Anybody out there noticed any volcanic fallout yet?

My car seems to have had a bit of a dusting overnight (Surrey/Hants border)

Heard on the radio this morning the volcano ash output is increasing. Seems
to be confirmed by this webcam:

http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-valahnjuk/

Dinner tonight involves fish caught off Bognor and home grown asparagus...so
thankfully no dependency on long haul produce.


D

"Vortex5" wrote in message ...
Anybody out there noticed any volcanic fallout yet?

My car seems to have had a bit of a dusting overnight (Surrey/Hants border)

Heard on the radio this morning the volcano ash output is increasing. Seems to be confirmed by this webcam:

http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-valahnjuk/

Dinner tonight involves fish caught off Bognor and home grown asparagus...so thankfully no dependency on long haul produce.

First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and planes were flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

On Apr 17, 3:36*pm, "Graham." wrote:
First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and planes were flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)

Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday, but what if lasted weeks/years? According to
wikipedia the last eruption in 1821 lasted two years. Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years? This
is a more interesting discussion than the general election!

Dave

In article , Graham.
scribeth thus


"Vortex5" wrote in message news:82tkbuFujkU
...
Anybody out there noticed any volcanic fallout yet?

My car seems to have had a bit of a dusting overnight (Surrey/Hants border)

Heard on the radio this morning the volcano ash output is increasing. Seems
to be confirmed by this webcam:

http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-valahnjuk/

Dinner tonight involves fish caught off Bognor and home grown asparagus...so
thankfully no dependency on long haul produce.

First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and planes were
flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)



Some micro pix here posted from a local site, seems rather glassy;!..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonsg/
--
Tony Sayer

"Dave Starling" wrote in message
...
On Apr 17, 3:36 pm, "Graham." wrote:
First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and
planes were flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)

Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday, but what if lasted weeks/years? According to
wikipedia the last eruption in 1821 lasted two years. Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years? This
is a more interesting discussion than the general election!

Dave

I found his rather nifty web site shows all commercial aircraft flying
across Europe in real time: http://www.radarvirtuel.com/

It's a bit tempremental (probably server overload) but press F5 a few times
and it will come up. Works best for me in Firefox.

Dave Starling wrote:
Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years?

Certainly.

I really cannot think of a single example of a flight I have ever taken
that was NECESSARY.

Even airfreight is only a time convenience, except on a very few cases
where time is of the essence, not just of the convenience.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Vortex5"
saying something like:

Anybody out there noticed any volcanic fallout yet?

Been happening here since Thursday morning, but I didn't know about the
volcano at the time and put it down to dust blowing off the fields, in
spite of a)there being no wind and b)there has been no ploughing
activity near me at all.
In retrospect, it was the volcanic stuff, as it corresponded exactly to
what others described later.

Vortex5 wrote:
"Dave Starling" wrote in message
...
On Apr 17, 3:36 pm, "Graham." wrote:
First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and
planes were flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)

Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday, but what if lasted weeks/years? According to
wikipedia the last eruption in 1821 lasted two years. Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years? This
is a more interesting discussion than the general election!

Dave

I found his rather nifty web site shows all commercial aircraft flying
across Europe in real time: http://www.radarvirtuel.com/

It's a bit tempremental (probably server overload) but press F5 a few
times and it will come up. Works best for me in Firefox.

Some fantastic photos of the eruption he
http://www.millhouse.nl/eyjafjallajokull2010.html

Dave Starling wrote:
On Apr 17, 3:36 pm, "Graham." wrote:
First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and planes were flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)

Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday,

You could be right. The problem is not the eruption itself, but the
direction of the jet stream, which is carrying the dust south and east
from Iceland. That general trend is expected to continue until Thursday,
although the jet stream will be weakening. By Friday, the flow over
Iceland should be weak but Easterly. By next Saturday, it will be
strengthening again, but flowing North West, which may cause problems
for Scandinavia and Russia, but should no longer affect Britain or
central Europe.

Colin Bignll

"Dave Starling" wrote in message
...
On Apr 17, 3:36 pm, "Graham." wrote:
First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and planes were flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)

Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday, but what if lasted weeks/years? According to
wikipedia the last eruption in 1821 lasted two years. Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years? This
is a more interesting discussion than the general election!

Dave


Right little Job's Comforter you are ;-)

I have a daughter currently en-route from Shanghai to Istanbul, where her onward flight
to London has, of course, been cancelled.


--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:31:01 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Dave Starling wrote:
Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years?

Certainly.

I really cannot think of a single example of a flight I have ever taken
that was NECESSARY.

Even airfreight is only a time convenience, except on a very few cases
where time is of the essence, not just of the convenience.

No absolutely necessary flights, but I've made a number of personally very
important flights - my wife has a large family in Ireland, when someone
dies, we have had as little as four hours' notice to grab the last flight
of the day, so as to get over in time for a funeral first thing the next
morning. In reverse they have been called over with similarly short notice
for a few last words when family here have been on the verge of death or
when someone has ended up in ICU with a very poor prognosis.

Such a flight is certainly not truly necessary, but it is very important on
a personal/family level.

SteveW

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 15:36:02 +0100, Graham. wrote:

First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news,

And before this eruption that started sometime Wednesday night
IIRC...

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Steve Walker" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:31:01 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Dave Starling wrote:
Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years?

Certainly.

I really cannot think of a single example of a flight I have ever taken
that was NECESSARY.

Even airfreight is only a time convenience, except on a very few cases
where time is of the essence, not just of the convenience.

No absolutely necessary flights, but I've made a number of personally very
important flights - my wife has a large family in Ireland, when someone
dies, we have had as little as four hours' notice to grab the last flight
of the day, so as to get over in time for a funeral first thing the next
morning. In reverse they have been called over with similarly short notice
for a few last words when family here have been on the verge of death or
when someone has ended up in ICU with a very poor prognosis.

Such a flight is certainly not truly necessary, but it is very important
on
a personal/family level.

Just think how much CO2 could be saved with a couple of web cams and tinned
Guinness.

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message ll.co.uk...
On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 15:36:02 +0100, Graham. wrote:

First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news,

And before this eruption that started sometime Wednesday night
IIRC...

It was as long ago as Sunday 21st March.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

Steve Walker wrote:
On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:31:01 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Dave Starling wrote:
Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years?
Certainly.

I really cannot think of a single example of a flight I have ever taken
that was NECESSARY.

Even airfreight is only a time convenience, except on a very few cases
where time is of the essence, not just of the convenience.

No absolutely necessary flights, but I've made a number of personally very
important flights - my wife has a large family in Ireland, when someone
dies, we have had as little as four hours' notice to grab the last flight
of the day, so as to get over in time for a funeral first thing the next
morning. In reverse they have been called over with similarly short notice
for a few last words when family here have been on the verge of death or
when someone has ended up in ICU with a very poor prognosis.

Such a flight is certainly not truly necessary, but it is very important on
a personal/family level.


kill the planet and attend a funeral.

Sounds pretty much the way the thinking goes these days ;-)

SteveW

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 23:31:10 +0100, Graham. wrote:

First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news,

And before this eruption that started sometime Wednesday night
IIRC...

It was as long ago as Sunday 21st March.

But that didn't shove thousands of tonnes of muck high into the
atmosphere, it caused some floods the evacuation of 800 people from
near by and washed out (or the Icelanders removed) a main road to
relieve the floods but no great ash cloud high/big enogh to get over
here.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 23:10:44 +0100, dennis@home wrote:

"Steve Walker" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:31:01 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Dave Starling wrote:
Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years?

Certainly.

I really cannot think of a single example of a flight I have ever taken
that was NECESSARY.

Even airfreight is only a time convenience, except on a very few cases
where time is of the essence, not just of the convenience.

No absolutely necessary flights, but I've made a number of personally very
important flights - my wife has a large family in Ireland, when someone
dies, we have had as little as four hours' notice to grab the last flight
of the day, so as to get over in time for a funeral first thing the next
morning. In reverse they have been called over with similarly short notice
for a few last words when family here have been on the verge of death or
when someone has ended up in ICU with a very poor prognosis.

Such a flight is certainly not truly necessary, but it is very important
on
a personal/family level.

Just think how much CO2 could be saved with a couple of web cams and tinned
Guinness.

On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:26:17 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:
Steve Walker wrote:
On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:31:01 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Dave Starling wrote:
Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years?
Certainly.

I really cannot think of a single example of a flight I have ever taken
that was NECESSARY.

Even airfreight is only a time convenience, except on a very few cases
where time is of the essence, not just of the convenience.

No absolutely necessary flights, but I've made a number of personally very
important flights - my wife has a large family in Ireland, when someone
dies, we have had as little as four hours' notice to grab the last flight
of the day, so as to get over in time for a funeral first thing the next
morning. In reverse they have been called over with similarly short notice
for a few last words when family here have been on the verge of death or
when someone has ended up in ICU with a very poor prognosis.

Such a flight is certainly not truly necessary, but it is very important on
a personal/family level.


kill the planet and attend a funeral.


That's the beauty of Ryanair, in a nutshell. ;-)

"Dave" wrote in message
...
Vortex5 wrote:
"Dave Starling" wrote in message
...
On Apr 17, 3:36 pm, "Graham." wrote:
First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and
planes were flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)

Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday, but what if lasted weeks/years? According to
wikipedia the last eruption in 1821 lasted two years. Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years? This
is a more interesting discussion than the general election!

Dave

I found his rather nifty web site shows all commercial aircraft flying
across Europe in real time: http://www.radarvirtuel.com/

It's a bit tempremental (probably server overload) but press F5 a few
times and it will come up. Works best for me in Firefox.

Some fantastic photos of the eruption he
http://www.millhouse.nl/eyjafjallajokull2010.html


I saw that helicopter in front of the crater on the TV news. How come that
could be so close (and presumably another helicopter with the cameraman) yet
all other aircraft within a 1000 mile radius grounded.

mark

The Natural Philosopher wrote:


kill the planet and attend a funeral.

Talk hysterical ******** and feel smug.

Sounds pretty much the way the thinking goes these days ;-)

mark wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message
...
Vortex5 wrote:
"Dave Starling" wrote in message
...
On Apr 17, 3:36 pm, "Graham." wrote:
First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and
planes were flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)
Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday, but what if lasted weeks/years? According to
wikipedia the last eruption in 1821 lasted two years. Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years? This
is a more interesting discussion than the general election!

Dave
I found his rather nifty web site shows all commercial aircraft flying
across Europe in real time: http://www.radarvirtuel.com/

It's a bit tempremental (probably server overload) but press F5 a few
times and it will come up. Works best for me in Firefox.
Some fantastic photos of the eruption he
http://www.millhouse.nl/eyjafjallajokull2010.html


I saw that helicopter in front of the crater on the TV news. How come that
could be so close (and presumably another helicopter with the cameraman) yet
all other aircraft within a 1000 mile radius grounded.


Quite simply, the ash is going almost astraight up to 20-50,000 feet
before it disperses.

Its free of ash sideways...
mark

Steve Firth wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

kill the planet and attend a funeral.

Talk hysterical ******** and feel smug.

Sounds pretty much the way the thinking goes these days ;-)

C'mon now, keep your sense of humour..

It was a wry poke at all those veggy eating cyclists and eco-warriors
who still manage to take foreign trips and eat airfreighted soya beans
and vegetables..

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Nightjar \"cpb\"@"
"insertmysurnamehere saying something like:


Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday,

You could be right. The problem is not the eruption itself, but the
direction of the jet stream, which is carrying the dust south and east
from Iceland.

The useless sods in the Irish Government have let a huge opportunity
slip throught their hands - again. There's almost no dust to the west of
Ireland and it could be business as usual to/from Shannon, with onward
carriage by road/ferry to the rest of Europe.

But no, that would be too logical. There must be thousands of people
stuck in the States and plenty of high-value/urgent freight waiting to
go.

Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:

The useless sods in the Irish Government have let a huge opportunity
slip throught their hands - again. There's almost no dust to the west of
Ireland and it could be business as usual to/from Shannon, with onward
carriage by road/ferry to the rest of Europe.

Brilliant idea, whichis brought to its knees only by the teribble state
of ferries from Ireland to the UK and from the UK to the (in)Continent.

On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:06:05 +0100, "mark"
wrote:
I saw that helicopter in front of the crater on the TV news. How come that
could be so close (and presumably another helicopter with the cameraman) yet
all other aircraft within a 1000 mile radius grounded.


The pilot stayed to windward?

Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume?

Time to get the old Piston-engine Aeroplanes out. I blame the Americans
and their Jet Airplanes.

R.

On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:51:47 -0500, TheOldFellow
wrote:

Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume?

Time to get the old Piston-engine Aeroplanes out. I blame the Americans
and their Jet Airplanes.


You'll have to blame the British, because the first commercial jet
airliner was the De Havilland Comet, which was designed and built at
Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember (Steve Firth)
saying something like:

Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:

The useless sods in the Irish Government have let a huge opportunity
slip throught their hands - again. There's almost no dust to the west of
Ireland and it could be business as usual to/from Shannon, with onward
carriage by road/ferry to the rest of Europe.

Brilliant idea, whichis brought to its knees only by the teribble state
of ferries from Ireland to the UK and from the UK to the (in)Continent.

Nearly always room for a foot passenger or two, even at peak times.
If a parcel is man-carriable and is valuable enough...

Bruce wrote:
On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:06:05 +0100, "mark"
wrote:
I saw that helicopter in front of the crater on the TV news. How come that
could be so close (and presumably another helicopter with the cameraman) yet
all other aircraft within a 1000 mile radius grounded.


The pilot stayed to windward?

Or it was piston engined, they don't suffer the same problems a jet
turbine does.

Dave

Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Nightjar \"cpb\"@"
"insertmysurnamehere saying something like:

Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday,
You could be right. The problem is not the eruption itself, but the
direction of the jet stream, which is carrying the dust south and east
from Iceland.

The useless sods in the Irish Government have let a huge opportunity
slip throught their hands - again. There's almost no dust to the west of
Ireland and it could be business as usual to/from Shannon, with onward
carriage by road/ferry to the rest of Europe.

But no, that would be too logical. There must be thousands of people
stuck in the States and plenty of high-value/urgent freight waiting to
go.

There is a problem, in that most of the aircraft needed are already
grounded in Europe. Apparently, even some internal flights in the USA
are being affected by the lack of available aircraft.

Colin Bignell

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Nightjar \"cpb\"@"
"insertmysurnamehere saying something like:

There is a problem, in that most of the aircraft needed are already
grounded in Europe.

Which is another madness.
Most of the needed aircraft could be flown to the west well under
20Kfeet and then go higher once clear of Ireland.

On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:28:42 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

mark wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message
...
Vortex5 wrote:
"Dave Starling" wrote in message
...
On Apr 17, 3:36 pm, "Graham." wrote:
First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and
planes were flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)
Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday, but what if lasted weeks/years? According to
wikipedia the last eruption in 1821 lasted two years. Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years? This
is a more interesting discussion than the general election!

Dave
I found his rather nifty web site shows all commercial aircraft flying
across Europe in real time: http://www.radarvirtuel.com/

It's a bit tempremental (probably server overload) but press F5 a few
times and it will come up. Works best for me in Firefox.
Some fantastic photos of the eruption he
http://www.millhouse.nl/eyjafjallajokull2010.html


I saw that helicopter in front of the crater on the TV news. How come that
could be so close (and presumably another helicopter with the cameraman) yet
all other aircraft within a 1000 mile radius grounded.


Quite simply, the ash is going almost astraight up to 20-50,000 feet
before it disperses.

Its free of ash sideways...
mark



Apparently flights to and from Iceland have been able to continue
throughout as the ash is going striaght up as you say, but then isn't
blowing over their main airport!

It's also quite possible that our government has overreacted again, there
has been a suggestion that the agreed international response to ash clouds
is to fly around them, route through clear patches and fly low level where
necessary.

SteveW

On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:29:52 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Steve Firth wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

kill the planet and attend a funeral.

Talk hysterical ******** and feel smug.

Sounds pretty much the way the thinking goes these days ;-)

C'mon now, keep your sense of humour..

It was a wry poke at all those veggy eating cyclists and eco-warriors
who still manage to take foreign trips and eat airfreighted soya beans
and vegetables..

I saw that was what you meant, hence why I didn't need to reply.

SteveW

On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:18:52 +0100, Bruce wrote:

On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:51:47 -0500, TheOldFellow
wrote:

Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume?

Time to get the old Piston-engine Aeroplanes out. I blame the Americans
and their Jet Airplanes.


You'll have to blame the British, because the first commercial jet
airliner was the De Havilland Comet, which was designed and built at
Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

And for a while we lead the world. If it hadn't been for the metal fatigue
problems that were pretty well unknown at that time and doomed the Comet,
maybe we still would have. There again, we gave the jet engine technology
to the Americans during the war.

In one form the Comet still flies of course - the Nimrod.

SteveW

Vortex5 wrote:
Anybody out there noticed any volcanic fallout yet?

My car seems to have had a bit of a dusting overnight (Surrey/Hants border)

Heard on the radio this morning the volcano ash output is increasing.
Seems to be confirmed by this webcam:

http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-valahnjuk/

Dinner tonight involves fish caught off Bognor and home grown
asparagus...so thankfully no dependency on long haul produce.


There's B***r all food carried on aircraft. Kenyan mange tout, Israeli
melons, a few things like that. Tesco said "less than 1%".

But I'm feeling lucky as I flew home on Tuesday! 18 hours by train,
even if I could have got a ticket (Wien)

Andy

Steve Walker wrote:
On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:28:42 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

mark wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message
...
Vortex5 wrote:
"Dave Starling" wrote in message
...
On Apr 17, 3:36 pm, "Graham." wrote:
First saw it on my car last Tuesday. Before it was on the news, and
planes were flying normally.
I mistook it for Saharan sand. (I'm in Manchester)
Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume? I'm saying not before
end of Thursday, but what if lasted weeks/years? According to
wikipedia the last eruption in 1821 lasted two years. Would/could we
survive without taking any flights around Europe for two years? This
is a more interesting discussion than the general election!

Dave
I found his rather nifty web site shows all commercial aircraft flying
across Europe in real time: http://www.radarvirtuel.com/

It's a bit tempremental (probably server overload) but press F5 a few
times and it will come up. Works best for me in Firefox.
Some fantastic photos of the eruption he
http://www.millhouse.nl/eyjafjallajokull2010.html

I saw that helicopter in front of the crater on the TV news. How come that
could be so close (and presumably another helicopter with the cameraman) yet
all other aircraft within a 1000 mile radius grounded.

Quite simply, the ash is going almost astraight up to 20-50,000 feet
before it disperses.

Its free of ash sideways...
mark



Apparently flights to and from Iceland have been able to continue
throughout as the ash is going striaght up as you say, but then isn't
blowing over their main airport!

It's also quite possible that our government has overreacted again, there
has been a suggestion that the agreed international response to ash clouds
is to fly around them, route through clear patches and fly low level where
necessary.

Low level flight, around an airport and we have lots, is restricted to
aircraft in a holding pattern for prep for landing. Not a good idea for
crashing into each other.

Dave

Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Nightjar \"cpb\"@"
"insertmysurnamehere saying something like:

There is a problem, in that most of the aircraft needed are already
grounded in Europe.

Which is another madness.
Most of the needed aircraft could be flown to the west well under
20Kfeet and then go higher once clear of Ireland.

Perhaps that is why 2 EU guvmints have flown an aircraft each to decide
what the dust can do to the turbine part at the back of the engine.
It's a simple test to find out.

Dave

Steve Walker wrote:
On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:18:52 +0100, Bruce wrote:

On Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:51:47 -0500, TheOldFellow
wrote:
Anyone taking bets on when flights will resume?
Time to get the old Piston-engine Aeroplanes out. I blame the Americans
and their Jet Airplanes.

You'll have to blame the British, because the first commercial jet
airliner was the De Havilland Comet, which was designed and built at
Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

And for a while we lead the world. If it hadn't been for the metal fatigue
problems that were pretty well unknown at that time and doomed the Comet,
maybe we still would have. There again, we gave the jet engine technology
to the Americans during the war.

In one form the Comet still flies of course - the Nimrod.

Only bloody just. I saw how badly the development team worked in 1999.
No focus, no incentive, need I go on?

Dave

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

C'mon now, keep your sense of humour..

I did.

"Dave" wrote in message
...

Perhaps that is why 2 EU guvmints have flown an aircraft each to decide
what the dust can do to the turbine part at the back of the engine.
It's a simple test to find out.


They do have experience of flying through such a cloud.
A BA jumbo lost all four RB211 engines when it flew through one.
They actually managed to restart them after they had fallen a few thousand
meters but they were lucky.
The engines were write offs as was the paintwork and windows.
I doubt if the passengers would be prepared to pay for new engines just to
go on holiday.

They could fly turbo jets at lower altitudes to airports where jets could
take over.