In case you missed this on another thread, I'm pasting this here as food for thought:
posted 11 August 2001 02:46
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I think many of us in the flying business have taken this "High speed aborts are Dangerous" to the extreme.
Sure, you can be at Max TOW for any given runway, but there are thousands of departures every day at weights WELL below that. The acceleration of most transport jets on takeoff roll are very similar. (Excluding the extreme density altitude and very heavy weight/high temperature takeoffs.)
Most jets get to 80 kts. only about 2000' into the takeoff roll, and about 110-120 at the 3000' point. Now, if I'm on a 10,000 foot runway, and I abort for any reason at 80 kts., I've got 8000 feet in which to get it stopped! From 115 kts, I've got 7000'. What's the problem?
No way I'm taking a fire warning or other questionable situation in the air (on purpose) when I've got all that runway left.
Sure, there are situations where you ARE right up against the MTOW. AT real heavy weights, your V1 might be 150 or so. We get paid to make plans in the event something out of the ordinary occurs.
When you research the accident reports involving high speed aborts/attempts, you will find that many of those happened AFTER V1, and many of those involved confusion in the cockpit, one guy pulling, the other pushing.
In my opinion, it's not the high speeds that are the factor, it's the lack of pre-planning for THIS takeoff.
Every takeoff is different. I urge you not to get into a simplistic mindset. Would your decisions be any different if the two runways were 6000' vs 12,000? Mine sure are.
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