Pics from the Office - The Book

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Mar 21, 2012

Hangar Six


Posted by Picasa A night glimpse through the open doors of hangar 6 at Lisbon airport. Complex machines as they are, airplanes require constant high quality maintenance. TAP Maintenance & Engineering is known to be among the very best in the business and this is one of its main facilities. We had just arrived from Nice in A319 CS-TTQ. 

Planetary Skies


Posted by Picasa Flying West towards the escaping Sun, Venus and Jupiter are gradually revealed as the night takes over. A319 CS-TTQ at FL390 from Nice to Lisbon.

Feb 21, 2012

Crossing Quad


Posted by Picasa Airbus A340 crossing overhead in Swiss airspace as the sun rises. We were in A319 CS-TTR flying from Moscow to Lisbon. Airbus has recently announced the end of production of the four engined A340. 

Мінск


Posted by Picasa Clear night skies allowed this great view of Minsk, the capital of Belarus on the way from Lisbon to Moscow in A320 CS-TNS. 

Feb 12, 2012

Fire Monster


Posted by Picasa Rosenbauer Panther fire fighting vehicle standing by while we fuel A320 CS-TNP at Budapest airport shortly after arriving from Lisbon. This is standard procedure when fuelling is carried out with (transit) passengers on board as is the case today before our next sector to Prague. The pre-flight inspection was an interesting and slippery event in temperatures of -11ºC.

Feb 9, 2012

Nuvole di Vento


Posted by Picasa Alpine Altocumulus Lenticularis formation spotted while climbing out of Bologna in A320 CS-TNT. Strong winds interact with the mountains below causing massive uplifting of the surrounding air which cools as it rises. Sufficient cooling leads to saturation and condensation into these beautiful clouds.

Feb 7, 2012

Onda Madrileña


Posted by Picasa Lenticular Altocumulus cloud formation over the Madrid area. A319 CS-TTC from Lisbon to Madrid then back to Lisbon and to Madrid again. 

Gull Wing


Posted by Picasa Interesting sight near Nantes in the cruise from Lisbon to Copenhagen in A319 CS-TTS. Air is being forced upwards, perhaps by a ridge, triggering condensation and resulting in this sea gull wing shaped cloud formation.

Jan 4, 2012

CFM Spotlight


Posted by Picasa A320 CS-TNU's beautiful CFM56 engine illuminated by the left wing scan light on the ground in Sal (Cape Verde) before the 4 hour flight back to Lisbon. The purpose of the wing light is to help visual detection of ice on the leading edges of the wing and engine intake. 

Polaris


Posted by Picasa The stars Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar and Alkaid together make up the constellation of Ursa Major (also called Big Dipper). This constellation is special because the line that extends five times the distance from Merak to Dubhe allows easy identification of Polaris, the North Star (in this pic, the one close to the left edge near the bottom). A320 CS-TNU from Sal to Lisbon with 155 passengers on board and strong navigation backup.

Moon Rising


Posted by Picasa So it seems my small digital camera takes pictures at night as well.. A320 CS-TNU through the moon lit overcast flying from Sal to Lisbon on yet another whole night flight.

Electric Jet


Posted by Picasa Beautifully lit A320 CS-TNU on the ground in Sal (Cape Verde) during the external inspection. The title "Electric Jet" was taken from Capt. Dave's great blog: http://flightlevel390.blogspot.com/ 

Jan 2, 2012

Cold Fuel


Posted by Picasa Flying back from Christmas in Moscow, here is A319 CS-TTQ's Fuel page on the System Display about 4 hours into the flight. We've been exposed to very low SAT's (static air temperatures) for most of the flight (-67ºC in this pic) which have been slowly removing heat from the fuel in the wings. Due to the relatively small amount held in each outer tank (slightly over 700 kg), this fuel cools at a greater rate and requires monitoring. Engines, in general, don't like frozen fuel. Jet A-1 fuel freezes below -47ºC but since we fuelled in Russia, our fuel is TS-1 which freezes below -50ºC.

Dec 19, 2011

Through the Undercast


Posted by Picasa Early morning arrival at Lisbon in A320 CS-TNN from Brussels, a veil of cirrostratus filtering the rising sun producing yet another "pic from the office".

Dec 4, 2011

Ondulations


Posted by Picasa A layer of clouds once again revealing a wave probably resulting from the interaction of strong winds across a distant mountain range. Most people believe that waves are a thing of the ocean used for surfing but glider pilots such as my friend Pedro Mesquita might tell you otherwise... A320 CS-TNR cruising at FL380 to Luxembourg (anticipating turbulence).

Dec 3, 2011

Scandic Cyclone


Posted by Picasa On the ground in Oslo in A319 CS-TTP. Everything normal except maybe the exceptionally low QNH of 986 hPa. We were in fact very close to the center of a low pressure system also called depression or cyclone. Bad weather is associated to these systems and today was no exception with strong winds and heavy rain present throughout the approach to runway 19R. (Three days later in Stockholm the QNH fell further to 975 hPa which is, I believe an all time low for me).

LVTO


Posted by Picasa Standing by for the takeoff clearance on Lisbon's runway 21. Unusually dense fog for Lisbon is present making this an LVTO (Low Visibility Take Off) since the reported touchdown zone RVR (runway visual range) is 200m. A319 CS-TTP bound to Oslo.

Nov 30, 2011

Athinai


Posted by Picasa Athens by night seen just after takeoff from runway 03L in A320 CS-TNT.

Nov 27, 2011

Out of the Eastern Bloc


Posted by Picasa Overhead Ljubljana shortly before overflying the italian city of Venice, this was the view on the last sector of the day. A319 CS-TTD from Lisbon to Prague, Prague to Budapest then back to Lisbon.

Nov 21, 2011

Almost LVTO


Posted by Picasa Ready for departure on Copenhagen's foggy runway 22R. The present RVR (Runway Visual Range) is 500m which is not low enough for this takeoff to be called an LVTO (Low Visibility Takeoff) for which the RVR must be below 400m. We are certified for takeoff's in RVR's as low as 125m which is pretty exciting stuff. A320 CS-TNV with 116 passengers and 6 crew on board bound to Lisbon.