Hi everyone,
first of all I would like to introduce myself. My name´s Andre and I´m from Dortmund, Germany, approximately 25 miles east of Duesseldorf (EDDL). I´ve been reading this forum as a silent lurker for many years now and have finally decided to make the step and register.
I´m no commercial pilot myself but have been in love with aviation ever since childhood. Unfortunately the closest I will ever get to flying some heavy iron myself is by flying a sim, but as you probably know that´s not exactly cheap when you have to pay for it yourself.
Anyway, on to my questions. One of my favorite aircraft is the mighty MD-11, and I would be very grateful if someone in the know would sacrifice some time to answer some of my questions about this flying beauty. I do realize that I am asking a lot of questions at once, so please feel free to answer only one or two of those questions if you don´t know the answers to the other ones. I am thankful for any and all response.
So here are the questions:
1. What is the concept of the "dial-a-flap" technique? How does it work? Can a pilot select any flaps-angle he/she likes as opposed to the fixed values found in Boeing and Airbus machines? If so, what are the advantages, what the disadvantages?
Basically the entire concept is absolutely alien to me and I would love to hear whatever you have to say about it.
2. Kind of related to the first question, what are typical flaps settings for takeoff and landings?
3. What is the max. angle of flaps retraction without the landing gear being extended?
4. How difficult is it to fly the MD-11, especially in the approach/touchdown phase of the flight? Does the high approach speed make a difference when compared to other types you have been flying? Does it require an entirely different technique, or is it the same as every other aircraft out there, except for the fact that the world goes by a little faster? How hard is it to brake the MD-11 down to taxispeed, taking into consideration that it is quite fast and heavy and needs to rely on only 8 wheels equipped with brakes (I am assuming the center gear is not brake-equipped, right?)
5. What is a typical fuel reserve left in the tanks when arriving at the destination? A friend of mine once told me it is usually in the 15 to 20 ton bracket, but I find that a little hard to believe.
6. What is a typical Mach number for the cruise, and how fast can the MD-11 go if costs are not a consideration? Somewhat related, what is the max. FL the MD-11 can reach in perfect conditions?
7. What is the starting order of the engines? Is it the usual 1, 2, 3, or maybe something totally different like 2, 1, 3? I´m asking because engine #2 is so high up in the air that it could be started while still on the stand without endangering anyone on the ramp.
8. Again related to the previous question, can engine #2 serve as makeshift-APU if the "real" APU is u/s? Does it ever happen in the real world? I´ve never seen an MD-11 sitting at the gate with engine #2 running at idle, so I am assuming it just simply doesn´t happen. Then again I may just not have seen it yet, so how knows...
9. Is it common practice to shut down an engine on taxi-in like it is on some other aircraft? I do realize that this is also airline- and/or PIC-specific, but can it be done, and if yes, how often does it happen? Also, is it engine #2 that will be shut down in this case (so you will still have symmetric (spelling?) thrust), or is it for some strange reason another engine that will be shut down?
These are my questions, and like I already said, I would be very grateful if anyone could answer some of these questions for me. If a question is unclear please don´t hesitate to ask so I can clarify. Please keep in mind that english is not my native tongue, so mistakes are likely to happen. Thank you very much in advance, gentlemen!
Oh, by the way, just to make this posting even longer than it already is (hehe), does anyone happen to know how to find out the names of the crew (both flightdeck and cabin) who operated a certain BA flight back in April of this year?
I´m asking because I had a wonderful experience with the crew of that flight, easily the best flight I have ever had in my life. The cabin crew was simply amazing, and even the Captain and First Officer invited me to a visit of the flightdeck (after we landed of course) and gave me the opportunity to have a quick chat with them. Nice and friendly chaps, just like the rest of the crew that day. A week after the flight I actually wrote a letter to BA (a first for me) to let them know how much I enjoyed that flight and the crew, but I never heard anything back from BA, so I am wondering if maybe my letter got lost. So I am planning to write another letter, this time naming the crew if possible. My line of thinking is that maybe this way the letter will carry more weight and maybe even the crewmembers of that day will somehow benefit by it. Hence my question.
If you can give me details or tell me how to obtain these details, please feel free to contact me via Private Message or email. In case the flight details are necessary, it was flight BA203 on April 15th from EGLL to KDTW, aircraft was a B763.
Thanks a lot, everyone!
Andre