Thanks to his friend, a civil pilot, Bertrand has achieved a childhood dream: travelling in the cockpit of a plane. Boarding a 747 freighter to Singapore with the CTO of TBSCG.
You recently flew to Singapore. But you weren’t in the cabin …
Yes, I travelled to Singapore in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft. It wasn’t a passenger aircraft, but a cargo plane. It was a friend of mine, Cyril, a TNT pilot, who suggested I come. We departed from Liège, the company’s freight platform. I was able to see all phases of the flight.
Could you expand?
We arrived at the airport around midnight. It took about one hour to do all the checklists. This begins with checking the plane visually. The captain inspects all the essential parts: the fuselage, engines, landing gear. Inside, he visits the cargo hold that occupies the lower deck of the B747-400. I did this with him and it’s the first time I’ve seen a jet engine up close. How would I describe it? Gigantic, vast and brute force.
The last phases of flight preparation take place in the cockpit. The captain checks the mass of the loaded freight (what is called the payload), the route and the weather, as well as the volume of kerosene needed. That day, we needed 129 tonnes for 60 tonnes of freight.
How many people were on board?
There were four of us: a captain, the PF (pilot flying), an instructor captain, the PNF (pilot non-flying), a first officer … and me. Each member of the team takes it in turns to sleep three hours. There are always two pilots in the cockpit.
I did take-off in the cockpit sitting in a slightly set back centre seat. It is truly impressive. Once you hear “V1”, you know you have to take off; the plane wouldn’t be able to stop due to the length of the runway. Therefore you just have to go. Even if something happens. Then, the pilot announces “rotate” and pulls the controls so the plane rotates and takes off.
It’s the first time you’ve done a flight like this. What made you want to do it?
I’m often a passenger and I wanted to understand how a flight worked. I’ve never had a fear of flying, so it didn’t change my perception of air travel. Now, I can detect the phases of a flight much more easily: the movements the plane makes to change course, the landing gear being deployed and retracted, levelling off before landing.
You’re an IT specialist; what can you tell us about the IT installed on planes?
The IT systems installed on planes are an ancient technology. In 2011, Intel still produces 8086 chips for aeronautical calculators. The 8086 chip, remember, is what they put in your first IBM PC in 1983! It has to be said that obtaining certification for a microprocessor for aeronautics is a very complicated process requiring algorithmic.
The same goes for software. All the programmes that make a plane fly are strictly tested to be sure that they don’t “crash”. In other words, whatever the data provided, the software will keep working.
For hardware like for software, it’s not about power requirements, but safety requirements. Therefore there are none of the famous BSODs in planes!
If you could only retain one memory of this flight… ?
Two hours after take-off, I went to sleep in a bunk on the upper deck. I slept really well up there in a big bed for around 5 hours. When I woke up we were 35,000 feet above New Delhi, with an incredible view of the Himalayas.
Would you do it again?
Yes! I’ve already talked to Cyril. Next time I’d like to do Liège-Hong-Kong to take the 888 route that flies over the Himalayas.