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DA62 G-MDME calibration flight down - Dubai

In theory the pilot is responsible for wake separation. In practice ATC normally enforce this, but not always; I was lined up right behind a big jet recently (can’t remember where) and it was up to me to count off the 3 minutes. But would ATC – if they do normally do the timing – remember this if there are two runways? I am not so sure.

I think this would “get” a lot of GA flights, if it wasn’t for the fact that GA rarely visits airports which operate two parallel runways concurrently. Most of them cost way too much.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

In my experience ATC will always provide a wake turbulence caution and relevant information on the threat aircraft, but I’ve never experienced them actually managing timing or distance on a VFR flight

Now retired from forums best wishes

While the wake turbulence issue is foremost in our minds please remember that some of the worst wake turbulence is to be found near large helicopters…………. and these do commonly operate from GA airfields.

Once, when trying to head S/W across Spain from Reus in my old arrow III, we encountered such strong downdrafts from mountain waves that even in a configuration that should have given us a climb of 1,000fpm, we found ourselves descending at 2,000fpm. We gave it up for a bad job and diverted elsewhere before we got a faceful of granite.

The other incident was about 8 years ago nr. Lasham, at 4,000ft in IMC, receiving a traffic service from Farnborough, we popped out of the cloud to see a chinook passing perpendicular to our path, 1/2 mile in front, about 400ft above. “Oh sorry, said farnborough controller, I should have mentioned that”. Before I could answer, we hit the rotor wash and I spent the next 30 seconds trying

a. to avoid spearing into the ground
b. to prevent us from turning upside down
and
c. to keep the contents of my bowels the right side of my sphincter.

I should have filed an MOR, but took sympathy on the bloke. I regret that now, as I realise that I allowed a problem to get swept under the carpet, instead of discussing it, and this problem continues to this day when it comes to Farnborough…

I now have real respect for moving bodies of air – they can hurt you.

Last Edited by wsmempson at 24 Jun 11:19

A_and_C wrote:

While the wake turbulence issue is foremost in our minds please remember that some of the worst wake turbulence is to be found near large helicopters…………. and these do commonly operate from GA airfields.

And Antonov AN2!

ELLX

Doesn’t the report state that during the pre-flight briefing with ATC it was agreed that the calibration flight would provide its own separation and wake avoidance? Kinda tricky to do at night, and the winds apparently blew the wake of the A350 right into their path.

Peter wrote:

think this would “get” a lot of GA flights, if it wasn’t for the fact that GA rarely visits airports which operate two parallel runways concurrently. Most of them cost way too much.

Not around here, it’s quite common.

Final report on this sad incident has been released.

local copy

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

I got slightly uncomfortable reading the report. It pretty clearly questions the decision-making of the PIC as well as the safety management system of the operator and the safety oversight of the UK CAA.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

Page 48 has some interesting real data on wingtip vortex descent rate: 1m/sec i.e. 200fpm. This is less than the 300-500fpm often posted.

They also die down amazingly slowly.

This is also an interesting comment. This has featured in many airliner accidents. Of course nobody can tell whether this is just conjecture that it was a factor in this case.


Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

That last paragraph is pure conjecture.

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