Ask Captain Lim - Which position is more coveted among the pilots, to fly a Boeing 747 or a Boeing 777?

Thanks for replying my email. It was very informative indeed.

Which position is more coveted among the pilots, to fly a Boeing 747 or a Boeing 777?

What do you think of the new Airbus plane A380? Would the sheer number of passengers be a hazard should there be an emergency?

What is the life span of the aircraft tires?

Take care and hope all is well for you.

Regards,

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Here are the answers:-

1. A Boeing 777 has the latest technology among the Boeing family. However, it has a slightly lower capacity and generally, most Airlines would pay the pilot a lower salary as well. However the stretched Boeing 777-300 is longer than a Boeing 747-400 and has a capacity almost just as much. If a pilot is more money conscious, he would go for the 747's whereas one who enjoys flying an airplane with a higher technology, he would prefer the 777's.

2. It is obvious that the Airbus 380 would have some inherent problems due to its size. It has lesser airports to land, more passengers to manage in an emergency but it claims to have many comforts. The choice is yours. The novelty is that, it is the biggest commercial airplane at the moment.

3. Generally, an aircraft tire's life is based on the number of landings or 'wear and tear'. For example, my airplane engineer told me, a Boeing 777 tire can last for about 6 months before they are removed for rethreading. It is difficult to say how long and how many landings can a tire last because it depends on the location of its installation. If it is on the nose or fitted on the front, it wears off faster. When the canvas below the rubber is exposed because of scrubbing caused by braking, then this 'wear and tear' will cause the tire to be replaced earlier than normal. However, if a tire is worn out without the underlying canvass being exposed, they are rethreaded. The rethreading can go for about 2 cycles before they are discarded. Imagine, we rarely rethread our car tires today but they are still doing them on airplanes!