Position: Climbing out of MMMX (Mexico City)
Altitude: 28,500 and increasing...
Groundspeed: 500 mph (435 kts) and increasing...
Pax on board: 150 + 8 crew members
Equipment: A320 with V2500-A5 engines
We departed Mexico City ten minutes ahead of schedule with every seat full plus three extra crew members deadheading from a canceled flight. Mexico City is 7,300 feet above sea level, which in itself can be a performance problem. The airport is surrounded by high terrain, like in seriously high terrain, which is cause for concern. Our fuel load is less than I would like because of performance issues related with the density altitude and, of course, landing weight.
The Electric Jet is ascending into a wide river of wind, moving our direction at 100 knots plus, that begins at 28,000 feet and is allegedly 4,000 feet thick. The groundspeed is increasing rapidly. I can actually see the wind shearing off a cloud top abeam the left wing. That falls underneath the major cool category. We will ask ATC for an intermediate cruise altitude of 30,000 feet and use the free boost as long as it lasts.
Fi-Fi is nervous about the landing fuel, but she does not know (for sure) the route that we will be assigned closer to the arrival runway. I can look into her nav computers, an early version of HAL, and see that she is adding 60 (low altitude) miles to her calculation. My (admittedly feeble) mental fuel calculating loop says we will not fly those miles and thus will have legal reserve plus a little extra for any "uh-ohs."
Anyway, at the top of climb, wherever that might be related to our wind push, I will take a hard look at the fuel load. This will have to be managed with care because we do not want to arrive too heavy to land, nor do we want to get into a low fuel state. Too much paperwork required... Plus, I am getting too old for the carpet dance in the Chief Pilot's office. It hurts my left hip nowadays.
Life on the Line continues...
15 comments:
Cool pic Dave! Hope you let us know how this chapter comes out.. Signed,
Left Hanging in MN
Dave I keep using your pictures for my desktop pictures. They are so cool.
Safe journey!
amulbunny
I am not particularly religious but that picture is awe inspiring. Something bigger, and more creative, than ourselves is at work out there fer sure.
Have a great day, Dave.
-r.
What a great picture!
Good work Dave. Stay Safe!
-Andrew
Dave, I hope our old and congested airport didn't make your visit too gruesome an experience.
Greetings from MMMX.
Hey Dave. I was wondering if you could elaborate on your takeoff alternate requirements. I am only a Private Pilot. I recently heard 121 ops require an alternate within I think 90 minutes (in still air) or (no wind) calculations. If you have an emergency after departure and can not return to your departure airport would Fi-Fi be overweight for landing be a concern or is the electric jet able to dump fuel in that scenerio?
P.S. You are the best blog online IMHO!
Stunning picture. You can say what you want but there's no other job that guarantees you a sunny day every day or a carpet of stars every night. Though I thought that the chief pilot office dance was more of a enter on your knees and elbows thing.
Awesome pic! New Wallpaper!
Good flights, capt'n!
The day I took off from MMMX, it was 3pm and 90 degrees outside. Captain asked 10 people to get off the plane to take a later flight, and even then he used 99% of the 12,000+ foot runway. Longest takeoff roll ever, you could hear a collective sigh amongst us as we FINALLY got airborne.
some of you may be interested in this...
http://www.aaronkoblin.com/work/flightpatterns/FPWeb_Final_3.mov
takes a bit of time to load and play but interesting - i don't know if its based on real, real time data or a simulation but its pretty good
Excellent picture - I'm not at all religious and I'm always impressed when a cumulus cloud has its own cap or banner cloud, behaving like a stone mountain and not just a temporary mountain of warm air!
Jay, the picture I have of the Chief Pilot office dance is one that results in your LEAVING the office on your elbows and knees!
I love watching clouds; they are an artistic wonder. That's a fascinating photo, Dave.
Hey Dave. I was wondering if you could elaborate on your takeoff alternate requirements. I am only a Private Pilot. I recently heard 121 ops require an alternate within I think 90 minutes (in still air) or (no wind) calculations. If you have an emergency after departure and can not return to your departure airport would Fi-Fi be overweight for landing be a concern or is the electric jet able to dump fuel in that scenerio?
US FAR 121 specifies that for two engine aircraft, the takeoff alternate be no further than 1 hour, still air, at one-engine inoperative cruise speed.
A320 cannot dump fuel, depending on the emergency you can hold and burn fuel or land overweight, write it up and let the mechanics deal with it. hope that helps and Dave not trying to step on your toes, just helping a fellow aviator with his question. great blog
aviatorpr- you are not stepping on my toes. You are correct. If we must, we can land overweight and have the aircraft inspected.
nobeta- we can land overweight and have the aircraft inspected afterwards. We must touchdown at no more than 300 fpm when overweight. Of course, if you are really heavy and have a short runway, then you have other problems. No fuel dumping in Fi-Fi. You can lower the gear and flaps in the holding pattern and burn fuel at an enormous rate, though.
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