So yesterday afternoon Cargolux came in from Seattle, the ceiling was pretty much down right to the minimums and they performed a full auto-land of the 747-800 on runway 34.
I'm wondering how common that is here at YYC? I can't remember the last time I had heard that procedure being announced by a crew, it was interesting to listen to how they had to be very clear about what they were doing and letting ATC know that the ILS protected zone had to be clear for them.
Of about 10 arrivals I was listening to and watching they were the only ones that requested this. Is that because they were the only crew that may have been certified and current in the procedure?
I'm pretty rusty with my knowledge on that stuff, another spotter buddy was also thinking that an auto-land counts as a landing for both members of the flight crew. Anyone know?
BT, I'll give you what I can on this. First thing, it of course depends on aircraft limitations and company procedures. For the 737, it is recommended NOT to do auto lands to cat 1 approaches (yyc only has cat 1, and I know you know that ), however it is not prohibited. So a company could do an autoland to cat 1 limits (200') and just monitor the airplane as it landed. Our procedures do not allow that however, so we do not do autolands unless it is a cat 2 or 3 ils.
When cat 2/3 ops are in effect, hold short points are controlled to ensure no signal interference occurs. When this 747 was doing this they were concerned about this interference as they were in the flare of the autoland, so we're asking tower to be mindful of where aircraft were taxiing or holding short. Actually, I am unaware of any actual procedure for this....since yyc doesn't have cat2/3, they don't have certified hold short points either. Looks like the 47 crew were just hoping for some extra help.
Either way, it doesn't change the minima for landing....you have to have the runway in sight by 200', or else you go around.
As for landing credit, I'm not sure. It is very rarely an issue for us, unlike for a long haul operation where crew members need to track their landings for currency.
I apologize if that is overly technical for many, but hopefully that helps BT.
Last edited by Ryan Coke; 10-31-2012 at 11:02 AM.
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I believe the new parallel will be Cat 2 or 3, can't remember which. Then I wonder if they will do the same to 35L/17R (looks odd to type that) when they do all the work on it for the year it will be shut down?
Approach and tower ATC seemed to understand keeping the ILS zone clear for them, the guy on radios for Cargolux was very insistent on making sure it was kept clear a couple of times. After landing they mentioned how their SOP's dictate that they needed verbal confirmation of the protected zone a couple of times, so he wasn't just being stubborn about it!
In other news, WestJet Encore just announced their headquarters and maintenance facility will be here at YYC!
I doubt we get dual cat 2 or 3 approaches, at least not right away. I don't think we get enough low vis days to justify the cost, and they'd still need to get departures out on the other parallel.
Yeah I suppose they could get confirmation the normal cat 1 areas are clear, as they should be anyway when ils ops are in effect, but there are no other specific areas as there are with cat2/3 ops.
It is definitely unusual, I have never heard anything like that myself.
There are still major delays into YYZ when they go to cat II. 6R becomes useless, and they land 6L... but with the spacing they need between arrivals, there's still a lot of holding and plenty of diversions. In that situation they could also land 05, but they don't and instead get departures out? Or some other lack of resources? Not sure. Just kinda questioning the cost/reward.
Anyone know the direct flight schedules for Air Canada and Westjet to OGG and HNL this year?
I was looking on both websites with different combinations and I dont see the direct flights. I can only assume they are not loaded yet?
Thanks
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Anyone know the direct flight schedules for Air Canada and Westjet to OGG and HNL this year?
I was looking on both websites with different combinations and I dont see the direct flights. I can only assume they are not loaded yet?
Thanks
Just note if you choose Westjet for that route you'll be an an absolute clunker from Thomas Cook. Although it looks like Thomas Cook is in the process of ditching their 757-200s for A320s.
Keep in mind WestJet doesn't maintain anything but 737s, so they bring in Thomas Cook maintenance personnel and equipment to YYC and YEG specifically for the OGG flights, and I had the wonderful opportunity to turn back while over the Pacific and head all the way back to YYC at a low speed and low altitude because of pressurization problems with said clunker. We then got to wait for most of the day while a maintenance staff far away from their usual facilities attempted to repair it. On the way home our aircraft had problems with the potable water system.
I would rather hop through YVR and fly on WestJet aircraft.
Gotta love when the pilot tells you that there are mechanical issues with the plane... Last time I was on my way to Vegas we turned around while we were taxiing to the runway and the pilot told us that there was something wrong mechanically and we will have to go back to the gate.
You know what Mr. Pilot? Don't tell me that. Lie. There are literally, a million different things you can say that are better then that. Tell me that you really need to take a big dump and you don't want to sit on the disgusting airplane seats or that you forgot your gameboy and this is a freaking long flight. Hell, as long as you don't use the words "terrorists" or "bomb" in your excuse, ANYTHING you say will be more reassuring then "Mechanical Issues". If the god damn engines are on fire and everyone can see it, I want you to lie to me and tell me that everything is peachy with the plane.
Gotta love when the pilot tells you that there are mechanical issues with the plane... Last time I was on my way to Vegas we turned around while we were taxiing to the runway and the pilot told us that there was something wrong mechanically and we will have to go back to the gate.
You know what Mr. Pilot? Don't tell me that. Lie. There are literally, a million different things you can say that are better then that. Tell me that you really need to take a big dump and you don't want to sit on the disgusting airplane seats or that you forgot your gameboy and this is a freaking long flight. Hell, as long as you don't use the words "terrorists" or "bomb" in your excuse, ANYTHING you say will be more reassuring then "Mechanical Issues". If the god damn engines are on fire and everyone can see it, I want you to lie to me and tell me that everything is peachy with the plane.
That should be flight training 101.
Reality's quite often the opposite. It's usually considered relatively bogus to try and bull**** your paying customers, especially those of them who are more well-informed regulars who are far more wise to potential nonsense excuses from the cockpit.
And, if a situation's dire, passengers should be informed so that it isn't bedlam and confusion should the flight attendants have to begin issuing commands, etc.
Besides, taxiing back to the gate for a mechanical issue is a fairly routine event, and in the case of pretty much every company, assures that the problem will be thoroughly rectified. It's not as though pilots are coming on the PA with "ladies and gentlemen, some of you may have noticed that the roof is missing. But, to help facilitate a timely arrival to Vancouver, we've opted to blast off anyways. Sit back and enjoy the flight.".
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Last edited by Max Cow Disease; 11-05-2012 at 04:33 PM.
Regarding the direct Hawaii flights unfortunately AC has drastically reduced their services from YYC this year. Which I find quite odd since the flights always seem to be packed (especially to OGG).
I'll try and dig the flight info up and post it here later on.
Ok, here is the reduced AC flights to Hawaii this year:
Honolulu: 2x weekly between December 21 and January 6 only.
I'm having trouble finding the Maui schedule right now. But last season it was 6x weekly for flights from YYC to OGG (Kahului).
Edit: Ok, here's the Maui (Kahului) non-stop schedule:
4x weekly (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Now it gets tricky, this is effective November 15th including the following extra flights on these days:
December 18, 20, 25, 27, Jan 1, 3, 8.
And dates it is NOT operating:
November 16, 19-23, 26-30, Dec 3-7, 10-14.
As you can see there is definitely a lot of juggling going on with the timetable due to aircraft availability. To make matters worse sometimes these two non-XM'd 763's are going to be subbing on regular routes operated by the A333's as there is a bunch of maintenance coming due on that fleet right now.
Last edited by Bigtime; 11-06-2012 at 07:50 AM.
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A male diver (Female was the passenger, male was driving SUV) of a black SUV fails to stop at a crossing that is at the very end of the start of the runway at Northwest Regional Airport in Roanoke. The road is marked with STOP and there is a sign to yield to aircraft. Driver does not even slow down or make an attempt to stop and the plane clips the roof. Yes the aircraft was too low on their approach, but this is why the STOP painted on the road is there. Driver claims to not have see the airplane, well you did not even make an attempt to look as you did not stop buddy. This type of crossing is not uncommon in the USA and the airport says they have tried to fix this, but the property owner on the other side will not sell the land to make a new road.
), however it is not prohibited. So a company could do an autoland to cat 1 limits (200') and just monitor the airplane as it landed. Our procedures do not allow that however, so we do not do autolands unless it is a cat 2 or 3 ils. 
