On Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:00:18 +0100
"Anne Burgess" wrote:


People are trying to tell me that gliders are also grounded.
That is total nonsense. For heaven's sake, they don't *have*
engines, and they are unlikely to get up to 55,000 feet. The UK
height record is only 38,000 feet.

Apparently volcanic ash is *very* abrasive and will turn forward facing
glazing opaque quickly. Potential lack of vision through affected
windscreens for landing seems to be a major factor in the grounding of
aircraft. It'll also give the flies on leading edges a hard time; and
take away the gel-coat too, which you might consider a bit more of a
long term problem. Ash is expected down to 5,000ft and to SFC in some
areas.

As usual with aviation matters PPruNe has some experts appearing with
specialist knowledge (and the usual proportion of idiots...).
http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/412103-ash-clouds-threaten-air-traffic.html



Mike
--
Mike Causer