An hour before the flight. How pilots and aircraft are prepared. How often do you fly

Together with the S7 airline pilots, I arrived at Domodedovo airport, went through a medical examination, a pre-flight briefing, met the flight attendants, received permission to take off, rode in a minibus to the plane, inspected it, started the engines and... didn’t fly anywhere. However, I photographed the entire process of preparing for the flight...

Pilots enter the service area through a separate entrance in the airport terminal. Just like everyone else, they undergo a full inspection:

The airport is divided into 2 zones: clean and dirty. A clean zone is an area inside the airport that can only be entered after going through security. The rest of the terminal building is called the dirty zone:

Immediately after the examination, the entire crew undergoes a medical examination:

Here the pilots receive a flight assignment, where all other flight notes will be entered. The medical examination can be done no earlier than 2 hours before departure and no later than an hour. The doctor measures blood pressure and pulse. He looks at the pilot and assesses his condition. If suspicions arise, additional tests may be performed:

In the next room, senior flight attendants receive first aid kits. After the flight they return them. The contents of first aid kits are constantly updated, and a special doctor ensures that all medications are not expired:

After the medical examination, the pilots go down one floor and enter the briefing room:

At the end of the hall, in the window, the co-pilot receives documentation for the aircraft in an impressively sized suitcase. It is always worn by the assistant commander. A kind of hazing:

In the middle of the room there is a large table, at which the pilots prepare for the flight. They study route documents, arrival diagrams at the destination airport, check the weather report on the route, select optimal route, determine the amount of fuel required, select an alternate airfield, etc.:

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Here they also receive weather data on all parts of the flight, wind speed and direction at altitudes, and possible turbulence. The entire route is divided into sections, and the pilots know in advance the expected strength of turbulence in each of them:

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S7 Airlines has a separate table with computers in the briefing room, where the Aircraft Commander (PIC) can watch Additional information about the flight:

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If the commander has doubts about weather conditions, then he can consult with the meteorologist on duty:

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At the alignment controller, the assistant commander fills out and submits a sheet with information about the flight. This includes information such as flight number, direction, tail number, loaded aircraft weight, total fueling, taxi fuel, takeoff fuel, flight fuel, flight time and number of seats. Using this information, it is determined where the aircraft's center of mass will be:

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After completing the training, the PIC calls the senior flight attendant and gives him instructions:

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AIRBUS's philosophy is that the crew should not be flown. Therefore, each time the PIC and co-pilot are different. The same goes for flight attendants. There is an explanation of this philosophy in or on the first page with comments to this). They get to know each other already in the rest room before the flight:

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Here the senior flight attendant briefs the crew:

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After completing the training, the pilot approaches the controller and informs him that he has decided to carry out the flight:

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The pilots travel to the plane in a special minibus. By the way, for the airline each such trip costs 1000 rubles:

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All people must wear green vests on the platform area. Pilots are no exception:

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The plane does not have an ignition key, and it is turned on by a button. An initial check of the system operation is carried out:

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The co-pilot conducts an external inspection of the aircraft. Checks the absence of the "Remove Before Flight" check on the front landing gear, "since if it is present, the landing gear will not retract:

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Visually inspects the nose of the aircraft for damage:

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Checks the status of the sensors. Under no circumstances should they be icy:

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The technical door must be tightly closed:

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Visually inspects the engine blades:

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If they are frozen, then a technician is called and warms them up:

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The refueling hatch (black hole in the middle of the wing) must be tightly closed:

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Inspects the wing mechanization and static electricity dischargers (sticks sticking out of the wing):

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We all know what happens when we arrive at the airport. The vast majority come there only to fly away somewhere. When approaching the terminal, the usual flow of time picks you up and carries you through these “control” points - check-in for the flight, security control, waiting for boarding and, finally, the plane. Now you can relax and fly. But none of the passengers sees what the crew does before departure. How to prepare for a flight, what happens to the plane.

Entering the cabin, we see the friendly smile of the flight attendant who greets us. . And in addition to the fact that pilots have undergone training, they prepare for EVERY flight. There are no exceptions here.

Thanks to S7 Airlines, we can find out how the crew is preparing for flight No. 19 Moscow - St. Petersburg.

1. Aircraft commander (PIC) Vladimir Nikolaevich Omelyanenko. For him, as for the co-pilot, the flight begins near the service entrance at the airport. Pilots and the entire crew undergo the same strict security controls as passengers. Moreover, the system knows that a certain crew has been announced for this flight and will give a signal if another person arrives.

2. After control, it’s time to prepare for the flight. But first you need to undergo a medical examination. If doctors have the slightest doubt, the pilot is not allowed to fly.

3. Vladimir used to fly fighter jets, but in the 90s he went into civil aviation.

4. Briefing room. Here, the crew (pilots and flight attendants) log into the system and tell it that they have arrived for their flight. Simply put - “checkin”. Each employee has his own login and password.

5. Vladimir prints out the flight assignment and other documents for the plane.

6. Until this moment, the crew most often does not know which plane they will fly on. Pilots have access to the entire A320 family, i.e. on 319, 320 and 321, and the flight plan can include any of them. This time we will fly on the A319 VP-BHJ. Therefore, the commander first gets acquainted with the technical condition of the aircraft.

7. In general, any aircraft has a list of failures with which operation is allowed, since all important systems are duplicated, or even tripled. This morning, for example, a plane at another airport was found to have a low oil level in the right generator drive. But with this level of oil, the plane can fly safely for three days, especially since there are two more backup ones. Most likely, says Vladimir, the oil level has already been returned to normal, but I must be prepared for anything, so I am studying the documentation for this case. Also in this technical bulletin all abrasions, scratches, everything that relates to the aircraft are listed.

8. And here is the flight plan. It’s interesting that the fuel calculations are done by an English company (as well as the entire flight economics). For example, she calculated (taking into account all the parameters, including the price of fuel) that it is more profitable to refuel at Domodedovo to the maximum. And given the load that it will be, the remaining fuel will be enough for the return flight from Pulkovo with all the necessary supplies (reserve, aeronautical reserve, etc.). From the plan we see that the planned take-off weight will be 56.4 tons. There are 9840 kilograms of fuel on board. 2980 will be consumed during the flight. And the remaining 6.6 tons will be more than enough for the return flight. Alternate airfields are Domodedovo and Minsk. It also provides weather forecasts for airports and flight routes.

9. UUDD WT32W WT DCT GEKLA DCT RUGEL DCT BESTA DCT GISIN DCT AR DCT OBELU B239 AJ R369 DB B964 LUKIR LUKIR1A ULLI is our flight plan. What does it say there:
UDDD and ULLI codes ICAO airports Domodedovo and Pulkovo
WT32W and LUKIR1A - SID and STAR - standard airport exit and entry patterns.
WT DCT GEKLA - after the WT point go to the GEKLA point
OBELU B239 AJ - after point OBELU follow the B239 road to point AJ
In the diagram I have highlighted our route from point OBELU to point LUKIR in red.

10. And lastly, NOTAMs - a list of restrictions on airfields, routes, control points. For example, it was noted that in Pulkovo one lane was closed at that time. Then there is usually a long list of steering tracks and parking lots. Something was put into operation, something was taken out, and so on.

11. Irina, the senior flight attendant, approaches the commander. She reports that the entire cabin crew is assembled and ready for the flight.

12. The map in the briefing has been updated, and Crimea is painted in the correct color.

13. Even the American program Jeppesen with schemes considers Crimea Russian. Look at the airfield code - URFF. And before there was UKFF.

14. Now the airline is transitioning completely to electronic document management. But until this process is completed, you have to carry a lot of paper documentation with you.

15. Indeed, there is a lot of it.

16. The crew finishes the briefing, and we go to parking lot No. 6, where the plane is waiting for us.

17. Ground staff greets the crew.

18. The commander goes into the cockpit to prepare the plane, and the co-pilot, Maxim Tatarov, inspects it. The crew can call technicians at any time if they don’t like something about the technical condition.

19. Irina, senior flight attendant.

20. The salon is completely ready to receive passengers.

21. Maxim leaves to prepare the cabin, and the commander goes to check the side from the outside. Double control is used wherever possible.

22. All systems are checked with special tests. Now Maxim is checking the fire extinguishing system of the right engine.

23. The technician came. The problem with the generator has been fixed and it is back in service.

24. The route is programmed in the FMS and all aircraft parameters are entered (weight, fuel, weather, exit or entry scheme). Previously, all this was entered manually, and there were cases of errors (for example, several years ago the crew of some European airline mixed up plans and flew to the wrong airfield), now increasingly all data is taken from the data center of the company that calculated the flight plan.

25. What a comfortable table in Airbus. Boeing pilots - envy!

26. The crew needs to prepare for the flight, and it’s time for me to leave the plane.

27. Irina and her team are already ready to receive passengers.

28. While passengers take their seats, the ground crew is hard at work.

29. The carrier was hooked up to the front wheel stand.

30. Please note that the lever is locked with a pin, which in turn is locked with a “pin”.

31. That huge red remover.

32. This pin is inserted to fix the front leg turn-off lever
so that the aircraft's hydraulic system does not interfere with the tractor turning the front wheels of the aircraft. It is inserted before the carrier is connected to the aircraft and removed after the carrier is disconnected after towing. Thank you

38. Towing must be accompanied by ground personnel.

39. Run and take off!

40. Many thanks to the press service of S7 Airlines for this wonderful day.

There is one more airline at Saratov airport today. About this and more in today's report. Ahead in the post: registration, water arch, apron, inside the plane, press approach and even pick-up.

And so, check-in for the new flight began in the airport terminal building. The first passengers arrive.

Interestingly, the S7 even boarding passes They brought theirs here.

Airline representatives presented the first family to register for the new flight with an Airbus320neo model. I want one too!

Well, according to a long-standing aviation tradition, they greet the plane with a water arch! Here the event is doubly: and new airline, And new type aircraft.

I taxied to the parking lot through the dandelions.

Embraer-170 is a Brazilian-made regional aircraft. It can be called the “younger” brother of the Embraer-195, which flew with Saratov Airlines. It is the smallest in the Embraer E-Jet line.

Although by date of birth he is just the “senior” - the model was created very first and is currently no longer produced. Then more spacious options were created: 175, 190 and 195.

Equipped with General Elecrtic CF34-8E engines (less powerful than the E-190 series)

The first passengers arriving from Domodedovo leave.

Let's get on board.

The interior is very similar to the Embraer-195 we are used to, only with green headrests and shorter ones. Capacity - 78 passengers in economy class (versus 114 economy + business in E-195).

Cockpit.

The flight attendants have a beautiful uniform.

Press approach. Deputy Director of Saratov Airlines Mikhail Gerasimenko and General Representative of S7 for Central region Alexander Larin.

S7 Airlines did not come to us this year, but the cancellation of the Saratov Airlines certificate led to a shortage of flights and completely deprived Saratov of connections with Domodedovo Airport. From today, S7 will fly to us once a day (Moscow 8:50->11:30 Saratov 12:20->13:05 Moscow), and from August 1 - twice (flight Moscow will be added 15:30->18 :10 Saratov 19:00->19:45 Moscow).

As you heard in the answer to my question, besides Moscow, there are no plans for other destinations from Saratov. All other directions route network The One World alliance is proposed to be implemented through Domodedovo.

Now let's look around... The remaining out-of-use Yak-42s of Saratov Airlines were covered with covers.

An An-148 hid in the hangar: “Psst... Don’t give me away, I liked it with you.”

At this very time, the Yak-42 of the Turukhan airline from Surgut landed.

And he stood up to his relatives.

A few more shots of the green Embraer...

The matter did not end with the official meeting. The press left, but we, like stubborn airspotters, went to pick up :) By the way, this is exactly how Sergei Nenakhov filmed the Rusline plane departing on its first flight to Vnukovo in the morning, because Rusline did not arrange an official presentation of the flight.

We met an Aeroflot flight under the fence.

The Sukhoi Superjet seemed to have deliberately reached the end of the runway in order to turn around. At this very time, an Embraer S7 was taxiing.

And it’s as if major airport two airliners on the runway at once!

To Moscow!

Hey bro!

Some posts about previous meetings of new aircraft and airlines at Saratov airport.

I would like to thank everyone who responded to the previous thread about the S7 website. With your help, we received quite valuable information for future work with the new site. Let's continue to talk about S7 further :)

Our airline operates 6 flights a week to Yakutsk today. Three direct from Moscow and three from Novosibirsk (they also connect with Moscow flights to Tolmachevo). We plan to increase frequencies and from March 9 we will introduce the first international regular flight from this airport: Yakutsk - Beijing.

The squadron commander of Globus Airlines, Alexey Dantsig, tells readers of our blog about the work of pilots on the current Yakut S7 routes.

Globus has been flying to Yakutsk on Boeing 737-800 for more than two years. Our planes have a cold limit of minus 54 degrees, this is more than the A320 (minus 46), which is why we fly to the coldest airport, S7. Moscow - Yakutsk is one of the longest flights of the Globus - the flight there lasts 6.30, back, taking into account constant westerly winds - 7.00. Depending on weather conditions along the routes, this line involves six different flight routes passing between Norilsk in the north and Novosibirsk in the south. Moreover, the length of all six routes differs by no more than 200 km. These flights are carried out according to ETOPS requirements (allowed time of flight with one engine running), which requires certain pilot qualifications and increased requirements for aircraft. Currently, Globus is authorized to fly under ETOPS for 120 minutes.
During the flight we travel across six time zones, which, according to the “Regulations on Crew Working Time,” requires at least 24 hours of rest upon returning to base. In Yakutsk we also have a crew change. In addition to the direct Moscow flight, we also operate flights according to the Moscow – Novosibirsk – Yakutsk scheme and back. From Novosibirsk to Yakutsk the flight time (as well as to Moscow) is 4 hours.
Since fog is often observed at Yakutsk airport, especially in winter time, important right choice alternate airfields. The main one is Neryungri in the south of Yakutia, 650 km from Yakutsk. In addition to it, Novosibirsk and Khabarovsk can be reserves, and less often - Magadan and Bratsk.
When working on the ground in severe frost conditions, pilots are required to perform a number of special procedures before departure, provided for in the Cold Weather Operation section of the Boeing 737 Flight Manual and aimed at increasing flight safety. These include heating the engines and landing gear brakes, preventing icing of the wing mechanization, and checking the air conditioning system. Since the aircraft cabin is noticeably cooled during parking, it is heated before passengers boarding using the APU, as well as from ground heat generators, from which hot air is supplied to the aircraft’s luggage compartments and engines.
Although Yakutsk is a rather complex airport in terms of flight conditions and temperature conditions in winter, it is still much easier for flight crews than, for example, Norilsk. It’s not so cold there, but there are strong winds, which are more problematic for us than fog and frost.

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Photo by the press service of AP Yakutsk.

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