Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily88
1. A TCAS system only seems to work when the approaching plane has *at least* a transponder emitting data. What if somebody switched off the transponder on that plane, how would my plane avoid colliding into it? Why don't planes have Radar on it, which brings me to my next question.
Aircraft do have radar. Radar in an aircraft is weather radar. Your ride, a B747, does not have radar which "sees" other aircraft. It reflects of weather.
Your aircraft has TCAS availability, which responds to other aircraft transponders. If another aircraft does not have a transponder operating, then TCAS on an oceanic route will be of no use in avoiding a collision with the non-transponder equipped aircraft.
All aircraft on your routing will be equipped with a transponder. The vast majority of those aircraft, and all aircraft operating at the altitudes where you'll be riding, are equipped with two transponders.
You'll be flying designated routing over the ocean, and with it known altitudes which are designed to avoid other aircraft.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily88
2. We are flying over the Pacific ocean, most of this area is not covered by ground Radar.. right?
Correct. There's no ground. There's no radar, and there are no controllers looking at you or other traffic. It's a very big ocean.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily88
3. What if something goes wrong with the plane, we are flying over a wide ocean, where would we land. I have been reading about diversion airports / ETOPS between my destination.. I can't find concrete info about how many of these spots are located in our way and how easy/soon can a plane reach it! Are they even functional airports?
You're over the ocean. There's nowhere to land. That leaves pressing on to the destination, turning back to the point of departure, or going to an alternate airport. There are very few alternates over the Pacific. Flights use "equal-time point" calculations and other calculations based on available airports at certain parts of the flight, such that at any given time, the crew always knows where they will go if a problem requires a diversion. It may be a long time to get to a diversion field, and there won't be much fuel left on arrival in many cases. Fuel is planned not just for getting to the destination that the flight is originally scheduled to visit ,but also based on diversions that might occur along a given routing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily88
4. My plane is a Qantas 747-400, but I read this model is old. Is there any such thing as "primary Radar" device on it?
I've made that trip before on a Qantas 747-400. Old is relative. The 747-400 is an elegant, well designed airplane with a great deal of systems redundancy and many safe features. It's got fail safe systems such that one can lose various electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, fuel, and other components, including engines, and still press on with full coverage for flight controls, anti ice, pressurization, fuel pressure and delivery, etc. It's a safe, comfortable, extremely well designed and very well thought-out airplane.
There's no such thing as "primary" radar on an airplane. You may be thinking of radar returns seen by a controller, but it's irrelevant for most of your route. The pilots have no radar that "sees" other aircraft. Weather radar is used for viewing precipitation aloft, and can be used for "seeing" islands on the surface during a long oceanic flight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily88
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5. Also, I read that few years ago an incident of water leakage caused an electric outage in ALL of the planes systems! If such an event occurs, how far can this plane glide and can it actually land on water or is that just a best case scenario!
Landing on water, is called a ditching unless you're flying a seaplane, and you're not. Ditching is a forced landing in water. The 747 "glides" surprisingly well, but a glide is irrelevant if you have an electrical loss. The airplane still flies.
The case you're thinking off involved a liquid spill into the lower compartment below the galley, and was a shorting of a main electrical bus, or place that connects various electrical systems.
The 747 has the capability to separate the electrical system into multiple parts to isolate a problem. While it's possible to have a complete electrical loss (I've experienced it in the 747), procedures are available in the cockpit to restore power, divide the systems, and isolate a problem. You shouldn't be concerned about electrical problems in flight as a safety issue on your trip. Not only are electrical problems very rare, but almost anything electrical that could happen on your flight is more of an inconvenience that is handled with a checklist in the cockpit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily88
6. Do all planes ping the satellites? Can the pinging be switched off like a Transponder?
"Pinging" satellites is something that the media advertises; forget about it. It doesn't work that way.
On your flight, the aircraft has very long range radios that can talk across the ocean (HF radios), and other communication capability that includes long distance data links, as well as sat phones.
It sounds like you're worried about a situation such as MH 370, supposedly disappearing over the ocean. It sounds like you're thinking about the media circus mythology about the aircraft shutting off communications, suicidal captains, and a stealthy disappearance over a remote ocean. Bear in mind that everything you've heard about that on the news is pure conjecture and guesswork, and there's nothing to support any of it. It's sensationalism to sell advertising, and little more.
Also bear in mind that you're flying one of the most respected airlines in the world. You should have no concerns at all about hopping a Qantas flight. I don't worry about it in the least, and as a pilot and person who prefers to continue breathing, I take my travel seriously (as you do, too). Qantas is good to go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily88
7. Pilots can't see through clouds, will we be flying above the clouds for the most part? Does it help that it's during the day?
It makes no difference whether you fly in or out of the clouds. We fly in clouds, in weather, in the dark, all sorts of conditions in which we can't see out of the airplane. We make entire flights when one can't see out, all the way to a landing at the destination, and we do it very safely using cockpit instruments, very precise navigation equipment, detailed flight plans, and frequent training coupled with well vetted experience.
Throughout much of your flight you will likely be above most clouds, and flights divert to go around storms. There may be times when your flight will pass through clouds, or be flying at night; this presents no safety concern whatsoever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily88
8. Is there less traffic on my route?
Less traffic than what?