Flying The Big Jets (4th Edition)

Introduction

A myriad of books have been written on the subject of flying, from tales of the early attempts, right through the ages of flight, to space travel and science fiction fantasy. The two world wars inspired the pens of many a fine aviator, and instruction books abound on the principles of flight. Novels have been published on everything from airship disasters to Concorde dramas, the airline pilot's story has been told, and much has been printed on the airline world. So why another book on flying? Quite simply, because it is needed! The demands of an inquisitive public have now outstripped the material available, and the information presented in this book is designed to fill the gap. 'What is it really like to fly the big jets?' is a question that almost everyone seems to ask, and the one that this book hopes to answer.

A great many people have now flown, and those who haven't have seen enough on television or in the cinema to know a little of the airline world. They've a fairly good idea of what's involved for the passengers in going from, say, Paris to New York, and it takes only a little more information to fill in the basic procedures for the crew.

The crew arrives about one hour before departure, checks the paperwork and the weather, and the captain makes a decision on the quantity of fuel required. The aircraft is then boarded and the pre-flight checks commenced. After the checks are completed, the passengers boarded, and the departure procedures studied, the engines are started. In radio contact with various controllers, and under their instructions, the aircraft taxies out, takes off and sets course for its destination.

En route, the aircraft is guided along a predetermined track, passing from one radio control centre to another as the flight progresses. Approaching the destination, the arrival procedures are studied and, once again in liaison with a series of controllers, the aircraft starts the descent, completes the approach, let-down and the landing phases of the flight, and taxies to the terminal building. The engines are then shut down, and the final checks completed. After a long flight, the crew will go off duty, but after a short journey they may well be going on to another destination, so the pre-flight checks are begun once again and the whole procedure repeated.

That, of course, is all very simplified, but it covers loosely the basic procedures in flying an aircraft from A to B, and perhaps on to C. However, what on the surface appears to be a fairly straightforward procedure is in fact a complex operation. The flight crew require a great deal of training, knowledge, and skill to perform their tasks safely in what is potentially a hostile environment, notoriously unforgiving of error. Although most flights are routine, with so many lives at stake alertness and vigilance become second nature, and Murphy's Law probably applies more to the flying of aircraft than to any other task.

Murphy's Law states that: (1) nothing is as easy as it looks; (2) everything always takes longer than expected; (3) if anything can go wrong, it will - and at the worst possible moment.

That so few incidents do occur is due in no small measure to the respect afforded to Rule 3 by everyone concerned in aviation.

In the last few years much interest has been generated about the world of big jets, and today the air travelling public is more than ever aware of its surroundings. The little information gained from a flight, or from watching aircraft at an airport or on film, is enough to whet the appetites of most for further knowledge. And what people want to know are the facts. They want to know the basic details of the flight. Any airline pilot knows the problems of being bombarded with questions in non-flying company once his occupation has been discovered. How often are the tyres changed? Does a pilot fly the same route all the time? Does he fly more than one aircraft type? Does he watch all the instruments at the same time? And a thousand similar questions.

To some, the airline world is filled with magic and mystery where even the laws of nature are defied, and for a few the flying environment distorts imagination and confuses even alert minds. It is not unusual for crews boarding the first stage of a long flight, say from Europe to Australia, to receive parting comments from passengers that they'll see them again when they deplane in Sydney some twenty-four hours later! The passengers may complete the journey on the same aircraft but the crew will most certainly deplane for a rest at an intermediate stop.

To be fair, however, the subject of flight holds many traps for the unwary, because much is unexpected and the obvious often quite incorrect. Take one look at the Puffin bird with its over-large beak and odd-shaped body and two facts become readily apparent - walking is achieved only with the greatest of difficulty and flying is impossible. No one, of course, told the Puffin bird! Ungainly in the air as it might be, the Puffin most certainly does fly. Aircraft, however, although extremely complicated, are pieces of mechanical and electrical equipment, just like a sewing machine or a locomotive, and need to be looked after, oiled and maintained in exactly the same way. All airlines, for example, instead of using new tyres to replace old ones, use retreads wherever possible, just like on the family car; a fact that seems to amaze everyone who hears it! The big jets also have quite recognisable windscreen wipers and washers! Crews too, in general are fairly ordinary, straightforward people, doing a job of work just like anyone else, with many of the same interests, but with, perhaps, a few specialised problems of their own. It has not been unknown for a pilot suffering from, say, a sprained ankle, to be told at a hospital casualty department that he'll be back to work in no time, the staff little realising that the rudder, one of the basic flying surfaces, is controlled by pedals, and the brakes operated by pressure from the toes. Even a slight loss of strength or movement in a foot could prove disastrous! With misunderstanding of this nature it's not surprising that most airlines employ their own specialised medical personnel.

Within these pages as many questions as possible have been answered, and much information has been added on the training, knowledge and skills of pilots, together with facts and figures to enlighten and amuse the reader. Flying the Big Jets doesn't attempt to tell a story, but merely presents the information that people want to know in a plain and simple manner. Although much of the material is of a technical nature the book is not a technical manual but an elementary introduction to airline flying written specifically for the layman with an interest in the big jets. Explanations are given so as to be understood by all with a very basic understanding of the sciences, with drawings and photographs being added where required.

The book has been written 'through the eyes of a pilot', and in 'The Facts' much detail is given to prepare the reader for the 'pilot's seat' on an imaginary trip in 'The Flight'. Since the range of general aviation material is large, much has been omitted in concentrating on the big jets, but care has been taken not to treat important subjects lightly. In understanding the big jets a certain basic aviation knowledge is required, but the reader is taken from the basics to the big jets in one easy leap. In a book of this nature some subject overlap is inevitable, as flight itself is the result of so many different interrelated factors, but repetition of detail has been kept to a minimum. Where required, references have been included in brackets when cross-referring to information in other sections.

Aviation language is full of abbreviations to which it is necessary to introduce the reader; for example ND, PFD, EICAS and so on. Extensive use of unfamiliar abbreviations is tiresome, however, and has been avoided where possible. To prevent confusion and aid the reader's memory, fully expanded terms, with abbreviations in brackets, have been repeated at regular intervals, e.g. primary flight display (PFD). A list of abbreviations is also included at the end of the book.

It is hoped that this book will meet at least some of the demands of those seeking further information, but, of course, it will not satisfy all. To begin with, airline pilots fly mostly only one aircraft type, for example the Boeing 777, since the complexities of modern aeroplanes make it difficult for crews to fly more than one type at a time. Airliners vary greatly in construction and size, and what would be normal practice on one could be potentially dangerous on another. Also, pilots tend to be divided between long haul on worldwide routes, and short haul on continental flights, and what is true for one group may not be true for the other. Airlines, too, sometimes operate quite differently from their competitors, even when flying the same type of aircraft on the same routes.

Now the Boeing 777 is flying and a new big 'twin' is gracing the skies of the world, a fourth edition of this book is published to present the facts. The 777 is the largest twin-engined aircraft ever built with the 777-300 being the fastest of the widebody twins. The 777-300X is also the longest airliner ever made with a wingspan the same as the Boeing 747-400. The 777 is Boeing's first fly-by-wire airliner and the latest engines of the 300X develop a total thrust not far short of the thrust produced by the four engines of the 747-400. It is a very impressive flying machine.

The facts and figures presented in the book are derived mainly from the Boeing big jets and their operating procedures flying...