Aviation - Private Pilots Licenses and related discussions (split topic)

[whole diary]

[Thatcham Crossing]

Must admit I hadn't looked at a METAR today but it felt like less than 20kts, although anything would feel light compared to the extreme wind chill we experienced whilst snow-mobiling up on a glacier on Wednesday.

It was blowing pretty-much straight down runway 01 though, no x-wind component to worry about today ;-)

[TonyK]

Happiness is a limp windsock! I once flew in 20 knots, straight down 27 at dear old Filton. I went over the clubhouse rather than past it, did my fastest ever downwind leg, and landed almost as you would do in a Harrier.

[JayMac]

limp windsock!

I get lots of spam-trapped emails that offer little blue pills to fix that.

While we're at it. METAR?

[TonyK]

METAR is one of Meteorological Terminal Aviation Routine Weather Report or Meteorological Aerodrome Report, depending on who you ask. It's a coded report to save time and effort, and so it can be broadcast using relatively primitive equipment. A METAR is a statement of the actual observed weather at an aerodrome, rather than a forecast. They are updated at intervals that reflect the importance of the airport involved, so hourly at Heathrow, less so at quieter places. They are collated by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - an American agency), which makes them freely available, along with other weather information, here.

The current METAR for Bristol Airport is:

EGGD 131920Z 18012KT 7000 -SHRA FEW002 BKN003 10/10 Q1007

This tells us that at EGGD (the ICAO code for Bristol, not BRS^▸ (Business Rates Supplement) which is the IATA code), on the 13th day at 19.20 hours Zulu (or UTC, both of which are GMT) which is 20.20 hours BST, the wind was from the south (180) at 12 knots. Visibility is 7000 metres, with light showery rain. SHRA is showery rain, the minus sign signifies light, a plus sign would indicate heavy. There are a few clouds at 200 feet, with broken cloud at 300 feet. The temperature is 10 degrees celsius, with the dew point also 10 degrees celsius - that means the cloud base will be very close to the ground. The QNH atmospheric pressure, which is adjusted to give the sea level pressure even though Bristol Airport is 622 feet above is 1007 hPa (hectopascals - luckily equal to 1007 millibars). With altimeter set to this, an aircraft on the ground would show 622'. The other altimeter setting the pilot will be offered by the tower is QFE, which is the setting that would show his height above the highest part of the airfield - probably around 986 hPa. With the altimeter set to that, the pilot on the ground would see 0 feet. These numbers are vital, and need updating throughout a flight. The pressure in Tenerife tonight is 1018. Had a pilot not changed that on his approach to Bristol, he would be over 330 feet lower than he thought he was.

All told, a murky old night at Lulsgate Bottom, with little chance of improvement over the next few hours. And possible work to do in the acronyms / abbreviations.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for that very informative post, Four Track, Now! 

However, I think we'll perhaps resist the temptation to add quite so many aviation abbreviations and acronyms to our list here on this generally railway-related forum! 

As an aside, here is an example of what can happen if things do go wrong - from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

All survive after jet lands in sea off Bali Indonesia

An airliner has ended up in the sea off the Indonesian island of Bali after missing Denpasar airport runway, but all those on board survived.

 

[JayMac]

My thanks also for that detailed description of METAR.

My experience of flying aircraft starts and ends with Microsoft's Flight Simulator series of PC software. 

[bobm]

Just for fun - here is the weather in Swindon thanks to my weather station.

[TonyK]

As an aside, here is an example of what can happen if things do go wrong - from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

All survive after jet lands in sea off Bali Indonesia

An airliner has ended up in the sea off the Indonesian island of Bali after missing Denpasar airport runway, but all those on board survived.

I saw that, Chris. I've looked at the chart - Bali has a 3000 metre runway, with a modern ILS^▸ (Instrument Landing System) (Instrument landing system). It has very clear approach paths, all of which deliver the aircraft to 3000 feet at a point about 22 nautical miles from the runway threshold. There is water at both ends, and no obstructions to avoid, so final approach should be a doddle. There was light rain at the time. Boeing 737 is the most common aircraft type in the world - on average, there are about 1700 in the air at any given moment. A fully laden B737-800 should be able to land and stop in those conditions in less than 2000 metres, or around 2300 metres if autoland is used. The aircraft was virtually new, although I doubt they'll be mending it. It is too early to speculate on cause. Ladbrokes won't give me odds on pilot error, though.

Excellent news that all got out relatively unscathed, though, which makes it a good landing in the normal parlance of aviation. A crash is a landing where someone gets badly hurt or worse. A landing is a crash where everybody walks (or in this case swims) away.

As an aside, I have flown many times, as passenger as well as pilot. Unlike many on the aircraft, I listen to the safety briefing, check my two nearest exits, read the card, and feel under the seat to locate the lifejacket. Studies have shown clearly that people who do this are more likely to survive an accident to those that do not. My flying instructor used to call my pax briefings "scary" - "In the event of an accident involving a forced landing, get out as quickly as you can by any means possible. You can kick the roof off this plane, but please don't try it in the air. Get away as quickly as you can run - I'll be waiting half a mile away. Don't go round the front of the plane if the engine is running, because that propellor costs money, and is easily damaged. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight!"

My thanks also for that detailed description of METAR.

My experience of flying aircraft starts and ends with Microsoft's Flight Simulator series of PC software. 

Mine started there, too. So that she could use the computer occasionally, and to get it out of my system, my wife bought me a trial lesson out of Bristol Airport. Later, I suffered a serious illness beginning with C. When I had recovered, I felt I was due a reward, so joined Bristol Aero Club at Filton. In total, I flew about 75 hours in Piper Cherokees, including quite a bit of solo, before a combination of changing regulations, closure of airfield, and the need to buy a new house grounded me again. It was the most fun I ever had in trousers, and I haven't ruled out a return to the skies. You can see me in my pomp here, filmed by Junior FTN. As a way of getting this on thread slightly, there's a nice overhead shot of BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains).

And be careful with those blue pills. I knew a man who took too many. He died with a smile on his face, but the trouble they had getting the lid on the coffin...

[Thatcham Crossing]

Back in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) now 4 Track, courtesy of 2hrs 50mins in an Easyjet A319 between Keflavik and Luton.

I share many of your sentiments around flying - I got to around 275 hrs TT before I had to call a halt, mainly for reasons of financial priority, and continue to hold the hope that I will get back to it one day.

I've been to Bali a couple of times, and Denpasar is a modern airport with a long runway and benign surroundings.

Indonesia has long been a bit of an aviation black-spot though, and the national carrier Garuda (who I have flown with a few times) has only recently been granted permission to run flights in and out of the EU^» (European Union - about) again, following a ban lasting several years.

They are also notoriously slow at carrying-out and releasing the results of accident investigations, although the pressure will be on them in this case as Lion Air is a rapidly-growing carrier with mostly brand-new aircraft.

[devon_metro]

They are also notoriously slow at carrying-out and releasing the results of accident investigations, although the pressure will be on them in this case as Lion Air is a rapidly-growing carrier with mostly brand-new aircraft.

Ryanair of the East perhaps?

[GBM]

Many thanks FTN for the aviation explanations.
No, they're not rail centered (but an adjunct to rail perhaps).  Fascinating.
 

[TonyK]

Indonesia has long been a bit of an aviation black-spot though, and the national carrier Garuda (who I have flown with a few times) has only recently been granted permission to run flights in and out of the EU^» (European Union - about) again, following a ban lasting several years.

GARUDA is one for the acronyms - Good Airline Run Under Dutch Administration. Competing at one time with BOAC - Better On A Camel, SABENA - Such A Bloody Experience, Never Again, DELTA - Delay Everyone's Luggage Through Atlanta, and AEROFLOT - An Exemplary Recurrence Of Forced Landings On Take-off.

Garuda were at one time known for declaring fuel emergencies because of "unexpected headwinds". Other airlines have been known to do this as a matter of policy, including one with Irish origins that I shall not name, because it is cheaper. I think it was a Garuda flight that ran out of fuel on the runway at Heathrow, so having landed, it could not taxy to the stand. Airlines operating into Britain now fully understand that they cannot declare a fuel emergency, but should instead scream "MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!" (from the French "m'aidez" (help me)) to gain attention, with all the investigatory baggage that will follow. The aviation maxim is that you only have too much fuel if you are on fire, but captains always calculate their fuel uplift carefully, because unnecessary fuel adds weight which requires more fuel. So I always told the fuel guy "Tabs please" because in a PA28 there are metal tabs that show that there is 22 US gallons in each of the two wing tanks. I never flew with so many passengers (my maximum was always 3) or luggage that the  fuel on board made too much difference. On a long-haul flight, though, the difference between profit and loss can be tiny.  But for safety's sake, one should calculate the fuel based upon the weather, then plan an alternate airport, then add enough fuel for arrival at the alternate, plus 45 minutes spare.

Another truism: You can make a small fortune from aviation. All you need to start with is a large fortune.

Railways do figure in aviation, and are shown on maps. They are an excellent aid to navigation. One looks for three identifying features in a location, and the classic combo is a motorway, a river, and a railway. The tendency for the pilot is to make the ground features fit where he thinks he is, something that may explain the Bermuda triangle, or why I turned over the wrong Ross-on-Wye before approaching Filton from the wrong Thornbury. Pilots of light aircraft flying under visual flight rules (VFR) often follow railways, always keeping them off the port wing. With any geographical feature, the golden rule is "On the right, in the right".

[Thatcham Crossing]

I think it was a Garuda flight that ran out of fuel on the runway at Heathrow, so having landed, it could not taxy to the stand.

Pretty sure this was actually Malaysian Airlines, I remember reading the AAIB^▸ (Air Accident Investigation Branch) Report, but you are right about the rest of it.

Garuda used to operate into Gatwick when they last flew to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), and will be re-starting direct flights (using new 777's) to Jakarta from there later either later this year.

One of my previous expeditions to Bali with them, back in 1995, routed Gatwick-Abu Dhabi-Bangkok-Jakarta-Denpasar, I think around 21 hours in all!

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm. 

With respect, chaps, as these recent posts have strayed more than a little from the original topic of the Scilly Isles helicopter service, I'm rather inclined to split them off into a new topic of their own, if that's alright with you? 

[Thatcham Crossing]

No worries, happy to stop the aviation-speak for now