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Agschmid

(28,749 posts)
Mon Dec 3, 2012, 10:15 PM Dec 2012

MUST SEE VIDEO: Airplanes landing in a Timely Fashion

Two months ago, an aviation filming fanatic known on YouTube as cargospotter uploaded this footage of London Heathrow. By running the footage at high speed, he reveals how tightly the planes are packed together into a landing queue. It's also interesting to see how much the wind buffets each plane on its way in—they look like insects trying to navigate a breeze:

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MUST SEE VIDEO: Airplanes landing in a Timely Fashion (Original Post) Agschmid Dec 2012 OP
Wow! That is amazing. Thanks :) n/t karmaqueen Dec 2012 #1
VERY cool n/t trocar Dec 2012 #2
Landing LHR or LAX, you had best be ON the assigned speed, exactly. DemoTex Dec 2012 #3
Is LAX the only stateside airport that assigns speed restrictions to aircraft on visual approaches? Major Nikon Dec 2012 #5
Have you ever had a real hair-raiser, DemoTex... Surya Gayatri Dec 2012 #7
You'd probably get arrested for filming that in the U.S. Atman Dec 2012 #4
What an interesting idea this guy had. dixiegrrrrl Dec 2012 #6
Even though I know this footage is at high speed chalky Dec 2012 #8

DemoTex

(25,370 posts)
3. Landing LHR or LAX, you had best be ON the assigned speed, exactly.
Mon Dec 3, 2012, 11:09 PM
Dec 2012

Last edited Mon Dec 3, 2012, 11:49 PM - Edit history (1)

The entire visual approach sequence is predicated on precise speed control. One jerk flying +10 knots (or -10 knots) will throw a monkeywrench into the whole exquisitely choreographed ballet. Been there, done that (many times) .. and loved every hair-raising minute of it!

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
5. Is LAX the only stateside airport that assigns speed restrictions to aircraft on visual approaches?
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 01:08 AM
Dec 2012

I've never heard this for DFW, but with 4 landing runways I suspect there's not nearly as much need.

I've landed at a few big airports in my plane, but my speed restriction is usually comprised of something along the lines of "peddle faster".

 

Surya Gayatri

(15,445 posts)
7. Have you ever had a real hair-raiser, DemoTex...
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 09:44 AM
Dec 2012

where you could feel the "breath" of another plane on your nose or tail? What they so euphemistically call a "near-miss"?

At such busy hubs as LHR, it must happen more than the authorities care to make public.

I give major props to these pilots--it has to take nerves of steel to fly with such razor-thin safety margins.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)
6. What an interesting idea this guy had.
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 08:57 AM
Dec 2012

One can get sort of the same idea by watching any online airport tracker, but seeing the real thing is more fascinating.
Apparently filming planes in London does not carry the same penalty as it would here....

chalky

(3,297 posts)
8. Even though I know this footage is at high speed
Tue Dec 4, 2012, 09:34 PM
Dec 2012

I still would not have wanted to be on that third plane starting at the 2:40 mark.
I was getting queasy just watching it.

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