[jhb] Re: Flights
- From: "Fossil" <fossil@xxxxxxx>
- To: <jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:42:51 +0100
Exactly that Frank. Fuel burn at FL250 is twice that of flying at FL350 so
you can imagine what it must be like at FL100. It simply uses up too much
fuel which makes the cost of the flight exceed the revenue. For long haul
the initial fuel burn is so high the aircraft doesn't have enough left to
reach its destination.
It's a moot point anyway as the dust is fairly well distributed across the
UK now. Manx have operated most of their flights over the week but have
given up today because the clear skies are now gone - the particulates are
obvious because of the milky sky and the thin layer of the stuff on the
cars.
Another problem with this ash is that it is accumulative. An aircraft flying
directly into the plume would probably be in trouble within minutes but in
this thin stuff now circulating the UK nobody has a clue whether the same
danger level will be reached in four flights or forty. Even if it was 100
flights I doubt any airline could afford to replace engines after that
number of flights.
The pictures of the engine taken from Eric Moody's Boeing 747 were
fascinating. The turbine blades were all thickly coated in glass because the
silica melted as it went through the combustion chambers. The reverse was
true with the fan blades and these had suffered extensive abrasion - some
were ground away by as much as 15%. The engines stopped because of the
turbine blade contamination - the glass formed so thickly on these blades
that airflow was severely disrupted and the engines literally choked. The
thickness of the glass also, paradoxically, saved them because as the
engines cooled down from 2000C to -50C the glass cracked and flaked off the
blades - not entirely but enough to make a restart possible once they
dropped out of the plume at 11,000ft.
bones
bones@xxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Frank Fisher
Sent: 18 April 2010 10:53
To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [jhb] Re: Flights
I know it is due to fuel burn costs etc, but why cannot flights take a low
path until clear of the cloud, just to get things moving.
It would stop some airlines going under from loss of revenue etc.
Frank
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fossil" <fossil@xxxxxxx>
To: <jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 2:41 PM
Subject: [jhb] Re: Flights
> The Glasgow aircraft diverted to Manchester.
>
> So far I've seen the TOM and TCX go into Manchester and a couple depart -
> again for the sunny islands. Aer Lingus are firing aircraft out of Dublin
> and Aer Arann seem to be operating too - seen three so far.
>
> Normally I would have recorded about 600 aircraft by this time of day and
> you would think the records would be near zero - but I've logged 91
> aircraft
> so far. Most are GA but there have been a few bizjets and the Irish Air
> Corp
> PC9's are quite active. As I write an Antonov An124 has also appeared..
>
> bones
> bones@xxxxxxx
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of Gerry Winskill
> Sent: 16 April 2010 14:02
> To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [jhb] Re: Flights
>
> Just had a call from my son, in NY. He should have left last night but
> it was cancelled. He's got himself onto a non scheduled BA flight, that
> might leave this evening, heading for Prestwick. He thinks they are
> trying to get the aircraft, plus BA personnel, back to the UK. A check
> on Prestwick shows they have no flights at the moment, though Glasgow
> have had the arrival from the Carbean, plus a couple of other long
> hauls. That being the case it's hard to see that they can't operate the
> Glasgow IOM route. Manx2 say they can operate to Leeds by staying below
> 8000 ft and that should be OK for Glasgow to IOM, I would have thought.
>
> Gerry Winskill
>
> Fossil wrote:
>> Despite the ban on aircraft in the UK some operators have obviously
>> decided that NATS was over cautious in their decision.
>>
>> I've seen several flights in and out of Dublin today, Manx2 are running
>> their little LET on Blackpool and Belfast flights and TCX7l and TOM663
>> have just flown into Manchester.
>>
>> Oddly enough TOM663 was from Barbados but it appeared over Tiree and
>> routing to Islay. That's pretty well parallel to the ash cloud which is
>> flowing from Iceland to Sumburgh and maybe just 150nm south. If they are
>> letting aircraft get that close to the plume (which I guess they can
>> clearly see) then why is all traffic in the south of the UK blocked?
>> It's weird.
>>
>> TCX7L also appeared on screen about Londonderry so that was another
>> Caribbean flight that went well north. It puzzles me.
>>
>> bones
>>
>> _____bones@xxxxxxxx <mailto:bones@xxxxxxx>
>>
>
>
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