Why the C-Series approach to London City is different

Swiss flies as the first airline with Bombardier's new plane to the City of London. The approach feels with the C-Series is different. The Reasons For This.

Very Short flight LX466 prevails in the case of some of the passengers of Swiss-8. August confusion: "You Know, what are they doing here?" a woman asks her husband after the landing and shows two fire trucks, which received the aircraft. Before you can make the companion of thought, explains Peter Koch by Tannoy: "we are delighted that you were in a historic flight," he says through the microphone. Welcome by the fire brigade.

Cooking is a fleet-in-chief of the Bombardier C-Series for Swiss. And the fire trucks welcomed on Tuesday the first passenger flight with the new aircraft at London City Airport. The passengers learned for the first time after the landing thereof, was also due to the fact that you didn't want to cause unnecessary nervousness. The airport in the British capital is not only due to its extremely Central location in the financial centre of something special. Who wants to fly there, also needs a special aircraft and specially trained pilots.

Steeper Landing

Because London City of high-rise buildings, surrounded to aircraft noise protection and safety reasons, steeper landing than at Other airports. Normally, flying during the approach with a glide path of 3.5 degrees. In the City of London, he must be 5.5 degrees. A further challenge is the 1500 meters in a very short runway at city airport. For the so-called ' Steep Approach, the Crews, therefore, need a separate license.

A bit like landing on an aircraft carrier

A core team of eight pilots was trained in Swiss for months specially. Now, more and more pilots on the C-Series will be certified for steep approaches into London City. Around 30 pilots will be initially tells a cook. He was important, that first of all, a select group gather more and more experience, than that there were many pilots with less experience.

London City is surrounded by water

Not only the pilots, the aircraft had to be certified in the case of the C-Series for the approach. "The CS100 is the world's only line of aircraft, which was built specifically for the most demanding airports," says Rob Dewar, Bombardier for the C-Series program.

"It is a bit like landing on an aircraft carrier," describes fleet chef of the approach to LCY, so the Iata Code of the Airport. Because the airport is in addition to the steep approach and short runway surrounded by water. But: The approach of the C-Series to feel very different than with the Swiss flown Avros: In the case of the Bombardier Jets, thanks to the interference of the feeling of sinking flaps on the upper side of the wing to be less strong than in the case of the small four emitters in which one was pressed nearly to the front of the belt. For anxious passengers that is certainly a Plus, some aircraft fans will miss the special feeling.

Fleet boss Peter Koch explains why the approach is so Special. (Image: aeroTELEGRAPH)

The largest aircraft

The C-Series is the largest aircraft that is approved for the airport. At Swiss they replaced the smaller Avro-Jets could also fly to LCY and loving also Jumbolino. Currently, eight of the CS100 and two CS300 are in the fleet of Swiss. Overall, the Airline has ordered ten smaller, and twenty of the larger C-Series.

Only the smaller variant is certified for the airport City. Want to exclude neither the leaders at the airport in Swiss. "After all, no one would have thought that the Embraer E190 will fly once to the City," Koch says with a grin.

The airport continues to expand

First, the machine will complete a daily circulation of Zurich. The rest will be flown by Helvetic Airways with Embraer 190 aircraft in Wet Lease. From 2018, the new aircraft is to fly from Geneva to the UK's financial centre. First, Swiss only sold 91 Tickets per flight to a safe landing on the short runway in all conditions is possible. But the Plan is to continue that, towards the end of August to 108 Tickets. The maximum occupation – but without the Business Class is 125 people.

When the number of daily flights will be operated with the C-Series to London City high, also depends on the airport, because of its special location, there are also limitations in terms of space. Overall, the airport has three Parking spaces, which are suitable for planes of this size. Among other things parked there, also the Airbus A318 of British Airways that flies in the pure Business Seating to New York. In the coming years, London plans to expand City, but after and after and more Parking for large aircraft.

Posted by John at .