LSGG to EGLC
Tucked away in the heart of London’s financial district, London City Airport not only has one of the shortest runways in Europe, but also one of the steepest approaches. Most runway approaches are set at 3 degrees, allowing aircraft to fly gently down to the runway whilst maintaining their approach speed. However, because LCY is located amongst the skyscrapers of the Docklands, a normal 3 degree approach would bring aircraft too close to the buildings. To get around this problem, the glide path to both ends of the runway is set at an eye-watering 5.5 degrees. Whilst this keeps the aircraft well separated from any obstacles, it provides a few challenges for pilots. Firstly, they must work harder to stop the aircraft speed from accelerating. If the speed is too high on landing, there’s a very real risk that the aircraft could run off the end of the runway. Larger aircraft, like the A318, use a special flight control mode, which leaves the spoilers on the wings partially deployed. This helps the pilots control the speed, ensuring that they touchdown safely. The secondary effect of the steeper approach means that a far greater control input is required just before the aircraft touches down. As the aircraft nears the runway, the pilots pull back on the control stick, raising the nose slightly. This is known as the “flare”‘. On a normal 3 degree approach, only a slight squeeze back is required. However, because the aircraft is coming down at a much steeper angle at LCY, a more positive flare is required to arrest the rate of descent. This is a leg of 396 nm (734 km) from Geneva Cointrin International Airport (GVA/LSGG) to London City Airport (LCY/EGLC) .