Archive for the Category »Aeronautics «

The FAA does not share your sense of humour

On February 17th, someone at JFK Tower had their child with them, and subsequently let the child issue instructions to aircraft.  (The instructions were takeoff clearances and then handoffs from JFK Tower to the New York TRACON controller, not issuance of any radar vectors or changes in assigned altitude.)  As you can hear in the audio clip below, pilots communicating with the child seemed to take in it a humourous spirit, but that was evidently not the case with the FAA, which has suspended those involved from ATC duties pending the outcome of an investigation.

Before we go any further, it’s worth remembering that first, a fully-qualified controller was looking over the kid’s shoulder at all times (just they would for ATC trainees), and second, aircraft entering and exiting busy Class B airspace like New York follow pre-planned departure and arrival routes.  These are known as SIDs (Standard Instrument Departures) and STARs (Standard Terminal Arrival Routes).  Here is one of the SIDs for John F. Kennedy Intl. Airport:

KENNEDY ONE (JFK1.JFK) Standard Instrument Departure. Click image to enlarge. (This example not for use in actual flight operations—get current charts from officially approved sources.)

The destination and enroute routing of your flight will determine which transition your aircraft flies, but as you can see, the routes are not random, they are well-defined.  The SID is assigned while the aircraft is still on the ground, so the pilots have ample time to look it up and familiarise themselves with it.  The runways in use will also be obvious (via automated ATIS, listening in on TWR’s freq, or simply asking the clearance delivery controller while he’s examining your flight plan).  By the time of your handoff from tower to the departure controller, where you are headed and how you will get there is no great mystery.

Aside from the violation of federal aviation regulations—no small matter, to be sure—my only (minor) beef is that the kid’s handoff call didn’t include the next facility’s full name and frequency.  It should have been something like “JetBlue 171, contact New York Departure on one-three-five decimal niner, good day.“  Still, for an amateur, it was a fairly creditable job.

As highly regimented a creature as aviation is, it is still staffed and run by human beings, with all of the virtues and foibles that entails.  In my younger days (pre-September 11th), I had dated a woman whose father was a very senior controller at Nav Canada.  When the young lady flew from CYYZ to various destinations abroad, she would inevitably get called to the cockpit to chat with the controllers on duty—friends of the family—who had known her from the time she was a child.  If there were delays in departing, these controllers would subsequently prioritise her flight’s departure above all others (excepting medevacs), which was no doubt a pleasant surprise to the captain of said aircraft.

We live in a human world, and humans—by nature—are going to deviate from the script every now and then.  Determining the difference between harmless and harmful deviations is not always easy (especially when inflexible bureaucracies become involved), and one hopes the controller and supervisor at the heart of the matter don’t lose their jobs over this.

RELATED: Ars Technica has a terrific article on the science and technology of air traffic control.

ALSO RELATED: Kent Wien, Gadling.com’s resident 757/767 driver, notes that this is why IFR flights require detailed readback of instructions, so that there is no mistake about what the aircraft is expected to do in the airspace.  The pilots departing JFK did read back the kid’s instructions, and those instructions were not incorrect, otherwise a duly-qualified controller (i.e., the tyke’s dad, or the tower supervisor) would have leaped in and corrected it.

See also:

John Barry: Out of Africa Original Soundtrack (1985)

Generally this film sets my teeth on edge; especially Meryl Streep’s faux-Danish accent and Robert Redford’s lack of an English one. But I do love the stunning beauty of Kenya itself paired with John Barry’s terrific soundtrack.

For my money, the best moments in this lengthy clip run from 6:40 to the end, and feature a de Havilland DH.60G Gipsy Moth (G-AAMT).  You know this was prior to extensive CGI use, so someone actually took a Gipsy Moth out to Kenya and flew it around in front of the camera.   Of special note is the segment from 9:10 to the end, where the Moth buzzes flamingoes along a lakeshore at quite low altitude.  According to IMDB, the pilot for this footage was Wing Commander Sir Henry Arthur Dalrymple-White, 2nd Baronet, DFC, a veteran of the Second World War who resided in Kenya and kept flying until his 80th year.  Sir Henry passed away in Nairobi on June 30th, 2006.

See also:

When You Know (1936)

Chevrolet funded this 8-minute film, drawing equivalences between safe flying and safe driving.

See also:

The price of greatness is responsibility

One cannot help but chuckle all the way through this post by Jethead.

Yeah, it’s all about the four stripes. A lot of stuff changes the day you put them on.

Sure, there’s the instant recognition from coworkers. They know the reality behind the symbols of authority and reflect that in their very manner. That’s the outward effect. Inward? Well, you know you’ve arrived.

…You have to be confident to earn the respect of the Cabin crew, plus that of your fellow pilots, who are secretly happy about the fact that you have the four stripes, not them, although they do love to kid around. Never mind that it could be–SHOULD BE–them in the left seat now occupied by your sorry lard ass, no one’s bitter.

– “Airline Captain: It’s all about the prestige.”  JetHead, 18 February 2010.

The closing image and caption are not to be missed.

See also:

Landseaire airborne yacht

James Kightly, journalist and author of the Vintage Aeroplane Writer, shows off the glamorous postwar conversion of Consolidated PBY-5A 34045 (civil registry N69043) to a Landseaire flying yacht.  His informative and droll image captions are not to be missed.

You’ll forgive me for marvelling at the aesthetics of film photography, flying boats and pleasant company, of course.

(Loomis Dean / LIFE magazine.  February 2nd, 1950)

Mid-cabin sleeping area. (Loomis Dean / LIFE magazine. February 2nd, 1950)

Suunbathing on one of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp radial engines. (Loomis Dean / LIFE magazine. February 2nd, 1950)

Lounge/bar in one of what was formerly one of the waist gunner blisters. (Loomis Dean / LIFE magazine. February 2nd, 1950)

On-board shower. (Loomis Dean / LIFE magazine. February 2nd, 1950)

Moored for port visit. Note nose gunner blister has been removed; bow is more streamlined than typical wartime PBY. (Loomis Dean / LIFE magazine. February 2nd, 1950)

At the saloon table, playing cards. (Loomis Dean / LIFE magazine. February 2nd, 1950)

For a fuller description of the amenities aboard these hedonistic craft, see Maurice F. Allward’s article “Airborne Yachts—Luxury Conversions of  Wartime Catalinas” in the July 1953 issue of Flight International.  Also see the full LIFE magazine archive of images of this craft, if you desire more.

See also:

Good call

Speedbird 38, a British Airways Boeing 777-200ER (registry G-YMMM) landed short of Heathrow's Rwy 27L on January 17th, 2008.

BA 777 Landing Short Heathrow., originally uploaded by ldn2ca.

Every person will, at some point, encounter an extraordinary situation in which regulations or prior training will incline them to take one course of action, but the specifics of the scenario will lead their instinct to override it and choose another.  Most of us will not be placed in a situation where that call is time-critical and the course of hundreds of lives will depend on the outcome.

On January 17th, 2008, the flight crew of ill-fated Speedbird 38 (BA038) made a last-minute adjustment to their flap settings, opting to extend their touchdown zone rather than have the guts ripped out of their crippled steed by Runway 27L’s localizer array and approach lighting.

Captain Peter Burkill altered the flap settings to reduce drag when the Boeing Co. 777 was only 240 feet above the ground, the U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch said in a report today. That delayed the impact for 50 meters (164 feet) and the plane came down on a grass apron with no fatalities.

The Boeing cracked a wing and had its wheels ripped off in the crash on Jan. 17, 2008, after frozen fuel lines stopped its engines from providing sufficient thrust as it neared Heathrow. Had the pilot not adjusted the flaps the 777 would have plowed into a cluster of antennas that communicate with the instrument landing systems of aircraft before touchdown, the AAIB said.

…“You have to take your hat off to Captain Burkill because while reducing the amount of flap helps maintain speed it also diminishes lift and it’s something you never, ever do,” said Kieran Daly, an air-safety commentator and former pilot. “So really it’s an extraordinary thing. An act of genius.”

– Prione, Sabine.  “British Airways Pilot Averted Worse Crash, Study Says.” Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 9 February 2010.

Despite that good decision, the award of the BA Safety Medal (only awarded three times previously), and a later return to flying duties, Captain Burkill took voluntary redundancy and left British Airways in 2009.

He’s got a website to market his upcoming book, and few brief blog posts, too.

See also:

Kyle Franklin’s drunken pilot act

Your correspondent can’t decide whether Mr. Kyle Franklin (of Franklin’s Flying Circus) is a daredevil barnstormer in the tradition of the Golden Age, or just a dangerous lunatic who should have his ticket pulled.  The shopworn adage about there being old pilots and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots comes to mind.

One thing is certain, though—he must have big brass ones and a lot of skill to pull this off on a regular basis.

See also:

UAVs over Haiti

There are some who hyperventilate whenever the employment of UAVs is mentioned, imagining them to be nothing more than platforms for the trigger-happy to launch missiles at Afghan wedding parties.  Thus when unmanned aerial systems come to our shores or get sent to an area where kinetics do not seem to be required, the hand-waving ratchets up.   This, however, is the kind of capability they can bring to humanitarian efforts:  Examining the urban infrastructure and identifying passable and unpassable roads—somewhat necessary if you hope to use those roads to reach the injured and needy.

This image from an RQ-4 Global Hawk shows passable and obstructed roads in Haiti. This photo demonstrates the assistance Global Hawk is providing to relief and rescue organizations in Haiti. The image taken by a Global Hawk from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., and analysts from the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing's 548th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group at Beale AFB provided assessments of the image to assist in all aspects of recovery and relief. The 480th ISR Wing is a subordinate unit of the Air Force ISR Agency, which has its headquarters at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo)

See also:

Second opinion

Kent Wien, 757/767 pilot and author of Gadling.com columns Cockpit Chronicles and Plane Answers, points out where the NTSB’s examination of the Colgan Air 3407 accident falls short of the mark.

Glossed over in the report was the fact that both the captain and first officer had very little sleep over the previous 24 hours. The NTSB says the captain had ‘reduced sleep opportunities’ and attempted to rest in the company crew lounge. Apparently the attempts at sleeping there weren’t effective since the captain logged on to a company computer at 3:10 in the morning.

…But one of the investigators in the Colgan accident, Robert Sumwalt refuses to allow for the possibility that fatigue was even a contributing factor in the accident, saying “…just because the crew was fatigued, that doesn’t mean it was a factor in their performance.”

Incredible.

…The role of fatigue was mentioned during an NTSB hearing on the Colgan accident. Board chairman Deborah Hersman argued that several issues, including the crew’s sleep deficits and the time of day the accident took place, were factors and said that fatigue was present and should be counted as a contributing factor to the crew’s performance.

But the view of board member and former USAirways pilot Robert Sumwalt prevailed. He concluded that fatigue wasn’t a factor in the accident. It didn’t stop them from detailing the role it played in Colgan 3407 (PDF LINK)

So if nicotine is found to cause some cancer, but its role in a person’s life expectancy cannot be determined, should we rule it out as a possible factor in a lung cancer death?

– Wien, Kent.  “Plane Answers: NTSB glosses over fatigue in the Colgan crash.” Gadling.com, 4 February 2010.

RELATED: Kent argues convincingly that the Colgan crew was not distracted by idle chatter, since they didn’t say anything other than the usual callouts for two minutes prior to the stall condition.

See also:

Airship designs of the Golden Age

A photo essay on airship designs, 1906-1937, using imagery sourced from Flickr.

America; non-rigid civil airship. Launched 1906, lost at sea in 1910 due to engine failure during an attempted transatlantic crossing. Crew (including ship's cat) recovered by RMS Trent near Bermuda; no losses.

Wellman airship “America” seen from Trent 1910, originally uploaded by amphalon.

de Marçay-Kluytmans prototype airship with central rotating propeller ring (an evolutionary dead end). Rigid construction. c. 1907

Dirigible of Baron deMarcay, originally uploaded by amphalon.

LZ 4 / Z2. German military zeppelin; rigid construction. Launched June 1908, fatally damaged while moored August 1908.

Zeppelin Landing on the Bodensee, originally uploaded by amphalon.

La République, French military reconnaissance airship. Semi-rigid construction. Launched June 1908, crashed September 1909. All four crew members were killed.

The French airship “Republique”, originally uploaded by gregory lee.

Clément-Bayard, French experimental non-rigid airship. Has four lobes rather than fins for stability; the lobes retarded the maximum forward velocity of the airship. c. 1909

Dirigible Airship in its Shed, originally uploaded by amphalon.

R34 / G-FAAG; RNAS rigid airship. Launched March 1919, written off in 1921 after CFIT into North York Moors.

Airship R34, originally uploaded by University of Glasgow Library.

ZR-3 USS Los Angeles; US Navy rigid airship. German-built, launched as LZ 126 in 1924; decommissioned in 1932, dismantled in 1939. Longest-serving US military airship.

USS Los Angeles moored to USS Patoka 1931, originally uploaded by lazzo51.

USSR-W6 Osoaviahim; Russian military airship. Semi-rigid construction, designed by Italian engineer Umberto Nobile. Launched November 1934, lost February 1938 due to CFIT into Mount Nebo. 16 of 19 crew killed, crash spelled the end of the Soviet airship program.

CCCP-B6, originally uploaded by lazzo51.

LZ 129 Hindenburg; German civil airship. Rigid construction. Launched March 1936, lost May 1937 due to fire. 36 passengers and 61 crew on board, 13 passengers and 22 crew died.

Hindenburg in Curitiba (1936), originally uploaded by llvsboston.

See also: