RWY heading/RWY track/straight ahead

[Scott Voigt]

Why wouldn't we use runway heading??? It's no different than ANY other heading we would use. If you have two aircraft off of parallels, they are both effected by the wind. We assign our 15 degree divergence for the heading and we have what we need... Runway heading on one, and the 15 degrees on the other one works just splendid...

regards

Scott

[catocontrol]

heading=vector?

Well if you instruct an aircraft to fly runway heading they can understand the instruction as a radar vector, because of the word heading. A better phrase would be: "After departure, continue straight ahead"

[SM4 Pirate]

From the Oz AIP

Whilst this may not be universal, here is the applicable reference to the rules in Oz...

ENR 1.1 - 11 4.8 Departure Instructions

4.8.1 Departure instructions may contain the following as required:
a. aircraft identification;
b. radar heading instructions;**
c. altitude restrictions;
d. direction of turn;
e. tracking points; and
f. any other instructions.
** Note: A pilot assigned a radar heading (including runway heading) must not compensate for wind effect.

Seems pretty clear what you should fly if asked to fly on "Runway Heading"

[Spitoon]

catocontrol, this is point - runway heading and straight ahead are not the same.

[refplus20]

Asked the very question yesterday when cleared to climb staright ahead. He expected us to maintain the runway centreline.

[Passenger 9]

Axis

- - - - - Runway Heading - - - - - Straight Ahead - - - - - Center Line - - - - -

..... No No No .....

ICAO says Runway AXIS.

In its A/D documentation ICAO refers to Runway AXIS when talking about the extended runway center line.

"Climb on runway axis _ _ _ " seems logical and easy to understand. maybe ICAO have somethin there.


Next candidate please

[iamhere]

AXIS

I Have heard "Climb on Runway Axis" used many times.

Yep. Logical. Clear. Confusion free. Or not?

Then there is "Cross runway axis"

I'll go for this "Runway Axis" thing

[chevvron]

Personally I would prefer the RAF requirement which is to fly runway track ie your track must be the same as runway QDM rather than runway heading + crosswind drift; unfortunately I'm lumbered with MATS Pt 1 which say 'straight ahead'.

[discountinvestigator]

ICAO Doc 4444 Phraseology says:

[AFTER DEPARTURE]TURN RIGHT (or LEFT) HEADING (three digits)(or CONTINUE RUNWAY HEADING)(or TRACK EXTENDED CENTRE LINE)TO (level or significant point)[(other instructions as required)]

Now you are meant to file differences to ICAO Doc 4444 in the Aeronautical Information Publication GEN 1.7. So, simply, if you have not got a filed difference to change the meaning of the phrase, then "continue runway heading" is a requirement to continue on runway HEADING.

I wonder if the air traffic controller has considered the obstacle environment and minimum climb gradient when giving this instruction? After all, the aerodrome licensing requirements assume you go off on runway TRACK, plus or minus a bit. A badly flown heading, plus crosswind could be interesting in some terrain rich environments with unusual wind patterns. Still, that would be the air traffic control service provider's area for their safety management system to consider.

Discount.

[ComJam]

So. can we have a definitive answer then?

"Climb straight ahead" = maintain RUNWAY TRACK

"Maintain Runway Heading" = exactly that!!

Correct?

[Spitoon]

Yup.......that's it!

[ComJam]

Well, that was easy.

NEXT!

[This is a crisis]

Hate to be pedantic peeps...but not quite!!
In the UK anyway.....'climb straight ahead' or 'fly heading xxx'
You should never hear the phrase 'maintain/fly runway heading' - as was stated previously, it was removed from phraseology some years ago

[ATCO2]

HDG

Hi everyone,

Just a simple question. How to apply any heading below MVA. Is a RWY HDG something different from other ones? Each acft when airborn is below MVA and we know that there is no hdgs below MVA.

How to apply this "After dep, turn right/left hdg xxx when we know that any acft must not turn on a hdg after dep untill they cross at least 396 ft above elev (Pans Ops).

I want to hear your opinions about this.

Thanks

[ComJam]

Well, i've heard "maintain runway heading" all over the UK, so lots of guys obviously still use it..

[PPRuNe Radar]

ComJam

You know how you get gash pilots ..... ?

Well, we get gash controllers as well

UK differences to phraesology are filed via CAP413, thus it's 'Continue straight ahead' (adjust for drift), or 'continue present heading', or 'fly heading XXX' (just fly the heading and let ATC worry about the drift).

Most UK airfields will also have noise restrictions so the ATCO will normally also take care of that too. (After XX DME, or passing XXXX feet, fly heading XXX).

PS Any UK controller telling you to 'maintain a heading' needs their balls cut off .... it's 'continue' in the Queens English

[letMfly]

Originally Posted by PPRuNe Radar

PS Any UK controller telling you to 'maintain a heading' needs their balls cut off .... it's 'continue' in the Queens English

What if it's a laydee controller?

[ComJam]

Gash pilots?! I've never heard such nonsense

[Spitoon]

Originally Posted by PPRuNe Radar

UK differences to phraesology are filed via CAP413,

Not strictly true although I think you'll find that principal differences (i.e. variations from ICAO rather than differences filed by the UK in accordance with the terms of the Chicago Convention) are listed.

[PPRuNe Radar]

Fair point, actual filed differences are in the UK AIP GEN 1-7-37, repeated in the CAP413 as examples of phraseology.