FSX-SE Running with the Jetstream (BA 747 Flight 112) ...

[P_7878]

[This post is triggered by bits of readings today about Jetstreams and their effect on transoceanic flights...Hope you enjoy...]
When I flew across the Atlantic for the first time, west-to-east (e.g., JFK->LHR) or east-to-west (e.g., LHR->JFK), one of the curious things that I had noticed was the apparent difference in the time taken to travel in each direction. For example, when flying from New York to London, the flight might take around 5 to 6 hours. Whereas, flying from London to New York, will cause the flight to take nearly 2 hours longer, around 7 to 8 hours. This is because of the well-known phenomena called "Jetstreams", those atmospheric air currents that circulate in high altitudes along the North Atlantic Tracks (NAT Tracks). These Jetstream winds flow from west to east, and thereby contribute (supportive) tailwinds for eastward flights or (opposing) headwinds for westward flights.

The Jetstream speeds gradually increase with altitude from 20,000 ft to ~35,000 ft and can reach speeds of more than 275 mph...! However, nearabout 40,000 ft, the Jetstream winds begin to slow down to (125 – 160) mph. In the recollections of all my transoceanic flights, the highest (cruise) altitude that I can recall was ~41,000 ft (in an Airbus A330). The Jetstreams might be a factor in explaining why.... i.e., to take advantage of the maximum tailwinds (on eastward flights), it's probably not advantageous to fly much higher than 35,000 ft, even though e.g., the (certified) service ceiling of the Boeing 777 is 43,100 ft, with its normal cruising altitude, being usually around (35,000-38,000) ft.

Anyway, 2-3 years ago, over the weekend Feb. (8-9), 2020, Storm Ciara was raging, on the ground, around parts of Europe, hitting UK with gusts of up to ~100 mph with torrential rain, causing electricity outages, flooding and travel (and other) chaos across the country. Ciara was a powerful and long-lived extratropical cyclone that subsequently expanded far into the North Atlantic creating explosive atmospheric conditions. Storm Ciara's weather system was driven by an equally powerful Jetstream, optimized at 35,000 ft, which eventually reached speeds over 250 mph... over the North Atlantic Ocean...! Around the same time, on Feb. 8, 2020, Saturday night, British Airways flight BA112 (a Boeing 747-400) was zooming across the Atlantic Ocean, west to east, at 35,000 ft, having earlier taken off from JFK at 6:21 pm New York time. Aided by the (above) strong Jetstream and the massive tailwind, the BA Boeing 747 hit a record 825 mph (GS = Ground Speed) during this (New York-London) trip. On its speed record cruise across the Atlantic, under these unique weather conditions, the BA112 747, under the competent guidance of its crew, consistently traveled at Mach 0.86.

The aircraft could thus make the JFK to LHR hop, in just under 5 hours, in 4 hours and 56 minutes, touching down at Heathrow at 4:47 am GMT, 80 minutes ahead of schedule, thereby, setting a brand-new (speed) record, as the fastest subsonic flight across the Atlantic Ocean. It was 17 minutes faster than the previous record made by a Norwegian 787 flight from New York to London. Interestingly, in spite of the phenomenal 825 mph (clocked GS), which was technically faster than the speed of sound (767 mph), that speed did not break the sound barrier, and was not supersonic as the speed relative to the prevailing (fast) winds was still less than ~600 mph. Here, it's worth mentioning that the fastest (commercial) travel time from New York city to London was set by the iconic (supersonic) Concorde, when the aircraft's top speed had reached 1,350 mph as it accomplished the (same) route in just under 3 hours, in 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds.

The BA112 744 was not the only a/c, during that eventful (February) weekend, that was aware of Ciara and the rare Jetstream speeds. BA's arch-rival, Virgin Atlantic, in fact, had two flights that also came in incredibly close, one arriving just a minute later than BA112 while another was three minutes behind. So, Virgin Atlantic even took potshots at British Airways on Twitter, claiming that it came close with half as many engines (on an Airbus A350-1000) and half the fuel...Oh well...the BA112 record stood still, the Queen and 4-engines had proved the winner in the air race that day, albeit ahead of the (most modern) A350-1000, by a mere 1 minute...!

Please find below a set of symbolic pictures of a British Airways Boeing 747-400, in similar colors as that of the record-breaking 747, lifting off KJFK (Rwy 4L), into the skies over the North Atlantic. Please note that, under the guidance of your truly...🙂..., this (imaginary) 747 has just reached a cruise altitude of 31,000 ft, in the last few screenshots, with (IAS =350, GS = 550, TAS = 530, and Mach = 0.903), please see close-up PFD shot of [VC] flightdeck...while I'm looking forward (later in the flight) to that magical Jetstream of (proverbial) Strom Ciara...🙂...to propel me even faster ...to run with the winds... (please note coincidentally, GS (550 + 275 = 825) mph ...!

Thanks for your interest...!!

[paulb]

Nice post. Very interesting 🙂.

[pmplayer]

Fine set, love the Big on's !

cheers 😉

[Jack_Sawyer]

Nature is amazing isn't it.  This was a great article and cool shots of the Queen. 

[CBass]

Nice set of shots.  Cheers,

Calum

[Alaska738]

Great set of shots! 😉 

[P_7878]

Folks:

Much appreciated the comments...and glad you found it interesting...!!