[Ford5]

The 777x Cock-Pit is no more the brown shade like the existing 777's. Head up displays and new GPS and ILS navigation is new along with big screens & foldable wing tips. Trim tanks etc remain unlike the A350 which has apparently done away with it in the rear.

[Jeroen]

Here is something you don’t see every day!

http://avherald.com/h?article=4ba7efc8&opt=0

[Rahul Bhalgat]

I have a small query about Boeing 737, out of curiosity. Could not find a thread on 737, so posting here.

The query is regarding the side windows of the cockpit. Why, in a 737, the side windows have a V-dip on the bottom side? I identify a 737 from a 320 by looking for this V-dip.

And why is this V-dip so sharp? Sharp corners are stress raisers. It could been rounded, maintaining it's purpose.

[silversteed]

I have posted this here only because it's related to the Boeing 777, though it's got to do with the way news outlets twist and sensationalise air traffic related incidents.

Exhibit A:
News18.com piece

Carrying 200 Passengers, Jeddah-bound Pakistan Plane Catches Fire Minutes After Take Off

Lahore: A major tragedy was averted on Sunday when an agile pilot successfully landed a Pakistan International Airlines flight carrying about 200 passengers onboard after one of its engines caught fire minutes after take off.

The Jeddah-bound flight PK-759 was forced to make an emergency landing back to Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore after one of its engines caught fire during take off.

A couple of weeks ago another Pakistan International Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing at the Lahore airport after a bird hit it

Exhibit B:
Avherald blog

Incident: PIA B772 at Lahore on Sep 15th 2019, engine shut down in flight

A PIA Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-200, registration AP-BGK performing flight PK-759 from Lahore (Pakistan) to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), was climbing out of Lahore's runway 36R when the crew received a fire warning for the left hand engine (GE90), stopped the climb at about 4500 feet, worked the related checklists shutting the engine down and discharging the fire suppression, and returned to Lahore for a safe landing on runway 36R about 18 minutes after departure.

The airline reported there had been no engine fire, the engine's fire loop malfunctioned.

Any guesses which one among the two would make their way into WhatsApp forwards, especially because of the region and the airline?

[Jeroen]

Things are heating up for Boeing and the FAA. Regulators will not accept the FAA certification and insist on doing their own certification on the new 777X.

To date, regulators would more or less accept each other certification. E.g. EASO would accept FAA certification of Boeing and vv on Airbus.

FAA has lost an incredible amount of respect and trust, based on what has emerged on the Boeing 737 Max fiasco. So regulators the world all over, will not accept anything from the FAA at face value, but are going to do their own certification.

https://www.businessinsider.nl/boein...onal=true&r=US

Jeroen

[revsperminute]

I want to pose a question for anyone working in the aviation field. I'm in 12th standard now and I'm seriously considering a job as an airline pilot. Initial plan was to work in the automotive sector but lower car sales and electrification are real bummers. The question I want to ask is if I join a cadet pilot program and get type-rated on a narrow body aircraft like an A320, will it be difficult to shift to a wide body Boeing aircraft later on in my career? I've always found Boeing aircrafts more exciting but there's currently only one major Boeing operator in our country.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by revsperminute

I want to pose a question for anyone working in the aviation field. I'm in 12th standard now and I'm seriously considering a job as an airline pilot. Initial plan was to work in the automotive sector but lower car sales and electrification are real bummers. The question I want to ask is if I join a cadet pilot program and get type-rated on a narrow body aircraft like an A320, will it be difficult to shift to a wide body Boeing aircraft later on in my career? I've always found Boeing aircrafts more exciting but there's currently only one major Boeing operator in our country.

Addressing only the point highlighted in bold. No you will not have any great difficulty in retraining and getting a fresh type certification for a Boeing wide body if you start your flying career with the Airbus A320. Similarly you will not face a problem graduating up to an Airbus wide body either. Once you have learnt how to fly all aircraft are interesting :-) In my past life I have had pilots ex-IAF transition from MiG-27s and Jaguars to Gulfstreams & Bombardiers! Best of luck for a successful and safe career in flying.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by revsperminute

. The question I want to ask is if I join a cadet pilot program and get type-rated on a narrow body aircraft like an A320, will it be difficult to shift to a wide body Boeing aircraft later on in my career? I've always found Boeing aircrafts more exciting but there's currently only one major Boeing operator in our country.

Further to the excellent clarification by V.Narayan

I am not a commercial pilot, but a GA pilot, but I have lots of friends who fly for various commercial airlines. Obviously, if you want to fly a Boeing you would ultimately need to join a carrier that has Boeings!

It depends a bit on the carrier, but on the larger carriers, that operate both long and short haul your career is likely to start as FO on a short haul plane (or some carriers still have so called cruise pilots on their long haul). You will need to build experience and hours. Depending on their fleet and their requirements they might move you around on a few types (not to often as it is expensive).

Various captains I know started as FO on short haul, became FO on long haul aircraft, captain on short haul and ultimately finish their career as a captain on long haul aircraft.

What is relevant is your place on the seniority list. That determines your next step in your career, which position, which aircraft. Unfortunately, moving from one carrier to the next, might mean having to give up your seniority position. The good news; the aviation industry is an international one and the outlook for pilots is very bright. Lots of new pilots are required. Which usually also means promotions become a little easier and carriers might try to recruit actively senior pilots, outside their own traditional seniority list.

Unfortunately I can not help you on how pilot training works in India. I got all my training and did nearly all of my flying in the USA when we lived there. Lots of Indian pilots go the USA way as well.

This is a good place to start with:

https://www.pprune.org/wannabes-forums-102/

Good luck

Jeroen

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by revsperminute

I want to pose a question for anyone working in the aviation field. I'm in 12th standard now... The question I want to ask is if I join a cadet pilot program and get type-rated on a narrow body aircraft like an A320, will it be difficult to shift to a wide body Boeing aircraft later on in my career? ...

Having gone through the same path decade ago that you are doing now, I would suggest you take a look into joining the airforce in the flying branch. If that is not for you, then look for IGRUA, raebareily, used to be the best flying academy of our country some 10years ago. I believe it still is. I guess it's under CAA flight academy or something. It is like IIT for pilots. If you can crack their entrance and their pilot aptitude battery test you are sure to get the best training and have a successful career. Provided you put your heart and mind through it. Happy flyings

[KaranP]

Lovely thread!

I've been a commercial aviation enthusiast all my life, and it was a joy going through this!

I've wanted to be a CA pilot all my life, but my parents never had the deepest pockets, and the aviation market was pretty bad during '08 - 10' when I got done with my 12th.

Not wanting to risk everything, I decided to go through the engineering route, and have somehow ended up as a Management Consultant for 6 years.

Though I'm not really complaining, this definitely isn't my passion or my 'calling'. So I've started looking at the possibility of being able to do that again.

According to me, the Indigo Cadet Pilot Program seems like the best way to get into CA, but damn is it expensive at over 1 Crore!

I'm 28 now, and it's about time I decided whether I should proceed with this childhood dream of mine.

Though I've evaluated all the Pros of going through with this, I still have some concerns due to which I'm still on the fence:

1. The Aviation and pilot job market post Covid 19
2. Taking in a 60 - 70L INR study loan at not so early into my professional life
3. Realistic return on investment
4. Junior First Officer at the age of 30. Too late?

I'd really appreciate if pilots and aviation enthusiasts could give me some key pointers - which would help me make my decision.

Thanks to everyone in Advance!

Karan

[distiller]

Originally Posted by revsperminute

I want to pose a question for anyone working in the aviation field. I'm in 12th standard now and I'm seriously considering a job as an airline pilot. Initial plan was to work in the automotive sector but lower car sales and electrification are real bummers. The question I want to ask is if I join a cadet pilot program and get type-rated on a narrow body aircraft like an A320, will it be difficult to shift to a wide body Boeing aircraft later on in my career? I've always found Boeing aircrafts more exciting but there's currently only one major Boeing operator in our country.

Adding to what has been said by V. Narayan & Jeroen.

Maybe you have two choices, either enroll in private / airline flying schools or you can choose to go for Indian Airforce. Post 12th you can try for National Defence Academy (NDA) or after graduation you can appear for CDSE and try for Airforce Academy.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by KaranP

I'm 28 now, and it's about time I decided whether I should proceed with this childhood dream of mine.

Karan, I am not a commercial pilot, just a rusty private pilot. I can’t really comment on the situation in India, but I guess, to your point, given where the world is with Corona, it is not a good place to start a piloting career, most likely.

I know a lot of commercial pilots. Oldtimers like me, end of their career, retired and new ones. Just started, most now at home, with a large loan that needs paying off.

I will say this about them: The one thing that sets them apart from many other people is they tend to be absolutely obsessed with flying. No matter what, they want to fly and they will go through extraordinary means to learn to fly and start a career as a pilot.

Some ten years ago, one of my sons wanted to become a pilot. It was a bit of a surprise to me, but of course, very happy to help him out. We signed him up for a three day testing program at the KLM flight Academy. He aced all the tests, in fact they told him, they had never seen anything like it. But they did not hire him. The reason, they believed he would be bored silly after a few years.

There is another thing that sets commercial pilots apart. Most end up doing just that during their whole career. Yes, you will get promoted a few times, move from one airplane to the next, but that is about it. Will running a check list for the 25.456th time still have your attention? Being a pilot means you also need to enjoy a lot of very repetitive tasks. And be very focussed on them, every single time. That is simply not for everybody.

If you ever decide to make another career outside of aviation, you might find it very difficult. Being a pilot is a very specialised skill, outside cockpits not sure how much demand there is? But then again, most pilots I know only want to fly anyway.

I would make sure to do some very thorough research, talk to the airline recruitment agencies, talk to some flight schools, get a feel for what they are saying.

Before you make any decision, it might not be a bad idea to see if you would pass the required medical test. As a commercial pilot you will need a medical class 1 certificate. If for whatever reason you fail that, your options of becoming a commercial pilot are basically non existent. (Apart from some smaller commercial operations).

If commercial aviation for whatever reason is not achievable or too risky, you can always take the route I did. Save up, go to the USA, get your PPL and whatever other certifications/endorsements you like!. Flying as a hobby is never going to be cheap, but still, nowhere else it is cheaper and more easily catered for all your needs as a private pilot as in the USA.

I wanted to become a pilot when I was young. In those days they had strict requirements on eye sight, no glasses! Even then, I had glasses (-3 / -5), so there was no way I was ever going to get excepted. Truth be told, with hind sight, I might have become bored of flying commercial. I had a career doing all sorts of completely different things, all over the world. And I still managed to learn to fly when I was fifty and living in the USA. I flew a lot, got several certifications. But no matter what I am still a relative low hours pilot, which meant it never got boring. Every flight was a huge, thrilling sometimes scary experience. It was the one time I was completely focussed on a specific task. No time or brain capacity left to think about anything else. Taking your first solo flight is a very special experience for any pilot. Hugely rewarding, my sense of achievement was just out of this world. Same when I flew my first real IFR flight, all by myself, in very dodgy weather. Three hour flight, all in IMC. Took off and never saw the ground or sky, until I came in for the landing. Even then only just before I would had to go around I saw the runway lights and proceeded to touch down. So it is very rewarding, challenging and it is of course, potentially, a very unforgiven environment. You can get yourself (and others) killed easily.

There are special “holiday-package”, you go to Florida/California and you get your PPL in 2/3 weeks time. Great experience!

Good luck and lots of wisdom taking your decision going forward.

Jeroen

[KaranP]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Good luck and lots of wisdom taking your decision going forward.

Jeroen

Greetings Jeroen,

Really appreciate you taking the time out to walk me through your personal experiences.

The points you elaborated on, will go a long way in helping me make the ultimate decision!

Thank you!

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by KaranP

...
I'm 28 now, and it's about time I decided whether I should proceed with this childhood dream of mine.

Though I've evaluated all the Pros of going through with this, I still have some concerns due to which I'm still on the fence:

1. The Aviation and pilot job market post Covid 19
2. Taking in a 60 - 70L INR study loan at not so early into my professional life
3. Realistic return on investment
4. Junior First Officer at the age of 30. Too late?

I'd really appreciate if pilots and aviation enthusiasts could give me some key pointers - which would help me make my decision.

Thanks to everyone in Advance!

Karan

First things first, Good that you have a stable career even during this pandemic and beyond. Second, nothing is too late. But, before we proceed with your Commercial pilot aspirations, you need to answer a few questions very honestly to yourself.

1. Why do you want to fly?Do you want to see places or just enjoy flying?

2. Do you like to wake up at odd times, eat at airports, live a nomadic life? Are you ready to see your family just couple of days a week? (Assuming, you fly international immediately after your training).

3. Are you ready to go through a stringent process of selection, training, exams, re-exams, medicals all through your life?

4. Are you ready to forego your seniority and become a trainee and be trained by people who might be almost 10 years younger than you?

5. Remember, IGRUA training lasts for 14 months and another 10 months spent on gathering flying hours. It is very gruelling and you will have no pay while you will be shelling out close to 70 lakhs and your daily expenses. Do you have the patience to see through?

6. Are you ready to live a life of a junior first officer with salary as low as 25K INR? (some airlines do pay even lower salaries!!) Especially after the current pandemic we don't even know if they would need so many pilots again!

If your answer to questions 4, 5 and 6 are a big NO or even a small No, just find a flying club and get your PPL (private pilot's licence) and enjoy it as a hobby. You can still continue this and get your multi engine rating, IFR and even a jet engine type rating (if you have enough vitamin M left).

I guess, airline pilots here will be in a better position to answer specific questions regarding age etc but mine is strictly from my personal experience from military aviation and civil aviation. I went through the same dilemma as you are but I am very much happy being a general aviator.

Best wishes with your future and safe landings.

P.S: I just saw now that Jeroen has already answered in depth to your questions. I second him in every single point.

[balenoed_]

Just happened to watch this documentary on prime. A good watch - Boeing 777 : The Heavy Check.