MD11 - crew rest on freighters

[Chairman 8]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but I can't think of anywhere else :-)Presumably MD-11 freighters are used on sectors that are comparable in length to those flown by passenger configured MD-11s. That means that at least some of the time they would need a spare pilot or two ...Does the snoozing pilot just throw on headphones and a blindfold and blob out in a jump seat or is there some trickier arrangement for crew rest on long haul cargo flights ?And a further question that just occurred to me, how many spare seats are there in the cockpits on these ?ThanksGary

[FLEX1978 373]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but I can't think of anywhere else :-)Presumably MD-11 freighters are used on sectors that are comparable in length to those flown by passenger configured MD-11s. That means that at least some of the time they would need a spare pilot or two ...Does the snoozing pilot just throw on headphones and a blindfold and blob out in a jump seat or is there some trickier arrangement for crew rest on long haul cargo flights ?And a further question that just occurred to me, how many spare seats are there in the cockpits on these ?ThanksGary

Have a look at the Cargo section of www.airlinepilotforums. Mostly just Fedex/UPS pilots and ground staff on there. From what I've read most of them sleep on the floor in the back when Jumpseating... A lot of the posts on there would put most people off from wanting to fly Cargo with these Airlines.I guess it's human nature for people to complain about there employers.

[Chairman 8]

I've had a read of the latest 15 pages or so ... Good lord, how lucky are the rest of us that they're all collected in one easily ignored place !I know with the support boards for the cameras I own far and away the most vocal lot are the people who want to moan about something. The rest of us are too busy having fun taking photos. The same probably goes for planes, employers, etc etc ...Thanks for the link (I think :( )Gary

[FLEX1978 373]

Just found this jumpseat finder, looks handy for finding FEDEX routes http://www2.alpa.org/fdx/jumpseat/Default.aspxRob

[DF9AA 0]

The LH-Cargo MD11F have 2 seats in the compartement right behind the cockpit - they are business-class like . . .These two seats can be extended to a real bed for crew rest.

[Chairman 8]

Cool ! Having some idea what to look for, I found a picture on airliners.net. I can't link to it but if you search for D-ALCF you'll find it on page 4 of the results.Granted they aren't the current seats but it gives a good enough idea - are the seats facing backwards ? Edit2 : found a couple more shots of other MD-11s, one seems to have backwards facing seats tucked inside the door like the LH one, and the other looks to have a row of free standing forward facing seats (and a toilet) - but the general position is the same, the crew rest is in a partitioned off space behind the cockpit in what would normally be the front of the passenger cabin.That's what I was after :-)Thanks for the pointersGary

[Mace 1,962]

Cool ! Having some idea what to look for, I found a picture on airliners.net. I can't link to it but if you search for D-ALCF you'll find it on page 4 of the results.Granted they aren't the current seats but it gives a good enough idea - are the seats facing backwards ? ThanksGary

That was weird, you edited your post, because when I first loaded, you posted something else. (!) Then when I went to quote you, it was different text! (That has never happened to me at AVSIM, and I've been here from the beginning). but anyway...I think for USA flights over xx hours flight time, there is an FAA reg that says they must carry spare aircrew AND the spare aircrew must have a rest area that is separate from the pax compartments. Now, I don't know if this applies to cargo flights...

[Allan Burek 3]

Some MD-11Fs have a collapsing double bunk that folds out from behind the cockpit, behind the Captain. It expands tp pass the L1 door.

[Allan Burek 3]

Allow me to apologize for the borderline necropost, but here is an example of the crew rest area on the MD-11:This is looking at the cockpit door from the aft of the courier area. You can see the bi-fold door just before and to the left of the entrance to the cockpit. This is the crew rest area. It is a retractable. Also, to the left of the photo you can see the L1 door opened:Closer view, and the inside. The module is curently retracted:The crew rest area extended. Notice that it blocks the L1 door:Inside, 2 bunks:And this is a video of the crew rest area module retracting:I hope that this provides some insight as to how this all works.

[CapnOz 112]

Thats awesome..Thanks for sharing this. Peter Osborn

[Chairman 8]

Wow ! Yes, that's very awesome, thank you so much !Gary

[KCA9304 0]

Wow ! Yes, that's very awesome, thank you so much !Gary

Gary,Logged several hours in this kind of crew rest.They where fitted in the passenger version I flew as well.Regards,Harry

[Chairman 8]

Goodness ! Was there a wall at the front of the cabin or did it stick out towards the front seats ? I guess if the space was already full of galleys and toilets it wouldn't have looked so odd, but if you'd scored the front row seat and were luxuriating in the massive legroom then suddenly the wall started moving towards you ....... :( :( Gary