Airways April 2010 - British Airways Virtual
Airways April 2010 - British Airways Virtual
Airways April 2010 - British Airways Virtual
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
© Allan Norris<br />
© John Barnes<br />
38 - FSLabs’ Concorde X<br />
Reviews<br />
38 - FSLab’s Concorde X<br />
The recently released Concorde X from Flight<br />
Sim Labs has been causing a flutter amongst<br />
simmers. Christopher Elliott reviews the new<br />
add-on.<br />
and a huge rock next to the<br />
approach path. Brian T Richards<br />
reports on one of the world’s most<br />
unique airports.<br />
Features<br />
14 - Gibraltar: The Rock and<br />
The Airport<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> Magazine is pleased to introduce this<br />
fascinating article about Gibraltar airport<br />
which has a road stretching across the runway<br />
26 - Exchange Tour with<br />
the USAF<br />
Chapter five of Ollie Alderson’s<br />
historic memoirs talks of flying the<br />
C-5A Galaxy and the C-141<br />
Starlifter with the United States Air<br />
Force.<br />
Regulars<br />
4 - Editors Welcome<br />
4 - Readers’ Letters<br />
9 - News<br />
33, 36, 37, 41 - Competitions
The Team<br />
Editor: Christopher Elliott<br />
Contributors: Brian T Richards, Ollie Alderson, Celestyn<br />
Chmielewski, Christopher Elliott<br />
Designer: Christopher Elliott<br />
Editorial Contact<br />
Email: airway@bavirtual.co.uk<br />
Website: www.bavirtual.co.uk\about\press<br />
BAV Directors<br />
CEO: Paul Smith<br />
HR: Tim Brown<br />
Online Flying: Florian Harms<br />
Technical: Adam Parnell and Alan Hunter<br />
Training: John Barnes<br />
Consultants: Rob Parker, Stephen Ellis and Graham Young<br />
Submissions<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> Magazine will happily accept and review for<br />
publication all letters, photographs, screenshots, articles, or<br />
other contributions. However, we do not guarantee<br />
publication.<br />
Welcome to this<br />
Special edition of<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> Magazine!<br />
This month, BAV<br />
celebrates 10 years<br />
of existence and to mark the<br />
occasion, <strong>Airways</strong> has some special<br />
treats in store...<br />
Aviation consultant and<br />
photographer Brian T Richards<br />
writes in <strong>Airways</strong> about Gibraltar’s<br />
airport. Part 5 of Ollie Aldersons’<br />
memoirs are featured, and lots, lots<br />
more...<br />
The competition winners have been<br />
announced and, as always, if you<br />
are one of the lucky winners then<br />
please contact me via the forum<br />
and we can get your prize to you as<br />
soon as possible.<br />
Special thanks this month must go<br />
to Corsair, Airspotters.com and<br />
UK2000 Scenery for supporting<br />
BAV and <strong>Airways</strong> Magazine with<br />
some fantastic and generous prizes.<br />
Also, our sincere thanks to Brian T<br />
Richards for donating his article for<br />
our pleasure and to all of the<br />
contributors this month. Without<br />
you, there is no magazine!<br />
Next issue, there may be some very<br />
special things going on, so, until<br />
then hope to see you at the GCM<br />
for a pint and a great weekend...all<br />
the best,<br />
Christopher Elliott, Editor<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> Magazine is unable to return any submissions sent to<br />
us and we will not be responsible for their loss. We will try<br />
and respond as soon as possible. Anything sent to us will be<br />
assumed suitable for publication unless we are notified<br />
otherwise.<br />
Copyright<br />
The entire contents of <strong>Airways</strong> Magazine is ©2009 - <strong>2010</strong><br />
and no part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form<br />
or stored on a retrieval system without prior permission of the<br />
publisher, BAV Publications.<br />
BAV Publications takes considerable care and attention to<br />
ensure the accuracy of the information published in <strong>Airways</strong><br />
Magazine; however, we cannot be held liable for any loss or<br />
damage resulting either directly or indirectly from any error or<br />
omission.<br />
We are pleased to recognise all trademark and copyright<br />
holders and try to where possible. If we make a mistake or<br />
omission, let us know and we will correct it in the next bimonthly<br />
issue of <strong>Airways</strong> Magazine.<br />
Legal<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> Magazine is produced for <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> <strong>Virtual</strong> and<br />
is completely independent.<br />
The thoughts, views and opinions expressed herein are not<br />
necessarily the thoughts, views and opinions of <strong>Airways</strong><br />
Magazine or <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> <strong>Virtual</strong>, it’s Directors, Managers<br />
or Pilots.<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> Magazine is produced free of charge for the members<br />
of <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> <strong>Virtual</strong>, and all articles are freely submitted.<br />
The Editor of <strong>Airways</strong> Magazine reserves the right to change<br />
articles for clarity provided that it does not alter their<br />
meaning.<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> Magazine is no official medium of <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong><br />
PLC and any or all logos used herein are the property of their<br />
respective owners. © All Rights Reserved.<br />
Any and all aviation advice, guidance, information, tips and<br />
techniques contained herein are for the exclusive use of<br />
<strong>Virtual</strong> Pilots within the environment of Microsoft Flight<br />
Simulator and as such are not to be used or attempted in a<br />
real world aviation environment under any circumstances<br />
Continued from Feb<br />
issue:<br />
...In the beginning of<br />
<strong>April</strong> 2009, just before<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> <strong>Virtual</strong><br />
finally announced their<br />
opening time, I<br />
purchased the<br />
excellent Level-D 767-<br />
300, which I thought<br />
was a fantastic add-on;<br />
but, I had to focus on<br />
my GCSEs and I did<br />
not fly much...<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong><br />
<strong>Virtual</strong> Mk III<br />
When <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong><br />
<strong>Virtual</strong> opened again,<br />
the new website<br />
looked fantastic! It<br />
looked the same as the<br />
real BA website! I<br />
thought, for one<br />
minute, what is<br />
happening to BAV<br />
ACARS and OPS?<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> <strong>Virtual</strong><br />
created new software<br />
for us to use, which is<br />
great to use and I have<br />
never had a problem<br />
with it! Sadly, just<br />
after <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong><br />
<strong>Virtual</strong> opened, I had<br />
to mark myself onleave<br />
until 11 th June<br />
2009 as I was sitting<br />
my GCSE exams! I left<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> <strong>Virtual</strong><br />
temporarily, and I soon<br />
found that Lee James<br />
was organising the<br />
second Overnighters<br />
flight to Africa, again I<br />
couldn't attend! More<br />
Overnighter flights<br />
coming soon! I took<br />
my exams which<br />
started on 19 th May<br />
2009, RE exam to kick<br />
off! Been studying<br />
GCSEs and shortly<br />
after I finally<br />
completed my exams, I<br />
can now fly again!<br />
After 11 th June 2009, I<br />
attempted to fly to St.<br />
Petersburg’s with the<br />
brand new Pegasus!<br />
Again, you guessed it!<br />
First flight with <strong>British</strong><br />
<strong>Airways</strong> <strong>Virtual</strong> Mk III<br />
and I discovered<br />
problems; I didn't have<br />
the latest FSUICP<br />
version installed! I<br />
decided to fly anyway,<br />
which was a silly<br />
mistake to make!<br />
The latest FSUIPC<br />
version is now installed<br />
and I flew to Denmark<br />
instead! After my<br />
arrival at Denmark, I<br />
made a couple of<br />
attempts to make a<br />
return trip back to<br />
Heathrow, which failed<br />
two or three times!<br />
Fourth attempt and I<br />
found the fault. I fixed<br />
that and arrived at
Heathrow NOT safely as someone<br />
shot my engine over London and<br />
declaring an emergency I made it<br />
back to Heathrow okay. After my<br />
return flight back to Heathrow, I<br />
took the Level-D 767-300ER for a<br />
trip to Chicago and back; but, on my<br />
way to Chicago over the Atlantic,<br />
Pegasus froze and my flight was lost!<br />
When I was preparing my descend<br />
into Chicago, my computer froze and<br />
sadly I had to do return the flight<br />
back to Heathrow on an overnight<br />
flight. I built up my hours to reach<br />
50 hours to become Senior First<br />
Officer and have been flying lots of<br />
flights lately! Just one day before I<br />
left for Asia and stayed there for<br />
three weeks, I was promoted to<br />
Senior First Officer and earned my<br />
50 bonus points! I shut down my PC<br />
and left it for three weeks hoping I<br />
wouldn't become inactive! After my<br />
long three weeks summer holiday, I<br />
returned back to England and<br />
finished my first flight since I became<br />
Senior First Officer - my first visit to<br />
South America in my PMDG 747-<br />
400 and back. There have been<br />
some bad landings in South<br />
America! I decided to do a Cityflyer<br />
flight to Zurich and back into<br />
London City - hard landing. I<br />
decided to practise landings at EGLC<br />
until I could land properly.<br />
I then returned to school for my A-<br />
Levels. But before I returned back<br />
to school, Lee James announced the<br />
third Overnighters flight to Tokyo,<br />
and guess what? I attended this<br />
event! But I made a mistake<br />
requesting a later slot, which was<br />
1445z and my Dad wanted me to<br />
arrive at Tokyo around<br />
midnight...doh! I went hunting for<br />
earlier slots and I became nervous as<br />
the event was approaching. Lucky<br />
someone else was looking for a later<br />
slot and I offered mine, but he<br />
declined and someone had to give<br />
up his slot due to personal reasons<br />
and someone agreed to take his slot<br />
so I took his slot which was 1335z. I<br />
was happy as I could attend the<br />
overnighters event after all!<br />
On 3 rd October 2009, I prepared for<br />
my flight for overnighter event and I<br />
left a little late but that’s not a<br />
problem! I flow all the way to Tokyo,<br />
night came, and I stayed awake<br />
without my eyes closing. Sun rise<br />
and my passengers are having their<br />
breakfast as we left Russia and flew<br />
over the sea on our way to Tokyo<br />
and I began my descent to the<br />
airport with fantastic ATC provided<br />
by Japan! I landed without going<br />
around as some people had to go<br />
around and funnily enough I heard a<br />
pilot on APP freq just before I switch<br />
to TWR freq announcing he ran out<br />
of fuel. I switched over to TWR freq<br />
and heard nothing further. I landed,<br />
taxied to the gate and I stayed in<br />
Tokyo for two weeks as I returned<br />
back home and promoted to<br />
Captain. I, then attended another<br />
"Cross the Pond" taking me back to<br />
Europe from Canada; however, I<br />
forget to start my Pegasus as BAV<br />
put up a fly-in number for Cross the<br />
Pond. I did some European flights,<br />
however in November 2009, there<br />
are problem which I experienced but<br />
it took me 2 or 3 weeks to solve this<br />
problem! December 2009 saw my<br />
birthday as I received my birthday<br />
bonus points, 50 points and my first<br />
anniversary was the 14 th December<br />
2009. Two days later, on 16 th<br />
December, which was my 4 th<br />
anniversary of being a member of<br />
VATSIM.<br />
I really enjoyed my time here but<br />
November 2009 was not a good<br />
time for me and I am looking<br />
forward to my second BAV year!<br />
Overnighters #3 event was a brilliant<br />
time for me in my first BAV year as I<br />
enjoyed it the most! Thank to Lee<br />
James for organising this wonderful<br />
overnighter event!<br />
Here's to my second BAV year!<br />
Celestyn Chmielewski<br />
Kingston Upon Thames, UK<br />
UK2000 Star<br />
Readers’ Letter<br />
As we haven’t received any new<br />
readers’ letters this issue, the<br />
decision has been taken to award<br />
this to a generous contributor to<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> Magazine.<br />
Please join us in congratulating Mr<br />
Ollie Alderson for his series of<br />
articles, which have been featured<br />
regularly in <strong>Airways</strong> Magazine.<br />
Ollie, there is a UK2000 Scenery<br />
download of your choice waiting for<br />
you as a small token of our<br />
appreciation!<br />
Many thanks,<br />
Chris, Ed.
Special Guest<br />
for GCM<br />
Event Organiser, Lee<br />
James, has announced that<br />
Peter Burkill, Captain on<br />
doomed flight BA038,<br />
which crashed at Heathrow<br />
airport, will be a special<br />
guest at this years 10th<br />
anniversary celebrations on<br />
22 - 23 May <strong>2010</strong>.<br />
Signed copies of his book,<br />
‘Thirty Seconds to Impact,’<br />
will be available to buy, at<br />
the GCM, for £9.99.<br />
Tickets for the GCM are still<br />
available for £35 each.<br />
Further details can be found<br />
on BAV’s forum.<br />
Email Lee James on bavgcm@bavirtual.co.uk<br />
for<br />
details on how to book<br />
today.<br />
Strike Action<br />
costs BA £40 -<br />
£45 million!<br />
In March <strong>2010</strong> traffic,<br />
measured in Revenue<br />
Passenger Kilometres, fell<br />
by 11.4 per cent on March<br />
2009. Passenger capacity,<br />
measured in Available Seat<br />
Kilometres, was down 13.7<br />
per cent. This resulted in a<br />
passenger load factor<br />
increase of 2.0 points versus<br />
last year, to 74.7 per cent.<br />
Traffic comprised a 7.2 per<br />
cent decrease in premium<br />
traffic and a 12.2 per cent<br />
decrease in non-premium<br />
traffic.<br />
Both traffic and capacity<br />
were affected by the strike<br />
action by cabin crew<br />
represented by the Unite<br />
union. Planned winter<br />
capacity reductions account<br />
for half of the decline in<br />
capacity for the month, with<br />
half due to the strikes. As<br />
outlined previously, over the<br />
first strike weekend the<br />
airline operated 78 per cent<br />
of its longhaul programme<br />
and 50 per cent of<br />
shorthaul; for the second<br />
strike weekend these figures<br />
rose to 83 per cent and 67<br />
per cent respectively. For<br />
the seven days of strikes<br />
the airline operated 79 per<br />
cent of longhaul flights and<br />
58 per cent of shorthaul.<br />
Cargo, measured in Cargo<br />
Tonne Kilometres, rose by<br />
6.4 per cent; volumes were<br />
helped by the additional<br />
capacity available during the<br />
strike periods.<br />
oneworld<br />
CEOs mark<br />
alliance's<br />
breakthrough<br />
year<br />
Chief Executives from<br />
oneworld's member airlines<br />
gathered on 8th <strong>April</strong> <strong>2010</strong><br />
for their first Governing<br />
Board of what is turning out<br />
to be a breakthrough year<br />
for the alliance.<br />
It was the first time they had<br />
convened since:<br />
• Japan Airlines reaffirmed<br />
its membership of the<br />
grouping in February and<br />
then filed for anti-trust<br />
immunity with American<br />
Airlines to deepen their cooperation<br />
across the<br />
Pacific - and the first<br />
oneworld Governing Board<br />
meeting attended by JAL's<br />
new President Masaru<br />
Onishi since his<br />
appointment on 1 February.<br />
• India's leading carrier and<br />
only five-star airline<br />
Kingfisher Airlines signed a<br />
memorandum of<br />
understanding as its first<br />
step towards joining<br />
oneworld.<br />
• The US Department of<br />
Transportation gave<br />
tentative approval in<br />
February to the application<br />
by oneworld's transatlantic<br />
partners American Airlines,<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong>, Iberia,<br />
Finnair and Royal Jordanian<br />
for anti-trust immunity<br />
across the Atlantic - and the<br />
European Commission<br />
began market testing of<br />
proposed remedies in a key<br />
step towards approval of the<br />
proposed transatlantic joint<br />
business agreement<br />
between American, BA and<br />
Iberia.<br />
It is also the first oneworld<br />
Governing Board meeting in<br />
a year that will see Russia's<br />
leading domestic carrier S7<br />
Airlines join the alliance.<br />
oneworld Governing Board<br />
Chairman Gerard Arpey,<br />
Chairman and Chief<br />
Executive of American<br />
Airlines, said: "This time 12<br />
months ago, oneworld was<br />
celebrating its 10th<br />
anniversary. Since then,<br />
oneworld has taken a series<br />
of significant steps towards<br />
establishing itself firmly as<br />
the world's premier global<br />
airline alliance.<br />
”We added one more<br />
leading airline, Mexicana, in<br />
November and look forward<br />
to welcoming on board<br />
Russia's S7 Airlines later<br />
this year with India's<br />
Kingfisher Airlines to follow<br />
next year.
"Not only does our line-up<br />
of members include the<br />
finest airline brands in the<br />
world, our collection of<br />
networks delivers the best<br />
coverage in the markets<br />
that matter most<br />
throughout the Americas,<br />
Europe, Asia and Australia.<br />
We believe our focus on<br />
the quality, rather than<br />
quantity, of members has<br />
been the right approach."<br />
"Meantime, we have been<br />
able to welcome Japan<br />
Airlines' reaffirmation to<br />
oneworld. It is very good<br />
to have Masaru Onishi<br />
among us. We respect<br />
JAL's alliance review was<br />
an important decision for<br />
the airline and the<br />
government of Japan. We<br />
believe they made the right<br />
choice for JAL's many<br />
stakeholders, for Japan's<br />
national interests and for<br />
consumers."<br />
Mr Arpey noted that this<br />
year had seen the biggest<br />
progress in oneworld's<br />
history in deepening links<br />
between its member<br />
airlines: "We expect our<br />
applications for anti-trust<br />
immunity across the<br />
Atlantic and Pacific to be<br />
approved soon, levelling<br />
the alliance playing field<br />
between North America<br />
and Europe and ensuring<br />
that alliance competition<br />
remains robust between<br />
North America and Asia.<br />
Both initiatives will enable<br />
oneworld to offer our<br />
customers even better<br />
services and benefits."<br />
oneworld had taken<br />
significant strides in many<br />
other areas too,<br />
completing its biggest yet<br />
airport co-location project,<br />
bringing all on-line airlines<br />
from across all five<br />
passenger terminals into<br />
just two at its biggest<br />
European hub, London<br />
Heathrow, and increasing<br />
its lead in offering the<br />
widest range of alliance<br />
consumer fares.<br />
Mr Arpey concluded: "For<br />
us, the key aim of all this<br />
activity is simple -to<br />
establish oneworld further<br />
firmly as the premier<br />
airline alliance, delivering<br />
to both our customers and<br />
member airlines services<br />
and benefits beyond the<br />
reach of any individual<br />
airline and making it easier<br />
and more rewarding to<br />
reach more places more<br />
easily on a quality network<br />
of the best brands in the<br />
business."<br />
Significant progress<br />
in expanding cooperation<br />
with Japan<br />
Airlines<br />
Considerable progress has<br />
been made in expanding<br />
co-operation between JAL<br />
and its oneworld partners<br />
since the airline reaffirmed<br />
its membership of the<br />
alliance, following a review<br />
of its alliance strategy<br />
conducted as part of its<br />
overall restructuring<br />
programme, on 9 February<br />
this year.<br />
Three days later it applied<br />
with American Airlines to<br />
the US Department for<br />
Transportation for antitrust<br />
immunity for a joint<br />
business agreement<br />
between North America<br />
and Asia, and notified<br />
Japan's Ministry of Land,<br />
Infrastructure and Tourism<br />
of their transaction. By<br />
working more closely<br />
together, the two airlines<br />
will be able to provide<br />
more seamless links for<br />
connecting passengers,<br />
expand customer choice<br />
by offering new routes and<br />
supporting existing routes<br />
that would not be<br />
economically viable for the<br />
airlines individually. This<br />
will enable them to<br />
improve efficiency, find<br />
opportunities to lower<br />
costs and have greater<br />
ability to invest in<br />
products, services and<br />
fleets.<br />
American Airlines has also<br />
taken steps to serve Tokyo<br />
Haneda, which is JAL's<br />
main domestic hub.<br />
American applied in<br />
February for slots to serve<br />
the airport from Los<br />
Angeles and New York JFK<br />
with flights that would also<br />
carry the JL code, subject<br />
to regulatory approvals.<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> and JAL<br />
are expanding their codesharing<br />
agreement<br />
significantly, more than<br />
doubling the number of<br />
European destinations<br />
served by flights operated<br />
by the UK airline with the<br />
JL prefix. Nine routes<br />
were added last week with<br />
another four to follow later<br />
this month, taking to 23<br />
the number of cities in<br />
Europe served by these<br />
joint services.<br />
Meantime, preparations<br />
are moving ahead for the<br />
transfer this November of<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> operations<br />
at Tokyo Narita into<br />
Terminal 2, alongside<br />
those of JAL and all other<br />
on-line oneworld partners.<br />
Other oneworld member<br />
airlines are also expanding<br />
code-sharing with JAL. Its<br />
JL code has recently been<br />
added to flights by<br />
Mexicana to its Mexico<br />
City hub and on more<br />
routes served by Qantas<br />
subsidiary Jetstar.<br />
At London Heathrow,<br />
oneworld's biggest<br />
European hub, JAL and all<br />
other oneworld on-line<br />
partners, along with some<br />
BA services, have recently<br />
consolidated operations in<br />
Terminal 3. JAL has just<br />
started sharing BA's<br />
lounges for premium<br />
customers there. Plans are<br />
being developed to enable<br />
JAL to share its oneworld<br />
partners' lounges at more<br />
airports worldwide.<br />
oneworld Governing Board<br />
Chairman, American<br />
Airlines Chairman and<br />
Chief Executive Gerard<br />
Arpey, said: "Japan Airlines<br />
is a highly valued member<br />
of oneworld and we are all<br />
committed to supporting<br />
JAL in its restructuring to<br />
create an even stronger<br />
partnership for the benefit<br />
of all our stakeholders.<br />
The rapid progress we<br />
have achieved so far is<br />
testimony to that<br />
commitment."<br />
Japan Airlines President<br />
Masaru Onishi said: "We<br />
analysed our alliance<br />
strategy in great detail<br />
before reaffirming our<br />
oneworld membership.<br />
oneworld is clearly the<br />
alliance of best quality,<br />
with excellent airline<br />
partners, extensive global<br />
coverage and best overall<br />
alliance proposition. The<br />
progress we have made<br />
with our oneworld partners<br />
since then, and our<br />
meeting today, has
confirmed we made the<br />
right decision.<br />
"We at Japan Airlines are<br />
excited at the prospects of<br />
further developing our<br />
relationships with our<br />
oneworld partners. We<br />
also firmly believe that<br />
being part of oneworld can<br />
strongly support JAL at a<br />
time when we are striving<br />
towards the revival of our<br />
business, which we are<br />
determined to achieve."<br />
Financial<br />
Impact of<br />
Icelandic<br />
Volcano Ash<br />
The air transport<br />
industry is experiencing<br />
major disruption of<br />
services following the<br />
Iceland volcanic eruption.<br />
IATA’s initial and<br />
conservative estimate of<br />
the financial impact on<br />
airlines is in excess of<br />
US$200 million per day in<br />
lost revenues. In addition<br />
to lost revenues, airlines<br />
will incur added costs for<br />
re-routing of aircraft, care<br />
for stranded passengers<br />
and stranded aircraft at<br />
various ports.<br />
IATA has set up its crisis<br />
center in Montreal and is<br />
closely coordinating with<br />
Eurocontrol and European<br />
air navigation service<br />
Providers.<br />
A330-200<br />
Freighter<br />
receives Type<br />
Certification<br />
from EASA<br />
Aircraft's payload<br />
capability of 70 tonnes is<br />
one tonne greater than<br />
expected.<br />
The A330-200F was<br />
granted Type Certification<br />
on 9 <strong>April</strong> <strong>2010</strong> by the<br />
European Aviation Safety<br />
Agency (EASA) following a<br />
successful 200-hour flighttest<br />
campaign. The trials<br />
were performed by two<br />
aircraft, covering both<br />
engine types on offer: the<br />
Pratt and Whitney<br />
PW4000 and the Rolls-<br />
Royce Trent 700.<br />
This dedicated freighter<br />
aircraft, which is a<br />
derivative of the A330-<br />
200 passenger model, has<br />
been certified through an<br />
amendment to the existing<br />
A330-200 EASA Type<br />
Certificate granted to<br />
Airbus in 1998. This EASA<br />
award will be followed by<br />
Federal Aviation<br />
Administration (FAA) Type<br />
Certification.<br />
Speaking at the signing<br />
ceremony in Toulouse,<br />
Christian Favre, A330/340<br />
Chief Engineer said: "After<br />
a very smooth and<br />
successful flight test<br />
campaign we have reached<br />
certification in line with<br />
our planning. Moreover,<br />
thanks to some design<br />
optimisation, the aircraft's<br />
payload capability of 70<br />
tonnes is one tonne more<br />
than first expected."<br />
He added: "With the<br />
freighter market already<br />
showing signs of recovery,<br />
rising by 20 per cent so far<br />
this year, we now have a<br />
great new aircraft to offer<br />
customers," he concluded.<br />
The A330-200F features<br />
an optimised fuselage<br />
cross-section, offering<br />
flexibility to carry a wide<br />
variety of pallet and<br />
container sizes. The<br />
aircraft offers 30 per cent<br />
more volume than any<br />
freighter in its class, and is<br />
based on the proven and<br />
technologically-advanced<br />
A330 platform, for which<br />
Airbus has over 1,000<br />
orders and already more<br />
than 650 aircraft in<br />
service.<br />
Over 3,400 freighters will<br />
be needed in the next 20<br />
years to cater for a 5.2<br />
percent average annual<br />
growth rate. This will<br />
include around 1,600 midsized<br />
freighters, of which<br />
the A330-200F will play<br />
an important role.<br />
Boeing<br />
Launches 787<br />
GoldCare<br />
Service With<br />
TUI Travel<br />
PLC<br />
The Boeing Company<br />
on 13 <strong>April</strong> <strong>2010</strong><br />
announced that TUI Travel<br />
PLC, the world's leading<br />
leisure travel company, is<br />
the launch customer for<br />
GoldCare.<br />
The agreement to support<br />
the airline's Boeing 787<br />
Dreamliner fleet covers 13<br />
airplanes currently on<br />
order by TUI. The 787s<br />
will be operated by<br />
Thomson <strong>Airways</strong>, Tuifly<br />
Nordic, Jetairfly and<br />
Arkefly. The GoldCare<br />
contract is for a period of<br />
12 years from the delivery<br />
date of each airplane.<br />
Boeing will provide TUI<br />
Travel with GoldCare<br />
Enterprise, which<br />
encompasses the full<br />
portfolio of available<br />
GoldCare services.<br />
GoldCare is Boeing's<br />
lifecycle solution that<br />
provides maintenance,<br />
engineering and material<br />
management as a multiyear<br />
service managed by<br />
Boeing. GoldCare is made
possible through Boeing's<br />
advanced e-enabling<br />
Technologies.<br />
"We are thrilled to be the<br />
launch customer for this<br />
service," said Fraser<br />
Ellacott, director of<br />
Engineering, TUI Travel<br />
PLC (Thomson <strong>Airways</strong>).<br />
"We have developed this<br />
exciting concept with<br />
Boeing and are confident<br />
that this service will<br />
optimize the efficiency of<br />
our airlines' operations,<br />
reduce complexity, provide<br />
value to our stakeholders<br />
and allow us to continue to<br />
provide outstanding<br />
service for our customers."<br />
Support using GoldCare<br />
Enterprise will allow the<br />
airline group to focus on<br />
its passengers, knowing<br />
that its airplane assets<br />
achieve maximum<br />
utilization and are<br />
maintained to the highest<br />
standards by Boeing<br />
through its GoldCare<br />
partners.<br />
"As the launch customer<br />
for GoldCare, TUI Travel<br />
demonstrates the desire<br />
for and benefits of this<br />
program," said Bob Avery,<br />
vice president, Fleet<br />
Management for<br />
Commercial Aviation<br />
Services, Commercial<br />
Airplanes. "GoldCare will<br />
boost airplane reliability,<br />
reduce cost and improve<br />
efficiency throughout the<br />
lifecycle of the airplane.<br />
"TUI Travel is a strong<br />
development partner on<br />
this program and we look<br />
forward to our continued<br />
partnership as TUI Travel's<br />
787s enter service."<br />
To deliver GoldCare,<br />
Boeing leads a global team<br />
performing comprehensive<br />
material management,<br />
engineering and<br />
maintenance services at a<br />
predictable cost based on<br />
flight hours. GoldCare<br />
provides airlines with 24/7<br />
operations center support<br />
using the latest technology<br />
to turn airplane operating<br />
data into diagnostic<br />
information that enhances<br />
efficiency and maximizes<br />
airplane availability.<br />
The GoldCare team also<br />
includes GE Aviation,<br />
Hamilton Sundstrand,<br />
Honeywell, Moog Inc.,<br />
Panasonic and Rockwell<br />
Collins. These original<br />
equipment manufacturers<br />
will support the material,<br />
repair and overhaul needs<br />
for the systems they<br />
provide on the 787.<br />
Intel Shares<br />
Vision for the<br />
Future<br />
At its developer<br />
conference on 13 <strong>April</strong><br />
<strong>2010</strong>, Intel Corporation<br />
demonstrated how the<br />
company is providing a<br />
foundation on which to<br />
build common hardware,<br />
software and ecosystem<br />
solutions to make<br />
computing experiences<br />
and devices work together<br />
seamlessly and easier to<br />
use. The Intel Developer<br />
Forum kicked off with a<br />
keynote by David (Dadi)<br />
Perlmutter, executive vice<br />
president and co-general<br />
manager, Intel<br />
Architecture Group (IAG),<br />
who shared Intel's vision to<br />
make it possible for<br />
technology users to realize<br />
the potential for a common<br />
connected computing<br />
experience.<br />
"With an additional 1<br />
billion connected<br />
computing users by 2015<br />
and with more types of<br />
devices there is value in<br />
providing a common<br />
experience between the<br />
devices," said Perlmutter.<br />
"Intel architecture delivers<br />
the right combination of<br />
performance and power<br />
that provides the<br />
foundation across all<br />
computing devices creating<br />
a virtual continuum of<br />
computing to enable this<br />
common user experience."<br />
On the high end of the<br />
computing spectrum,<br />
Perlmutter noted that Intel<br />
culminated the transition<br />
to the company's awardwinning<br />
Intel<br />
microarchitecture chip<br />
design, codenamed<br />
"Nehalem," with the recent<br />
launch of the Intel®<br />
Xeon® processor 7500<br />
series. In less than 90 days,<br />
Intel has introduced allnew<br />
<strong>2010</strong> PC, laptop and<br />
server processors that<br />
increase energy efficiency<br />
and computing speed, and<br />
include a multitude of new<br />
features that make<br />
computers more<br />
intelligent, flexible and<br />
reliable.<br />
Perlmutter also discussed<br />
updates on next<br />
generation Intel® Core<br />
processors using the Intel<br />
microarchitecture<br />
codenamed "Sandy<br />
Bridge," which are targeted<br />
to be in production in late<br />
<strong>2010</strong>. "Sandy Bridge" is<br />
built on Intel's second<br />
generation Hi-K 32<br />
nanometer (nm) process<br />
technology. These<br />
processors will be the first<br />
to support Intel®<br />
Advanced Vector<br />
Extension (Intel® AVX)<br />
instructions. Intel AVX<br />
accelerates the trends<br />
toward floating point<br />
intensive computation in<br />
general purpose<br />
applications like image,<br />
video, and audio<br />
processing, as well as<br />
engineering applications,<br />
including 3D modeling and<br />
analysis, scientific<br />
simulation, and financial<br />
analytics. "Sandy Bridge"<br />
will also continue support<br />
for the Intel® AES New<br />
Instructions (Intel® AES-<br />
NI), seven software<br />
instructions that accelerate<br />
data encryption and<br />
decryption. "Sandy Bridge"<br />
will also feature Intel's<br />
sixth-generation graphics<br />
core and will include<br />
acceleration for floating<br />
point, video, and processor<br />
intensive software most<br />
often found in media<br />
applications.<br />
Perlmutter also touched on<br />
how Intel is enabling a new<br />
kind of experience on<br />
television he called "Smart<br />
TV", where the Internet will<br />
be seamlessly integrated<br />
with broadcast TV,<br />
personalized content, and<br />
search capability. At the<br />
center of this new<br />
innovation is Intel's<br />
consumer electronics (CE)<br />
system-on chip (SoC), the<br />
Intel® Atom processor
CE4100, which offers raw<br />
CPU performance, worldclass<br />
HD video and audio<br />
decode, and advanced<br />
graphics. The goal is to<br />
bring personal content,<br />
favorite websites and social<br />
networks to the TV in a<br />
new way. The CE4100 is<br />
designed for CE devices<br />
such as Blu-ray Disc<br />
players, set-top boxes and<br />
digital TVs, which can<br />
deliver the "Smart TV"<br />
experience.<br />
The Intel® AtomTM<br />
processor uses a versatile<br />
low power design giving it<br />
broad potential for a range<br />
of new market segment<br />
opportunities, from<br />
handhelds and netbooks to<br />
consumer electronic<br />
devices and embedded<br />
applications. The Intel<br />
Atom processor core has<br />
similar characteristics<br />
around ultra-low power,<br />
low cost, and small size,<br />
which can then be<br />
productized into SoCs for<br />
a range of segments based<br />
on targeted usages and<br />
I/O requirements.<br />
As the mobile Internet<br />
continues to spiral and<br />
touch more devices,<br />
Perlmutter cited the<br />
industry opportunity for a<br />
new generation of<br />
handhelds including tablets<br />
and smartphones. He<br />
detailed how Moore's Law,<br />
along with a combination<br />
of architecture, design and<br />
manufacturing process<br />
techniques, will help to<br />
move Intel architecture to<br />
dramatically lower power<br />
envelopes. At the same<br />
time Intel architecture<br />
maintains the high<br />
performance for the everevolving<br />
Internet, media<br />
rich applications and<br />
multitasking capabilities<br />
on-the-go.<br />
Perlmutter discussed Intel's<br />
forthcoming "Moorestown"<br />
platform, which is on track<br />
for introduction during the<br />
first half of this year. He<br />
stated that Intel has<br />
repartitioned its platform<br />
architecture and<br />
implemented a number of<br />
innovative techniques,<br />
such as next generation<br />
OS power management<br />
and distributed power<br />
gating, to achieve the<br />
improved performance and<br />
major reductions in idle<br />
and active power<br />
envelopes. To reinforce his<br />
point, he demonstrated up<br />
to 50 times platform idle<br />
power reduction, and up to<br />
10 times power reduction<br />
in audio playback<br />
compared to Intel's firstgeneration<br />
"Menlow"<br />
platform.<br />
Also, Perlmutter disclosed<br />
that Intel is working with<br />
PC manufacturers<br />
Tongfang* and Hanvon* to<br />
introduce the new<br />
convertible classmate PC<br />
design that combines<br />
aesthetics with ruggedness,<br />
full PC functionality with<br />
enhanced e-reading<br />
capabilities and improved<br />
performance with energy<br />
efficiency. The flexible<br />
design of the new<br />
convertible classmate PC<br />
works and moves the way<br />
students do. The tablet<br />
touch screen form factor<br />
also adds additional<br />
functionality for students.<br />
Development of these new<br />
features was based on<br />
extensive ethnographic<br />
research with students and<br />
teachers.<br />
James: Unlocking<br />
the Future with<br />
Intel<br />
In the day's second<br />
keynote, Renee James,<br />
senior vice president and<br />
general manager of the<br />
Software and Services<br />
Group at Intel, continued<br />
to highlight Intel's vision<br />
for a seamless cross-device<br />
experience for phones,<br />
cars and the home,<br />
providing consumers with<br />
more consistency and<br />
accessibility to their<br />
information. James<br />
emphasized how a unified<br />
operating environment<br />
running across a common<br />
compute architecture can<br />
give developers broader<br />
reach and easier access to<br />
end users, in any market<br />
segment.<br />
James also touched upon<br />
how cloud computing is<br />
the connective tissue<br />
between compute<br />
platforms, inviting Dr. Jiren<br />
Liu, chairman and CEO of<br />
Neusoft Corporation<br />
onstage. Dr. Liu<br />
demonstrated how systems<br />
built around Intel® Cloud<br />
Builder reference<br />
architecture can enable<br />
new solutions, linking<br />
front-end client devices to<br />
back-end remote<br />
diagnostics in the health<br />
care environment to<br />
deliver service never<br />
before possible.<br />
"Technology has changed<br />
the way we interact with<br />
our world and Intel is<br />
putting the building blocks<br />
in place, from the cloud to<br />
the smallest of devices, to<br />
deliver a truly immersive<br />
computing experience to<br />
consumers wherever they<br />
are," said James. "Together<br />
with developers and our<br />
partners, as well as a highlyintegrated<br />
combination of<br />
hardware and software, Intel<br />
believes we can help bring the<br />
best possible products to<br />
market with the broadest<br />
distribution."<br />
Building on the recent Intel<br />
and Nokia* news to merge the<br />
Moblin* and Maemo* open<br />
source projects into the<br />
MeeGo* Linux-based<br />
software platform, James<br />
highlighted the broad<br />
endorsement of MeeGo<br />
across the industry. MeeGo is<br />
hosted by the Linux<br />
Foundation as a fully open<br />
source project and is available<br />
to original equipment<br />
manufacturers, operating<br />
system vendors, network<br />
operators and others,<br />
targeting a wide range of<br />
devices, including nextgeneration<br />
smartphones,<br />
netbooks, tablets,<br />
mediaphones, connected TVs<br />
and in-vehicle infotainment<br />
systems.<br />
In addition, James announced<br />
ISVs and developers in China<br />
can now take advantage of<br />
the Intel Atom Developer<br />
Program and submit<br />
applications for distribution<br />
through the Intel AppUpSM<br />
Center beta. James also<br />
highlighted the recent<br />
expansion of the Intel AppUp<br />
center beta for both MeeGo<br />
and Microsoft Windows* in<br />
the United States, Canada and<br />
27 European countries. This<br />
growth gives Chinese<br />
application developers in the<br />
Intel Atom Developer<br />
Program the opportunity to<br />
reach consumers in one of the<br />
top markets for Intel Atom<br />
processor-based devices<br />
worldwide, as well as now<br />
complete sales transactions in<br />
USD, Euros or Pounds (GBP).
The Rock and the road crossing the runway<br />
seen from the north © Brian T Richards<br />
© Brian T Richards<br />
Gibraltar, ‘the Cradle of<br />
History’, universally known as ‘The<br />
Rock,’ is one of the two ‘Pillars of<br />
Hercules,’ guarding the entrance to<br />
the western Mediterranean. Located<br />
at the very tip of southern Spain, the<br />
territory was ceded to Great Britain<br />
under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.<br />
Today, Gibraltar offers a little slice of<br />
Britain on mainland Europe, relying<br />
upon tourism, the financial services<br />
industry and offshore gaming for its<br />
livelihood. Whilst the overwhelming<br />
majority of the 30,000 strong<br />
population has expressed a clear<br />
desire to retain the links with Britain,<br />
Spain continues to press its claim to<br />
full sovereignty over the Rock. This<br />
territorial dispute, which culminated<br />
in the complete closure of the land<br />
frontier by Spain from 1969 to<br />
1985, remains the defining factor in<br />
civil and military air operations from<br />
Gibraltar.<br />
North Front airport (GIB/LXGB),<br />
located just 1km from the city, gives<br />
a whole new meaning to the concept<br />
of convenient downtown terminals.<br />
Indeed, the only road from the<br />
territory to the frontier crosses the<br />
runway and quite obviously has to<br />
be closed during each aircraft<br />
movement! The airport is built on an<br />
isthmus of land between The Rock<br />
The exterior of the current terminal (soon to be replaced)<br />
and the international frontier.<br />
Located on the site of Gibraltar’s<br />
racecourse, the field received its first<br />
tarmac surface in 1939. The runway<br />
was extended to its current length of<br />
6,000ft in 1942 by extending west<br />
into the Bay of Algeciras using stone<br />
blasted from tunnels within The<br />
Rock. The singular reason for the<br />
construction of the airfield was<br />
strategic. The Rock’s prime location<br />
made it a vital military base during<br />
World War II, a role that continued<br />
throughout the Cold War. In 1947<br />
the airfield was converted to joint<br />
military and civilian use, with the<br />
RAF retaining responsibility for most<br />
.<br />
day to day operations including<br />
ATC.<br />
The runway (09/27) poses unique<br />
challenges to pilots and offers airline<br />
© Brian T Richards<br />
Approaching the runway by car
passengers more than a few thrills.<br />
Gibraltar’s topography causes<br />
unpredictable and often extreme air<br />
currents as the prevailing wind hits<br />
The Rock. In winter particularly,<br />
flights are frequently diverted to<br />
Málaga when strong winds close the<br />
airport, with hapless passengers<br />
having to make the journey to<br />
Gibraltar by coach. The runway<br />
extended into the sea proves a<br />
magnet for seabirds added to the<br />
constant risk from high masted<br />
commercial and private shipping. In<br />
addition, the presence of the road<br />
creates serious security and logistical<br />
concerns. From the passenger’s<br />
point of view, landings can often be<br />
the closest one can get to the feeling<br />
of arriving on the deck of an aircraft<br />
carrier! From 1967 pilots were<br />
restricted from over-flying Spanish<br />
territory whilst operating into the<br />
airport. In practical terms this meant<br />
that aircraft landing from the west<br />
needed to approach the Rock from<br />
the south and undertake a 90 degree<br />
turn to line up with the runway.<br />
Departures to the west had to make<br />
the same sharp manoeuvre. Whilst<br />
affording spectacular views of The<br />
Rock and close encounters with<br />
huge oil tankers waiting in the bay to<br />
disgorge their cargoes, this<br />
restriction made for some<br />
‘interesting’ crosswind approaches!<br />
Following a tripartite agreement<br />
between the Gibraltar, the UK and<br />
Spain in 2006, this restriction was to<br />
an extent eased for commercial<br />
operators although approaches to<br />
The Rock retain the potential to<br />
provide white knuckle excitement.<br />
Until its purchase by easyJet became<br />
effective in 2008, the dominant force<br />
in airline operations to Gibraltar was<br />
GB <strong>Airways</strong>. Latterly the largest<br />
franchisee for <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong>, GB<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> could trace its beginning to<br />
short-lived operations as Gibraltar<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> in 1931 using 6-seat<br />
Saunders-Roe A21 Windhover flying<br />
boats to Tangier in Morocco. This<br />
46 mile segment was the world’s<br />
shortest intercontinental scheduled<br />
flight and remained in the timetable<br />
until the late 1990s. Formed as an<br />
offshoot of the Gibraltar based MH<br />
Bland Group of companies, Gibraltar<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> operated as agent for<br />
BOAC until it began its own fixed<br />
wing operations as Gibair in 1947<br />
using Dragon Rapide aircraft on four<br />
daily feeder services to Morocco.<br />
These lifeline operations continued<br />
throughout the closure of the<br />
frontier with Spain and utilised<br />
classic equipment such as the DC3<br />
(most notably G-AMFV from 1963-<br />
1970) and Viscount (G-BBVH from<br />
1970 to 1988). The last aircraft<br />
dedicated to these routes and based<br />
in Gibraltar was a BN Trislander (G-<br />
OCTA). With its departure from the<br />
fleet in 1991, Gibair became an<br />
exclusively B737 operator. The 10<br />
minute flight to Tangier by Boeing<br />
737 was reduced to just two weekly<br />
weekend flights as a continuation of<br />
a service from London Gatwick and<br />
finally ceased in the late ‘90s. From<br />
1946 to 1975, BEA was responsible<br />
for maintaining the link to London<br />
using, in succession, Vickers Viking,<br />
Viscount, Vanguard, Comet 4 and<br />
Trident aircraft. Initial flights<br />
operated from Northolt via stops in<br />
Bordeaux and Madrid.<br />
In 1975 Gibair commenced its own<br />
thrice weekly flights to London<br />
Heathrow using Tridents leased from<br />
BEA. In 1979 these were replaced<br />
by Boeing 737-200s leased this time<br />
from Britannia <strong>Airways</strong> with flights<br />
switching to London Gatwick. In the<br />
same year the airline’s name was<br />
changed to GB <strong>Airways</strong> to better<br />
reflect the wider nature of its<br />
services and to link its operation in<br />
the minds of the travelling public to<br />
the UK rather than Gibraltar.<br />
RAF C-17 ZZ172 taxying to the terminal after arrival in<br />
Gibraltar 09 September 2007<br />
© Brian T Richards
© Brian T Richards<br />
Monarch A320 G-OZBK<br />
© Brian T Richards<br />
easyJet A319 G-EZIR arriving in Gibraltar from<br />
London Gatwick 19 September 2009<br />
© Brian T Richards<br />
Iberia A319 EC-JXJ<br />
Subsequent Boeing 737s were<br />
leased from Air Europe and<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong>. In order to<br />
expand its operations and route<br />
network, in 1989 the airline<br />
transferred its administrative and<br />
operational base to London<br />
Gatwick. In 1995 the airline<br />
added Boeing 737-400s, became<br />
a <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> franchise<br />
operator, painted its fleet in BA<br />
colours and offered the in-flight<br />
product of the national carrier. In<br />
May 2000, the airline received its<br />
first A320 and at the time of its<br />
sale to easyJet, the airline boasted<br />
an all Airbus fleet of 10 A320s<br />
and 6 A321s. As a franchisee, GB<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> operated <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong><br />
services from both Gatwick and<br />
Manchester. These flights served<br />
points throughout the<br />
Mediterranean, the Canary<br />
Islands and North Africa whilst<br />
maintaining the historical link to<br />
from London to Gibraltar.<br />
In 2008, Gibraltar airport saw<br />
1,972 civilian movements and a<br />
total of 371,000 passengers, of<br />
whom 361,500 were flying to or<br />
from the UK. By no stretch of the<br />
imagination could current<br />
operations at Gibraltar airport be<br />
described as frenetic. It is quite<br />
common for the ramp to be<br />
completely empty for large<br />
portions of the day. For the<br />
summer of <strong>2010</strong> there are just 41<br />
weekly scheduled services. In the<br />
1980s regular charter flights were<br />
operated by Air Europe among<br />
others but such services are now<br />
rare and seem limited to those<br />
transporting ship crews or<br />
occasional cruise ship<br />
passengers. Executive<br />
movements are increasing and<br />
can be quite frequent during<br />
major golf tournaments at the<br />
nearby Valderrama course in<br />
Spain. In 2008 local businessmen<br />
founded GibJets, a Gibraltar<br />
based corporate charter service<br />
in co-operation with an<br />
established Málaga based<br />
operator. The airport also<br />
occasionally witnesses aircraft on<br />
© Brian T Richards<br />
delivery staging through for fuel or<br />
for completion of ownership<br />
paperwork. Early in 2005, the<br />
arrival from Brazil of two LOT<br />
Embraer EMB-170 aircraft was a<br />
case in point. The days of frequent<br />
military movements are long gone<br />
and only occasional visits are now<br />
paid by UK, Moroccan and NATO<br />
transport aircraft along with<br />
periodic exercises by combat<br />
types.<br />
A very significant number of airline<br />
passengers using Gibraltar airport<br />
are actually travelling from or to<br />
destinations in southern Spain. To<br />
tourists and residents of the<br />
western Costa del Sol and Costa<br />
de la Luz, Gibraltar is far more<br />
convenient than Málaga or Jerez de<br />
la Frontera.<br />
It was argued during the 1980s and<br />
1990s by both politicians and<br />
tourism authorities that Gibraltar<br />
airport could satisfy a significant<br />
market for flights to other<br />
destinations in wider Europe and<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> A319 G-EUPG arriving<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> A319 G-EUPC arriving<br />
© Brian T Richards
© Brian T Richards<br />
Ándalus Líneas Aéreas EMB-145 EC-KXQ arriving in Gibraltar from Madrid<br />
particularly within the<br />
Iberian Peninsula. In order<br />
to achieve this goal it was<br />
argued that an agreement<br />
would need to be reached<br />
with Spain to allow such<br />
services and that the airport<br />
infrastructure would need to<br />
be updated. Madrid had<br />
been an intermediate stop<br />
on flights to London<br />
operated by BEA from the<br />
late 1940s and indeed<br />
strangely the Spanish capital<br />
continued to be served by<br />
BEA (and later <strong>British</strong><br />
<strong>Airways</strong>) from The Rock<br />
until 1979, ten years after<br />
the land frontier had been<br />
closed. In 1986 an<br />
agreement was drafted<br />
which would allow Spain to<br />
share the use of the airport<br />
and participate in the control<br />
of local airspace. The<br />
proposal was deeply<br />
unpopular and was never<br />
implemented. For the next<br />
twenty years Spanish<br />
operating restrictions were<br />
to cause major headaches<br />
“<br />
The proposal<br />
was deeply<br />
unpopular<br />
and was<br />
never<br />
implemented<br />
”<br />
for airlines flying to<br />
Gibraltar. For example, in<br />
the event of poor visibility<br />
in Gibraltar aircraft<br />
diverting to Málaga were<br />
forbidden from flying<br />
direct to The Rock when<br />
conditions improved. They<br />
would have had to return<br />
to the UK from Málaga or<br />
would have required an<br />
additional landing in<br />
Tangier before setting<br />
down in Gibraltar.<br />
The sovereignty dispute<br />
over Gibraltar raises<br />
formidable passions on<br />
both sides of the argument<br />
(and indeed the frontier)<br />
and it is for this reason<br />
that the negotiations<br />
started in 1986 finally<br />
came to fruition twenty<br />
years later. On September<br />
18 2006, as part of a<br />
tripartite agreement signed<br />
in Córdoba, the<br />
governments of Gibraltar,<br />
the UK and Spain decided<br />
to put the sovereignty<br />
issue to one side and to<br />
implement improved crossborder<br />
relations through a<br />
number of practical<br />
measures. The most notable<br />
of these was Spain’s<br />
agreement to lift its<br />
objections to the operation<br />
of commercial flights<br />
between Gibraltar and EU<br />
airports. At the same time<br />
operational rules limiting<br />
access over Spanish airspace<br />
were also relaxed. Under a<br />
complex logistical solution<br />
which used Geneva airport<br />
as a model, it was agreed<br />
that passengers travelling to<br />
The Rock’s airport from<br />
Madrid or other Spanish<br />
destinations to Spain would<br />
not have to clear customs<br />
and immigration controls in<br />
Gibraltar and would be<br />
treated as arriving within the<br />
Schengen area. As an<br />
interim measure, a bus<br />
connection for these<br />
passengers was provided to<br />
the bus terminus in La Línea<br />
de la Concepción on the<br />
Spanish side of the frontier.
A <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> A319 crossing the road!<br />
demand for its withdrawal. The GB<br />
<strong>Airways</strong> operation on the route was<br />
even less enduring, with flights<br />
operating between 01 May and 30<br />
September 2007.<br />
Iberia A319 on final approach<br />
On Saturday 16 December 2006,<br />
Iberia Airbus A319 EC-JXJ ‘Ciudad<br />
de Baeza’ touched down in Gibraltar<br />
after operating the airline’s historic<br />
inaugural flight from Madrid Barajas.<br />
This practical demonstration of the<br />
agreement reached in Córdoba made<br />
headlines around the world, many<br />
provided by the journalists who<br />
made up the majority of the first<br />
flight’s passenger load. The aircraft<br />
and dignitaries from the UK and<br />
Spain were greeted by Gibraltar’s<br />
Chief Minister and huge crowds of<br />
onlookers and international media.<br />
Just fifteen minutes before the arrival<br />
of the Iberia flight, a GB <strong>Airways</strong><br />
A320 departed on a commemorative<br />
service to the Spanish capital. This<br />
initial excitement and hope was to<br />
be relatively short-lived however.<br />
Iberia started operations with a daily<br />
lunchtime A319 flight from Madrid.<br />
Sadly, this was reduced to just two<br />
weekly flights from late October<br />
2007 and the service ceased<br />
altogether at the end of September<br />
2008. The airline cited lack of<br />
A <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> A319 departs for London Gatwick<br />
With an agreement with Spain in<br />
place, Gibraltar’s government<br />
announced in May 2007 that the<br />
airport’s terminal would be replaced<br />
along with the construction of a new<br />
road tunnel at the eastern end of the<br />
runway. It had long been argued that<br />
the airport’s existing terminal and<br />
infrastructure were inadequate for<br />
planned traffic increases and to<br />
attract new operators to Gibraltar.<br />
The current terminal offers a small<br />
number of check-in desks, two gates<br />
and a single baggage carousel. The<br />
departure area can seem full to<br />
bursting when two flights are<br />
scheduled at the same time. The<br />
new two storey terminal, due to
will enable the airport to<br />
handle up to one million<br />
passengers per annum. In<br />
addition to offering four<br />
departure gates and three<br />
baggage carousels, the<br />
terminal will have an area<br />
four times that of the current<br />
building and will also boast a<br />
new multi-storey car park for<br />
220 vehicles. To satisfy the<br />
requirements of the Córdoba<br />
agreement, the terminal has<br />
also been designed to<br />
‘straddle’ the new roads with<br />
construction being made up<br />
to the frontier fence allowing<br />
direct access for Schengen<br />
passengers travelling on<br />
flights to points in Spain. The<br />
new road tunnel will speed<br />
the flow of traffic to and from<br />
the frontier as it will no longer<br />
be subjected to closures<br />
during runway use.<br />
Pedestrians however will<br />
continue to enjoy the unusual<br />
views as they cross the<br />
runway (in between aircraft<br />
movements!)<br />
Current Operators<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong><br />
With the purchase of<br />
franchisee GB <strong>Airways</strong> by<br />
easyJet in 2008, <strong>British</strong><br />
<strong>Airways</strong> announced that it<br />
would start its own service in<br />
competition with the<br />
expanding low cost carrier.<br />
The airline currently operates<br />
a daily flight from London<br />
Heathrow (T3) using A319<br />
equipment. With the start of<br />
the summer schedule the<br />
flight now leaves Gibraltar at<br />
“<br />
The new<br />
road<br />
tunnel will<br />
speed the<br />
flow of<br />
traffic<br />
“<br />
The traffic crossing the runway<br />
lunchtime allowing<br />
connections through<br />
London.<br />
EasyJet<br />
The enduring link with<br />
London Gatwick is<br />
maintained by easyJet who<br />
offer a single daily flight on<br />
the route. For several months<br />
after the GB <strong>Airways</strong><br />
takeover, that airline’s A320s<br />
operated to Gibraltar in<br />
variations of hybrid BA<br />
colours with requisite orange<br />
accents. Now, the airline’s<br />
flights are operated by the<br />
low cost carrier’s evergrowing<br />
fleet of A319s.<br />
Monarch<br />
The Luton based airline has<br />
operated flights to Gibraltar<br />
since 1997 and currently<br />
schedules ten weekly flights,<br />
three from Manchester with<br />
the remainder from its home<br />
base. Services are almost<br />
exclusively operated by<br />
A320s with the occasional<br />
Boeing 757 appearing to add<br />
variety. The A321, although<br />
a growing part of the<br />
Monarch fleet, cannot<br />
operate out of Gibraltar<br />
without payload restrictions.<br />
Ándalus Líneas Aéreas<br />
Currently the only Spanish<br />
carrier to operate services<br />
from Gibraltar, the Málaga<br />
based airline began flights<br />
to Madrid using Embraer<br />
EMB-145 aircraft on 30<br />
<strong>April</strong> 2009. After initially<br />
offering twelve weekly<br />
rotations on the route, the<br />
airline substantially reduced<br />
its timetable citing lack of<br />
demand. The airline also<br />
briefly commenced flights<br />
to Barcelona in July 2009<br />
before again cancelling the<br />
route in September of that<br />
year again complaining of<br />
inadequate loads. At the<br />
time of writing (late March<br />
<strong>2010</strong>) the airline’s future in<br />
Gibraltar is in doubt as its<br />
flights to Madrid (and<br />
reinstated services to<br />
Barcelona) are currently<br />
suspended due to ‘technical<br />
and operational reasons.’<br />
Needless to say, this move<br />
has attracted much local<br />
press speculation and<br />
developments are awaited<br />
with interest.<br />
Stop Press – Local press<br />
on 11 <strong>April</strong> <strong>2010</strong> reported<br />
that Ándalus had<br />
indefinitely suspended<br />
flights from Gibraltar to<br />
both Madrid and<br />
Barcelona.<br />
The Police coordinating the traffic with the arrival of a <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> Airbus<br />
For much of early 2007,<br />
much publicity surrounded<br />
the proposed launch of low<br />
cost flights by a local<br />
airline, Fly Gibraltar. The<br />
company announced<br />
detailed plans to start<br />
flights using Boeing 737-<br />
300s leased from Astraeus<br />
Airlines to points in the UK<br />
and Ireland. Unfortunately,
this operation faltered due to problems of securing<br />
investment for the project. With the substantial<br />
investment involved in the construction of a much larger<br />
new terminal, there is political pressure on Gibraltar’s<br />
government to justify expenditure by attracting new<br />
operators to the airport. For many years, high landing<br />
charges in Gibraltar were cited as a disincentive for<br />
airlines to start new routes. These charges have been<br />
revised and it is understood that a number of carriers<br />
remain in discussion with the government over possible<br />
services.<br />
For reasons of geography, weather and politics,<br />
commercial aviation in Gibraltar is presented with a<br />
unique operating environment. Historical and current<br />
airline operations reflect Gibraltar’s ties to Britain and<br />
relations with Spain. Recent years have seen concrete<br />
agreements which have allowed operations to develop.<br />
<strong>2010</strong>/11 will see the opening of a new airport terminal<br />
and substantially improved infrastructure. As was shown<br />
in 2006, the eyes of the world can be easily focused on<br />
The Rock. With continuing claims of sovereignty by<br />
Spain having been put aside but not forgotten, it is clear<br />
that those eyes will continue to return to Gibraltar and<br />
its airport over the years to come<br />
Brian T Richards is a freelance aviation consultant, writer and photographer splitting his time between<br />
Gibraltar and Málaga. For further information and samples of his work check out his website at<br />
www.briantrichards.com.
My exchange tour with the<br />
USAF was confirmed and I had to<br />
make some rapid family decisions<br />
that mainly revolved around our<br />
three children; to cut a long story<br />
short, my elder daughter stayed<br />
behind while the rest of us climbed<br />
on board a VC-10 of No 10<br />
Squadron at Brize Norton bound for<br />
Washington-Dulles. I cast a critical<br />
eye over the cabin service and had to<br />
admit that it was not too bad. The<br />
Exchange Scheme had been in<br />
existence for some time and I was<br />
the most recent of a long line of<br />
pilots who had been temporarily<br />
“exchanged” with somebody from<br />
another friendly air force. The idea<br />
was that this programme would be<br />
mutually beneficial to both parties,<br />
socially and professionally. I have<br />
had to re-write this part of my<br />
history as earlier attempts sounded<br />
excessively grumpy and critical,<br />
whereas, I must record that I met<br />
unfailing hospitality and friendship<br />
during three most enjoyable years in<br />
California; I also learned a great deal<br />
about big jet operation and hope<br />
that what follows will be a balanced<br />
account of my time with the United<br />
States Air Force.<br />
We spent a few days in Washington<br />
DC while I was briefed by the<br />
embassy on financial matters and my<br />
diplomatic position while serving<br />
with the USAF. We took a<br />
commercial flight to San Francisco<br />
and found our way up Interstate-80<br />
to Travis Air Force Base. After a<br />
short stay in Visiting Officer’s<br />
Quarters we moved into a<br />
comfortable base house and<br />
negotiated the purchase of furniture<br />
using the funds that the embassy had<br />
showered upon me. I was subjected<br />
to my first USAF medical inspection<br />
and suffered the indignity of the<br />
“fickle finger” that I had, fortunately,<br />
been warned to expect. I obviously<br />
also needed a car, I bought one that<br />
seemed to me to be entirely suitable<br />
but was told by the wife of the USAF<br />
major, who was looking after our<br />
immediate needs, that the colour<br />
was totally wrong. The reason for<br />
this escaped me at the time; back it<br />
went and eventually a beige Dodge<br />
Dart complete with air conditioning<br />
and power steering was approved as<br />
being suitably restrained and racially<br />
acceptable. Then, feeling far from<br />
settled, I was whisked off to Altus for<br />
C5 conversion leaving my loved<br />
ones to sort out the domestic<br />
arrangements.<br />
Altus is in Oklahoma and does not<br />
feature in travel brochures, not<br />
surprising, as apart from the fact that<br />
apparently “the grass is as high as an<br />
elephant’s eye” I doubt if many<br />
people have much knowledge of the<br />
state. I imagine that the citizens of<br />
Altus believe that Oklahoma is a<br />
splendid place to live; I do not share<br />
No.10 Squadron VC-10
USAF C-5A Galaxy<br />
Lots of space inside the C-5A<br />
their enthusiasm. To say that I did<br />
not enjoy my time at Altus would be<br />
an understatement and I will not<br />
pretend otherwise. The base existed<br />
for one purpose only, the mass<br />
production of C-141 and C-5A<br />
pilots. The first phase of the course<br />
was devoted to ground school,<br />
mainly in the hands of disenchanted<br />
flight engineers. As we neared the<br />
end of ground school I suddenly<br />
realised that nobody had mentioned<br />
the airframe de-icing system, I asked<br />
why not and was startled to learn<br />
that the C-5A did not have one;<br />
“stranger and stranger” as Alice<br />
would have said. Off I went to the<br />
flight simulator complete with a fouraxis<br />
motion system and, for that<br />
time, a state of the art visual<br />
attachment. I launched myself<br />
skywards quickly discovering that I<br />
had no idea what the speed or<br />
altitude was; the C5 had vertical<br />
tapes, an innovation that I had never<br />
met previously. I surprised the<br />
instructor by calling for a “Time<br />
Out” while I gathered my wits, then<br />
tried again, this time I managed to<br />
keep things pointing in more or less<br />
the right direction. I experienced the<br />
USAF idea of flying instruction for<br />
the first time; this consisted mainly<br />
of a tick chasing exercise. Everything<br />
was self-briefed and there was no<br />
real de-brief; provided one had<br />
achieved the necessary events you<br />
simply went on to the next exercise.<br />
My first flight in the aircraft was on<br />
20 May 1975 I was airborne in C5-A<br />
tail number 80021 with Captain<br />
Chan as the instructor and again the<br />
differences in instruction came as a<br />
surprise, I cannot recall Capt Chan<br />
ever touching the controls or<br />
offering a word of advice, he simply<br />
recorded more and more ticks. My<br />
first impressions of the aircraft were<br />
entirely as you would expect; I was<br />
impressed by the sheer size of<br />
everything. It was a very easy aircraft<br />
to fly and landing was<br />
straightforward once you became<br />
accustomed to the distance between<br />
yourself and the concrete. I never<br />
flew above 3,000 feet or faster than<br />
210 knots at Altus as the conversion<br />
was entirely aimed at teaching<br />
takeoff and landing. I flew seven<br />
sorties, there was no Final Handling<br />
Check; when your instructor decided<br />
you were ready he signed you off.<br />
At this point Altus pretty much lost<br />
interest and it was left to the<br />
individual to find transport back to<br />
one’s home base. As I was a stranger<br />
to the system I felt very isolated but<br />
made my way to “Transportation”<br />
and eventually hitched a ride back to<br />
Travis on a C-141. You would be<br />
correct in thinking that I was not<br />
impressed with the USAF at this<br />
stage of my tour, things were to<br />
improve rapidly and I soon<br />
discovered the joys of being a “Brit”<br />
at large with the USAF.<br />
I was always aware that the C5 was<br />
not a popular aircraft with congress<br />
due to cost over-runs and the fact<br />
that it had been designed to meet a<br />
very demanding specification that it<br />
had no hope of achieving; as an<br />
example, the aircraft was supposed<br />
to be able to takeoff and land at<br />
maximum weight from an<br />
unprepared strip; I believe it<br />
achieved this miracle once!<br />
San Francisco, USA<br />
C-5 swallowing cargo<br />
C-5A taking off
USAF C-141 Starlifter<br />
KC-135 Tanker<br />
While I was at Altus the<br />
USAF had been busy<br />
evacuating the last remnants<br />
of the American military<br />
presence in Vietnam, you may<br />
recall seeing the harrowing<br />
news footage on television<br />
and recall the awful accident<br />
that happened when the rear<br />
F-5<br />
doors of a C5 came adrift<br />
after takeoff from Saigon.<br />
Most of the passengers,<br />
mainly children, were simply<br />
sitting on the cargo floor and<br />
were sucked out of the<br />
aircraft. As the doors left the<br />
aircraft they destroyed the<br />
lines to three of the four<br />
hydraulic systems, all<br />
elevator, vertical stabiliser<br />
and rudder power was lost<br />
and only one of the four<br />
ailerons remained powered.<br />
Faced with this catastrophe<br />
the two young pilots<br />
managed to retain a degree<br />
of control in pitch with power<br />
changes and pointed the<br />
aircraft back towards Saigon,<br />
however, the aircraft crashed<br />
before reaching the airfield.<br />
The flight deck broke away<br />
from the rest of the airframe<br />
and amazingly the flight crew<br />
survived the crash without a<br />
scratch, both pilots were,<br />
quite rightly, awarded the Air<br />
Force Cross. The result of this<br />
accident was that the rear<br />
doors were de-activated and<br />
the C5, for the rest of my<br />
tour, was only flown when<br />
absolutely necessary with a<br />
view to carrying outsize cargo.<br />
I was contacted by the <strong>British</strong><br />
air attaché who asked if I<br />
would like him to arrange a<br />
transfer to the C-141. The<br />
thought of another session at<br />
Altus filled me with horror, I<br />
turned down his offer and, as<br />
things transpired, this was the<br />
“<br />
The<br />
aircraft<br />
crashed<br />
before<br />
reaching<br />
the<br />
airfield<br />
“<br />
C-5A Galaxy Cockpit<br />
best decision I ever made in my<br />
life.<br />
I was assigned to the 22nd<br />
Military Airlift Squadron part of<br />
the 60th Military Airlift Wing<br />
and the 22nd Air Force; the<br />
squadron commander was a<br />
southern gentleman of the<br />
“Gone with the Wind” school<br />
named Colonel Charles Geer.<br />
Travis was a huge base and,<br />
with four C-5 and four C-141<br />
squadrons plus a squadron of<br />
KC-135 tankers, quite outside<br />
my experience. My immediate<br />
position was as a co-pilot and<br />
my first squadron trip was on 2<br />
July 1975 with Major Bill<br />
Thalberg who subsequently<br />
became a very good friend of<br />
mine, the route was, Travis –<br />
Honolulu – Guam – Honolulu –<br />
Davis Mothan – Travis. The<br />
USAF operated very much as<br />
we had done in Transport<br />
Command; that is, “Leg and Leg<br />
about” in other words the pilots<br />
flew alternate sectors; the<br />
difference being that the USAF<br />
had the operating pilot in the
IMU Unit<br />
Loading a C-5 Galaxy<br />
This sensible approach appealed to<br />
me and I subsequently tried, without<br />
success, to get the RAF to adopt the<br />
idea. The C5 apart from its size was<br />
quite a complex aircraft and I<br />
worked hard to master the systems, I<br />
can still tell you exactly what<br />
happens when you pull a fire handle<br />
– the fuel is cut off, the igniters are<br />
de-energised, the generator and<br />
hydraulic pumps are turned off, the<br />
thrust reverses are de-activated and<br />
the air supply from the engine is<br />
isolated – not bad memory cells for a<br />
74 year old!<br />
The main problem that I found was<br />
that it was almost impossible to<br />
maintain any sort of flying practice,<br />
as I have already explained, the C-5<br />
was only allowed to fly when<br />
necessary and this extended to<br />
individual proficiency and currency.<br />
All that was required for a pilot was<br />
to achieve what was known as “two<br />
and two”. This meant that you only<br />
had to fly two takeoffs and two<br />
landings in any one month to<br />
maintain currency. Early in my time I<br />
found myself scheduled for a local<br />
training sortie but was surprised to<br />
find more pilots than seemed<br />
reasonable to me climbing on board<br />
the aircraft. Initially I found myself<br />
sitting quite comfortably in the rest<br />
area behind the flight deck.<br />
Eventually I was summoned to the<br />
front and climbed into the left-hand<br />
seat, looked up and saw, to my<br />
surprise, the runway a couple of<br />
miles ahead – “Pilot’s Airplane”<br />
(USAF for “You have control”), we<br />
landed, rolled and climbed away. To<br />
my complete and undying surprise I<br />
was despatched back to the rest<br />
area. I had achieved a takeoff and<br />
landing and that was all that was<br />
required of me for the rest of that<br />
month. I asked to see Colonel Geer<br />
who was quite surprised to hear me<br />
lambasting the USAF and telling him<br />
that I would rather go non-current<br />
INS Unit<br />
than undergo that pantomime again.<br />
Another pointless exercise was the<br />
so called “Great Whale Hunt”<br />
necessary to achieve an Over Water<br />
Mission, this time the aircraft was<br />
packed full of crews and flown out,<br />
from memory, to 140°West. The<br />
aircraft crossed this line on the<br />
earth’s surface, crews were swapped,<br />
the aircraft reversed course and<br />
crossed the line, again and again,<br />
until all were suitably qualified!<br />
Perhaps because of my stated<br />
aversion to this nonsense and to<br />
placate my sensibilities I flew for a<br />
very short time as co-pilot before<br />
being packed off back to Altus, in<br />
Honolulu AFB
The normal pattern at the end of a<br />
crew duty day was to enter crew rest<br />
of fourteen hours; if you were quick<br />
this just about gave you time to<br />
shower, change and dash for the<br />
nearest bar before the dreaded “Ten<br />
Hours Bottle to Throttle” rule cut off<br />
any further refreshment. The captain<br />
could elect for either a six-hour or<br />
twelve-hour period after crew rest<br />
when his crew would be “legal for<br />
alert”. During this period the crew<br />
could be alerted and had one hour to<br />
report for duty. The crew could then<br />
be “kept on the hook” for six hours<br />
before being released back to crew<br />
rest. I quickly became aware of the<br />
fact that the operations officers were<br />
well versed in playing these rules to<br />
the hilt and would frequently alert a<br />
crew just in case “something”<br />
popped up from the system. Apart<br />
from that, I thoroughly enjoyed the<br />
experience of flying the C5, a rather<br />
slow bird at Mach 0.74 but with a<br />
tremendous load carrying capability;<br />
I once carried eight F-5s with their<br />
wings neatly stowed alongside the<br />
fuselage from McLellan to<br />
Alconbury, re-fuelling from a KC-<br />
135 somewhere off the coast of<br />
Canada. It was my misfortune that<br />
this mission was loaded with<br />
gentlemen of the press; I still have a<br />
copy of an article detailing what now<br />
sound like my banal observations as<br />
we approached Alconbury. An even<br />
bigger problem arose when one of<br />
the reporters wrote an article with a<br />
lurid account of how I had treated<br />
them all to a “good old English beer”<br />
in Cambridge during crew rest, I was<br />
later summoned to the Wing<br />
Commander who asked me to<br />
explain how we had managed this<br />
with out breaking the “Bottle to<br />
Throttle” rule. I fear that I got away<br />
with an awful lot because I was a<br />
Brit.<br />
This is no place to voice my opinion<br />
of American politics, however, I did<br />
find that the individual could be<br />
insular and lacking in general<br />
knowledge. To highlight this I will<br />
briefly recount a particular story, the<br />
date was 7 Dec 1977 and I was<br />
flying C-5A 90011 from Yokota to<br />
Honolulu; the significance of this<br />
suddenly struck me and I expressed<br />
surprise that we should find<br />
ourselves flying an approach to<br />
Hickam AFB with Pearl Harbour<br />
clearly in view, at around eight<br />
o’clock in the morning, on such an<br />
auspicious date. To my amazement,<br />
not one of the crew appreciated the<br />
significance of the date and time.<br />
Roosevelt perhaps had a point - “A<br />
date that will live in Infamy”.<br />
Perhaps the most difficult part of the<br />
C-5 operation to master was the<br />
offloading sequence that required<br />
some fairly careful crew coordination<br />
to get the visor raised and<br />
the cargo safely off the aircraft. This<br />
was especially the case when using<br />
C-5A Galaxies at Altus AFB
the docking system that was installed<br />
at Travis, Frankfurt and Yokota. This<br />
required the aircraft to be taxied up<br />
to something that resembled a huge<br />
meccano set, the visor was raised<br />
and the cargo was connected to a<br />
winch. When all was ready the cargo,<br />
suitably connected from front to<br />
rear, was yanked out of the aircraft<br />
accompanied by what sounded like<br />
the end of the world as we sat<br />
watching this train vanish from<br />
beneath our feet.<br />
The other new feature that I<br />
encountered was the IMU (Inertial<br />
Measurement Unit), an early form of<br />
INS and operated purely by the<br />
navigator. Unfortunately the gyro<br />
units were housed in the forward<br />
nose section and, with the rear doors<br />
locked shut, this meant that the IMU<br />
could not be aligned until the cargo<br />
was loaded and the nose lowered. As<br />
MAC was besotted with the “On<br />
Time Departure” we were always<br />
battling with the cargo people to get<br />
a move on. The ultimate<br />
demonstration of all this was the<br />
infamous Travis send-off that was<br />
known as “The Fifteen Colonel<br />
Launch”. You could guarantee that<br />
whenever a delay looked possible<br />
the colonels would draw up in their<br />
blue staff cars, pointing towards the<br />
nose of the aircraft, clipboards<br />
poised, taking notes of any<br />
occurrence that they could use to<br />
defend the position of their<br />
particular unit. Towards the end of<br />
my tour the C5 was equipped with<br />
triple INS with the gyros in the<br />
electrics bay and the control heads<br />
located on the throttle pedestal; the<br />
navigators were all sacked and life<br />
became much easier. The landing<br />
gear was a miracle of engineering<br />
The huge nose of the C-5A<br />
Unloading a truck from a C-5A<br />
science, when it worked. The four<br />
main legs had six wheel bogies and<br />
this together with the four nose<br />
wheels, if my maths is correct, adds<br />
up to twenty-eight wheels. On<br />
retraction the main bogies were<br />
supposed to rotate through ninety<br />
degrees before retracting; sometimes<br />
they did, but not always and the<br />
retraction process was always<br />
something of a lottery. The main<br />
bogies could be steered on the<br />
ground using switches at the copilot’s<br />
station and this facility<br />
allowed the aircraft to be parked in<br />
some quite tight spots. The gear<br />
could also be offset in-flight to<br />
counteract drift on landing but,<br />
personally, I was happier using the<br />
system that I had been brought up<br />
with and continued to point the<br />
aircraft into wind, kicking it straight<br />
in the flare.<br />
I rapidly moved through the<br />
positions that were available to me<br />
at Travis, pilot instructor, then flight<br />
examiner and finally as one of the<br />
two wing staneval pilots. Staneval<br />
was commanded by a colonel,<br />
directly responsible to the Wing<br />
Commander for the Standardisation<br />
and Evaluation of all crews, hence –<br />
Staneval. One of the things that<br />
most impressed me with MAC was<br />
the level of standardisation that was<br />
demanded, checklists were<br />
meticulously observed and a wrong<br />
word resulted in the co-pilot<br />
repeating the challenge until he got<br />
the correct response. Procedures<br />
were also followed to the letter and<br />
this came as quite a surprise coming,<br />
as I did, from an air force that<br />
allowed a degree of individuality.<br />
The flip side of this was that I found<br />
that captains were quite incapable of<br />
making their own decisions when<br />
faced with a set of circumstances<br />
that seemed to me to be fairly<br />
straightforward. This was evidenced<br />
one day when I was administering a<br />
line check on a flight from Kadena to<br />
Taegu in Korea, we had a piece of kit<br />
called MADAR (malfunction analysis<br />
data and recording) and this<br />
chattered away from time to time<br />
telling the crew what was wrong with<br />
a particular system. On this occasion<br />
MADAR announced that we should<br />
shut down one of the engines<br />
because it was outside the vibration<br />
limits. To my amazement the captain<br />
gave control to the co-pilot and<br />
proceeded to climb out of his seat<br />
evidently believing that I would want<br />
to take over command of the
He was advised to do what<br />
MADAR had commanded but<br />
divert to Osan where better<br />
maintenance facilities were<br />
available. After landing the<br />
young captain expressed his<br />
appreciation for the confidence<br />
I had shown in him but pointed<br />
out that it was the first time that<br />
he had ever shut down an<br />
engine in anger or flown a<br />
diversion to an alternate<br />
airfield.<br />
During the spring of 1978 I was<br />
told that a VC-10 would be<br />
night stopping at Travis. The<br />
captain, an old boss of mine<br />
from Comet days now<br />
commanded the VC-10 OCU at<br />
Brize Norton. The inevitable<br />
barbecue was laid on for the<br />
crew and during the festivities I<br />
was taken aside and told that I<br />
would shortly be advised of a<br />
posting to No 10 squadron as a<br />
straight-in captain for a short<br />
tour before moving to the OCU<br />
as one of his instructors.<br />
Welcome as this news was, I<br />
knew enough to fear that this<br />
would not be a popular move as<br />
the RAF system depended<br />
heavily on pilots serving a tour<br />
of duty as co-pilot before<br />
moving to the left hand seat,<br />
regardless of experience or<br />
seniority. I could sense the<br />
mutterings among those forced<br />
to wait even longer for their<br />
command. Despite these<br />
forebodings I was naturally<br />
delighted to hear the news, I<br />
was forty-seven years old and<br />
“<br />
It was the<br />
first time<br />
that he<br />
had ever<br />
shut down<br />
an engine<br />
in anger<br />
“<br />
VC-10 at Brize Norton<br />
rapidly approaching pilot<br />
senility; little did I know that I<br />
would still be flying fifteen<br />
years later! I had flown over<br />
a thousand hours in the C5<br />
when my replacement<br />
arrived; we said our goodbyes<br />
to our many friends,<br />
promising to visit them in the<br />
years ahead, a promise that<br />
we have signally failed to<br />
keep. My final assessment<br />
was signed off in my<br />
logbook, the wording may<br />
sound a little over the top to<br />
<strong>British</strong> sensibilities but it is<br />
quite normal for Americans<br />
to indulge their peers in this<br />
manner<br />
Brize Norton Flightline
When Concorde was retiring<br />
from service, back in 2003,<br />
supporters flocked to Heathrow<br />
airport to watch the final three<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong>' Concordes land for<br />
the last time in a commercial<br />
capacity. Flown by well known<br />
Concorde Pilots including Capt.<br />
Mike Banister and Capt. Les Brodie,<br />
the end of the supersonic era closed<br />
with a few tears rather than by<br />
ceremonious applause.<br />
In 1969, Concorde 001 took to the<br />
Tragically, on 25 July 2000, Air<br />
France Concorde F-BTSC (flight<br />
AF4590) crashed shortly after takeoff<br />
following hitting a metal piece of<br />
a Continental aircraft left on the<br />
runway, causing a fuel tank to<br />
rupture killing 113 people.<br />
Concorde was grounded whilst an<br />
investigation was carried out and<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> was forced to modify<br />
the aircraft with kevlar plating<br />
around the fuel tanks costing £17<br />
Million. Concorde returned to<br />
service in November 2001 - just two<br />
months after the terrorist attacks in<br />
New York. With operating costs<br />
rising, the economic down-turn and<br />
public trust in aviation remaining<br />
fragile, Concorde was destined to<br />
retire earlier than anticipated and the<br />
world lost its only supersonic<br />
airliner.<br />
remarkable? You can be sure it's not<br />
just about the looks.<br />
The External Model<br />
Lefteris Kalamaras (ex-PMDG) and<br />
his team at Flight Sim Labs have<br />
created an authentic looking aircraft<br />
with a variety of liveries available.<br />
Both old and new <strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong><br />
and Air France liveries can be<br />
selected from the Free Flight menu<br />
in FSX along with their own in-house<br />
livery, which adorns their adverts.<br />
However, there appears to be slight<br />
inaccuracies with the new BA livery,<br />
on the tail, but, in fact, this is not a<br />
fault. The tail liveries differed<br />
slightly on the real aircraft! The<br />
wings are modelled on the complex<br />
shape and the nose and visor areas<br />
are nothing less than perfect. The<br />
engines are placed<br />
skies for the first time marking one<br />
of the most brilliant engineering<br />
achievements of the 20th Century.<br />
Concorde would be able to fly 100<br />
people over 3,000nm, at 50,000ft<br />
and at Mach 2 in luxurious<br />
surroundings. Concorde was<br />
regarded in terms of aviation<br />
endeavour close to the efforts of<br />
producing the Space Shuttle, the<br />
SR-71A Blackbird and even the Jet<br />
engine itself.<br />
These days,<br />
Concorde sits<br />
in museums with<br />
other aviation royalty<br />
never to fly again;<br />
however, Flight Sim Labs<br />
have created, what appears to<br />
be, the most advanced<br />
simulation of Concorde<br />
ever produced for Microsoft<br />
Flight Simulator enabling<br />
Concorde to fly once more. What<br />
makes Concorde X truely
Realistic flight model<br />
G-BOAF ready for take-off KJFK 31L<br />
exactly as on the real aircraft and the<br />
after-burner effect seems to create<br />
the feeling of power, which looks<br />
awesome in dawn/dusk lighting<br />
producing the flame "tail".<br />
The Systems<br />
Moving into the cockpit is where<br />
Flight Sim Labs have excelled. Many<br />
of the systems have been modelled<br />
and work like you would expect<br />
from watching ITVV's Concorde<br />
DVD. During taxi the Reverse Air<br />
Shut Off test can be completed as<br />
your <strong>Virtual</strong> Flight Engineer manages<br />
the CG leaving the Pilot to<br />
concentrate on their side of the<br />
operation. Engine Four's 88%<br />
selection for take-off can be engaged<br />
and will hold for the first 50 - 60kts<br />
of the take-off run. Also, the Engine<br />
Schedule switch can be moved to<br />
Flyover, Normal and Approach<br />
during different phases of flight. In<br />
the air, the <strong>Virtual</strong> Flight Engineer<br />
will control the fuel, air conditioning<br />
and other functions, like shutting off<br />
the after-burners at M1.7! In the<br />
cruise, the AFCS will switch to Max<br />
Climb, Max Cruise mode and<br />
Concorde X will climb and descend<br />
to maintain M2.0 in various weather<br />
conditions - with the AT engaging<br />
and disengaging as needed. All of<br />
the instruments in front of both<br />
pilots work and each has an INS,<br />
courtesy of CIVA - even DME<br />
updating of the INS system is needed<br />
to maintain accuracy!<br />
The Flight Engineers' Panel is highly<br />
detailed. All of the Flight Engineers<br />
systems have been modeled except<br />
for the ground crews’ testing<br />
functions and the oxygen supply<br />
metrics. The fuel panel is there in its<br />
entirety and fuel can be moved<br />
around the tanks just like in the true<br />
aircraft. The Air Conditioning and<br />
Electrical panels are fully modelled<br />
and need to be understood when<br />
starting from a cold and dark<br />
situation. The Flight Engineers'<br />
panel highlights the complexity of<br />
Concorde X and will keep even the<br />
most seasoned <strong>Virtual</strong> Pilots on their<br />
toes! There is a lot to learn and<br />
understand, which makes for a<br />
challenging and engaging add-on.<br />
Flight Dynamics<br />
The flight dynamics are superb and<br />
show straight away on rotation. The<br />
aircraft is slow to pitch up at first,<br />
but gathers in speed until 13.5<br />
degrees nose up and the main<br />
undercarriage leaves the runway.<br />
The sense of speed is evident and<br />
240kts is achieved fast. With<br />
afterburners engaged, the pilot will<br />
need to pitch up to contain the<br />
acceleration and keep 250kts. After<br />
1 min and 20 secs, Concorde X is<br />
already at 3, 500 feet! Reducing the<br />
throttles and turning off the<br />
afterburner makes the aircraft more<br />
manageable as the AT and INS are<br />
engaged and the AFCS follows the<br />
route flawlessly. At 26,000 feet and<br />
over the Bristol Channel, Concorde<br />
X will accelerate with reheats quickly<br />
until around 43,000 feet when Mach<br />
2 is being chased without reheats<br />
giving a sense of uniqueness. Upon<br />
landing, the ground effect has been<br />
programmed well and a sharp pitch<br />
up motion is required by the pilot to<br />
land softly at 160 - 170kts.<br />
Value<br />
Along with Concorde X, a full colour<br />
manual is provided with the<br />
download along with flight plans for<br />
<strong>British</strong> <strong>Airways</strong> and Air France<br />
models. Pilots can print off the flight<br />
plans and follow what ADEU card is<br />
Heading toward the Atlantic Detailed <strong>Virtual</strong> Cockpit Flight Engineers’ Panel
G-BOAD leaving EGLL 27L Subsonic Climb to 26,000’<br />
In Conclusion<br />
needed to be loaded into the INS<br />
for different flights and segments<br />
making the process easier to learn.<br />
Acceleration and Deceleration<br />
points are also highlighted to help<br />
Pilots and VOR frequencies are<br />
also noted for ease of operation.<br />
As part of the package, there are<br />
options available through FSX to<br />
adjust the fuel and loading as well<br />
as options to connect ground<br />
electrics and air, as well as an<br />
option to repair the aircraft. Other<br />
options include those for the<br />
<strong>Virtual</strong> Flight Engineer and<br />
miscellaneous options like Engine<br />
Damage and for AC Generator<br />
Phase.<br />
Over the Bristol Channel<br />
Transonic Climb<br />
Flight Sim Labs have created a<br />
model which is detailed and<br />
realistic. The sleek curves of<br />
Concorde are expertly<br />
modelled to allow the Pilot to<br />
experience the visual beauty<br />
of this most unique of all<br />
aircraft within FSX.<br />
All the systems are there for<br />
an immersive experience in<br />
operating Concorde X like the<br />
pro's. Along with the true-tolife<br />
sounds, in the VC the<br />
<strong>Virtual</strong> Pilot can have the<br />
experience of virtually "being<br />
RR Olympus Engines<br />
there."<br />
With realistic flight<br />
dynamics, learning to fly<br />
Concorde has never been as<br />
system rich or as enjoyable<br />
within MSFS. Even the<br />
novice can enjoy learning on<br />
this aircraft due to the<br />
helpful <strong>Virtual</strong> Flight<br />
Engineer.<br />
For the complexity and<br />
attention to detail shown on<br />
Concorde X, it really is good<br />
value for money and Flight<br />
Sim Labs have made a highend<br />
add-on as good as, if not<br />
slightly better than, anything<br />
else available today.<br />
Concorde X is a must for all<br />
<strong>Virtual</strong> Pilots<br />
Pilots have the option upon<br />
installation to choose between 4:3<br />
or widescreen (16:10) panels to be<br />
loaded. Also, there is an option for<br />
Hi or Lo-Res textures to be loaded<br />
into FSX. This allows users of<br />
high-end and medium spec systems<br />
to improve performance if needed.