Evening landing in Tiblisi / Georgia. Those of us who have flown in and out of this airport virtually will recognize many landmarks.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. I don’t know enough about it…and the video isn’t demonstrative enough to fill in the gaps…but… neato? Or terrible? I can’t decide…
This has been on the cards for a while at LCY. London City is the least profitable of the London airports and they have been lobbying for expansion for decades. I remember responding to a questionaire which included a proposal for an unmanned tower maybe 10 years ago or more (I was / am a local resident).
They have had some success, too - the runway has been extended and taxiways added (requiring land to be reclaimed from the dock), extra stands and passenger services have been built, and they have seen a significant increase in number of flights allowed by tightening noise limits. This is just the next phase in the plan, and I guess is more economical then running their own tower. But I bet they dread the day they have to halt operations because the communications go down
@Troll can chime in but I think I had read years ago that this was done (or being done) in Norway. They had several remote airports for which UNICOM and AWOS was deemed insufficient for safe ops even though traffic is light. So they went digital to allow a single facility control multiple airports. The remote “tower” can instantly configure it’s displays and layout to match the target airport.
True.
We have several AFIS airports and some of them serve the offshore ops and see more traffic than many controlled airports. There’s now an ongoing effort of installing camera towers on these airports so they can be ”controlled” remotely. The remote towers have huge screens that portray a 360° cameraview that has motion detection and nightvision. It’s like having a superhuman air traffic controller.
Just came across this one on the ED forums:
AT-802F Fireboss Amphibious
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsvf_ixKGO8&t=166s
Pretty neat little beast.
It’s impressive to see how the pilot has to push the stick all the way forward when he drops the water
(@ 2:42)
Yeah, that’s a slight change in weight and CG.
Just a bit lower and the rear fuselage would have ripped straight off! Damn…
That Metro pilot sound very calm and collected, on the radio. I wonder what his pulse was when he saw the extent of the damage…
Oh dear. Brown pants time.
I think its technical name is “Shart final”
Also: imagine being on your first solo and the aircraft ATC instructed you to follow in the pattern is involved in a midair and crashes…
You: nope, definitely not following that!
Some nice Kodiak bush flying in PNG:
EDIT: I finished watching the end of that 3rd video and it looks and sounds like he clipped a tree on short final
I already have actual nightmares where I’m at work and can’t taxi out of an area I got in…so seeing stuff like this doesn’t help… (the video at the second link is sped up for some reason…)
And that’s where you feel your heart sink.
…meanwhile your FO thinks, “I just moved up a number!”
I always wonder how such things happen.
Aren’t there lines on the ground that you can follow and be sure to have clearance?
And apart from that: there are two people in the jet and shouldn’t there also be people on the ground watching the plane taxi?
Yes. But some taxiways are limited to a certain wingspan. It’s up to the commander to accept a taxi route that his jet can cope with, and stay on the centerline…
There are two pilots, but only one of them are controlling the jet when taxiing, normally the commander, sitting on the left side. The commander is also ultimately responsible.
Nobody is monitoring you when taxiing. Only when parking and pushing.
One thing I read once:
Ground operations is one of the most challenging phases of the flight, but the least technologically advanced.