Confession: I like to feel in control. I am the one who insists to be the designated driver at any given occasion, the seemingly lost soul holding the map during a trip abroad with friends, and I can’t help but sneaking into first position on a bike ride. I can’t say this is always successful (me and map reading in particular are still working on our relationship), but feeling like I have an involvement in the direction I am going somewhat makes me feel happy and secure.
With this in mind, you may guess that I have mixed feelings when it comes to sitting on an aeroplane. I am a frequent flier and am very accepting of flying being the safest way of travelling; reading about how turbulence works, how pilots handle bad weather and how cabin crew are trained when it comes to passenger safety, validates this well-known fact. My favourite part of a flight is take-off – the feeling of being “squashed” to your seat is so unique and I enjoy the adrenaline kick you get when the plane lifts off the ground. But when the excitement wears off, that’s when it slightly changes for me.
Here’s a fairly typical scenario that takes place on nearly every flight I take when I visit my family in Northern Italy. About 1.45hrs into the flight, the seatbelt sign switches on; the crew then immediately proceeds to reinforce the message by confirming that we may encounter some turbulence over the Alps. Whilst I am far from being a fan of turbulence, what mainly populates my mind is what may be happening behind the cockpit door. How do the pilots even know we’re going to encounter turbulence? What buttons are they pressing and what knobs are they turning to make sure we’ll be safe until landing? My inner control freak, which I’ve successfully repressed so far, makes an appearance. I remain calm on the outside, but not feeling in control or knowing what is going on behind that door somehow and all of a sudden tampers my confidence in flying.
Since starting my job at Monarch over a year ago, I have had the opportunity to see a lot of what goes on “behind the scenes”. I have learnt how crucial our customers’ safety is and have marvelled at the countless, precise steps taken to ensure this – from maintenance, to staff training, to constant communication between all teams in the company; but one question had remained unanswered for a long time: what happens behind the cockpit door from take-off to landing?
I was lucky enough to finally receive my answer in a recent, very special flight: to write this blog, I was given special permission to sit in the jump seat in the cockpit behind the pilots’ seats for the whole duration of the flight, from take-off to landing. I jumped at the opportunity: how could I refuse the chance to finally experience a flight through a pilot’s eye? After going through a few security checks and management signatures, I was booked to go on a return flight from Luton to Gibraltar operated by Captain Martin Dudley (who is also Monarch’s Director of Flight Operations) and First Officer Chris Price.
The flight departed Luton Airport bright and early, at 7.30am. I checked in, went through security and queued at the gate with the rest of the passengers; if any of you are reading this, I apologise for the stupid grin that was stamped on my face throughout the whole time. I just couldn’t help it. Once on board of G-ZBAS, an Airbus A320, the lovely crew showed me to my foldable (and very comfortable) seat in the cockpit, which slides out and locks in the centre of the cabin, behind the pilots. Captain Dudley, sitting on the left seat, welcomed me on the flight and gave me the safety instructions, including how to buckle up (the seatbelts in the cockpit have extra straps above the shoulders) and where the emergency exits are located.
He also introduced me to the very friendly First Officer who was sitting to his right, Chris. Before I knew it, I was asked to wear my headset (this includes a microphone: you use it to communicate to each other in the cockpit, as well as to talk with Air Traffic Control), and we were ready to go.
Captain Dudley also took the time to explain what each section of the controls do, from the radar in the screen in front of them, to the autopilot section (the ‘strip’ of controls at the top), to the braking system. I wish I could remember them all – but as you can imagine it’s a lot to take in, especially when you are really excited and ready to be in the air!
Before and after take-off, as well as before and after landing, the pilots will go through several – and very thorough – checklists, to ensure all systems on the aircraft are set up correctly. I sat quietly while the first checks were made and the plane was being pushed back by the airport tug; we then proceeded to queue up for departure (that’s right – not even aircraft escape queueing!) and in a matter of a few minutes, we were accelerating on the runway. One thing that stuck with me, remember that “squashing” feeling I mentioned on take-off? Strangely it’s a lot more subtle when you’re sitting in the cockpit, to the point you hardly feel the difference.
Once safely in the air and following the after take-off checklist, pilots will normally let the autopilot take over; however, this is where I was wrong: I thought it was just a matter of pressing a button and relaxing, but there is a lot more to it. They still need to communicate with Air Traffic Control, check the radar, and make the necessary speed and altitude adjustments throughout the flight to ensure the aircraft is flying efficiently and is keeping well out of the way of others. We did pass several other aircraft, but even though they seemed relatively close, they were in fact several miles away.
Spot the aircraft!
One thing that transpired from the very first minute I entered the cockpit, is the passion and confidence that the pilots have. It’s so infectious and I instantly knew I would be in safe hands. During the cruise I had the opportunity to chat with the pilots and find out more about them. Captain Dudley has 38 years of flying behind him (ten of which were spent flying Hawks and Jaguars for the RAF, the rest were here at Monarch). His dad flew the Lancaster during the Second World War which sparked his passion and motivation to take on flying. First Officer Price has been flying for five years, and his passion for flying stemmed from the times he used to go watch aircraft take off and land by a small runway in Lands End, Cornwall. Both pilots, despite the different backgrounds, are incredibly knowledgeable, well-trained, confident and have the ability to remain calm under pressure. They know the aircraft inside out and can take full control of the plane in the case of any (very unlikely) technical issue.
Prior to taking off, both pilots will go through the weather conditions they will encounter during the flight which helps them ensure they make it as comfortable as possible for all passengers; their radar screen also alerts them of any bad weather and thunderstorms which they will largely avoid.
Some turbulence, such as clear air turbulence, is often unpredictable but this does not represent a safety concern; Captain Dudley explained that every single aircraft we fly is built to withstand a force much greater than any aircraft will ever encounter. He also said that the feeling of sickness one might experience during turbulence can be helped by simply looking outside the window. Extra tip: the best seat to be on during turbulence is by the wings – that’s where the aircraft will be more stable.
Another interesting fact is that pilots can communicate to our ground operations team from the air; so as well as receiving it from Air Traffic Control, they can get important information or assistance from their colleagues, too. They use a system that could be compared to texting; a screen on their side is used to type and receive messages.
A plus of sitting at the very front of a plane, is, of course, the views: to an extent, you can get some spectacular views from any window on an aircraft, however this is amplified by the wide, reinforced glass panel which basically surrounds the pilots in the cockpit. I definitely think this is one of the perks of the job!
During the flight, a minor technical glitch which affected the lighting in the passenger section made Captain Dudley take the decision to divert the flight to Malaga, where our engineers would be able to take a look and fix any issues to avoid any further inconvenience to the passengers. It might sound odd, but this enhanced my confidence even further: the decision was made quickly, all communication with the ground staff was done seamlessly and in the matter of a couple of minutes the pilots were given a new route to follow. Although they had to make some manual adjustments to the flight system, the safety of the flight was not compromised at any point and both pilots remained unfazed by a situation which could have been unnerving to some. They explained to me that the aircraft itself is packed with ‘redundancy’, which means that it would be perfectly safe to fly it even if, in an extreme case, one of the engines stopped working.
Thanks to the great communication system that pilots have on board, by the time Captain Dudley safely landed in Malaga a coach had already been arranged by our ground operations team to take all passengers to their original destination, Gibraltar, which is a couple of hours away. The engineers were also already on site and waiting, and made sure that any technical issues were looked into and fixed. Before the passengers for the flight back to Luton boarded, the lovely cabin crew completed a safety check of the whole aircraft, which was also cleaned, and after only a small delay (which I have to admit, I can’t complain about as it gave us some time to lounge in the Spanish sun) we were ready to fly back to Luton.
The flight back was very similar to the previous one, minus the technical glitch. Lots of checklist, spectacular views, and plenty of communications with Air Traffic Control. What also didn’t change was the fact that both Martin and Chris were constantly vigilant, but friendly and professional and happy to answer any questions I had (which was mainly “What does this button do?”).
Can you spot the o2 arena?
All in all, I am so thankful I had this incredible opportunity. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime occasion and it really made me understand that no matter the circumstances when I’m sitting on a plane, I am in safe hands and my annoying need for control will no longer have to bother me while I’m 37,000ft above ground.