43
votes
Accepted
Why are westbound transatlantic routes located hundreds of km away from eastbound routes?
The reason this is done is due to the winds aloft. The Jet Stream is a powerful current of air that blows in a west to east direction. Airplanes crossing the Atlantic from west to east take advantage ...
- 52.8k
41
votes
Accepted
Could the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft do a transatlantic flight with a Space Shuttle orbiter on its back?
Short Answer
A procedure had been established to return from a Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) site to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) using the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). The maximum weight that ...
- 69.9k
28
votes
Could the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft do a transatlantic flight with a Space Shuttle orbiter on its back?
Yes, it was possible and NASA had a plan. Enterprise was taken on a European tour in 1983, visiting the UK, France, Germany and Italy. To get there, it crossed the Atlantic on the back of the Shuttle ...
- 11.9k
18
votes
What is the fastest possible transatlantic flight today?
If you prefer something more realistic and readily available, go with the fastest business jet, the Cessna Citation X, or if you need a little more range, the Gulfstream 650. The Cessna can cruise at ...
- 228k
17
votes
Accepted
What is the fastest possible transatlantic flight today?
The fastest air-breathing aerodynamic-lift craft for which a maximum speed is known to civilians, and that can support mid-air refueling for an unlimited range, is the SR-71 Blackbird at Mach 3.3. ...
- 22.7k
17
votes
Why are westbound transatlantic routes located hundreds of km away from eastbound routes?
Wikipedia article about North Atlantic Tracks says it is to avoid jet stream winds (when flying west) or use it (when flying east):
They are aligned in such a way as to minimize any head winds and ...
16
votes
Why did my transatlantic flight meander off the great circle?
Most flights across the Atlantic don't fly direct great circle routes; they use the North Atlantic Track system, which is an array of "lanes" you might say, usually 60Nm apart, like one of ...
- 125k
16
votes
What was the flight route from New York to Paris that Air France took in 1955?
The route was IdleWild (renamed JFK in 1963) or LaGuardia -> Gander, Canada -> Shannon, Ireland -> Paris. The trip took a total of about 18 hours going eastbound with tailwinds, and 24 hours going ...
- 12.5k
12
votes
Why did my transatlantic flight meander off the great circle?
can an autopilot be programmed to follow a route dictated by a winds aloft forecast?
Yes, but the question is how it is done, and these days it's better to think of it as not just the autopilot, but ...
- 39.1k
10
votes
Accepted
Where to download NATs (North Atlantic Tracks) information?
Your question
I cannot find information from [Shanwick Oceanic Control and Gander
Oceanic Control] What are their websites?
Direct answer
ATC centers have no public websites in general. ...
- 69.9k
10
votes
Accepted
Why aren't 737s or A320s commonly used for transatlantic flights?
You need to have both a suitable aircraft and a company with the business model to fly the routes.
As to aircraft, only the max8 and a321neo have the range to be really suitable. Westbound in the ...
- 18.8k
9
votes
Accepted
Why is Iceland an efficient connection point between London and Boston/NYC?
One of the benefits of having a stop halfway is that the aircraft can refuel.
It therefor doesn't have to carry the fuel for the second half of the flight during the first half, which saves fuel.
...
- 81.9k
8
votes
Could the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft do a transatlantic flight with a Space Shuttle orbiter on its back?
Apparently Yes.
From NASA document Space Shuttle Transoceanic
Abort Landing (TAL) Sites(emphasis mine):
Payloads and/or airborne support equipment will remain onboard the orbiter for the flight ...
- 99.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Why don't all flights use the North Atlantic Tracks (NATs)?
The answer doesn't state that half of the flights between western Europe and North America use the North Atlantic Oceanic Track System (OTS). It states that half of the flights over the North Atlantic ...
- 81.9k
7
votes
Do stratospheric business and military jets use the North Atlantic Tracks?
The tropopause is in the low to mid 30s in the mid-north latitudes that the NATs reside (and is in the 20s in the arctic in winter) so an airliner crossing on a NAT at 55 DegN at FL370 will be well ...
- 125k
6
votes
Why aren't 737s or A320s commonly used for transatlantic flights?
Two likely reasons:
Economics - If your number of flights per day is limited to 1 or 2 and/or you have a limited number of gate slots available, you're better off (i.e., you'll make more money) ...
- 161
6
votes
Accepted
How are NATs connected to European Airways?
There is no equivalent in Europe to the North Atlantic Routes, you simply file direct from point to point.
This is the routing for a flight on Wednesday 18th of January, 2017 (DAL4).
...
- 15.6k
6
votes
Accepted
Is it true that there are VOR/DME and/or TACAN stations in the oceans?
There are no ship-based VOR's or TACAN's specifically dedicated to transatlantic flights. Transatlantic flights navigate using the inertial navigation system and GPS.
TACAN's are used on board naval ...
- 81.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Why is UTC activation time referred to 30W in NAT-OTS?
Think of 30W as a kind of traffic marker for flight planning.
If your planned route is going to cross 30W before the tracks activate (that is, ahead of the traffic flow), then you can file "random ...
- 397
5
votes
What is the fastest possible transatlantic flight today?
The shortest on record (and more or less possible) was done in an SR-71 Blackbird
Exactly 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds later, they had set a new world speed record from New York to London ...
- 100k
5
votes
Why did my transatlantic flight meander off the great circle?
The North Atlantic (NAT-HLA) High Level Airspace is special use airspace where a series of optimized routes called the OTS, Organized Track System, are published every day, twice a day. This airspace ...
- 1,605
5
votes
Why is Iceland an efficient connection point between London and Boston/NYC?
Iceland is a perfect transatlantic hub. Most importantly, it makes single connection flights efficient between nearly all European and North American cities. Fuel and equipment advantages have already ...
- 18.8k
5
votes
Why aren't 737s or A320s commonly used for transatlantic flights?
Some airlines are now starting to do this on routes short enough. Norwegian air now has a route out of Stewart Airport in NY direct to Dublin on a 737-Max8 I flew it late last week and it was quite ...
- 100k
4
votes
Why is Iceland an efficient connection point between London and Boston/NYC?
It is part of a larger effort to boost Icelandic Tourism and has more to do with the economic condition of Iceland (of which tourism makes up 42% of their economy) than aviation for the most part. ...
- 100k
3
votes
What are the regulations for crossing the Atlantic in a twin engine prop plane
Aircraft operating under Part 91 have no ETOPS requirements. ETOPS is only applicable to Part 121 and Part 135 operations. FAR 121.161 only applies to operators of twin-engine turbine aircraft in ...
- 12.5k
2
votes
Why is UTC activation time referred to 30W in NAT-OTS?
Overall facts behind the NAT OTS:
There are strong winds in altitude over the Atlantic Ocean (jet streams), including the northern polar jet stream over the North Atlantic Ocean, which is blowing ...
- 69.9k
2
votes
How can I know if North Atlantic Tracks have been amended?
For starters I am not completely knowledgeable with the North Atlantic Tracks but work with some of the other Flex track systems in the world. And they are all very similar.
The Track Messages are a ...
- 1,293
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible