Visit to Swanwick, Sun 19th Feb.

[BRL]

Hi all, here are the details for the Swanwick visit. It is good news this time as we are allowed one visit on each day accommodating up to 15 people at a time.

Please show your interest here and I will get back in touch soon for more details/information from you. Please indicate what day you would like to go on.

Also note that it is not easy to get there by public transport so if you can offer a lift to someone(or need a lift) or pick them up at the nearest station then please indicate that too. Thanks.

**EDIT- Sunday Only Now.**

[DubTrub]

Yep, I'm in, either date will suit. Do the folks on this thread (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=200192) get first dibs, BRL?

[BRL]

Ahh, yea, I couldn't find that for some mysterious reason......

Simply put your name down again with a specific day you can go please.

Sorry about the messing about again....

[Andy_R]

Sunday 19th for me please guv!!!

Can offer a lift from Brighton area.

[dublinpilot]

I was on the original list, but can't make it that weekend, so count me out :{

[distaff_beancounter]

Sunday 19th is my first choice, please
..... but I could do the Saturday if necessary.
I can offer up to 4 people a lift, from the North Dorset area (I am not far from Henstridge airfield). :)

[Ni Thomas]

I'm free ...... Sunday 19th is fine for me thanks.
Ni

[hambleoldboy]

2 people please for Sunday. Can offer a lift for 2 on the Hamble-Bursledon-Swanwick route.

[DubTrub]

Bump...

Despite my dislike of stickies, may I suggest sticking this, BRL?

[BRL]

Yea, I will do, give us a day or two before I take down the Safety Evening sticky and replace it with this one.

Hopefully, the next day or so will see a few replies to this, thus keeping it near the top of the page.

[ThePirateKing]

Hi BRL,

Can you put me down for the Sunday please?

Thanks,

TPK:ok:

[Andy_R]

BRL and CharleyB have both got lifts with me, one more seat available

[Charley B]

Cloud 69

THANK YOU!!!

Charley B X

[BRL]

I have left out the Sat visit as there are lots here who want the Sunday only. Easier to sort out just the one visit too.

Thanks for the offer of the lift C69 much appreciated. :)

[Monocock]

Cripes

Am I too slow?

Can I come?

I'm happy to drive (at no cost to PAX.....)

M

[BRL]

Yep, your'e in..... will be good to see you again. :)

[Monocock]

Thanks BRL

You'll go to heaven

[Mike Cross]

Room for another?

[BRL]

For you mate, anything......... :)

I will be in touch soon with all of you for some details.

[IO91]

Please add me to the list.

Andrew

[nipper1]

Any more spaces?

[BRL]

Ok, this is the list of who will be going....

Myself
Dubtrub
Andy_R
Distaff Beancounter
Ni Thomas
Hamble Old Boy +1
Pirate King
CharleyB
Monocock

Jenni Morton
Sunday Driver

Mike Cross


The reserves are,

IO91
Nipper1


I now need your full name and nationality please. Email me the info as soon as you can. Thanks.

[Monocock]

My email is up the swanny so have PM'd you.

Hope that's ok

[Andy_R]

BRL as the name change thing worked I guess you had better change that Cloud69 person to Andy_R :}

[distaff_beancounter]

BRL
I can't seem to get my Pprune email to talk to yours either!
So I have PM'd you
:)

[eyeinthesky]

I'm on duty that day. If I feel brave enough to blow my cover, I might come and introduce myself! I hope you enjoy the visit.:)

[DubTrub]

If I feel brave enough to blow my cover

We promise not to blag (well not loudly anyway);)

[distaff_beancounter]

Just putting this thread back up the page -'cos it had fallen off the bottom :)

[BRL]

IO91 and Nipper1 you are both in now.

I am waiting to hear back from Sunday Driver, having trouble getting in touch. You have a few days now to give me your details or you will miss out on this visit.

Everyone else, thank you for sending the details through quickly. :)

[Ni Thomas]

:) Errrm! .....BRL .... Any more info??
Actually the real reason for this note is to get the topic back up near the front!

Whilst we are on the subject:- Where? When? Parking? ID's required? Do I need to wear a tie? A frock?

[BRL]

Hi. I am just waiting to hear back with meeting times etc.

I will post back here as soon as I get the info. :)

[BRL]

You can download the directions now, I have them HERE (http://www.btinternet.com/~paul.evans28/Swanwick_directions.doc) in Word format. Meet at 1500.

I still need Sunday Drivers details by Thursday, if you are reading this please send me them A.S.A.P!!!!!!!!!!!

There could be another place going if I don't get the details as noted above. If anyone want to go on the reserve list then let me know. :)

Obviously Swanwick is a 'clean' working environment so please don't have a beer or two beforehand, wait until after if anyone want's to have a quick drink.

[DubTrub]

I'll be driving down from Leicester, A43 past Silverstone, crossing the M4 at Chievely, then southbound on the A34 past Newbury if anyone needs a lift.

Rob

[distaff_beancounter]

Hi BRL

Thanks for the map, but could you email or PM me your mobile number, as I have mislaid it, just in case I manage to get lost or delayed!

I have been professionally trained in land, sea and air navigation, so I am fully qualified to get lost anywhere! :{

[BRL]

Check you PM's, just done it.

If anyone else needs it just email me and I will give it to you.

[BRL]

For security you will need to have some kind of photo id and your pilots licence.

If you are a student then membership to the flying club and your valid medical and your logbook.

See you Sunday!

[eyeinthesky]

BRL: Check your PMs, please

[Ni Thomas]

Thanks BRL (and all your colleagues), a very interesting, educational and enjoyable afternoon visiting Swanwick.

Very probably I'll spend the night dreaming I'm sat infront of a large screen trying to find which button to push! :ugh:

[distaff_beancounter]

Many thanks BRL for organising that trip. It was both very educational and very entertaining.

I too will be dreaming all night about panicking over converging purple vector lines on the training room radar screen - its the best computer game I have seen for a long time. :eek:

It was lovely to meet eyeinthesky - its nice to know that the Ppruners have invaded everywhere! ;)

[nipper1]

Thanks BRL for organising and the Alans for showing us so much. A fantastic afternoon even if my partner is still not speaking to me for missing roast-dinner.

Thanks again.

[Jenni Morton]

Thank you BRL and the two Alans for a very informative and interesting experience

Also to Eye in the sky (I think) for some interesting Air law points as well as other good airmanship pointers.

Hope you guys did not get into too much trouble for being late for Roast Dinners - lucky chaps - if only!

thanks BRL - really really useful and meeting the voices - gives the radio a whole new incite

great day

jenni

[Andy_R]

What can I say........ as above with many many thanks for a wonderful afternoon. No roast dinner to miss so I am one of the few that is still beaming from ear to ear it seems.

Apart from learning a lot from the guys (Alan's & Eye In The Sky) I was given the opportunity to "volunteer" to be radar controller in the training room. I think I missed my vocation in life. Headset on, information being fed to me by my trainer, the screen started off with a couple of 737's, but it wasn't long before I had inbound and outbound aircraft appearing all over the screen awaiting descent/climb instructions and vectoring. Well, I say awaiting instructions, but they don't wait, they all keep flying and flying rather quickly toward each other, especially when the spacings start getting a little tight. Managed a half respectable stream of inbounds with 5 mile spacing heading for Brum anyhow. You can see just how quickly it can all get away from you that is for sure. A distraction of a 7500 squawk soon builds the workload back up again.

After a while the information started to fall into place and it wasn't long before I was thoroughly enjoying myself on the Worlds Greatest Video Game :} I will admit to being a little disappointed when the flow of aircraft ebbed and died :( Was almost as good a feeling as first solo (yeah I know, how sad!!)

Would love to give it a go under real pressure - hint!!! :cool:

THANKS GUYS FOR A HIGHLY ENJOYABLE DAY :ok: :ok: :ok:

[Charley B]

Thank you Alan and Alan and Eye In The Sky---a really fab afternoon---very informative and such fun sitting in front of a Radar Screen with Andy R doing a really Super Job at controlling!!!!!!
Thanks BRL for arranging it all---a really great trip,would love to do that all again!
It was my dream to see Swanwick!!!!!

Thanks Andy R for the lift!

Thanks again for a super afternoon.

Charley B X

[DubTrub]

Can only express the same as those above: my thanks to all. Also, good to meet some new (to me) PPRuNe faces (as well as the old!).

30 minutes or so of radar controlling was an eye-opener...I hope I caused no more than the one airprox! The most awkward thing initially was learing the difference between flight numbers and callsigns, e.g."FUA 1812" and "Skytrax 1812"

Got the hang of it in the end, although I appreciate the excercise was a lot less busy than one would normally expect!

Rob

[BRL]

Well, that was a brilliant visit. Huge thanks to Alan for sorting it out for us and to the other Alan for helping us out too. Thanks also to the people in the sim room who took us all on, many thanks for that.

Would have liked to have spent more time with 'eyeinthesky' talking about infringements and the likes of, one of the main reasons for doing these visits is to get pilots and controllers talking about important issues like this, a lot can be gained and has been learnt doing these visits. If only someone could come up with an online presentation like the ones we have seen in the past to be available for everybody to see, it would certainly open a few eyes out there. There should be something available to all schools in the form of a dvd or something like that to show students and experienced pilots too. I have an idea for something along these lines but obviously can't do it myself so NATS safety people, if your looking at this and want to get something going just get in touch with me.

Anyway, way off thread there so yes, thanks to all who helped make yesterday a great success indeed. Good to see everyone enjoyed it and got home safely in the bad weather. :)

[Mike Cross]

Fortunately I not only got back in time for the Roast Dinner, I even managed a pint in the pub first!
Interesting seeing London Information with not a radar screen in sight and a copy of the AA Road Atlas as part of the equipment!
The real highlight was the hands on on the TDU (Training Development Unit) running one of the training exercises. This is a fully fuctional suite of consoles, which in fact takes over control during upgrades of the main Control Room. Rob L (dubtrub) took the role of Tactical Controller with me sat alongside and plugged in trying to assist him. The operational setup has a Tactical Controller doing the talking and a Planner who deals with the handovers plus an assistant to handle the grunt work.
Interesting to see that we had flights not following their FP route without our knowledge. When we queried this we found that clearances are not passed across by the previous controller so someone whose FP route is A DCT B DCT C could be cleared by the previous controller "Direct to C" or he could have been given avoiding vectors by the previous controller, putting him off the expected track and making it important to listen carefully to the inital call to hear what he is really up to!
We managed to avoid carnage but I think the Birmingham controller must have been cursing us for sending him/her a stream of traffic with built-in future conflicts.
I'd like to add my thanks not only to BRL and our hosts but also to the ATCOS who took time out to run the simulator exercise for us. Without their input we'd have had no-one to control and no radio calls. :ok:

[Andy_R]

If only someone could come up with an online presentation like the ones we have seen in the past to be available for everybody to see, it would certainly open a few eyes out there. There should be something available to all schools in the form of a dvd or something like that to show students and experienced pilots too.


Funny you should say that BRL
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>

There is the possibility of an infringements DVD being produced at some point.

That's about all that can be said on that front at the moment.

Hope you don't mind me adding your quote to this MikeT :O

[PPRuNe Radar]

Glad the visit was worthwhile, most ATC units appreciate seeing pilots take the time to look around and receive some 'education' :ok: and it's often a two way street too.

The most awkward thing initially was learing the difference between flight numbers and callsigns, e.g."FUA 1812" and "Skytrax 1812"

Very confusing as FUA uses the callsign 'Futura' :p - there's a 'Sky Tour' and a 'Sky Truck', but can't seem to find 'Sky Track(s)/Trax' in the ICAO book. I know what you're getting at though ;)

[DubTrub]

Yeh, sorry Radar, I could not remember the details...I am posting soon on the ATC forum on that and other matters...
Rob

[turn right 5 degrees]

I have passed on you thanks to all the staff involved in your visit, it was great to be able to show you round and that you enjoyed yourselves. It was a pity we could not get you into the main ops room to see the FIR for real and chat to the AFISO's, or sit in on the sectors.

Maybe one day in the future when the political climate changes we might be able to do these visits again and we will expect you to know all the RT callsigns:eek:

Best regards

AG

ps Andy R keep an eye open for an envelope with NATS in the corner;)

[Andy_R]

turn right 5 degrees

See your PM's :ok:

[MrHorgy]

Any plans to organise anymore visits? :}

Horgy

[BRL]

Hi. I think the Swanwick visit was a one off. It was hard to get in and it took a long time to organise, I am sure though there won't be anymore in the foreseeable future. It was a great success that visit and I do hope another one can be arranged but the way things are at the moment I am not sure. One can only hope!

I do have a few visits to Heathrow tower lined up, Possible dates, maximum 6.

Saturday 11th March
Sunday 9th April
Saturday 6th May
Sunday 4th June

Don't use this thread to show interest for these visits, please wait until you see my thread in the forum which should be soon.

Also waiting to hear back for a visit to Gatwick tower. More details to follow.

[eyeinthesky]

I'm glad you enjoyed your visit, and that you were patient enough to let me ramble on while you were a captive audience. I hope that I was able to convey the message of what we are trying to do about reducing infringements from both sides of the R/T and enlist your help in spreading the world. As someone said (was it AndyR?), there is give and take on both sides, and we are keen to exploit all the available avenues to make this work.

Safe flying up there, and don't forget to watch for those boundaries!:ok: