Tornado Typhoon proximity warning
Tornado Typhoon proximity warning
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saaby93

Original Poster:

32,038 posts

207 months

Friday 27th January 2017
quotequote all
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-o...
No proximity warning transmitter in the tornado?
Isnt the Typhoon radar able to pick up other craft?

Ginetta G15 Girl

3,220 posts

213 months

Friday 27th January 2017
quotequote all
saaby93 said:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-o...
No proximity warning transmitter in the tornado?
Isnt the Typhoon radar able to pick up other craft?
How about looking out of the window?

frodo_monkey

672 posts

225 months

Saturday 28th January 2017
quotequote all
"See and avoid" is great, but never 100%...

Simpo Two

92,662 posts

294 months

Saturday 28th January 2017
quotequote all
Ginetta G15 Girl said:
How about looking out of the window?
No good - pilot could be checking Facebook on his phone.

saaby93

Original Poster:

32,038 posts

207 months

Saturday 28th January 2017
quotequote all
frodo_monkey said:
"See and avoid" is great, but never 100%...
Neither is radar it seems

IanH755

2,767 posts

149 months

Saturday 28th January 2017
quotequote all
While a Typhoons radar is "powered" for the whole time the aircraft is airborne, the amount of time it actually radiating and generating returns all depends on it's position within the formation, objectives of the flight, which part of the flight regime the aircraft is currently at etc so it's a misconception to think that the radar will be radiating for the entire flight. The same applies to most Fast Jet aircraft, including the Tornado which was also involved.

This is why "getting your head out of the cockpit" and visual scanning is drummed into the pilots but, as always, humans are fallible so as soon as an issue arises (as in this case) we change things to prevent it happening again so in this case the direction the aircraft take to avoid the local town has now been changed to de-conflict the area and prevent another occurrence.

Flooble

5,755 posts

129 months

Saturday 28th January 2017
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How much use is a proximity warning in the circuit anyway? That's exactly where you would expect to be in proximity to other aircraft ...

anonymous-user

83 months

Saturday 28th January 2017
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Flooble said:
How much use is a proximity warning in the circuit anyway? That's exactly where you would expect to be in proximity to other aircraft ...
Exactly and flying in formation.

An ex colleague of mine nearly hit an F15 years ago in a B757. The B757 had TCAS but it turns out only the lead F15 in the formation switches on the transponder as as far as ATC are concerned the formation counted as one aircraft.

There are probably numerous times when some kind of collision avoidance system in a military aircraft would be switched off, otherwise it's going to result in nuisance warnings.


Ginetta G15 Girl

3,220 posts

213 months

Saturday 28th January 2017
quotequote all
DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.
The Typhoon formation were joining the circuit visually. You look for aircraft on the R/W or departing as well as aircraft already in the visual circuit.

As you join that's all ahead of you so there is no requirement for 360 degree vision.


In this case, contributing factors were that the visual circuit of R/W 05 was right hand with a proviso not to overfly Lossiemouth town (noise abatement). This means a joining aircraft / formation either has to turn early (before the end of the R/W - a no no because you could be turning into/in front of aircraft already on the downwind leg) or it/they have to extend upwind so as to go round the outside of Lossie town; this can easily put it/them in confliction with a departing aircraft/formation.

The second contributary factor was that, as the lead called the join, ATC failed to inform him/her that there was a formation on the runway about to depart.

ATC should have replied: "xxx Formation join, two on for departure" which would have given the Typhoon leader the heads up.

The visual circuit for R/W 05 always used to be Left hand meaning this situation could never have occured. I am reliably informed that the circuit changed to Right hand when the Typhoon force arrived at Lossie. A typical case of a new broom changing things merely because it is a new broom.

djc206

13,559 posts

154 months

Sunday 29th January 2017
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El stovey said:
Exactly and flying in formation.

An ex colleague of mine nearly hit an F15 years ago in a B757. The B757 had TCAS but it turns out only the lead F15 in the formation switches on the transponder as as far as ATC are concerned the formation counted as one aircraft.

There are probably numerous times when some kind of collision avoidance system in a military aircraft would be switched off, otherwise it's going to result in nuisance warnings.
Ah the good old F15's. Did you hear about the F15's and the El Al freighter?

A very good friend of mine works aberdeen offshore, lots of interesting stories involving the military and interesting interpretations of the word visual

Perik Omo

2,325 posts

177 months

Sunday 29th January 2017
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I remember going to a mid-air collision avoidance seminar at one of the US bases in Suffolk in the early 1980's where they had a film taken from a mid-air collision between a Phantom and Hercules. In a few seconds a dot on the horizon became a full sized hercules then BAMM!! in just the time it took to the pilot to scan the Phantom's instrument panel. The point was that without collision avoidance the mark one eyeball was just about useless at those speeds.

Yertis

19,707 posts

295 months

Monday 30th January 2017
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djc206 said:
Did you hear about the F15's and the El Al freighter?
Two F15's go into a pub... etc.

Sylvaforever

2,212 posts

127 months

Monday 30th January 2017
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Tornado has TCAS, typhoon does not have the same capability.

oh and it doesn't have TCAS either hehe

Edited by Sylvaforever on Monday 30th January 22:58