Sure they can…!
A large majority of Air Traffic Controllers are usually busier during the day than during a nightshift. There are however a few radiotelephony callsigns which are always associated with night operations. One such call sigh is “Quality”, the official ICAO callsign of TNT Airways which sounds familiar to all ATCO-s on night duties. Our contributor Heading370 travelled to Liege Airport in Belgium to join the crew of TAY47R to find out how a typical short haul cargo flight is operated by the company.
TNT opened their European hub at Liege Airport in Belgium in 1998. They had several reasons to choose this airport. The company was looking for a location in the vicinity of the Paris-Amsterdam-Frankfurt-London area with excellent road connectivity and the future opportunities for expansion combined with unlimited number of night flights at an uncongested airport. That’s exactly what Liege was able to offer and made it a number one choice for the company. TNT Airways, the airline of the group has been created in 2000 and now operates a fleet of 42 aircraft. Every night an average of 40 aircraft serve 63 airports in 26 European countries from the Liege hub. The company also operates flights to New York JFK 5 times a week and flies to Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong three times a week. TNT Airways employs about 500 people in Liege including 250 pilots.
TTNT Airways’ fleet consists of 4 Boeing B747-400ERF (payload 117 tons), 2 Airbus A300B4-200F (payload 43 tons, operated by Air Atlanta), 5 Boeing 757-200SF (payload 25 tons – operated by Icelandair and Gestair), 12 Boeing B737-300SF including 2 QC (payload 17 tons), and 19 British Aerospace BAE146-200/300 including 2 QC (payload 12 tons).
Using the QC models the company can offer passenger charters as well besides its usual cargo operations.
I joined the crew of tonight’s flight to London Stansted at a very unfriendly time at quarter past 3 for the pre-flight briefing. Commander of the flight will be Captain Vincent Carpentier, a Belgian Air Force veteran assisted by the First Officer, Jean-Francois Mahieu. Vincent who spent most of his carrier flying F16 fighters and later Embraer 135 and 145 jets for the Belgian Air Force, flies for TNT since 2008 and accumulated around 4600 flying hours. TNT is Jean-Francois’ first employer in aviation where he started in September 2008. They will be accompanied by TNT’s Internal Communications expert, Ms Pascale Nizet. The flight on the first leg was assigned the callsign TAY27R (radiotelephony callsign: Quality two seven Romeo).
The crew obtained the flight plan prepared by TNT’s operations then they thoroughly checked all the documentation concerning the flight along the filed flight plan route. The short flight (the total estimated time was 45 minutes from off block time to engine shutdown) was after departure planned via the BUB (Brussels) VOR where the flight would join airway UL608 to SUMUM waypoint where it joined the airway Y6 which connects to our planned STAR (standard arrival route) the CASEY1C. The return leg today was going to end at Brussels Zaventem airport where the Boeing 737 was scheduled to undergo some maintenance at Sabena Technics. Also prepared was the collection of NOTAM-s (Notices to Airmen) which covered the departure and arrival aerodromes and the filed route and airspace. This documentation required some careful reading. The crew would have to be familiar with everything that affects air navigation or operation at the airports. Today for example one NOTAM stipulated that our expected runway 23 Left will be available for takeoff-s from taxiway S4 which somewhat shortened the originally 3287 meters long asphalt but of course still gives enough distance to the Boeing to perform a safe take off roll. NOTAM-s concerning UK airspace described several route availability restrictions and Danger Area activations but nothing along our short route to Stansted airport. Luckily the Volcanic Ash Concentration Charts (VACC) issued by the UK Met. Office did not show any No-Fly Zone (i.e. areas of high contamination) anymore over the South of England. One of the Belgian NOTAMs warned the crew that the BUN (Bruno) DVOR/DME navigational aid was out of service, this would be noted on our flight back to Brussels as our planned arrival route included this navaid station.
The only other operational NOTAM that was of particular interest for the crew was the one that describes the speed restrictions inbound Stansted. According to this all approaching aircraft must maintain 220 knots during the intermediate approach phase, 180 knots on base leg/closing heading to the ILS (instrument landing system), between 180 and 170 knots when first established on the ILS, thereafter 170 knots to 5NM (nautical miles) DME.
The crew then checked the prevailing weather conditions at the aerodromes and also the weather charts. Although the latter showed some approaching low pressure area from the western part of the UK, for the time being this had no effect on our arrival aerodromes. All 3 airports reported CAVOK (Ceiling and visibility OK) this morning. Sufficiently prepared, the crew boarded a minibus which they shared with an Icelandic crew who stepped out on the way next to their Boeing 757. The apron was really busy the majority of the traffic being TNT aircraft. Several Icelandair B757-s were also present next to a few B747 cargo aircraft operated by Southern Air. Arriving at OO-TNI, a Boeing 737-300F (Freighter) the crew set out to prepare the cockpit for departure. This aircraft was delivered new as a 737-300 type in 1986 to Piedmont Airlines in the USA. It subsequently went to serve with USAir and US Airways until 2006 when TNT Airways bought the plane and converted it to a Freighter model. The crew entered the details of the flight plan route: they planned the BUB5S (Brussels 5 Sierra) departure route until the Brussels VOR where they would join the route described above. Vincent would fly the first leg to Stansted. He gave a general briefing covering any eventualities in case of emergencies while the ground handling personnel finished loading the plane with 9 ULD containers. When the loadsheet arrived it showed that our payload was 16523 kgs . We carried 7.4 tonnes of fuel out of which the crew calculated to burn 2180 kgs during the trip and 200 kgs on the taxiways. The captain also had to sign the list containing eventual dangerous goods in the cargo bay.
Completing the “Preflight” and “Before Start” checklists engine number 2 was started first followed by the number 1. The “Before Taxi” checklist had to be completed before receiving the taxi clearance. The captain taxied the aircraft to the holding point Runway 23 Left with the help of the nose wheel tiller situated at the left hand side of the captain’s position. During the “Before takeoff” checks flaps were set to 5. After the line up clearance the aircraft entered Runway 23 Left and having received the take off clearance the crew switched on the landing lights while taxi lights remained on also until leaving the Liege TMA airspace. As the airspeed increased Jean-Francois announced when the aircraft accelerated through 80 knots followed by the “V1” and the “Rotate” call. After airborne the crew set the Autopilot to LNAV (lateral navigation) mode and followed the SID initiating a right turn at 4.3 NM from the LGE (Liege) VOR and followed radial 123 from the BUB (Brussels) VOR. When Jean-Francois called Brussels ACC (Area Control Centre) on the 125.0 MHz the air traffic controller first assigned FL (Flight Level) 180 to climb to. When passing through the transition altitude of 4500 feet AMSL (above mean sea level) altimeters were set to the standard 1013 hpa which is used by all flights who are assigned flight levels ensuring they all use the same reference pressure level. Other items of the “After Takeoff” checklist completed (on the 737-300 there is a “Normal” checklist in case the aircraft is not moving and another one which is displayed on the control column for any other cases) the first officer has received and acknowledged the continuous climb clearance to our requested cruising level to Flight Level 200 together with a clearance to fly direct to SASKI waypoint which is the entry point to UK airspace. We reached our cruising level abeam the Brussels VOR which is located at Brussels Zaventem airport. We could take a look at our next destination and the capital city of Belgium on our way towards the coast. The cruising phase of this flight only lasted a few minutes making it a very work-intensive environment for the crew. The latest weather observations included in the ATIS reports were checked first by requesting them via the ACARS (Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System) also at the alternate aerodromes EGNX – East Midlands and EBOS – Oostende and Brussels then when in range by radio too, on the 127. 175 MHz. In the latest ATIS – Victor – no significant weather was reported at Stansted where there was very little southerly wind and the temperature was 10 degrees this morning. Shortly after crossing the Belgian coastline Brussels ACC transferred TAY27R to London Radar, to the frequency 135.425. The controller who was responsible for the airspace of the Clacton area advised the crew about the expected arrival route and it was time for the briefing before starting descent: the crew systematically checked again important items such as the weather, the fuel status, the expected runway – in this case RWY 22 – and details of the arrival procedure which included the missed approach procedure as well. The captain included the expected taxiway and stand after landing. Autobrake was set at level 1 to achieve the smoothest braking level for the long runway.
“Quality two seven Romeo when ready descend Flight Level 80” came the next instruction from the controller. The captain pointed out that we were still about 45 NM from our calculated TOD (top of descent) point. In a few minutes Vincent initiated the descent and reduced power on the CFM56 engines just when we were crossing the coastline. We received our next frequency: “TAY27R contact Essex Radar on 120.625”. When checking in with the next controller he gave us the following clearance: “TAY27R radar contact, expect radar vectors for ILS runway 22. Descend to six thousand feet QNH1015 continue present heading and confirm the type of the aircraft.” While the pilots have promptly acknowledged and executed the clearance, the aircraft continued the descent to 4000 feet with a continuous rate of 2000 feet per minute. ATC then turned us to the heading 265 and gave a clearance to further descend to 3000 feet and gave permission to intercept the glide path and continue descending when established. Around 3500 feet the captain lowered the landing gear. Speed stabilized at 170 knots and flaps 5 was requested when we were transferred to Stansted tower on 123.8. Flap setting was increased to 30 when we were cleared to land on runway 22 after a short 42 minutes in the air. We left the runway via a high speed exit then taxied via taxiway “Juliette” to our assigned stand number 3.on the “Alpha West” apron. The captain used the visual docking system: using this equipment, the captain needs to align with a lit bar with the appropriate aircraft type marked on the parking stand board to park the aircraft precisely at the stand.
During the short turnover time the small but efficient ground crew – led by Ramp Manager Colin Baines – unloaded the cargo through both the large portside cargo door and also via the smaller aft cargo door. TNT at Stansted usually handles 2 scheduled flights a day: one in the early morning and one in the evening.
When the handling staff finished their job and cargo doors were closed again the empty aircraft was ready for the second leg to Brussels, changing its callsign to TAY946E. Delivery frequency was still closed at this early hour so we received our route clearance on the Ground frequency. We received the DVR7R (Dover 7 Romeo) standard instrument departure route and were given the squawk 3441. The crew calculated the significant speed data for the take off and established V1 at 124 knots Vr (the rotation speed) at 127 knots while V2 will be reached at 133 knots for the empty aircraft. When requesting start-up clearance the crew reported the aircraft type on the frequency as stipulated in the ATIS. This time the first officer will be the pilot flying. The ground controller transferred us to Tower on the 123.8. The captain taxied the aircraft again onto the runway where the first officer assumed control and acknowledging the take off clearance the Boeing accelerated down the 3048 meters long asphalt runway 22. After departure Vincent checked in with London Control on 118.825 reporting the level the aircraft was passing at that moment to enable the controller to cross check our altitude readout on his radar screen. Our initial clearance was up to 7000 feet following the prescribed departure route first on radial 156 towards the DET (Detling) VOR then turning to the DVR (Dover) VOR. As it turned out we did not have to complete the procedure as the next London sector’s controller instructed the crew to turn left onto heading 115 and climb Flight Level 120.
Vincent reported this assigned heading on the next frequency 134.9 when checking in with yet another London sector which cleared OO-TNI to the requested cruising Flight Level of 190. We received the instruction to “resume own navigation” towards KOK (Koksy) VOR which is a navigational aid on the Belgian coastline near the city of Koksijde. This means a very short cruising phase as the KOK4A arrival would take our Boeing through the western part of Flanders to KERKY waypoint then to BUN (Bruno) and the calculated TOD point is already at KOK. Our flight was transferred to Brussels Radar on 131.1 over the English Channel. There are no fancy moving map type displays in this old B737, in fact the only “extra” kit is the weather radar combined with the mandatory TCAS display. Having listened to the ATIS the crew took note of the most important data: information “Quebec” was the latest designator of the actual report, the transition level (where the standard altimeter setting had to be changed using the actual QNH pressure data measured at the arrival aerodrome) was set at FL50 and also that BUN VOR was out of service this morning. The crew anticipated an ILS approach to Runway 25 Left therefore ILS frequency was set. Details of the approach procedure complete with MSA (minimum sector altitudes) were discussed and also details of the missed approach procedure were checked. In the meantime we have passed our ideal top of descent point minutes ago but Vincent was unable to request descent on the frequency as the Saturday morning rush raised the controller’s workload quite considerably. Finally after several blocked transmission (when more than one aircraft tried to transmit on the frequency at the same time) the captain managed to get his request through and got the clearance to start the descent to FL80. IAS (indicated airspeed) was set at 250 knots. We had to call “Arrival” which cleared TAY946E for an ILS approach for runway 25 Left. Got the next cleared altitude to 2000 feet by the actual Brussels QNH 1018 hectopascal. The “Arrival” controller assigned several radar headings to vector our aircraft to a position where intercepting the localizer signal was possible. First he issued a heading of 130 degrees and the same time asked us to reduce the speed to 210 knots followed by another right turn to heading 220 degrees. Soon the aircraft was fully established on the final approach path and we could call the Tower controller on 118.6 MHz. Brussels handled the usual early morning long range flight arrival rush: Continental 60 – a B767 from Newark was just a few miles ahead of us while we were followed by a Jet Airways Airbus A340.
Landing gear was lowered while flaps was set at 15 and the airspeed was gradually decreased first to 150 knots then 120 knots as the flaps moved to their final 30 position. The tower controller passed on one last wind check information before giving us the landing clearance. After the landing, came our taxi clearance to cross runway 02 and permission to proceed to Hangar 41 which was our destination this morning: the Sabena Technics maintenance hangar.
It was a short but intensive flight where things happened with a fast pace. The crew had their daily mission accomplished and it was not even 8 am yet!
(The author would like to thank TNT and the flight crew for their help.)