Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to start up a Boeing 737 [video]

loopinsight.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 58 posts

Re: How to start up a Boeing 737 [video]

#21

Post by gvb »

benigeri wrote: post #16

I wonder how much of that is actually necessary nowadays.

All of it. The pilot is going through a checklist. The checklist is not going to have unnecessary steps in it. When pilots don't follow the checklist sometimes they die, so they are pretty religious about following the checklist.

That is a pretty new 737 (someone speculated 737-800). Note the flat panel primary displays (color LCDs), that is the tip-off that this is pretty new.

P.S. There is a small piece of me in the FMS.

Re: How to start up a Boeing 737 [video]

#23

Post by takluyver »

vpeters25 wrote: post #22

Why aren't all these switches hooked to a computer which could run the whole procedure?

Some of the steps look like they're checking that various warning lights and systems work correctly, which needs a human in the loop. I guess there are other bits which require human decisions - e.g. you can't start the engines without visually checking that no-one is standing near them. Finally, any automation is another possible system that could fail, so it needs more examination and testing.

Re: How to start up a Boeing 737 [video]

#25

Post by coin »

sbierwagen wrote: post #10

Here's a 10:55 video going through the process of starting up a A-10 in the DCS A-10 simulator, with the guy actually explaining what each step does unlike OP. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9xWYLlhFwg

I wish there was a global YouTube switch to filter out all flightsim videos. I don't know how many times I've search for xxx landing at yyy only to find some PC flightsim with annoying music in the background.

Re: How to start up a Boeing 737 [video]

#27

Post by evanm »

gvb wrote: post #21
benigeri wrote: post #16

I wonder how much of that is actually necessary nowadays.

All of it. The pilot is going through a checklist. The checklist is not going to have unnecessary steps in it. When pilots don't follow the checklist sometimes they die, so they are pretty religious about following the checklist. That is a pretty new 737 (someone speculated 737-800). Note the flat panel primary displays (color LCDs), that is the tip-off that this is pretty new. P.S. There is a small piece of me in th…

> Note the flat panel primary displays (color LCDs), that is the tip-off that this is pretty new.

Glass cockpits have been around for some time now. Also many older 737s (at least with US-based airlines) have been retrofitted with newer equipment. For example, all of SWA's 737-300 series aircraft (the oldest in their fleet) have been upgraded to glass cockpit controls.

Re: How to start up a Boeing 737 [video]

#28

Post by downandout »

Well.....what could possibly go wrong there? There have been several air disasters over the years that resulted from a failure to flip the right switch or check certain settings, either in-flight or pre-flight. A Greek crash where the pilot forgot to flip the auto-pressurization switch, killing most on board before the crash itself, comes to mind. This video leaves little wonder why these things happen.

Having spent 18 years trying to design software and websites to be idiot-proof, to me it looks like they could seriously use some human-friendly UI and procedure design. When the stakes are as high as they are during a packed commercial flight, it would seem to me that maximum possible simplicity would be the goal. Perhaps a "flight checklist wizard". It is possible to enable the granular control that pilots need without making them this complex.

Re: How to start up a Boeing 737 [video]

#29

Post by bulte-rs »

bjz_ wrote: post #11
United857 wrote: post #7

Private pilot here (who's also ridden in some full-scale airliner flight sims). A lot of the procedures in the video are going through checklists to test the various instruments and systems, both normal and emergency ones, as well as entering the route in the flight computer (used by the autopilot). This is what real pilots on real flights have to do. If you just want to start the engines, taxi, and take off for a jo…

How long do the checklists normally take for airliners? I was actually surprised how short this was.

From getting into the airplane (cold and dark) up to "ready for departure" in 30 minutes is quite doable (with coffee)

Source: me, for commercial airline (b737-800)

Re: How to start up a Boeing 737 [video]

#30

Post by bulte-rs »

gvb wrote: post #21
benigeri wrote: post #16

I wonder how much of that is actually necessary nowadays.

All of it. The pilot is going through a checklist. The checklist is not going to have unnecessary steps in it. When pilots don't follow the checklist sometimes they die, so they are pretty religious about following the checklist. That is a pretty new 737 (someone speculated 737-800). Note the flat panel primary displays (color LCDs), that is the tip-off that this is pretty new. P.S. There is a small piece of me in th…

Out of interest: which part of the fms did you build? And thanks: I lovend working with it.
Post reply on HN