Ask the Captain: What do pilots do during long flights?
— -- Question: Captain, I often wonder what the pilots are doing during the cruise phase of flight when many of us are sleeping or watching movies.
I know they are monitoring the radios and the cockpit gauges, but when on auto-pilot and cruising I am sure it can get very boring on, say, a red-eye cross-country flight. I recently thought about this while flying from Tahiti to LAX on a red-eye flight with only one cockpit crew onboard because the flight is just 8 hours. Over the open Pacific Ocean there would be little if any air traffic control communication.
I believe many airlines have policies banning laptops open in the cockpit. Can they read? What do they do to stay busy and not fall asleep?
—submitted by reader 437044b79ca231c6
Answer: The workload during cruise is much lower than during take-off and landing. However, there are several tasks that are required, including position reports if not in a radar environment (such as over the ocean or large jungle areas) to air traffic control, monitoring the fuel log (ensuring that the fuel burn is matching the flight plan), and verifying that the flight management computer has followed the flight plan (known as gross error checks), to name a few.
The use of personal laptops varies from airline to airline, but most require that any activity be directly related to the flight or to studying for training.
Managing fatigue is a challenge, particularly when flying overnight (red-eye) flights. Some countries allow pilots to take controlled naps to improve alertness during the landing. So far, the U.S. has not allowed this fatigue mitigation. Pilots keep flight deck lights up, and engage in conversation to help keep alert.
Q: In a hotel shuttle headed to JFK, a four-striper was asked where he's going: "I'm driving an airplane to London."
That prompted thoughts: It's 6 hours in the air, he gets to rest for two en-route, a couple before and after, he'll then have 27 hours off. The time doesn't quite allow for a turn-around, but it has all the appearances of being an extremely nice gig. I know the adage about experience counts when there's a crisis, but come on, 6 hours flying, 2 or 3 before and after?
A: There are a couple of considerations before you judge this schedule. Duty time is not just the flying time. Crews report to work 1 to 2 hours prior to departure and usually work 15 to 30 minutes after arrival. If there are additional pilots, then there is a rest break (though on a flight like JFK - LHR, there might not be as the flight time is normally less than 8 hours). If there is not an additional pilot, then there are no rest breaks. Once in London the crew member is faced with a 5-hour time difference for sleeping, eating, etc. Everyone has their own way of coping with this but it is a challenge. Additionally, he or she must be rested and ready for duty on the return flight; this can mean trying to sleep at unusual times in order to have had 6+ hours sleep when it is time to get on the crew bus going to work.
Yes, some trips have good layovers but there are many where the layovers are minimal, difficult (trying to sleep during the day while hotel staff is cleaning hallways using vacuum cleaners that are noisier than a jet engine). Fatigue is, unfortunately, a part of a flight crew member's life. Hopefully, the FAA can revise the crew duty and flight time regulations to help reduce the fatigue. It is not as good a "gig" as it seems from the outside.
John Cox is a retired airline captain with U.S. Airways and runs his own aviation safety consulting company, Safety Operating Systems.
