guest post by Todd Lappin (Telstar Logistics)
This video taken from the cockpit of a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400 making a final approach to SFO seems to have been filmed with official sanction, so the production quality is excellent. If you’ve ever wondered what’s going on in the front of the plane as you prepare to land at SFO — or if you’re just a fan of air traffic control communications and NASA-style checklists — these videos should more than satisfy your curiosity.
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{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
This is taken from the ITVV DVD of the full flight. Highly recommended.
The corresponding takeoff video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHmIR1JJXyw
Thanks Jeffery, I've updated the post.
is this DVD available anywhere in the US? google only yields a couple of stores in the UK, and its like 22 pounds. (ouch)
And this is part-2 of takeoff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UUQr6T4EZ0
Please send this taking-off video urgently to the Spanair Company in Spain
or even better to de Judge in Spain in charge of te case. Wonderful
Very interesting videos. Thanks.
BTW, I wouldn't characterize them as “NASA-style” checklists. I do checklists just exactly that way in my two-seater Cessna 152.
– Jack Hodgson, Uncontrolled Airspace Podcast
As the son of a U.S. Naval aviator who flew P2V’s and P-3’s and a total flight nut, this has been the best 30+- minutes spent on flight in my life. Never have I learned so much valuable inforamtion. My biggest thrill up to this video has been to fly in a 2 engine turboprop from Dulles to Norfolk in the seat directly behind the co-pilot which allowed me to observe every move they made. The other experience was in th Philippines in 1975 when flying in a single engine job and being asked to take the “stick”. I learned quickly that the way to fly level was to use a magic thing called the trim. What fun and thank you for this video.
what does “heavy” mean in aircraft language?
“Heavy” is an aircraft above a specific Max Takeoff weight. I cannot give the exact weight without looking it up, but it is on the order of 300,000 pounds. The Boeing 747 is the ‘original’ “HEAVY” –
Heavy aircraft cause Air Traffic Control to use greater separation rules for Takeoffs & Landings than do aircraft such as Boing 737’s, McDonnell MD-10’s etc.
The increased separation rules are used for heavy aircraft due to the vortices left behind in the air aka “Wake turbulence”.
All aircraft leave disturbed air behind them because, heck, air was just stretched to support the weight of the plane and to let the plane occupy that volume for that moment as it passed through.
The air reacts afterward. The bigger the plane, the bigger reaction.
Cheers,
RH
Heavy is one of three aircraft classes identified by air traffic controllers for the purposes of wake turbulence separation. Aircraft are classed as small if they are certificated for takeoff weights of less than 41,000 pounds. Aircraft are considered large if they are certificated for a takeoff weight of between 41,000 pounds and 255,000 pounds. And 255,000 pounds and above are heavy. How much separation controllers must leave between aircraft depends on their classification.
Great Video…thnx John…As an ex Airport Security Operations Manager for A major International Airport…I have been in the cockpit during flight on the 747 and others…but never was on the flight deck during landings and take offs….
This video filled in the missing pieces…Thnx…
Fantastic. And those British pilots are so polite! ha! loved it
Tremendously interesting !!!
Excellent video! The attention to detail the Captain gives, especially discussing the pre-takeoff gameplan, is commendable. I’ve ridden in a lot of jumpseats, and many do not elaborate on what they will do if they lose an engine, or abort a takeoff.
Comentário de Aurimar Reis
22 de Dezembro de 2008 – Segunda Feira 01:05 hr.
Excelente apresentação. Pilotos muito muita competencia e operando com segurança total, bem tranquilos e obedecendo todas as normas e regras para pousos e decolagens. Parabéns
This has to be every mans desire in life. Piloting an aircraft just once would be the thrill of a life time.
As An Ex RAF Assistant Air Traffic Controller, & an airline ground Operations Officer (Stansted A/P)….. I can relate to these Take-off’s & Landing’s very well!
This was text book stuff………By the ‘BOOK’ & very professional!! Too bad they did not have any ‘Bad Weather’ to deal with! That would have made it more interesting!
As a retired Air Force pilot experienced as Instructor in 8 types of aircraft, this is a very professional job under absolutely benign conditions. It would be entertaining to see similar footage during night -weather with a minor emergency in progress such as one engine out . Thanks for an interesting video.
This video was outstanding – as interesting as the time 22 years ago when a Quantas 767 pilot let me come up and sit in the hump seat from Auckland to Melbourne – those days are gone forever…
I used to fly until the expense got to me VFR, light single engine fixed gear planes) – I was astounded at (a) how the glass cockpit simplifies things , (b) how automated everying is even in the decent – dial in the heading, speed, altitude…
I want to see if we can get the DvD here in the US
Great stuff.I’ve piloted a Cessna 172 as a student pilot and thought that my checklist was long. To watch these professional pilots at work has given me a new appreciation for flying and the attention to detail.The view from a 747 is something that i’ll probably never experience in real life; but what a thrill.Thanks.
Watching this gives me more faith in our pilots than ever before. It may look like a mundane job, but the apparent simplicity hides a lot of skill and training. The equipment sophistication is amazing compared to old time flying when the seat of one’s pants was very important.
Thank you for the effort in making this show.
Denham Meek
Fabulous! Thank You so much! Have always wanted to see take off and landing from a cockpit point of view…in one of those monster planes. I drive by the Boeing plant every week and watch them being built. So thanks videographer, thanks editor, thanks pilot and crew, and thanks Richard Branson for opening your airliner!
Although not being a pilot I must admit that I do like flying and find these videos of excellent quality and very informative so if I show ignorance in asking this question please forgive. Q At the spanish air disaster of 12 Sept 2008 I believe the air craft had not been confiugred for take off ( no leading edges or flaps had been set) and so after looking at all the preflight checks done by Virgin 19 how come that some how these got missed
As an ex fighter pilot WWii to Vietnam I am amaed at the simplicity of the flight management of such a large bird. Vor and rapon were the main means of navigation . We did things much faster and were constantly on the lookout for other aircraft. My hat is off to these Pro’s
A great tool for building more interest into potential future pilots. I didn’t know a lot about the checklists as shown during the real flight; glad the LSE aircraft are simplier.
Very interesting video. I always had seen landing from the window of my seat, and some simulated in Flight Sinmulator, but nothing compares with the REAL ONE! Specially for the different cameras and angles shooting simultaneously. Thanks for this gift.
As one truly without experience, I found these videos to be awesome. I was just wondering what is the actual job of the third
member of the crew? Many thanks.
The third crewman was introduced as an “extra” crewman at the beginning of the 1st video.
He is exactly that on this flight. Modern aircraft only require a pilot and co-pilot to operate.
Older aircraft without so much automation often required a third crewman known as the “flight engineer” who was responsible for overseeing the operation of the engines and fuel management, etc from the rear of the cockpit while the pilot & copilot kept it pointed in the right direction. Sometimes a 4th crewman was also there as a full time navigator before more modern radio beacon directional aids and later GPS came into common use. It was a full time, highly skilled job to navigate using what limited information was available: weather data (wind speed & direction info that may already be obsolete or just inaccurate) along with indicated air speeds, known altitude and stopwatches, etc used to calculate (guesstimate?) the current position of the aircraft at any given time during a flight.
Most likely, the 3rd crewman in this video was simply flying “deadhead” (free travel as an airline employee) and as a fellow flight deck officer, pitched in to help out with a few minor jobs here and there during the flight.
OUTSTANDING VIDEO!! The crew, the photography, and the attention to detail is unequaled anywhere else. It is unfortunate that none of the other cockpit videos available here were as clear, complete, and easy to follow. Even the radio txs were audible and pertinent to the presentation.
The entire crew and video were total professionals and give refreshing meaning to “by the book”. Well done, indeed! Please point me in the direction of the complete dvd/tape/media of this and any other cockpit videos for other aircraft that are as well done.
Many thanks,again, to all who had some part in such a fascinating video!
PS to above: The landing at SFO as seen from the cockpit has an even greater “pucker factor” than watching it through the passenger cabin window ;)
Hi
I wonder if you could enlighten me. Having just flown in on a Virgin flight (not Jumbo, next size down…sorry but I am not an enthusiast…yet!) from Hong Kong to Heathrow, just as we were about to land (maybe 100ft?), the pilot suddenly opened up the boosters and ‘took off ‘ again. Is this a fairly common occurance. The pilot said it was because of traffic on the runway, but if he had clearance to land, how can this happen?…and also a fairly common occurance?
Paul,
That is a runway incursion, which is not very common overall statistically, but very dangerous. Either ATC screwed up or the pilot on the runway screwed up. I’m sure some people got into big big trouble over that. Not only the risk to your life, but the time and hassle of a missed approach at a big airport is huge cost.
Paul, you flew on the Airbus A340-600. Like you said, it’s next in size before the Jumbo but in fact it’s 5 meters longer than the Jumbo! Virgin flies from Hong Kong twice daily, flight numbers 201 and 239.
Now you’re an enthusiast ;)
Regards,
K.
Thank you so much for this.
It was a great thing to watch.
They make it look too easy.
Very entertaining!
I work GSE, (Ground Spport Equipment) @ an Airport and I know what it is like to handle the Aircraft on the ground with all the equipment needed for take off and all that’s needed for landing but I now know what it’s like in the cockpit and all the preparation for landing & take off.
Thanks for the outstanding Videos that I can now put the rest of the operation together.
Keep them coming.
Many Thanks.
I love to fly and was always amazed at the cockpit and the skills of those operating the aircraft as well as all the ATC people. This was a great and well-done video. At age 70 my days are gone for flying anything but it sure was cool to just see how its done. Thanks to all who made this video plus Virgin Airlines.
I once got to sit behind the captains on BA 214 & 213–747’s. I was working for them in 1995. I did about an hour on both takeoff and landing both ways. Fantastic experience. The crew pointed out things for me that I would never have noticed. It was a night departure from BOS and a day departure from LHR Very similar to the video. The flight from BOS had a very laid back captain who acted like it was all too routine, unlike the captain on the flight back from LHR. I think it can be very routine for these guys and if your being filmed you can’t risk not being completely professional. I’m not sure all pilots put on the display of professionalim that the video shows, yet still can be in complete control of an aircraft. I got to spend 15 minutes on the flightdeck in mid flight on Virgin 11 back in 1993. Not the same. I would love to do it again.
Dear sir:
Thanks a lot for sharing these fantastic videos. I am just another huge fan of air traffic control communications and NASA-style checklists as well as aircrafts, so these videos for sure satisfy my curiosity.
Pleae, keep posting more interesting videos.
WOW!! you can not spend a better 60mins if you are interrested in aircraft. Fantastic view of the flight crews operations during take off and landing, makes me wish that I studied and did what I always wanted to do instead of messing around with my mates and ending up doing a boring job. Cant wait as I am flying this route in 5 days time :)
I see that you removed these excelent videos. Did you post them somewhere else? or do you know where else I can find them? Thanks.
The 747 Virgin 19 part 1,2 and 3 have been removed from youtube for copyright. This video was very helpful for pilots wanting to learn more and it has been up for a while, is there any need to remove something very useful. Dont understand! Going to Oxford Aviation Academy in 2 years and this would really help me!