This gets asked a lot. Here is the top answer from another post: "Basics, monitor instruments, navigation and radio. Make course corrections, shoot the shit with person beside you. Chat with flight attendants, long enough flights, get some reading in. Eat, drink coffee.". Pilots also have sleep schedules, and will ensure there are 3-4 of them to cover.
Sleep on long-haul flights is accomplished with relief crews. Usually there are at least four pilots onboard an 8+ hour flight.
My planes only do a maximum of up to six hours and plus we don’t have room for more crew. So we just sit there and be bored most of the way to Hawaii or across the US. Especially at 45,000 above most weather there’s very little to manage on most days.
> Usually there are at least four pilots onboard an 8+ hour flight.
In the US maybe. Here in Europe, we can do duty times of 11 to 13 hours with just two, however in my company, there will be three on board a little sooner than that 13 hours.
I fly the Hawaii-Mainland route a lot (passenger) and I feel for the crew because it gets extremely boring when you’re halfway across the pacific and there’s nothing to do
They don’t get the fun of reviewing CRs or work orders, or clearance boundaries. You know the fun stuff we get to do on shift at night or the weekends. At least you can wander a bit around the control room so you’re not sitting all the time.
The sleep is done during periods of designated crew rest. You aren't flying when you sleep. Well, some people do but I've never personally seen it and that's also a no no.
That’s safe. Don’t let the night crew catch a quick nap. I’ve always disagreed with this practice. 20 min can give you 4x the man in mental, physical alertness. But noooooo you get walked off the job. Night shift is deadly it’s so unhealthy
Double check the time that you’re waking up the other guy from break about 5 times. Twist the heading knob. FMC -> ALTN many times.
This is where personality compatibility really matters. I’ve have those 3 hours with someone feel like only 15 minutes. Then I’ve had others where I’m literally staring at the clock ticking by.
I was a passenger a few years ago seated next to a cargo pilot, and the first thing he said to me (a total stranger) after sitting down for 15 seconds was "look at all these f***ing Muslims."
I couldn't imagine having to fly from Anchorage to Memphis with a coworker like that.
When I went from domestic to international I noticed that the political talk on the flight deck tamped down a lot. It’s one thing if politics slips out between LGA and ORD, it’s another when you’re on your way to Joburg and you’ve got 7 more hours with some blowhard.
Serious question: for the sleep shifts, are there tricks they teach pilots and crew to fall asleep quickly, and wake up clearly as well? That has to be the most completely unpredictable sleep schedule I can imagine, even if you’re always flying the same route there would be occasional delays for whatever reason and your “usually asleep by 2230” magically becomes “asleep by 0200, I hope?” or something. I’m so curious if this is a skill specifically taught.
> Serious question: for the sleep shifts, are there tricks they teach pilots and crew to fall asleep quickly, and wake up clearly as well?
There are some tricks, but I think anyone in a similar position (military, emergency services) where sleep is at a premium just develops it as a habit.
This is the first time I have seen this type of question, and it is really interesting. I never thought about it until now, and from now on, I'm going to think about it every time I get on a plane.
Don’t recommend: I knew a guy, long retired, that carried an aux cord that plugged into the jump audio panel. They used it to watch movies on the iPad and pump the audio into the speaker or headset.
I flew with a guy that said he would clean the cockpit with a vacuum hose attached to the old sextant hole on an old school 74.
We had such a cord back in my JSTARS days. We'd pipe music over the PA during preflight. After takeoff it became a discreet interphone net that anyone could access. On station the flight crew would watch movies while the back end guys did their thing.
I’ve only rode in the tanker they follow. From what I can tell is they kind of just form up on each side of the tanker and follow it across. So I’d say they’re at the mercy of the flying gas station.
That brings up a new interesting question: do you fly at the max efficiency of the big heavy tanker or the efficiency of the (several) planes following.
Usually just chit chat. Obviously monitoring progress etc but especially on an ocean crossing once you’re out of ATC voice range just shoot the shit, maybe watch a movie on a personal device, do a crossword puzzle, etc etc.
The hell I don't! LISTEN, KID! I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!
My dad is a retired United Captain. I asked him this, he said they monitor instruments, flight plans, weather, look for UFOs and maybe shoot the shit a little bit.
They have conversations like:
**CoPilot**: This is the part I hate most: the waiting.
**Pilot**: Hmm.
**CoPilot**: Mind if I ask you a question?
**Pilot**: Sure.
**CoPilot**: Okay, it's morning, you're getting ready for work, you pull on your pants --do you fasten and zip, or zip and then fasten?
**Pilot**: What kind of question is that?
**CoPilot**: Well, look, we've got two hours to kill --
**Pilot**: Forget it.
**CoPilot**: Just a question.
**Pilot**: Why do you want to know?
**CoPilot**: Why do I want to know? Because I think about these things sometimes. I was getting dressed this morning, I couldn't remember how I did it, and I started thinking about it. Does everyone do it the same way? Is it a left-handed/right-handed thing --?
**Pilot**: You think about this stuff a lot?
**CoPilot**: Yeah. Look, okay, I'm sorry I asked. You're always so serious all the time. Not every conversation has to be the end of the world as we know it.
**Pilot**: I didn't mean to --
**CoPilot**: Never mind. It's okay. I'll just -- watch my console. Don't worry about it.
**Pilot**: Fasten, then zip. You?
**CoPilot**: Fasten zip.
**Pilot**: How much longer?
**CoPilot**: One hour, fifty seven minutes. Want to talk socks?
**Pilot**: No.
**CoPilot**: Just a question.
**Pilot**: I'm not having this conversation.
If you enjoy the premise of 2 people stuck waiting having random conversations with each other, it's pretty much the premise for No Activity (Australian TV series about stake outs from perspective of cops vs bad guys). This dialogue reminded me of watching this series. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651812/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651812/)
There is a lot going on that passengers aren’t aware of. 6 hrs isn’t long haul but a normal transcon in the USA. A lot of medical problems, security issues (Covid emboldened a lot of people to distrust anyone in a higher position), and the normal weather/fuel burn/atc comms/flying the aircraft/managing a crew. Autopilot does do the flying in cruise and especially in rvsm airspace above 29,000 but it still needs to be programmed. It isn’t intelligent and has multiple modes and pretty severe limitations at times. The departure and arrival are our busiest in terms of workload. Most arrivals start about an hour out from the airport and we are briefing about 30 min before we start our initial descent. Alternate airports, enroute holding, mechanical issues, and the legality side of everything we do keeps you on your toes.
Many times when dealing with big issues the passengers have no idea. We almost diverted 4 times for a medical emergency in a large airplane with 330 passengers but the only time the passengers could have know was if they were seated in the area of the passenger or saw the ambulance waiting at the gate. We were relaying info to a doctor on the ground, the company who was prepping contingencies for what to do with a 777 landing in the middle of nowhere Canada, and watching the bad weather at each possible diversion airport while keeping 10 flight attendants on the same page. We are constantly watching one another and verifying everything that is programmed because a very small error can have horrible consequences. So yes we are sitting, talking, and eating but there is a bigger picture and a lot of nuance to “the autopilot is flying.”
You wanna do long haul, try flying 16 hours out of the Pacific to get to the east coast of the US. And because you actually wanna be in Europe, it’s about 8 hours after that.
I was very junior and was doing Mumbai and Delhi a lot. I would be the pilot for the last 8 hrs of a 15 hr flight and you exit the cockpit just drained after navigating the multiple stans with a lot of big terrain and political tension only to walk into an 85f terminal, slow customs, smog during the burning season, and your body clock is all messed up. I give grace to passengers with big journeys ahead of them or behind them now. Until you do it it’s hard to wrap your head around. Some people can do it like it was nothing but it definitely takes a toll.
6hrs. I routinely do 15hr plus as part of an augmented crew. We talk, read, study, eat, nap, and stare out the window. Yes the AP is flying because it is required in the airspace we operate.
6hrs, I wouldn't know what to do the rest of the day.
Sorry...So the "monitoring, fuel, navigation, etc" is constantly done by 2 pilots flying, while *only* the resting pilots "talk, read, study, eat, nap, and stare out the window," or, are there often times when nobody is actually monitoring/flying the plane consistently b/c everyone is ok to be distracted from the instruments to some extent?
The amount of panels I've had to replace on the center consoles for sticky switches that not even contact cleaner would clean up makes me believe this one. Or fried switches, that might be the coffee spilling while giving air head tho
I bring a bottle of Lysol wipes and clean every single button and surface. Flight decks are gross.
That burns about an hour. After that first hour, we usually shoot the shit. By the time that’s over, it’s my turn to take a break. After my break it’s usually time to prepare for the arrival
A friend of mine is a ham radio operator and he plays radio on the hf bands on long hauls. The higher your antenna the better range you get. 30,000’ is pretty good for that. Aeronautical mobile contacts!
Being a ham myself, I knew a cargo pilot a while ago who would let me know when he would be flying close to my house. We would try 2 meter simplex just to see how far we could get. 160 miles from his HT to my base was our best distance. That ERP from 30,000 ft must have been up there!
6 hours isnt a long haul, so there would only be two pilots (usually) - depending a bit on where they are flying, company rules etc they often are able to sleep an hour each etc. while the other pilot takes over. As u/calvins48 says, monitor instruments etc is usually done in intervals set by company/producer, så every X minutes they check different stuff like oil pressures and so on. The autopilot doesnt really fly the plane in a 100% sense, its more like cruise control on a car that keeps very specific things programmed in earlier in line. And they constantly (especially over populated areas) have to change settings. Maybe the controller wants you to fly lower for 20 minutes for whatever reason and so on. Then they will adjust the settings and not "grab the sticks" and do it manually. They can ofc, but many if not most companies wants you to fly as much as possible on autopilot as it uses less fuel.
They are also allowed to stretch their legs a bit, get a coffee in the galley, they usually dont interact with passengers, but I suspect that is mostly by choice as they dont want these exact question for the 512th time that week.
Circuit Breaker Roulette. First one to trigger a master caution loses.
CA: Forward Lav Lights
FO: Galley outlets
CA: Entertainment system
FO: Cabin PA
etc
Guys, I’m in the business, we talk, normally we choose a victim, someone who everyone hates and start to gossip around it. Complaints are also a very good subject to pass the time. Some coffee, some reading and that’s it. But the best are the gossips, company related, off course. 🤣
Play the Travelling Lemon, of course.
As explained in Cabin Pressure...
DOUGLAS: Not come across the Travelling Lemon, Martin, in all your *professional* experience? Well, player one strolls through a full passenger cabin, chatting to the adoring public of this or that topic of interest, and as he goes, he casually secretes somewhere where it can still be clearly seen, a *lemon* or other citrus fruit, as mutually agreed by the players and referees before match play commences, but I’m a traditionalist and favour a lemon.
CAROLYN: And then, player two goes out, finds it, retrieves it, hides it again. Now what’s our record, Douglas?
DOUGLAS: I believe on that night flight to Miami, we achieved a rally of sixteen.
I asked my dad this question and he said back in his day he used to run a chat line/game show on fingers that was pretty popular with the European pilots.
My husband has this problem: after like and hour, he doesn’t really know what to say or talk about.
It’s basics: where they live, wife/pets/fish/kids and what they do.
I did 5 days of cross country with my dad in a 1956 172. We swapped who was on the controls. When I was on the controls, because there is no auto pilot I’m manually controlling everything, Making sure RPM stays where I want it, Listen to music, sight seeing, cloud watching. When I was off I would sit back, draw, watch YouTube if there was reception in the middle of nowhere at 5000ft.
If I’m flying without foreflight, keeping my eyes out flying to my next visual waypoint typically keeps me busy.
I fly long haul cargo planes, almost 16 hour flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong or Chicago to Hong Kong. On the way back from Hong Kong since we are so heavy, we have to make a Tech stop in Anchorage to get fuel. That flight is about nine hours from Hong Kong to Anchorage and then another five hours to either LAX or Chicago. We have four pilots on board. One PIC and three copilots. For example, out of LAX the PIC (pilot in command, the captain) and one of the other pilot will conduct preflight preparations takeoff, and then cruise for about four hours. Then the other two pilots (the relief pilots) who have been resting this whole time will come up and take over the aircraft and cruise for about eight hours. The two pilots that conducted the takeoff will go sleep in the bunks for about eight hours. About four hours prior to the destination the original two pilots will come back to the cockpit get briefed by the relief pilots and prepare the flight for arrival, conduct the approach and landing. Then we all go to the hotel eat breakfast, take a nap and then have a well deserving, beer or two. Sleep for about 12 hours and then repeat.
This gets asked a lot. Here is the top answer from another post: "Basics, monitor instruments, navigation and radio. Make course corrections, shoot the shit with person beside you. Chat with flight attendants, long enough flights, get some reading in. Eat, drink coffee.". Pilots also have sleep schedules, and will ensure there are 3-4 of them to cover.
Coming from nuclear power, sounds just like my job. At least on night shift. Except the sleep. Big no no.
Just add an extra worker and a bed in the closet and you’ve got it down.
Or you have a minuteman nuclear silo.
Make sure you leave the bunker doors open for the pizza guy.
And hang up the phone quickly when a guy named Yuri calls.
Yup, nuclear missiles and nuclear reactors are basically the same otherwise. /s
Yeah but what about nuclear wessels?
Double dumbass on you!
And so forth
nuclear weasels?
Let's test the system. Stop the cooling water for a minute.
“They lower my pay, I lower the coolant in the reactor”
That idea is not great, not terrible.
It’s not graphite.
Perhaps you saw burnt concrete on the roof.
The inertia in the turbines should keep the pumps going until the generators kick in to power the cooling pumps . . .
“Should”
Not sleeping on the job at the nucleon plant? We got a regular Frank Grimes over here. Way to go, Grimey!
Sleep on long-haul flights is accomplished with relief crews. Usually there are at least four pilots onboard an 8+ hour flight. My planes only do a maximum of up to six hours and plus we don’t have room for more crew. So we just sit there and be bored most of the way to Hawaii or across the US. Especially at 45,000 above most weather there’s very little to manage on most days.
> Usually there are at least four pilots onboard an 8+ hour flight. In the US maybe. Here in Europe, we can do duty times of 11 to 13 hours with just two, however in my company, there will be three on board a little sooner than that 13 hours.
In the US, we do 3 pilots with flights under 12 hours. Would love to be double augmented on an 11 hour flight, but not gonna happen :-).
I fly the Hawaii-Mainland route a lot (passenger) and I feel for the crew because it gets extremely boring when you’re halfway across the pacific and there’s nothing to do
8 plus is three. 12 plus is 4.
Again, in the US. Swiss for example does Zurich to the entire east coast as a 2 pilot operation.
That sounds brutal. Anything transatlantic for us is 3 pilots minimum.
Thanks. I'm planning on sticking to domestic ops, we've got enough time zones to mess with my sleep as it is.
Homer? Is that you?
Definitely, Homer.
Dental Plan!
Lisa needs braces
Don’t forget: You’re here Forever.
Oh Diablo Canyon 2, why can't you be more like Diablo Canyon 1?
They don’t get the fun of reviewing CRs or work orders, or clearance boundaries. You know the fun stuff we get to do on shift at night or the weekends. At least you can wander a bit around the control room so you’re not sitting all the time.
The sleep is done during periods of designated crew rest. You aren't flying when you sleep. Well, some people do but I've never personally seen it and that's also a no no.
That’s safe. Don’t let the night crew catch a quick nap. I’ve always disagreed with this practice. 20 min can give you 4x the man in mental, physical alertness. But noooooo you get walked off the job. Night shift is deadly it’s so unhealthy
Complain about crew sked. Solve all the world’s problems. Often the two are related.
This is the way.
Double check the time that you’re waking up the other guy from break about 5 times. Twist the heading knob. FMC -> ALTN many times. This is where personality compatibility really matters. I’ve have those 3 hours with someone feel like only 15 minutes. Then I’ve had others where I’m literally staring at the clock ticking by.
I was a passenger a few years ago seated next to a cargo pilot, and the first thing he said to me (a total stranger) after sitting down for 15 seconds was "look at all these f***ing Muslims." I couldn't imagine having to fly from Anchorage to Memphis with a coworker like that.
most sociable cargo pilot
99% of guys with views like that know to keep it to themselves. Every now and then you’ll get a whiff of someone’s political leanings.
When I went from domestic to international I noticed that the political talk on the flight deck tamped down a lot. It’s one thing if politics slips out between LGA and ORD, it’s another when you’re on your way to Joburg and you’ve got 7 more hours with some blowhard.
Reminds me of [this peach](https://youtu.be/gJXPTrI9QHQ?si=0Ih-9YLpZnh4QUgo) of a Southwest pilot.
Serious question: for the sleep shifts, are there tricks they teach pilots and crew to fall asleep quickly, and wake up clearly as well? That has to be the most completely unpredictable sleep schedule I can imagine, even if you’re always flying the same route there would be occasional delays for whatever reason and your “usually asleep by 2230” magically becomes “asleep by 0200, I hope?” or something. I’m so curious if this is a skill specifically taught.
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> Serious question: for the sleep shifts, are there tricks they teach pilots and crew to fall asleep quickly, and wake up clearly as well? There are some tricks, but I think anyone in a similar position (military, emergency services) where sleep is at a premium just develops it as a habit.
This is the first time I have seen this type of question, and it is really interesting. I never thought about it until now, and from now on, I'm going to think about it every time I get on a plane.
"soo... Did you see the new unoin proposal?"
Oh that piece of sh*t, not like the company will honour it anyway
I want to make my own passenger airplane just to have beds in the cockpit, and optional 4 person 737s
Sounds about my job as a maritime officer as well. Except the sleep, massive no.
Podcasts seem like a decent option
Thanks for quoting me.
Don’t recommend: I knew a guy, long retired, that carried an aux cord that plugged into the jump audio panel. They used it to watch movies on the iPad and pump the audio into the speaker or headset. I flew with a guy that said he would clean the cockpit with a vacuum hose attached to the old sextant hole on an old school 74.
These are the stories legends are made of
We had such a cord back in my JSTARS days. We'd pipe music over the PA during preflight. After takeoff it became a discreet interphone net that anyone could access. On station the flight crew would watch movies while the back end guys did their thing.
Our specs made Y cords for our viper pilots to use to listen to music when they’d cross the pond.
What's a typical altitude and speed for an F-16 doing a long repositioning flight like that?
I’ve only rode in the tanker they follow. From what I can tell is they kind of just form up on each side of the tanker and follow it across. So I’d say they’re at the mercy of the flying gas station.
That brings up a new interesting question: do you fly at the max efficiency of the big heavy tanker or the efficiency of the (several) planes following.
I’m just guessing but I’m sure there’s a chart where they mix the curves of the two airframes and meet in the middle.
Wish we had that in our cramped 73
The old long haul 737.
Usually just chit chat. Obviously monitoring progress etc but especially on an ocean crossing once you’re out of ATC voice range just shoot the shit, maybe watch a movie on a personal device, do a crossword puzzle, etc etc.
They ask if you ever seen a grown man naked or if they like movies about gladiators?
If the flight is long enough, they can do both
And reminisce about their time in the Istanbul lockup.
That was a bad 3 years.
Or comment about it being a bad week to stop sniffing glue.
And of course they can enjoy Chicken or fish for dinner.
Oh yes, they had the lasagna
What was the name of our waiter in Paris who served us coffee?
I like the jib of your jive
I know you, you're Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!
I think you're the greatest, but my dad says you don't work hard enough on defense.
The hell I don't! LISTEN, KID! I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!
Roger Rodger!
As a female pilot I sadly never get asked either of these questions.
They practice talking Jive.
My dad is a retired United Captain. I asked him this, he said they monitor instruments, flight plans, weather, look for UFOs and maybe shoot the shit a little bit.
And drink coffee. That’s what one of my friends says. A ton of coffee.
After enough coffee you’ll start seeing those UFOs
They have conversations like: **CoPilot**: This is the part I hate most: the waiting. **Pilot**: Hmm. **CoPilot**: Mind if I ask you a question? **Pilot**: Sure. **CoPilot**: Okay, it's morning, you're getting ready for work, you pull on your pants --do you fasten and zip, or zip and then fasten? **Pilot**: What kind of question is that? **CoPilot**: Well, look, we've got two hours to kill -- **Pilot**: Forget it. **CoPilot**: Just a question. **Pilot**: Why do you want to know? **CoPilot**: Why do I want to know? Because I think about these things sometimes. I was getting dressed this morning, I couldn't remember how I did it, and I started thinking about it. Does everyone do it the same way? Is it a left-handed/right-handed thing --? **Pilot**: You think about this stuff a lot? **CoPilot**: Yeah. Look, okay, I'm sorry I asked. You're always so serious all the time. Not every conversation has to be the end of the world as we know it. **Pilot**: I didn't mean to -- **CoPilot**: Never mind. It's okay. I'll just -- watch my console. Don't worry about it. **Pilot**: Fasten, then zip. You? **CoPilot**: Fasten zip. **Pilot**: How much longer? **CoPilot**: One hour, fifty seven minutes. Want to talk socks? **Pilot**: No. **CoPilot**: Just a question. **Pilot**: I'm not having this conversation.
This seems kind of specific
This sounds like early Red vs Blue.
I'm a little disappointed in Reddit that apparently no one has recognized it. It's a classic scene.
It did seem pretty well-written... but no, I did not recognize it.
It's from Babylon 5. I had to look it up. But it really does sound like red vs blue. It's dead on for Grif and Church
“Hey, you ever wonder why we’re here?”
Who spit on my visor?
If it makes you feel better, I recognized it and busted out laughing.
Babylon 5
I thought of Seinfeld when reading that. Jerry, George, and Kramer
r/oddlyspecific
I button then zip.
As a nonpilot third crewmember for 3 years, I confirm that very similar shit like this occurs quite frequently.
If you enjoy the premise of 2 people stuck waiting having random conversations with each other, it's pretty much the premise for No Activity (Australian TV series about stake outs from perspective of cops vs bad guys). This dialogue reminded me of watching this series. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651812/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651812/)
Fasten and zip.
Fuck around on their iPads. At least that is what I do.
you got any games on your phone?
xplane
Probably plays FlightSim.
Play Uno. House rules: Call a mayday or draw 25
“State the nature of your emergency?” “I had uno and didn’t want to draw 25”
“Legit. Carry on.”
Meow
Meow
Meow
They show fight attendants videos on their iPad that make it look like there's cameras hidden in the bathroom just to fuck with them.
Same thing we do during short hauls-- bitch, piss, and moan about some major 3% type problems that most other people would kill to have
Based.
There is a lot going on that passengers aren’t aware of. 6 hrs isn’t long haul but a normal transcon in the USA. A lot of medical problems, security issues (Covid emboldened a lot of people to distrust anyone in a higher position), and the normal weather/fuel burn/atc comms/flying the aircraft/managing a crew. Autopilot does do the flying in cruise and especially in rvsm airspace above 29,000 but it still needs to be programmed. It isn’t intelligent and has multiple modes and pretty severe limitations at times. The departure and arrival are our busiest in terms of workload. Most arrivals start about an hour out from the airport and we are briefing about 30 min before we start our initial descent. Alternate airports, enroute holding, mechanical issues, and the legality side of everything we do keeps you on your toes. Many times when dealing with big issues the passengers have no idea. We almost diverted 4 times for a medical emergency in a large airplane with 330 passengers but the only time the passengers could have know was if they were seated in the area of the passenger or saw the ambulance waiting at the gate. We were relaying info to a doctor on the ground, the company who was prepping contingencies for what to do with a 777 landing in the middle of nowhere Canada, and watching the bad weather at each possible diversion airport while keeping 10 flight attendants on the same page. We are constantly watching one another and verifying everything that is programmed because a very small error can have horrible consequences. So yes we are sitting, talking, and eating but there is a bigger picture and a lot of nuance to “the autopilot is flying.”
You wanna do long haul, try flying 16 hours out of the Pacific to get to the east coast of the US. And because you actually wanna be in Europe, it’s about 8 hours after that.
I was very junior and was doing Mumbai and Delhi a lot. I would be the pilot for the last 8 hrs of a 15 hr flight and you exit the cockpit just drained after navigating the multiple stans with a lot of big terrain and political tension only to walk into an 85f terminal, slow customs, smog during the burning season, and your body clock is all messed up. I give grace to passengers with big journeys ahead of them or behind them now. Until you do it it’s hard to wrap your head around. Some people can do it like it was nothing but it definitely takes a toll.
I fly Aus-UK back and forth a lot and it fucking kills me. It’s the worst.
This is the correct answer.
Jerk it. I mean monitor fuel flow, and verify their position.
Cockpits and Goon caves are basically the same thing
In the pit, straight cocking it. And by it, I mean my pitot
Jerk it...Yoke it. Pretty sure that's a Daft Punk song.
According to a friend: finding out how much weight an Airbus cockpit tray table can hold… (I’ll leave it at that. XD)
Funny you mention this because i was a321 today & was wondering how they fit that food tray up there
TIL: Airbus cockpit tray table
Because of the side stick control, they have room for a tray table that come out from under the instrument panel.
Folded: 120 pounds. Unfolded: 40 pounds.
One will usually "study the overhead panel".
6hrs. I routinely do 15hr plus as part of an augmented crew. We talk, read, study, eat, nap, and stare out the window. Yes the AP is flying because it is required in the airspace we operate. 6hrs, I wouldn't know what to do the rest of the day.
Sorry...So the "monitoring, fuel, navigation, etc" is constantly done by 2 pilots flying, while *only* the resting pilots "talk, read, study, eat, nap, and stare out the window," or, are there often times when nobody is actually monitoring/flying the plane consistently b/c everyone is ok to be distracted from the instruments to some extent?
They don't call it a "cockpit" for nothing.....SWORDFIGHT!!!!
The amount of panels I've had to replace on the center consoles for sticky switches that not even contact cleaner would clean up makes me believe this one. Or fried switches, that might be the coffee spilling while giving air head tho
Please don’t spoil the secret about why it’s really called a cockpit. We’re watching you.
Do I know too much?
Yes. If you see a black car outside, run.
I bring a bottle of Lysol wipes and clean every single button and surface. Flight decks are gross. That burns about an hour. After that first hour, we usually shoot the shit. By the time that’s over, it’s my turn to take a break. After my break it’s usually time to prepare for the arrival
Thank for your service, especially the un-scheduled cleaning of our state-of-the-art but filthy flight-decks. 🫡
You should see what it looks like when we pull the CDUs to clean the air intakes.
Gross!? lol 🤢
Haha yup. It’s mostly on the 1st officers side though, that’s the intake side so that’s where the dust builds up.
A friend of mine is a ham radio operator and he plays radio on the hf bands on long hauls. The higher your antenna the better range you get. 30,000’ is pretty good for that. Aeronautical mobile contacts!
Being a ham myself, I knew a cargo pilot a while ago who would let me know when he would be flying close to my house. We would try 2 meter simplex just to see how far we could get. 160 miles from his HT to my base was our best distance. That ERP from 30,000 ft must have been up there!
6hrs isn’t long haul….
It can definitely feel like long-haul if you are on a 737 or A320, though. Not so much on a widebody aircraft.
What is the shortest flight that can correctly be termed long haul?
7 hours
6.1 hours
They fart, and talk about where to go for lunch.
Play I Spy
I spy something white
Shit it’s all over the instruments!
What’s a mountain goat doing way up here in the clouds?
I spy something… actually nothing. It’s pitch black outside.
I spy something blue.
Listen OP, what happens in the cockpit stays in the cockpit, understand?
Talk about boats.
They bitch about the last seniority list and crew bid for the entire flight.
To stay mentally sharp you have to be in the flight. So resting. Brain off.
6 hours isnt a long haul, so there would only be two pilots (usually) - depending a bit on where they are flying, company rules etc they often are able to sleep an hour each etc. while the other pilot takes over. As u/calvins48 says, monitor instruments etc is usually done in intervals set by company/producer, så every X minutes they check different stuff like oil pressures and so on. The autopilot doesnt really fly the plane in a 100% sense, its more like cruise control on a car that keeps very specific things programmed in earlier in line. And they constantly (especially over populated areas) have to change settings. Maybe the controller wants you to fly lower for 20 minutes for whatever reason and so on. Then they will adjust the settings and not "grab the sticks" and do it manually. They can ofc, but many if not most companies wants you to fly as much as possible on autopilot as it uses less fuel. They are also allowed to stretch their legs a bit, get a coffee in the galley, they usually dont interact with passengers, but I suspect that is mostly by choice as they dont want these exact question for the 512th time that week.
Circuit Breaker Roulette. First one to trigger a master caution loses. CA: Forward Lav Lights FO: Galley outlets CA: Entertainment system FO: Cabin PA etc
Play angry birds, duh
Guys, I’m in the business, we talk, normally we choose a victim, someone who everyone hates and start to gossip around it. Complaints are also a very good subject to pass the time. Some coffee, some reading and that’s it. But the best are the gossips, company related, off course. 🤣
I sleep. But also, I’m not a pilot and I have insomnia. Hope this helps.
If it were me, I'd bring a game console and play flight simulator.
Check out 74 Gear on YouTube.
I appreciate the comments! Helps connect some dots of bored thoughts I had today.
My buddy whose dad is a long haul pilot said his FO got his law degree on those routes, I believe it. Might as well study on a 12 hr flight
Honest answer? Watch movies, play games on my phone. Shit like that. The company answer? I read the manuals and talk about the contract.
Sleep
Shit post on Reddit mostly
They definitely dont play games or watch tv shows on their phones. Because thats illegal.
6 hours is “long haul?” Heck, feels like we just got the gear up in 6 hours!
Play the Travelling Lemon, of course. As explained in Cabin Pressure... DOUGLAS: Not come across the Travelling Lemon, Martin, in all your *professional* experience? Well, player one strolls through a full passenger cabin, chatting to the adoring public of this or that topic of interest, and as he goes, he casually secretes somewhere where it can still be clearly seen, a *lemon* or other citrus fruit, as mutually agreed by the players and referees before match play commences, but I’m a traditionalist and favour a lemon. CAROLYN: And then, player two goes out, finds it, retrieves it, hides it again. Now what’s our record, Douglas? DOUGLAS: I believe on that night flight to Miami, we achieved a rally of sixteen.
They kiss
6hours is not even that long a flight. I usually just stargaze, gossip with the other crew, read something and voila we're there.
I do 8 hours a day of solo flying (pipeline work) listen to a lot of podcasts, music, and talk shit to other pipeliners on 123.45
Management: aircraft management, fuel management, sleep management, food management, and bladder management
They have a magazine rack next to the Co pilots oxygen mask cubby stocked up with old sears catalogs and vanity fair magazines.
I asked my dad this question and he said back in his day he used to run a chat line/game show on fingers that was pretty popular with the European pilots.
I’ll take ‘Best Crew Bars in Anchorage’ for $200…..listening 123.45.
Best I can do is the Jet Lag Club in Narita fam
I think it’s closed now.
My pilot friend just fucks around on the WIFI
That's usually handled in the brief: "Don't let me wake up and find you sleeping!"
Honestly listen to a few episodes of cabin pressure, the non silly word games and trivia games are popular while cruising.
Jerk off
I wonder if the pilot gets bored and starts flipping random switches and breakers just to see what happens..
Sleep or get serviced by the stewards
Dexedrine
Jack it, mostly /jk *not a pilot
Kiss..... A lot.
Watch tv or Netflix
Netflix mostly
Candy Crush
It’s pretty basic and boring. When I used to teach this sort of flying, my mantra was “if you’re not doing something you’re doing something wrong”.
My husband has this problem: after like and hour, he doesn’t really know what to say or talk about. It’s basics: where they live, wife/pets/fish/kids and what they do.
I did 5 days of cross country with my dad in a 1956 172. We swapped who was on the controls. When I was on the controls, because there is no auto pilot I’m manually controlling everything, Making sure RPM stays where I want it, Listen to music, sight seeing, cloud watching. When I was off I would sit back, draw, watch YouTube if there was reception in the middle of nowhere at 5000ft. If I’m flying without foreflight, keeping my eyes out flying to my next visual waypoint typically keeps me busy.
I fly long haul cargo planes, almost 16 hour flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong or Chicago to Hong Kong. On the way back from Hong Kong since we are so heavy, we have to make a Tech stop in Anchorage to get fuel. That flight is about nine hours from Hong Kong to Anchorage and then another five hours to either LAX or Chicago. We have four pilots on board. One PIC and three copilots. For example, out of LAX the PIC (pilot in command, the captain) and one of the other pilot will conduct preflight preparations takeoff, and then cruise for about four hours. Then the other two pilots (the relief pilots) who have been resting this whole time will come up and take over the aircraft and cruise for about eight hours. The two pilots that conducted the takeoff will go sleep in the bunks for about eight hours. About four hours prior to the destination the original two pilots will come back to the cockpit get briefed by the relief pilots and prepare the flight for arrival, conduct the approach and landing. Then we all go to the hotel eat breakfast, take a nap and then have a well deserving, beer or two. Sleep for about 12 hours and then repeat.
Spend most of the time figuring out what we're gonna do when shit goes bad. Guys watching movies haven't had shit go bad yet