
This does not yet include GA traffic or military flights. This means the average flight duration was The data says there were 3,954 aircraft available on average in 2018 that accumulated a combined 13,398,545 flight hours with 3.82 departures per aircraft per day on average. We can however calculate it from the data provided by the MIT Airline Data Project. Unfortunately I could not find a result for this directly. If we multiply this number with the overall average flight duration, we get the answer. That's not realistic procedure, but having no copilot isn't realistic either.In 2018 there were about 37.8 million commercial flights. Performing the taxi checklist while taxiing to the runway is a lot of work for one pilot, so I stopped on the taxiway to complete it. Accepting a checklist step to set the altimeter, as one example, does not set the altimeter, and the next step appears whether or not the pilot has followed the instruction.
#ESTIMATED FLIGHT DURATIONS CODE#
Unlike the ATC windows that automatically change radio frequencies and the transponder code when the pilot clicks on the instruction to accept it, these checklists are guides that do and ensure nothing. The audio voice tells the captain the mission is completed and instructs to taxi off the runway to the parking area. Missions are completed when the aircraft lands. Working the checklists, and changing frequencies and headings at VORs in the flight plans, and follwing ATC instructions keeps us active, especially during long flights. As the pilot accepts each step, the interactive checklist advances to the next step. These written and audio checklists lead pilots through significant steps from startup, through preflight, taxiing, climbout, descent, approach, and landing. Each checklist step appears in the window consecutively, and an audio voice speaks the step in more detail. A checklist window appears in the center of the screen at an appropriate time during the given flight phase, such as preflight, taxi, climbout, descent, approach, and landing.Īfter the audio greeting and briefing, the interactive-checklist window offers options to follow the checklist steps or skip them. We pilots are guided through significant flight phases of every mission with interactive audio checklists and voice callouts. You can also calculate distance and flying. The final step in the Cabin Preparation checklist instructs us to contact ATC to begin our flight. With our Flight Time Calculator you can search and calculate flight times from all airports in the entire world. Clicking on "Start with briefing" stops the music and induces an audio greeting that is played at the beginning of every mission: "The mission begins with your aircraft parked at the gate and your engines off. These briefings provide the mission name, departure and destination airports, estimated durations, and aircraft type, generalized descriptions, and destination airport data and chart.Īll missions begin with about 30 seconds of background music. BriefingsĮach mission is described in written briefings that are displayed in the mission-selection menu and available during flights through the pilot's kneeboard. For example, Cincinnati to Kansas City occurs in daytime with clear weather while Boston to Detroit begins at dusk in rain and thunderstorms. They use various aircraft, they have various durations, and weather and time of day are different among them.


Based on these three missions and the briefing and audio files, I deduce that all 15 missions are structured in this manner. Each mission has an IFR flight plan already filed with ATC, which follows the flight plan from gate to gate. They begin at a gate, they use interactive audio checklists, and they follow ATC guidance throughout. I examined the shorter three of the 15 missions: Cincinnati to Kansas City, Boston to Detroit, and San Francisco to Portland. THE MISSIONSĪll 15 missions are categorized "expert" presumably because they entail jetliner flight which is fundamentally more complicated than flights in smaller and less-powerful aircraft. The Boeing 737-800, the Boeing 777-300, and the MD-11 areĮach used on three missions. The Boeingħ17-200, the Boeing 787-8, and the Airbus A350 are each used on two To the U.S.A., and one goes from Aruba to the U.S.A. Eleven of the flights are within the continental Flying America X Publisher: Perfect FlightĬommercial airline missions and six jetliners for Microsoft FSX from The flight durations are two to three times lower than those of even the most advanced airbreathing systems.
