Accessibility
We want as many people as possible to be able to access and use the FAAM Airborne Laboratory. If you have specific accessibility requirements, we are very happy to discuss these, in confidence if you prefer, and hopefully find a way to support your access to the facility. Whilst there are some unavoidable challenges posed by the nature of the BAe-146 research aircraft, we are committed to trying to find ways around these, as detailed below.
When getting in touch about your accessibility requirements, please be aware that some of our mailboxes are accessible to several members of staff. If you would prefer to speak directly to an individual, you can request to do so by first emailing faam@ncas.ac.uk so that we can put you in touch with the most appropriate member of staff. Regardless of how you contact us, we will treat the information you provide with sensitivity, and confidentially if required. Any sensitive information will be stored securely, in compliance with GDPR.
Accessibility in the FAAM Building
Building 146, where the FAAM offices are located, was built in 2016 and therefore adheres to modern accessibility practices. The main door is unlocked during office hours (8 am to 6 pm), and an intercom is available if you need assistance opening the door or finding us. Our office is on the first floor, which is reached by three flights of stairs or a passenger lift, which can accommodate one wheelchair user and an accompanying person. There is an Evac Chair located in a fire refuge area at the top of the stairs. Staff and visitors should not use the Evac Chair themselves; in the event of an emergency Cranfield security staff will come to assist in its use.
When they arrive, visitors must sign in with the FAAM Administrator or another FAAM staff member if they are unavailable. Further details about passes and wifi access are provided in the Visiting the Facility chapter.
Entrance to the FAAM office in Building 146.
The FAAM offices have a standard office kitchen with a fridge, which can be used to store medication and expressed milk if required. There are four bathrooms, including female, male, gender-neutral, and accessible. Accessible and gender-neutral bathrooms have showers.
Accessible toilet and shower room in Building 146.
Parking is available outside the building, subject to availability, as other buildings nearby use it. If no spaces are available, other parking areas are available about 100 metres walk away. Unfortunately, Cranfield University does not provide disabled parking bays in the vicinity. To avoid a fine, visitors must fill out a form available in FAAM offices and put it on the dashboard of their car. You can also print the form in advance of your visit to bring with you if you prefer.
Parking locations near the FAAM office.
Accessibility in the FAAM labs and hangar
The FAAM labs are located in Building 85, on the ground floor, adjacent to the hangar where the aircraft is kept. The labs and hangar require an access card to enter and are a ~300m walk from the office over flat ground.
Route from the FAAM office to the labs.
There is a toilet in the labs, but while it has grab rails, it is not considered accessible due to the floor space available (the nearest accessible toilet is in Building 146). It is recommended that people use the facilities in the FAAM building before the flight.
FAAM labs layout, showing the location of the toilets.
The FAAM labs consist of five main rooms. In the order from the main entrance, they are:
Transit & Storage room
Engineering Lab
Chemistry Lab
Aerosol Lab
Laser Lab
FAAM transit room.
The FAAM labs. Clockwise from top left: aerosol lab, chemistry lab, laser lab, engineering lab.
Visiting and flying on the FAAM aircraft
The FAAM aircraft is a BAE-146 four-engine jet. This type of aircraft would usually have space for around 100 passengers, but ours has just 18 seats for scientists (in addition to the two pilots and a cabin crew member who always fly). The rest of the space is used for science equipment. You can familiarise yourself with the layout of the aircraft using our virtual walkthrough (note that there are more configurations of science racks than shown in the walkthrough and the cabin may look different on your visit).
Access and seating
Steps leading to the door are steep (rises are 210 mm), with handrails on both sides. The width between handrails is 610 mm, and stair width is 485 mm. All but one of the scientist seats are standard aircraft seats, with more legroom than typical economy-class seats in an airliner. They have four-point harnesses that fasten using a buckle that sits over the lower abdomen. The mission scientist seat is the exception: it is a pilot-style seat (see image) with a five-point harness (similar to the four-point harnesses but with an additional strap between the legs), which slides into the flight deck, leaving minimal leg room. The mission scientist seat is height adjustable, the other passenger seats are not.
A standard seat pair in the FAAM aircraft.
The full four- or five-point harness is required to be worn during takeoff and landing. For the rest of the flight, the pilots use the seatbelt sign, and accompanying ‘ding’ sound, to indicate whether lap straps need to be fastened. There can be significant periods during which passengers will need to be sitting down with their lap straps fastened, for example when the aircraft is below 5000 ft, when sondes are being launched, or when there is turbulence. Occasionally, an instrument operator will need to stand at their instrument’s rack when the seat belt sign is illuminated, and in this situation, there is a harness and bump cap that are worn.
The standard four-point harness used in the FAAM aircraft.
Toilet
The single toilet on the aircraft is very small and does not have good lighting. The sink is very small and the tap water is not drinking water. When the seatbelt sign is illuminated, the toilet can not be used. We encourage mission scientists to bear this in mind when planning their flights and add in regular periods spent above 5000 ft so that the seatbelt sign can be turned off and everyone has the chance to use the toilet, move around and get refreshments. If you need to, you can also request (discretely via the flight manager or cabin crew if you prefer) additional breaks from low-level or turbulent flying, and the pilots and mission scientists will try to accommodate these where possible.
The aircraft toilet.
Sound and headsets
On the ground, ambient sound in the aircraft cabin is around 75 dB with the power to the science instruments running. During the flight, flyers wear BOSE A20 headsets to communicate. There are no audio induction loop systems installed but provided headsets reportedly work well with behind-the-ear hearing aids. Headsets also offer noise cancellation, although occasionally, it may still be noisy if there is a lot of talk between flyers. Volume controls are available for each headset.
There are three different channels available at most of the passenger seats (the exceptions being the flight manager seat pair and the mission scientist seat, where it is also possible to listen to pilot communication with air traffic control). The main ‘mission’ channel is used for the majority of in-flight communication between the science teams and the flight crew, but there is also a ‘training’ channel that everyone except the mission scientist and pilots can use for longer or more specialist conversations. The third channel, ‘isolate’, enables communication solely between users of the same comms box, i.e. the two people at the seat pair. Headsets must be kept on with the ‘training’ channel selected for take-off and landing, and we recommend that they are kept on with the ‘mission’ channel selected for the majority of the flight to enable communication. Further guidance on operating the headsets and intercom system are provided on instruction cards in the seat pockets.
Lighting
The artificial lighting in the cabin is not very bright (when the aircraft is in the hangar, the illuminance levels in the cabin are between 10 and 100 lux), and natural light (which is weather, altitude and timing dependent) through the windows has a significant impact on light levels.
Looking at data
Most scientists on board use either a fixed screen or a laptop to look at data during the flight. Data from most FAAM instruments is viewable using the DECADES interface.
Food, drink, and medication
A packed lunch (usually consisting of a sandwich, crisps, a piece of fruit, and biscuit/chocolate) will be provided, as will bottled water, tea, and coffee. We can accommodate most dietary requirements and food allergies if notified in advance, either on your Airtask pass application form or by emailing ara.ops@airtask.com. The cabin crew member on board the flight is responsible for safety and is trained in first aid. You may wish to notify them of any relevant allergies, medical conditions, or special medication (e.g. EpiPen) that you carry.
Timings
A go/no-go decision about a flight, as well as its timings, is usually made at 10 am on the day before a flight, often due to the weather dependence of our flying. We recognise that this short notice can be problematic for some people, especially those with caring responsibilities, disabilities and medical conditions. We are keen to understand how the short notice nature of our flying could impact your ability to participate, and try to find ways around this. We can discuss the likelihood of flying in a given period, make suggestions about rostering, and advise about local accommodation. In some circumstances, it may be possible to firm up flying plans further in advance than usual, depending on the type of flying required. Please get in touch with FAAM Ops (faamops@ncas.ac.uk) to discuss this further.
The timings of a flying day vary according to science requirements. The Guide to a Flying Day section gives more details of the various elements and timeline of preflight, flight and postflight. We understand that provision of detailed information in advance can be helpful for some people to allow them to prepare in time. If this applies to you, please let FAAM Ops know.
Working away from Cranfield
As we are part of NCAS, FAAM aims to plan any flying project in accordance with the NCAS Inclusive Fieldwork Guide. If a project takes place away from Cranfield Airport, it is sometimes referred to as a ‘detachment’. For these projects local rules will apply, and if foreign travel is involved then you are advised to familiarise yourself with official foreign travel advice. The details and requirements (such as visa requirements) for travel and stay will be discussed in advance with the FAAM Ops team during planning meetings. Prior to decisions being made about locations and accommodation, FAAM Ops will visit on a ‘recce’, assessing the suitability of the location, hotels, airport facilities and safety.
For any project away from Cranfield, FAAM typically arranges for FAAM, Airtask, Avalon, and university staff to stay at the same hotel, in ensuite individual rooms. Breakfast will be available at the hotel, and participants arrange their own lunch and evening meals. Sometimes, room service or rooms with kitchenettes are available at the hotel, but this is not always the case. If this is something that you need, please let FAAM Ops know early in the project planning phase, before any recces take place. Transport between the hotel and the airport will be provided according to the timings of the flight. If you need extra time, please discuss this in advance with a member of the FAAM Ops team.
Preferences for specific locations of stay and their accessibility can be covered during the project planning phase. Keep in mind that remote locations may have fewer choices regarding options. The amount of funds available for projects may also limit available options.
Remote participation
We understand that some people will not be able to fly with us or travel away from home. Remote participation is possible and has been achieved successfully in the past. We are keen to find solutions that will work for everyone, and the earlier in the planning phase we understand your requirements, the better the outcome will be.
From the ground, irrespective of your location, during a flight you can:
Track the flight and the outputs of some instruments (see the Getting Data in Real Time chapter for details)
Communicate with scientists on board the aircraft via IRC chat (instructions to connect are in the Getting Data in Real Time chapter)
Data usage will be charged to the project, so please discuss this with FAAM Ops, ideally at the application stage, but if not then early in the planning stage.
For projects away from Cranfield that last longer than a few days, we often set up a conference room in the hotel where planning meetings are held. Discussions between scientists and operational staff happen here throughout the day. With advance notice (so that we can take the right equipment with us) we can set up facilities for video calls with scientists elsewhere. We can often also make preliminary data available remotely if required.