t0r0nad0
Pattern Altitude
So my boss was watching the United 777 DVD that he got for his son and he mentioned that the captain was explaining the concept of ETOPS. I know that it means Extended Twin OPerationS (or "Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim") and in plain English, a twin-engined aircraft must be within xxx minutes of an airport suitable for landing any time it goes overseas, just in case they were to lose an engine. The boss said that the United captain explained that with the 777, they had to be within 128 mins of an airport at engine-out cruise speeds. Now, I can see how this would be possible for Atlantic crossings and northern Pacific crossings, as they typically arc up over the very northern reaches of the ocean where there tends to be more land. The questions are, what if you're going to Hawaii, which is 2300nm from the West coast of the US? Is the halfway point within that ETOPS window? Am I misunderstanding something?