Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2023 November 28

= November 28 =

Airplanes with 2 pilots.
Afaik airlines for same-country typically have 2 pilots, with none sitting in "the center." How do they split the work? Like 80/20, or 50/50? Is 1 more of an assistant pilot? I suspect now, the airline company can also control the plane, on some auto-pilot, like if there was a solo pilot who went to the bathroom, the airline company can control the plane via some remote auto-pilot? Thanks. 131.193.14.154 (talk) 20:46, 28 November 2023 (UTC).


 * From what I've learned by watching Mayday and general reading on the subject, it's typically 50/50 between the two pilots. The "pilot flying" is responsible for operating the controls and the "pilot not flying" is responsible for radio communications, consulting written reference material, and so on; and they each do each job about half the time, with the captain in overall command.  As to the autopilot and related devices, they can do things like keep the plane flying straight and level, turn to a specific heading, climb to a specific altitude, and so on.  But airliners cannot be controlled remotely. --142.112.220.31 (talk) 23:14, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
 * One of the two pilots is the "pilot flying", which means they operate the flight controls of the aircraft (possibly those of the autopilot), while other tasks, such as contact with air traffic control, can be delegated to the second pilot. There is no fixed formula, but one of the pilots is the pilot in command, and they can make the decision who will be the pilot flying, taking all aspects into consideration. For more challenging parts of a flight, the more experienced pilot will often (but not necessarily) be in control. Another factor is that pilots need to reach a certain amount of flying hours to obtain or keep certain flying licenses. --Lambiam 23:20, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
 * That last sentence suggests that hours in the air as Pilot Not Flying do not count as 'flying hours' in maintaining currency for licenses, even though there are monitoring and communication responsibilities. Is this correct? And if so, what is the mechanism by which 'hours as PF' are distinguished from 'hours aloft'? -- Verbarson talkedits 13:59, 29 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Some unmanned aerial vehicles can be controlled remotely by a human operator, but airline aircraft and other passenger aircraft are never controlled remotely. These aircraft can be flown by an auto-pilot but turning the auto-pilot ON and OFF, and setting the target parameters such as altitude and heading, is normally carried out by the pilot flying. Dolphin ( t ) 00:01, 29 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Company in-flight control would require installing a lot more equipment to get a grasp of the situation. Also, imagine someone hacking into the system and either holding the passengers for ransom or going 9/11. Clarityfiend (talk) 07:47, 29 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Remote Control Airlines has to be implemented very carefully to keep things safe and secure, but a limited way for ATC to send instructions to the flight management system (proceed past holding point X of your flight plan, execute standard terminal arrival Y, change altitude to the minimum published for this holding stack, execute instrument approach procedure Z with autoland) could have saved Helios Airways Flight 522. PiusImpavidus (talk) 18:57, 29 November 2023 (UTC)
 * There has to be a pilot in the cockpit at all times; if not flying, then at least to monitor the autopilot or take action when something unexpected happens. On flights with a single pilot, the pilot can't go to the bathroom. Flights with only a single pilot are normally short hops in small aircraft that don't even have a bathroom. PiusImpavidus (talk) 19:04, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

From what the 1st responder said, does not sound like 50/50 work to me. Can both pilots drive the plane from their spots, even though 1 at a time? 170.76.231.162 (talk) 19:08, 29 November 2023 (UTC).
 * Sure. It has to be possible for either one to take over without getting up.  The 50/50 division is time spent as pilot flying vs. pilot not flying.  "You fly from here to Boston and I'll fly coming back", that sort of thing. --142.112.220.31 (talk) 03:06, 30 November 2023 (UTC)
 * I recall seeing that for one of the Airbus models, the aircraft could be flown from either seat, but while taxiing the plane could only be controlled from the left seat. Jc3s5h (talk) 20:18, 29 November 2023 (UTC)
 * The Airbus flight controls are on side sticks, which can (somewhat unbelievably) be operated independently by both pilots while being mounted in such a way that one pilot cannot see what the other pilot is doing. This played a role in the fate of Air France Flight 447. This document, dated years before the crash, describes a fix that should have prevented the accident, but was apparently insufficient. --Lambiam 21:29, 29 November 2023 (UTC)


 * In transport category aircraft (large aircraft of the kind that are used by major airlines and freight carriers) it is universal as far as I know that only the pilot in the left seat has a tiller for steering the nosewheel. It isn't just Airbus. Consequently taxying is performed by the pilot in the left seat, but in flight the aircraft can be flown from either seat. When the pilot in the right seat is performing the take-off, the other pilot will use the nosewheel tiller to keep the aircraft on the center-line until the aircraft reaches about 60 knots when the rudder pedals become adequate for directional control. Dolphin ( t ) 12:26, 1 December 2023 (UTC)
 * See Pilot in command. -- Preceding unsigned  comment  01:56, 5 December 2023 (UTC)