Lightweight Aircraft During Descent, Approach and Landing
Hi Guys,
I've heard from many people that this forum is a good one to air a technical question.
I fly a twin-jet aircraft out of a major UK airport for a well-established carrier and the other day we were coming in weighing in at considerably less than normal, passenger load was about half what it normally is, and so the approach speeds were on the lower side.
The approach was interesting but it popped a question into my mind that, assuming no speed control by ATC, "Is it better to dive a light-weight aircraft and know it will lose the speed quickly in level flight?". My thinking revolves around the fact that it didn't seem to want to descend very well (the glide angle seemed shallower than normal) at light weights but it did seem to slow down quite quickly in level flight. Is there a best trade-off between keeping high speed (thus descending quickly) and not allowing the light aircraft to creep above the profile?
Thanks for your comments in advance!
Gusty