I have read on another forum that everything had to be on the ground by 1200.

I wonder if the Russians know this?

Phil

Huh? Without any IFR traffic, I'd have thought there'd be plenty of capacity for ATSOCAS for VFR traffic!! :bored: Or maybe all the NATS guys are going home to sit it out! :D

Andy

no the Russians won't be affected.

they could still continue their illegal flights in to UK airspace to push diplomatic relations that little bit further !

Apologies for the delay in replying...busy day.
You can use this:
EUMETSAT IPPS animation - Meteosat 0 degree Ash Iceland
Which will show the most recent one for public display (public display is about 30-60 minutes behind realtime). You can also get various animations and stuff going on there.
I think there's a video on our frontpage too, but I seem to have lost it.

The worst of the ash has bypassed Britain I think, but there's still quite a lot of it around that doesn't show up too well (as it's incredibly thin). Short-term I doubt it would do aircraft any harm, but over the course of several hours (or repeated flights) even this very thin stuff is a real pain in the ass.

Air travel could be curtailed repeatedly
 

The previous eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, whose ash cloud has shut down airspace over Britain, lasted for more than a year, according to an expert. The Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted for the first time in 200 years on March 20, in a dramatic display that sent fountains of lava spewing into the air.

All flights to British airspace have been suspended after ash caused by the eruption forced air traffic controllers to restrict take-offs and landings.

Professor Bill McGuire, of the Aon Benfield Hazard Research Centre at University College London, said the previous eruption, in December 1821, lasted until January 1823.

He said air travel could be curtailed repeatedly if the current eruption lasted the same amount of time.

However, he added: "There is no way of knowing for certain how long this eruption will last based on previous events. The level of disruption would also depend on how much gas and ash is produced."

Surely the widely dispersed ash particles experienced at present are not the same as flying through Captain Moody's ash plume?

We won't even have a blue moon with this stuff.

Impact on piston engines ??
 

We are now sitting in Denmark with perfect weather, forecasts show CAVOK and a closed airspace.

I can see the impact the ash has on jet turbines at high altitiudes, but how does it affect a Cessna 172 at 1000 ft ??

And finally - if the ash can damage a piston engine at 1000 ft - shouldn't I then worry about my car as well ?

...just had a satcom call from your citation, over Paris, they departed VFR from Luton at around 1330, at low alt. no problems so far. He could see a very thin layer at high alt. which might be ash.

Biggin ATC were this morning informing aircraft that Farnborough would be offering a basic service only after 1100Z. Can anyone tell us why Atsocas are affected by this on a sunny (if hazy) VFR day when pilots still want to use them?

There were a lot of people pushing to get airborne this morning to beat the deadline!

Jep - The airfilter on a car will prevent ash entering and causing damage, however if it becomes blocked (unlikley on the ground) the engine will stop. Not so bad in a car but in a C172 and the like could be intersting. of course you could use the carb heat in a C172 but thats not filtered

Part of Brest FIR might closed tomorrow although it is not not yet sure.
Some airfields in northern France might close tomorrow according to the situation.

Too Much Health and Safety?
 

Is it not just possible that the ATC authorities are over-reacting to this ash cloud?

Eric Moody's incident happened at night. I seem to remember keeping my distance from a fairly dramatic volcanic ash cloud being emitted from a volcano in Alaska using a Mk 1 eyeball. Similarly did we not quite often spot erupting volcanoes whilst en route to Oz via Indonesia?

Was one of the aircraft TF-ASH? :ok:

Suzeman

The Thames Valley Police chopper is still flying as its hovering over the remains of the Cherwell Valley Services which has been generating its own plume for the last couple of hours :eek:

Will people be getting refunds for cancelled flights? Afterall I thought "acts of god" were not covered?

^^

Ryanair are offering it:

This is why we have public service broa^w websites:
Volcanic ash alert: Air passenger rights

Right, shall we bring the winch and gliders down to heathrow then? I rekon I could easily get a 3000ft winch launch from that runway! Depends how long the cable is!

Anyway, whats the big deal, i was in Newcastle recently and saw this, did this stop the flights


http://www.fotosearch.com/bigcomp.as...26/1828476.jpg

FRA airport management meeting again at 1800 to decide whether to close airport.