RE: Boeing 737 Fuels Virgin Blue Expansion

Saab – I don’t know anything about their new planned routes to the Oceanic regions but if they involve any ETOPS sectors they won’y be using 737s as the type is not approved for ETOPS due to lack of system redundancy (i.e. it only has duplication not triplication).

RE: IB A340 PIC

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 16-01-03 AT 07:29 PM (GMT)]Putting the nosewheels on the centerline is exactly what you mustn’t do because of the reasons mentioned above. With the nosewheels following the centerline the mainwheels are out of position by several meters on this A340. It would be even worse on the A340-600. The main wheels should always straddle the centerline. This means sticking the nose well out before starting a turn. When Boeing built the 747 they actually built a test taxiing device using a lorry to see whether pilots could judge the distances involved to get the airframe round corners.
Landing on R05 at Funchal if you don’t make the right turn off you have to turn around within the runway width and backtrack to the terminal. This is done on the part of the runway that is supported on 150′ high stilts above the sea. Even in the shorter 757-200 this involves hanging the flightdeck over the 150′ drop to get round the corner which still makes me very nervous!

The monitors (as shown in Kab’s post) are standard fit on the 777 and A340 (500 and 600 series). I think they are an option on the 747 and that’s probably the case on the 737 but I don’t know of anyone whose taken it up.

RE: Fog / Mist

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 16-01-03 AT 08:36 AM (GMT)]Good advice from our friend who permanently lives in fog 😉 !!!

In aviation terms there is a clear definition. Visibility 1000m or less is fog, between 1000m and 5000m is mist and 5000 to 10000m is haze.

There are 2 principle ways mist or fog can form defined as Radiation or Advection. Radiation fog is formed typically during the night when the heating of the sun has disappeared and the air cools below the dew point forming condensation which hangs in the air. Advection fog is what is experienced in Guernsey where a warm air stream blows over cooler land which forces the moisture in the air (which has been collected after blowing accross the sea surface) to condense. A notable difference between the 2 types of fog is that Radiation fog needs still air while Advection requires a bit of wind.

Regards
wys

RE: IB A340 PIC

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 15-01-03 AT 10:01 AM (GMT)]Unfortunately the insurance company will accept no deviation from the line without significant justification and then only with the aid of a marshaller. These guys are out of position by several meters and cannot see the wingtips from the cockpit to check their own clearance. They haven’t in reality saved any time by cutting the corner by a few meters but they have put a multi-million dollar machine at significant unneccessary risk.
Seperate from the insurance issue, on a 757 if you follow the yellow lines with the nosewheel rather than the main wheels the geometry is such that the main wheels will end up cutting the corner of the turn enough to get you stuck in the grass on any typical 90 degree bend. If the grass is wet it is unlikely you will get out again as the bogie is likely to sink under the weight up to its axles. This guy looks like he is trying to put the nosewheel on the line and look where that leaves the main gear. If that was a normal narrow taxiway they would be stuffed.

RE: Wysiwygs F-4 mate……..

A guy called Andy Mattacks owns and runs a Trident 3 sim (the ex-BA one) near Biggin (which I occasionally do a bit of instructing in). He has a web site http://www.tridentsim.com which has a bit of info about the current status of his friends phantom sim on it. Alternatively contact him on 01883 652109.

RE: IB A340 PIC

A MyTravel A330 lost a wingtip in Paphos last summer by not following the lines.

RE: IB A340 PIC

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 14-01-03 AT 10:52 AM (GMT)]Lovely picture but the flightcrew should be shot for not following the taxiway center line. That center main gear should be right over the line to guarantee wing tip clearance. If I was photographed doing that I would expect an invite for tea and biscuits (without biscuits) in Manchester!