Boeing versus Airbus

What do I like better? I have been avoiding the answer to this question for months.

My current Airbus/Boeing debate is really a 747 verses A330 question. Think about it... Does that little bus have anything to compare to the whale? I think not. But then that could just be a size issue. And guys ... I hate to tell you, but size really is an issue. Especially when there is an airplane involved. But I love the technology of the Airbus.

Being a Seattle girl, and flying Boeing aircraft my entire career, I stepped into the Airbus with trepidation, but a willingness to keep an open mind. I wasn't sure at first.... but I think the Princess and I are now having a relationship.

Are there things that I think Boeing did better? Perhaps. A bit more difficult for those fat finger, fast typing, pilots who inadvertently screw up a reroute on the Boeing because they mandate an extra step in button pushing before executing a change. Airbus... type it in and it goes. So goes the flight plan you just built if you make a mistake. Don't mess it up.

The situational awareness of the Boeing map might be easier in some cases when intercepting a route, the original green line stays until you're on course. Airbus creates an intercept point and wipes out everything that was behind. Does it matter? Just a different picture. Not a like or dislike, just something that I had to get used to.

But does it matter what you have on your map, or ADI on the Boeing anyway? The control yoke on the Boeing hides the bottom half of your instruments! Not a good thing. And yes... the strangest thing for me is to not have the controls between my legs, but a stick at the side. However, it is a great feature to be able to have a full picture of your display units.

Eliminating the discomfort of the missing control yoke, I've been flying with my table out. A security blanket, perhaps. But soon I'll be weaning myself off of that too. But you have to admit, the table is a nice feature. Something I never took for granted in the back seat of the 747-200.

Landing is a huge difference. Don't tell anyone, but the 747-400 lands like a big Cessna 172. The A330, you don't really flare her, but just stop the rate of descent. There are also 3 landings on the Airbus. Back of the mains, front of the mains, and then the nose. Maybe Airbus thought they could convince the FAA to allow each landing to count for three.

How does she fly? Just like a plane. Control inputs creates performance outputs. My last flight I took the opportunity to fly her with everything disconnected, and yes, she is an airplane. The stick is relatively easy to use as well.

Nap time... Speaking of which my grandson is having a difficult time right now. Too many slamming of doors in this apartment. Unfortunately the galley wasn't strategically placed for optimal rest on the A330. Not sure what they could do there. However, it's nice to have the crew area by the flight deck. But the flight attendant jumpseat is on the back wall. When they pop out of it to get to work, the seat hits the wall. Similar impact as sledge hammer.

PA is different. There are two buttons for the Flight Attendants to talk on the PA. PA, and PA All. One goes to only the passengers, the other goes to the entire aircraft, crew bunks included. Take a guess... 'PA All' is the button that goes to "only" the passengers, and 'PA' hits the bunks. Common sense says it should be the other way around, but I'm sure there was logic there.

Do I like the Airbus better? At this point I have to say yes. But then I haven't flown the 777 or the 787 yet. So the verdict is still out. I do have to say that both Boeing and Airbus build quality aircraft, they're just different.

Enjoy the Journey!

~Karlene

Delta Pilot in Need of Prayers

In pursuit of getting all captains Theater Qualified, Delta had scheduled experienced pilots to fly to Ghana to share their wisdom of getting in and out of Africa. Dereck Camacho was one of those pilots.

My last flight into Ghana, the end of August, was the A330's last flight in there for the year. This particular trip, Dereck brought his lovely wife, Jacqui.

Jacqui and Dereck posing with the cheese board.

Yes, there is always a story.

Not only did Dereck share his wisdom of routing and communications, but he was also the ultimate tour guide. He took the crew to town to buy drums, to the Rain Forest, on the Canopy walk, and to a nice beach for lunch. The stories they told poolside, the night of their return, spoke of the wonderful time they'd had.  I missed the great tour because I stayed back to work on my novel.

The night of our departure, I had been concerned because I'd gotten a couple bites. Dereck had told me not to worry, and I didn't. But I made sure to eat my the remainder of my Malaria drugs. The problem with the pilots like Dereck, who flew there every month, a continual diet of that stuff plays havoc on your liver. They are in a no win situation.
Last night I received an email that brought bad news.

Jacqui said,  "Dereck got malaria and in the worst way possible. He got the worst strain and has been in critical care ICU for the past 8 days. Things are stabilizing now, but it slow and has been very traumatic for me and my kids as well as all our friends and extended family..."

My heart goes out to Dereck, Jacqui, and their sons. Jackie is blogging daily on Dereck's progress. She and her family are counting on the prayers, and energy, from everyone to help pull him through this. She needs Dereck by her side.

Please drop by her blog to keep updated.
Jacqui's Blog

~ Karlene

“Why is the Airbus called Fifi?”

I was asked an extremely good question by a new pilot in training, who is about to take her first solo flight. She wondered why the Airbus was called Fifi.

This is an excellent question. The fact that she is female, and a Princess, Fifi could be nothing more than the diminutive name of Fiona, Josephine, or Sophia… a woman who knows what she’s doing…is strong, assertive, and flying full speed ahead.

But I think the answer could be a bit more complex than that.

Could she be named after Fifi Le Fume? Fifi, a French skunk, flirtatious and stinky just like her mentor Pepe Le Pew, is skunk with passion. Her most notorious trait… she refuses to take “no” for an answer when love is involved. Some may think that the Airbus stinks, but then there are those that she’s captured their hearts. Could it be?

Fifi Le Fume

And then my mind wanders to Fifi the Duck. If it quacks like a duck, and flies like a duck… it must be a duck! Fifi the duck was “compassionate, curvaceous, and courageous." She was also a talented duck. Not only did she serve people well, but she piloted a Flying Bonger. The A330 is definitely talented, and serves her markets well. Curvaceous and courageous the A330 also might be…but compassionate? I doubt that.

Fifi The Duck

There was also Fifi, the beauty queen. Alias Ingrid Finger, who won the Miss International pageant in 1965. While the Airbus is a beauty, her winglets are not nearly as sexy as the 737-800. Could she win on performance alone?

1974, Hurricane Fifi, killed 8000-10,000 people, and ranked the 4th deadliest. Could Fifi be thought of as deadly? If you don’t know how to manage her, I suspect that could be.

And then there was her predecessor…

Did you know that Fifi wasn’t the first plane to be nicknamed Fifi?

The B-29 Superfortress took the nickname Fifi first. The B-29 was the largest aircraft in WWII and very advanced for her time, with an electronic fire-control system, a pressurized cabin, and she even had remote-controlled gun turrets. The airbus was very advanced for her time… could it be that a mechanic who knew the B-29 saw the advanced technology in the Airbus, and nicknamed her after the Superfortress?

B-29 Superfortress

I think the answer lies in her original performance. She was a dog. The mechanics nicknamed the A320 Fifi, after a French Dog. The first buses may have been dogs. However, the A330, Princess Fifi, is anything but. She is a Princess.

On a side note, did you know that Minnie Mouse’s dog was named Fifi? Fifi the Peke, who was also Pluto’s girlfriend. And if you must know, Fifi and Pluto actually had five puppies together. So are those puppies considered little buses?

Fifi the Peke

If anyone has a better answer as to how “Fifi” got her name, inquiring minds want to know.
Thanks for a great question Julia!

Enjoy the Journey!
~ Karlene

Time To Fly!

You have to crawl before you can walk, walk before you can run, and run before you can high jump. My last flight... I took that high jump.

So far I've only flown with pilots who fly the A330 with all the automation engaged until final, then the autopilot comes off.  Last month, I flew with a couple captains who also turn the autothrust off on short final because of a sinker issue. My last flight, I flew with a captain who encouraged me to fly with everything off. He says, "those guys who don't fly her, when they have to, are going to have a problem."

DTW/AMS: My landing. A long night, weather in Amsterdam, and a sunshade the refused to go up... and I got my first slam dunk. Managing the slam dunk was enough fun for me, so automation stay engaged until I disconnected the autopilot on final.

AMS/BOS: The other first officer's landing, and he disengaged everything at top of descent. He loves to fly, and it shows. I sat in the jumpseat, and got the first hand view of how busy he was, but also that the A330 really is just an airplane.

BOS/AMS: The captain's landing and more weather. Autopilot off, autothrust on... I think the winds were 19 gusting to 30.

 Invalid Data... 30 minutes out of Boston

AMS/DTW: My landing. Now or never. Out of 10,000 feet I said, "are you guys ready?" and I disengaged everything. Yes, we were in the weather. But I was thinking ... my captain has 20 years flying glass, 11 years on the Bus, and when would I have another chance to fly with someone who encourages this type of behavior?

What happened next... ATC said, Delta 272 turn left heading 290, descend to 6000, slow to 240, turn further left heading 285.  Delta 272 turn right now 290, descend to 4000. Delta 272, come right to 300. Delta 272, slow to 210. Delta 272... 

The wrath of mother nature tossed us about, the trend vector couldn't make up it's mind which direction to go, and ATC was playing with me. I have never worked so hard in all my life. Once on final, a moment of stability, I said, "Guys, I smell something burning."  My captain said, "I think it's a helmet fire." The other first officer said, "I think it might be Detroit."

At 50 feet the captain said, "From now on, everything is normal." And I landed her like I always did. Then he said, "You know, I was surprised that you kicked off the autothrust with the weather so bad." They were both laughing at Murphy's Law with ATC's overactive intervention, and I laughed the hardest. Of all days...

As we rolled off the runway, that burning odor that I'd smelled presented itself. A pack failure.

Taxing clear of the runway I was supposed to talk to ground...but had difficulty without stumbling over the words. Amazing how an approach that pushes you to your limits, can impact the speech center of your brain. Thanks for a great trip Reg!

Off until October 8th ... 4 days on reserve... then more days off until the 17th.  I intentionally bid this schedule to help my daughter. I'm now wearing my grandma hat, sitting in Santa Clara, babysitting my grandson.

We're planning cleaning up my computer and writing an A330 study guide. The amount accomplished will be directly proportional to his willingness to nap.

Enjoy the Journey!

~Karlene

Wally McIntosh: Friday's Fabulous Flyer

Last week scheduling released me and I headed home in a flight attendant jumpseat, only to be called back to work the moment I stepped off the plane. However, I had the great opportunity to meet a wonderful person in the process.

Wallace McInstosh... "Wally"... is that person. Once a Los Angeles police officer, he now is serving drinks and smiles at 35,000 feet.

Wally worked the south side of Los Angeles for 12 years, East LA for three years, and was a detective for 6 years... bank robberies, murders, reconstructing crime scenes... you name it, he's done it. And now he's a flight attendant.

He'd met a munitions officer while he worked in the Air Force, years ago, and married her. They had two daughters, and  now he has 8 grandchildren. However, the life he created in Los Angeles was a challenging one.

Working LA he said that he, "lost the color of life." He told me that line of business, "You can't trust anyone, or they'll kill you."

His life consisted of domestic abuse calls, fighting, murders, robberies, and attorneys... he was going through a divorce, himself, at the time.  He'd been working one night, below the flight path of Los Angeles, and looked up and said, "There has to be more than this."  And then a plane roared overhead.

How did he become a flight attendant? He was actually dating one. One day she said, "Let me take you on a date," and told him to take a week off of work. They flew to Venice on her passes. As life went on, they broke up, and she married someone else. But his memories of her are wonderful. One day, he was saying how he missed the lifestyle with her. The ability to travel, and see the world. 

And then he realized, "I could do that." And he did. He retired from the police force and he joined Northwest Airlines, now Delta.

Wally told me he never worked for the sake of money, but for the love of working. His fondest memories were working on his father's farm. Now his days off are being a parent to his mother. He say's that she is the one person who loves him unconditionally, and he will miss her greatly when she is gone. 

His core belief... everything always works out. I too share that belief with him.

On the plane Wally says that he is, "close to God, and can see the tapestry of color below," and "meets wonderful people." He enjoys going to work and being able to say, "hi" to people. Something that he wasn't able to do in his other life.

His days off, as a hobby,  he builds aircraft, full motion, simulators. I was hoping to have pictures... but maybe we can update that later.

I am so glad to have had the opportunity to meet Wally. Keep your eye out for him and say hello.

Happy Flying... and enjoy the journey!

~Karlene

A320 verses A330 ... Fault Redundancy

Opinions are just that... and everyone has one.

An 'industry official' (don't you love them?) stated in the 'Aviationweek.com article that 'the flight control system on A320s has greater fault redundancy than does the widebody’s'. Is this a correct assumption, do you think?

The A320 has three types of computers:

ELAC: elevator - aileron computer.
SEC : spoiler elevator computer
FAC : flight augmentation computer - which does a lot of the functions that the Envelope function of the FMGEC does.
Note… The A320 does not have a fly-by-wire rudder.

However the A330's primary and secondary computers spread the control of the various surfaces over all of the flight control computers. For redundancy, ailerons, elevators, rudder, and the THS can each be controlled by more than one flight control computer.

On the A330 should the primary computer, hydraulic system, or servo fail… backup flight control computers and hydraulic servos automatically take over. Failure of any one hydraulic system or flight control computer will not result in control loss to any ailerons, elevators, the rudder, or THS.

Each hydraulic system powers at least one aileron on each wing, one elevator, two spoilers, and the rudder, ensuring control following any dual hydraulic failure.

To claim that the A320 is MORE redundant is an "amazing" claim. The 330 is set up that each flight control computer can control ailerons, elevators, and some spoilers. All except for 1 can control the rudder. Not to forget there's a separate backup rudder control scheme, with its own generator and control computer.

The 320 can't make that claim. Additionally, on the 320, it's much easier to end up in Direct Law, and if you are in alternate law you are going to be without the autopilot…. I think in all cases, but not completely sure.

On the 330 the autopilot is often available in alternate law, and you don't automatically degrade to direct law from alternate law. The 320 almost always reverts to direct law from alternate law when the gear is lowered.

Now… if that article meant the fault redundancy that relates to the internal processing algorithms, comparing data sources, instead of the macro flight control architecture configuration that was discussed above… Never mind. I'm not sure. A person with a PhD on the internal processes will need to make that assertion.

However, one significant point that was in error on that article: “Currently, the probes are certified only to handle temperatures of up to -40C…” On the A330 the ISA at and above FL350 is “-55C."

This statement somewhat makes you doubt the entire article.

Now, don’t be too impressed by my advanced wisdom on the A320. I’m on a long trip, at the end of 30 days on the road, working on my novel, and flying. I don’t make this stuff up... I have “People.” Thank you Bill!


Article

Simon, I will answer your next questions tomorrow.

Happy Flying and Enjoy the Journey!


Karlene

Airbus Versus Boeing... Is it a Handful?

Simon Geddes is sitting off the coast of Tasmania, emailing me interesting questions. Today... I'll take the easy one now because crew call is almost here. The others tomorrow.

Simon says...

I was wondering what you really thought of the Airbus as opposed to the Boeing family. It must be a huge adjustment, and from your writing I gather the 300 is a bit of a handful at times?


I actually love the Airbus. It's different in many ways, but different doesn't mean bad. It's actually easier to fly than the Boeing... If you understand her. She really is just an airplane. I'm flying with a captain on this trip who encourages all new pilots to take her off the autofight system and disengage the autothrust, and fly her like an airplane. I personally haven't seen anyone do that yet.

He allowed me to fly her into Amsterdam. Our arrival brought us into the weather, and it was raining fairly hard so the automation stayed on, until 1500 feet when I clicked off the autopilot. I left the autothrust engaged. The controller gave me my first slam dunk. She vectored us in close, high, and fast. I had a great time managing her and all worked out perfect.

The A330 really isn't a handful...just different. She could be a handful if you don't understand her. My captain reminded me that every Airbus crash has been due to the pilots not understanding what mode the airplane was in, and what she was doing, and thus how to deal with it. The key is to know your airplane.

Which brings us to part two of Simon's questions....

• An 'industry official' (don't you love them?) stated in the 'Aviationweek.com article that 'the flight control system on A320s has greater fault redundancy than does the widebody’s'. Is this a correct assumption, do you think?
• The ACARS messages are bewildering, to say the least. Have you seen the printout of the ACARS from those last minutes?
• The failure of all the flight management systems, at different times, is unique.. isn't it?
• And the very last advisory that indicates 'Total loss of cabin pressure and total loss of electrical power'.. Again, would this this indicate some sort of in-flight break-up?

I will answer those questions after the next crossing. Now it's time to go to work. I'm a little behind today, because I actually had a great night sleep. And... I'm revising my novel one more time too.

Perfectionism... a time thief.

Fly safe and enjoy the journey!

~Karlene