Originally Posted by
blue up
I thought the whole idea of Carbon Brakes was that one RTO used about as much as one gentle stop. Several light applications causes more wear than one dirty great big one. Treat 'em mean to keep 'em keen?
That's not consistent with what I've been told. Specifically, during the development of the 777 (and shortly after Lauda), I half serious asked why we just didn't get rid of the reversers. Thrust reversers are a whole lot of weight and complexity and are (relatively) high maintenance items. Just get rid of them and add a 'panic button' that releases a drogue chute if they need the extra braking.
What I was told was that using reversers saves around $100/landing in brake wear. If light use of carbon brakes causes just as much wear as heavy use (and carbon brakes were basic on the 777), that wouldn't be the case.