Fog event 25/7/12

[Nigel C]

Expect a few delays and diversions this morning.

It looks like my nightshift ended at just the right time!

ATIS YSSY B 241951
APCH: EXP ILS APCH
RWY: 16L AND R FOR ARRS AND DEPS
OPR INFO: PARL RWY OPS IN PROG.
INDEPENDENT DEPARTURES IN PROG.
LOW VIS PROCS IN FORCE
ALL VEHICLES MUST CTC AN APPROPRIATE ATC FREQ
FOR TWY ENTRY CLR
WIND: 280/8
DW 5 KTS
+ RVR: RWY 16L: 225M, 250M, 275M.
RWY 16R: 375M, 325M, 400M
CLD: FEW 003
TMP: 10
QNH: 1023

[Brock Little]

Brisbane has already had VS200, VA2, QF568, QF22, JL771, DL17, B-LEX (BBJ from HKG), UA863, QF12 and UA839.
Also EY450 is diverting to Melbourne.

[Noel White]

Cathay 111 has gone around three times so far and now heading to MEL.

[George G]

Watching flight radar.

SQ 221 got diverted to Melbourne...now its doing loops again on the way back.

Would suck to be a passenger on that one!

[Michael Mak]

QF130 is being diverted to MEL.

[Zac M]

I was gonna ask if there was any diversions for Canberra, but I'm pretty sure we are fogged in down here as well

[David N]

Hi

Were the condition worst than using the 16R ILS Cat 1?

I heard BA and CX 111 report they needed a RVR of 550 metres, I think Asiana got in but the QF behind them went around.

BA got in after extending their downwind I believe until it improved past their minimum requirement.

[Mick F]

Originally Posted by David N

Were the condition worst than using the 16R ILS Cat 1?

I heard BA and CX 111 report they needed a RVR of 550 metres

That's got me interested, as it was always my belief (after holding an instrument rating for 9 years now) that the minimum vis required was the 800m's as listed for a Cat 1 ILS.

So I went in search for myself and discovered a new little tidbit that has been added sometime in the last few years.

The minima for the ILS at Sydney also has "550 RVR" after the 220ft and 0.8km vis.

AIP then add's this:

"Minimum visibility of 0.8km is required if instrumented RVR information in the threshold zone is not available"

So there you go, technology has lowered the minima just that little bit more in Sydney already, .

Mick

[Rob R]

Traffic holding started at 40 mins and then updated to 70 mins. We got 30 mins ground delay followed by another 60 mins in the air.

[Nigel C]

They're funky things, those transmissometers. Accurate frequently updated readouts (every 3 seconds or so), plus it removes some of the risk for people like me because we don't have to do regular runway edge light counts to get an RVR; we still do regular runway inspections.