Runway 16 - Dublin

I was up there on Sunday and yesterday with my 4 yr old son. The highlight of yesterday's visit was a LH A321 going around. Happened at approx. 6 p.m. Always nice to see a go around.

DW_ATCO wrote: »

unless its an ATC caused go-around!

True, not as much drama.

alan85 wrote: »

The Germans must be fair weather pilots. I saw an A320 going around few weeks ago 3 miles out and the weather wasn't even all that bad...

The vast majority of go-arounds are due to the runway not being clear. Can be a crew not familiar with the airport and not vacating the runway in time for the aircraft behind. There is always the ocasion when a visual on the landing gear if there is an idication problem in the flight deck. A pax still in the toilet senario.
Heathrow takes in to account there will be an average of 4 go-arounds per day. All due to congestion. You can be put in a go-around as far as 20 miles out. You will be held at 3,000ft and fly over the runway and follow a track into the lower level of the hold.

Last week I had an aircraft (Sri Lankan A340 on finals to 27L) orderd at 6 miles to turn right (2,500ft) and go-around again. It came roaring my house. It got a little congested due to thunderstorm activity. Thunderstorms just love positioning on a 4 mile final to any landing runway.
At about the same position on finals to 27R there was the occasion where the ATC asked AFXXX what is your speed. Reply 160 knots. ATC shouted back at him 'You were told 180 knots' (as the gap to the following KLM was now reduced to 2 miles). Even I could see the gap being a little too close. A very irrate ATC then told AF to turn left and had to go around again.

Andrew33 wrote: »

I landed on 16 last Thursday on an FR flight and I couldn't get my bearings at all on approach as we came in over Ashbourne:D

It does seem to make it very convenient for FR using pier D though.

I have always wondered which is quicker:

• When flying in the direction of the UK for example, taking off in an Easterly direction (longer taxi but don't have to double back in the air) versus taking off in a Westerly direction (short taxi but you do have to double back in the air).
• Coming back from UK, landing in a Westerly direction (can fly straight in and land but long taxi back to Terminal) or landing in an Easterly direction (have to fly inland and double back to land at the airport but it's a short taxi).

Would anyone like to venture a guess?

KevR wrote: »

I have always wondered which is quicker:

• When flying in the direction of the UK for example, taking off in an Easterly direction (longer taxi but don't have to double back in the air) versus taking off in a Westerly direction (short taxi but you do have to double back in the air).
• Coming back from UK, landing in a Westerly direction (can fly straight in and land but long taxi back to Terminal) or landing in an Easterly direction (have to fly inland and double back to land at the airport but it's a short taxi).

Would anyone like to venture a guess?

Well landing from the east and hard on the brakes for taxiway E6 is definitely the shorter arrival option!

KevR,
if you take off on 28 and turn back to head towards the UK, it takes a jet about 5-6 minutes to reach abeam the airport. So that's 5-6 minutes longer than departing off 10. The extra taxiing distance to 10 is about the same time, so it makes little overall difference, all other things being equal. From the accountants point of view, these extra minutes if the air cost about 200kg* of fuel versus a saving from the shorter taxi of about 50kg. So it's cheaper to depart off 10.
Landing on 28 with longer taxi is quicker than landing on 10. From abeam the airport, it takes about 8-10 minutes to head out west and turn around to land on 10. The taxi in is quicker than from 28, but then when you land on 28 you're not taxiing from the very end of the runway so the difference is not very great.
The accountants would prefer 28 also, the fuel saving over 10 is about 300-400kg.

* - A320 figures

I came back from London Heathrow on Sunday evening at about 8pm and saw a bunch of people on the perimeter road watching the planes land. I was on a bmi A319 registration G-DBCI, anyone get any pix of her landing?