747-400 in Qantas Service

Recently Australian Aviation accompanied a flight crew on a Sydney to Auckland and return service, where the -400 began its commercial service with Qantas in September 1989. Sydney provided a pristine winter’s day for our departure. The first thing that became apparent was the lack of ‘clutter’ on the flightdeck compared to the analog 747 (now fondly referred to as the ‘Classic’). In the Classic there is always the three way chatter going on between the pilots and the flight engineer- the necessary cross checking demands it; there is also the necessary manual requirement to consult the per- formance books carried on board. Not so on the -400.

While I accompanied Captain Bob Small on the walkaround, First Officer Adam Smith had been busy up front with the Flight Management System punching in the day’s route, fuel, payload and ambient conditions. The rest seemed easy. Once the passengers were aboard, the aircraft was started up and taxied to the holding point for Runway 25. The after start and pre-takeoff checks were crisp, and apart from the radio work, the workload seemed almost sedate. This is not to infer that the crew were complacent about the operation – far from it. It simply appeared that they were free to discuss what was going on outside the aircraft, and any experienced pilot considers such a contingency a luxury in busy airspace. Without delay our takeoff and radar departure soon had us tracking out overthe Tasman. Initially FL370 was unavailable due to conflicting traffic. ATC considerately offered a safe, though non-quadrantal level. Captain Small refused this, to fly at a lower quadrantal level. Fuel was not critical on the day, and Qantas philosophy is to fly by the book’ as a habit. In any case, it wasn’t long before the planned level became available. It was interesting to observe VH-OJO climb and level out and adjust the thrust without human intervention.

There are 18 747-400s in the Qantas fleet now an outlay of about $36 billion, which is a staggering sum. Does the -400 justify such an outlay going by the past four year’s performance? Qantas says yes.

“The 400 initially had a technical despatch reliability of 92-94 %,” Captain Les Hayward, Head of 747-400 Operations said. “In April 1993, it was 98. 796”.

Captain Hayward also explained some of the -400’s other attributes. That it uplifts -400 passengers and baggage and flies them nonstop from Sydney to Los Angeles. And it does so with the same fuel burn as the smaller 747SP, carrying a greater percentage of the higher yield first and business class passengers.

The -400’s long legs’ also do away with a number of stopovers a major expense for any airline. The cost of feeding and accommodating the technical and cabin crew for any 747 for one night can be up to about $9000 in a country such as Japan. Consider also the reduced number of personnel on the flightdeck of the 400, especially in light of the previously cited 747SP example: a nonstop SP flight Sydney to Los Angeles carries a double crew-Captain, FO, SO and FE; and they all have to accommodated and fed at the other end for a much reduced yield. Clearly the -400 shines in this respect.

Our flight to Auckland is smooth and pleasant in brilliant sunshine. About 100nm (185km) prior to top of descent, we are given a practical example of the TCAS. What appeared to be a distant lenticular cloud ahead turned out to be the contrail of a Continental DC-10. We observed its symbol closing on our own on the Navigation Display. The DC-10 came into actual view at about eight miles (15km) seeming for awhile to be a static image, and then rapidly approaching and passing 2000 feet below us. As the reader can imagine, if they have never witnessed this, the final effect is quite dramatic with a closing speed of around 1000kts (1850km/h).

The Flight Management System provides two options for our Auckland approach. If the weather is good we can shorten the downwind sector and save some flight time and fuel. A appropriate profile is provided on the Navigation Display (ND). The second profile is the standard instrument approach, and that is what it is to be, as Auckland has a 3000 feet overcast. It’s also busy. The TCAS comes alive in the terminal area with a number of symbols appearing on the ND. We watch the track of an Eagle Air Bandeirante approaching from the south and landing ahead of us. We touch down and record a block time of 2. 9 hours.

Boeing’s design objectives for the -400 were to upgrade the technology, enhance the interior, increase the range, reduce fuel burn and reduce operating costs. This has all been achieved with the advanced flight deck, the new generation engines, the increased fuel capacity (with the horizontal tail fuel tank), aerodynamic improvements and reduced weight. The distinctive winglets on the -400 also successfully lower drag and thus contribute to a reduced fuel burn and an increased range.

Advanced materials are utilised throughout the aircraft.

The winglets and wings, the engine cowls, the windows, the sidewall and ceiling panels and stowage bins are constructed from the four main groups of advanced materials, these being: the graphite composites (winglets), advanced aluminium alloys (upper and lower spar chords and wing stringers), advanced thermoplastics (windows) and Kevlar graphites (cabin panelling). The -400 also employs carbon brakes which reduce weight by 816kg. They also wear better than the steel brakes of the Classic and, according to Boeing, give double the landings.

Like the 767, the -400 transmits the status of 75 systems either to VHF stations when within range, or now by satellite. The last 400s delivered to Qantas all have satellite communication capability. The APU also deserves a mention. A Pratt & Whitney PW901A, it burns 40% less fuel than that used in the Classic’s and will deliver a cabin temperature of 22°C even on a 37° day. The cabin of the 400 is slightly different to the Classic. Gone is the spiral staircase of the -100 and -200. It is now a more conventional linear one. First class passengers (who sit forward on the lower deck) have almost fully reclining seats with their own LCD video screens, and a selection of videos of the latest releases across the spectrum. The Flight Services Director controls the video programming and other cabin functions (such as cabin temperature control) from a personal computer located in the FSD’s ‘office’ at the foot of the stairs. This area also provides adequate space for cabin crew on breaks to take meals and upright rest in privacy. For the long sectors, the cabin crew have horizontal rest bunks aft in the tail area; this is accessed by stairs up to a cabin fitted for nine bunks.

And so onto the flightdeck. The -400 has over 600 fewer lights, gauges and switches than the Classic. This translates to a 60% reduction in normal cockpit procedures compared to the Classic. Boeing claims that the -400 is as simple to operate as a small two crew jet such as a 737. It certainly appeared so on the day of our flight.

Of course the purists always put up two contingencies: what if you lose your EFIS displays?; and, without the flight engineer there must be things overlooked. Captain Hayward remarked on both.

“It would be nice to have an engineer in dirty weather over Europe where it’s pretty busy. But that’s only about 5% of the time. The rest of the time he would be sitting there looking over your shoulders. ” And what about losing the EFIS display? “With any new technology you have to expect an easing in period. At first the aircraft thought it was a hypochondriac. We had some minor problems with the EFIS but were able to resolve these with Boeing. ” We depart from Auckland about an hour before sunset with a near 80% load factor. Passengers and crew alike are given a treat as we climb on top of the 3000 feet layer of cloud and have to level out temporarily due to other traffic. We are soon into full climb again, with the computer recommending best cruise speed for our conditions.

Qantas’ 747-400 fleet is supported by three flight simulators. Two were purchased from Singer Link in 1986. Then, they were $20 million each; today they would be about $35 million each. Qantas was scheduled to take delivery of these units with staggered lead times to the aircraft.

“Qantas debugged and upgraded the simulators with Link Miles and a number of subcontractors,” Geoff Knight, Manager Simulator Services, told me. It took us six months to get them into line with the aeroplane. The third simulator was subsequently ordered from CAE in Montreal, Canada, in 1989. It was brought into service in December 1991.

The simulators are logging 3500 hours a year each about 75% utilisation. The aim is to raise this to maximum by selling time to Pacific Rim neighbours (or anyone else). The fidelity of the simulators is of sufficient realism to enable 99. 6% of training, licence and command renewals to be performed in it. We commence our descent into Sydney. The blur of light ahead grows and separates to become Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle. The passengers are treated to a fine view of Sydney as we turn northwest to intercept the ILS for runway 16. The Navigation Display has provided the tailored track and profile for our configuration (with pilot input) for the approach. The clear view of Sydney belies the fresh south easterlies that will bring showers later in the evening. Cross the harbour to land on 16, we record a return block time of 3. 15 hours.

While our day aboard VH-OJO is complete, there is no rest for the aircraft however. In four hours it will uplift a near maximum load and fly nonstop to Los Angeles.

The -400 is poised to continue its role as flagship and cost saver with Qantas for many years with perhaps some diversionary limelight when the 777 appears, and any proposed stretched 747.