Simviation Forum - Fallow-me Car

Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 3:56pm

BoeingGuy Ex Member

When/why is the fallow-me car used?

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Reply #1 - Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 4:21pm

Flying Trucker Offline
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Good afternoon "BoeingGuy"

I take it you mean "Follow Me Car/Vehicle"

The origin of follow me cars dates back to the WWII era. USAAF and other foreign pilots were stationed in the U.K. to provide support for the allies. The RAF ground crews were growing increasingly frustrated with the the Americans, who, despite being instructed to taxi on the LEFT sides of the taxiways, were attempting to taxi on the far RIGHT sides of the taxiways. After hundreds of incidents involving damaged wingtips, ruptured tip tanks, and even detonated missles and rockets, the British decided to employ individual escorts to prevent further confusion. This method of taxiing assistance continues today, as the U.K. and much of Europe has yet to adopt the more sensible approach of driving/taxiing on the RIGHT side of the road or taxiway.

That is from an official web-site however the Folllow-Me-Vehicle can be used for a number of reasons on Canadian Airports.
-radio failure...to escort aircraft with radio failure off runway, across runways or off taxi-ways to a ramp for parking
-to escort non radio equipped vehicles and personnel on and off the airport runways and taxiways as well as on controlled ramps
-to escort civilian police or emergency vehicles anywhere on the controlled portion of an airfield or controlled/non controlled ramp
-to perform the assigned tasks by a Duty Watch Officer on a military airfield/station

I am sure there are a few more. Wink

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

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Reply #2 - Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 4:29pm

C Offline
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Flying Trucker wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 4:21pm:

This method of taxiing assistance continues today, as the U.K. and much of Europe has yet to adopt the more sensible approach of driving/taxiing on the RIGHT side of the road or taxiway.

My experience of follow me vehicles:

- Busier international airports for irregular users of the airport.

- Military airfields with large ramps, and/or obsured/limited taxyway markings.

- At the crew's request.

- Quite often the follow me vehicle will chirp up on frequency if he isn't busy and ask if you'd like their service.

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Reply #3 - Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 4:35pm

Flying Trucker Offline
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Hi "C"

I don't want to hijack "BoeingGuys" thread.

However:

I have even heard that the Follow Me Vehicle was used to pick up tea/coffee & donuts for some of those overseas crews in the wee hours of the morning at the local Tim Hortons or equivalent. Roll Eyes

Dang Dastardly Aircrews get all the breaks... Tongue

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

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Reply #4 - Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 4:37pm

BoeingGuy Ex Member

Thanks "Flying Trucker" for the history behind the follow-me-vehicles, and "C" for more reasons why they are used.

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Reply #5 - Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 4:44pm

DaveSims Offline
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I have also see them used at airports with multiple FBOs on the field to draw in customers before they go to the competitors ramp. Wink

Dave

www.flymcw.com

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Reply #6 - Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 5:16pm

Flying Trucker Offline
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Hi Folks...

Several types of vehicles operate on a regular basis on an airfield outside of emergency vehicles.

Flight Line or Crew Bus:
-used to move crews back and forth to aircraft if not on a gate
-will move passengers to aircraft from terminal or from terminal to aircraft if aircraft is not on a gate
-will most likely transport Customs Agents to aircraft if aircraft is not on a gate...Custom Agents normally do not have a vehicle on Military Airfields nor are they armed on Military Airfields
-a Flight Line Bus/Crew Bus will move Aircrew only to or off Military Airfields to or from civilian accommodations
-perform tasks assigned by Duty Watch Officer

Food Truck:
-moves food only, nothing else, no passengers or freight from kitchen to aircraft

Follow-Me-Vehicle:
-as mentioned above by "C" and myself

Outside of the Food Truck the Flight Line Bus/Crew Bus will assist each other during peak periods of Launch and Recovery...normally at that time their should be two Flight Line Bus/Crew Bus vehicles on duty

The Flight Line Bus/Crew Bus and Food Truck has frequencies to talk with the Duty Watch Officer and the Ground Controllers but depending on the Military Airfield/Station not to aircraft, they usually have to go throught the Ground Controller however there are exceptions and that would be up to the Base/Station Commander.
The Follow-Me-Vehicle usually has a full compliment of radios plus ICAO (correct me if that is the wrong term as it has been awhile) lighted electric signals visible to the following aircraft on the top rear of the vehicle.

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

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Reply #7 - Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 5:32pm

Hagar Offline
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We've even got one at Popham now. Cool

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Reply #8 - Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 5:58pm

DaveSims Offline
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Flying Trucker wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 5:16pm:

Hi Folks...

Several types of vehicles operate on a regular basis on an airfield outside of emergency vehicles.

Flight Line or Crew Bus:
-used to move crews back and forth to aircraft if not on a gate
-will move passengers to aircraft from terminal or from terminal to aircraft if aircraft is not on a gate
-will most likely transport Customs Agents to aircraft if aircraft is not on a gate...Custom Agents normally do not have a vehicle on Military Airfields nor are they armed on Military Airfields
-a Flight Line Bus/Crew Bus will move Aircrew only to or off Military Airfields to or from civilian accommodations
-perform tasks assigned by Duty Watch Officer

Food Truck:
-moves food only, nothing else, no passengers or freight from kitchen to aircraft

Follow-Me-Vehicle:
-as mentioned above by "C" and myself

Outside of the Food Truck the Flight Line Bus/Crew Bus will assist each other during peak periods of Launch and Recovery...normally at that time their should be two Flight Line Bus/Crew Bus vehicles on duty

The Flight Line Bus/Crew Bus and Food Truck has frequencies to talk with the Duty Watch Officer and the Ground Controllers but depending on the Military Airfield/Station not to aircraft, they usually have to go throught the Ground Controller however there are exceptions and that would be up to the Base/Station Commander.
The Follow-Me-Vehicle usually has a full compliment of radios plus ICAO (correct me if that is the wrong term as it has been awhile) lighted electric signals visible to the following aircraft on the top rear of the vehicle.

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Not to mention all of the grass cutters, airport operations vehicles, airfield maintenance, snow plows, fire trucks etc. Basically all the vehicles I drive at work. Wink

Dave

www.flymcw.com

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Reply #9 - Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 8:11pm

Flying Trucker Offline
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Good evening all....

Thanks Dave that is a few I forgot about.

BoeingGuy here is something should give you a laugh.

Now you all know how us Captains think we are God's gift to the universe and all of aviation well this happened about thirty years ago when I was taking a DC4 from Toronto to Halifax and my co-pilot was flying the first leg, I was doing the radio work and the house keeping.

Called in for engine start then called ground to taxi.
Now I was a company check pilot and you can imagine when the Ground Controller cleared us to taxi and hold number two (2) behind a little Fordson Farm Tractor Grass Cutter. The crew thought I would blow a gasket. Roll Eyes

There we sat, any one of our engines were twice the size of his unit, I never said a word but we had time to bake a cake. Grin

Yup Airline Captains and heavy aircraft were right at the top of the ladder just one rung below lawnmowers. Grin

There now Dave are you not sorry about mentioning grass cutters and thank goodness there are no mechanics on or we would have to listen to them. Grin

LOL

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

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Reply #10 - Nov 23^rd, 2009 at 9:43pm

olderndirt Offline
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Well Doug, things had changed by the time arrived on the ATC scene. The gates and ramp area belonged to the airport and they had a 'ramp captain' to run that show but the 'movement area' - taxiways and runways belonged to us. At PANC, or anywhere else I worked, you'd never have had to hold behind anything other than the plane ahead of you. Grasscutters were extremely low on the airport food chain

.

THIS IS NOT A PANAM CLIPPER

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Reply #11 - Nov 28^th, 2009 at 4:55pm

OVERLORD_CHRIS Offline
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That is weird that they wanted planes to taxi on the one side of the taxi way in the UK.

But as I did that job in Kuwait Int. and I do it as my day to day job for the USAF, we use it for escorting aircraft to and from parking, from parking ramp to the runway during poor visibility, aircrews from other bases bringing back home station birds, guiding planes safely through areas that are under construction, escorting military equipment across the airfield to the FBO's when military aircraft req special equipment that the FBO does not have.

But that is from the perspective of a Heavy military base that shares with an Int. Airport, 2 or 3 FBO's, a flight school, and Boeing's 787 factory.

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Reply #12 - Nov 28^th, 2009 at 5:01pm

Hagar Offline
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OVERLORD_CHRIS wrote on Nov 28^th, 2009 at 4:55pm:

That is weird that they wanted planes to taxi on the one side of the taxi way in the UK.

I'm not convinced that's true. Doug's little joke perhaps. Wink

Incidentally, I believe that the UK & Ireland are the only countries in Europe where vehicles are driven on the left.*

*PS. Forgot Cyprus.

« Last Edit: Nov 28^th, 2009 at 7:17pm by Hagar »

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Reply #13 - Nov 28^th, 2009 at 6:35pm

The Ruptured Duck Offline
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just for fun heres the meaning of fallow (used as a verb):

"to plow, harrow, and break up (land) without seeding to destroy weeds and conserve soil moisture"

So a "fallow-me car" would be a tractor. Grin

For my sake, please to not fallow me, that could get messy Grin

Sorry for being off topic, I saw this and thought it was a GRE word for some reason Shocked

"If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing" -Ben Franklin&&&&"Man must rise above the Earth to the top of the atmosphere and beyond, for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives." - Socrates&&&&" Flying is a religion. A religion that asymilates all who get a taste of it." - Me&&&&"Make the most out of yourself, for that is all there is of you"- Ralf Waldo Emerson&&

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Reply #14 - Nov 29^th, 2009 at 9:57am