Originally Posted by
Field In Sight
Probably not clear in my post, but I meant to say that you can't call it a locked "GS LOCK" speed. If there is a tailwind on approach, the ground speed will increase above this "locked speed".
Vapp + any tailwind will give a higher than minimum groundspeed.
Yes, as you suggest I think the term GS-mini is hard to beat, as it is indeed a minimum GS - not a target GS. Of course Airbus did not invent the concept; aviators a lot cleverer than I - some of them flight engineers - started doing calculations of their own on previous types as soon as INS provided real-time readings of GS in the 1970s. But,
AFAIK, it was Airbus that pioneered the automation of it and introduced it to the airline world with the A320 from 1988.
Hi again
Uplinker,
Must admit I had Jersey in mind! I assume improvements may have been made to A/THR response since my time. It seemed seemed marginally worse on V2500-engine a/c than on the early CFM-56 ones.
The GS-mini itself works so well in windsheer conditions, provided the managed IAS is used as a target speed, not a minimum speed. The thrust changes required are smaller and less frequent, of course, than those needed in selected IAS. My own preference was to use manual thrust for manual landings. The A320 manual throttle control is excellent - better than any of the other five jet types I flew. (Since then, in today's litigation-conscious environment, manual thrust has been banned in the airline I used to work for. I think that's a backward step.)