Ash clouds threaten air traffic

[steamchicken]

Dr. Richard North is a professional politician.

[FA10]

Skylight :

That is correct - Lufthansa will fly home to FRA up to 15.000 pax from Asia, US, S. America on a temporary exemption of the flight ban.

50 wide-bodies will be used, taking off later this evening from what the German press/TV is reporting.

Guess it's also pressure applied to the transport minister by the LH CEO Mayrhuber who pressed his views on national tv last night - the minister didn't look too good.

Well done / Gut gemacht, Lufhansa

Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) is heavily opposing the current VFR plan, that is being set up by LH.

Gut gemacht, VC! First good move after a long time!

[BeechNut]

At hour 0 a pilot is taught to use his instruments flying VFR

Well it's been a while, but I seem to recall that while I was taught to scan essential instruments from time to time (airspeed, altitude & engine mainly with the ball added in turns), I was also taught to keep my head outside of the cockpit as much as possible and to use the real horizon, not the AI, as my attitude reference. Are things done differently these days?

Mind you it's been 30 odd years. My memory may be fuzzy on this. The effects of doing spins with a hangover, however, are seared in my memory for life!

[Squawk_ident]

News for France

There's a meeting with our PM presently. It has been decided to re open the airspace tomorrow at 0600z and resume the air traffic. Lyon should reopen this evening. Some "corridors" should be open between Paris and southern France. EU stated that France is now out of the risk area. Don't know exactly what we have to understand by "corridor".

[Oilhead]

Legal AND Safe. Certification and Flight Manual limitations on known flight into volcanic ash of any amount?

[cherrylock]

I hear manchester is opening at 0900 tomorow all being well

[ericlday]

From Airport Website

NATS has confirmed that UK airspace will progressively open tomorrow.

Consequently, Manchester Airport will be open from 09:00 on Tuesday 20 April 2010 unless there is a deterioration in conditions.

[silverstrata]

I don't understand the confusion over this and desert flying. Sand in the desert is made of large grains of silica. They are rounded from years of abrasion and they won't have the same melt characteristics of the finer, sharper mica in the ash cloud, which being fine will melt more readily, will be deflected less by airflow direction changes (coating more of the engine interior) and being more abrasive.

The abrasion characteristics are rather similar actually. Most W. Oz jet aircraft ended up with painted leading edges, to stop the sand abrasion making holes in the leading edge - that's how bad the problem is.

The real difference, apparently, lies in the melting points.


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[22 Degree Halo]

Large plumes indicate that a second Icelandic volcano has begun erupting (Hekla) - watch LIVE http://bit.ly/hekla

Edit: Bogus news reports - Reuters first reported this...

[Mr Angry from Purley]

DHL launched a LEJ-JFK today, VFR for 80 miles on an approved routing then towards Spain before heading across pond.

[AEST]

Large plumes indicate that a second Icelandic volcano has begun erupting (Hekla) - watch LIVE http://bit.ly/hekla

Beautiful, nothing could better demonstrate the incompetence of them politicians than having them open up when the BIG one fires up

[benedikt]

ehm..no this is not correct - it's taken from a camera that usually monitors Hekla - the most active volcano in Iceland.

here is a nice flyby over the glacier and down to the valley the water flows.



pilot is Siguður Ásgeirsson not quite sure what heli he is flighing probably AS 350 or a jetranger.

[silverstrata]

Caud:

Ground testing of engines with ash contaminants needs to be done, followed by air testing. I am not willing to be flying into unknown risk with or without passengers in a scenario that is going to affect all my engines, and I'm horrified at the arrogance and cavalier attitude of those who think this is all nothing and that we should get back in the air without proper scientific and engineering analysis.

That is not what we were calling for - but it may well happen due to the idiocy of those in power.

What we were calling for was daily test flights, even with knackered old Nimrods running on two engines (two at idle), to test the conditions out fully. With two airframes we could have collected 48 hours of running experience by now, in the thin and thick parts of the ash.

But no.

The 'rabbit in the headlights' powers that be were so scared of their own shadows, they would not allow anything to fly. Now, however, they cave in to pressure from big business and say - "ok, you can all fly".

So they have done the very worst thing - not do the testing, as we were calling for, and then fly anyway.


Lions led by donkeys.


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[Heli-Ice]

R22 & tcmel

Note that this camera was aimed at Hekla volcano but now it is aimed at Eyjafjallajokull glacier where the eruption is ongoing. That is what you are looking at.

Please check your information before posting, otherwise you may cause unnecessary concerns.

If you like to follow up on what is going on with the Icelandic volcanic eruption you can check the Civil Protection Departments website.

[barossavalley]

Irish airspace reopening Wednesday 20th

Aer Lingus are expecting to operate a full trans-Atlantic service from tomorrow, flights to Spain and Portugal expected to operate as normal up to 1pm. They are awaiting further news about the afternoon services.

[MPN11]

Looks like it's "Press to Test" time ... OMG, I might fly tomorrow

I accept the enormous Rumsfeld factor of "known unknowns" and all that, but I will admit to a degree of 'nervous' anticipation. Still, I can only die once.

[spornrad]

Switzerland LIDAR and balloon data

ETH Zuerich performed LIDAR and special aerosol-detecting balloon measurements:
http://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/archive_a...g_l3.jpg?hires
http://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/archive_a...llon.jpg?hires

Amazing similarity to the data obtained in UK although the distance to Iceland is 1360 nm.. Looks like well defined, relatively thin aerosol layers that descent over time.
The lead scientist was quoted saying that it smelled like the exhaust of a steam engine when perfoming a measurement flight during the weekend.
Maybe a web of observation posts may in the future be able to detect contaminated layers real time and allow for flight level based avoidance. Certainly distance/dispersal alone does not seem to suffice.

[CDG1]

From Eurocontrol via Twitter

Lyon reopening + Paris for intl flights via southern airports with air corridor btw them and Paris see French CAA

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Would love to know the hard data from airborne sampling on which these decisions are being made. Can't imagine why Governments aren't publishing it Flying transatlantic on Wednesday (maybe); will be packing my PLB and checking seastates (currently 6ft halfway over).

[AEST]

Would love to know the hard data from airborne sampling on which these decisions are being made. Can't imagine why Governments aren't publishing it

I can pretty well imagine why the Govt isn't sharing, but I better not tell otherwise you won't be flying Wednesday