Guys, quick note about perfomance calculations in situations like this and pretty much every take off. It is not purely about getting the aircraft airborn or the speed it will lift off (Vmu).

 

It is about Vmcg/Vmca (minimum controllable speeds/engine out) and also being about the ability to maintain a specific climb gradient in the event of an engine failure.

 

So if you are using something as basic as PMDG or even a CAE level-D certified simulator you will find the aircraft can get airborn on a very, very short runway, however it is illegal.

Illegal under normal circumstances. However, there are certainly some extenuating circumstances here and the FAA is certainly on site and will have to provide special permission to conduct this one operation.

Yal should see the comments about this on MSN I hate when people who know nothing about avation act like they do or make comments about pilots being idiots. Atleast here folks are informed. I read about 10 comments on MSN and got blistering mad haha. To be honest Ive landed at the wrong airport in FSX and didn't know till Arcas showed I was at the wrong airport when I filed the pirep ha

Illegal under normal circumstances. However, there are certainly some extenuating circumstances here and the FAA is certainly on site and will have to provide special permission to conduct this one operation.

 

Not necessarily.  All depends on what the aircraft is capable of at its current weight (performance wise) and the environmental conditions.

 

I guarantee you Atlas is doing all the calculations it knows and then doing it 10x again.  They know it's all over the media and they won't just "attempt" a take-off unless they're absolutely legal and confident.

 

 

It's going to be a long flight for the crew this afternoon on their 10 mile flight to McConnell. Hope they don't miss it this time lol

 

Well it is a different, refreshed crew - so we'll see!  The original crew was sent "home".

Many years ago a Boeing 707 landed at Northolt instead of Heathrow.

 

The authorities approved its take off and the police closed a nearby A40 main road until it was clear..

It's gone.

Can't they just slew it outta there?

 

That tug that broke down on the way there was carrying a giant "Y" key.

It's going to be a long flight for the crew this afternoon on their 10 mile flight to McConnell. Hope they don't miss it this time lol

 

Not as long as the hundred yards to the boss's office back at headquarters.

It's going to be a long flight for the crew this afternoon on their 10 mile flight to McConnell. Hope they don't miss it this time lol

 

 

7.5 nm on my DME, Chris. What's that raw data backup for, again?!?   :lol:

 

(Correct, RW navaids have been changed since FSX release.)

Illegal under normal circumstances. However, there are certainly some extenuating circumstances here and the FAA is certainly on site and will have to provide special permission to conduct this one operation.

I can't see how this situation would be any differant. The aircraft is capable of departing empty legally, Atlas has confirmed it can even depart safely with its cargo load so all is good

 

You bring up something that I was not aware of Kevin, what circumstance would allow an aircraft to depart where Vmca and minimum climb gradients are not applicable? To me that is suicide, not even accounting for any surrounding buildings and residential areas if an engine fails after V1

 

Cheers

It just took off, the pilot made it look routine!!!

and she's off to KIAB eta like now

This remark amused me. Reporters....

 

It is not known why the plane landed at the smaller airport but it appears to have been a mistake.

 

Yes it is very annoying when the airplane makes that mistake  :lol:

I watched the takeoff "live" on CNN just a few minutes ago. The relief pilots made it look easy... B)

I watched the takeoff "live" on CNN just a few minutes ago. The relief pilots made it look easy... B)

Perhaps it was easy?

It must have been. They didn't even need all of the "too short" runway before Vr...

 

It was impossible to know, but the flap angles suggest they were using flaps 30 at least. ^_^

Here's the take off ---