Solar Eclipse of August 11th 1999. 11.11 BST.
Has anyone organised a special flight to see the forthcoming eclipse ?
I believe that special rules apply. Some have said that during totality the
CAA have implemented special rulings which preclude flight without a night
rating and navigation lights, and many airfields are closed for the morning.
Does anyone know the specifics ?
I certainly won't be flying during darkness, as I doubt it would offer a
favourable vantage point.
As far as UK airspace is concerned, the UK AIP is available on the National
Air Traffic Services website at the bottom under AIP supplements.
http://www.ais.org.uk/
The specific URL is:
http://www.ais.org.uk/SUP
The supplement number is 5 22/99 and is available for download as an Adobe
PDF file 599022.PDF. It may take a while, but it is very detailed, and lists
all the special rules airspace restrictions on the day. (there are quite a
few !)
The latest eclipse met. forecast is at :
http://www.meto.gov.uk/eclipse/forecast.html
The probability of clear skies, on the basis of long term climate stats is
given at:
http://www.met-office.gov.uk/eclipse/cloudamt2.html
The path of the eclipse across the UK/Europe is at.
http://www.eclipse.org.uk/eclipsefromuk2.htm
http://www.eclipse.org.uk/path_across_western_europe.htm
http://www.eclipse.org.uk/path_across_central_europe.htm
This can be superimposed onto aviation map(s).
My current preference would probably be north-east France, on the basis of
climate stats. and most recent forecast. The current estimate seems to be
for 60% probability of a visible total phase at any given point from north
east France though Germany. But as we all know, it's early days yet !!!
Here are a number of suitable airfields in northern France, with approximate
flying time Le Touquet
Eu Mers. 14 min.
Dieppe 21 min
Amiens 25 min
St Valery 27 min
Beauvais 33 min
Rouen 35 min
Montdidier 31 min
There are quite a few, but these ones above are nearer the centre of the
path of totality and should offer a couple of mins of darkness.
Perranporth airfield, Cornwall want =A358 in advance for landing rights, with
special entitlements if you can't land. Unfortunately, it's 2 1/4 hours from
Essex. A continental flight would take about an hour an a half.
I'll decide next Monday night, on the basis of the latest weather forecast.
I'd like to fly Tuesday evening if possible, stay overnight and fly back
Wednesday afternoon.
Does anyone know if the French/German Authorities are applying special
rulings for the event, and whether specific airfields are under any
restrictions ?
If anyone else fancies a trip, it'd be good to hear from you ?
Alan Stewart
ab ASE - Advanced Systems Engineering
BT Adastral Park. Tel:- +44 (0) 1473 607571 / Fax:- 606845
mailto:alan.d.stewart@bt.com
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