Many years ago I was lucky enough to be given a copy of a tape by a guy named Dave Gunson. Dave was an air traffic controller at East Midlands airport and had made a bit of a niche for himself as an after-dinner speaker.
This particular tape was a speech he gave to a room full of bankers and it talks about his role as an air traffic controller.
Sounds boring, right? Wrong! This is one of the funniest recordings I've heard in a long while and is definitely one of the best as far as aviation is concerned.
He'll talk about working with French Air Traffic Control. ("Non!'), how airports make their money ("You can make as many take-offs as you want free of charge. We'll only charge you for the landings"), flying the Concorde ("It stretches nearly a foot every time we go supersonic. Its a good job it shrinks back otherwise we'd have the longest plane you've every seen after a couple of months"), and many other aviation themed topics.
Amazon are selling it here in the UK What Goes Up Might Come Down!
You could also check out the list of books I recommend, including some great ones by Rod Machado the voice of Microsoft's Flight Simulator and a genuine aviation humourist himself.
25 February, 2008
22 February, 2008
Introducing "Fly-On Track" - Airpsace infringement prevention advice
One of the things that Private pilots have a tendency to do much more than the airline jockeys is to infringe restricted airspace. 99% of the time it is as a result of bad navigation or not paying attention or not realising that there is a restriction in place. It's is very rarely, if ever, deliberate.
Nonetheless there are an increasing number of controlled (or restricted) airspace infringements on a year by year basis. In just about every case where this happens there is an impact on other air users. Whether it is a controller having to divert 747's around you to avoid an airprox, or an air show having to cancel a Red Arrows display, the impact on others is rarely negligible.
Fly-On Track is a web site that aims to inform pilots of the impact of these infringements as well as educate them on methods of avoiding infringement, providing links to sources of controlled airspace information and also highlight the dangers and impact of an infringement.
One of my favourite parts of the site is the radar displays. This shows actual radar scans from NATS of various light aircraft infringing airspace and causing problems. Just to emphasise the impact of this, read the section at the bottom of this stats page which quantifies the cost of diverting a 747 from approach. It's more than you think...
The site also has links to a lot of CAA safety sense leaflets which I find invaluable in helping me understand and learn about some of the safety issues in aviation. I also like the printout which you can slip into your kneepad to give you a visual aid to preventing infringement (it also has a template for radio calls to ATC units to help you sound more professional!).
I recommend you allocate a good chunk of time to read through this web site as it has lots of links to lots of different publications and pages. It's a very useful site that should be on every UK aviators bookmarks.
Nonetheless there are an increasing number of controlled (or restricted) airspace infringements on a year by year basis. In just about every case where this happens there is an impact on other air users. Whether it is a controller having to divert 747's around you to avoid an airprox, or an air show having to cancel a Red Arrows display, the impact on others is rarely negligible.
Fly-On Track is a web site that aims to inform pilots of the impact of these infringements as well as educate them on methods of avoiding infringement, providing links to sources of controlled airspace information and also highlight the dangers and impact of an infringement.
One of my favourite parts of the site is the radar displays. This shows actual radar scans from NATS of various light aircraft infringing airspace and causing problems. Just to emphasise the impact of this, read the section at the bottom of this stats page which quantifies the cost of diverting a 747 from approach. It's more than you think...
The site also has links to a lot of CAA safety sense leaflets which I find invaluable in helping me understand and learn about some of the safety issues in aviation. I also like the printout which you can slip into your kneepad to give you a visual aid to preventing infringement (it also has a template for radio calls to ATC units to help you sound more professional!).
I recommend you allocate a good chunk of time to read through this web site as it has lots of links to lots of different publications and pages. It's a very useful site that should be on every UK aviators bookmarks.
01 February, 2008
Flying Tip # 2 - Climbing out
So you've finished all your checks, got your departure clearance, pushed the throttles forward and trundled down the runway. At the appropriate speed you palm the control yoke back and the nose lifts off
You're flying!
Now what?
As you start to climb to some predetermined altitude (having trimmed the plane for the best rate of climb or best angle of climb), the chances are that you will be in quite a nose up position. Not too nose up, obviously or you'll stall!
If you're flying VFR then the key requirement is to keep looking around for other aircraft. That's fine if the aircraft are to your left or right, but how can you look out for other 'planes that are directly ahead of you?
It's quite easy and can be accomplished two ways:
Today's Flying Tip is "Every 1000 feet or so, either push the yoke forward and level out for a few moments, take a look around the nose and continue, or, make a sweeping 'S' turn left and right to unblock the area under the raised nose. Take a good look around and continue"
If you're in some fairly busy airspace you will probably want to try the first of these two options, but if you know the area around you is clear (or if you're just up for a joyride with no particular destination in mind) the second option will probably be best.
You're flying!
Now what?
As you start to climb to some predetermined altitude (having trimmed the plane for the best rate of climb or best angle of climb), the chances are that you will be in quite a nose up position. Not too nose up, obviously or you'll stall!
If you're flying VFR then the key requirement is to keep looking around for other aircraft. That's fine if the aircraft are to your left or right, but how can you look out for other 'planes that are directly ahead of you?
It's quite easy and can be accomplished two ways:
Today's Flying Tip is "Every 1000 feet or so, either push the yoke forward and level out for a few moments, take a look around the nose and continue, or, make a sweeping 'S' turn left and right to unblock the area under the raised nose. Take a good look around and continue"
If you're in some fairly busy airspace you will probably want to try the first of these two options, but if you know the area around you is clear (or if you're just up for a joyride with no particular destination in mind) the second option will probably be best.
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