Yup, I think there is a phone clearance they can use for private flights arriving into Canada. I remember flying a plane down to Denver, stopped in Great Falls for customs and we had to park in this box painted on the apron and wait for the customs officer to come over to us.
Yup, I think there is a phone clearance they can use for private flights arriving into Canada. I remember flying a plane down to Denver, stopped in Great Falls for customs and we had to park in this box painted on the apron and wait for the customs officer to come over to us.
We actually got it once before we had left the ground, then had a weather delay and went for lunch. There was temptation as we passed a couple liquor stores knowing no one would be meeting us at the base on the way back. Haha.
They were always easy to deal with at FBO's and bases compared to what you get at an airport though.
Yesterday evening WestJet flight 1860 operating YYC-Honolulu blew a tire on departure. The crew did a few low approaches so tower could verify the blown tire and then they continued to fly to burn off fuel before making a successful landing on 17L. Video courtesy of Alex Peterson.
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ATC question. We were flying to Mexico on WestJet and at some point the plane did a banking turn and then shortly afterwards I looked out the window to see another large plane (737 size) scoot just underneath us at about a 30 degree closure angle. It seemed really close by, much closer than I thought was allowed. Closure speed was too fast to notice the tail colours, but I could easily see the individual windows. Is this common?
ATC question. We were flying to Mexico on WestJet and at some point the plane did a banking turn and then shortly afterwards I looked out the window to see another large plane (737 size) scoot just underneath us at about a 30 degree closure angle. It seemed really close by, much closer than I thought was allowed. Closure speed was too fast to notice the tail colours, but I could easily see the individual windows. Is this common?
There are vertical separation rules for all IFR aircraft which is 1000' below FL290 and 2000' above FL290. Although the the other aircraft you saw appeared really close, they would have been under this separation rule by ATC. In busy aircraft corridors (southern/north central California is one example) it is common to have aircraft crossings continuously in the flight levels and below.
There is also separation rules for VFR aircraft which is commonly only 500'.
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ATC question. We were flying to Mexico on WestJet and at some point the plane did a banking turn and then shortly afterwards I looked out the window to see another large plane (737 size) scoot just underneath us at about a 30 degree closure angle. It seemed really close by, much closer than I thought was allowed. Closure speed was too fast to notice the tail colours, but I could easily see the individual windows. Is this common?
Its actually quite common. Especially down south. In Canada, most of our air traffic is east west. So, if there is a traffic conflict it will usually occur in the terminal airport which is routine. But in the US, think of how many major airports there are scattered around, so you have high volumes of jet traffic climbing and descending to and from their cruising altitudes in every direction.
One good example is the Calgary - Phoenix route. Quite often, we will get early descents or vectors on descent into Phoenix. Usually this is a result of traffic to and from the east climbing and descending into Las Vegas,as the routes intersect.
We get asked quite often "Hey did you see that guy that flew really close to us!?" Usually we did, and he wasn't really that close. But a 787 1000ft above and 5 miles away can look really close.
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There are vertical separation rules for all IFR aircraft which is 1000' below FL290 and 2000' above FL290.
Just had to poke fun that this changed a number of years ago....it's 1000' separation all the way up to FL410....or maybe higher,I don't know, I don't get up there
And for the OP, as Metro says, having another plane pass by just 1000' away seems quite close, but is totally normal. The turn you had before was likely just a coincidence.
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Just had to poke fun that this changed a number of years ago....it's 1000' separation all the way up to FL410....or maybe higher,I don't know, I don't get up there
And for the OP, as Metro says, having another plane pass by just 1000' away seems quite close, but is totally normal. The turn you had before was likely just a coincidence.
Correct.
1000'/2000' was long the ICAO standard. RVSM was brought into play in the 90's due to the heavy traffic within the transatlantic block and went into affect in the mid 2000's elsewhere. 410-450+ is pretty standard fare in corporate aviation today where 2000' still applies.
Last edited by FLAME ENVY; 01-29-2017 at 02:20 PM.
My flight is delayed out of Calgary. Sounds like one of the West Jet flight attendants got hurt in some heavy turbulence coming in just moments ago. That's my plane too but the medics haven't taken her off yet. We should be able to board after that. Hope she's ok.
The rumour out there is that on February 9th Air Canada will unveil a new livery on three aircraft at YYZ, YUL, and YVR.
The "toothpaste" blue was a refreshing colour in a sea of Euro White liveries, so I really hope if there is a new livery it looks great. I'm hoping for a bit of a retro look with the Maple Leaf Roundel and some classic cheatline stripes that are nice and thick, like this previous livery:
The rumour out there is that on February 9th Air Canada will unveil a new livery on three aircraft at YYZ, YUL, and YVR.
The "toothpaste" blue was a refreshing colour in a sea of Euro White liveries, so I really hope if there is a new livery it looks great. I'm hoping for a bit of a retro look with the Maple Leaf Roundel and some classic cheatline stripes that are nice and thick, like this previous livery:
Based on their website redesign, I wonder if it's going to more prominently feature that dark grey colour.
That's definitely been mentioned, if they are adopting more of a white livery overall I'd at least hope for the grey to feature substantially. Maybe even the bottom half of the aircraft having it?
Yeah it sounds like a predominantly grey scheme, which will coincide with new interiors (again, largely grey) and new employee uniforms. If the uniform prototypes are anything to go by, the charcoal colour with red highlights is quite sharp.
Yesterday evening WestJet flight 1860 operating YYC-Honolulu blew a tire on departure. The crew did a few low approaches so tower could verify the blown tire and then they continued to fly to burn off fuel before making a successful landing on 17L. Video courtesy of Alex Peterson.
I am curious how they would have handled this. Would all the passengers get off and back into the terminal? Would the tire be replaced and the same aircraft then re-boarded for the flight as originally planned?
I imagine that would be quite a delay all things considered.
Dumb question but seeing as everyone pre-clears USCBP in Calgary do they need to do Canada Customs when they return? The flight never left Canadian airspace.
Curious.
Even dumber was the guy they interviewed on the news who was pissed at Westjet for ruining his vacation. He figured since the plane had to land anyway they may as well have kept going to Hawaii.
Yes, once you're pre cleared you and you have to go back for any reason, you have to clear Canadian customs. So hypothetically if you're too liquored up to get on the flight to Vegas, then the police that come get you will be joined by someone from CBSA and they will escort you back through Canada customs.
