TEXT 11. It is the job of Ops Control to take preventive action whenever possible, to co-ordinate the airline’s response and decision making in order to minimize the

TEXT 8

Operations Control

(Part 2)

It is the job of Ops Control to take preventive action whenever possible, to co-ordinate the airline’s response and decision making in order to minimize the impact these disruptions have on customers and to get the airline back on schedule. The key imperatives in doing this are safety, customer service and economic use of resources.

The players in the daily drama faced by Ops Control are the Duty Ops Controller and his team. The controllers are the on-the-day managers of the airline operation. Their decisions can impact heavily on the performance of the airline, regarding whether to delay, re-route, combine, cancel or lay-on extra flights. Usually these decisions are made quickly, keeping the knock-on effects clearly in mind. The Controllers consult closely with Captains and with Duty Managers in the various.

The duty Flight Operations Officers, who hold Flight Dispatcher certificates, plan the transatlantic operation, brief flight crew and negotiate and manage slots with the Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) at Eurocontrol. Transatlantic and long haul flight planning of ETOPS operations requires good critical judgment and a high level of expertise. The Operations Officer chooses the optimum track, flight levels and en route alternates to ensure all requirements are met and to satisfy the Captain of the particular flight. They monitor weather and airport information and optimize the short haul operation plans. They keep up to date with the overall situation and provide information to the duty Ops Controller and flight crew as required. All of this work is supported by Operations Assistants who manage the fleet assignment function, and prepare navigation bags and flight documentation.

Answer the questions:

1. What is the job of Ops Control?

2. What are the key imperatives of Ops Control?

3. Why can the duty Ops Controller’s decision impact on the performance of the airline?

4. Why do the controllers consult closely with Captains and Duty Managers in the various?

5. Who usually plans the transatlantic operation?

6. Why do transatlantic flights require good critical judgment?

7. What does the Operations officer do?

TEXT 9

Aviation Weather

(Part 1)

Information about the weather at the airports of departure, en route, and at the destination is essential for the safety of flight. Despite modern improvements in aircraft design and systems technology, safety is still very much affected by such considerations as visibility, icing, turbulence and strong winds.

Depending upon the actual and forecast met conditions, the pilot must decide whether the flight may be operated safely to its destination on its normal route, divert, or be delayed.

In making his decision, the pilot, will take into account such factors as:

· the general actual and forecast weather pattern in the overall operational area;

· actual and forecast weather at the departure airport;

· actual and forecast weather aloft and it airports the planned and alternative routes;

· actual and forecast weather at the destination airport and at commercially preferable and other available alternate airports.

· the type of aircraft being flown and its equipment;

· his own training, experience and expertise;

· the runway in use and other runways available at departure, destination and en route airports;

· Navigation aids and landing aids available at the various airports, but particularly at the departure and destination airports.

In studying the weather and making his decision the pilot’s overriding consideration will be the safety of the aircraft and all its occupants.

Answer the questions:

1. Why is information about weather essential for the safety of flights?

2. What is safety very much affected by?

3. What factors does a pilot have to take into account in making his decision?

TEXT 10

Aviation Weather

(Part 2)

Weather information is collected, analyzed and distributed to airlines by the Meteorological Service. Weather information is made available to the pilot in many ways. In some cases there may be a MET office where a forecaster is present or available to brief the pilot and to discuss the current weather and forecast developments. Often this in-depth briefing is provided by a company Dispatcher or Operations Officer in the Operations Office. The pilot may also brief himself by studying the weather information displayed on monitors or in printed form in the MET or Operations Office. The pilot is provided with printed weather reports, forecasts, synoptic charts, upper level wind charts and sometimes, satellite photographs of the cloud distribution in the intended operational area. Often, real-time displays of weather radar images, showing the location and intensity of cumulonimbus cloud, heavy rain centres and thunderstorms, are provided on monitors and may be printed if required.

Some of the reports provided are:

METAR: Actual. Reports of the actual weather conditions prevailing at the station at the time and date of observation.

Terminal Forecasts: TAF, Route TAFs are issued every 3 hours with a validity of 9 hours. They contain concise information for the expected weather conditions at specific airports during a specified period.

Area and Route Forecast provides information on winds aloft at selected altitudes, upper-air temperatures, significant en route weather phenomena such as icing or turbulence.

SIGMET: Special warnings of hazardous, significant or extreme weather conditions, for example, severe icing, turbulence or sandstorms.

Answer the questions:

1. In what ways is weather information available to a pilot?

2. Is a pilot provided with printed weather reports?

3. What is METAR?

4. Forecast. What is it?

5. How often are route TAFs issued?

6. What do route TAFs contain?

7. What do area and route forecast provide?

8. What is SIGMET?

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