Actually the interesting thing about that is the vertical speed. Surely nearly 5000fpm down is not normal?!
I noticed that after taking the screenshot! Mostly it was 2-3kfpm, but they did seem to be in a hurry to get down to about FL250 IIRC, the screenshot was right around max speed and rate of descent. There seemed to be more traffic than usual, they flew a weird approach with a bit of a chicane in it and were half an hour early too, so maybe ATC was a bit pressed to slot everyone in and made some odd requests?
An I-16 would be fun! Myriad Aviation Warbirds http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DWre6DUAbMIg&ei=yvyDVYugA9jz8gWSwIGwCQ&usg=AFQjCNHTBl7ZgHKr3Onr2aHmeTYeDb_oCQ&bvm=bv.96042044,d.dGc
Looks like fun. Put some shields on it and I'll fly it!.... Actually it has a resemblance to an "elongated" Gee Bee.
Be interesting to find out what was first the Gee Bee or I16. Only 20' long and 900hp+ up front. Spent the last hour watching tapes of K Weeks flying P51C & P51D he sure has a lot of fun.
Sounds scary, TBH. My guess is that the Gee Bee would have been first. For mine if money is no object, in the desirability stakes it's a Spitfire first, P51 next, daylight, then everything else. But with Spitfires now approaching $7m, the P51 is looking good value at way less than half that.
Around 2000fpm would be "normal". Can only assume it was a brief burst of speed-brake out, idle power, and nose down to produce that on a pax flight. I saw 6000+fpm down briefly today. But only because we were practising an emergency descent with masks on and everything turned to 11! 😬
Yac 3 @ $US425,000 say by eight is less than 60k each, very good for a V12 Classic Aircraft Sales - Yakolev Yak 11 & 3, De Havilland DH90 Dragonfly, Reliable and low maintenance RNZAF BAE167 Strikemaster
Quite true. Good value. Likely a wonderful aircraft to fly. But... For me if its not a Spitfire or P51 I'd be more interested in a cheaper to run classic trainer, like a T-6 or similar. Because while that particular V12 fighter might be "cheap" to buy it would be a nightmare to run, on a $ per hour basis (as would any fighter). And if I'm going to live a nightmare, I want to live the dream at the same time! (aka. If I have to sleep in a tent every night to pay for the damn thing, I want to be looking at a Spitfire when I wake up)!
Given the lack of headlines this morning about anyone's near-death experience, they mustn't have frightened anyone too badly! I assume people would notice if they were onboard with your emergency descent, but I wonder if it's something a normal person would be aware of on an A380? Now for something completely different - a gallery of aviation weirdness: https://imgur.com/a/I6ob7?gallery (including a few very cool-looking things)
Possibly given a maximum speed instruction for arrival from ATC. This would explain the increased rate of descent, with a steeper profile. The 5kfpm would have been a brief burst like Steve said, certainly not sustainable for passenger comfort! The weird approach could possibly have been track shortening inside the terminal area. Sounds like you got lucky!
[QUOTE As an aside, are there enough people here for a group warbird buy?? [/QUOTE] What kind of warbird? I's a possibility - no big radials or Gypsies please.....Or jets, for that matter. A SF260 would be amusing...
Reliable & low maintenance Strikemaster? - untill someone for gets the wing fitting inspection and the wing comes off...
I'd love one of those. Cheap to run, lots of fun, and you can even carry a couple of others with you and go somewhere. N71FD 1988 Siai-Marchetti SF-260C - Courtesy Aircraft
Steve, the sf 260 is a really great piece of kit - I've used one a couple of times as a flight test chase/camera aircraft. Stelio Frati never designed an ugly aeroplane - they are very much the Alfa of light aircraft. Lots of practical considerations in thier favour, including an engine that you can actually get parts for - however, airframe parts can be an issue as it seems (a few years ago, anyway) that they want an end user certificate for any parts sale - I'm sure that can be overcome. Another option is a Zlin - Walter Mikrons are easy to get parts for, and very reliable - an inverted inline that doesn't leak oil!!!
Lovely. The SF is the only modern aircraft I'd consider in this bracket. And that's mainly because it looks beautiful. I well remember when the Zlins first came here in the early 90s and TS was the agent in SA. Interesting, but they just look a touch agricultural to me. Not beautiful enough to make me want to get up early on a Sunday morning.
Somebody skipped a step in their preflight checklist... [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_8mdH20qTQ[/ame]
Another approach into Perth. Boxes don't complain about vertical speed, I guess (actually saw 67xx fpm for a moment!) I wonder if it's a function of the way FR24 or ADS-B transmitters calculate the speed. Anyone know? Image Unavailable, Please Login
I can't answer definitively but I'd be very surprised if descent rates like that were even close to "normal". I've watched hundreds of times on the TCAS airliners doing "profile" descents and they seem to be fairly similar to ours in terms of ROD. ie. 1500 - 2500 fpm. Of course there could be occasions where a much steeper than normal descent is required but it would be in very short bursts with everything hanging out, and probably due to a late requirement by ATC, as Dan said. Or, there could be some lag in the measurements taken by the website VMax posted resulting in unrealistic numbers appearing briefly.
It does seem to be a very brief burst on the occasions I've seen it, which is what made me wonder if it was real (if momentary), or an artifact of the way the data was calculated. As far as I know, the FlightRadar24 interface shows data more or less directly from ADS-B broadcasts (hence the slightly weird decimal numbers shown for things like ROD, because they make sense in binary), but maybe something is being done to the data first. Or, maybe ADS-B (or certain transmitters?) has a weird sample rate that causes occasional outlier data like that, which I think is more or less the same as what you're saying in your final sentence? Dumb question corner - I tried to listen for any out-of-the-ordinary ATC requests, but wasn't able to find anything (using liveatc.net). Am I right in thinking that a) The initial "Descend FLxyz" (from FL400 cruise) would be given by Melbourne Centre before handing off to Perth Approach? b) Radio calls to Melbourne Centre from a flight near Perth are actually heard by a local receiver and then sent back via some other non-radio, or at least non-Centre-frequency, method? (this question arises because if so, I'm not sure anyone is recording the Melbourne Centre frequency near here and thus I assume I'd never hear anything said on it... maybe)
Not dumb questions at all. Dan is better qualified than I to answer specific ATC questions, but basically Aus is divided into two halves, with the northern half handled by Brisbane Centre, and the southern half by Melbourne centre. Once you get within a short distance of a capital city, you are handed over to their "Approach" frequency. Usually around 50nm, give or take a bit. So, yes, when heading to Perth the initial descent will be issued by Melbourne Centre and then closer in you will be handed off to Perth Approach. I spoke to my A320 Captain mate a little while ago and he said that around 2000fpm is "normal" but it does vary, and 6000fpm is possible for short periods on a "high speed" descent.
