goog:
can't the Americans blow it up, that usually fixes things, no ?

Zing!

I think it's rumoured that the pilot on that Polish plane was told to MTFU. I think we all know how that went!

Personally, I'd rather not be on a plane, when however dead-pan, the captain tells you this:

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them under control. I trust you are not in too much distress.

As zokes says, I wouldn't want to hear a cabin announcement like that one from the 1982 incident.
I really think we should be bringing back super-sized airships. Modern composites and coating materials would produce huge bulk cargo lifters and passenger carriers for people who don't want to rush about. Flying across the Atlantic at 150ft sitting by an open window looking out at the ocean has a lot of appeal.

Willie Walsh wants the Governments to compensate the airlines.

Is it April Fools day?

Countzero, i live for the day airships come back! 🙂 there will still be plenty of nae sayers tho…

Airships would be amazing, no zeppelins though, don't fancy being onboard a gas bomb

Flying across the Atlantic at 150ft sitting by an open window looking out at the ocean has a lot of appeal.

At an average speed of about 60mph…

To come back to the filters suggestion, from WWAAAYYYY up there ^^^

Gas fired CCGT power stations use gas turbines and they are filtered, so that technology is available. But, (and I'm making a massive assumption that you could actually make some sort of frame to stop them being pushed straight into the engine by the pressure of a few hundred MPH and still light enough to let the aircraft fly) what do think would happen when that filter entered an atmosphere loaded with enough dust to knacker a plane?

It would block up = no air to engine = no power = big metal glider.

If it were possible they would already do it to extend blade life.

Worst case scenario?

Just had a call from MrsSwadey's hairdresser to say she is stranded in Jersey waiting for space on the ferry, so tomorrows cut and blow dry is off……

After watching this Countzero, I'm with you

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00qpjpr/b00qpjp3/Around_the_World_by_Zeppelin/

They knew how to travel in style back then

We can drive anywhere and blame the ashes for doing that. Next year – drive from Dublin to Poland. 2300kms of music and coffee 🙂

Hindenberg blew up because it was filled with hydrogen, and the outer envelope was covered with an aluminium based paint, which is highly inflammable. Anyway, what's wrong with 60 knots? The whole point, as I said, is for people who aren't in a hurry. That's still at least twice as fast as a fast ocean liner. Also, airships don't need the same infrastructure as airliners; they don't need a mile or so of runway, they could use innercity airports.
Anyway, there's a whole load of terrific photos of the volcano here:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html

Wowsers they always get amazing photos on that site

A flight of singletrack readers M'ingTFU, yesterday

Well, seeing as there are 2 confirmed reports of planes flying through ash clouds and one was a BA flight that lost power to all 4 engines, I'd say about 50/50.

You mean two planes that flew directly through the volcanic plume right over the volcano? I don't think I've seen a single report of an incident involving flying through a dispersed cloud of ash.

hah just realised this is the glacier i cycled along for a day or so when doing a circuit of mydralsjokull..

some pics

You mean two planes that flew directly through the volcanic plume right over the volcano? I don't think I've seen a single report of an incident involving flying through a dispersed cloud of ash.

I read somewhere yesterday that there was a military jet that had come back with damaged engines form this eruption…..

Two finnish F/A18s, and a seppo F16 all with reported engine damage.

You mean two planes that flew directly through the volcanic plume right over the volcano? I don't think I've seen a single report of an incident involving flying through a dispersed cloud of ash.

I think you'll find the pilots had no visible clues as to why their engines stopped. Hardly right through the plume then….

Hate volcano’s – last time I was in the Canary Islands I got two punctures on the volcano.

Fly less and support the local economy by holidaying in the UK? A few airlines suffer, well so what perhaps it will teach us to enjoy what we have around us rather than polluting the skies.

I think you'll find the pilots had no visible clues as to why their engines stopped. Hardly right through the plume then….

You don't think them not seeing the plume might have been something to do with it being dark at the time? They certainly flew over the immediate vicinity of the volcano in the initial plume, not thousands of miles away in a dispersed cloud, and far from there being no other clues, smoke entered the cabin and there were other unusual visual signs on the windshield and the engine intakes.

I note your military jets with engine damage, but then military jets don't fly the same flight profiles as commercial aircraft, so you can't make a direct correlation – in any case damaged engines post flight is hardly a mid air incident of the scale suggested for flying through an ash cloud. I'm not denying there is an issue, just trying to add a bit of realism to the drama people are making of it.

Of course the original claim was wrong anyway – I'm aware of 3 flights that have gone directly into plumes, and in every case they lost engines, so that's 100% failure rate for planes doing that (which doesn't necessarily bear any relation to flying through the ash cloud above us right now).

i have 2 tickets to istanbul for saturday afternoon from luton.

how do we rate my chances?

i have 2 tickets to istanbul for saturday afternoon from luton.

how do we rate my chances?

Slim?

I'm off to Dheli next Friday. 50/50 I reckon…. 😕

The Icelandic president was on the bbc last night saying this could just be a dress rehearsal, as this volcano's nextdoor neighbour is larger and tends to erupt just after.

slim?? oh balls. the mrs will be unamused (her chrimbo present…)

I note your military jets with engine damage, but then military jets don't fly the same flight profiles as commercial aircraft, so you can't make a direct correlation – in any case damaged engines post flight is hardly a mid air incident of the scale suggested for flying through an ash cloud. I'm not denying there is an issue, just trying to add a bit of realism to the drama people are making of it.

Agreed, however in the crowded skies over Europe, planes will be at all sorts of different heights, ascending, descending, landing or taking off. They're certainly not all just lolloping around at 36000'. The ash is also at all sorts of different heights, in different places, in different densities – some dangerous, some not.

Imagine the repercussions if the airlines decided it was all a big scare and convince nats or whoever to let them fly anyway, then a plane came down? Less dramatic – unseen chronic damage causes a number of planes to fall out of the sky at a later date – what then?

Less dramatic – unseen chronic damage causes a number of planes to fall out of the sky at a later date – what then?

Except there shouldn't be any unseen damage – at the very least if they do fly I'd expect even more rigorous inspections than normal (though normal inspections would almost certainly catch anything anyway).

BTW in case you hadn't noticed, there are currently planes flying through the "cloud" – just none taking off and landing in middle and southern England/Wales (though some overflying).

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/412863-747-emergency-diversion-two-engines-shut-down.html

If you follow the link now you'll note that not only is the tone of the thread not quite what you'd expect from your URL any more (now some facts have been introduced), but that the mods have also changed the URL to:
http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/412863-md11-lands-safely-has-possible-ash-symptoms.html
😆