We are but days away from the 20th anniversary of the incident. 20 years on I still can’t quite comprehend why people did what they did ? I was just 18 years old and I’ll be “just” 38 in a day or two. Lockerbie still scares me.

Happy Birthday then. 🙂

Hard to believe that Lockerbie was that long ago. It’s even harder to think that 9/11 was 7 years ago. Events like these touch and effect people around the globe even if they weren’t there are directly involved. It seems to be human nature to try and connect with the places, people and things that where there that day as it gives some sense of closure and better understand if that makes sense. I made it to Ground Zero the May following 9/11 and even though most of the debris had been cleared it felt important to see the remains in person even if it’s only small pieces. Locherbie is the same way, something about seeing a small piece of the 747 would bring things full circle in someways even though I live an ocean away then and now.

In the US we have 4 different types of Deicing and Anti-Icing Fluids.

Type I Fluid: Applied hot to raise the temperature of the aircaft skin in addition to melting the accumulated ice/snow. It’s a thin fluid so it runs off quickly so its anti-icing capability is low. Mixture ratio (glycol to water) is adjusted to keep the freezing point of the fluid below the OAT (outside air temperature). I ususally see it offered at 50/50 but a few weeks ago it was applied at 25%. The maximum ratio is 80%. Type I is used as a deicer and offers little if no anti-icing protection.

Type II Fluid: I don’t know if this is even offered or used by anyone anymore. It’s a thick fluid intented for aircraft with high takeoff speeds.

Type III Fluid: A cross between Type I and Type IV. It can be applied heated and offers the deicing capability found in Type I as well as anti-icing protection found in Type IV (but not as much protection). It’s capable of being heated and applied using Type I application systems.

Type IV Fluid: A thick fluid used as an anti-icing protection. After an application of Type I to remove any accumulated ice/snow Type IV is applied to protect against any further accumulation. The time of protection is determined using charts and take into account the Outside Air Temperature, brand of fluid, mixture ratio, type of precipitation and rated strength of that precipitation. Type IV offers the longest Hold Over Times (precipitation protection) of the 4 fluid types.

The anti-icing fluids being thick fluids stick to the aircraft to extend their protection life but are designed to sheer from the aircraft skin before rotation and take any accumulated ice/snow with it.

Anti-Icing and Deicing fluids are either Ethylene Glycol or Propylene Glycol based.

I always liked Bullitt and the scenes at SFO. Plenty of Pan Am 707’s and a PSA 727’s moving around the ramp even some shots inside the Pan Am 707 cabin. Awesome movie if you haven’t seen it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPM6U7A5nvI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d89efmMQ9Z4

The first clip has the 707 enterior and the second clip has the footage on the ramp/taxiways.

During a long, long taxi resulting in many, many parking brake applications and releases a pilot (who will remain nameless…<—) set the parking brake for the nth time unfortunately before the aircraft was completely stopped. Even though the aircraft was moving at the smallest of crawls it still resulted in a bit of a jolt. The flight attendant was called to make sure she hadn’t been put on her butt and lucky for her she had been in her seat. A passenger who wasn’t adhering to the seat belt sign wasn’t as lucky as he had decided only a moment before to head for the lav. Not a second after he locked the door the aircraft jolted to a stop most likely bouncing him off the closets walls. He then promptly returned to his seat without saying a word or making much eye contact. As much as one would like to believe that he lesson about seat belt safety was planned it was just a lucky (or unlucky) chance.

No, with the statement that I quoted.

1. There was plenty of warning that the storm would come ashore near or at Galveston… I gave data supporting this.

Until 2 days before the storm was showing the highest probability of hitting Corpus Christi which is far enough away from Houston and Galveston to not warrant significant danger warnings in those areas. Threat of a “near” landing of Ike didn’t come until the Wednesday forecasts were issued.

2. The storm did not change direction “with very little notice”. Here is the track from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, showing no sudden direction changes, just a long, gradual sweep:

It wasn’t a change in direction of the storm that created the evacuations it was a change in the forecast cone and your image doesn’t reflect that. Look at this history of the forecast cones and you see that the Wednesday forecasts show for the first time Ike making land fall right over Houston. Up to that point it was forecast to hit near Corpus Christi which is a 150-200 mile shift.

http://www.wnbc.com/slideshow/weather//17420607/detail.html

The Houston area residences were asked to not evacuate so the evacuate route north for those in the southern cities wouldn’t be blocked. After the Wednesday forecast came out it was the Houston area folks told to leave town. To be fair to the Museum volunteers they did plenty given they had their own families to worry about. I would rather save my family than an old airplane.

How many passengers do you need to move?
How far do you need to move those passengers?

Those are the basic criteria but there are plenty of others. (ie How high is your terrain?) If you have 150 passengers to move 2000 miles your best suited aircraft would be different than if you only had 50 passengers to move. Speed also plays a part as a faster aircraft over a 2000 mile circuit would permit more completed flight segments in a given period. The speeds of jet airliners are close enough to not really be an issue, the biggest difference comes when comparing turboprops vs. jet airliners.

Is that a company rule or an FAA one? Is it also required for cat 3? If the markers are unservicable does that preclude you from making am approach?

I honestly don’t know if it’s company or FAA required and we aren’t certified for CAT III so I can’t answer that either.

Is anybody still listening to the marker beacons these days!

We’re required during Cat II approaches.