Deano – T2CAS as used on any RVSM approved aircraft nowadays no longer uses 1200ft as it would be going off all the time with the reduced vertical seperation used nowadays. I can’t remember the exact figure but 960ft rings a bell.

Cloud9 – You wouldn’t get into or out of (depending on wind direction) of LHR if central London were a no fly zone. The Houses of Parliment come within half a mile of the 27 approach and the turn on to final is usually over the Millenium Dome. Tower bridge, therefore The City lie almost directly under this line. A 747 with an engine shut down is a non event, just like this so called near miss.

I drive them for a living and notice it every time I get on one. All I need to do is go and sniff my uniform jacket and I get reminded of the 767 odour. Shame we can only post pictures and not smells!

Future – You will no doubt see what he is talking about tomorrow when walking down the aerobridge to get on the 757. It is a notorious aircraft for toilet smells. The tanks are just below the toile units and there is not valve as such to stop the smells coming back in. Not helped by tanks not getting emptied when they should. Most aircraft do have a particular smell but the excitement of the experience can mean you miss it and by the time you have the capacity to notice, yo are used to it and don’t notice it anymore. Altitude does dull your senses of smell and taste so that may be a factor too.

Nearly forgot the one of everyone jumping up even before the aircraft has come to a stop let alone the seatbelt signs being turned off. You get people pushing and shoving to get off first but, hello, we are all going to have to wait at immigration/baggage claim. I even had a woman want to push past me recently and telling me how I was holding everyone else up. We left the terminal together. Oh how we laughed, NOT! I did but she was less than amused when I pointed out the error of her ways.

I get peeved when people walk through the terminal dors and stop dead, looking at their tickets/feet/navels whatever it is they do. Same seems to occur at the bottom of escalators, outside lifts or anywhere in fact where the is a consrtiction or obstruction to easy movement.

I’m going in has the right sort of cost for a plane per hour. A 767 normally costs US$4500 per block hour to operate, wet. If you did have to pay for the crew on top then the normal rate for a skipper is GBP400 and GBP250 for an FO. Just as a ball park figure this will earn you more like 12-14k but then Airbus never were particularly good with numbers especially as they are offering to pay airlines to fly the A340!

I’d go with a 757 as they have plenty of seats, and are very cheap to run these days.

BA use 3 pilots on the flight deck, 2 flying and the 3rd Captain is the one that gives the talk before the flight also talks them through what is happening. I don’t think the Physc would be used all day and would expect more like an hourly rate around GBP150. I don’t think they are there to remove the fear of flying but to explain where the fears come from.

I know BAA aren’t spotter friendly so has anyone tried some of the public footpaths up Russ Hill. I use this route to get to work and often see the aircraft passing by at what appears to be my level and not terribly far away. Just a thought as there seem to be a couple of possibles on the map.

Spotting possibilities