Pilot's Eye View-A380 Landing @ San Fran

[Darrell]

Interesting video of a Lufthansa A380 coming in, from the pilot's point of view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDMDuRczDI0

That's a big plane. The pilot is a pretty cool customer. Toward the end there's even a "Wash Day Monday".

[Highspeed]

I really enjoyed that, thanks

[martini]

Cool video. I am always surprised when reminded just how big the A380 is.
So what's with the fire trucks?

[Catbird]

So what's with the fire trucks?

The airport fire department will sometimes do that for special occasions, such as a pilot's retirement flight or the first arrival of a new aircraft type.

I heard the ATC refer to the plane as "super", as in "LH 454 super". I wonder if any other aircraft is refered to as "super" instead of "heavy".

[JustinR]

The "heavy" addition to a flight's call sign in the terminal area signifies the aircraft is capable of a takeoff gross weight over 300,000 pounds, and signals to the controller that greater minimum in trail separation is required for aircraft following in their path due to wake turbulence and wingtip vorticies. The "super" designation is a new category that was created for the A380 for even greater separation. I'm not sure what the weight requirement is for the new category, I'll have to look it up tomorrow, but I would imagine that the new Boeing 747 freighter model might be included.

[Catbird]

I'm not sure what the weight requirement is for the new category, I'll have to look it up tomorrow, but I would imagine that the new Boeing 747 freighter model might be included.

It looks like it only applies to the A380 even though the An-224 has a larger MTOW. The Boeing 747-8F only has a MTOW of 442 metric tons. The 747 LCF (Dreamlifter) has a MTOW of 364 metric tons.

I liked the "vertical stab cam" in the A380 video. I found the chirping landmarks irritating.

[Netpackrat]

So what's with the fire trucks?

The airport fire department will sometimes do that for special occasions, such as a pilot's retirement flight or the first arrival of a new aircraft type.

They will also stand by near the runway if an aircraft is landing with mechanical issues. They did that the other night for a Delta Airbus that dropped in here; seems like a reasonable precaution where Airbus is concerned anyway.

[JustinR]

They will also stand by near the runway if an aircraft is landing with mechanical issues. They did that the other night for a Delta Airbus that dropped in here; seems like a reasonable precaution where Airbus is concerned anyway.

(Insert "If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going" joke here.)

Airbus problems aside, it's standard procedure for any landing aircraft that declares an emergency.

[mekender]

The "heavy" addition to a flight's call sign in the terminal area signifies the aircraft is capable of a takeoff gross weight over 300,000 pounds, and signals to the controller that greater minimum in trail separation is required for aircraft following in their path due to wake turbulence and wingtip vorticies. The "super" designation is a new category that was created for the A380 for even greater separation. I'm not sure what the weight requirement is for the new category, I'll have to look it up tomorrow, but I would imagine that the new Boeing 747 freighter model might be included.

They also called it "heavy" as well...

[mekender]

Looks like the guy in the left seat was retiring so that is why they had the fire trucks out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3_tlOd_ ... r_embedded