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Originally Posted by eupa
An ex Sabena pilot sent me these . They are actual . The Iberia pilot did not program his computer correctly...... the second one - well that could happen to anybody.....
Jonathan
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Having just emerged from my Christmas hibernation, I was just catching up on all the posts and came across this one. For anyone who wants more info on the Iberia picture you can find it at
www.airliners.net. The picture reference is 163613 and this link
http://www.airliners.net/search/phot...=246659,163613
provides a comparison of a normal approach to Barcelona r/w 20.
With the best will in the world Jonathan, this has nothing to do with wrongly programming a computer. He's just low on the approach. How he got there, only they will know.
There are many misunderstandings about commercial aircraft and how they take-off and land. For example, many folks think the aircraft take-off and land automatically all the time.
I am not aware of any commercial aircraft in revenue service that does an automatic take-off. Even in 125 metres visibility, it's hand flown to at least the lowest autopilot engagement height (100 ft above ground for the Airbus). The only automatic aspect is the control of engine thrust by the auto-thrust computer.
As for landing, I would estimate that in excess of 98% of landings in aircraft that are Autoland capable, are hand flown. Why? Because pilots like what they do and hand flying an airplane for approach and landing is like driving a RIB - it's fast, requires a degree of knowledge and skill, is rewarding when you get it right and 'Practice Makes Perfect' in honing your skills. Probably what our man from Iberia is doing in the picture.
Autoland is usually only done when the weather (low visibility) requires it or for training purposes. To autoland, the aircraft and the runway have to have the right kit, it all has to be switched on and working and the crew have to be qualified, certain protections have to be in place to prevent the radio beams being interfered with and the airport landing rate is consequently reduced. All of these factors mean an Autoland is fairly rare. When it does happen, the bigger aircraft and better airlines have a slight edge because they've made the investment and their kit supports lower visibilities. 400 metres visibility and everbody gets in, 75 metres and only the serious players are left - with their kit they don't even need to see the ground to land. The only reason for a limit of 75 metres is so they can find an exit from the runway and stand a chance of being able to taxi to their parking gate without hitting anything or anyone.
I hope that sheds a few of the myths. Happy New Year to all!
P.S. Not sure how this thread got onto shooting, but Riga city center in Latvia has an ex-Russian nuclear bunker converted to a firing range. You can fire whatever like up to and including Uzzi, Heckler & Koch, AK -47 and .44 magnum. The owner is ex-Spetnaz but he's put on a little weight! 9mm ammo is 40p ea. and 7.62 60p ea. Targets are free and instruction is available for those of a nervous disposition. In broad terms, £25 for half an hour of something you can't do in very many places around the world.
