GATWICK
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult
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The joys of online discussion!!
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or
(OK that was my post)
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Not forgetting the JCB loaders seen on TV
Makes interesting reading!!
I know for a fact that Gatwick has bought new snow clearing equipment this year,
The sight, on the news yesterday, of those three forlorn old snowploughs attempting to clear the runway was risible.
I only saw a pictures of a late model Unimog plough towing a brush units.
or
8 knackered snow ploughs and a few Massey Furgesson tractors
Makes interesting reading!!
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Snow clearing the Gatwick way
How they do it at Oslo
I was at Oslo this time last year and was in awe. First a phalanx of five or six snow ploughs line abreast. Then a second phalanx of another five or six snow ploughs. Then a third phalanx of brushers.
So please Mr Transport Minister...exercise a bit of authority.
How they do it at Oslo
I was at Oslo this time last year and was in awe. First a phalanx of five or six snow ploughs line abreast. Then a second phalanx of another five or six snow ploughs. Then a third phalanx of brushers.
So please Mr Transport Minister...exercise a bit of authority.
I was at Oslo this time last year and was in awe. First a phalanx of five or six snow ploughs line abreast. Then a second phalanx of another five or six snow ploughs. Then a third phalanx of brushers.
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Curious about ploughing runways
Reading this thread, watching the videos and looking at the pictures, it would seem that Gatwick has only snow ploughs, and not snow blowers, to clear the runways - and presumably all the other bits of the airport. It looks like the ploughs drive in echelon and are, perhaps, towing brushing units to clean up the snow that the ploughs leave behind. Can anyone explain what happens to the snow when it has been pushed to the edge of the runway? The runway edge lights are on small stalks, but it seems to me that as soon as there is any significant amount of snow, they must end up buried in a snow bank. Do they have to dig them out individually? Presumably at airports where they expect a lot of snow, they use blowers to blow the snow well clear of the runway edge.
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I second that and take my hat off to all staff who labour through the snow etc to help keep things moving.
The comparison between Gatwick and Oslo is valid. To say otherwise is to lump Gatwick in the same category as our UK local authorities, Highways Agency etc. For them, it is quite reasonable to argue that it would cost too much and not be cost-effective to have the plant on hand to keep our roads clear. Particularly as there are thousands and thousands of miles of motorway, roads and lanes. Also, their funding comes from public funds.
Gatwick on the other hand has significantly less in terms of real-estate to keep clear of snow. Gatwick's prime objective is to let aircraft land and take-off safely. Not shopping malls and the 'retail experience'. They are privately owned and can take a view - profits for shareholders or invest in the infrastructure and get more/better snow clearing equipment.
I would be very interested to have a comparison between the numbers, types, age, efficiency etc of snow clearing equipment between Oslo and the UK's second largest airport.
The fact that the new chairman Gatwick Airport Ltd (GAL), Sir David Rowlands, was a former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport (DfT) has nothing to do with the current Transport Ministers' stance of 'do nothing'.
The comparison between Gatwick and Oslo is valid. To say otherwise is to lump Gatwick in the same category as our UK local authorities, Highways Agency etc. For them, it is quite reasonable to argue that it would cost too much and not be cost-effective to have the plant on hand to keep our roads clear. Particularly as there are thousands and thousands of miles of motorway, roads and lanes. Also, their funding comes from public funds.
Gatwick on the other hand has significantly less in terms of real-estate to keep clear of snow. Gatwick's prime objective is to let aircraft land and take-off safely. Not shopping malls and the 'retail experience'. They are privately owned and can take a view - profits for shareholders or invest in the infrastructure and get more/better snow clearing equipment.
I would be very interested to have a comparison between the numbers, types, age, efficiency etc of snow clearing equipment between Oslo and the UK's second largest airport.
The fact that the new chairman Gatwick Airport Ltd (GAL), Sir David Rowlands, was a former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport (DfT) has nothing to do with the current Transport Ministers' stance of 'do nothing'.
The Airfield team at Gatwick did a brilliant job, well done and thanks for not compromising safety.
I spent time at Helskini this year to understand more about clearance techniques.Yes they have more equipment, more people, dedicated MT facilities and able to cope better, but they have 6 months of solid winter ops, guaranteed every year and a different level of regulation.
Or if you had to go to Finland, why not go to Rovaniemi instead, smaller place, one runway instead of three, to see how they handle things and keep going. They don't have the budget that Helsinki does, but did you ever hear of the Santa charters in December all being diverted away because of snow ?
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Sun Country Airlines will be operating Minneapolis to Gatwick via Gander in Canada. I think they will be operating 737-700/800 aircraft for the 1st leg, but does anybody know what will be used for Gander to Gatwick? It seems that it will be a twice weekly service on Saturdays and Sundays.
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Sun Country Airlines will be operating Minneapolis to Gatwick via Gander in Canada. I think they will be operating 737-700/800 aircraft for the 1st leg, but does anybody know what will be used for Gander to Gatwick? It seems that it will be a twice weekly service on Saturdays and Sundays.
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If the service performs well perhaps Sun Country should look at buying a cheap used 757 or two to operate the route non-stop at a higher frequency (NW used to operate the route daily on a A333) and then if the frequency reduced for the winter then the 757(s) could be used for the more popular sun routes from the US to the Caribbean.
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Apparantly KFA stands for Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter, who are based in British Colombia. They lease aircraft worldwide. I only googled KFA briefly, but that's its ICAO code.
Airllift21.
Airllift21.
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I believe the whole point is to maintain ETOPs currency for other services to the Carribbean that don'r run during the Northern summer. Hence a once weekly jaunt to Stansted arriving Saturday, crew rest and back Sunday.
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Can anyone explain what happens to the snow when it has been pushed to the edge of the runway? The runway edge lights are on small stalks, but it seems to me that as soon as there is any significant amount of snow, they must end up buried in a snow bank. Do they have to dig them out individually? Presumably at airports where they expect a lot of snow, they use blowers to blow the snow well clear of the runway edge.
The lights shown in the previous photo of snow clearing at Gatwick are not runway edge lights.