Correct, however AFAIK the "spin up values" are somewhat higher than 50 % N1 : 60--70 N1 or 1.1 - 1.2 EPR (depending engine type) On CFM56-5/CFM Leap/PW1100 it’s 50% N1. On V2500 it’s 1.05 EPR, which is around 50% or maybe slightly less. Might be a higher number for „bigger“ engines used ...
Jump to postJet engine typically have a rather variable acceleration from idle to around 50/60% N1. Small differences in engine age, sticky bleed valves or other factors can have a huge impact on the time it takes to accelerate from idle to 50% N1. From 50% N1 to takeoff thrust the acceleration schedule is defi...
Jump to postDo airlines conserve fuel by lowering cruising speed to take advantage of these instances and still make it to destination on time? As readytotaxi already noted, it doesn't benefit anyone if you arrive too early and there aren't any gates available. Not by much but by a little. The FMGC (the comput...
Jump to postThis is meant to be a technical question, but is there something w/ the A321neo that requires/causes hard landings? Ironically the worst landing I've ever had was a HA A321neo in OGG 1 or 2 years ago which I assumed was related to the short runway and strong winds. In general I find the A321neo (no...
Jump to postThe A320 received quite a few updates over the years as well…even though a lot of them are to enhance the passenger experience, many also minimised fuel burn. The sharklets were a quite significant addition as they don’t only reduce fuel burn but also increase to maximum achievable flight level at a...
Jump to postzeke wrote:I mean like in the states you log onto KUSA and get your route clearance, that can be loaded from datalink. Could be a 16-18 sector.
The A350 has the ability to load clearances and frequencies from CPDLC directly into the FM and the radio. So does the A320 (depending on FMGC/FANS standard). While the frequency loading works perfectly and is useful, the designers made loading any route clearance so difficult that it’s usually muc...
Jump to postForgive me if this has been discussed upthread. Can someone help me understand how the JAL pilots wouldn't have noticed the Coast Guard a/c until after the impact? I am not a pilot, so correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't the A350 have pretty powerful landing lights? Shouldn't a moving A/C be not...
Jump to postIf it was a descent down to FL280 for the oceanic crossing it's actually most likely that the Satcom system or CPDLC was unserviceable. In that case Gander and Shanwick (as well as Santa Maria) will descend you below NAT HLA airspace. Then once you're under radar contact again they'll allow a climb...
Jump to postSome airlines include it in the procedures (for example, Aer Lingus, Wizz Air...), some don't. From the technical point of view it's probably not strictly necessary but it's probably still a good precaution, after all there is no requirement to see the runway before touchdown in a CAT3B/No DH landin...
Jump to postIsn't that exactly why they are there though? If the cockpit wasn't sterile at the start of a four hour flight and something happens, shouldn't we know about it? This concept would result in more incidents and accidental if people know that every word they have said can be used against them their p...
Jump to post25 hour CVR is a good thing that doesn’t really involve a big change of procedures and is transparent to the crew. For sure crew discussions on longer flights may be valuable to the investigation of incidents/accidents in some cases (for example if an intermittent technical fault is a contributing f...
Jump to postA relatively newer regulation now is the CPDLC and ADS-C mandate in the NATs between FL290 and FL410. Most airlines cant make it above FL410 and crossing at or below FL280 if the SATCOM or ACARS is inop is pretty restrictive fuel wise. An other thing that can helpful with regards to levels is PBCS/...
Jump to postBeing based in Iceland, I have quite some experience of this. Depending on the route crossing the OTS is unavoidable, for example on flights from Iceland to the Canary Islands. Usually you will be stuck at rather low levels (FL280/300) until clear of the OTS. Not a big deal if you know about it and ...
Jump to postI agree with the others sounds like wake turbulence to me. I can be quite startling especially if you don’t except it. Experienced a few of these both as a pilot and also twice as a passenger - they can be very uncomfortable… If you were getting a little close in trail behind a heavy, and had an ink...
Jump to postIf the crew uses the brakes properly, brake temperatures are not an issue on the current A320/321 fleet. I once flew for one airline that based A320 and A321 on a 1700m runway. The airline had decided not to order brake fans. Usually the turnarounds were short, around 30 minutes. The brake temperatu...
Jump to postFinally, put a flight director on MEL and watch hilarity ensue. In many cases, the very same pilot who touted his/her value will refuse the airplane because he/she has no confidence that they can fly an ILS approach without steering commands. Add in an autothrottle MEL and it's almost certainly a d...
Jump to postIn the last 12 months I have done 3 auto lands, 1 "practice" auto land and 2 auto lands in actual Low Visibility conditions. Autolands are rarely done, except in Low Visibility conditions where they are (generally) mandatory. An airline applying for Low Visibility Operations approval needs...
Jump to postIn most airlines the cockpit does not specify which exits are to be used in an evacuation. The consideration is that the crew at the exits will have a better view of the situation in that location and is therefore in a better position to make that decision. Cabin crews receive instructions/training ...
Jump to postIt is indeed an option, however a very common one (at least in Europe). So far I only flew one 320 without a bull cargo door…
Jump to postThanks for the correction. I would have thought that the A320 series had an "auto" setting. An interesting systems design decision given the reputation of the A320 as having a high degree of automation. Most other newer generation of airplanes that I know of have it. But different airline...
Jump to postI have been in many different airlines. In my first company we were using Jeppesen paper charts (when Less Paper Cockpit was not really implemented), then I flew Lido paper charts for a while, then Lido electronic chart. Then I worked for a company that was using Navblue charts, then it was back to ...
Jump to postGenerally for ETOPS a lot more things then just engine reliability have to be considered. There are a lot of systems that need to be ETOPS compliant, depending on the aircraft type there may be ETOPS compliant and non ETOPS compliant system versions. Taking the A320 as an example, there is a basic c...
Jump to postEvery company is there to make a profit for their shareholders so the least costly option will usually be chosen. For sure it has to be considered if delaying the connecting flight will cause further misconnections later on, if there is an easy way to rebook the passengers onto an other company or o...
Jump to postIt’s depending on the weight. Last week we were too heavy for Runway 09 and had to request 04R, this was in an (close to MTOW) A321…but for most flights it’s sufficient.
Jump to postVery short flights are fun even if it's 4 sectors (flying the A320 it's extremely rare to get 5 or 6 sectors - over 10 years of flying I never had 6 sectors and only a handful of days with 5 sectors, but I heard Ryanair occasionally used to do 6 sectors, don't know if they still do it). The worst on...
Jump to postIn my career so far I did not really need to get many crew visas. As I was based in Indonesia and Vietnam for a while I got a work permit/work visa for these countries (which are expired now); the only crew visa I got was for India that I only used for a single ferry flight. As my new airline has fl...
Jump to postIt’s quite rare but it does happen. I can remember three recent cases that required maintenance to come and which delayed dispatch. One was a nose wheel tyre worn beyond limits that had to be replaced, second one was a fuel smell when walking below the wing (maintenance found the fuel drain valve to...
Jump to postIs this a North America thing? We rarely hear much on guard, and it is regularly used to "find" aircraft that have temporarily drifted out of comms. I haven’t flown in the US yet but it’s a thing that’s unfortunately quite common in Europe. I have flown in Asia as well (Indonesia/Vietnam)...
Jump to postThe constant chatter on Guard is a safety problem. Some times it's used for a real purpose but most often it's just people making bad jokes or simply just blocking the frequency. Last summer some guy was playing the Topgun theme on Guard...we are supposed to monitor Guard all the times, but sometime...
Jump to postAlmost all of the "older" types, f.e. B737, A320, A330 etc is limited to 8000ft at maximum certified altitude. When flying at lower levels the cabin altitude is generally lower. Newer aircraft types, like the 787 and 350 are limited to around 6000ft, which results in more passenger comfort...
Jump to postIn addition to the schedule padding (which explains the biggest part of the difference), newer airplanes are also more efficient at slower speeds. This can not only be send when comparing for example a 727 with a 737 but even when comparing A320CEO with A320NEO aircraft. At the same cost index the N...
Jump to postWouldn’t they be following a SID? Wouldn’t the SIDS be in the FMS database? Why would the crew be changing waypoints in their flight plan at this early stage of the flight? Also, 1000 feet in 24 seconds is actually 2500 feet fpm. The 3000 fpm must have occurred for a very short period of those 24 s...
Jump to postSending all the data all the time isn't feasible (yet), but you could have aircraft send some type of basic message every 15 minutes when not in radar range with minimal info (UID, heading, alt, KIAS, VS, Systems Status, etc.). Then if there's some event, like the AP disconnecting and/or a signific...
Jump to postI don't know how these airstairs were used back in the day, but I know Ryanair has them and uses them occasionally on their 737 fleet. If such a cost conscious airline like Ryanair is using them the time/cost savings during turnarounds probably outweighs the additional weight. Some people are rather...
Jump to postThe landing distance for an A320 on a dry runway at MLW is around 1100m. This is the "unfactored" distance, i.e. what highly experienced test pilots achieved by landing at the exactly correct spot and speed, quite firmly (thereby reducing the energy to be taken by the brakes) and by starti...
Jump to postIn most jet the yaw damper would be on whenever it is not failed. On the A320, the Yaw Damper function is integrated into/is a function of the Flight Augmentation Computer (FAC), therefore it is "always" on whenever it or the FAC is not failed. As both FACs are able to provide the yaw damp...
Jump to postOne thing to consider as well are bird strikes. Even though most birdstrikes occur very close to the ground (below around 1000/1500ft) there is still a risk of encountering birds below FL100. Obviously, hitting a big bird at high speed is no fun and can cause considerable damage to the aircraft, so ...
Jump to postAY wet leased a couple of A350s to Eurowings Discover, probably you have seen one of these aircraft.
Jump to postThe proponents of the ‘feet up on the pedals’ during take off will say they are better positioned for brake application at low speeds (below 80 knots) where AB will not trigger, especially in their ability to keep straight with an engine failure in this regime However this is not an issue as long a...
Jump to post1. The AF/KL decision to divert to PTY will most likely have been taken by the Flight Control Centres in AMS/CDG and not by the pilots. Just to elaborate on that, the decision would have been the pilots, the pilot in Command/Captain is the person who is ultimately responsible when the aircraft is i...
Jump to postThe managed speed that you mentioned seems to be rather on the high side. Usually the managed descend speed is around 270kts, unless flying at a very high CI. Normal cost indexes nowadays are quite low (depending on the variant and airline around 10-20, if the aircraft is in metric system, CI for ai...
Jump to postI was just flying to my holidays from FRA to PUJ as a passenger yesterday, around 10 hours before the occurrence. The first 7 hours of the flight were mostly smooth with some occasional light chops once in a while. After around 7 hours the turbulence changed to continuous light in a cloud layer at F...
Jump to postIt's surprising that modern planes do not have alertness detection systems (or, for that matter, consciousness detection systems) when even cars have them (e.g., counting eye blinks as a fatigue indicator). I'd say that pilot consciousness should be easily detectable. From then on, a pre programmed...
Jump to postThe unfactored distance includes as far as I know also a firm touchdown which will also take quite some energy (more than one would think). Recently I did a bit of a firm touchdown (around 1.4 or 1.5g when I checked it later on) at my home base and at the point where we usually have around 70kts we ...
Jump to postAbsolutely! ATC very much exists to be a service to pilots, and that's always my approach to it. It's interesting that you say that about the EMB/ERJ weather radar.. Sometimes I'll have areas of depicted precip with very predictable deviations, but then I'll get one or two that will be off charting...
Jump to postActually, rushing to retract the flaps generally causes more problems that forgetting them. In a scenario similar to the one mentioned by Woodreau, when going around from close to the ground (balked landing, from below 50ft or so) it is important not to retract the flaps immediately because initiall...
Jump to postI frankly would not be surprised to see that being the reason why a lot of A320CEOs reach their retirement - its not going to be due to parts, it will likely be at the point where the airframe itself it uneconomical to repair corrision / fatigue issues. Why that frame in particular? The A32X family...
Jump to postSo, from a pilot perspective: Are landing lights designed to help others see an approaching aircraft better or to see ahead once on the ground (I can't imagine they help illuminate much in the sky). Both. Landing lights are visible from quite far away at night, but obviously that's not a factor in ...
Jump to postThese things are happening from time to time, systems are quite sensitive to avoid any asymmetric/uncommanded deployment which could be worse than landing with no flap. Happened to me a couple of years ago (on an A320) on a shortish runway (2300m) but we were very light. We run the numbers and it tu...
Jump to post