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