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I was just called and informed there is a private plane that outrun the runway and is in the sand/beach area in st. jean.............going to check it
- Thread starter didier
- Start date
A particularity is St Barths is that there is no "PAPI" indicator on the runway. A PAPI is a "Precision Approach Path Indicator". A set of 4 lights installed on the side of the runway.
When on the correct glidepath (approach angle), the papi shows 2 red lights and 2 white lights to the pilot. If the pilot is too high, the papi shows 3 white lights and 1 red light, or 4 white lights (really too high). If too low, the papi shows 3 red lights and 1 white light, or 4 red lights if really too low.
The papi is usaully calibrated for a 3 degree angle and really helps the pilot to adjust the angle of his aircraft on final approach. On intrument-equipped runways, the papi is normally used to transition from the instruments inside the aircraft to visual conditions outside and therefore used in the last few hundred feet before touchdown.
There is no papi in St Barths for several reasons, one is the hill in the approach (tourmente) which is obviously a big obstacle, and another is because there is no published IFR procedure (Intrument Flight Rules); making the airport a VFR airport only (Visual Flight Rules). Also the approach angle is steeper than the normal 3 degrees.
In my airline flying the Boeing 737, there are a set of conditions that MUST be met during the final approach so as to decide if we need to go around or continue for the approach until touchdown. These conditions are:
In VMC (Visual Met Conditions), at 500 ft above ground, the aircraft MUST be:
-On the correct approach glide path (normally 3 degrees), with 2 whites and 2 reds on the papi
-At the right speed (up to 20 kts above the Vref speed, which is the Reference Approach Speed calculated for the landing weight of the aircraft)
-At no more than 1000 feet per minute for the rate of descent
-fully configured for landing (gear down, flaps out, speed brake armed, autobrake set, landing lights on, ...)
-with engines set at the right thrust (approximately 53% N1 which means about half the power available). This is to allow to go around quickly as the jet engines need a few seconds to "spool up" when thrust is applied.
If only one of these conditions is not met, the Pilot Monitoring MUST call "Go around" when reaching 500 feet. On his call, the Pilot Flying without hesitation must execute the go around procedure as briefed earlier. The talk is done later.
So as you see, a "go around" is normally executed well above the ground and before touching down. In very rare occasions, a go around can be done after touchdown, but obviously this is a late call which can potentially lead to an incident.
A "touch and go" is in fact a different manoeuvre which is basically a practise landing during training, when pilots save time by setting take off power after the wheels touch down, after the landing as been completed satisfactorily. If a landing is complete to a full stop, some precious "flight time" is lost backtracking the runway, and taking off again for another landing.
When on the correct glidepath (approach angle), the papi shows 2 red lights and 2 white lights to the pilot. If the pilot is too high, the papi shows 3 white lights and 1 red light, or 4 white lights (really too high). If too low, the papi shows 3 red lights and 1 white light, or 4 red lights if really too low.
The papi is usaully calibrated for a 3 degree angle and really helps the pilot to adjust the angle of his aircraft on final approach. On intrument-equipped runways, the papi is normally used to transition from the instruments inside the aircraft to visual conditions outside and therefore used in the last few hundred feet before touchdown.
There is no papi in St Barths for several reasons, one is the hill in the approach (tourmente) which is obviously a big obstacle, and another is because there is no published IFR procedure (Intrument Flight Rules); making the airport a VFR airport only (Visual Flight Rules). Also the approach angle is steeper than the normal 3 degrees.
In my airline flying the Boeing 737, there are a set of conditions that MUST be met during the final approach so as to decide if we need to go around or continue for the approach until touchdown. These conditions are:
In VMC (Visual Met Conditions), at 500 ft above ground, the aircraft MUST be:
-On the correct approach glide path (normally 3 degrees), with 2 whites and 2 reds on the papi
-At the right speed (up to 20 kts above the Vref speed, which is the Reference Approach Speed calculated for the landing weight of the aircraft)
-At no more than 1000 feet per minute for the rate of descent
-fully configured for landing (gear down, flaps out, speed brake armed, autobrake set, landing lights on, ...)
-with engines set at the right thrust (approximately 53% N1 which means about half the power available). This is to allow to go around quickly as the jet engines need a few seconds to "spool up" when thrust is applied.
If only one of these conditions is not met, the Pilot Monitoring MUST call "Go around" when reaching 500 feet. On his call, the Pilot Flying without hesitation must execute the go around procedure as briefed earlier. The talk is done later.
So as you see, a "go around" is normally executed well above the ground and before touching down. In very rare occasions, a go around can be done after touchdown, but obviously this is a late call which can potentially lead to an incident.
A "touch and go" is in fact a different manoeuvre which is basically a practise landing during training, when pilots save time by setting take off power after the wheels touch down, after the landing as been completed satisfactorily. If a landing is complete to a full stop, some precious "flight time" is lost backtracking the runway, and taking off again for another landing.
Oh, well.
Voosh
Senior Insider
Some great info here. Always stay safe and get there. Study and be aware.
We have a friend up north who still flys his tail dragger. He's almost 90! No radio! Has flown all over the country! We go out to a remote grass strip, it starts after a few burps, flys like a champ. The approach on this little grass field (doesn't even appear on most charts) - well, he takes over and makes it smoother than most commercial flights I've been on. Niiiiiice.
Always - Safety first.
We have a friend up north who still flys his tail dragger. He's almost 90! No radio! Has flown all over the country! We go out to a remote grass strip, it starts after a few burps, flys like a champ. The approach on this little grass field (doesn't even appear on most charts) - well, he takes over and makes it smoother than most commercial flights I've been on. Niiiiiice.
Always - Safety first.
