First flight since Lockdown

With movements restricted since 23rd March, the ability to grab the keys and go flying in the UK immediately disappeared.

Different situations across Europe sometimes meant that a glance on one of the tracking apps would spark jealousy seeing private flying well and truly alive elsewhere.

Gradually, as the Lockdown started to ease, it became clear that private flying might well return and a couple of weeks ago that became a reality.

Social distancing remains an issue and sadly this has prevented wide scale flying training from resuming. That said, some innovative use of Perspex screens has given hope that at least some training, especially in tandem aircraft may be possible while conforming to the rules.

I finally managed to return to flight on 16th June and, while things felt a little rusty at first, everything went well. I would recommend, for those that are yet to fly again after an extended absence to brush up on a few basics.

GASCo have posted a very useful course here: https://www.gasco.org.uk/ and I would definitely advise taking this course before flying again.

Other useful suggestions:

• Purchase the latest approved map in advance – yours might have expired since your last flight
• Plan and armchair-fly a short route
• Speak to an instructor for a verbal briefing on topics that might be rusty
• Revise radio communications CAP 413 – after a period away from the cockpit it is easy to be out of practice with communications and its one less thing to worry about
• Make the CAA Skyway Code your bedtime reading of choice!

Transavia and Vueling bring the fight to easyJet

December saw London Luton Airport announce that two new airlines will commence services in 2016.

Transavia (HV) will start flying to Paris Orly (ORY) from 22nd April 2016.  This will compete with easyJet’s long-established Luton to Paris albeit to a different airport in the French capital.  EasyJet (U2) currently flies up to three times daily to Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport.

Meanwhile Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling (VY) is to commence Amsterdam (AMS) and Barcelona (BCN) services from mid-March.  Both of these routes are also operated by easyJet with Amsterdam up to four times daily and Barcelona twice daily.

Qatar and CSA to Birmingham

Two announcements in two days this week saw Qatar Airways and CSA Czech Airlines firm up plans to operate to Birmingham International airport.

Qatar Airways will connect Birmingham with Doha eight times a week allowing passengers boarding in the UK to access not only the Middle East but also Qatar’s extensive route network beyond their hub.

Flights will be operated by Boeing 787s and will commence on 30th March 2016.

The following day, CSA Czech Airlines announced that it would commence operations to Prague five times a week using an Airbus A319.  Flights will be on sale from April 2016.

Squeezing an A340 into Luton

Back in April, boutique French airline La Compagnie launched services from London’s Luton Airport offering business class-only flights to New York.  Regular flights are operated using La Compagnie’s Boeing 757s however a recent maintenance requirement saw an Airbus A340-300 wet leased from Portuguese specialist Hi Fly to cover the flying.

Whilst not an un unusual candidate for transatlantic flying, the A340 is certainly not something you would expect to see operating from Luton.  Indeed it appears that the only other time an A340 has passed through the Bedfordshire airport was when a Brunei government machine visited many moons ago and that was a -200 series.

The A340 (registered CS-TQY) is seen below landing at Luton in the wet (apologies for picture quality).
 

‘Bears’ up to their old tricks?

Picture the scene, a crisp winter’s day at a Royal Air Force station somewhere in the British Isles. Suddenly, Typhoon jets are scrambled and roar into the skies towards the south coast.

During most weeks the RAF perform training exercises and such departures from bases like Lossiemouth and Coningsby are standard procedure but on Wednesday this was no training detail.

In scenes more reminiscent of the Cold War days, two Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 ‘Bear’ bombers had strayed from their usual routings and, whilst steering clear of UK airspace, had done enough to alert radar controllers at RAF Boulmer who sent up the fighters to investigate.

The two Russian aircraft were tracked and followed by the RAF Typhoons until they left the UK Flight Information Region (FIR).

Aircraft have been kept on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) at bases in the UK ever since the days of the Cold War and perhaps the most memorable of aircraft to take on the interception role was the Lightning. These days the role is undertaken by the RAF’s Typhoon aircraft whose job it is to identify, photograph and track any up identified aircraft traversing nearby airspace.

More details from the Royal Air Force press release

Gatwick’s railway station renovations receive £10m injection

London’s southern gateway airport is moving ahead with its plan to upgrade the station facilities to keep up with passenger growth and potential expansion plans.

A £10 million injection from government has been added to £30 million for, Network Rail and another £30 million from Gatwick Airport itself.

The airport has enjoyed good rail connections ever since it came into being with the London to Brighton mainline running past its eastern perimeter. In fact Gatwick’s original terminal, known fondly as ‘The Beehive’, was connected to a station sited just south of the current one by a tunnel. Interestingly the tunnel survives to this day but the station has long since disappeared.

The new station will certainly boost the airport’s already attractive connections to the capital which are arguably the best and certainly competitive to Heathrow’s offering.

Further details can be found here on the official Gatwick Airport website

Boeing order alert: LAM – Linhas Aereas de Mocambique

Order: 3x Boeing 737-700
Value: $228m at list price
Signed: November 2013
Additional info: Includes purchase rights for three further 737NGs.  Will be used to replace LAM’s existing 737-500s.

Norwegian expands JFK operation

Norwegian is increasing transatlantic services from Stockholm (ARN) to New York (JFK) from 3 per week up to 4 per week with the addition of a new Sunday service from May.  

As part of the airline’s long haul expansion, Norwegian is also establishing crew bases in the US, starting with New York and Fort Lauderdale.

 

Finding fast jets in Wales

For many years I have been travelling to Dolgellau in Wales to visit family and whilst the area has become something of a second home, the excitement of being buzzed by low flying aircraft hasn’t diminished one bit.

The area is beautiful and offers plenty of outdoor activities however there is always the chance that you will be surprised by a low flying jet travelling at 450kts, possibly only 250ft above your head.

Mid Wales is home to a rugged system of valleys forming Low Flying Area 7 (LFA7) which is frequented by not only the Royal Air Force and Navy but also visiting air forces such as the USAF, French Armee de l’Air, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

Over recent years, pictures have been cropping up in various journals showing aircraft shooting through valleys below the photographers’ lenses. These are usually taken somewhere along the now famous Mach Loop. The Mach Loop takes its name from nearby Machynlleth and passes to the east of Dolgellau, behind Cadair Idris, down to Corris and back round.

A dedicated band of enthusiasts will regulary scale the sides of steep valleys, sometimes in less than forgiving weather and set up camp for the day to gamble on what might come through and offer some great close up viewing of low level pilot training.

The following list details some of the aircraft types that have passed through in recent months:

Royal Air Force: Eurofighter Typhoon, BAe Hawk (T.1 and T.2), Tornado GR.4, Tucano & C-130 Hercules.
Royal Navy: BAe Hawk
QinetiQ: Alpha Jet
United States Air Force: F-15 Eagle
French Air Force: Dassault Mirage
Royal Netherlands Air Force: F-16 Fighting Falcon

Whilst the activity can be sporadic, there is usually something going on weekdays if the weather is favourable although weekends are usually completely quiet.

If you fancy trying your luck view military aircraft in their natural environment then the the following website offers some good maps and information on how to find the spots: MJ Aviation

If you’re looking to stay somewhere near the Mach Loop, I can personally recommend the cottages at Maes yr Helmau which is under 5 minutes drive from the Bwlch pass and Cad East/West. If you are going to spend the day halfway up a mountain then I would recommend one of Janet’s cooked breakfasts to start the day too!

A-Z of IATA Codes: AAM – Mala Mala Airport, South Africa

Mala Mala Airport in South Africa serves the Mala Mala game reserve as well as Sabi Sand.

Shuttle flights are operated by Federal Airlines amongst others and the airport regularly accommodates airliners up to the size of BAe Jetstreams.