Morning/Afternoon/Evening Ladys & Gents
Just returned from my hols (thank you FCA (/ThomsonFly of course) Costa Rica was fabulous - although as an aside why on earth do you only start flying there as the wet season starts??? Eh?)
As a London TMA ATCO sort sat in cattle class on the return leg (no room in the posh seats - DOH!) I had a moment of rare contemplation. After mentally debating exactly which unchartered procedure the drivers of the valiant steed would adopt in the event of an RT failure prior to TOD I had a second odd thought enter my jet-lag-laden grey matter.
One of the highest workload aircraft I've worked in my time that wasn't an actual emergency was a TMA overflight at FL90 of a non-transponding aircraft. Co-ordination was a nightmare, radar idents (an event more frequently encountered than rocking horse poo these days) and trying to remember this little silent chicane's painful progress through the stacks made an otherwise standard session a real brain buster. So I came to think (there is a point, trust me)....
If you were flying a regular airliner and your transponder failed one would presume that a conflicting aircraft, ie. one that would normally trigger a TCAS RA, would not receive an RA as it's TCAS would not detect your presence. Correct?
Would I be correct in hoping that your TCAS however would still produce an RA and that it does not rely on any input from your own transponder? (Answer's in the affirmative greatly appreciated, as it would surely be a gross oversight else)
And moving to my final point (you hope as much as me) in an event where a non transponding a/c was going to pass you by 1000ft above/below etc, would it be of any use if you were forewarned of this or would you not generally notice the sudden passing of an aircraft 'cross one's brow that had not been tracing it's earie glow on your TCAS display shortly beforehand.
As you can see, I was bored, my girlfriend was snoring and I was suffering from sleep deprivation. Please forgive verbosity, it's been 32 hours since I got up on Thursday in a bed far bigger than the example I now face.
Take care one and all
Cartman
