Originally Posted by
Bend alot
If MCAS will still have a maximum 9 second run time and a pilot should cut it in 3 seconds - what is the other 6 seconds of MCAS operation still required for?
The pilot will not like where it is going, as it is in an unfamiliar part of the flight envelope that it operates. So the pilot should cut MCAS when it is needed?
Interesting take on the matter. So you're in quite a tight maneuvering spot and suddenly you get a "runaway trim" on top. Which, as the system was undisclosed, cannot look anything else than a genuine runaway trim to the pilots! Or perhaps the idea was that pilots are already used to STS, so trim going its merry way is now unsurprising... for how long?
It seems that in their zeal to leave no pilot error unturned, someone has uncovered another disturbing aspect of MCAS.
Now, for the real questions the above musings raise in a non-pilot (in case some of you have then answers on hand):
- This 3"-seconds-reaction-time-to-runaway figure comes from where? And is it further qualified with "in every possible situation", or "in straight and level flight", ...?
- How long are typical STS bursts?