MNManInKen

Well, could be worse, could have been tipex on the screen as we used to come across in the early days of word processing.

Great info, much appreciated. As for being put in front of the queue, I live in a royal borough, do we get priority handling too?

Cheers, interesting clip - although I was dismayed to learn that the ATC staff had to pay for their own coffee. In my department, my rule always used to be: good quality coffee in infinite quantities for free. After all, as engineers we convert caffeine into technology.

MNManInKen

OMG! I take it management just wanted to pay twice as much for half the technology?

MNManInKen

Great picture!

As for the green radar displays, they have some radar kit on display at Bletchley Park that looked like several decades old but was in use until only a few years ago!

T8191

Appropriately on page 82 of this thread, as well!! It was a Joint Mil/Civ Area Radar Unit, so even the civvy drones at the back had to cope with its peculiarities

FlyingWeasel

When taxiing after landing it seems quite common for all the cabin lights to flicker, is this due to a changeover with power being supplied by the APU rather than the engines?

Heathrow Tower

I can't really add too much to what Bobalong has mentioned.

What should be pointed out is that controllers use strips not just to refer to, and record information on, but that it is the fundamental tool we use to provide a service to aircraft (and vehicles).

For example, in a control tower, the controller would have a board in front of him/her which would be divided up into 'bays', which would signify respectively; airborne, the runway, on the ground apart from the runway. Strips are moved around between the bays to signify what each aircraft or vehicle has been cleared to do. If an aircraft is given a line up clearance on the runway, then at the same time as the controller is transmitting the instruction, that aircraft's strip is being moved from the Ground bay to the Runway bay: When the aircraft rotates on take off, the strip is moved to the airborne bay.

The idea being that if the incumbent controller collapsed and died, someone else would be able to plug in and from what was written on the strips, and from where the strips were, they would know what was going on.

I miss paper strips.

MNManInKen

More useful information, for which thanks

I did see footage at some point where strips were moved around, so this explains it quite well!

Bobalong

I knew you'd be able to add more gloss to my answer HT.
I must admit having only worked with paper strips at a quieter tower (with Mrs HT) previously I find electronic ones very easy to use. I cannot imagine working without them now, the ease of adding info to them is very natural now. I guess we will always feel more comfortable with what you trained with.

BingBongBoy

Usually, it is when they shut down one of the engines during taxi.

DYKWIA

I've noticed a number of US airlines taxi out on a single engine, and only start the other engine as they approach the runway. It always feels a bit strange hearing the drone of the engine starting up as the plane is already moving.

raikje

I seem to remember this was BD's procedure too. Maybe not for quite as long as the US carriers, but certainly the big angry dog in the hold was a common feature of taxiing on a BD 319/320.

kmandrew

What is the earliest we can check our luggage; my wife and I are on the last BA flight to Budapest and we want to visit Windsor Castle for that afternoon?

MNManInKen

Not sure this is the right thread for this question, but if you fly J or F, or you're a BAEC Silver or Gold, you can check in and drop your bag at your leisure. If you're in Y, then it's 3 hours before your flight. If you're a Silver or Gold in Y, make sure to show your card otherwise you might get a "you're too early" response.

Littlegirl

There is an official baggage store area company just oposite the Heathrow Express entrance on the ground floor arrivals level in T5. If that's any help!

Scott Pilgrim

Strips...

The above are some Heathrow Approach strips. They are in the bays representing the Lambourn and Bovingdon holds. Photo is from West Drayton days but the current strips are pretty much the same.

One at LAM, five at BNN.

Orange strip holders indicate they are all 'heavies'.

Reading the strip from left to right... hold and estimated time of arrival at said hold; circled number is sequence number i.e. order traffic will land in; number below that is just a computer id number; printed call sign details and below that squawk code, wake turbulence category, aircraft type and filed true airspeed, handwritten L or R indicates runway aircraft will land on (in this case 27L or 27R; written numbers are the release level i.e. the flight level the aircraft is coming in to the hold at; printed numbers in the boxes represent flight levels in the hold, as aircraft are cleared to levels they are circled, as levels are passed through in the descent they are crossed out; as aircraft are descended out of flight levels to altitudes the altitudes would be written in the next box; NH is where the QNH (barometric pressure setting) used when descending to altitudes is recorded; WX is marked with the ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) letter reported; departure point and destination; H means aircraft told to hold; handwritten numbers in the end box are headings and speeds passed by ATC; printed numbers in end box are the date and printer id number.