some questions only for pilots(real,not keyboard pilots)

[John Doe]

Good afternoon to all you real pilots here in this forum.

Forum members such as MuradK,Chogy,X-Man and any other pilots out there:

Can you please let us know what kind of accessories did you use while flying? I am primarily referring to the make of watches and sunglasses. Were these issued by your air force or did you buy them yourself?

When you see images of pilots in ads and movies, they are usually wearing Breitling type watches and Ray-Ban shades. How true is this image?

Thank you in advance.

 

[PoKeMon]

pilot ka bhai chalega?????

 

[John Doe]

Hahaha, chalega bhidoo! In fact , mast daudega

 

[Chogy]

Good afternoon to all you real pilots here in this forum.

Forum members such as MuradK,Chogy,X-Man and any other pilots out there:

Can you please let us know what kind of accessories did you use while flying? I am primarily referring to the make of watches and sunglasses. Were these issued by your air force or did you buy them yourself?

In the military, they issed what are called "hack watches." These are your basic (but rugged) mechanical wind-up watch. No batteries = works forever. For most purposes, these are plenty accurate.

For things like bombs-on-target, the most common used mechanism is the clock in the jet, coordinated to UTC (Zulu time) via GPS signals. These are dead-accurate.

Sunglasses - mil issue, and rarely worn, as the visor was optically better and preferable. Those that needed corrective lenses used the military glasses, at least in the U.S.

We trained ourselves to do without any tinting, though, as the tint can cut light and reduce visual acuity. But that's all military stuff.

When you see images of pilots in ads and movies, they are usually wearing Breitling type watches and Ray-Ban shades. How true is this image?

In the civilian world, not very. Ray Ban Aviators are very good glasses, but despite this, they've become kind of a cliche. And watches - really, the need for a fancy watch no longer exists. 50 years ago, yes, when much of navigation and instrument procedures were based on a plain clock or watch, but that has been superceded with modern equipment, like GPS.

The reality is that experienced commercial pilots tend to avoid that image. I have no watch, and wear $10 sunglasses, because they are easy to lose or break. You definitely don't want to be a walking pilot cliche!

All I can really add is that whatever sunglasses you buy, be sure they are not polarized. Polarized lenses interfere with modern glass cockpit displays, and can cause some really funky visual oddities with heated windows or polycarbonate.

HTH and good luck if you pursue aviation.

 

[John Doe]

Thank you very much for this detailed and excellent post!
I was also wondering if fighter planes such the ones you had flown in your Air Force career come with autopilots? I mean can you set a course and sleep for a while, like in commercial jets? Not in war time, I am sure

 

[Chogy]

Thank you very much for this detailed and excellent post!
I was also wondering if fighter planes such the ones you had flown in your Air Force career come with autopilots? I mean can you set a course and sleep for a while, like in commercial jets? Not in war time, I am sure

You are welcome!

Some fighters have very crude autopilots, but the majority don't. Weight and space are saved for weapons systems, fuel, and ECM.

Most long-ranged flights are done in numbers, in some sort of formation, which precludes auto-flight.

And sleeping is not an option!

 

[blackops]

Can a rc pilot also answer the question

 

[Hulk]

Thanks Chogy, can answer one question for me too. I have asked this so many times but no clear answer.

When the aircraft turns on runway and takes off. How do you know that you aircraft is aligned and will not go off the runway.

I mean before you start running. I do not mean, how do you keep it straight.

 

[Chogy]

Thanks Chogy, can answer one question for me too. I have asked this so many times but no clear answer.

When the aircraft turns on runway and takes off. How do you know that you aircraft is aligned and will not go off the runway.

I mean before you start running. I do not mean, how do you keep it straight.

It's really quite easy... the rudder pedals (on the ground) are tied into both the rudders AND the nose-wheel. When you kick full rudder on the ground, you get about 10 to 15 degrees of nose-wheel steering. Harder ground turns are done with a device called the "tiller" which is like a tiny steering wheel in the side-wall of the cockpit.

The tiller is used to align the jet with the runway centerline, and it is then allowed to roll a few feet be be sure the nose wheel is not cocked. Power up, you roll nice and straight, and the tiller is never used on take-off.

On TO roll, you then steer with your feet, and unless there is a truly vicious cross-wind, no more thought is required than an experienced driver in a car on a modern road. It's almost automatic.

 

[John Doe]

One more question!

I drive a Honda Accord(I know, I know, the stereotypical 'Indian in USA' car, alongwith the Camry).
It has some quirks and I am familiar with them. When I drive some other Accord, the gas pedal feels different, the steering feels different and so on, even if the cars are otherwise identical.
Does this happen with planes too? I mean, does each plane feel 'different' when you step on the gas, or change gears(the Aviation equivalent, of course)?
Do the mechanics tell you what to watch for?
Thank you.

 

[Muradk]

During our time back in the 60s for fighter pilots and bomber pilots standard issue was Omega, Ray-Ban plus Flying Jacket M1 now they call it MA-1 this was a standard issuse after every 3 years you were issued a new pair, if you lost it or broke it go get another one no questions asked.
In the 70s most of us went to Middle E to teach the Arabs how to fly fighters and they gave us Rolex 1 per year 3 Ray-Ban glasses per year and standard flying jacket most of us never needed a jacket it was too dame hot. During the end of your deputation the King used to give you a Gold Rolex watch or a Silver one totally depended on his mood 99.9% it used to be a Gold one the king had to show off . But Omega was the standard watch in PAF again things were different during our time, I have no clue what they use now a days.

For flying coverall as many as you want G-suits as per required.

 

[Muradk]

One more question!

I drive a Honda Accord(I know, I know, the stereotypical 'Indian in USA' car, alongwith the Camry).
It has some quirks and I am familiar with them. When I drive some other Accord, the gas pedal feels different, the steering feels different and so on, even if the cars are otherwise identical.
Does this happen with planes too? I mean, does each plane feel 'different' when you step on the gas, or change gears(the Aviation equivalent, of course)?
Do the mechanics tell you what to watch for?
Thank you.[/QUOTE

Simple example Mirage is to Honda without power steering and F-16 is to Mercedes-Benz.

 

[Masterchief]

One question from my side, in many hollywood movies i have seen the names of the pilot and the navigator written on the jet, does every airforce follow this tradition,and how exactly did this tradition started?

 

[John Doe]

During our time back in the 60s for fighter pilots and bomber pilots standard issue was Omega, Ray-Ban plus Flying Jacket M1 now they call it MA-1 this was a standard issuse after every 3 years you were issued a new pair, if you lost it or broke it go get another one no questions asked.
In the 70s most of us went to Middle E to teach the Arabs how to fly fighters and they gave us Rolex 1 per year 3 Ray-Ban glasses per year and standard flying jacket most of us never needed a jacket it was too dame hot. During the end of your deputation the King used to give you a Gold Rolex watch or a Silver one totally depended on his mood 99.9% it used to be a Gold one the king had to show off . But Omega was the standard watch in PAF again things were different during our time, I have no clue what they use now a days.

For flying coverall as many as you want G-suits as per required.

Thank you sir, for a fantastically detailed reply. I am so envious of your Ray-Ban, Rolex and Omega collection

Sir , what I meant by the difference in driving cars vs. planes was does any one Mirage III feel like the next Mirage III?Are there some individual handling differences within the same type and model of jet that are quite strong?

Thank you once again.

 

[Chogy]

JD, every jet TYPE is different. But within a type (like 737-800) they all handle identically unless there is a malfunction.

99.9% of commercial pilots at the airlines fly only one type. To transition to another (like 737 --> 777) requires 4 to 6 weeks of schooling. You have to learn new systems, new procedures, and learn how the jet handles and operates. Simulators these days are so good that a pilot can become 100% qualified on a Boeing 777, and his very first real flight in the jet is carrying passengers. It's too expensive to dedicate an actual jet to training.

One question from my side, in many hollywood movies i have seen the names of the pilot and the navigator written on the jet, does every airforce follow this tradition,and how exactly did this tradition started?

I believe it truly started in WW2. The names are usually pilot and crew chief. But in WW1, pilots had their own airplanes and were allowed to paint them as they chose, like Von Richtofen's Flying Circus.

Today, those with their names on a jet don't fly only that jet. The jet you get when you step for a mission is pretty random. But you can always look at a tail number and see your name, which felt good!