A quick look at the paperwork needed for a transatlantic flight from London to Boston. Accompanies a Cockpit Chronicles blog post at: bit.ly/kentpape...
Troy, 6 years later, it's actually it's exactly the same. We did gain iPads for our approach plates, but so far, the flight paperwork hasn't changed yet. They say that's coming in a year or two.
It's great to get an insider's look at some of the ops and regulatory procedures airline pilots are required to attend. It ain't all "stick-n-rudder". Thanks Kent!
Don't worry too much about maths. It's honestly just simple maths skills required - for an example: at N53W030 you expected to have 41.5 tons of fuel - however you have 43.7, what's the difference? More or less? True heading to fly is 153, however magnetic deviation is -13E, so what's the magnetic heading? Most things are backed up by calculators too since mental maths can only be trusted so much.
LOL I'm a Railroad Locomotive Engineer and we use the SAME trash bags ( for the same purpose as you ) at the end of OUR "flight" across the rails. ALL that important paperwork goes right in that puppy as soon as we roll to a stop! lol.
So bad you stopped making such nice and interesting videos. Very motivational for me as I'm going to get my Private Pilot Licence and continue with Commercial
i would love to be stuck on long flights with guys like this. people think an 8 hour flight would be boring lol who ever thought that you'd have so much work just sitting there. pilots do a lot more than people think.. it's not all about flying, it's a tremendous amount of work. that's makin lemonade lol
And no, I'm not a pilot. My view is simply from an financial PoV. I run a numbr of businesses and reducing waste is a big part of our financial strategy - that includes paper. Love your videos by the way! Very informative to see what goes on up your end of the aircraft. Safe travels
It might not seem useful to someone who's done it a thousand times. But to new pilots or after being diverted, some of those notes are invaluable, particularly when flying into "The Soup" like LAX.
From my simulator experience I can really relate to that. I never use a chart when departing from Frankfurt or Munich. Just sometimes for taxiing and for the GPS coordinates to align the irs
It's quite interesting how paper is so importaint in flight even though modern airliners are all computerized and equipped with large LCD screens. I think the only airliner (so far) that has an LCD screen specifically for the paperwork shown in this video is the A380. Awsome video btw. Thanks for sharing!
@andy4b767 As Mr. Wien said, before the flight I will ask them to save it for me otherwise it all ends up in those AA trash bags. I've found AA crews very accommodating to that end and this has allowed me to essentially learn everything involved in the flying portion of a NA flight. The charts also have PACOT routes I believe.
@fly4fun Ah. The De Havilland Twin Otter. Years ago,I was young 15,I knew some folks at Air New England and got to fly,right seat, a Twin Otter being repositioned from Boston to Hyannis. What a easy well behaved machine. I thought I could land that craft on a dime. Departed from,I still remember,runway 4 Left to Hyannis runway 24.I wanted next to get a chance at Air New England's bigger craft Fh-227 Fairchild. It was a good airline,but lost to the new de-regulations then. :(
@fly4fun Oh come on, HF isn't that bad! I listen to the NAT's all the time! I bet you guys can't wait until SATCOM or CPDLC, though! I bet SELCAL is your best friend! Keep up the great videos, I really enjoy them!
Kent, I meant neither to criticize the length or pace of this video, nor even to suggest a longer one. I meant only that I personally could spend literally hours and hours quietly studying one of those packets--quite contentedly so. I may have to do some dumpster diving at my local airport to see if I can find a discarded packet. (kidding!)
I love the way experience pilots get in the cockpit of a cold and dark aircraft and automatically after routine standards start doing all the switches.... So fast, its amazing :D
That sure is one hell of a lot of paperwork! For each and every flight! But I guess you guys never have a problem with that, its just another day in the office ;)
I do this since my dad is an airline pilot, but i'll also try doing this with other airlines and see if it'll work, I'll be travelling in a few days, hopefully it works
i remember when i had a flight it was late, because the pilot dropped his briefcase while walking across the apron and the case burst open and a convenient gust of wind blew all the paperwork all over the apron :D
Every time I take a trip across the pond I'll ask the crew for their charts if they're whiling & friendly enough to give it to me. AA typically are more friendly than others!
Thanks for this detailed presentation. Much appreciated. Are you allowed/able to show some of these papers in detail? I would particularly be curious about the take-off power/speed page, as well as how the flight plan looks like, design-wise. I was lucky to get the entire papework after a Delta Air Lines TATL flight, which is great, and I would just love to compare with a sample one from American Airlines.
@SpidMovie Everything you said is currently implemented in the 777 A380 and other airliners of that sort but let me ask you a question.What if they fail? What if the avionics fail? I personally would like both,avionics that sort out all the paperwork and THE PAPERWORK just in case :)
hey kent, huge fan of your videos and especially your blog and work with gadling. just an idea though: you should be recycling all of the paperwork rather than throwing it away!!!
Very interesting, Kent. I figured there'd be a lot of paperwork for a flight, but...sheesh! Of course, now you've merely wet my whistle... my inner nerd (and the outer one) is dying to examine one of those packets up close and in detail. What percentage of all that ink actually casts an image on a crewmember's retina before being relegated to the trash bag?
Wow! Nice vid! Could do you think you could do a vid, on what the walk-around intels, because I get in the habbit of thinking that the walk-around is very thero.
I have a question. There is a constant debate regarding thrusting during take off. I hear some pilots say that you have to pull the thrust all the way during take off while others say that you don't have to, that it depends on the situations. what's your say about this?
damn. that's alot of paperwork. Now we know what pilots are doing before takeoff. When i get older i want to learn how to fly. Not commercial airplanes though. Just small single engine planes.
Kent, have you guys at AA transitioned to the all glass cockpit yet in the 757s? when I went out to the flight academy a while back that was being planned and the sims hadn't yet been replaced.
I love your vids, and I made one heck of a discovery. You my friend, are in the famous "pilots life" video with all the American airlines pilots. I noticed you at 4:04 in the vid. Not sure if you made the video, or if its just a coincidence.
i heard these aircraft are becoming more and more equipped with internet connections. You said you cant pull up weather in flight in the video. Well im doing my instrument rating, and i understand that weather repots (METARs, TAFs, Etc) expire over a certain period of time and new ones become released. Are there ways to get new weather data in flight nowadays? and maybe printers to print it?
Thank you for this interesting video! I know there is a lot of paperwork in the cockpit, but don't you just go through some of these in the briefing room?
How was London?! (I'm from there) More videos this detailed would be great, no matter how many cockpit dvds, youtube videos, flightsims I see there is always something else that hasn't had time to be covered!
It looks like it almost a pound of paperwork; have they calculated the FUEL that need to FLY? I wonder does the airline charge an "excess paperwork" charge ($35/@25 if paid online)?
@fly4fun I noticed you're a first officer by the 3 stripes you have on your shirt. How long have you been one, and when will you be a captain? I plan to fly the 777 when I grow up (I'm only 12 but will be 13 soon) and was just wondering how long would it take to be captain. You fly the 757, right?
hello kent. quick question. how much longer do you think the 757/767 be in service with american based airlines? (delta, american, etc). i ask because it will probably another 10 years or so before im picked up by a major. hoping for a regional in around 5-7 years. the 767 is something i really want to fly but i get the feeling it will be out of service by then? i dunno, american still uses the old MDs right? And how do you get assigned to a a/c program when ur hired? you choose or assigned?
A while back I flew JFK - Bucharest and the captain gave me some awesome maps, but I misplaced them... Any idea where I can get some more, online preferably? I am really interested in all of the plotting and flight paper work! Awesome vid!
Hi Kent!! Hope you're keeping well. I live in Southeast Ireland and see transatlantic/transcontinental flights pretty much 24/7. I'm just curious if the 757 still flies on trans Atlantic routes for American? All I have seen recently are American 763's, 777's and dreamliners. The only 75's I see are Jet2's flying from Faro to Manchester daily! One plane I miss the most is the 762, don't see much of them anymore.
Sean Carley It looks like PHL to SNN is still a 757. Sure loved flying there out of Boston when we were doing that. Hope to return! My brother flies the 787 to Dublin now regularly. It’s his favorite destination.
Not at the same time though. You are either one of the other and are only able to fly one type of aircraft at a time. CA vs FO has nothing to do with hours and everything to do seniority.
TheXcaliber223 Indeed that one and a few others same a common type but one can not be a CA and an FO at the same time on different equipment. Perhaps I just misunderstood your first post.
