Flying blind?
Question: When pilots of jet aircraft are coming in to land, or indeed taking
off, do they look out of the window as the driver of a car would? Do they steer,
take off and land the aircraft by what they can see outside, or do they rely on
their instruments alone? If the latter, how?
Answer: The simple answer is yes, the pilot does look out of the window. But
as with many simple answers there are riders.
In an airliner one pilot looks out of the window while the other monitors the
instruments. During takeoff, the pilot looking out, known as the pilot flying
(PF), will control the direction of the aircraft while being alert to any
malfunction that may require the takeoff to be abandoned. The other pilot, known
as the pilot not flying (PNF), monitors the engine and flight instruments,
calling out information and speed.
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In many modern aircraft, the PF simply monitors what鈥檚 happening. A computer
steers the plane and rotates it into the climb.
For landing, duties are split again. The PNF takes care of all radio
transmissions, and selects landing gear, flap and other controls under the
direction of the PF, while monitoring the instruments and calling out speed and
altitude. The PF relies completely on perspective when landing, and looks at
least 1000 metres ahead of the aircraft to judge the point at which to rotate it
into the landing attitude. Before reverse thrust and braking are applied the
aircraft must be placed on the runway with the tyres making firm contact with
the ground.
Avionics are now so advanced that in the latest aircraft all the PF has to do
is line the aircraft up on the runway for takeoff and open up the throttles. The
plane can then almost take care of itself until it has landed and the PF steers
it off the runway to taxi towards the terminal.
The pilot鈥檚 actions, therefore, depend on the degree of automation for the
individual aircraft and the capability of the airport to give approach guidance
through radio landing aids. In most cases the pilot simply monitors the
instruments, ready to intervene if a malfunction appears. We are approaching the
point where, in theory, pilots may be redundant. How long it will be before the
travelling public accepts such a situation is open to conjecture. Pilots will be
with us for a long time, even if their role has been reduced to computer
operators.
Malcolm Payne
Southam, Warwickshire
Answer