Pat Ayres Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Great, I have on of my hissy fit moments, trying to wind people up by poking fun and cynicism at a corporate award, and find most people actually agree with me! Must be losing my touch. I don't accept the extension scenario either, if it ain't finished yet why have they moved the cables rending the airport without a safety feature, therefore more dangerous than it was before? More likely switched off usually to save power and money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgy Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Great, I have on of my hissy fit moments, trying to wind people up by poking fun and cynicism at a corporate award, and find most people actually agree with me! Must be losing my touch.I don't accept the extension scenario either, if it ain't finished yet why have they moved the cables rending the airport without a safety feature, therefore more dangerous than it was before? More likely switched off usually to save power and money. The work that is going on at the airport is obviously far too complex for somebody of your limited intellect. If you really think they are putting lives at risk by removing a safety feature I think you should contact your MHK or even drop a line to the Airport Director. I'm sure she will explain what is going on in layman's terms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Ayres Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 "If you really think they are putting lives at risk by removing a safety feature" Do you mean; If you really think, that by removing a safety feature, they are putting lives at risk. Or; If you really think they are removing a safety feature and putting lives at risk. It's all far too complex for someone etc; etc. Also, if you knew who my MHKs are you would realise how pointless the last suggestion is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgy Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 "If you really think they are putting lives at risk by removing a safety feature"Do you mean; If you really think, that by removing a safety feature, they are putting lives at risk. Or; If you really think they are removing a safety feature and putting lives at risk. It's all far too complex for someone etc; etc. Also, if you knew who my MHKs are you would realise how pointless the last suggestion is. Ah! From Ramsey. That explains it then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
%age Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 . . . I think you should contact your MHK . . . . /Off topic A bit off topic maybe but I am amazed everytime I see a remark like this. Contacting your MHK is often about as effective as phoning up the Mannin Line. Many MHKs are well meaning of course but I am sure many will agree with me. Regarding ability to get something done on this Island or successfully complain against a government department or change a law or something, they are well down the pecking order of power and effectiveness. Why can't so many people on this Island see that? /on topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Bob Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 We are blessed with some very good controllers here at Ronaldsway - praise were praise is due. A calm voice on the other end of the radio can ensure that things flow smoothly when the chips are down. Regarding the ILS being switched off to save power..not sure if that's a wind up, but I can assure you it's nothing to do with energy conservation and everything to do with safety. For those who are interested, the ILS is made up of two components: 1) the Glideslope - which is a beam transmitted from beside the runway and is interpreted by instruments on the aircraft to show your position relative to a nominal (typically 3 degree) approach slope. 2) the Localiser - which is a beam transmitted typically from the far end of the runway ( unless the approach is offset as is the case for Runway 08 at Ronaldsway) and allows an aircraft to line up with the published approach course. Both of these beams are highly sensitive and accurate, allowing aircraft to come down to as low as 200 feet (decision altitude) above the ground before a decision to land is made. If Bob the Builder were to park his JCB anywhere near these transmitters then the integrity of the beams is compromised and the accuracy degraded. Because this is unacceptable, on days when essential work is taking place in the location of the transmitters, the ILS is switched off and other approach aids (NDB/DME, VOR/DME) or radar vectored approaches are used. These approaches are not as accurate as an ILS, this fact is reflected in a higher decision altitude, which ensures the same level of safety is maintained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giggleberrys Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Captain Bob, you seem to have a fair amount of knowledge! From what I know the man himself is a little embarrassed by the whole award incident as he was just doing his job. Still, its not like you could reject it when you were told you had won it now is it????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chunkylover Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Helping an aircraft land in the case of an emergency may be part of an ATC's job, but it's not something they have to do regularly; when an emergency does happen, they have to remember all their training and deal with the adrenaline, and the pressure of being in a very stressful situation - so he should be recognised for potentially saving lives - if I'd been on the plane, i'd have nominated him for every award going! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkydevil Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Helping an aircraft land in the case of an emergency may be part of an ATC's job, but it's not something they have to do regularly; when an emergency does happen, they have to remember all their training and deal with the adrenaline, and the pressure of being in a very stressful situation - so he should be recognised for potentially saving lives - if I'd been on the plane, i'd have nominated him for every award going! Rubbish, they have autopilot to land the plane, I saw a documentary about it - look: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyboarder Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Must be losing my touch. You're deluding yourself - you never really had one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Ayres Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 You learn well grasshopper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Peters Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I did a practice Surveillance Radar Approach (SRA) like this recently as part of a PPL rating renewal flight test (may even have been the same ATCO) so it's not an unusual procedure. The controller tells you what altitude to fly at and what heading to hold, adjusting this with heading updates to get you on final approach for the runway in use. He'll also tell you when to start your descent, and give you regular reminders of your (decreasing) target altitude. I found it hugely enjoyable and very rewarding (I passed). But I didn't have paying passengers behind me or smoke in the cockpit. I'd have been the first to buy the ATCO a beer that evening if I had. Sure, it's his job - but let's remember he performed it under real pressure and deserves being recognised for that. Bet he wishes he'd had a pay rise instead of a trophy though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveP Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 If you (obviously accidentally of course) had a radio scanner that picked up the tower, you could quite often hear the type of approach Stu mentions. They even manage to do all that in amongst all the normal traffic. It's surprising how busy Ronaldsway can be at times! And they always do it by the book every time. (Except for maybe exchanging names or the odd 'hello again' with pilots they speak to regularly!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
%age Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 New Control Tower - Manx Radio It does make us feel better on spending lots of money on a New Control Tower. To be fair, what we could have done with was a national disaster about 10 years ago where lots of people actually died of something. That way, we would all be glad the New Hospital cost us £millions and £millions more than it should have done. (Where did all that money go?) Similarly perhaps there should have been hundreds of people electrocuted with bad electricity or something, then we would all say "Oh, a few hundred £million more than expected isn't that much for a New Power Station, Gas Pipeline and stuff". But maybe I've swerved the issue to make a point, I don't know. Anyway, well done the chap for diverting a possible disaster and its good to know there are safe and sensible hands looking after us in the background. Nice one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahc Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 ILS in action: Well, someone else did the auto pilot one, it needs this one too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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