Tim Byatt

Our latest internal Flt Ops newsletter has a small but significant piece recording the retirement of our last Hamble trained pilot from BA. Known formally as the College of Air Training (CAT), it was the main pilot training facility for BOAC/BEA/BA in the 60/70s. End of an era.

“A quick Paris and back”, that was the plan….to help with the Eurostar disruption. It was clear from the sky (and the wx forecast) that the approaching storms were going to be severe, and when it hit CDG it was intense ! The lightning was something else, as we sat it out ⚡️

There are clouds, and then there are special clouds…..what a contrast in colours ! This was captured (no filters or enhancement) at sunset, over the old tower at Norman Manley airport, Kingston, Jamaica. #cloud #sunset #Jamaica

Some new toys 😁 Assuming the combining of the B777 and B787 fleets proceeds, once the early B777s have retired, this is going to be a huge joint fleet…..

Some, for once, helpful cloud, just at the local eclipse maximum point here (11:04z) enabled this rather spooky photo of the partial solar eclipse from the UK. #Eclipse

I can’t wait to welcome everyone aboard our non-stop flight, BA2167, from London LGW to Giant Flamingo Home, now it’s official 🤭 Much fun to be had with this. When is the TPA code changing to GFH ? Just need a large lake, like Lake Nakuru, to set down on, flying boat style. 🦩

Cessna 150 passing Heathrow….! I love it that light aircraft are being allowed into the Heathrow control zone today. What an unusual opportunity and good on @NATS for accommodating them. 👏👍

It’s interesting to read SpaceX’s summary of Starship 7’s failure. There are parts of it, namely “to address flammability potential in the attic section on Starship, additional vents and a new purge system utilizing gaseous nitrogen are being added….”, which so resemble TWA800.

In 2 days one of our legacy IT systems is being decommissioned. We’ve a last chance to download our training record going back decades. Apparently this system stored 288,264 courses for 7982 pilots since it began !! I thought I’d save some of my more valiant efforts in the sim 😆

Set your watches folks…. 15:45 UK time tomorrow (Tuesday). I think they’ll be quite a few people in Waterside, BA’s London HQ, myself included, watching this, as the development aircraft for the next generation of supersonic passenger flight breaks Mach 1.0 for the first time.

Starship from the Icon of the Seas (Caribbean Sea) @SpaceX @elonmusk

Starship Flight 7 breaking up and re-entering over Turks and Caicos

Quite a day for future heavy launch spaceflight capability. Blue Origin successfully launches the maiden New Glenn into orbit, but loses the reusable booster. Then SpaceX launch Starship mission 7 and have a successful booster catch, but lose Ship 33 after boost separation.

And once more with feeling…..😍 Look at her go !! No doubt a full thrust take-off from her pair of Rolls-Royce E4’s. I’ve departed Manchester on a #B757 more than a few times over the years, but always as a “Shuttle”. Many happy hours, sectors and memories on the 757.

Merry Christmas everyone…..🎄

Well there’s no denying Icelandair ‘does what it says on the tin’….Ice land air !

The operational significance of the runway extension at Nuuk, Greenland can’t be underestimated. It provides a new key emergency diversion option between Iceland and Newfoundland/Labrador, Canada. Not only is the runway long, it has a straight in Cat 1 ILS on each end.

Amazing to think this was now 27 years ago. It’s the only major incident I’ve witnessed first hand and what isn’t captured here is that it was a grotty, gusty, low cloudbase afternoon at Heathrow. The prior low flypast of the tower to verify the unsafe gear was a superb decision.

I spy a comet on the North Atlantic ! Not a de Havilland Comet, but Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3), shortly after sunset, at FL410, around 37°N 64°W last night. #CometC2023A3 #CometATLAS #Comet

If you have 15 mins to spare, and access to BBC Sounds, this is a wonderful short story read by Stephen Fry, with an aviation thread running through it. Enjoy 😄 💻 bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0…