MLS at LHR
Clearing out the car boot for first time in ages came across my old airband scanner (yes I know I shouldn't relaly use it ) and switching it on for a few minutes heard a couple of LHR bound flights read back instructions as turn left/right xxx for the 09R localiser then the microwave.
I looked this up on pprune and google and was surprised MLS was being used as alot of comment suggested it would not get mas take up due to GPS advanaces. Also where it was used like LHR the suggestions were it could allow a few landings on the departure runway at busy times (clearely not when i heard it as the a/c concerned were for 09L. Also opinion from LHR ATCO community on that thread seemed to be that curved approaches, another MLS feature,would not work at LHR and in any event why close the localiser first .
I am sure there are good reasons but it seemed odd to establish on the localiser and then use MLS since I imagine the rate of descent from the same point would be the same for both systems..I kno e the MLS is more accurate but I would not have thought that flying the approach fractionally more precisely made any difference in yesterdays conditions which while not nice were no where near CATIII
I had alonger listen later on and a few more a/c read back the same instruction -all BA too-any one else use it
PB