« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: A question for Toad or other airline pilot  (Read 455 times)

Offline mietla

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2276
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« on: July 23, 2006, 03:57:13 PM »
Is it possible to fly, find an airport and land an airliner without any help from the ground?
Logged

Offline SFCHONDO

  • Silver Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1817
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2006, 04:03:29 PM »
It's the ground you land on, so it has to help you.  :D
Logged
        HONDO
DENVER BRONCOS    
   
  Retired from AH

Offline Bodhi

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 8698
Re: A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2006, 04:13:06 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by mietla
Is it possible to fly, find an airport and land an airliner without any help from the ground?


Yes.
Logged
I regret doing business with TD Computer Systems.

Offline Dago

  • Parolee
  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 5324
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2006, 04:18:23 PM »
Very possible.  It does piss off the controllers though.   :)

Small planes do it all the time, and with a fraction of the avionics of the airliners.

With todays GPS and Inertial Reference Systems an airliner could fly anywhere around the world and land spot on without a single communication from outside the aircraft.

Actually, they pretty much do navigate without outside help, but get direction from Air Traffic Control for spacing, arrival and departure clearances, and vectors into standard arrival corridors, again mainly for coordination, timing and seperation.
Logged
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Offline AquaShrimp

  • Persona Non Grata
  • Silver Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1706
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2006, 04:30:22 PM »
Air traffic controllers just keep big airplanes from crashing into each other.
Logged

Offline Maverick

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 13958
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2006, 05:24:41 PM »
Is your question one of simple physical possibility or one of legality?
Logged
DEFINITION OF A VETERAN
A Veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a check made payable to "The United States of America", for an amount of "up to and including my life."
Author Unknown

Offline mietla

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2276
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2006, 05:41:26 PM »
Cool. Thank you very much.
Logged

Offline mietla

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2276
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #7 on: July 23, 2006, 05:44:26 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by Maverick
Is your question one of simple physical possibility or one of legality?

possibility
Logged

Offline Maverick

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 13958
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2006, 05:58:55 PM »
Physical possibility, heck yeah. Pilots land visually all the time in the SW where visibility is good.
Logged
DEFINITION OF A VETERAN
A Veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a check made payable to "The United States of America", for an amount of "up to and including my life."
Author Unknown

Offline Debonair

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3488
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2006, 07:29:53 PM »
squak 7600 or fly in class G airspace are the two ways to do it afaik
Logged

Offline Toad

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 18415
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #10 on: July 23, 2006, 10:12:06 PM »
Yep. Even before GPS and all the other "modern" stuff.

There's this thing called "dead reckoning" even. ;)
Logged
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!

Offline Debonair

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3488
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #11 on: July 24, 2006, 12:24:21 AM »
are the lost comm rules different for the big iron than the part 91 GA lost comm rules?
Logged

Offline mora

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2351
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #12 on: July 24, 2006, 01:37:41 AM »
AFAIK at least in Finland airliners fly scheduled services to airports without ATC.
Logged

Offline Fishu

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3789
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #13 on: July 24, 2006, 02:17:48 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by mora
AFAIK at least in Finland airliners fly scheduled services to airports without ATC.


Surely not the biggest airliners. They're only flying to airfields with ATC or AFIS (Aerodrome Flight Information Service). At least Finnair nor Blue1 doesn't, I don't remember if it was due to a policy or a regulation. If a position isn't open, they'll be waiting till it's open.


Anyway, ATC is out there to serve the pilots and to sort out the traffic flow. They are the traffic lights and signs of the sky. Pilots do the flying and navigation. Of course sometimes pilots of small planes are lost and ATC has to help 'em out.

Flying would be alot harder if it wouldn't be for the radio beacons set up for aviators. Radio beacons are still the main source of navigation, nowadays also backed up by GPS.
IRS aka Inertial Reference System is used by almost every bigger passenger plane today, which is the main source for navigation.
Logged

Offline mora

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2351
A question for Toad or other airline pilot
« Reply #14 on: July 24, 2006, 02:39:01 AM »
You're correct, AFIS it was...
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »