How many crew in a 747 cockpit these days?

Do they still have 3 or 4 in the cockpit of a 747 (not including relief pilots for
long haul)? Or have computers reduced the need to just the standard 2?

Thanks

Jedi

 

on long hauls i've seen 2 pilots asleep in the cocoons ...

:0

 

They have been flying two for decades.
As soon as they got rid of all the steam gauges behind the Co-Pilot they didn't need a flight engineer anymore. (with the exception of some of the 747-100s that may still be flying)

 

LOL!!!

Jedi

 

Just two flying the plane.

 

The older instrumentation is commonly referred to as "Steam Gage" by pilots. Glass panel displays are called "Magic". Spasso knows.
Switches

 

So what is all that cockpit space used for now? Now that the "steam gauges" are
gone?

Jedi

 

I dont know of any carriers operating a 747-100's? plenty of carriers operating -200 and 300 with a plumber.

The 400 model with its "glass cockpit" reduced the number of dials, gauges and knobs from 971 to 365. Task saturation can still be a problem with a 2 man crew in high workload situations.

 

Has that been reduced further on the new 747-8?

 

Actually, I don't know. I can only imagine it would be in a backwater place.
There are still a few SP's out there.

 

I can't say for sure because I am not on that program but I would think so giving the trend in that direction on each newer model.

 

The 747-8 is still set up for two pilots to operate.....The cockpit is very similar to the 747-400 with a few really nice improvements.....

 

Mr Adelson operates two 747-sp's out of Vegas complete with gaming tables and VIP accomodations. They are the best maintained 747's in the world, bar none! He also is the only operator of the L10-11 besides the UK MOD.

Cheers
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I thought it had the same engines and cockpit as the 787 dreamliner?

 

Better than the "Air Force One" VC-25s?

 

I see a 767 there too. Kinda slow but a dependable tough A/P.

The SP's are hot rods.

My Dad left Heathrow one hour late on a United SP flight over the pole to Seattle.
The pilot said they would be on time regardless..

 

The engines are GE Gen-x, similar to the 787 (so far) They are having developmental issues with the Rolls Royce engines at this time.

Go here for a look at the design features of the 747-8, (This is public domain), http://www.boeing.com/newairplane/747/design_highlights/.

Click on the "Menu" block in the upper RH side of the picture, then "Technologically Advanced" and follow the drop-down menu to the flight deck picture.
Looks like a 747-400 basically.

Check out the Pilot Commonality picture which shows transition time from one type to another, the longest being 747-8 to 787

 

Thats a different level of maintenance. Comparing Air Force One to a civilian counterpart is not a fair comparison IMO. Mr Adelson has a big checkbook for his planes, but not that big!

 

767 is a great bird. Tough to beat a 80k payload and the range the -300 ER offers. .80 cruise is not that bad either. Thats seems to be the sweet spot for a cost index of 60 on the FMC. .83 to .84 is doable if you dont mind paying for it!

Your right, the SP is a hotrod and a joy to fly!

Cheers

 

A 747SP is being used as Pratt & Whitney's flying testbed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQfCj2x27Lo&feature=related
(video of one of Pratt GTF tests)

 

I did a lot of design work on the 767 series before I went on to the 777. I guess that it isn't the most exciting jet there is but it is tough and reliable, and makes money.
That SP flight from London to KSEA launched an hour late because of never ending incoming and outgoing traffic. We arrived right on schedule but in spite of a medical emergency on board we were delayed from landing for almost an hour while traffic control messed around with sorting things out. The UAL SP pilot was in a rage because the tower wouldn't believe that he had an actual emergency. A woman in first class had miscarried and was bleeding heavily. He did his job and the airplane did it's job.
Every pilot that I knew who flew the SP loved it.
Switches

 

I prefer the 767 over the 757. Bigger cockpit, separate cockpit environmental control, FADEC, and much lighter in roll than the 757. The roll control to me is like an old Caddy with super power steering, very sensitive! The only concern is a tail strike which happens at a much less deck angle than the 757, hence the tail skid!

The 777 is in a league of its own. The best airliner ever built IMO. Fly by wire with mechanical backup is a great design feature.

Cheers

 

I'm biased but have to agree.
Up until May of this year we were rolling one out every 3 -days for the last 6 years.
40 % in the last two years were heavy freighters.
We have slowed down to one every four days but will go back to a 3-day early next year.
The customers love em', can't beat the economics.

 

It's so nice to hear good things about the 767,757,and especially the 777. You spoke of the cockpit of the 767 being larger than the 757. True, but both use the same windshield cage except that on the 57 window number three had to be modified slightly to match the narrow body. Same windshield is used on the 777 too. Same RVR for all three.
The team attitude on the 777 program was unlike any other in which I worked and I worked on all from the 707 prototype (367-80) up to and including the 777-300 and freighters. As Mullaly put it," Us guys here in Renton and Everett are up against Europe to design and produce the best airplane possible and I'm betting that we will." The best talent in the company was assembled and the decision was made to design the airplane ALL on the Catia computer system, oddly enough a system designed in France by Dessault, and we were run through some intensive courses on-hour and off-hours while we were designing the airplane. Unlike previous programs where each design group sort of did its thing and handed it over to other design groups to fit and blend, the 777 was a one gang effort and there was a constant inter-play with all other groups. Much over time from early morning to nightime and no iteration was taken at first blush. The wing had over 55 iterations that I can remember and umpteen wing sections to massage sweep , thickness ratios,aspect ratios, and shear. No effort was spared to achieve all that could be done to get the best possible answers to things. I spent 6 weeks on the the loft of the upper fuselage from the cab aft trying chase away local sonic flow,worked on the air conditioning packs and helped to produce the first digital inboard profile where everything from all the groups was digitally assembled and released on a plot that was hung in most of the offices. We were determined to kick Eurobus's butt and we did it. Airbus chided us for having the mechanical back up to the fly by wire system until one of their fly by wire airplanes had total electrical failure and was dead for several minutes. Boeing was chastised for spending too much money on the design of the 777 but it is paying off now. It is nice to hear a 777 pilot talk about the "WGA"...the WORLD'S GREATEST AIRPLANE."
Switches

 

I'm curious-- does how do you account for all the stuff that can be displayed on the MFDs in that 365 number?

Also, I think the Fry's people operate a 747SP, or at least they used to.