforward since I noticed many landings on Montego Bay Airport during the very dark evenings. What are the main tools to the pilots to make a successful landing under these circumstances?
 
It is not correct to say that landing large aircraft in darkness without ILS is straightforward.  Without an ILS, VASI and PAPI become extremely useful for maintaining the correct 3 degrees glide path.  If you have very strong cross winds, the VASI/PAPI gives you the glide path control, but it does not give much guidance to ensure that you are on the centerline.  So a pilot has to work harder to apply the drift to maintain the centerline whereas an ILS does both.  So for visual landings at night, VASI/PAPI are the main guidance to the pilots for making a successful landing.
 
7. I also noted from the Flight Simulator that there seems to exist an NDB beacon at Montego Bay Airport. Is NDB commonly used today for commercial aircraft and what are the main purposes for it?
 
NDB (Non-directional Radio Beacon) is getting obsolete as an airfield navigational aid today because it suffers from many errors.  Thunderstorms, rain, lightning’s, locations, time of the day are some of the factors that affect its accuracy.  It is classified as a non-precision radio aid.   However, NDB’s are sometimes still used as a marker at some Airports for crosschecking altitudes at certain position but rarely used as an airfield approach aid for commercial aircraft.
 
8. What are the typical cloud base and visibility requirements for landing with and without ILS?
 
The ILS has at least 5 Categories with varying visibility and cloud base. They are as follows:-
 
Cat 1    Cloud Base -   200 feet above ground level Minimum visibility – 550 meters
Cat 2    Cloud Base -  100 feet above ground level  Minimum visibility – 350 meters
Cat 3A Cloud Base -    50 feet  above ground level  Minimum visibility – 250 meters
Cat 3B Cloud Base -     20 feet above ground level  Minimum visibility – 100 meters
Cat 3C Zero visibility.
 
Without ILS, the cloud base and visibility will depend on the aids used.  If they are VORS or NDBs, their values, depending on the airport, are much higher.
 
9.  Am I correct to say that the nose wheel is controlled with the rudder pedals on all types of aircraft? When the speed is high just before rotation, even a small correction for the nose wheel direction, I guess, would have very large impact on the direction of the aircraft. Is the nose wheel computer controlled or latched in some way during acceleration so that the pilot does not have to make corrections with their feet?

Do not know about a separate "nose wheel steering"?  Is it a knob of some kind? Where is it located in the cockpit?
    
During acceleration in the later phase - is the nose wheel without servo control and just aligns itself with the direction of aircraft? (otherwise I would guess that a slightly misaligned wheel would try to pull the aircraft in one direction while the rudder keeps it on track?)
 
It is not totally correct to say that the nose wheel is controlled with the rudder pedals on all type of aircraft.  On the Boeing 777, the rudder pedals can maneuver the first 7 degrees of directional control on either side.   Thereafter, to turn the aircraft on the ground the pilot would use the nose wheel steering.  For take off, the nose wheel is only used at low speed (below 30 knots) and at higher speed, directional control is achieved by the rudder pedals (which actually control directional movement by the forward airflow rather than by nose wheel contact with the Runway).  So the pilot still needs to make corrections with their feet at high speed but he refrain from using the nose wheel steering because it is very sensitive at higher speed.

You are right.   The nose wheel steering has a knob attached to a lever on the left side of the Captain, or right side of a Co-pilot to enable them to steer the wheels just like a steering wheel in a car.  

During acceleration, as I have mentioned, at above 30 knots, the pilot is advised not touch the nose wheel steering knob because it becomes very sensitive.  It aligns itself automatically in a neutral position, which is the direction of the aircraft. (Okay, you seem to understand the difference in nose wheel steering and rudder pedal control from the remarks that you stated!) Using nose wheel steering and rudder pedals are incompatible as you would have imagined!
 
Regards,
 
Capt Kay

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Is this information sufficient for your knowledge?