wisemanp 0 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 On saturday I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Manchester airport (EGCC) control tower. It was a superb day, made even better when the score Manchester United 1 - 4 Liverpool came through as I was in the tower, in view of Old Trafford itself, (Needless to say, all the controllers were United fans!). Here are some shots! This bmiBaby did a Go Around due to slat failures. The watch manager (Also happy as Wales had just beaten Italy in the rugby) called various people around the airport and dispatched the fire crew just to be on standby on the side of the runway incase something bad happened. Fortunately all was fine, but here is the aircraft landing with its guard of honour. If anyone ever gets the chance to go round a control tower, take it straight away, it's a brilliant experience. (I also went in the radar room that covers most of northern England and watched the approach controller bringing aircraft into perfect spacing on the ILS.) Thanks for looking! Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Very nice!!! Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Great shots, Phil. That's a side of the aviation game we don't get to see enough of. Thanks for making a very interesting post. John Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 They have all the best views! Great post Phil, thanks for sharing, I guess the 1-4 result was the icing on the cake Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Magic shots, Phil - thanks for sharing. BTW, thought I was back on dial up - those pics were B I G ! Cheers -Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
grth_bbtt 0 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Superb stuff Phil! I see Manchester are still using the bars to control air traffic. I always thought Gatwick was rather behind in its tech until I visited....some tidy touch screens all round Does bring brack some great memories from work experience. Its quite interesting when there dealing with emergencies and how calm they are. Despite me being with the fire service then the emergency call came through, and dashing out to the aircraft, they still managed to keep their cool! (the fire engines at MAN dont look as impressive as the ones at LGW ) Agreed on the chance to go to a ATC tower Phil Link to post Share on other sites
wisemanp 0 Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Sorry about the size, didn't realise they were so big! And yes they still use strips, one colour for arrivals, one for departures... which corresponds to the colour system on all the computers and radars and everything! It amazed me how efficient and logical everything was. Possible career path? Who knows... Link to post Share on other sites
rob16584 42 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Great shots. How did you manage to get into the tower? Link to post Share on other sites
wisemanp 0 Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Great shots. How did you manage to get into the tower? A friend in the village (Who knows a thing or two about aviation himself) has a brother who has worked there for 18 years, after moving from Heathrow, and is retiring at the end of the month. Our friend knew me and dad were very interested so when the offer came up, put it straight to us and of course we said yes! Link to post Share on other sites
B77W 0 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Hi Phil, Great post - reminds me of when I was there... I need another trip! :blush: Did you watch the airspace intrusion videos before/after the tower visit? Can you remember when they said MAN_CTR is moving to Prestwick? Link to post Share on other sites
wisemanp 0 Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Hi Phil,Great post - reminds me of when I was there... I need another trip! :blush: Did you watch the airspace intrusion videos before/after the tower visit? Can you remember when they said MAN_CTR is moving to Prestwick? Hi Sam, I didn't see that video, no... And I can't remember for sure but it's pretty soon I think. It will be a shame I think... Link to post Share on other sites
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