Cyprus-Forum.com

[Raymanoff]

Thats my plane taking off yesterday, had a GPS tracker with me to log every second of the flight. I know its possible to shift in the air due to side winds but to actually shift on takeoff run? Too many fat people on the left side? (including me) Any pilots here? I am a hobbyist, i fly simulators a lot... just wanted to hear the opinion. I know you can figure out the centre of the mass of the airplane prior to take off...and yesterday my plane was packed.

[Get Real!]

Yup... it's your GPS tracker interfering with its electronics!

[Free Spirit]

The faster your plane travels on the ground the lighter it becomes therefore the crosswind will effect it's direction more as can be seen on your picture.

[Get Real!]

The faster your plane travels on the ground the lighter it becomes therefore the crosswind will effect it's direction more as can be seen on your picture.

In that case shouldn't the pilot compensate from takeoff by steering slightly towards the wind?

[Raymanoff]

Get Real!
Yes, in that point they can use rudder trim...

GPS can interfere with someones ass if i stuck it there but in no way it can interfere with Onboard electronics as its only a receiver. I didnt want to argue with flight attendant when she asked me to switch it off 1 hour into the flight, no point. The only reason i see is that they wouldn't want smartass like me analyze the flight.

[Paphitis]

The faster your plane travels on the ground the lighter it becomes therefore the crosswind will effect it's direction more as can be seen on your picture.

Total rubbish!

The plane is not effected by crosswind on the ground.

Crosswind only effects the amount of LIFT generated by each wing because the amount of airflow over one wing is slighly more on the side the wind is blowing from. Therefore pilots compensate by slightly placing Ailerons into wind. The compensation is then gradually relaxed to zero as speed increases and the aircraft rotates (lifts off).

[Raymanoff]

The wind was about 10knots from SouthWest, there is no way this could affect an Airbus 321. This probably wouldnt affect even a Cessna.

[Get Real!]

Get Real!
Yes, in that point they can use rudder trim...

GPS can interfere with someones ass if i stuck it there but in no way it can interfere with Onboard electronics as its only a receiver. I didnt want to argue with flight attendant when she asked me to switch it off 1 hour into the flight, no point. The only reason i see is that they wouldn't want smartass like me analyze the flight.

My other theory is that it could be the result of a ray maneuver…

[Get Real!]

The faster your plane travels on the ground the lighter it becomes therefore the crosswind will effect it's direction more as can be seen on your picture.

Total rubbish!

The plane is not effected by crosswind on the ground.

Crosswind only effects the amount of LIFT generated by each wing because the amount of airflow over one wing is slighly more on the side the wind is blowing from. Therefore pilots compensate by slightly placing Ailerons into wind. The compensation is then gradually relaxed to zero as speed increases and the aircraft rotates (lifts off).

Wow! Sounds like the technique Y-Fronts uses in the toilet while posting on his laptop...

[Paphitis]

Thats my plane taking off yesterday, had a GPS tracker with me to log every second of the flight. I know its possible to shift in the air due to side winds but to actually shift on takeoff run? Too many fat people on the left side? (including me) Any pilots here? I am a hobbyist, i fly simulators a lot... just wanted to hear the opinion. I know you can figure out the centre of the mass of the airplane prior to take off...and yesterday my plane was packed.

That is a totally NORMAL Take-off(TO) roll.

When an aircraft lines up on the runway, pilots do attempt to accurately align the aircraft on the centreline. However, this is not always possible to align exactly, and it usually depends on which pilot is in control and how they are positioned in relation to the runway centerline. Many times there are alignment errors with the way the aircraft is lined up.

For example, if the co-pilot is in control, it is quite normal for the aircraft to veer slightly left as he is seated on the right side of the aircraft. Therefore there is a natural tendency to veer so that the centreline is closer to him and thus would give the illusion that he is on the centreline when in fact he is not. Likewise, if the Captain was in control of the aircraft there would be a natural tendency to veer to the right as the Captain is seated on the LEFT side of the aircraft. As a result, judging by the above diagram, it is quite likely that the co-pilot was in control of the TO.

Also, the alignment error would also contribute somewhat. The above profile indicates that you departed from Larnaca Runway 04. Runway 04 has a runway alignment of 042 Magnetic. When the aircraft lines up, it could be been lined up on 041 Magnetic resulting in a gradual veer to the left. This is not dangerous as the runway width is 45m.

Every other aspect of the profile is quite normal as well, including after rotation (TO).

The diagram clearly shows the 3 segments of climb, which include:
1) First segment,
2) Second segment, and
3) Acceleration Height or Flap Retraction.

First segment covers acceleration to Velocity@ (V2) and gear up - ICAO law sates that aircraft must have cleared all obstacles by a minimum of 35FT with the critical engine failed at the Critical Point (CP).

Second segment is best Angle of Climb for obstacle clearance but in the case of Larnaca it would be Best Rate of Climb as there are no obstacles.

Acceleration Height is where the aircraft reaches a safe altitude for acceleration and flap retraction and climb to Minimum Safe Altitude (MSA), which is airport specific.

Here is an exercise for you all:

See if you can tell me where exactly the most Critical Point (and hence the most dangerous) is for an engine failure on that profile.

Also, tell me where you think the First Segment Climb, Second Segment Climb and Acceleration Height is on the profile.