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-   -   Airplane Review (Boeing 747-400) by a Pilot : A first for Team-BHP! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commercial-vehicles/56178-airplane-review-boeing-747-400-pilot-first-team-bhp-10.html)

Wow...a nice conversation indeed...Probably a time will come in India when these machines land on their own due to ATC frequency being jammed often!

No time too soon, Sandeep. The passenger airliners built today and those of the future are being designed with such facilities onboard with fully functional autopilots, auto throttle, Auto engine monitoring and control, CPDLC - basically non verbal pilot-atc commn and of course instrument landing systems such as ILS cat IIIC designed to allow planes to land in zero visibility. The pilot today remains more of a systems and flight manager, but despite all the verdict still remains in favour of the pilot being the ultimate authority in critical situations, though mistakes do occur.
For the auto enthusiasts, yes these technologies do filter down in their own nano-tech way making motoring safe for everybody. Offshoots include GPS road mapping, cruise control, max rate brakes(read ABS with EBD), suspension levellers and electronic steering.
Regards

Yes I will disagree! But Wouldn't make this thread another airbus versus boeing thread!! :)

It is dangerous to fly over mach 0.96 because you are approaching the speed of sound (1 mach) and there is something called the sonic boom (basically large pressure differences) when an object flies at the speed of sound. It is unsafe for commercial aircraft.

If it aint boeing I aint going!

Its more expensive.... Burns more fuel. That's all. Classic example- Concorde.


The concorde will burn more fuel than a a380 carry 92–120 passengers 92–120 passengers versus 555 to 850 in half the time.


That's all. Supersonic flight is completely safe. Just expensive.

Great reading, both the original post as well the contribution from other bhp'ians. After reading this, don't feel like posting a 35,000 kms review of my Baleno.

Woah! I never knew such a topic in TBHP. When I saw the topic through the forum home page, I thought maybe I would be the first one to comment out here, but the story was different. But thanks for all the info you guys shared. I am pretty much considering becoming a pilot, so I guess I gotta do a lot of hard work :)

BTW, can someone tell me the approx total costs for the whole course?

The 747 was a game changer: atleast the earlier models. Until then the 707 was the biggest thing flying and overnight we had a 400 seater. The economies of scale that followed allowed airlines to drop fares allowing many more people to travel.

However Boeing has clearly lost the edge of being game-changers to Airbus. Its only Airbus that offers full envelope FBW starting from the A320. It was one thing when FBW was first introduced. But 25 years after being first introduced, if Boeing still cant come up with FBW it says a lot about the company.

From an airlines perspective, it means that the same set of pilots can be type rated across multiple aircraft types allowing for unmatched flexibility in scheduling. Airlines operating Boeings simply dont have this flexibility. From a passengers perspective the 2-4-2 layout in ecoonomy is far more preferable to cramped 3-4-3 on the 747's. The A320 could carry a lot more belly cargo than the competing 737's allowing A320 operators to cross-subsidise the passenger fares on a scale never possible before! Being Cat-3 certified from the word go, means that airlines operating the Airbus' will fly in Delhi's winter fog conditions, while Boeing operators stay grounded.

The problem with Boeing has been that it clearly has'nt been keeping up with market trends. All that it had in response to the Airbus A320 was to warm up the earlier 737. A similar approach was made while responding to the A330. And now the A380 as well.

Airbus has evolved into a company that listens to customers and positively incorporates that feedback. While Boeing, despite making a song and dance about customer interaction, clearly is listening only to what it's bean counters want to listen to. All that Boeing has had by way of a comeback is smart-*** limericks about "Boeing making planes, and airbus making video games". Clearly a lot more airlines and passengers are preferring these "video games" to Boeings poorly made planes.

One look at the never ending 787 fiasco is proof enough of the grotesque degradation of Boeing as an airplane maker. In every segment that they compete, the 100 to 200 seater A32x vs B737, the MCLR category A330 vs B777 and now the VLA segment 747 vs A380: airbus has been coming out trumps.

Infact in the VLA segment, Boeing has given airbus a walkover! The 747 was a game changer and was made in an era when Boeing listened to its customers. It is a reminder of what a great company Boeing once was. But also a reminder of how low they have sunk.

The Airbus A380 is the new game changer- burning 8% less fuel than a 747-400 and carrying 30% more passengers upto 15% farther! The kind of first class cabins that are on offer today simply cannot be fitted economically on the 747- even the newer -8 series! Meaning today, Boeing has lost game, set and match to the Europeans. Smart limericks not withstanding.

Some may even say: Airbus makes planes, Boeing makes sad jokes.

Nice writeup. I am really interested in planes (though never intended to be a pilot). With the help of youtube and online tutorials, learnt to fly and land Boeing and Airbus in FSX. The graphics are awesome, but resource demanding too.

Even though its OT, some screenshots from the same:

Awesome thread!
As my dad works for an airline company, I had the opportunity to peek-a-boo into cockpits quite often (and even stay on for quite a while) when I was a kid (those were the pre 9/11 days) while flying.
Its a great feeling charging straight into the white clouds!

Sadly I could never even think of flying a plane due to my not-so-perfect myopic vision from teenage.

Ok. Thanks for the correction.

wow awesome thread, never expected discussions on planes here. I have always been hooked on to planes both fighter planes and commercial ones. Watched the movie Behind Enemy Lines yesterday again for the 5th or the 6th time. Can someone explain how the auto pilot system works ? Read that it is also capable of even landing by itself which is just amazing. Are you guys allowed to listen to some music when you are like in autopilot mode and relaxing ?

Wow- What a thread- dont know how have missed it for so long.

Great stuff flyboy. The coolest thing about pilots is their calmness when all hell is breaking loose like they show in those Air Crash Investigation episodes. Apart from astronauts and pilots, I really can't think of anyone who can be so cool under life threatening pressure.