Hi all.
While on my way home this evening, around 5-30 pm Irish, I saw a couple of heavies heading west over north Cork towards the Shannon/Limerick area.
From what I could see they looked like 1 744/A340 type and a widebody twin, 767/777/A330.
They were slightly off line astern of each other, most likely different flight levels and looked as if they were heading across the pond.
What I ended up wondering is, if they stayed in that kind of formation over the Atlantic in the NAT track, do the crew talk to each other to relieve some of the “boredom” on the 4/5 hour stint over water?
DO they talk much or just occasionally, due to ongoing procedures in their own cockpit?
Thanks for any info.
By: chornedsnorkack - 19th April 2008 at 20:04
The reason for the difference in lateral positions is due to SLOP (strategic lateral offset procedures). We can fly either down the middle of the track or 1 or 2 miles right of track. The reasons we do this are:
1) to avoid wake turbulence from aircraft ahead
The turbulence must be carried sidewards by any crosswinds, right? As well as sink under its own momentum?
2) nav systems are now so accurate that an aircraft flying the wrong way would hit you absolutely head on so we all offset to the right
GOL 737-800 and a Legacy did not collide head on, cockpit to cockpit, but Legacy winglet sliced off a dangerously big part of 737 wingtip, so the 737 did not keep flying like Legacy did.
The wingspan of a Legacy is something like 0,01 miles, and that of 737 is 0,02 miles. The total height of 737 is something like 40 feet on ground, less than that in air with wheels up – Legacy is smaller, and a wing with winglet has a rather limited height. You would have to be massively unlucky, or else too accurate for your safety, in order to actually collide, rather than miss by 0,4 or 0,04 miles sidewards or 100 feet or 10 feet vertically… in the midst of the big, big sky.
3) if an aircraft overtakes or undertakes directly beneath the radio altimeters sense it as ground and can put some aircraft types into a landing mode (certainly the case on Airbus types)
If you are on different RVSM flightlevels, does it mean that the distance between overtaking planes is about 2000 feet, or multiples?
By: murph - 19th April 2008 at 19:16
Thanks for the replies.
Guess I should have been consentrating on the road rather than looking up into the blue lol.
Nah, keep your head in the clouds! 😎 As long as you don’t crash it’s all good!
By: TJC - 15th April 2008 at 21:11
Thanks for the replies.
Guess I should have been consentrating on the road rather than looking up into the blue lol.
By: wysiwyg - 15th April 2008 at 21:03
We can chat to each other on 123.45 if we so wish. Usually it’s just full of Americans chatting about football (the type that doesn’t use your foot) scores and interminable requests for ‘ride reports’ the moment the slightest bump appears!
The reason for the difference in lateral positions is due to SLOP (strategic lateral offset procedures). We can fly either down the middle of the track or 1 or 2 miles right of track. The reasons we do this are:
1) to avoid wake turbulence from aircraft ahead
2) nav systems are now so accurate that an aircraft flying the wrong way would hit you absolutely head on so we all offset to the right
3) if an aircraft overtakes or undertakes directly beneath the radio altimeters sense it as ground and can put some aircraft types into a landing mode (certainly the case on Airbus types)
By: tenthije - 15th April 2008 at 19:09
There is a “chat frequency” for pilots. Not sure if these frequencies are universal or only certain areas where the skies are likely to be empty (transatlantic, transpacific etc).
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April 15, 2008 at 6:49 pm