[UK-CONTEST] Aircraft Reflection Path Plot

Tue Jan 10 09:15:18 PST 2012

That's my SBS redundant then!  This is a very good website, most impressed!
Thank you
73

Colin CT7ACG/G3VCQ
www.glenridgealgarve.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rob Harrison" <robharrison at g8hgn.freeserve.co.uk>
To: <uk-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 4:17 PM
Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] Aircraft Reflection Path Plot

> Hi,
>
> What you also have to know is regular long didtance flights can be up to 
> an
> hour either side of their alloted times, and due to weather flights can 
> take
> completely different tracks across the country, not due to our WX, but
> Atlantic WX, making the flight enter UK airspace in different positions. A
> classic is the SIA021 rarely seen down here, but recently has come in via
> southern Ireland and routing to Dover. Normally this flight goes via
> northern UK.
>
> Don't ask me how I know, you'll get too many pages of answers, hi.
>
> Bob G8HGN
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ray James" <gm4cxm at yahoo.co.uk>
> To: "Ken Eastty" <ken.g3lvp at btinternet.com>; <uk-contest at contesting.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 1:08 PM
> Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] Aircraft Reflection Path Plot
>
>
> Hi Ken,
> Having checked the path plot between GB3ANG (IO86MN) and your location in
> IO81WV, air traffic between Manchester and EI would not be useful to you.
> That path is too far south west of the mid-point which in your case is
> between Kendal and Settle.
> The east/west Manchester/EI path is also "side-on" to you which is not the
> most favourable anyway.
>
> They can produce reflections but of far shorter duration than those
> travelling in or close to the path your directing to.
> Your actual mid-point towards ANG is very flight active, being on a 
> regular
> flight path and should produce superb results.
>
> However, the path plot between you and IO67UF identifies a mid-point in 
> the
> Irish Sea triangulated between Whithorn, St Bees Head and the northern tip
> of GD.
> This is definately not on a regulally used flight path so opportunities to
> hear the Isle of Skye beacon will be rare but not impossible.
> Like a HF contester would plan ahead with greyline knowledge, propagation
> forecasts and more, this is an area were VHF+ contesters can optimise
> potential results.
> Use of regular flight paths can give very good results, even by chance and
> without recourse to knowing when a reflection opportunity is available
> though it helps a lot to know so as not to waste time.
> Use of rarely used flight paths opens up opportunities to work rarely 
> worked
> or heard locations/multipliers. In your case, IO67.
> Yesterday for example there were numerous opportunities.
>
> 05.55 DAL6 767-400 Detroit - Heathrow 33,000'
> 08.00 VIR206 747-400 San Francisco - Heathrow 37,000'
> 10.15 ICE542 757-400 Keflavik - Paris 39,000'
> 10.25 BAW48 747-400 Seattle - Heathrow 33,000'
> 16.25 BAW9 747-400 Heathrow Phoenix 31,350'
> 22.00 ICE455 757-200 Heathrow - Keflavik 38,000'
> 22.20 DHK972 767-300 East Midlands - Cincinnati 31,975'
>
>
> In relation to the total UK/EU to/from North American air traffic in 24
> hours then that is a very small number and even the majority of those were
> in my opinion borderline cases but possible due to the wider beamwidth of 
> a
> 4m antenna over what I'm used to on the likes of 70cm, 23cm and 13cm. Only
> the first two were in what I would consider prime mid-point positions and
> there were a fair number of other G/GM flights that veered west of the
> Cumbrian coast that could possibly have produced an audible signal from 
> the
> beacon and if not, certainly a visual trace using Spectran or other
> waterfall display of your receiver bandwidth.
> The method I used to determine these possibilities is very easy.
> Establish the mid-point using the SM7LCBpathplot software on his website.
>
> Go to www.planefinder.net
> Zero in on UK airspace and in particular the midpoint area you are
> interested in.
> Click on the "Playback" icon.
> Set a date from the calendar.
> Set a start time.
> Set the speed of playback. I usually use 120x normal.
> When you see an aircraft approaching the mid-point circle (as indicated on
> the pathplot map) then hit the pause button to enable you to pause
> everything and click on the jet to identify everything about it including
> the height.
>
> Range depends on numerous factors of which height and the size of a jet
> (area of reflection) are the most important.
> You're 650km from GM8RBR's beacon. Something over 800km is the maximum I
> believe for a jet at 40,000' so you are very comfortably within that.
> An SBS receiver would be useful for portable stations where no internet
> connection is possible but range would be a negative as I believe that 
> even
> with a very effective 1,090MHz antenna there's a limit of about 400km.
> That's fine for seeing traffic within 400km but it is important to know 
> what
> is further away than that and coming closer so you're prepared for a 
> maximum
> range contact (or CQ calls) on both inward and outward flights and not 
> just
> outward.
> As you say, the online resources are free and provide all the advance 
> notice
> you need.
>
> Good luck!
>
> 73 Ray GM4CXM
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Ken Eastty <ken.g3lvp at btinternet.com>
> To: uk-contest at contesting.com
> Sent: Monday, 9 January 2012, 22:50
> Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] Aircraft Reflection Path Plot
>
>
> Aircraft Reflection Path Plot (Ray James) -
>
> Thanks for that Ray, this is no doubt the mechanism which permits
> reception of GB3ANG here (IO81WV) on 2 & 4m for most of the time
> providing there's plenty of traffic in the airway between Manchester &
> EI. It's a pity that the plots don't include the height at which an
> aircraft would have to be flying for it to be 'seen' from both ends of
> the path but I suppose that it only takes a few moments to calculate it.
>
> So far I've not heard GM8RBR's new 10W beacon on Skye (IO67UF) on 70.1
> Mc/s except via ms. The typical height of most airliners would seem to
> be insufficient to act as a reflector over this path.
>
> 73...
>
> Ken
>
> G3LVP
> _______________________________________________
> UK-Contest mailing list
> UK-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/uk-contest
> _______________________________________________
> UK-Contest mailing list
> UK-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/uk-contest
>
> _______________________________________________
> UK-Contest mailing list
> UK-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/uk-contest
>
> 