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In Berlin, the new airport of the capital now flies as if BER skirted a gigantic mountain massif in the east, which planes must avoid: today, November 4, the new southern runway was opened: the first plane to land there went to 9:50 am flight QTR 081 from Doha.
From now on, pilots can fly the Hoffmann curve in calm or easterly winds; this means that they initiate a drastic right turn a few seconds after takeoff and still on the south runway. Fog is forecast for Thursday, calm.
In pilot circles, the maneuver is sometimes called the stunt curve, and passengers who are afraid of flying as the “vomit curve.” At least many passengers will freak out and feel heart palpitations or sweaty hands if the onset is completely different than usual and nothing is announced.
To avoid noise in the communities bordering the airport in the east, pilots must initiate a 145-degree turn immediately after takeoff and from a height of 180 meters, which is half the height of the television tower.
Just above the ground, first right, then left again around the bend
Then, shortly after takeoff and still controlled by hand, the plane will turn the curve on the newly started climb at an angle of about 25 degrees, fairly close to the ground and just before the highway. If the flight continues east, at the “double Hoffmann bend”, another bend is immediately taken, this time to the left. With the destination in the west, the machine permanently remains in an inclined and inclined position.
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The flight procedure, in turn, pleases residents of communities east of BER such as Zeuthen and Wildau, because the machines do not fly over, but rotate beforehand, so they must avoid aircraft noise.
However, there are also flight experts who suspect that the turbines will be loudly audible as the curve progresses due to recoil and dispersion. It will soon be clear: according to the wind forecast for Schönefeld, an east wind situation is expected on Friday night or Saturday morning at the earliest. Towards the west, with the prevailing west wind in the region, the planes take off, as usual on the plain, for a few minutes in a straight line until a first turn at a higher altitude begins.
The idea of the flight maneuver, which is quite unique in Germany’s main airports, came from the private and retired pilot Marcel Hoffmann from Eichwalde, now 70 years old: “When the plane has taken off, you can count the seconds: 21, 22 , 23 – and then the plane lies partly still on the runway gently in the curve “, he had explained in 2013 to the Daily Mirror in BER.
Seven years later, only minute details of the “Hoffmann curve” were changed, that is, the paths were drawn longer, but the curve was not smoothed. The cabin pilots union had concerns when determining the flight route because such a fast curve after takeoff “reduces safety without an emergency.”
The Federal Oversight Office describes the curve as demanding
In the “critical start-up phase,” the flight captains preferred to focus solely on the climb. Furthermore, flying a demanding curve by hand – also according to the Federal Supervisory Office for Air Traffic Control (BAF) – increases the complexity in the cabin, which in an emergency – engine problems, bird strikes, technical errors – could become a problem. Curves are generally more error prone and the safety cushion is getting thinner, it is discussed again in today’s pilot circles.
The Federal Supervisory Office for Air Traffic Control wanted to recheck the flight path separately. The so-called Hoffmann curve was initially only theoretically tested by flight simulation and noise pollution was verified; politicians and experts cautioned to check security carefully. According to the pilot, the normal case is checked, not special exceptional situations. According to the Federal Air Traffic Control Office, each flight captain can change the flight procedure immediately in a possible emergency.
According to information from BAF, the flight path is absolutely safe and complies with all current aviation regulations. Furthermore, it will now be tested in practice for a long time after the opening of the BER. The Berlin-Brandenburg High Administrative Court had denied the complaints against the route.
Pilots can choose an alternative straight flight
According to the BAF, airline planning departments propose flight routes to pilots, paying attention to the weather, the economy and climate change. Therefore, airlines are likely to recommend Hoffmann curves for shorter flight times. If the aircraft is larger than a medium-haul aircraft or if a pilot prefers to take off differently due to lower elevation in warmer weather, flight captains may also request permission from the tower to take off in a straight line, which then it goes out much later and at high altitude. Flight captains are responsible individuals with a high level of self-confidence, and safety always comes first, according to experts at BAF.
According to information from Tagesspiegel, according to Wolfgang Ruths, flight path expert at BAF, pilots must also include the “climb gradient” when executing the Hoffmann curve: despite the curve with a lower gradient, they should be more higher in the air than approaching planes at the intersection south of Schönefeld. In BER, planes take off and land on both runways to and from the north, as well as from and to the south; this is also quite rare in Germany at commercial airports.
