simi_av8r 0 Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 some of you may have noticed that i've been away for a bit...the last 2 weeks as it happens, so where have i been? Well, it all started on Sunday 11th April at 0650 when we (me and the good Mrs. Av8r) flew to Rome for a lovely holiday away from all the stress of home - and lovely it was, more so in fact, our best holiday for a while! Well, that was until he day before we were due to return - Saturday 17th, when finally we worked out how to switch on and use the TV in our room to find BBC World Service....how i wish we hadn't! There, staring us in the face, was a very large volcano ash plume, and the nice news presenter saying that all UK air-space was closed and all flights were cancelled! Our hearts sank, and blind panic set in - a week in Rome meant we'd no money left to spend, and yet here we were forced to stay another week at least.... So, against the advice, we went to the airport and tried our luck with the airline to get a hotel - nothing. Not even a "We're very sorry sir, there's nothing we can do about the delay, but we can put you in a hotel".... that's right, they REFUSED to put us up (EasyJet - go figure!). Instead, what happened was they transferred us to a new flight for Friday 23rd (remembering we were originally due to fly back on the 18th!) and hoped for the best with the added benefit of 3 'meals' a day on the airline at the sandwich kiosk in the terminal! - but still no offer of a hotel, and with no money left we were forced to slum it in the airport! So stay at the airport we did...but then things got slightly better - enter the Misericordia! Without any notice at all, they brought camp beds, blankets, snacks, bottled water and a whole troop of volunteers to help ease the pain of passengers stuck in Rome Fiumicino Airport (Terminal 2). Our many thanks go to them for the help, and without it i'm sure we would have been very uncomfortable trying to sleep on the marble floor!............. there's more to tell yet but not till i get home tomorrow night! Simi_av8r, sigining off, very tired, and still waiting to get home from Rome! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 Welcome home (almost) Simi. That is some adventure and very typical of other stories I have heard. I hope the flight tomorrow goes smoothly and you get home safely. Thanks for checking in here to let us know Ciao Joe Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 Wow! Not surprising, I guess, and shared by tens of thousands of others most everywhere, but there's little comfort in that. Hope the remainder goes smoothly and you make it back safe, sound and on the revised schedule. Ground transport was out of the question? Any difficulties with your "employer", the RAF? John Link to post Share on other sites
rob16584 42 Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 Thanks for posting that Simi. We had a few people at work who were stranded, but somehow they managed to stay on in the various hotels they were staying at all inclusive. I suppose the hotels weren't going to get any more punters with the airspace being shut. Glad you are on the way home now Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 Good luck coming home! I've heard the RAF has grounded the Typhoon because of engine problems? And are the VC-10's still flying? Heard they've been grounded too Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 They've found ash in the engines of the Typhoon http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8637978.stm Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 There's a very good technical report here of a 7-minute exposure of a NASA DC-8 to volcanic ash in 2000. The ash plume they passed through was much like what they have now - diffuse, not visible at all. It cost $3.2 million to repair the engines of just this one aircraft after just a short time in an invisible ash plume. It's a good report with many photos, graphs and diagrams. It illustrates very well the mechanism by which very small amounts of volcanic ash can raise havoc with jet engines. It's not a case of immediate engine failure - the pilots never even knew anything was happening - but more a matter of incipient damage that causes rapid acceleration of the wear and degradation of engine components, partly by clogging air passages that permit cooling air to flow through the hot-section blading. In the case of these particular engines, they postulate that the engines would have failed in approximately another 100 hours of normal operation. In my opinion, the closure of the affected airspace for five days saved the airlines billions in maintenance costs and future schedule disruptions due to equipment unavailability. They took the revenue loss and schedule disruptions on the chin already, in some measure, but have entirely avoided the equipment damage and inspection costs that would have resulted if they'd flown in that stuff. The airlines are griping now, to deflect the public ire at being severely inconvenienced, but even as they are criticizing the airspace closures, the operators KNOW that they dodged a very expensive bullet by being forced to remain on the ground. http://www.avweb.com/pdf/volcanic_ash_c ... rindle.pdf Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 Interesting report John and some valid points made too. The airlines were in constant touch with engine and airframe manufacturers and may have possibly been given this type of intelligence? Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 The airlines were in constant touch with engine and airframe manufacturers and may have possibly been given this type of intelligence? That would be my opinion. Any airline that was not technically astute enough to understand the effects of airborne ash on jet engines have no business to be operating them, never mind carrying pax, which just adds to the responsibility and duty to know what you are doing. The vulnerability of jets (and turbo-props) to ash is not all that arcane or obscure - it's a reasonably well known effect amongst those who deal with and understand jet engine maintenance. Presumably these companies mostly do understand that and the criticisms they are making now of the closures are less than objective. They mostly understand that they should not/could not have been flying but are trying to direct the public's anger elsewhere. John Link to post Share on other sites
simi_av8r 0 Posted April 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 well looks like it'll be a coach trip home... The flight we had been transferred onto this mornig was heavily overbooked!! Easy jet said they dont have enough seats for the 176 booked on the 146 seat airbus... So havd booked a coach to take the remaining back today rather than wait till tomorrow for the next flight...and we're 2 of the 30 taking the coach back!! An exciting 36hr trip this'll be i'll bet! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 Chin up old boy think of England, it is St Georges day after all. Seriously Simi, I hope this time you are heading home. Joe Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 Best of luck with that, Simi. Hard times... John Link to post Share on other sites
TapA321 0 Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 Hey simi. Best of luck with everything. At least you've got a great story to put into the diaries Cheers, George Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now