Topic 14 flying – then and now

For the earliest aircraft, flight control systems were solely mechanical (using rods, cables and pulleys). The pilot in the cockpit made use of control stick and pedals to carry out the three basic aerodynamic movements – roll, pitch and yaw. As aircraft got bigger, systems became hydraulic (using pumps, pipes, valves and actuators), so that pilots could move the important control surfaces without having to rely on their own strength. The development of these hydraulic systems was also an important way for the engineers to keep the weight of the aircraft down. As aircraft continued to grow in size and with the development of large passenger jets, this requirement to keep weight down led to the development of fly-by-wire systems. Fly-by-wire means that aircraft is controlled by an electrical system. Nowadays fly-by-wire systems are digital and large aircraft are controlled by a computerized command system. The world’s first digital fly-by-wire aircraft was the Airbus A320, which made its maiden flight in 1987. The greatest innovation was the in-built safety feature in which the computerized system prevented pilots making what would normally be considered unsafe manoeuvres (taking the aircraft outside the flight envelope). While this was the subject of much debate at the time, it is now a standard feature of all new Airbus aircraft. Boeing was also developing digital fly-by-wire systems, but their systems allowed the pilots to take the airplane outside the flight envelope in the emergency situation. Thus there was a fundamental difference in philosophy between the two major constructors, Airbus and Boeing, which still exists to some extent today.

An obvious question is what happens when the computer fails (instrument blackout). The pilot then has no control over the aircraft (a back-up hydraulic system would increase weight significantly). Large aircraft usually have at least four parallel computerized control systems to deal with situations where one or even two computers might be down.

Topic 15 boryspil international airport

Boryspil International Airport is an international airport located 6km west of Boryspil, 29km east of Kyiv. It is Ukrainian largest airport serving the major part of international flights of the country. The airport is a member of Airports Council International.

The history of Boryspil Airport dates back to May 1959 when the decision was made to create Boryspil Airport of civil aviation, named Kyiv (Central), on the basis of a military aerodrome.

Today Boryspil Airport is a modern international airport with a team of several thousand highly qualified employees who mastered up-to-date aviation machinery, implemented European service technologies, modern equipment, technical means and systems. Airport services quality is what helps attract and retain clients and airport customers, develop economic relations and partnership. Currently, Boryspil Airport cooperates with leading foreign and Ukrainian airlines.

Airport infrastructure development remains priority for the enterprise. Now the airport has four operational terminals, one of which is a VIP terminal. There is additionally planned terminal (Terminal E) which is to have a per hour capacity of 2,000 passengers and is expected to be completed by 2015. The airport’s largely overcrowded domestic terminal (Terminal A) was closed on September 15, 2011, in favour of transferring all domestic operations to Terminal B. The new, larger, Terminal D was opened on 28 May 2012; it is expected that this terminal will take over much of the traffic which currently uses Terminal B, thus relieving overcrowding at Boryspil. Terminal F was opened on 21 September 2010 as a home base for Ukraine International Airlines. The terminal is not equipped with jetways as it was originally meant to serve as a low-cost airlines terminal, however the higher level of service offered lead to the transfer of many scheduled European and Asian carries to the terminal.

Boryspil airport is equipped with two runways. The airport’s eastern No. 1 runway (36R-18L) built in 2001 and now serves many international flights, in particular those to Russia and other countries of the countries of the former Soviet Union. On the other hand, No. 2 runway (36L-18R – the airport’s western runway) is planned for the near term, whilst in the long term (2012-14) there are plans to built a third crosswind runway at the airport.

Short stay car parking facilities are provided in the immediate vicinity of terminals B and F, whilst long term parking facilities can be found in the vicinity of the airport’s access road and ‘station square’.