# Two female Etihad pilots taking off an A380 flight



## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

Fascinating footage from the flight deck if you are interested in this sort of thing.

https://www.thenational.ae/uae/tran...re-view-of-a380-taking-off-for-paris-1.920503


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Yep amazing or revealing. I wonder how her Muslim faith interacts with her position as pilot? 
She was only looking at the instruments during the ascent and not the window.

Ray.


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

I'm not the least bit bothered about the ladies ability to take off, fly around, and land........ I've personally done all that myself, albeit in small stuff.

I'm far more interested in how they'd react when things go terribly wrong,...............
.


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## tugboat (Sep 14, 2013)

raynipper said:


> Yep amazing or revealing. I wonder how her Muslim faith interacts with her position as pilot?
> *She was only looking at the instruments during the ascent and not the window.
> *
> Ray.


As soon as the wheels leave the ground, the pilot on the controls follows the Flight Director (flight path), and the other pilot works radios, monitors engines and operates gear and flaps.


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## shingi (Apr 18, 2008)

HurricaneSmith said:


> I'm not the least bit bothered about the ladies ability to take off, fly around, and land........ I've personally done all that myself, albeit in small stuff.
> 
> I'm far more interested in how they'd react when things go terribly wrong,...............
> .


Pretty much the same as men I guess!


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

HurricaneSmith said:


> I'm not the least bit bothered about the ladies ability to take off, fly around, and land........ I've personally done all that myself, albeit in small stuff.
> 
> I'm far more interested in how they'd react when things go terribly wrong,...............
> .


'Oh ye of little faith...'

.........in the training regime and training Captains who will have tested, and passed, them on many emergency scenarios in the simulator. And for anyone who doubts the realism of a six-axis simulator, you should experience a crash in one, as I have - not me handling, which is why any objects such as brief cases(flight bags) have to be strapped down and full harnesses worn. The simulator engineers hate crashes as the whole machine has to be re-set and tested before further use.

Geoff


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I enjoyed that Peter.

One thing I have always wondered is why do they not use the tugs to take the aircraft to the end of the runways, this would save a phenomenal amount of jet fuel, engines coule be run-up prior to reaching the end of the runway and a parking area to go to should there be a problem.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

I still wonder how it sits with the Muslim faith as many Muslim woman have only recently been allowed out without a man. Certainly conflicting interpretation.

Ray.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Like cristianity, Islam comes in many forms, so maybe their version allows it.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> I enjoyed that Peter.
> 
> One thing I have always wondered is why do they not use the tugs to take the aircraft to the end of the runways, this would save a phenomenal amount of jet fuel, engines coule be run-up prior to reaching the end of the runway and a parking area to go to should there be a problem.


Kev

When I worked for British Airports a study was done to look at that idea.

It was decided that it was a non-starter, but I cannot remember why.

Thinking about it now I can visualise several reasons:-

Tugs are expensive and there would have to be many additional ones bought to implement the system - maybe the capital cost, plus the operating cost including tug drivers' wages and training would be more than the taxiing cost of fuel.

A ground engineer would have to accompany the tug to the start-up point to monitor the start-up. An expensive use of highly trained personnel.

The sequencing of take-offs is not always the same as for taxi clearance, because of en-route ATC, so tugs and engineers would be tied up waiting for clearance.

The 'Holding Point' would have to be much larger to accomodate several aircraft for the several minutes it takes to start 2/4 engines and do the after-start checks before the ground engineer is instructed to disconnect the truck and that is done and the steering pins relocated.

ATC would not have the ability to to give a clearance to an aircraft approaching the runway to enter the runway and 'take it on the roll', i.e. not stop before take-off.

As you see the decision is more complex than saving a bit of fuel.

On the positive side I have been on several flights recently when only one engine is started up on push-back and the second one while taxiing to the runway - preferably before being cleared for take-off:wink2:

Next question?

Geoff


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

How convenient.

Ray.


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## tugboat (Sep 14, 2013)

Please Sir (Geoff Mk1) what would be the minimum sort of time between starting an engine and applying full take-off power?

Presumably certain temperatures need to stabilise first. I don't know what sort of expansions and other changes take place in a turbine as things heat up.

I'm constantly amazed at the number of flying hours those great engines do between maintenance when you consider the rpms they are doing.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Fascinating video, many thanks for the link. The pilot hardly looks old enough to be out of school does she? 

Clearly I must be getting old to think that eh?

Andy


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

tugboat said:


> Please Sir (Geoff Mk1) what would be the minimum sort of time between starting an engine and applying full take-off power?
> 
> I'm constantly amazed at the number of flying hours those great engines do between maintenance when you consider the rpms they are doing.


Yes me too but guess most of the mechanics are rotary and not reciprocal. Plus not subjected to the extremes of stresses as in vehicles.

Ray.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Looks easy!! Gis a go!


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Thanks Geoff, a full and informative answer to a dumb question.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

tugboat said:


> Please Sir (Geoff Mk1) what would be the minimum sort of time between starting an engine and applying full take-off power?
> 
> Presumably certain temperatures need to stabilise first. I don't know what sort of expansions and other changes take place in a turbine as things heat up.
> 
> I'm constantly amazed at the number of flying hours those great engines do between maintenance when you consider the rpms they are doing.


The only checks we did on temperatures were on the max JPT(JetPipe Temperature) on start-up.

There were no further checks required.

Geoff.


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> I enjoyed that Peter.
> 
> One thing I have always wondered is why do they not use the tugs to take the aircraft to the end of the runways, this would save a phenomenal amount of jet fuel, engines coule be run-up prior to reaching the end of the runway and a parking area to go to should there be a problem.


I've just watched it for the 4th time! The cool and calm is incredible but that's their job! Some years ago I sat in the jump seat on a heavily laden B767 taking off from Gatwick. When you're sitting at the back of the aircraft you don't really appreciate that there's a fence at the end of the runway that's getting closer and closer! I was wearing headphones and remember thinking " the fence is getting closer and closer, please will the computer say V1 and please will someone say rotate". I almost wanted to call it out myself - we cleared the fence by a long way I'm sure but I'd shut my eyes by then!

All the reasons Geoff says for not tugging to the runway plus also if there's a technical problem starting an engine. It does happen and if you are just off stand then you can usually go back on to try to get it sorted. If you discover the problem as you try to start the engines shortly before the runway then you've got big problems. Same applies with single engine taxiing and an engine not starting. You'll have to go back to stand (or off stand) which will take time plus engineers will be delayed getting to you. Also you will likely block one or more taxi-ways whilst being retrieved.

We were flying back from Bangkok to Dubai earlier this year (on an A380) when the APU failed just after pushback - the APU is used to start the engines. Once it was realised that the APU had failed, the tug was recalled to re-attach to the aircraft so that the engines could be started with a ground power unit. However it would have been unsafe to have done it back on stand so the decision was taken to start the engines on a remote stand. Now about 45 minutes had been wasted in trying to get the APU to start, recalling the tug, re-attaching, getting clearance to move to a remote stand etc.

We eventually headed off being towed by the tug and after ten minutes the tug broke down - battery drained. Another tug was called, further delays in getting permission to head to the remote stand and by the time the engines were started we had lost two and a half hours! We missed the connecting flight flight back to LGW and Emirates hoteled us but that sort of breakdown isn't completely uncommon. If it happens at the end of the runway then all sorts of delays will ensue.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

And they would have to have another 150 new tugs.

Ray.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Thats nothing! I used to be a navigator in a helicopter you know. I sh!t you not! I used to work with a bloke that was a Pharmo Scientist that went into the music industry (I also sh1t you not) and I was his consultant.  He lived up the road from me and had an ex Navy Gazelle chopper in his back garden that we used for getting to meetings. First time I went up in it we had to go to Barton Airfield in Manchester and he chucked me an AA Road map and said "The Gps is knackered and thinks we are in Germany, your navigating". Its dead easy in a Chopper. I just followed the A66, cut across country, found the M62 and you could see Manchester (and the blackpool tower on the right) within 20 min of leaving the Dales.


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

Surprised to see dashcams on the windscreen. 
Of course flying wasn’t my thing. I drove warships!


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

barryd said:


> Thats nothing! I used to be a navigator in a helicopter you know.


A number of years ago I was a corporate hospitality guest at Silverstone for the F1 and the transport there was a helicopter from a field quite a number of miles away.

We had been flying for 5 or 6 minutes and the (lady) pilot said to me over the headphones, could I see a church anywhere out of my side! I couldn't and then realised she was looking at an O/S map and hadn't got a clue where we were! We eventually saw another helicopter and started following it and all was good!


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

peribro said:


> A number of years ago I was a corporate hospitality guest at Silverstone for the F1 and the transport there was a helicopter from a field quite a number of miles away.
> 
> We had been flying for 5 or 6 minutes and the (lady) pilot said to me over the headphones, could I see a church anywhere out of my side! I couldn't and then realised she was looking at an O/S map and hadn't got a clue where we were! We eventually saw another helicopter and started following it and all was good!


You would think she would have seen Silverstone for miles!

The bloke that had the ex navy Gazelle kept it at home just up the road from me in Teesdale. I was amazed just how much you could see once up in the air in a very short space of time. Its probably a two hour drive and a hundred miles or something from where I live to Blackpool for example but within minutes your across the Pennines and can actually make out Blackpool tower in the distance. He had a habit of flying really low across the moors though and buzzing hikers for a laugh. Your not supposed to fly below 500ft I think but I have a video somewhere of us flying across the moors in Teesdale at less than 50ft at 150 mph.


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## brweiss (Oct 17, 2019)

raynipper said:


> I still wonder how it sits with the Muslim faith https://casinotrick.net as many Muslim woman have only recently been allowed out without a man. Certainly conflicting interpretation.
> 
> Ray.


I am no expert in Muslim culture. But there might be different forms of Muslims, like who allow women to fly.:grin2:


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