Icelandic volcano ****s up Northern European air traffic

[Dynasty]

Due to fly to Amsterdam's Schiphol from Addis Ababa (initially leaving from Khartoum) on the evening of the 29th, then from Schiphol to Heathrow a few hours after landing.

As long as I get to Amsterdam I couldnt really care.

Just dont cancel my flight damn it.

Mind you, its just under 2 weeks away, and the ash is SUPPOSED to be clearing. It looks like a week is the expected time of clearance *shrug*.

To be honest, they could send me anywhere in Europe and I wouldnt care. Plenty of trains etc to get back to the UK. Company can cover my expenses, bwaha.

Its still a bitch for people.

Whats stopping them flying lower? Apart from fuel consumption.

Theres still 6000 flights in Europe though, so its not like EVERY airport is actually affected. If the winds change its go go go.

 

[VirusType2]

"Ice cap thaw may awaken Icelandic volcanoes"

OSLO (Reuters) – A thaw of Iceland's ice caps in coming decades caused by climate change may trigger more volcanic eruptions by removing a vast weight and freeing magma from deep below ground, scientists said on Friday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100416/wl_nm/us_iceland_volcano_climate

 

[Rizzo]

Iceland's economy's last wish was to have it's ashes spread across europe.

 

[Warped]

Video Update: its not over yet!!

 

[Dynasty]

Anyone seen the lightning being created at the eruption site?

Its ***king god-like!

 

[Warped]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awtSc_BgYys&playnext_from=TL&videos=1F-slsRHJZU&feature=sub

 

[Dynasty]

It's a process that's sort of like Mother Nature's version of a "Cash for Clunkers" engine getting killed. Volcanic ash normally contains glassy materials, such as silicates, whose melting points are 600 degrees Celsius to 800 degrees Celsius. Since internal temperature of in-flight jet engine exceed 1000 degrees Celsius, glassy particles in volcanic ash inhaled by the engines instantly melt. In the course of exhaust, the glassy materials are rapidly cooled down in the turbine chamber, stick on the turbine vanes, and disturb the flow of high-pressure combustion gases. This disorder of the flow may stop the entire engine in serious cases — such as KLM Flight 867.

Such dangerous and costly encounters between aircraft and volcanic ash can happen because ash clouds are difficult to distinguish from ordinary clouds, both visually and on radar. Also, ash clouds can drift great distances from their source. For example, in less than 3 days, the ash cloud from the June 15, 1991, eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines traveled more than 5,000 miles to the east coast of Africa. This ash cloud damaged more than 20 aircraft — including the DC-10 shown above — most of which were flying more than 600 miles from the volcano.

So today's decision by British aviation officials to clear UK airspace until at least 1:00 am EST on Friday, while difficult, makes a heck of a lot of sense.

This is why planes dont play in ash clouds.

SPECIFIC FLIGHT CREW ACTIONS REQUIRED IN RESPONSE TO ENCOUNTERS
Despite ongoing avoidance efforts, operators can still experience volcanic ash encounters. Guidance on the operational issues surrounding volcanic ash is divided into three aspects: avoidance, recognition, and procedures. The following information is general; flight crews should refer to their respective company's operating manuals for details.

Avoidance.
Preventing flight into potential ash environments requires planning in these areas:

* Dispatch needs to provide flight crews with information about volcanic events, such as potentially eruptive volcanoes and known ash sightings, that could affect a particular route (see sidebar page).
* Dispatch also needs to identify alternate routes to help flight crews avoid airspace containing volcanic ash.
* Flight crews should stay upwind of volcanic ash and dust.
* Flight crews should note that airborne weather radar is ineffective for distinguishing ash and small dust particles.

Top of page

Recognition.
Indicators that an airplane is penetrating volcanic ash are related to odor, haze, changing engine conditions, airspeed, pressurization, and static discharges.

* Odor. When encountering a volcanic ash cloud, flight crews usually notice a smoky or acrid odor that can smell like electrical smoke, burned dust, or sulfur.
* Haze. Most flight crews, as well as cabin crew or passengers, see a haze develop within the airplane. Dust can settle on surfaces.
* Changing engine conditions. Surging, torching from the tailpipe, and flameouts can occur. Engine temperatures can change unexpectedly, and a white glow can appear at the engine inlet.
* Airspeed. If volcanic ash fouls the pitot tube, the indicated airspeed can decrease or fluctuate erratically.
* Pressurization. Cabin pressure can change, including possible loss of cabin pressurization.
* Static discharges. A phenomenon similar to St. Elmo's fire or glow can occur. In these instances, blue-colored sparks can appear to flow up the outside of the windshield or a white glow can appear at the leading edges of the wings or at the front of the engine inlets.

Top of page

Procedures.
The following nine procedures are general recommendations. Each operator's flight operations manuals will include more specific directions.

1. Reduce thrust to idle immediately. By reducing thrust, engines may suffer less buildup of molten debris on turbine blades and hot-section components. Idle thrust allows engines to continue producing electrical power, bleed air for pressurization, and hydraulic power for airplane control.
2. Turn the autothrottles off. This prevents the engines from increasing thrust above idle. Ash debris in the engine can result in reduced surge margins, and limiting the number of thrust adjustments improves the chances of engine recovery.
3. Exit the ash cloud as quickly as possible. A 180-deg turn out of the ash cloud using a descending turn is the quickest exit strategy. Many ash clouds extend for hundreds of miles, so assuming that the encounter will end shortly can be false. Climbing out of the ash could result in increased engine debris buildup as the result of increased temperatures. The increased engine buildup can cause total thrust loss.
4. Turn on engine and wing anti-ice devices and all air-conditioning packs. These actions improve the engine stall margins by increasing the flow of bleed air.
5. If possible, start the auxiliary power unit (APU). The APU can power systems in the event of a multiple-engine power loss. It can also be used to restart engines through the use of APU bleed air.
6. If volcanic dust fills the flight deck, the crew may need to use oxygen. Use flight deck oxygen at the 100 percent setting. Manual deployment of the passenger oxygen system is not required because it will deploy automatically if the cabin altitude exceeds 14,000 ft.
7. Turn on the continuous ignition. Confirm that autostart is on, if available. In the event that the engines flame out or stall, use appropriate procedures to restart the engines. During restart, the engines may take longer than normal to reach idle thrust due to the combined effects of high altitude and volcanic ash ingestion. If an engine fails to start, try restarting it again immediately. Flight crews should remember that the airplane may be out of the airstart envelope if the encounter occurs during cruise.
8. Monitor engine exhaust gas temperature (EGT). Because of potential engine debris buildup, the EGT can climb excessively. The flight crew should prevent EGT exceedances. Shut down the engine and restart it if the EGT is approaching limits similar to a hung start.
9. Fly the airplane by monitoring airspeed and pitch attitude. If necessary, follow the procedure for flight with unreliable airspeed.

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/aero_09/volcanic_story.html

 

[Dynasty]

Update from KLM (Netherlands)

KLM will operate nine further test flights on Sunday, 18 April. This decision follows a successful test flight in Dutch airspace on Saturday evening. KLM will therefore operate a total of 10 test flights. The technical inspection conducted after yesterday’s flight revealed that no problems had been encountered and that the quality of the atmosphere is in order. Based on this information, the Dutch air transport authorities, Inspectie Verkeer en Waterstaat (IVW), granted permission to operate further test flights on Sunday, 18 April. KLM hopes to resume operations as swiftly as possible, so that passengers can be brought to their destination. Naturally, safety remains the chief priority.

The first flight departed from Düsseldorf, Germany, at around 06.30 hrs on Sunday morning. The aircraft had no passengers on board, but was staffed by a 20-strong crew. The crew on board will fly the seven aircraft stranded in Düsseldorf back to Schiphol one by one. These flights will be operated during the course of Sunday.

“These are test flights,” stressed KLM President & CEO Peter Hartman. “This does not mean that normal air traffic has been resumed. This matter will be decided on by the Dutch air transport authorities IVW, in consultation with the European authorities.”

If all of the flights are operated without a hitch, KLM hopes to receive permission to resume part of its operations as quickly as possible to bring passengers to their destination. KLM will join hands with Lufthansa, which operated 10 test flights in Germany yesterday.

KLM expects to issue further updates later today.

Makes me think that closing the airspace was an over-reaction, although the logical and safest thing to do.

Like throwing a blanket over themselves as quickly as possible, and now some airlines are poking their heads out and seeing what its actually like in the air.

If they confirm its safe and start flying again, Im sure every other European airline will conduct similar tests (as BA have confirmed their own tests to be conducted today) and get planes flying again.

Stories of planes getting clogged up a few decades ago were within 600 miles of the volcano. Most of Europe is a good 1000 miles away so...

Maybe the ash is alot thinner than we thought..aka guessed.

 

[<RJMC>]

one questiong

do planes whit propellers are not affected?

 

[AJ Rimmer]

one questiong

do planes whit propellers are not affected?

My guess would be more so.

 

[Shakermaker]

My guess would be more so.

They're both affected, since they both need to suck in air in order to function properly.

 

[The Monkey]

What about helicopters? These models that is used in Iraq that can fly through a sand storm should be able to handle a little ash, methinks.

 

[Shakermaker]

What about helicopters? These models that is used in Iraq that can fly through a sand storm should be able to handle a little ash, methinks.

Most helicopters have turbine engines. But bear in mind that we're dealing with ash, not sand and dust. The reason turbine engines are extra affected is that the inside of their engines through which the air passes is hotter than the melting temperature of the ash. And then you get what Dynasty's post describes.

 

[Dynasty]

Sand is different to the ash that is being blown up by the volcano.

The ash contains glass, which melts in the high temperatures of the...

***k it, copy and paste;

Volcanic ash normally contains glassy materials, such as silicates, whose melting points are 600 degrees Celsius to 800 degrees Celsius. Since internal temperature of in-flight jet engine exceed 1000 degrees Celsius, glassy particles in volcanic ash inhaled by the engines instantly melt. In the course of exhaust, the glassy materials are rapidly cooled down in the turbine chamber, stick on the turbine vanes, and disturb the flow of high-pressure combustion gases. This disorder of the flow may stop the entire engine in serious cases

Helicopter engines may operate differently, but its all about the internal temperatures of the engine. If it gets over 600 degrees, the glass melts, then cools quickly on the exhaust, blocking it. Or..whatever.

Plus the blades are designed very accurately. Any erosion on the blades from the particles that are more solid in the ash than in sand/dust could cause the helicopter to simply slowly plummet to the earth, as the upwash effects of the blades are reduced.

 

[Apocalypse89]

Maybe this is why G-Man told Gordon Freeman to "smell the ashes" after he woke up in Europe.

 

[VirusType2]

The Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl) volcano continues to produce spectacular visual effects. Photographers have captured images of lightning, seemingly erupting directly from the volcano. The bolts may look like Hollywood special effects, but they're very much the real deal. No CGI required. But as LiveScience reports, they're also still a "bit of a mystery."

Scientists don't know exactly how lightning is created in an ash cloud, however. But they expect it's a result of particles rubbing together, generating friction and electrical charges.

The volcano lightning may be generated in a similar way to that in normal thunderstorms in a process scientists have dubbed "dirty thunderstorms." In a normal thunderstorm, ice particles rub together to generate an electrical charge; in the case of a volcano, rock fragments, ash and ice may all rub together to produce this charge.

source

click to see slideshow

Slideshow is very disappointing, sorry.

 

[Dynasty]

Got a lightning pic as my desktop as we speak.

I find it funny for those now in Iceland just to see the volcano...who couldnt leave for a week as planes were grounded. So if the volcano went boom-boom they'd be dead-dead.

 

[Remus]

Local News channels: Oh noes volcanic ash cloud heading this way!11
Me: *Yawn* Don't care.

"dirty thunderstorms."

ice particles rub together to generate an electrical charge

:naughty:

 

[knut]

lotta planes in the airspace over cornwall as of yesterday night and today. made a change from clear sky the last week or so

i preferred the lack of planes cluttering up the nice summer sky