Airbus A320 Takeoff from Shenzhen China

[@ericlybarger]

Hello Brent! Great question. To answer your question - it depends on the equipment installed on the airplane and it depends on what kind of a call you are making. At altitude, it is not possible for me to pull out my mobile phone to call and order a pizza to be delivered at the destination airport. However, some airlines have satellite phone systems and/or internet systems installed on board to make calls. My company does not use such equipment. The only other option I have to make a phone call is to contact a ground radio station (like ARINC) and ask them to do a phone patch through the cockpit radio. Complicated? Like most people, I just want a pizza when the flight arrives.

[@ericlybarger]

Thanks. I am glad that you enjoyed it.

[@ericlybarger]

Open Climb is manually selected by pulling the altitude select knob on the Flight Control Unit - which is located in the center of the glare shield control panel. Open Climb can also be automatically engaged by the auto-flight system after takeoff. For this takeoff, we let the navigation computer (FMGCC) handle the climb schedule, so the airplane was in CLB or climb mode. At any time we can override the nav computer climb schedule by pulling the altitude select knob out to engage open climb.

[@ericlybarger]

The "buzzing" sound is normal with turbofan engines. Essentially the engine is a gigantic fan. When this fan spins at high rpm while the airplane is stationary or moving at low speed, the airflow across each fan blade is such that it can reach the speed of sound, resulting in a small sonic boom. With dozens of fan blades on the engine, dozens of small sonic booms occur simultaneously, resulting in the buzzing noise associated with takeoff. The buzz diminishes as the airplane's speed increases.

[@kelvinjacobs11]

Hi Eric! I've got to say I'm really amazed at how relaxed you sound during the take-off roll.(Not that it's a bad thing) I'm guessing you really do enjoy every single flight duty yea? And... Is there any advice on how to ace pilot interviews? Budding pilot hopeful over here. Cheers!

[@maltimoto]

the pilot looks like a mixture of Quentin Tarantino and Elvis :-) nice guy...

[@ericlybarger]

Hahaha! Thanks!

[@ericlybarger]

An open climb is one of the three primary vertical control modes used with the A320. In an open climb, the airplane's auto flight and control system sets climb thrust on the engines while continuously raising or lowering the nose of the airplane, as needed, to maintain a target speed that is set by the pilot. If too fast, the nose is raised. If too slow, the nose is lowered. Open climb is normally used when flying a heading or when making an unrestricted climb.

[@rappinCheese]

awesome! How old are the crew? Captain and co looks fairly young!

[@TomTheHighflyer]

Excellent video Sir. May I have a question? What's that "buzzing" noise at high power operation of engines? Is that kind of a special system or just vibration coming from the engines?

[@ericlybarger]

Hi Kevin. I am glad that you like the video. In order to ace a pilot interview, you need to know what is important to the company that you are interviewing for. In China, the companies are only interested in your health condition, your technical knowledge, and your flying skills. In other places - like Hong Kong and the USA, companies place a large emphasis on the pilot's skills as a leader and an effective manager of people and the airplane.

[@AT-zj8pg]

Awesome videos Eric!! Just a quick question- based on the videos you've posted of the takeoffs and landings, I seem to feel like the autopilot is on relatively quickly after the takeoff and switched off pretty late during the approach. May I know if it's a personal preference for that or if that's part of the company's SOPs? Thank you!!

[@ericlybarger]

Alexander Tsang Hi Alexander! Autopilot usage is a function of personal preference at lower altitudes (Usually below 10,000 feet). However there are certain times where autopilot use is mandatory, such as when approaching to land in poor weather or when flying at 29,000 feet and higher. Shenzhen airlines has an additional company SOP that requires the autopilot to be used above 10,000 feet above sea level. In the videos that you see, I use the autopilot frequently throughout the flight to reduce my workload so I can concentrate on complying with the very complicated nature of altitude assignments from China air traffic control.

[@AT-zj8pg]

Thank you Eric for your detailed response!

[@yaorongdai8454]

Now this B-6692 plane is flying from Guangzhou to Nanchang.

[@ericlybarger]

To be honest, it is more fun to fly than you could imagine. What keeps you from pursuing your dreams?

[@ericlybarger]

Hi. The captain (me) is 42. The first officer is your standard Chinese first officer - 25 years old.

[@aidancarey5475]

Hi Eric i was wondering how do you configure open climb and what buttons to you press

[@登娴黄]

Hi, Eric, could you tell me what is an open climb? is it a type of climb mode? thx

[@AllThingsAviation]

another question for the captain, how tough are the chinese medical exams? i have family in china she said chinese aviation medical exams are very strict. i'm sure when you were hired you had to go through their medical. does their medical exam compare exactly to faa class 1 medical?

[@BrentFritzler]

Thanks Eric!! I love your vids!!!!!!!

[@ericlybarger]

Great question. The Chinese medical exam criteria depends on if you are a cadet (new pilot with no experience) or a qualified pilot. Both exams are very strict, but a cadet has to meet some higher medical standards (like weight and vision) than a qualified pilot. Every six months I have a Chinese medical exam that takes two days and is more akin to what an astronaut would go through as opposed to the typical 30 minute FAA class 1 medical.

[@worldaviation4k]

Hi Great video, do you know if airband radios are allowed in china? I don't know if having an FAA PPL means that me carrying a radio receiver is legal or not there or to even record it onto video while filming there. Thanks very much

[@TomTheHighflyer]

Thank you for the wide range of explanation, Sir. I wish you, the best of luck and many many safe flight hours in the rest of your career :)

[@FBWFTW]

Great video- not too often you get English language vids from the cockpit!

[@templar9090]

Barger! This is So Cool! This is Dan Paz (not sure what my KZbin handle is). My nephew and I are both unapologetic airline watchers, We watched your videos several times today and can't get over how counterintuitive the side stick seems to me. I would need a yoke to hold onto! I think it looks kind of funny how Airbuses just have nothing (or perhaps a foldout laptop). Was it hard getting used to the side stick? I mean, nothing like jumping in a car and the steeling wheel is gone!

[@djpinkus]

Hi Capt. Any chances for European low hours pilots to get a job in China? Not type rated but able to pay for it.....

[@ericlybarger]

Hi Fabio. I recommend that you contact a recruitment agency for more information. To my knowledge, most of the airlines in China are looking for experienced Captains, however there may be some entry-level opportunities in business aviation. One of the recruitment agents that you may look at is WASINC international. Their website is www.wasinc.aero.

[@登娴黄]

Hi,Eric, thanks for your explanation. It sounds interesting. I wish I was a pilot flying a Airbus :)

[@ericlybarger]

no, this is a shenzhen airlines flight

[@harifari8275]

first nice take off and nice taxing but i want to ask about medical exaim will the aids patient be accepted or virus c i dont make fun and thinks its important point

[@ericlybarger]

Hello Hari. This is a great question. Unfortunately, I am a pilot and not an aviation medical practitioner. Your best answer will be with the aviation medical regulator for the country of intended license. In the USA, you would call a US FAA Airman Medical Examiner and discuss this question with him or her. If the Medical Examiner says an applicant with AIDS or Hepatitis C cannot be issued a pilot medical certificate, the next intelligent question to ask is how can such an applicant get a medical waiver. I hope this answer helps you direct your question to the correct person who can help you.

[@nimowong1361]

Hi Sir,so cool.,r u still in SZ Airlines?I am a sp of SZ Aielines now.

[@ericlybarger]

Hi. I left Shenzhen Airlines to return to my job in the USA. I miss my colleagues at Shenzhen Airlines.

[@k1nx885]

Why leave Shenzhen Airlines? I know that China's domestic airline captain is very lack of human resources!

[@ericlybarger]

Hello! I am no longer in SZ Airlines. Congratulations on becoming a pilot for SZ Airlines!

[@ericlybarger]

I actually worked at Shenzhen Airlines temporarily. I was on leave from my airline in the USA. I returned to my USA Airline in 2015.

[@k1nx885]

Yes, most people will choose to return to their homeland work more appropriate!

[@asdrubovic]

Amazing video sir! great!

[@ericlybarger]

I wear glasses. I am also near-sighted (short-sighted). The airlines employ both male and female pilots.

[@登娴黄]

thanks for your encouragement :) I'm looking forward to you sharing more vedios here. Have a nice day:)

[@Dan67518]

Dont know if you will be able to answer this but how do you enter custom routes into the FMS? Does the company have common airline destinations set already in it?

[@ericlybarger]

Great question! The FMGC is only limited by the navigation routes and waypoints in its database. Any combination of routes can be created manually, or if flown frequently, they can be stored. At Shenzhen airlines, most - if not all - of the regularly scheduled routes are stored in the FMGC, so route programming is usually just a few button pushes. However, the database in the Shenzhen Airlines A320 covers only Asia, so it is not possible to program a route from say, Shanghai to New York. The FMGC data base is updated each month to reflect new changes to routes and waypoints. Should Shenzhen Airlines want to operate its A320s outside of Asia, they would need to subscribe to additional databases for say, India or Austrailia.

[@Dan67518]

Thanks! And after that's entered the autopilot knows its course once you set your cruise speed and altitude and engage the autopilot?

[@ericlybarger]

flandersrobby Yes, once the FMGC is programmed the autopilot can be engaged to follow it. In Airbus parlance, this is called flying with managed guidance. However, the autopilot can also be directly controlled by the pilot when s/he selects speeds and headings on the autopilot control panel. In Airbus parlance, this is called selected guidance. At times, the pilot can even use managed guidance and selected guidance simultaneously.

[@Dan67518]

Thanks. If you dont mind where did you get a degree and what where your grades like in High School so I can compare my self. Thanks

[@ericlybarger]

flandersrobby In high school my grades were 3.2 out of 4.0. In university my grades were 3.5 out of 4.0. In graduate school my grades were 4.0 out of 4.0. In the USA, students who achieve 3.0 or higher are considered to be good. I studied communication in university and aeronautics in graduate school. Pilots who have poor grades in school are frowned upon by potential employers because they are perceived as not being able to succeed in their training.

[@BrentFritzler]

Eric is it possible to make a call in flight?? We have a bet going on at work.. Figure you would know.....

[@MyanmarFlyer]

is this dragonair?

[@BrentFritzler]

Are you still flying???

[@ericlybarger]

Yes.

[@bernardoxo6405]

Why do the Elevators trim down on takeoff?

[@ericlybarger]

Hi Justin. The elevators can either be trimmed down or up for takeoff. Trim down means you want the elevator to lower the nose of the airplane in flight. This is because the airplane may be loaded in such a fashion that its nose wants to naturally tip upwards (i.e. lots of cargo in the back of the airplane). The opposite is true for taking off with the elevators trimmed up. Aircraft loading is critical to the stability and handling of the airplane, and the elevator trim setting ensures that the airplane will be both stable and controllable once it reaches flying speed. Elevator trim also affects fuel consumption, but that is another discussion...

[@bernardoxo6405]

O!! I See, Thank you Captain Eric I've been trying to figure that out for a long time... I wanna become a pilot by the way it kinda runs in the family and im graduating from my school this year...

[@ericlybarger]

Justin Montreuil Great! Don't be in a rush to reach your ultimate career goal. Just enjoy the training and the experiences that flying will give you.

[@bernardoxo6405]

Thanks!! for the Advice Captain Eric and I Will Definitely :)

[@felixyu930]

which airline?

[@yaorongdai8454]

Shenzhen Airlines, powered by Air China.

[@zf5167]

have you always been an A320 pilot?

[@ericlybarger]

No. I have flown other aircraft.

[@zf5167]

@@ericlybarger what other types have you flown and when?

[@RyanZ225_PC]

I went in Simulator #4 at this airline

[@KnightGamingKG]

this is IAE

[@JesusChrist-bh2di]

Destination & eta *** CLASSIFIED ***

[@Airplaneweekly]

Great video I dream to be a airline pilot

[@登娴黄]

btw, can I add you on the facebook?

[@kbr9854]

BTW, this is going to Happen as early as May 20th. thanks

[@登娴黄]

I'm short-sighted, physically, lol. Plus, the airlines prefer the male to the female, don't they? :)

[@kbr9854]

I think I find you, I will shoot you a text. cheers