Oh wow, this is a goody!
Some years ago, just after my arrival from darkest Africa, I was sitting in the back of a Company 747 on a positioning flight, just about to start my refresher training with the FO and FE whom had joined with me.
After landing, the active crew had to turn the aircraft around at the end of the runway and backtrack. I noticed that the handling pilot veered from the runway centreline to approximately halfway across the left side of the runway, and then threw a U turn into the handle at the runway end. Where I come from, one simply remains on the centreline, then follows the yellow line into the handle and back out again onto the centreline. (I guess some of you know what I mean?)
I remarked to the other two crew that I thought that this was a bit of an odd way of turning a B747 around and that I'd not seen it done that way before (flying for 20 years). They were bothe quite astounded since (they assured me) that was
EXACTLY the way Mr Boeing wanted it done.
Quite embarrassed I left the subject there until sometime later when I got home. I sent a fax off to Boeing requesting clarification with regards to the tirnaround method approved by Mr Boeing. The reply was simple: the method used in Darkest Africa is the original Boeing procedure. The other method used by UK operators, was approved by Boeing at the request of BA, some many years ago.
