We are incredibly fortunate on BAFT to have a number of staff members amongst us who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise. We have pilots and cabin crew, ground crew, lounge staff, check in staff, air traffic controllers and even an ex-military ATC with a bear fixation!
So, this is the continuation of last year's ask the staffer thread. No question is stupid here, and nothing is too geeky! So please ask anything you like, with one exception. No questions about security please.
There are other types of approach available at LHR, but an ILS is normally flown. This keeps aircraft in a known position in space, helping to ensure suitable separation and reducing noise. A visual approach can theoretically be flown but is highly unlikely at a major airport like LHR. An ILS also allows an Autoland to be flown, which means that this type of approach can be used in pretty much any weather conditions. For an airport like LHR predictability and routine are the key to ensuring maximum use of their precious resources; the runways are very much in demand and visual approaches would reduce their capacity.
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There are different types of visual approach that can be flown.
The classic visual approach will have you flying down wind and then turning onto final at about 1600ft. This will not happen with a large aircraft but smaller aircraft have done it into heathrow.
You can however fly down the ILS using just the PAPIs so in a way you are flying visual, but you are really just doing an ILS.
With a visual approach you take account for your own spacing, noise abatement, terrain clearance etc. so it would be done during quiet periods.
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Here's another one:
Just before Christmas I was on a delayed ARN return and a late IB MAD-LHR leg. Both are amongst the last flights into T5 at night. Our approach was over the city, and we landed onto the northern runway. One thing I noticed was that breaking was very light, allowing us to decelerate a long way down the runway before coming off.
I'm assuming this was because arriving traffic was light and that ATC didn't need the runway quickly for the next aircraft.
The Q: what the "vacate" procedures for LHR - and how do they vary by time of day?
Just before Christmas I was on a delayed ARN return and a late IB MAD-LHR leg. Both are amongst the last flights into T5 at night. Our approach was over the city, and we landed onto the northern runway. One thing I noticed was that breaking was very light, allowing us to decelerate a long way down the runway before coming off.
I'm assuming this was because arriving traffic was light and that ATC didn't need the runway quickly for the next aircraft.
The Q: what the "vacate" procedures for LHR - and how do they vary by time of day?
The idea at LHR is that you occupy the runway for the least possible time - they want to use the runway for other aircraft. So the norm would be to vacate as soon as is safely practicable, not as soon as possible which would be very different. When it is not busy, or there is a space behind you then it may be possible to vacate the runway later. Landing on the 27 complex and using T5 then a later exit from the runway would be beneficial.
Most Go-Arounds at LHR are caused by aircraft vacating the runway slowly, and the worst offenders are............
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The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent British Airways’ positions, strategies or opinions
Aircraft aim to vacate asap from the runways. We follow a set of green lights as we talk to GMC or 'ground' once vacated. At quieter times we can ask to vacate further along by giving the exit to 'Tower' that we are aiming for. If they approve it means less break wear, noise and fuel burn due to a shorter taxi time.
Anecdotally I'd say Air France, but not sure what the official stats would say.
Re visual approaches, don't really happen these days as we need to ensure precise spacing which a visual approach in amongst a sequence of traffic will not guarantee.
In the past did get to offer them on occasion, usually towards the end of the day as the traffic died off (they can be done at night). Have seen everything from the likes of Concorde (FL070 abeam OCK to a very short final on 27L visually, impressive!) to smaller single piston visitors (that's going back a bit, you don't see them now!).
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With regard to the sad helicopter accident earlier this week, does it sometimes happen that LHR or LGW are used for emergency landings by helicopters, or are they always diverted to a heliport?
