I find it interesting how many guys in here have just chosen not to think, just do what the company tells them...
Flex Power: I did some research....not all airlines think it's safe, not all airlines think the cost in safety is worth the hopefull engine life extension years down the road. Read Johns T. post for starters. So this isn't 'how it's done' and 'seeing the red lights at the end' is not standard procedure. I knew it was boloney. Derating take off power, purposely burning up more runway, turning every take off into a 'right to the edge nail biter' is a choice...your doing it with people's lives...to save a buck...besides a plane crash is worth about a million engines....
Now I have no problem, if you have a ten thousand foot field with rated power, balanced field is 4000 ft, Flex would be 6000...big deal...but using it to fly to the fence?
Secondly, Airline pilots don't see the engine overhaul and hot section bills, I have been through all that..the bid process, boroscope reports, seen the pics,fod, bearing failures, sufidation, test cell issues...so if you want to beat me up for not being an airline pilot please don't come back and tell me you know anything about engine overhaul and hotsection costs. Getting an email or memo from corporate doesn't count.
Secondly if you go after V1 in all cases in all scenarios, best case is you will get back safely, worst case you don't. Conversely, if you abort, you will stop safely or you will use up the overun, and or/some grass beyond this.
It's simple as pie, not all planes will fly that day, but all planes can stay on the ground and plow through the grass. Do you think a decelerating plane still on the ground, plowing through the grass is more dangerous then a plane, that can't be flown that crashes is more safe?
If you are flying a disabled aircraft around the pattern, screw it up and don't make it...people die...if you do an RTO in a disabled aircraft...screw it up, you're still on the ground, plowing through the grass.
Now we can sit here and talk about airport after airport where you don't plow through the grass at the end, it's a cliff, it's the ocean, it's a burning lake of lava, whatever...we are talking about a right after post V1 cut where you have excess runway...
Time after time I see all these planes that tried to fly it off only to crash..and who knows maybe the plane was heavy, the pilots weak, they screwed up...we all know the results...in that flight, they should have aborted....
All I have ever said is that the situation warrants judgement. Like Pace stated, there are situations where you don't fly a wreck up in the air, and that decision has saved lifes...it's saved mine as well.
We can sit here and debate this ad nauseum, but judgement, or lack there of, and inability to adapt to a situation, especialy if it's not on the check list, seems to catch a pilot or two(and the passengers) every year.
If you guys just hope that all the problems in a plane are in the Sops manual...well that would be nice wouldnt it...how comforting...
Maybe you guys are trained to do what makes sense 80% of the time, they don't want you guys to think...If I was running an airline, I might feel the same way, especialy if my pilots were weak, the FO had 500 hours, the capt was new, the take offs were always derated, so the capt could add power on the last good engine...whatever..basicaly set sops so no one had to think and hire accordingly..
But when I fly I have a choice...Still here....
The fact is...Pace and I, curiously being corporate pilots...seem to be in disagreement with the airline pilots that having chosen to simply go or not go, at V1, without any consideration to all the possibilites seems silly.. Gee whiz it's a good thing I didn't give a 'would you go before V1 thread' because I could, and there are situations that would warrant this decision as well...anyone ever been commited to a take off?
Hey if you get to V1, the wing falls off, are you going to pull it up?...what if you lose a nose tire, and the plane won't accelerate, what about a catastrauphic controll failure(hard to keep on straight on the runway)...I mean I could sit here and give a hundred situations where your barreling down the runway, and the situation is so violent and nasty, you know you don't want to take it up in the air...or at least this pilot wouldn't. But you guys would and that flight would be doomed.
Personaly, V1 is a start for me...and yes...I stop before V1, and go after V1...untill the situation warrants otherwise...and have done so in both cases.
But one thing is for sure...I won't purposely limit my options by extending my take off roll, V speeds, and rotation, as far down the runway, to try to save a buck...simply put I will have less time to discern the problem, less time to react, I will be closer to those obsticles, and closer to overrunning if I have to stop...I like as much of a margin of safety that I can get...
Here's one for you guys...before deciding to use flex power...address the passengers with this...
'Hey guys, how would you feel if I pulled it off at the fence today, trying to save corporate a buck on engines?'
