Pilot's view: Airbus A380 approach and landing at SFO
 

Dang, that is one big flying bus!

Pilot's View: Airbus A380 approach and landing at San Francisco. [VIDEO]

ugly plane. Done that approach many times in the back of the bus

Cool vid, thanks. That thing is huge. Flying by keyboard looks very cool. Captain is a bit of a drama queen!

Dang I wish I didn't get airsick so easily.
Thanks for posting that. That was very cool.

That was kool,

I can turn knobs and use a keyboard too does that mean I can be a pilot?

:D

+1

Give me an West Texas Drawl on the radio and a Boeing Next time.

Pilots sound like a episode of "Sprockets"

The plane is a large marge.

The approach controller gave them a change of runway to 28L, then realized that the call sign category of "super" meant ILS 28R was required. The captain got the keyboard out to reprogram the autopilot (which can be a PITA because you have to pick the intercept point out of a long list). The controller corrected the clearance, and the Captain reacted.

I don't think drama queen was it. I have seen drama queens, and that was mild.

Saw a show recently on most dangerous runways/airports in the world and it was very cool. Some require prior certification before use!

Craziest one required a banked turn over a dense city near hills and had multiple 'go/no go' points of reference. Seemed like you had to be perfect from the very start of the approach to hit it. Asia somewhere.

Watch some of the YouTube videos of landings at Kai Tak in Hong Kong (closed 1998). Scary stuff.

My wife, the RJ captain, frequently states, "Anybody could do what I do." I just smile and nod.

She said that while there are obviouisly differences between an RJ and an A380, that what's going on in the cockpit in the video is the same thing going on in her cockpit on the approach to SFO.

My little brother runs a company that has four corporate jets. One is for the owner to use whenever he goes anywhere, the others are for charter.

He flies the boss around and he jokingly refers to his job as being a "glorified bus driver".
I sat right seat on a couple trips, seemed to me there's more to it than he lets on.

Fixed it to make it either a "sammyism" or recycled it for added interest. :):)

"That's a bit sporty"

I thought that was pretty funny.

Thank you, I was wondering what that was about. SmileWavy

A plane of that size is never going to look svelte but IMO they did a nice job managing the proportions. I guess Lufthansa sanctioned this video? Pretty elaborate camera work for an amateur job.

So odd seeing a pilot with no yoke in his hands.

This is the original source:

One Cockpit - Two Pilots - Six Cameras | Welcome to - PilotsEYE.tv

Great.
Sure takes awhile to land it.

Other then pay these airplanes truly diminish the reasons one would want to be a pilot.....just flight managers.......they even program the go around, just sit and watch. You need a ILS day VFR?.....I would fall to sleep on approach. Love the part where he reaches down and turns a knob too one zero zero and said, " now that was a sporty turn"...funny and sad. Also where any of you dismayed at the FO's radio procedure?

Actually I thought the FO was more focused than the Captain. The FO just said on the radio and to his Capt. what needed to be said. The Capt. was more verbal probably because he might be a tad nervous. Overall good cockpit procedure. :):)

Question about the approach- initially they're coming up from the South (at least that's what it looks like to me). Then they fly past the golden gate then they land on 28R. What approach does all that?? If they're arriving from Frankfurt why not straight in?

Does the entire landing checklist for that beast really only consist of "Three green, flaps full?"

Initially they're coming from the north. Polar route from Frankfurt. They then pass the Golden Gate and city, hang a left somewhere south of Daly City and approach SFO from the south on final.

thanks that explains it....

I believe that the landing checklists are way simpler and shorter than they used to be which implies that increased vigilance is necessary at a critical stage of flight.
Any Airbus pilots out there?

Golden Gate Arrival via the PYE (Point Reyes) VOR. I (airline pilot) frequently see Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France flights coming down southwest-bound across northern California direct to PYE. At PYE the arrival turns aircraft eastbound (looks like south) over Stinson Beach, past the GGB, and then descent comes over/abeam SFO. Down the bay (north side for 28R) or down the coastal hills (south side) for 28L is the typical pattern and they make a 180 U-turn back to land west at SFO. I think the 380s land/depart on 28R for span clearance reasons with traffic on taxiway Foxtrot, parallel to 28L. Also, when the Lufthansa 380 needs to taxi out to 28R for takeoff the ground controller needs to de-conflict/clear the way so that there isn't a clearance problem with the 380 wings and other traffic.

That captain is a common type. They wait years (simmering) to finally get over in the left seat, finally in command, and then he takes his pound of flesh out of everyone--except the check captains who evaluate him. (He's all laughs and back-slaps with his evaluators.) Granted, the First Officer biffed up that radio exchange with NorCal Approach but it didn't require Napoleon (Goering?) in the left seat to be dickish about it. Note how the F.O diplomatically corrects the captain and helps him not f-up. Generally, captains like him never make mistakes, the F.O.s or stews or tug drivers, etc., are to blame. Any positive credit belongs solely to the captain. It can be a tiring day sitting there next to a guy like that!