How much lack of similarity in airliner flying?

"Otis McNatt" wrote in message
om...
Suppose *both* pilots in, say, a B-737, were to die in flight
[snip ]
So, suppose it did happen. If there happened to be an airline pilot
on board who was certified in any of the other Boeing models, from the
717 up the 747 and 777, but having no experience flying the 737, would he
have much of a problem landing the plane?

I'm sure that anyone with an ATPL and experience of some sort of airliner
would be able to get it on the ground, assuming that the systems were
functioning normally (i.e. you only had to contend with the mechanics of
approaches and landings, not broken flaps, hydraulic failures, etc). And a
friend who's a commercial pilot reckons that even a PPL with a decent amount
of experience stands a reasonable chance of landing something like a 737 so
long as there's someone on the radio telling him what buttons to push, what
speeds to use, etc, etc - though for a PPL the problem would be navigating
to the nearest suitable airfield using tools that probably aren't familiar.

This said, a flying instructor friend of mine has a relative who
transitioned from the B757 to the B747 a while back. No real problems except
that the first time he landed this much bigger aircraft, in which the pilot
sits much higher off the ground: "the ground happened rather sooner than I
expected it to".

D.

"Mike Rapoport" writes:

You watch too much TV. The chances of two healthy people dying from
unrelated causes at the same time is so remote as to be inconcievable. Have
you considered the posibility of the airplane being hit by a meteor?


Food poisoning disabling the crew is a possibility, however. I seem
to recall a rule that the left & right seats have to choose different
meals. I.e. one gets the rubber chicken, the other the cardboard
steak.

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

In article , David Cartwright wrote:
approaches and landings, not broken flaps, hydraulic failures, etc). And a
friend who's a commercial pilot reckons that even a PPL with a decent amount
of experience stands a reasonable chance of landing something like a 737 so

I can say first hand that's possible. I did the ATOP course when United
were running it in Denver (12 hrs of groundschool, and 1 hr flight time
in their Level D sim). The B737 just wasn't hard to land, nor was it
difficult to hand-fly an instrument approach.

I would say I've got good confidence that most PPLs who've flown a high
performance single could pull it off given instructions on what to push
over the radio.

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"

"Dylan Smith" wrote in message
...
In article , David Cartwright wrote:
approaches and landings, not broken flaps, hydraulic failures, etc). And
a
friend who's a commercial pilot reckons that even a PPL with a decent
amount
of experience stands a reasonable chance of landing something like a 737
so

I can say first hand that's possible. I did the ATOP course when United
were running it in Denver (12 hrs of groundschool, and 1 hr flight time
in their Level D sim). The B737 just wasn't hard to land, nor was it
difficult to hand-fly an instrument approach.

I would say I've got good confidence that most PPLs who've flown a high
performance single could pull it off given instructions on what to push
over the radio.

If they can figure out how to use the particular radio, which was one of the
things the 9/11 terrorists screwed up despite reading the manuals. Hell, I
have enough difficulty switching among the various stacks in our rental
fleet of 172's. Is there a big red arrow labeled "PTT SWITCH HERE" in the
737?

-- David Brooks

"David Brooks" wrote in message ...

If they can figure out how to use the particular radio, which was one of the
things the 9/11 terrorists screwed up despite reading the manuals. Hell, I
have enough difficulty switching among the various stacks in our rental
fleet of 172's. Is there a big red arrow labeled "PTT SWITCH HERE" in the
737?

Finding the PTT is easy. Trying to figure out where/how to select the frequency
can be daunting.

Is there a big red arrow labeled "PTT SWITCH HERE" in the
737?

They don't have PTT's, they have microphones that they hang up on a
hanger on the sidewall.

"Newps" wrote in message ...


Is there a big red arrow labeled "PTT SWITCH HERE" in the
737?

They don't have PTT's, they have microphones that they hang up on a
hanger on the sidewall.

It's on the yoke, just make sure you don't mistake the a/p disconnect or
the trim control for it.

Capt.Doug wrote:
"Bob Moore" wrote in message In the B-727,
the autoland system functioned quite well from a CAT II ILS.


During Cat II trials, my colleagues logged a successful Cat II with autoland
at an airport without a Cat II ILS.

That's not too surprising. A Cat 1 ILS can be with in the limits of Cat
II, it's just not guaranteed to be that way all the time.

--
Chris W

Not getting the gifts you want? The Wish Zone can help.
http://thewishzone.com

"Bob Moore" wrote in message

NOT required!
......In the B-727,
the autoland system functioned quite well from a CAT II ILS.
Our B-727 minimums were CAT II ....

I concur.

John Gaquin
B727, B747