Hi prb46
Well certainly sounds interesting I’ll have to keep an eye out when it hits the streets - any idea of the title? Its nice to see someone who is trying to include elements of realism into an unrealistic situation – or is it?? I have lived in Africa and operated in both military and civil circumstances and I can assure the doubters around that this situation is certainly not beyond the bounds of belief, especially in countries such as Rwanda, Ethiopia, DR of Congo, Angola, Zimbabwe etc etc.
The choice of a 757 is a good one and all of the gen preceding is good so for what its worth here is my 2p worth!
Assuming the A/C is already at the airfield legitimately the crew would already have performance figure and would undoubtedly have done their own load sheet. Consequently they should have a rough idea of their Zero Fuel Weight and TOW. Having those figures would give them an idea of how tight performance was likely to be and they would brief accordingly. Flap 5 is normal but flap 15 is used for rumway limiting reasons but it would undoubtedly be a full power t-off.( Also dependent on temp, a/f altitude, gradient, pressure (QNH type :-)) TOW terrain etc etc) Needs must and if time was tight and they were under pressure the basics would still be there. If they had had a bird strike inbound which had caused damage which was not repaired I would also expect them to have briefed the engine out stuff carefully.
The standard calls would be – set thrust / thrust set, 80kts / check, V1, Rotate xx degrees, positive rate / gear up,(response in bold) where xx equates to the target pitch angle for the initial climb (Normally 17 to 23 degrees or 12-13 degrees engine out)
If there was an engine fire (Eicas warning plus Red MC plus bells) the response is to cancel the bell and continue as per the brief (Normally abandon below V1). As already mentioned a fire does not automatically equate to thrust loss, which would manifest itself as yaw if it occurred.
If there was a thrust loss the PNF would firewall the thrust levers and remind the PF of the pitch target and emergency turn if required. If below V1 I would expect the PF to continue to accelerate to rotate and beyond if there was available runway or to rotate early if not. The pilots would have no EICAS indication of a tail strike (a -300 would) but they would probably expect one if they had to overrotate (25deg or so). Again as already mentioned the A/C would be geometrically alpha limited until airborne but as it became airborne the net flight path would only be a minimal climb. The extra alpha causes excess induced drag which inhibits acceleration rate and consequently climb gradient. A good example of this is the unfortunate 747 accident at Halifax last year where exactly this happened. Fortunately the 757 is exceptionally powerful and would still have to power to recover (depending on the obvious of course)
Once airborne it would be a question of prioritisation - fly the beast, sort out the problems in order of importance. The crew would probably be aware of the tail strike but not necessarily of the gear, chances are given the trauma of the t-off it would go up but equally its not a problem if left down & the accel & terrain are no factor. Speed limited to 250kts/.8 if I remember. Would suggest low transit & land in friendly neighbouring state which would solve the pressurisation prob of the tail strike. The 75 has no fuel dump.
Hope its of some use - good luck btw seat fit max is 235 pax 2 jump seats in cockpit, 7(8?) crew seats & 4 toilet seats!! On long haul crew is normally 2+6
Regards & good luck
GG