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If anyone wants to snap a pic, she is due to touch down 27L at 1320 local, flying a right hand circuit onto 27L.

quote:

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Originally posted by Garnett:
I'm curious how they can already designate a runway so far in advance of the aircraft's arrival. Typically, runways are assigned based on wind direction at the time and, of course, volume of traffic in and out of the terminal area. At all major (and even some minor ones...such as d class and c class airports in the US), pilots are required to tune into the airport's ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information System) to get automated information relative to active runway, wind direction, misc information (closed taxiways, etc.), altimeter settings...and so forth before even calling up Approach Control. I've flown into many airports where the arriving/departing runway would change from hour to hour.

Garnett

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Not all runways are equal. They vary in length and weight handling capabilities. 27L might be the only runway that can handle the A380.

There will be alive webcast on the BAA Heathrow site, which you do have to pre-register to watch.

Pam

[ 05-18-2006: Message edited by: PamM ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Garnett:
I'm curious how they can already designate a runway so far in advance of the aircraft's arrival.

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There are only two runways at LHR, and they're parallel to each other. So the only issue is whether operations on any particular day will be easterly or westerly. By lunchtime on Wednesday, it will have been pretty clear that Thursday's winds would dictate westerly ops, which is what Heathrow does about 70-80% of the time.

Further, during westerly ops, one runway is used almost exclusively for departures and the other almost exclusively for arrivals. Whichever way around they are at the beginning of the day, they swap over at about 3 pm local time so that people living under the final approach path will substantively get a break from the noise either in the first half of the day or the second half of the day.

The schedule for westerly ops is known well in advance, hence if you are confident that you are flying in on a westerlies day and you know what time you're arriving, you'll have a pretty good idea which runway you'll be landing on.

The 380 may well be restricted to just one runway, though, as PamM says. In that case, the guesswork is limited - you've just got to work out whether you're going to be on easterlies or westerlies to know whether it's going to be 27L or 09R.

BTW, here's the BBC News video of the landing.

And photos are available here (NB that link will always start by returning the most recently uploaded photos for the aircraft concerned).

[ 05-19-2006: Message edited by: Globaliser ]

I did note that she was parked at the stand strategically next to an Emirates aircraft.

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Originally posted by jeffrossatsea:
great BBC video of landing....a bit of a hard bounce on the wheels when it touched down

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Incidentally, I saw elsewhere that there were contingency plans for her landing on 27R if necessary, so it looks like both of LHR's runways will take her. But the A380-capable extension to Terminal 3 is right by 09R/27L, so it made sense for that runway to be used for this, plus with the current (temporary) 10-mile astern separation restriction, it would not unduly affect the normal landing stream on 27R.

[ 05-21-2006: Message edited by: Globaliser ]

businessweek

forbes

[ 06-14-2006: Message edited by: Ernst ]