Spring is still in the air in Dubai - temperatures barely in the 30's, the summer heat is still to come.
Runways 30 Left & Right are in use today - normal departures are off 30 Right but it's closed for maintenance just prior to our departure and we'll be using 30 Left, off an intersection M17.
All the gen is on the pad -
The ATIS weather, ATC clearance, verification of the takeoff performance figures and the overflight clearances for the route; today for the UAE, Iran & Turkey.
We run the performance on the Onboard Performance Tool application on our Class 3 EFB's (Electronic Flight Bags) - the picture is for 30 Right, we changed it for 30 Left. Takeoff weight 168,805 lbs (gas is cheap in Dubai, we've bought extra), using Flaps 5 and a de-rated TO-1 thrust setting, the V1 takeoff decision speed is 142 knots, rotate at 145 & V2 safety speed is 151 knots.
The cockpit is set-up, final performance figures are entered into the Flight Management Computer (FMC), engine-out acceleration altitude of 1,000 AMSL is set on the PFD (Primary Flight Display).
Another neat feature on the EFB is an airport moving map - big airports can be pretty confusing, especially if one is unfamiliar with the location and the map makes getting lost on the ground really difficult.
Here we are at holding point N9, short of Runway 30 Right, waiting for clearance to cross and then make a left on Taxiway M to the holding point Runway 30 Left.
Our TCAS display on the Navigation Display (ND) shows us all the traffic in the area - one just airborne, one on approach and a few choppers and a sea-plane over the creek.
Airborne now, just about to cross the coast, that is some of the reclaimed land just off the Sharjah coast.
And on our left, the World, sinking both into ignonimity and the bottom of the Gulf.
We're flying the RANBI 2 Delta departure, really simple; cross the coast, turn left to waypoint RANBI, climb 4,000'
Out of 4,000' ATC has us direct to RANBI, with no speed restrictions, we're just reaching our climb speed of 331 knots.
All the TCAS traffic is behind us, bottom right of the picture is a piece of the auxiliary fuel tank gauge - one of the few differences between a BBJ and a stock-standard Fluffy; we've got just over 6,700 pounds of gas in the forward aux tanks and 15,000 pounds in the aft. These tanks are in the cargo hold.
Out of 13,000 feet, the transition altitude, we've selected the Standard (1013.25 Hpa) barometric setting and you can tell that the autopilot is now engaged with the CMD (Command) indication rather than the FD (Flight Director) indication on the previous picture.
The normal route out of Dubai into Iranian airspace is closed so we'll fly up the Gulf for a while and then make a 90 degree right hand turn over Iran.
Here's the Jeppesen chart of where we're headed -
It might be a little difficult to follow but we cross the Bahrain boundary at BALUS and are with them through the 90 degree turn to MIDSI which is the Tehran boundary, up the R659 airway to Shiraz (SYZ) and then onwards north-west bound on the UP574 route.
Here's what it looks like on the portable EFB - the one on the dash -
Crossing Shiraz, we're at FL 360, a little above our optimum altitude but out of the tops at FL 340 where it was a little choppy. We have a crosswind from the left of around 90 knots which is forecast to become a 50-ish knot headwind shortly.
The aux tanks are used first, the forward aux is down to 2,670 pounds, the aft still has 10,420 pounds remaining.
Just crossing Esfahan (or Isfahan), we'll pass just south of Tehran, with the Caspian Sea just north of that. This is a picture of the Airshow display which is located on our third, back-up FMS located on the center console.
That's Qom (or Qum) - very old city, famous for it's carpets. The mountain/ volcano in the distance is just north-east of Tehran.
We cross a Russian 747 freighter going the other way at FL 370.
Still a lot of snow down there. We're approaching the Ankara (Turkish) boundary. The route from here takes us over the port city of Trabzon, crossing the Black Sea to the Romanian city of Constanta.
Five hours to run, landing London at just after 6 PM SA time
Not a lot happening up here; it got really choppy at FL 360 so we went up to FL 380, the (head)wind died down by 40 knots and it's smooth. Not a lot of margin between the minimum & maximum speeds (coffin corner) - enough to be comfortable.
Both auxiliary tanks are now empty, drawing on the center tank.
The Ankara boundary at position Kugos 160 miles ahead; we switch to Simferopol Control there, the southern Ukraine control authority.
We've been flying 3 hours and 34 minutes. It's overcast below; we're not going to see the Black Sea today.
Around 256 kbps which we can ramp up to around 450 for video-conferencing; all through a Ku-band antenna, backed up with an L-band dish.
Here's the plan from here -
It's really busy up here - mostly heading back to the sandpit.
Two Qatari's within 10 miles of each other, one at 37,
the other at 39
Safe flight!
It's a beautiful day on the mudbank -
At 1:20 PM there was a light north-easterly blowing, good visibility in drizzle, clouds broken at 2,100', temperature 5 degrees and the pressure slightly high at 1022 HPa.
We'll be flying the Abbot 1 Charlie STAR (Standard Arrival); via IDESI, LAPRA and ABBOT, expected altitudes FL220 15 nautical miles before IDESI, FL 180 and speed 250 knots at IDESI.
From there radar vectors onto a left-hand downwind for the ILS Runway 08 at London Luton airport.
The ILS frequency is 109.15, inbound course 076 degrees and the approach (Category One) minimums are a decision altitude of 715' with a required visibility of 700 meters.
anded over from Munich to Rhein Control now, over Germany, approaching Frankfurt -
Me too. Kind of.
We've had cloud cover below for the last 3 hours -
Hope it clears before we get there. I'm not too good at flying in that stuff.
The rest of the flight was a walk in the park; the weather was clearing beautifully in London.
Some light showers east of the field, London had us off the STAR on radar vectors from 30 miles out. The Instrument Landing System on Runway 08 went inoperative on the descent (it was announced on the ATIS) and we were planning on a Surveillance Radar Approach (SRA) onto 08 - like a radar talk-down where a chap with a posh, retired-military accent gives you up, down, left, right instructions until you see the runway. The minimums for this type of approach are higher; in this case 1,040' AMSL. The approach reference speed for a Flaps 40 landing is set a 128 knots.
We're above the transition level and the altimeter is still set to standard atmosphere.
Now we're cleared to 5,000', that's altitude and not Flight Level, so the QNH of 1022 HPa is set. The cleared altitude is in magenta on the top right of the PFD and that's the vertical speed indicator pegged at 1,000' rate of descent.
As we pop out the cloud just south of Cambridge Duxford airfield slides under the right hand wing - now that's a field with a lot of stories to tell.
As expected we're vectored on a left-hand downwind for Runway 08 -
We're maintaining 5,000', speed is back at 212 knots, just about to start running the flaps. Good news (not that we need it with this weather) that the ILS is back on the air - we've reset the Decision Altitude to 715'. That's our traffic to our left, a Ryanair 737 on the localizer, 2,400' below us, with a few choppers out to the west.
Established on finals, flaps set at 40, speed decelerating through 141 knots for the final approach speed of 134 knots (129 Vref +5), a light crosswind of 7 knots from the left indicated on the top left of the ND. Missed approach altitude is set at 3,000'.
22' on the radio altimeter, it's time to flare the lady. Speed is a little fast and quite why we have a little right aileron input with a crosswind from the left I'm not sure (I wasn't flying). Autobrakes are set at 2.
Touchdown! The autobrakes have been cancelled with a light application of the brakes, the thrust-reversers are being stowed, indicated in amber on the upper EICAS display.
Taxi-in - look at that weather - is this London? 7 hours 42 minutes.
Beer time - if you've got any questions please shout.
Safe flying! Be careful out there.
31-01-2012,
06:30 AM
تقارير رحلات الطيران السياحية
تقرير من غرفة القيادة ... دبي - لندن
اقتباس: 
