Originally Posted by
reubee
Did the recent LHR-SYD "research" really leave LHR circa 0600. How valid is that research then particularly on circadian rhythms etc given that more likely departure time will be around 2300?
You are correct. The flight got airborne at 0609 AM.The data is available on flightaware. It got to the gate in Sydney just after lunchtime at 1228pm
The very early morning departure was planned to avoid the usual 30-45 mins of taxi time in the busy congested evening at Heathrow and thus make the flight time look shorter.
The early morning departure was also planned to manipulate the fatigue data, as you normally wake around 12am-2am in London which would of been close to call with an approximately 4-430am report. Very easy to go to sleep in the early afternoon or very early evening before and get a really good sleep. The schedule was picked to optimise the maximum sleep prior to performing the flight.
The crew are far more rested than the usual very early evening call that crews rarely obtain sleep before and have been awake for considerably longer before departure at night.
The arrival time at midday in Sydney during the day was also aimed to be optimum for alertness so that the fatigue data looked as good as it could.