Hello,
Just wondering if anyone has watched this DVD and would be able to answer a few questions on it.
On the first two sectors when they flew between Reunion Island and Sydney, while they were over flying the Indian Ocean they had their heading set to True as opposed to Magnetic. I knew that they changed to True while close to the poles, is this something that is done on all ocean ETOPS operations like the NATS etc?
On the return sector, they show the crew completing their pre flight and going through the ETOPS chart. The route is highlighted in Pink and enroute alternates marked in blue, at various point there are like what appear to be FIR boundaries sometime at 90 degrees to the route highlighted in yellow. ( I tried to copy a picture from it but could not get it to work), Any idea what these yellow marks could be?
Many Thanks
Steve
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- boeing767er
- Posts: 29
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RE: Air Austral DVD And Etops
Steve,
I've checked several FCOMs (A330 B747 B777 MD11) and all these documents specify that true heading ops are only operated in the so called keyhole shaped polar regions. To be more precise; north of 82N or north of 70N between 080W and 130W, or south of 82S or south of 60S between 120E and 160E.
When I plot the flight between Reunion and Sydney the great circle route isn't anywhere near this area. In fact, S39 is the lowest point on the route. I'm pretty sure the north atlantic track region is navigated by normal magnetic ops.
I guess there is some standard operating procedure to explain why true heading navigation was used in this area.
The ETOPS chart you mentioned is also used when crossing the North Atlantic. All relevant tracks for a certain flight are plotted out. I'm guessing the "FIR" lines you mentioned are in fact plotted indications to see which alternate airport is closest to the current position in case of a medical diversion, an engine failure or (fuel wise) even worse, cabin decompression.
Hope this helps you out a bit
Luc
I've checked several FCOMs (A330 B747 B777 MD11) and all these documents specify that true heading ops are only operated in the so called keyhole shaped polar regions. To be more precise; north of 82N or north of 70N between 080W and 130W, or south of 82S or south of 60S between 120E and 160E.
When I plot the flight between Reunion and Sydney the great circle route isn't anywhere near this area. In fact, S39 is the lowest point on the route. I'm pretty sure the north atlantic track region is navigated by normal magnetic ops.
I guess there is some standard operating procedure to explain why true heading navigation was used in this area.
The ETOPS chart you mentioned is also used when crossing the North Atlantic. All relevant tracks for a certain flight are plotted out. I'm guessing the "FIR" lines you mentioned are in fact plotted indications to see which alternate airport is closest to the current position in case of a medical diversion, an engine failure or (fuel wise) even worse, cabin decompression.
Hope this helps you out a bit
Luc
AC Flown: A332/KL B737/AM-KL B744/KL B763/KL-UA B772/AF B773/KL B788/AM C172/PHAMB E120/XT E190/AF-KL
RE: Air Austral DVD And Etops
| Quoting smartt1982 (Thread starter): On the first two sectors when they flew between Reunion Island and Sydney, while they were over flying the Indian Ocean they had their heading set to True as opposed to Magnetic. I knew that they changed to True while close to the poles, is this something that is done on all ocean ETOPS operations like the NATS etc? |
Are they flying on tracks like NATS?
I saw that more recently in the ITVV Airtour 330-200 DVD, and if I understand correctly, it was a way to get a quick and precise reading of the track heading, vs the magnetic heading ± wind component.
"For radar identification throw your jumpseat rider out the window."
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- smartt1982
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RE: Air Austral DVD And Etops
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Finally able to upload the image, it is the different coloured lines that I am interested in knowing about
Many Thanks
Steve
RE: Air Austral DVD And Etops
| Quoting smartt1982 (Thread starter): at various point there are like what appear to be FIR boundaries sometime at 90 degrees to the route highlighted in yellow. ( I tried to copy a picture from it but could not get it to work), Any idea what these yellow marks could be? |
I don't know what the yellow lines are but they are not FIR boundries. The Australian FIR boundry is at 75 degrees east, from 2 degrees south to 90 degrees south, which is more or less due south of the "point" of India. See:
http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/...boutus/howatcworks/ourairspace.asp
They could be particular airways that have been highlighted with a yellow highliter.
It is interesting to see that the "kink" in the pink lines corresponds pretty well with the ETOPS zones on the Great Circle Mapper.
Gemuser
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