AI Traffic at Coventry
Follow-up to Christmas flying, the reality from Steve's blog
At last I've managed to get a Cessna 182 doing circuits with me, so this eveing's flying was a little more entertaining that usual! Due to the unpredictable length of my circuits we'd keep getting in each other's way. Some of the default FS2004 traffic was also around this time, causing trouble. I was told go go around twice. Once was because my approach was awful and would have resulted in a big hole in the runway. The second time there was nothing wrong at all that I could see. The go around instruction came quite late so I carried on with the landing and got seriously told off! Won't do that again:-)
Another slightly ropey approach of mine took longer than the Tower expected and cause the other Cessna, following close behind, to have to go around.
And having all this extra traffic sometimes makes it difficult to get a word in, doesn't it! I've had 4 or 5 other aircraft have conversations with Coventry Tower before I've had a chance to acknowledge a transmission.
I also saw a Thomsonfly 737 do a touch-and-go on runway 6. Yes, runway 6. That's about 300ft long and completely useless for landing anything on, except maybe for a harrier (is it actually used for helicopters?) How the AI traffic came up with that I have no idea. I was on approach to runway 5 at the time and heard the tower giving instructions but didn't quite believe it. Then this thing came whizzing past to my right, touched down, and flew off again. It was almost out of sight before I'd landed. That's something you won't see in real life, thankfully…
Speaking of Thomsonfly, to the right is a picture of me in my Cessna 172, parked next to a 737. I haven't yet managed to get any to taxi and take off, but I can get them parked!
Just to finish on a high, my final landing this evening was almost textbook. Got the approach spot on and just glided down. No fiddling with throttle or elevators. 10 degrees of flap, speed 75kts, descent at 500ft/min, all the way down. I was a little high (PAPI showed three white, one red, until the end), and drifted a little to the right towards the end, and just the tiniest of bounces. By my usual standards, that's brilliant!
I even managed a fairly decent landing at Wellesbourne. All in all, a good evening's flying.
So, what to do next time. Well, I'm being "encouraged" to turn up the wind a little, so I think that might be next. Not to the levels we've been having around here lately, mind you. A nice sedate 10kts will do fine. And I do want to have a fly around Snowdon, to see what VFR Terrain has done do it. Something for the weekend, I think…
Steve Rumsby
12 Jan 2005 00:24
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Tags: Flying Msfs
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Benjamin Keates
Hurray, another FS2004 user! Unfortunately I've not got much traffic going into Coventry myself as of yet, only a few HLX flights… in fact, all I've managed to do with Traffic Tools so far is fill Manchester up with traffic so much that it freezes my computer every time I load it up. Glad to hear you had an enjoyable evening's flying and that you were happy with your landings. My next flight, when I get the chance, is an Easyjet 737–700 from Liverpool to Barcelona. Have fun.
12 Jan 2005, 01:24
Steve Rumsby
Runway 6 indeed for helicopters. It is even grass rather than tarmac. See here.
So what that 737 was doing trying to land on it I've no idea. I imagine it gave some chopper pilots a bit of a fright! (Actually, not, since I don't have any helicopter AI traffic. Can you actually do AI helicopters? I should give it a go…)
12 Jan 2005, 15:15
If you taxi (or fly, if you're brave) behind one of the jets in FS, do you get caught up in their jetwash? Seeing the cessna parked by the 737 made me wonder what would happen if the 737 taxied off and blasted you :–)
12 Jan 2005, 15:18
Steve Rumsby
Why? Serious question. I've seen comments in various places from people who make that sort of flight and I've never understood the attraction. I fly for two reasons:
But the thought of spending a few hours cruising at 30,000ft, with little to see and little to do, just doesn't appeal. Am I missing something, or do we just want different things from our flightsim activities?
12 Jan 2005, 15:40
Steve Rumsby
Dunno. I've followed a light plane up the runway much too closely and not noticed any ill effects. I've never tried it with a big jet. I'll try and remember to give it a go once I manage to persuade these things to taxi at all. Some airport redesign required first. Or else I'll go and cause some havoc at BHX!!
12 Jan 2005, 15:43
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