The Space Age Airport
On 10/01/2012, in Life around runways, by steve
When we think of space-flight, we tend to picture rockets blasting into the final frontier on the tip of a column of fire, thundering energy that seems to be totally random and untamable. Of course a rocket engine is anything but unpredictable but it is a technology very different from our more traditional winged aircraft operations.
But space-flight, at least sub-orbital and low-Earth orbit space flight is fast becoming reality with new machines that call home what is, for all reasons and purposes, a kind of traditional airport.
In a previous article we talked about the Lynx which takes off and lands as a traditional aircraft but its flight profile includes a rocket assisted climb which takes it to 200,000 feet which is commonly recognized as the lower limit of space.
Now comes Stratolaunch, an aircraft that looks like two 747s tied to each other side by side at the wingtips and a droppable payload in the middle which is released at an altitude of 30 to 35 thousand feet and which then boosts itself to low-Earth orbit. Initially designed for cargo (e.g. satellites) only, plans are to come up with a version in time that will carry around 6 passengers. This launch aircraft, which will actually use a lot of 747 parts, will have a wing span that is twice that of a 747-400. Clearly, she will need an airport that has a few things adapted for her special needs.
The Stratolaunch concept
The mass of this baby will be comparable to an Airbus 380 and the runway must be at least 12,000 feet long, no big surprises there. But the width of the taxiways and runways, the radius of the curves will have to be phenomenal and the refueling facilities will need to supply Jet A1 as well as liquid rocket fuel to fill up the drop-load. It is no surprise either that an airport aspiring for Spaceport status will have to be specially certified by the appropriate authorities before they can start spacecraft operations.
Click here to read the full article
RIASS in Amsterdam – What is this?
On 30/11/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
RIASS stands for Runway Incursion Alerting System Schiphol and it is a system to warn air traffic controllers in the tower of an imminent danger involving the un-authorized presence of an aircraft or vehicle on a take-off runway or landing runway already in use.
The system was developed by Air Traffic Control the Netherlands and the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) to further improve ground safety by reducing the incidence of runway incursions. It is a supplement to current technologies and procedures designed to prevent unsafe situations around runways.
RIASS has further improved safety at a time when air traffic volume is increasing, the runway system has been expanded, the number of crossings has increased, and the passage of aircraft and vehicles through the manoeuvring area has intensified. All take-off runways and landing runways at Schiphol are currently equipped with the RIASS system.
John Schaap, Director of Operations of Air Traffic Control the Netherlands: ‘Safety comes first in the services provided by Air Traffic Control the Netherlands, and the new system is an example of innovation and an active safety policy. The RIASS system has essentially given air traffic controllers an extra pair of eyes that allows them to monitor the moving aircraft and vehicles on the manoeuvring area even more closely.’
Click here to read the full article
Landing Gear Problems – Seen from the Cockpit
On 03/11/2011, in Life around runways, by phil
“It’s too much to say I am a national hero, I am absolutely sure that any one of our pilots could have landed the plane and the result would have been the same because we train for situations like this on simulators”, So said Captain Wrona after the wheels-up landing of the LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767 at Warsaw. And he is absolutely right. No pilot I have ever known has wanted to be a hero; he or she just wants a quiet life and to do a good professional job, as do our ATC colleagues.
As a counter view to the previous article giving the view from the Control Tower, I would like to say a few words about how this incident would have been seen from the cockpit.
I have never operated ETOPS aircraft and so will not comment on the wisdom or otherwise of continuing across the Atlantic with one of the hydraulic systems out of action. I operated Boeing 747s where we had the luxury of having 4 engines and 4 hydraulic systems. But what I would like to comment on is how one handles a wheels-up landing and some of the decisions that would have had to be made by the flight crew.
The first thing is that no-one would have expected the alternate gear lowering system to fail. This consists of a simple electrical system which releases the uplocks so that gravity and aerodynamic loads will effect a free fall of all the undercarriage legs. The failure of this system would only have become apparent during the initial approach when the crew were ready to lower the gear. At this point there would probably have been sufficient fuel on board for somewhere between 1 and 2 hours flying time. Thus there was time to assess the situation, to consult the airline’s maintenance department, try a number of other methods of lowering the gear, to burn off fuel so as to reduce the landing weight and minimise the residual fuel in the tanks, and to prepare for an emergency landing and subsequent evacuation.
No-one wants to have to deal with an emergency of any sort, but these things are a fact of life and are trained for on the simulator. Most (all) aircraft manufacturers recommend, in these situations, landing with all available gears extended.
Click here to read the full article
Landing Gear Problems – Seen from the Tower
On 02/11/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
Next to the engines, the most complicated single system on retractable-gear aircraft is arguably the landing gear. Not only is it required to sustain huge static and dynamic loads, it must also be able to fold sufficiently to be tucked away in a compartment that would make anyone claustrophobic. Luckily, the landing gear is also one of the most reliable parts of an aircraft. This is as it should be since, as the saying goes, you can land an aircraft without its gear down… but only once.
Last Tuesday, the pilots of a LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767 rose to the occasion and landed their 767 in Warsaw with the gear up following discovery of a hydraulic system failure that prevented the gear from being extended. After its long flight from Newark, the plane came to rest on its belly but still on the runway with nobody hurt. A bit of luck and great airmanship were in perfect harmony here.
The 767 has short “legs” meaning that the travel of the struts on landing is relatively short and so the damping is correspondingly hard. If you have flown in a 767, you will probably have noticed that it is rare indeed that she arrives back on terra firma in a landing that you would call a “greaser” in old air force parlance. But what the passengers experienced on this landing in Warsaw was the mother of all “hard landings”.
Of course an aircraft coming in to land without gears is something that makes hearts race not only on board but also in the air traffic control units handling the flight. Of them all, perhaps the tower is the most concerned. After all, they will witness in real time and with their own eyes how the landing turns out in the end.
I have memories of two such incidents from many years ago, both involving TU-134s operated by Malev Hungarian Airlines.
The first incident concerned uncertainty about the nose wheel being properly locked in its lowered position. At first it all looked like a normal approach until the pilot radioed the tower as they were descending on the ILS glide-slope that there was a problem with the landing gear and that they wanted to perform a missed approach and go into the holding to investigate. As they whistled over the runway climbing back into the sky, the landing gear appeared to be down but there was no way to ascertain that it was also locked in place. This was one of the older model TU-134s with the glass nose and we all thought of the navigator whose seat is down there in the nose… if the nose wheel folds when it touches down, his seat would be hot… literally.
Click here to read the full article
NATS and Partner Ferrovial to Take Over Services at 10 Spanish Airports
On 26/10/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
British Airways and IBERIA consumated their marriage a while ago and now the UK air navigation service provider NATS has also moved in to get a Spanich partner.
Last month NATS and Spanish partner Ferrovial has been awarded a contract to provide air traffic control services at Alicante, Valencia, Ibiza, Sabadell, Sevilla, Jerez, Melilla, Madrid Cuatro Vientos, Vigo and A Coruña airports in Spain.
The partnership, named ferroNATS, is one of only two bidders to be selected by Spanish Airport Authority, AENA, to take over air traffic control provision at 13 airports across Spain. These contracts represent the first step in the process of liberalising the provision of air traffic control at AENA’s airports, announced by the Spanish government last year.
AENA and ferroNATS are already in dialogue to understand the specific needs of these airports, and how best to transition service provision from the State to ferroNATS over the next several months. ferroNATS will become responsible for staffing and safe service provision at these towers. AENA will retain accountability for maintaining their technological and physical infrastructure.
“I’m delighted that ferroNATS has been selected in recognition of NATS’ world class air traffic control expertise as well as Ferrovial’s leading position in Spain’s services industry and its deep roots in Spanish airfield operations,” said Paul Reid, Managing Director, NATS Services. “The ten airports ferroNATS have been entrusted with represent some of the busiest and most technically complex of the 13 airfields being liberalised. The focus from here will be to deliver a smooth transition from AENA to ferroNATS over the coming months.”
I am not sure who came up with the name of this joint organisation but spelling ferro in all lower case and NATS on all capitals looks… well strange to say the least. Hopefully in real life the relationship will be more balanced.
The crystal ball of surface movement analysis
On 19/10/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
We have all heard of the so called airport hot spots… places where extra caution is required to avoid nasty incidents like runway incursions. Until now, hot spots were discovered the hard way. Usually the dangerous places were identified as such following several incidents that made the situation clear: this is where danger lurks, extra caution advised. For the same reason, it is difficult to engineer out hot spots even in green field projects as it is not easy to establish before the start of operations just where things will consistently go wrong.
The Airport Viewer being developed by the FAA and Saab Sensis Corporation will change all that. A system originally developed to collect operational data to be used to judge the effects of various NextGen elements on airport operations is turning out to be a powerful tool to assess otherwise hard to notice operational anomalies which can lead to serious ground movement incidents.
Like in so many other areas, the key to this potential safety improvement is the harvesting and processing of ground movement data that has always been there albeit in a form that did not lend itself to easy interpretation. ASDE-X, the Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (which is also a Sensis product) is being deployed across the US at all major airports. It monitors and records live traffic which the FAA can review like data from any other of their surveillance systems.
In the past, the recorded data was reviewed usually only when an incident was being investigated. After the fact as it were. Yet the circumstances that led to many incidents were there also in the past, possibly hiding in the mass of data. Even if things came very near to being an incident, if it did not happen, the almost-event went unnoticed.
Sensis is now creating a few clever algorithms which, let loose on the ASDE-X data, are able to discern movement patterns and behaviors which represent anomalies and which may indicate problem areas. Possible hot spots!
Click here to read the full article
New airport in Hungary will become reality after all?
On 24/06/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
According to information leaked to the Hungarian media, the visiting Chinese premier during his stay in Hungary will raise the issue of the Szombathely cargo airport to Hungarian prime minister Orban.
Building a cargo airport to serve as China’s main port of entry into Europe has been on the table for some time and the location had been selected several years ago. In the vicinity of the West-Hungarian town of Szombathely, the new, single runway airport would provide excellent rail and road connections to the rest of Europe.
If the decision is indeed made, this airport will be the only completely new facility of this size being built in Europe, bringing major benefits to Hungary as well as Austria which is just a few miles West of the field earmarked for the new airport.
Check out the SIA-Port web-site here.
Save Berlin Tempelhof Airport
On 09/06/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
The Berlin government is seriously considering rebuilding Berlin Airport Tempelhof for 62 Million Euro (54 Million GBP) into an amusement park!
Star-Architect Sir Norman Foster said about the world’s oldest passenger airport, “Tempelhof is the mother of all airports.”
Candy Bomber – Berlin Sky-lift … and so much more is history and belongs to Berlin Airport Tempelhof.
A group of concerned citizens has now set out to save the airport. Their idea is to keep Berlin Airport Tempelhof as a training centre for kids and a meeting place for young and old pilots, engineers, scientists and people interested in aerospace.
In their opinion this is what THF should become and this way money would be well spent.
There is a project, an After School Program in Compton, near Los Angeles. It’s called ‘Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum’.
With an aim to reduce the incidence of drug abuse, juvenile crimes and gang violence, Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum has introduced aviation training programs for young citizens. Through interactive school visits and flight training sessions, this establishment aims to secure the future employment prospects of deprived children.
Robin Petgrave, helicopter pilot with more than 15.000 flight hours founded te project in LAX in 1998. Together with politicians, enterprises, scientists and donators they have built up this sensational program. It’s a ‘Think Tank’ for projects in Aerospace for tomorrow.
This is something really positive!
Airport Tempelhof needs a program like that too!
We could kill two birds with one stone:
1) Airport Tempelhof would be a centre for the new pioneers in aerospace
2) We would give kids, who normally don’t have a real chance, a possibility to realize their dreams
Berlin Airport Tempelhof is a symbol for the friendship between Great Britain, U.S. and Germany. It can never ever be an amusement park.
Sign the petition to save Tempelhof here.
Changes are coming to a tower near you – the Distant Aerodrome Control Service
On 04/03/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
DFS, the German ANSP will be introducing its Distant Aerodrome Control Service for the first time at ATC Global Amsterdam (8 to 10 March). Using the Distant Aerodrome Control Service, aerodrome controllers can switch between the display of visual information and sensor data. They are no longer primarily reliant on the direct out-of-window view. Aerodrome control is now possible both from distant locations as well as under poor visibility. What’s more: DFS is also showing its modular PHOENIX Tower Automation Suite and additional ATM solutions.
The distant aerodrome control solution provides the controller with a combination of visual data on the one hand, as well as instrument and sensor data on the other. This combination allows the controller to readily review the air and ground traffic situation at the airport and in its vicinity. High-resolution pictures from video cameras installed at the aerodrome deliver an artificial real-time view. By means of a monitor wall attached above the regular console screens, the controller can track aircraft on the apron and runway as well as zoom in as necessary. The real external view is replicated as precisely as possible.
Click here to read the full article
Great potential in addressing the quality of the runways
On 28/01/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
Armann Norheim, Rapporteur of the ICAO Friction Task Force speaks to Bryan
Camoens on the issues facing airfields around the globe, wet weather conditions and how
maintainence and planning schedules should be set.
Bryan Camoens:
What are some of the issues that airfields are facing across the globe?
Armann Norheim:
Increased focus on safety areas (RESA). There has been a growing awareness among regulators of the fact that operations on wet and contaminated runways do not have the desired safety level and this has brought the quality of safety areas into sharp focus.
Bryan Camoens:
Could you please elaborate on some of the challenges and solutions for airfield expansion and renewal projects?
Armann Norheim:
Airports built before today’s safety standards and recommendations came into effect might find themselves in situation with no room available to expand. The reason for this can be topographic or built in by expanding urban areas. An emerging solution to this problem related to safety areas is the new technology of Engineered Materials Arresting Systems (EMAS) for aircraft overruns.
Bryan Camoens:
What key issues need to be taken into account when attempting to maximise safety and efficiency for airports?
Armann Norheim:
Appropriate safety areas dimensioned and free for obstacles to meet the operational requirements of the aeroplanes for which the runway is intended. With appropriate safety areas the airliners can utilise the full potential payload of their aircrafts. (Reduced/lack of safety areas should result in reduced published declared distances, TORA, LDA).
Click here to read the full article
Goodies for the fight against runway incursions
On 24/01/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
Although we hear the word runway excursion more often these days than runway incursion, these latter remain a problem and constant efforts are required to maintain the awareness of the dangers involved in stumbling on an active runway without clearance.
Training of pilots, air traffic controllers and vehicle drivers is essential of course. Additionally, posters in the crew room as well as folders and flyers on desks a great help for any runway incursion prevention campaign.
A while ago we created designs for bumper stickers you can put on airport vehicles, making the dangers of runway incursion visible in yet another powerful way.
We would like to share these designs with you. Feel free to use them at your airport. You can also read more about runway incursions here.
Even the bull stops at a red stop bar...
No question...
Click here to read the full article
Airfield expansion and renewal – Maximizing benefits while minimizing costs the key
On 21/01/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
Jeffrey Gagnon, a speaker at the Airfield Engineering and Asset Management Conference, talks to Bryan Camoens on the issues airfields are facing across the globe, as well as the challenges and solutions for airfield expansion and renewal projects.
Bryan Camoens:
What are some of the issues that airfields are facing across the globe?
Jeffrey Gagnon:
Airports have to become “greener” currently and in the future by using “green” technology in both existing and future development of both vertical and horizontal work. The issues of sustainability and sustainable practices in both design and construction and the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) all fall under the umbrella of “Green” technology. Another issue which will be quickly effecting airfield pavements is the increase in aircraft tire pressures of future aircraft and those aircraft about to enter into the commercial fleets from Boeing and Airbus, in-particular the B-787 and A-350 where tire pressure are increasing from 218 psi to over 250 psi. Industry is unsure how these new aircraft will affect the life of the current pavements in place at numerous airfields and if current mix designs for asphalt pavement are sufficient for these new aircraft.
The other issue these new aircraft are affecting is the ICAO load rating system of Pavement Classification Number (PCN) and whether this classification system should be reviewed and revised to meet the future needs of the aircraft manufactures and airport authorities (owners).
Click here to read the full article
Airfield Engineering Asset Maintenance – A sector report
On 17/01/2011, in Life around runways, by steve
This article was compiled by Bryan Camoens and Ed Haines for the Airfield Engineering and Asset Maintenance 2011 Conference. You can contact Bryan here. To visit the conference web-site, click here.
Airport engineers, operational and maintenance heads are working under extremely challenging operational scheduling and cost constraints. In addition new, larger aircraft types and higher traffic levels require these personnel to plan significant extension and refurbishment of their airfield assets to ensure their airport is not left behind.
The need for runway expansions, upgrades and refurbishments is increasing the demands made on your airfield maintenance plans and strategies. At the same time, the windows of opportunity for carrying out this work whilst maintaining operational efficiency are becoming more limited.
This research paper will touch on the issues, challenges and probable outcomes we may begin to see on the Airfield Engineering landscape.
Click here to read the full article
Near midair at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport (MSP)
On 24/09/2010, in Life around runways, by steve
On the morning of September 16, at around 06.49 a US Airways Airbus A320 (N122US) operating as flight AWE 1848 was cleared for take-off from Runway 30R bound for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with five crew and 90 passengers on board.
At the same time, Bemidji Aviation Services flight BMJ46, a Beech 99 cargo flight with only the pilot aboard, was cleared for takeoff on runway 30L en route to La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Weather conditions at the time were reported as a 900-foot ceiling and 10 miles visibility below the clouds.
Immediately after departure, the tower instructed the US Airways crew to turn left and head west, causing the flight to cross paths with the cargo aircraft approximately one-half mile past the end of runway 30L. Neither pilot saw the other aircraft because they were in the clouds, although the captain of the US Airways flight reported hearing the Beech 99 pass nearby. Estimates based on recorded radar data indicate that the two aircraft had 50 to 100 feet of vertical separation as they passed each other approximately 1500 feet above the ground.
The US Airways aircraft was equipped with a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) that issued climb instructions to the crew to avert collision. The Beech 99 was not equipped with TCAS and the pilot was unaware of the proximity of the Airbus. There were no reports of damage or injuries as a result of the incident.
NTSB and FAA investigators conducted a preliminary investigation at the Minneapolis airport traffic control tower on September 18th and 19th and are continuing to review the circumstances of this incident.
Brussels Airlines 737 starts take-off roll with flaps retracted
On 24/04/2010, in Life around runways, by steve
Last Thursday, 22 April was notable for the fact that after the long disruption caused by the volcanic cloud over Europe, traffic was finally getting back to normal.
Brussels Airlines flight SN2901 Brussels-Vienna was still at the gate shortly before 0710a, its schedules departure time, with both the aircraft door and the cockpit door still wide open. Especially this latter is usually bad news and bodes ill for an on time departure. Then a pilot, complete with his flight bag, scrambled up the outside steps of the air bridge and scampered into the cockpit, closing the door behind him. Shortly thereafter we pushed back and taxied toward the runway at a brisk clip.
I have this thing about being an interested passenger… I always check whether I actually have the life preserver “in a pouch under my seat” as promised (was missing only once) and I always listen to the reassuring thump of the wheel coming down on final, mentally ticking off my own checklist as it were.
The 737’s electrically operated flap system produces a peculiar sound when it is operating, the characteristic whine of electric motors moving something via high gearing. This morning, as we taxied nearer and nearer the runway, this sound was completely missing! From the speed at which we turned onto the runway it was clear that the pilots were planning to make a rolling take-off and indeed, once aligned with the runway centerline, power was applied and we started rolling down Brussels’s runway 25L… with the flaps and slats still fully retracted!
Click here to read the full article
Aircraft based tools in the fight against runway incursions
On 06/04/2010, in Life around runways, by steve
Aircraft-based airport surface traffic indications and alerting systems
This is an edited version of the presentation made at the recent ESAVS 2010 conference by Doug Arbuckle of the FAA. Coauthors of the paper were David E. Gray of FAA, Peter Moertl of Mitre Corporation and Jim Duke of SAIC. You can download the original text of their paper here and the slides here.
Introduction
As discussed before, runway incursions and collisions is a major area of concern world-wide. There are on average more than two runway incursion events per day in Europe alone and the situation in the United States is similarly serious. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has on its most wanted list a system to “give immediate warnings of probable collisions/incursions directly to cockpit flight crews.”
In our previous two articles we covered the visual tools for preventing runway incursions (RWSL and FAROS) and the communications related causes of runway incursions. In this third article we will look into aircraft based airport surface traffic indications and alerting systems being developed in the US as a further line of defense against runway incursions.
The background
As you may be aware, in the US two different data links have been adopted for ADS-B: 1090 MHz Extended Squitter (1090 ES) and the 978 MHz Universal Access Transceiver (UAT). Given that the international community has agreed to the use of the 1090 ES link, most air transport and international business aircraft are expected to equip with this link; the UAT link is expected to be primarily used by general aviation aircraft whose operations are confined to the US. The US is implementing uplink services on both links. One such uplink broadcast service is Traffic Information Service-Broadcast (TIS-B). TIS-B derives traffic information from one or more ground-based surveillance sources and uplinks this traffic information to ADS-B-equipped aircraft, enabling them to receive position reports about non-ADS-B-equipped aircraft; this service supports the transition period to full ADS-B equipage in the NAS. ADS-R is another uplink broadcast service which rebroadcasts ADS-B messages received from aircraft on one link to nearby aircraft broadcasting on the other link, making it possible for all ADS-B-equipped aircraft to receive the information being transmitted on the other link.
Click here to read the full article
The communications related aspects of runway incursions
On 31/03/2010, in Life around runways, by steve
More than two incursions a day…
Few other incidents return with the grim and persistent regularity of runway incursions. A lot of effort by all concerned has resulted in a reduction of the total number of incidents but there are still, on average, more than two runway incursions in Europe per day. Clearly, there remains a lot of work to be done.
But what exactly is a runway incursion? According to the definition provided by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) a runway incursion is “Any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft.”
Of course the words “incorrect presence” cover a wide range of possibilities from part of an aircraft sticking into the protected area to a vehicle or aircraft being entirely in the path of an aircraft landing or taking off. The dangers need no explaining… The reasons why highly trained professionals like pilots and controllers and less well trained but still “aerodrome aware” vehicle drivers make mistakes leading to runway incursions provide a telling story with roots in human psychology, engineering, traffic design, information technology and one may dare to say, on occasion Murphy’s law.
Click here to read the full article
New tools in the arsenal to prevent runway incursions – RWSL and FAROS
On 16/03/2010, in Life around runways, by steve
Although take-offs and a landing from and on taxiways had filled the news recently, the problem of runway incursions is much more of a problem and in spite of major efforts on the part of all concerned, pilots, air traffic controllers and ground vehicle drivers, it refuses to go away. Not that there are no achievements but in Europe there are more than 2 incidents on average per day and an airport like Charles De Gaulle in Paris has in excess of 30 runway incursions per year! The situation is not much different in the US either.
We all know the traditional warnings that come into view as we approach the runway. Red stop bars across the taxiway, flashing yellow lights on the side, markings and signs… all meant to say: beware, you are approaching a dangerous place, proceed with care. The same message is repeated countless times during basic and recurrent training yet aircraft and ground vehicles regularly blunder onto the runway, flashing lights and stop-bars notwithstanding.
The FAA and Lincoln Labs in the US have developed a new set of tools called the Runway Status Lights (RWSL) System and Final Approach Runway Occupancy Signal (FAROS). Both systems use outside light cues to warn pilots and drivers of unsafe conditions while also providing appropriate warnings in the control tower.
In this day of digital link communications and moving map displays on board many aircraft, why would anyone want to introduce a system that uses light signals as a warning? If pilots and drivers ignored the lit stop bar and the yellow flashing lights, will they heed this new system?
Click here to read the full article
A taxiway will do, take 2 – Aeroflot Airbus takes off from taxiway in Oslo
On 28/02/2010, in Life around runways, by steve
EUROCONTROL’s Preventing Runway Incursions Portal has a quiz designed to test the knowledge of pilots, air traffic controllers and vehicle drivers about, among others, the runway and taxiway environment. One of the questions shows a concrete surface with white markings in a limited visibility environment, seen from the cockpit window. The question: are we on a taxiway or on a runway? Another question shows a similar picture but with yellow markings on the concrete. Same question: are we on a runway or taxiway. Well, I am sure our readers will not have a problem answering something this simple. The white markings are on the runway, right? Are you sure? A large proportion of those we tried the quiz on did fail this simple test!
I was reminded of this fact when news reached us of yet another scheduled flight taking of from a parallel taxiway. This time it was an Aeroflot Airbus A320-200, VP-BWM performing Flight SU 212 from Oslo to Moscow.
Click here to read the full article
Wishing them into the air…
On 19/02/2010, in Life around runways, by steve
In one of my favorite books about the US Air Force in the WWII there is a chapter in which the author describes how the crew in the control tower “wished” the heavily loaded bombers into the air as the planes struggled to get airborne and clear a line of trees not far from the end of the runway.
A lot has happened since and it is rare indeed that tower controllers need to land a hand and “wish an aircraft into the air”. It looks though that this DC-10 of Arrow Cargo had needed all the help it could get. That runway is 3700 meters long…
Wishing them into the air...
A taxiway will do… KLM 737 takes-off from Taxiway B in Amsterdam
On 16/02/2010, in Life around runways, by steve
PH-BDP in Warsaw
I do have a trip scheduled to Warsaw… what I pity I was not on KL1369 two days ago! As I said in another article, I am one of the few air travelers who does check the life west (under your seat you know), follows the safety briefing and confirms the nearest exit (may be behind you). I also follow the taxi operation, trying to figure out which runway we would be using…
What a wonderful discovery it would have been to see the 737 line up on a taxiway and take off from there without further ado!
That is exactly what PH-BDP did two days ago around half past eight in the evening in what appears to have been darkness but otherwise good visibility.
Click here to read the full article
Watch this take off!!
On 04/02/2010, in Life around runways, by royalbird
The Russian IL-76 cargo plane can lift a payload of 1 million pounds. When she is taking off on a warm and calm day in Australia, every inch of the runway will be needed.
Download this great video, shot from the tower, to see just how fine those Russian pilots had cut it. You can hear the Australian controllers talking (what a lovely accent!) as they “wish” the Vodka Burner into the air…. Don’t miss this one!
GNSS Landing System (GLS) to the rescue…
On 25/11/2009, in Life around runways, by steve
Last year in September we were on the last leg of a longish trip that started in Honolulu and after a stop-over in San Francisco we were finally on-board Continental Airlines’ 767- 400 bound for Brussels. We were late pushing back (no fault of the airline) and taxi was more an occasional crawl than continuous movement. In just a few minutes I could understand why the Newark-Brussels flight is so often late getting into BRU.
After about 15 minutes of not going anywhere, the captain apologized for the delay and explained that the airport was very busy and that we would probably not be taking off for another 35 minutes or so. He suggested that we take out our laptops and work, walk around visiting friends if we want to… he would be extra gentle with the occasional spurt forward. In the end, the waiting was more like 45 minutes but at least we made many friends onboard.
Click here to read the full article
Near-miss on demand
On 20/11/2009, in Life around runways, by steve
In the late 70’s our authority decided to commission a series of training movies for air traffic controllers and engineers. The purpose was to show some of the most commonly occurring errors, give an analysis of the causes and provide some guidance on how to avoid them. I was selected to write the script for the ATC episodes.
By the time the movie was to be made, we were limited to just four events, probably due to cost considerations. Like in any other profession, also in air traffic control, errors, human and otherwise, do occur but most of the time nothing serious happens. The safety system makes sure of that. So there is a wide range from which to select but which four should be included in the movie? I was sure however that one particular incident would get included. Not only would it highlight a real problem, it would also have tremendous visual impact. Something that was begging to be immortalized on film.
I will not go into the details of the error that led to two mid-sized aircraft loaded with passengers finding themselves at a few feet from each other, one just lifting off, the other aborting its landing, desperately climbing to avoid a collision. It did happen… The question was now: how do we recreate this near miss for the camera?
Click here to read the full article
Wake turbulence gone with the wind – the CREDOS project
On 03/11/2009, in Life around runways, by steve
The problem of vortices
There are two kinds of dangerous phenomena behind large aircraft. Jet wash and wingtip vortices. These are the most important components of what is commonly referred to as “wake turbulence”. The intensity of this turbulence depends on a number of factors, among them the mass of the aircraft concerned. Jet-wash is simply the rapidly moving air expelled from a jet engine. While it is extremely turbulent, it dissipates quickly in both time and space.
Wingtip vortices on the other hand are much more stable and can remain in the air longer after the passage of an aircraft. Wingtip vortices represent the primary and most dangerous component of wake turbulence.
The hazards of wake turbulence are particularly significant during the landing and take-off phases of flight. Aircraft are in a configuration that creates the strongest vortices while they are also flying at a low speed and low altitude. This leaves little margin for recovery in the event of flying into wake turbulence.
In daily operations the risk of encountering wake turbulence on approach or take-off and initial climb out is mitigated by increasing the spacing between lighter aircraft and a preceding heavier one. The time or distance based minima prescribed to ensure this spacing (the so called wake turbulence separation minima) are static and are based on a worst case assumption of the persistence time of the vortices. While this practice ensures safety, it also reduces the actual throughput of runways below what would otherwise be achievable.
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Videos that show the impossible
On 29/10/2009, in Life around runways, by steve
Aircraft on the runway!
The company bringing you Roger-Wilco, BluSky Services is also well known for its multimedia and video products as well as its web design prowess.
Some of our videos were created for clients who wanted to show the impossible. Like runway incursions as they were happening. Using cutting edge technology, we have recreated a number of actual events in minute detail and even created interactive versions where the show stops at the critical moments so that students can discuss what had just gone wrong. We do show them the impossible to help them avoid it ever happening again.
When the engine sound saved the day...
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Show me your tower, I tell you who you are
On 16/10/2009, in Life around runways, by steve
Show a pilot or air traffic controller a photo of a control tower with nothing else visible on the picture and they will say the name of the airport almost without thinking. This happens every time, no matter how little known or exotic the airport may be. This is no accident. The tower is the symbol of the oldest place from which airport traffic was first supervised and controlled, an edifice that stands tall over the rest of the field, commanding attention not unlike the circle and star on a Mercedes automobile.
At first, towers were simple affairs reflecting the relative simplicity of the operation in those days. Over the years they became taller and more imposing, uniting functionality, architectural proves and local pride in about equal measure.
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Runway incursions – a portal full of help
On 17/08/2009, in Life around runways, by steve
Flying is several orders of magnitude safer than road travel, we all know that. Yet there is a curious element of commonality between those two modes of transport, representing a serious danger in both. Drivers who manage to get onto the wrong side of a motorway and aircraft or ground vehicles that blunder onto the runway creating a collision hazard…
Runway incursions make it into the news only if an accident ensues. This does not happen often but a few notable cases, like Tenerife in 1977 and Milan in 2001 will sound familiar to all of us. But the problem is real and much bigger than one would think at first sight.
On average there are two runway incursions of varying severity in Europe every day!
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