"Stefan" wrote in message
...

I remember my first landing at a controlled airport with heavy iron.
(Got my primary training at a small grass strip.) I was told by the
tower to continue my approach. The runway was empty. But the very moment
I turned base to final, which is about 1/2 mile from the threshold at
that airport (Zürich), I saw to my surprize a 737 rolling onto the
runway and lining up, obviously cleared by the tower to do so. When I
was about 1/4 mile out, I got uneasy and called the tower, asking what
to do. "Continue approach, the airliner will depart." And so it did.
Plenty of room, a non event.

Stefan

Hi Stefan. I've never piloted heavy iron, so feel free to adjust the
numbers. Let's say you were 1/4 mile out travelling at 120 knots. If my
math is right, that's about 7.5 seconds to a collision. That's barely
enough time to call the tower and get a response. I would have considered
going around. I understand going around with a heavy is a big deal. Last
year we had 30G50 at our local class D and I saw a 737 go around because it
couldn't hit a 6500 x 150 ft. (1996 x 46 m) runway.