Yes that's true, what scuppered us on Wednesday wasn't the cleared width but the 'poor' braking action despite the valiant efforts of the snow clearance team.........same problem on Thursday too I'm afraid! It's true that some crews couldn't get in to work but those of us who live close by came to the rescue.......no thanks to MT who refused to pick me up from 3/4 of a mile away because I couldn't get the car up the drive! (I would have walked but I'm too old and infirm to carry my luggage as well!)

Speaking of snowmen, there's a great snow 'woman' outside the Officers Mess, Boobs are particularly well sculpted and the brown nipples are a nice touch!

ACS,

You're technicaly correct of course. Perhaps I was trying to get my point across a little..........simplisticaly:ok:
If I remember correctly, the good book says that Tristar performance corrections for contaminated ops are a best guess, not the result of trials, and do not give normal perf A saftey margins. There probably are circumstances when you would do it, but they are few and far between. Although these days........

Take care out there,

Arty F

Still Stuck.....
 

Please can someone tell me why I'm still stuck in that other sandy place for another 24hrs with no real explaination. I've checked the TAF's, METARs, NOTAMS, but I have yet to find a reson why we still can't get an aircraft out to pick us up.....Someone must know.

Any info would be great as i think I might get slotted by some very angry army types just for RAF rank..... in fact I might just take it off as i'm so ashamed at our perfomance over the last few days.

Help, Get me out of here, I'm a stick monkey

:ugh:

At Waddo many years ago, the Fire Section chaps got bored and built a snowman outside the ATC building (the volley-ball court was covered in the white stuff). This was definately a man with a rather oversized appendige. SATCO didn't like this and told a couple of his minions to dispose of said snowman. This resourceful pair decided that the simple way was to drive a Landrover at speed through the snowman.

Unfortunately, the flaw in their plan proved to be the concrete fire hydrant post that was in the centre of the snowman. The result was a written off landrover and some red faces.

Snowman 1 - ATC 0.:=

vecvechookattack

Thank you for that link. What a lovely video, that brought a nice smile to my face.

Well done to the crew. Those kids will remember that for the rest of their lives.:D:D

online ACM

I'm the captain of sundays trimotor, will try and get out to you if at all possible. 30m runway width is good to go and 2750m of runway available as of this morning. but more snow forecast tonight and tomorrow.
We are trying our best and hope to get you home soon.

all the best

chumbley :ok::ok:

Can't you do a hi power run while holding it on the brakes and blow the bloody stuff clear? or use 2 forward and one reverse at the top.
Uncle Ginsters - your pic has been stole and put to good use as my desktop. Blinding !

C-17 Fod ?
 

Ref Uncle Ginsters Post 39
Interesting to see the valiant C-17's No.3 engine busily sucking up potential FOD from the "cleared" surface ...
Just a thought ...


PS. It's cold & snowy down this far south too. (Just so you don't all feel lonely in the chillly north ...) Stay warm - and fly safe when the weather gets better.
:8

Cornish- thanks...i'll consider it a honour :ok:

Jig Peter - Not FOD-sucking. When reversing the creation of intake vortices is well known on the C17. Even in summer, when condition are very different, but even more humid the same phenomenon occurs.

I just can't believe how crap things have gotten!

Uncle G:D

Take me home Chumbly......Let the mighty trimotor fly!

You'll get a cheer whatever the landing is like (usual cavet...as long as i walk away from it)

PS east Mid, Lyn, Prest, Paris, Munich, Heathro, Gatwick and even wick will all do if BZE gets a bit too white (or do I mean Black?)

Lovely images from today at Brize on the following.

Snowy Brize Norton 09-01-10

RAF Brize Norton snow clearing team

TJ

We have lots programmed in to stop at the half way point and the CAD teams at eastmid and Birmingham are up to speed now you should be home soon even if brize goes completely black. The bus trip back to Brize is a bit annoying if you are going north but better back in blighty.

As a trauma surgeon working out here in 'the stan', the team and i would like to say thank you to all the ground and aircrew that kept the aeromed aircraft flying during the recent bad weather.
People needed you and you delivered.
:ok:

Anyone know if the secret oxon airbase is open yet?

I drove past half an hour ago, runway looks good but no movements! Perhaps they are short of money and can't afford the fuel.

It sounds as if nothing has changed over the years!

Back in the sixties at RAF Colerne near Bath things were fairly primitive.

One year we called for the de-icer truck only to find it stuck in MT with a frozen block. It was the only vehicle on the Station not to have antifreeze in the radiator.

There were two Hastings Squadrons on the base 24 and 36. The respective Sqn Cdrs had different views on snow clearance.

24 Sqn would wait in the crewroom drinking coffee until the snow cleared itself. 36 Sqn would be ordered out into the white stuff with any vehicle or equipment that came to hand. With suitable displays of enthusiasm the aircrew would compact the snow until it looked as it there had been an improvement.

The end result was that 36 Sqn still had snow on the ramp in June.

One 36 Sqn captain (later it's CO.) penned the following take-off of a then current RAF recruiting advert. I can remember it to this day:

"Flying Officer Willoughby Sludge is co-pilot of a Hastings aircraft based at RAF Colerne. His duties are many and varied and include snow shovelling, snow shovelling and snow shovelling.

Says Sludge:" I enjoys my work. Somedays we shovels snow, somedays we shovels grit, other days we just shovels."

If you are of a subservient disposition and accustomed to extended periods of manual labour...consult your nearest RAF recruiting office and become one of the highest paid snow clearers in the country."

Whoops, a bit too late with the brooms.......

Snow leaves bomber reaching for the sky (From The Northern Echo)

F4 De-icer
 

Quote - MPA winter of 86 (their winter of course).
F4 attached to Unimog and pushed backwards made a wonderful, if expensive, MRD.
A multi million pound, air defence grey, snow blower and taxiway dryer.
Wonderful stuff.

Doc C - end Quote


http://img4013.photobox.co.uk/927892...d47b4fab18.jpg
http://avatars.gentlyhosting.co.uk/16394.jpeg

Nice One
 

Having stumble on this site today it is with some dismay that I read the snow clearance comments and indeed the attitudes of some to a problem that we were "on top of" some years ago. You hit the nail on the head. The biggest single reason for delaying recovery of the Runway and movements areas is the tyre tracks left by OC Ops, the padre and others discovering there was snow present. One post specifically mentioned "ice ridges" defeated current eqipment and prevented use of runway. Any form of towed snow clearance equipment such as Sicard Brushes leave tyre tracks as do snow ploughs. The much criticised MRDs needed to be understood. The key is to leave the paved surface DRY not wet for icing. It takes timing to do this without removing the surface too. In my three winters at one (secret) airfield in a cabbage patch in Kent, our 9000ft by 200ft (up to 600ft) wide runway was closed for falling snow, but after that was closed for a day only once by ice because we could not use chemicals and got caught by several weather changes ending in 25 kt winds at minus 5. OK, team work, equipment and hard work but the key was the then CO kept everyone OFF the runway and most movement areas until the snow stopped. I love the snow since I retired. Quernrigger:ouch: