Post on 16-Mar-2020
Winter 2018 Edition 20
A Day in the Life of a Fly Uk Pilot
CAVOK - Flying VFR
Santa’s Approach
Flying with the Northern Lights
Welcome back to the latest edition of the
Skyways Magazine.
As the lovely summer has come to an end and
the windy, rainy days become more frequent,
we are taking the time to look at some of the
fundamentals of flying.
We’ll also take a look at a special breed of
people, that feel more at home in 1500ft than
they do at FL150. I am, of course, referring to
the pilots of Fly UK Flying Club.
So welcome to the 20th edition of Skyways
Magazine
3nd quarter 2018
Edition 20
Fly UK Virtual
Airways:
www.flyuk.aero
Skyways Editor:
Morten Hansen
Contributors :
See credits on
last page
Flying with the Northern Lights 3
FlyUK event calender 6
A Day in the Life of a Fly Uk Pilot 7
CAVOK - Flying VFR 11
Lansa Flight 508 15
Santa’s Approach 17
The Juice on Juneau 18
Cosford 2018 20
Aviators’ corner 23
News from the Management:
During the last few months we have
seen a few changes on the team.
We said goodbye to :
UKV1548 - Alistair Munro
UKV1145 - Steve Trueman
We wish them the best in their onward
ventures.
We also had the pleasure of welcom-
ing the following members to the
management team :
UKV1447 - Katrina Hancock
UKV3764 - Ross Elliot
And back among the ranks are
UKV1412 - Richard Jones
UKV1649 - Gray Brett
UKV1372 - John Wheat
We have seen a great deal of
changes over the summer such
as a new forum layout and an up-
date of the company manuals
and documents. A big thanks to
John for the documents.
In addition, a new franchise has
been announced.
Aurora airlines has been under
development for a while and is
spearheaded by UKV1447 -
Katrina Hancock.
It offers a new set of challenges
for our pilots and introduces new
additions to the fleet
line-up.
We are confident that Aurora
Airlines will offer new experiences
and possibilities.
Additionally, you can find an
update on the latest events as
per the time of publishing. For the
up-to-date schedule, head over
to the events page on the web-
site.
Cosford 2019
FlyUK are planning on showing our
presence at Cosford 2019, marking
Fly UK's 15th Anniversary. More will be revealed on the forum and future issues.
FlyUK: We are here today with Katrina Hancock, who is spearheading
the new upcoming franchise Aurora. Tell us a little about how the idea
came about?
Katrina: I’ve had the idea for Aurora in my head for about two years
now when I briefly considered launching my own Virtual Airline. I
wanted it to be based on not only mainline flying but rough and rug-
ged white-knuckle bush flying as well. I decided against launching it as
a stand-alone Airline a year and a half ago due to time constraints
and also the difficulty of managing an Airline on your own, as well as
the time it would take to put together a decent website as well as
learning to paint, so I shelved the airline.
I resurrected the concept when Matthew Lewis offered me a staff po-
sition. I then showed him a concept I had for Aurora with a somewhat
lengthy proposal, and well now the rest is History.
FlyUK: Being in the most northern areas of the North American continent,
will the area be sufficiently covered in scenery both on the payware but
also the freeware side?
Katrina: Yes when I can! Scenery coverage is a big part of my route selec-
tion as Airports need to have either decent Freeware or Payware options
for them to be considered for Aurora routes. I have stated before nobody
wants to fly into an Airport with a default building as your terminal or worse,
just a runway with nothing else! Thankfully Orbx and a few others cover
Alaska and Western Canada well.
Flying with the Northern Lights
FlyUK: Considering the published fleet selection, tell us a little about the
thought process behind the selected lineup?
Katrina: Hmm, good question. Honestly Aurora's fleet selection from what
was originally proposed has changed quite a bit with the Twin Otter being
the only aircraft from the original choices to be a part of the final fleet.
Shortly after public announcement of Aurora's launch I did have the Boeing
737-900 as the choice for my Short/Medium Range Twinjet choice, but due
to differences between the X-Plane and P3D options I decided to launch
with the Boeing 757-200 instead. I do believe in the end this was the better
option for me as the 757-200 offers me better flexibility and the fact is that
many people have requested more 757 routes. I also believe with my future
fleet and expansion plans the 757-200 fits better in the long term.
Now the Avro is a different beast. Some may know that the Avro RJ-series is
my favorite real life Aircraft and it is as such due to a personal attachment.
My last flight together with my late father was on a Swiss RJ-100 so you may
now know why I hold this ((and somewhat the A-340 but that is a story for
another time)) so close to my heart. I never originally considered the Avro
to join the fleet due to our old fleet policy, although I did joke about it, until
Matthew proposed adding it to the fleet. I think the Avro is a great fit be-
cause it can do the job of both a larger Turboprop and an RJ at the same
time, it has great performance and can even be used as a cargo plane or
a Quick change Aircraft. I think the Avro RJ-series has a long and bright fu-
ture with Aurora. I mean, have you seen that livery?!
FlyUK: When will Aurora be launched?
Katrina: If all goes well, no later then January 2nd 2019.
FlyUK: what can we expect in the future for Aurora? any additional desti-
nations on the drawing board?
Katrina: You can expect a few things in the long term for Aurora in the fu-
ture. Shortly after launch if everything goes smoothly I will introduce Ad-
Hoc Charters where I write up a small scenario ((Charters etc.)) to allow
interesting destinations to be served that normally would not be under
mainline operations. This way things can remain fresh and people can
see some beautiful Airports or exotic locations normally never seen out-
side of general aviation flights. Also, Aurora is looking to bring on a Twin
Prop as well as a planes to cover most Market classes, but this is all in the
long term.
As far as any additional destinations, I have quite a few in my head as
well as future focus cities and hubs. I do want to cover most of the more
interesting Orbx Airports in Alaska, the Western US, and Canada as soon
as I can though, as those airprorts should be seen and I think many in our
community would like that as well. I do also listen to Route Requests so a
month or two ahead of me working on Schedules I will open up a Topic
to see what people in our community can come up with for routes, within
reason!
FROM TO Date Time
London Lapland 25/12 19:30z
London Lapland 27/12 14:00z
FROM TO Date Time
Glasgow Oslo 23/12 13:30z
Oslo Glasgow 30/12 13:30z
FROM TO Date Time
London Lapland 23/12 14:00z
Lapland London 29/12 07:00z
Please see the FlyUK Event page on the website to sign up to each
flight and to see the latest information.
A Day in the Life of a Fly Uk Pilot By Luke Forster-UKV1210.
Firstly I start off by getting all the flight plans ready for the flight. I then head
to the flight sim and select my favourite aircraft PMDGs B737-800 (Fly2 livery)
- I have quite a few favourites.
I then make sure all relevant safety checks are done and check whether all
the systems on the aircraft are working using GSX
As the Manchester flight departs at 5:55z in the morning I get the cater-
ing on - I try my best to fly to the schedules but if I don’t I choose a differ-
ent departure time. Catering loading starts at 4:55z.
Once catering is on I board the PAX as there is already enough fuel to
operate the flight to Alicante this morning. Boarding takes 20 minutes
with my GSX but it can vary.
Once the PAX and baggage have boarded and been put on the
aircraft I then close all the doors of the aircraft and request
pushback with GSX and ATC. I then taxi out to the runway and
take off.
For this flight we will be cruising at FL360. Once up in the air I get myself a
coffee, give the Cabin crew permission to start service and enjoy the
views along the way.
Approximately 140nm from Alicante I start my descent. Normally landing
30 minutes later - this flight lands at 8:25z (9:25 local).
Once landed at Alicante I get the PAX off to enjoy their holiday and hand
them over to the Fly2 holiday reps. Whilst I do the route planning for the
flight back and get the FMC sorted, the cabin crew clean the cabin
ready for the next set of PAX.
Again using GSX, I refuel the aircraft and then board the PAX ready to
head home at 8:50z. I then push back at 9:10z just in time for departure.
The flight back is pretty much the same as the flight out, enjoy a cup of
coffee, in-flight meal (usually toast as I don’t eat on the outbound sec-
tor) and land back in Manchester at 11:40z.
Once landed I set all aircraft systems and leave APU on and PAX get
off. Once PAX have disembarked I then “hand” the aircraft over to the
pilots going to Malta.
I hope you have enjoyed reading my version of ’A Day in the Life’ and
thank you for taking the time to read.
CAVOK - Flying VFR
Fly UK is home to a group of people who do not feel at home in the
tubeliners at FL350, but prefer a more near earth environment and to be
able to see where they are going and how they get there.
So what do you need to fly VFR ?
Well the list is short:
• Good weather
• A map or GPS
• And a positive attitude.
Flying VFR or Visual Flight Rules requires you to be able to see a certain
distance and not fly into clouds.
Some say the joy of flying VFR is directly proportional to how great the
weather is. So let’s have a quick look at what the minimum require-
ments for weather in the UK are :
While flying VFR, as with all other flying, it is important to know where
you are to maintain crucial situational awareness.
More and more people are relying on a GPS unit with programs from
Skydemon and ForeFlight, just to mention a few. While the GPS provides
an unparalleled aid in the air, the most important thing is to look out the
window and recognize the landmarks you see.
Additionally having an up-to-date hard copy of a map can sometimes
prove a most welcome resource.
To see if your map is up-to-date, you can refer to the country’s AIS or
Aeronautical information service.
In the UK, NATS are responsible for the charts, and an up-to-date over-
view can be found here.
Maps provide invaluable
information for the area you
are in, such as MSA
(minimum safe altitude). In
the example this is 1200ft.
While flying VFR, you are required to maintain your own separation from
other traffic in the air and can’t rely on LARS services to
provide you much more than a basic service. To do this, one has to listen
carefully to the radio and understand the movements of other pilots.
Although VFR flying does not require you to file a flight plan, it’s a
good idea to plan the flight for your own convenience, before you
get in to the cockpit.
Most common way to do this is to create a PLOG (Pilot Log)
This allows you to have an overview of the planned flight and will
time and resource when performing the flight.
A Plog contains the most im-
portant information such as :
Departure and Arrival, and
alternate aerodromes
Fuel on board and expected
fuel at waypoints
Weather forecast and wind
corrections required
Planned altitudes, or if you
want the MSAs for the legs.
Frequencies to expect along
your trip.
The example here is from
Pooleys, but you can create your
own to fit your needs.
To find the magnetic heading we need to fly, we first need to know
the wind. So if the wind at 2000ft is 150°/15kts and the track we need
to fly is 085° and we are flying at 85kts indicated, we can use the
wizz wheel or CRP-5 as shown on the other page to find our wind
correction angle and ground speed.
In this case our WCA is
+9 degrees, which
means we will have to
fly on a Magnetic
heading of 094° to fly a
track of 085° and our
groundspeed will be
78kts
Another example of the same trip using the current data from the web.
This Plog has been created with Skyvector and shows all the important
items such as estimated fuel and the various headings.
This should get you started on VFR planning and flying. we always
encourage pilots to attend the courses in the Training Academy,
where you will learn much more in greater detail.
A list of useful links can be found on the last page.
Considering it’s the holiday season, it is only appropriate to include a little
aviation Christmas miracle.
The following story is about the Lansa Flight 508, where a young girl was
the sole survivor .
On Christmas Eve 1971, a Peruvian Lockheed L188 Electra, LANSA Flight
508 en route from Lima to the small Amazon jungle city of Pucallpa,
came apart in a thunderstorm. A lightning strike ignited a fuel tank, and
the fire caused the right wing spar to fail. The four-engine turboprop had
been cruising at FL210, and the flaming pieces fell unseen into a 15-
square-kilometer area of the tropical void below.
There had been 86 passengers and a crew of six on board. All but one
were killed. That sole survivor was a 17-year-old high school senior, Juliane
Koepcke, the daughter of a German zoologist and his wife, a Peruvian
ornithologist. Juliane’s mother, sitting next to her, died in the crash of
LANSA 508 while Juliane’s father awaited them at Pucallpa.
Two things were remarkable about the crash: how Juliane survived it, and
how she then saved herself from death in the jungle. Koepcke had her
seat belt fastened, and when the airplane came apart, she fell, still
strapped into the window seat, while her mother and the aisle-seat occu-
pant fell free.
Lansa Flight 508
The teenager had broken a collarbone, suffered deep cuts and all
but lost her vision, her eyes were so bloodshot and bruised in the fall.
Koepcke had spent a good part of her young life with her parents in
the backcountry of Peru, and they had taught her survival skills. One
lesson was that every rivulet of water flows into a brook, then into a
stream, a tributary and eventually into a river. Dressed in a miniskirt
and wearing just one sandal, barely able to see, Juliane followed the
water. Twelve days later, it led her to Pucallpa
Like a maple-seed pod at the end of its winglet, Juliane and the
three-seat row helicoptered all the way down and landed in an
area of jungle trees interlaced with vines that cushioned her fall.
While we are all waiting
for Santa to arrive, we
will take a quick look at
what charts he will be fly-
ing with, courtesy of
Jeppesen.
We notice that Santa will
be on Unicom (or for the
occasion elfcom). So all
you guys on Vatsim
make sure you don’t
block the channel for
any important Santa
business.
We start a 500ft descent and hit 2500ft at roughly 8nm DME crossing Claus
at the same altitude.
After Claus we continue the steep 7° descent down to TOWNN. If all rein-
deers are operational we have a 0 RVR and can continue to land; but if
Tinsel and Twinkle are out, we have our missed approach point at 1nm
DME or 50ft. For the missed approach we fly the runway heading direct
to MSLTO at 2500ft.
So to fly the procedure, if
we enter from the north,
we can go directly into
the pattern at 3000ft
which will also serve as a
speed reduction; but if
we enter from the south,
we will have to join in
parallel to the racetrack.
Santa’s Approach
The Juice on Juneau
This edition’s featured destination takes us up to the
shores of Alaska State to its capital, Juneau, which will
be seeing an increase in traffic, as our new franchise will
have a destination in the Alaskan Capital.
So let’s look at what’s the juice on Juneau.
Juneau is situated in the south eastern region of
the state of Alaska and is named after the gold
prospector Joe Juneau. It serves as the regional
hub for airlines such as Alaska Airlines and
Alaska Seaplanes. Delta Airlines provide a
seasonal service to the airport as well.
The airport is situated north of the city itself at
the base of the river delta and consists of a sin-
gle tarmac runway ( 08-26 ) and a basin to the
immediate south of the runway, serving as a
runway for the seaplanes.
Currently, Juneau is being served by a daily
flight from Portland via our codeshare partner
MetroAir.
Juneau has a population of around 32000 citizens and serves as a
sectional hub for government offices. Most of the jobs in Juneau are
linked to government services.
Juneau is also rich in outdoor adventures and offers great hiking trails
during all seasons. It offers hunting tourism in addition to being a stop
for several cruise ships in the summer months.
Scenery for Juneau, can be found at ORBX
Juneau International Airport (payware).
And for Xplane users, a freeware scenery can be found on the
xplane.org forums, linked here (freeware).
This being my first time going to the Flight Sim show at Cosford, I didn’t
really know what to expect from it. I knew I was planning to meet a
couple of members of Fly UK and that there would be some stuff to
spend my money on, but apart from that, I knew nothing. Needless to
say, I was quite excited.
After standing in line outside Hangar One, slowly freezing for twenty
minutes or so, we were released inside. We were handed a map and a
bag containing a magazine, various leaflets and a voucher for a free
product courtesy of JustFlight and a mouse mat emblazoned with a
screenshot of Orbx’s Innsbruck airport scenery.
Cosford 2018 By Tom Pain - UKV1465
Having mentioned Orbx, that brings us onto the topic of their upcoming
TrueEarth Great Britain South for X-plane. I had the chance to fly around it
for a few minutes, and it really did look stunning (however, as a conse-
quence of my computer specs, I have nothing to compare it to, because
I’ve never actually used any scenery from Orbx). They also announced
Southampton and Shoreham airports for X-plane too.
Moving on, JustFlight also showed off their Vulcan bomber. I was unable
to get anywhere near it, mainly because many other people were also
looking to take it for a spin, and I couldn’t be bothered to wait. Instead I
purchased JF’s DC8 50 to 70 series, which was a good choice, I think.
FlightSimLabs were also present, and unsurprisingly were attracting quite
some attention. They were showing off some new features for their A319
and A320. The new ice and rain mechanics will soon be available for
the A320 (which enhances both visual effects and effects on the flight
dynamics), and FSLabs also confirmed that there would be a new HD
flight model coming soon for P3Dv4, allowing “more precise simulations
of limitations, performances and handling characteristics, for example,
coffin corner.” As well as these announcements, the exterior of the new
A321 was on display, but only the exterior was being shown and not the
virtual cockpit. Beta testers will apparently be getting the A321 soon.
One of the highlights of
the show for me per-
sonally were the life
size replicas of some
A320 cockpits. Being
shown off by Skalarki
Electronics, for the low
price of 30k EUR, you
can have a dual seat
live home cockpit to
play with. It looked
fantastic; everything worked, as far as I could tell. I say as far as I could
tell, because I didn’t manage to get a go. The queue was huge and to
help things out, it kept breaking every now and then. I’m not entirely
sure I’d want to spend that much money on something that was that
unstable.
Overall, I really enjoyed my first trip to Cosford for the flight sim show. I
met a few people from the community, and I’m already looking for-
ward to going back next year!
Test your knowledge with this edition’s quiz! All answers must be
submitted to Morten.Hansen@flyuk.aero before the 31st March 2019
@1200z to enter for a chance to win a 30 EUR gift certificate for
Simmarket.com Winner will be chosen at random amongst the correct
entries and announced with the right answers in the next edition.
Aviators’ corner
Meteorology : Looking at the latest METAR before you go for a flight, the
temperature is 12°C and the dewpoint is 6°C at which level would you expect
the cloud base ?
A) 2500m
B) 250m
C) 750m
D) No cloud base
Flight Planning : today’s wind at 2000ft is 310/18 and your desired track is 205°,
Your indicated airspeed is 100kts. What are your WCA and your groundspeed ?
A) WCA –10° GS 97kts
B) WCA - 7° GS 103kts
C) WCA +7° GS 97kts
D) WCA +10° GS 103kts
Air Law :The freedom to overfly another country is founded in which docu-
ment ?
A) ICAO doc 4444
B) ICAO doc 9626
C) National AIPs
D) AOC legislation
The right answers from edition 19, are as follows : C, D, A, C, A ; as there
were no right entries the prize will roll over for this editions competition.
Useful links:
VFR Guide
NATS AIS
Credits :
Jeppesen christmas charts
UKV1210 - Luke Foster
UKV1465—Tom Pain
UKV1372 - John Wheat