3.3 Alternate route planning

Exercise 3.3.1 Read and translate the text.

It is 19.17 UTC and Speedbird 25 is under the control of Riga ATC as it crosses Latvia. The First Officer keeps an eye on the flight’s progress over Latvia. The temperature outside is a frigid - 60° Celsius. Yet inside, the air-conditioning and pressurisation maintain a pleasant environment. Hot compressed air is drawn off the engines and piped to three large air-conditioning packs in the jet’s belly. The packs reduce the pressure and temperature of the air before it is ducted into the cabin. A new air distribution system on the 747-400 has increased the main deck ventilation zones to five from three, improving circulation for passengers. The system can provide enough ventilation to completely change the cabin air every three minutes. Two outflow valves, located near the rear of the aircraft, automatically open and close to control the cabin pressure. Cruising at 33,000 ft, the cabin altitude is a comfortable 4,700 ft.

Airborne for two hours, the aircraft has consumed 27.4 tonnes of fuel, leaving 107.1 tonnes of fuel in the tanks. Harry has been using ACARS to get the latest weather for airports along the route. Should an emergency require a diversion, the crew will have updated weather information at their fingertips to help them decide where to go.

As part of that prudent planning, John has reviewed a variety of en route alternatives and has begun to programme a secondary route into the FMC, this one to an airport along the way in case a diversion does become necessary. Guangzhou, China, is the fuel alternative for the destination but it is very close to Hong Kong, so John picks an airport closer to the halfway point. His first choice is Almaty in eastern Kazakhstan. The airport has good facilities and because Almaty is a regular stop for the airline’s 777s, the crew would be assured of some ground support, an important consideration for tending to the needs of almost 300 passengers. But John’s best-laid plans fall apart when he gets the latest weather for the airport – 400 m visibility in fog and a 300 ft ceiling. That isn’t good enough for an alternative. The Captain settles on Novosibirsk, the largest city in Siberia, as his choice. It is the only airport with acceptable weather.

It’s far better to do this work now rather than after an emergency has occurred, when the pilots would be busy with a myriad of other tasks, such as completing check list and liaising with the cabin crew. Now, the push of a few buttons on the FMC will start the diversion.

Exercise 3.3.2 Answer the questions.

1. What time is it now?

2. What control is Speedbird 25 under?

3. What does the First Officer do?

4. What is the temperature outside?

5. Where is hot compressed air piped to?

6. How many air-conditioning packs are there in the jet’s belly?

7. Where are the packs?

8. Do the packs reduce the pressure?

9. How is circulation for passengers improving?

10. How often can the system provide ventilation?

11. How many outflow valves are there?

12. Where are valves located?

13. What do valves do?

14. How many tonnes of fuel has the aircraft consumed?

15. How much fuel is left in the tanks?

16. What has Harry been using ACARS for?

17. Why is it necessary to know the latest weather?

18. How many alternatives should a crew have?

19. Why has John reviewed a variety of en route alternatives?

20. Which airport is the fuel alternative for the destination?

21. Why does John pick an airport closer to the halfway point?

22. Why Almaty is the first choice?

23. Where is Almaty?

24. Has the airport got good facilities?

25. Why do John’s plans fall apart?

26. Where does the Captain settle on?

27. Why does the Captain decide to fly to Novosibirsk?

28. Why is it better to do such work in advance?

Exercise 3.3.3 Are the following statements true (√) or false (×)? Correct the false ones.

1. Speedbird 25 is under the control of Riga ATC.

2. The Captain keeps an eye on the flight’s progress.

3. The temperature outside is - 50° Celsius.

4. A pleasant environment is inside the aircraft.

5. A new air distribution system has improved circulation for passengers.

6. The system cannot provide enough ventilation to completely change the cabin air every three minutes.

7. Two outflow valves, located near the rear of the aircraft, automatically open and close to control the cabin pressure.

8. Airborne for 2 hours, the aircraft has consumed 37.4 tonnes of fuel.

9. There are 120 tonnes of fuel in the tanks.

10. ACARS is being used to get the latest weather for airports along the route.

11. Guangzhou, China, is the fuel alternative for the destination.

12. Almaty airport has good facilities for the airline’s 777s.

13. 400m visibility in fog and 300 ft ceiling is good enough for an alternative.

14. The Captain has decided to fly to Novosibirsk, the only airport with acceptable weather.

Exercise 3.3.4 Give English equivalents for the following words and word combinations.

Под контролем чего-то; следить за чем-то (кем-то); температура за бортом самолета; леденящий; кондиционирование воздуха; приятная атмосфера; быть уверенным; приемлемый; уменьшать давление; двигатель; температура воздуха; система распределения воздуха; каждые три минуты; задняя часть воздушного судна; автоматически; давление в салоне самолета; топливные баки; последняя погода; вдоль маршрута; аварийная ситуация; отклонение от курса полета; информация о погоде; запасные аэродромы; необходимый; аэродром назначения; первый выбор; видимость в тумане; недостаточно хорошо; наземное оборудование; потреблять; быть занятым чем-то; громадное количество; иметь место; происходить; клапан; благоразумный; иметь склонность, тенденцию делать что-то.

Exercise 3.3.5 What do the following abbreviations stand for?

ATC ft ACARS FMC m

Exercise 3.3.6 Find in the text synonyms for the following words and expressions.

Watch; cold; good; big; decrease; areas; plane; afford; situated; the back part of the aircraft; convenient; request; make up one’s mind; base of clouds; big quantity of smth; be engaged; the biggest city; suitable; some buttons; begin.

Exercise 3.3.7 Match the word combinations and expressions in column A with those in column B.

A	B
1. to keep an eye on	a. приемлемая погода
2. pressurisation	b. обеспечивать
3. to provide	c. аварийная ситуация
4. air-conditioning	d. разгерметизация
5. to consume	e. следить за
6. acceptable weather	f. последняя погода
7. fingertips	g. клапан
8. diversion	h. нижняя граница облачности
9. the latest weather	i. потреблять
10. an important consideration	j. кондиционирование воздуха
11. ceiling	k. кончики пальцев
12. emergency	l. уклонение от осевого курса
13. valve	m. важное соображение

Exercise 3.3.8 Fill in the gaps with the words from the text choosing from the ones given in brackets.

1. The air-conditioning and pressurization __________ (provide, have, maintain) a pleasant __________ (situation, atmosphere, environment).

2. The packs __________ (decrease, lower, reduce) the pressure and temperature of the air.

3. The system can _________ (give, produce, provide) enough ventilation.

4. The aircraft has _________ (absorbed, wasted, consumed) 27.4 tonnes of fuel.

5. The crew will have _________ (new; modern, updated) weather information.

6. As part of that __________ (wise, continuous, prudent) planning, John has __________ (revised, reviewed, reconsidered) a variety of en route alternatives.

7. Almaty is a _________ (fixed, constant, regular) stop for the airline’s 777s.

9. The _________ (move, push, drive) of a few buttons on the FMC will start the diversion.

Exercise 3.3.9 Fill the gaps with the related words.

1. Inside, the air-conditioning and _________ maintain a pleasant environment. (PRESSURE)

2. A new air _________ system on the 747-400 has increased the main desk ventilation zones to five from three. (DISTRIBUTE)

3. ___________ at 33,000 ft, the cabin altitude is a __________ 4.700 ft. (CRUISE + COMFORT)

4. Harry has been __________ ACARS to get the latest weather. (USE)

5. Should an emergency require a ___________, the crew will have updated weather information. (DIVERT)

6. Ground support is an important ___________ for tending to the needs of almost 300 passengers. (CONSIDER)

7. The captain gets the _________ weather for the airport. (LATE)

8. Novosibirsk is the only airport with __________ weather. (ACCEPT)

Exercise 3.3.10 Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Самолет находится под контролем службы УВД Риги.

2. Второй пилот следит за работой систем самолета.

3. Температура за бортом очень холодная, минус 60°.

4. Внутри самолета поддерживается приятная температура.

5. Горячий воздух от двигателей идет по трубам к трем большим установкам кондиционирования.

6. Установки уменьшают давление и температуру воздуха перед тем, он подается по системе трубопроводов в пассажирский салон.

7. Новая система распределения и подачи воздуха на Боинге 747-400 увеличила количество главных панелей вентиляционных зон от трех до пяти.

8. Новая система на много улучшила циркуляцию воздуха для пассажиров в салоне.

9. Эта система позволяет обновить воздух в салоне каждые три минуты.

10. Два выходных клапана, распределенные в хвостовой части самолета, открываются и закрываются автоматически.

11. Эти клапаны контролируют давление в пассажирском салоне.

12. Находясь в воздухе уже 2 часа, самолет израсходовал 27,4 тонны топлива.

13. В баке самолета осталось 107,1 тонны топлива.

14. Генри использует Эйкарс, чтобы получить последнюю погоду аэропортов по маршруту.

15. В случае аварийной ситуации, которая приведет к изменению курса следования, у экипажа будет информация о погоде под рукой, и эта информация поможет решить, куда следовать.

16. Джон просмотрел многие запасные аэродромы по маршруту следования.

17. Аэродром Гянджоу, в Китае, запасной для дозаправки, находится очень близко к Гонг Конгу.

18. Джон выбрал аэродром Алма-Аты, в восточной части Казахстана.

19. Аэропорт хорошо оснащен и имеет хорошее оборудование, так как Боинги 777 регулярно останавливаются там.

20. Видимость 400 метров в тумане и нижняя кромка 300 футов – это не совсем достаточно для аэродрома, который может быть использован как запасной.

21. Командир корабля выбрал Новосибирск, самый большой город в Сибири.

22. Новосибирск – единственный аэропорт, где имеется приемлемая погода для посадки.

23. Гораздо лучше сделать эту работу сейчас, чем если вдруг возникнет аварийная ситуация, когда пилоты будут заняты большим количеством другой работы.

Exercise 3.3.11 Make up your own sentences using the following words and word combinations.

Flight’s progress; temperature outside; pleasant environment; hot compressed air; reduce the pressure; air distribution system; provide; consume; fuel tanks; airports along the route; emergency; updated weather information; in case of diversion; ground support; an important consideration; best choice; acceptable weather; occur; be busy with; the cabin crew.

Exercise 3.3.12 Retell the text.

3.4 Co-pilot’s checks and fuel planning

Exercise 3.4.1 Read and translate the text.

Approaching OPOKA at 19.36 UTC. Harry turns on his overhead map light. It casts a small pool of light on the flightplan attached to the clipboard on his lap where he records the jet’s progress. Victor Alpha is cruising at Mach 0.83. The wind is blowing almost directly on the tail at 24kt, giving the jet a little extra push for a groundspeed of 507kt.

The First Officer’s checks show that the flight is two minutes ahead of schedule and has a comfortable reserve of fuel – 103.3 tonnes in the tanks compared to the 89.3 tonnes the flightplan says is required at this point to reach the destination. In pilot parlance, the flight is making fuel. Through a combination of conservative fuel planning, a stronger than expected tailwind and ATC shortcuts, pilots often find themselves having more fuel than the flight plan predicted would be necessary. It is certainly preferable to the less frequent alternative when fuel checks show that consumption is higher than expected. This can happen if the headwinds are stronger than forecast or the flight was assigned a less than optimum altitude. In such cases, the pilots can slow to conserve fuel stop en route.

As the flight progresses, fuel is burned off and the jet becomes lighter, making it more efficient. For example, the aircraft will burn approximately twice as much fuel in the first half of the trip as it does in the last half. It used 30 tonnes in the first two hours, when the engines worked hard to get the heavy jet off the ground and up to altitude, and will consume 17 tonnes in the last two hours.

Exercise 3.4.2 Answer the questions.

1. What is Speedbird 25 approaching?

2. What time is Speedbird 25 approaching OPOKA?

3. What does overhead light cast?

4. What is Mach number of Victor Alpha?

5. What does the wind give the jet?

6. What is the groundspeed of the aircraft?

7. What is seen from the First Officer’s checks?

8. What is the reserve of fuel in the tanks?

9. What may happen if the headwinds are stronger than forecast?

10. What do pilots do in such cases?

11. Why does the jet become lighter?

12. How many tonnes of fuel did the aircraft use in the first two hours?

13. Why did the engines work hard?

14. How much fuel will Speedbird 25 consume in the last two hours?

Exercise 3.4.3 Are the following statements true (√) or false (×)? Correct the false ones.

1. Approaching OPOKA at 19.36 UTC, Harry turns off his overhead map light.

2. It casts a big pool of light on the flightplan attached to the clipboard on his lap.

3. Victor Alpha is cruising at Mach 0.63.

4. The checks show that the flight is two minutes ahead of schedule.

5. The aircraft doesn’t have a reserve of fuel.

6. In pilot parlance, the flight is ”making fuel”.

7. Pilots often find themselves having more fuel than the flight plan predicted would be necessary.

8. Fuel is burned off and the jet becomes lighter.

9. It used 35 tonnes of fuel in the first two hours.

10. The aircraft will consume 17 tonnes in the last two hours.

11. The consumption of fuel is higher when the headwinds are stronger than forecast.

12. When the flight was assigned a less than optimum altitude, the pilots can slow to conserve fuel or begin planning for a fuel stop en route.

Exercise 3.4.4 Give English equivalents for the following words and word combinations.

Включать; бросать тень; небольшой пучок света; план полета; доска с зажимом для записей; записывать показания работы систем самолета во время полета; ветер; дуть; небольшое дополнительное движение; путевая скорость; на несколько минут раньше расписания; запас топлива; достичь пункта назначения; по выражению (словам) пилота; попутный ветер; предсказывать; необходимый; предполагать; сильнее чем; расход топлива; в таких случаях; беречь топливо; на маршруте; остановиться для дозаправки; сжигать топливо; приблизительно; в первой части маршрута; в первые 2 часа; тяжелый реактивный самолет; (из)расходовать топливо; в последние 2 часа.

Exercise 3.4.5 What do the following abbreviations stand for?

UTC kt ATC

Exercise 3.4.6 Find in the text synonyms for the following words and expressions.

Closing to; switch on; little; fastened; maintaing; straight; additional; move; timetable; in comparison with; mixture; backwind; forecast; heavier than; height; happening often; seldom; the first part of the route; motors.

Exercise 3.4.7 Match the word combinations and expressions in column A with those column B.

A	B
1. to cast	a. приблизительно
2. a small pool of light	b. попутный ветер
3. to record the jet’s progress	c. беречь топливо
4. an extra push	d. предпочтительный
5. reserve of fuel	e. небольшой пучок света
6. parlance	f. расходовать топливо
7. tailwind	g. бросать тень
8. it is preferable	h. запас топлива
9. to conserve fuel	i. манера говорить, выражаться
10. to consume fuel	j. вести запись систем ВС
11. approximately	k. дополнительное движение
12. frequent	l. частый

Exercise 3.4.8 Fill in the gaps with the words from the text choosing from the one given in brackets.

1. __________ (Flying to, Approaching, Coming to) OPOKA, Harry turns on his overhead map light.

2. It _________ (throws, sheds, casts) a small pool of light on the flightplan _________ (tied, fastened, attached) to the clipboard.

3. Victor Alpha is _________ (flying, maintaining, cruising) at Mach 0.83

4. The flight has a __________ (convenient, cosy, comfortable) reserve of fuel.

5. In pilot __________ (words, parlance, expressions), the flight is ”making fuel”.

6. It is certainly __________ (desirable, preferable, suitable) to the less frequent alternative, when fuel check shows that consumption is higher than _________ (looked forward to, expected, waited).

7. As the flight __________ (develops, advances, progresses) fuel is burned off and the jet becomes lighter.

Exercise 3.4.9 Fill in the gaps with the related words.

1. _________ OPOKA at 19.36 UTC, Harry turns on his overhead map light. (APPROACH)

2. Victor Alpha is _________ at Mach 0.83. (CRUISE)

3. The wind is __________ almost directly on the tail. (BLOW)

4. The flight has a __________ reserve of fuel. (COMFORT)

5. Through a __________ of conservative fuel planning, pilots often find themselves having more fuel than the flight plan predicted would be necessary. (COMBINE)

6. It is certainly __________ to the less frequent alternative, when fuel checks show that _________ is higher than expected. (CONSUME + PREFER)

Exercise 3.4.10 Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Приближаясь к пункту OПOKA, Гарри включает свет, расположенный сверху.

2. На план полета, который прикреплен к доске зажимом, падает небольшой пучок света.

3. На доске с зажимом, которая находится на коленях у Гарри, он ведет запись работы систем самолета.

4. Ветер дует прямо в хвостовую часть самолета.

5. Путевая скорость воздушного судна 507 узлов.

6. Проверки показаний приборов показывают, что самолет летит на 2 минуты впереди расписания и имеет резерв топлива – 103,3 тонны в баках по сравнению с 89,3 тоннами согласно плана полета в этой точке полета.

7. По выражению пилота самолет ”делает топливо”.

8. Очень часто проверки топлива показывают, что расход топлива гораздо выше, чем предполагалось.

9. Случается, что очень часто встречные ветры сильнее, чем прогнозировалось.

10. Часто пилоты планируют остановки на маршруте для дозаправки.

11. Так как полет продолжается, топливо сжигается и самолет становится легче.

12. Самолет сожжет приблизительно вдвое больше топлива в первой половине полета чем во второй.

13. 30 тонн было использовано в первые два часа полета, когда двигатели мощно работали чтобы оторвать воздушное судно от земли и поднять на высоту.

14. Самолет израсходует 17 тонн горючего в последние два часа.

Exercise 3.4.11 Make up your own sentences using the following words and word combinations.

Small pool of flight; clipboard; record the plane’s progress; directly; extra push; 2 minutes ahead of schedule; comfortable reserve of fuel; reach the destination; in pilot parlance; predict; preferable; consumption; headwind; in such cases; fuel stop en route; work hard; approximately; in the first/second half of the trip.

Exercise 3.4.12 Retell the text.