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Old 24th Aug 2008, 11:36
  #736 (permalink)  
HarryMann
 
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If so, then something happened immediately it was airborne, to stop it accelerating ( if that is what happened ) or, maybe the computed VR was in error - wouldn't be the first time.
Two things here:
Hot weather
Reversing winds reported (light and variable?)

We hear words of windshear; would prefer to hear of potential heavy thermal activity. In the above conditions its quite possible when a big bubble is kicking off upwind (in front) to have huge quantities of air sucked in, creating tailwinds of 20~30 kts at ground level - to a light aircraft that can accelerate quickly, an exciting ride, to an airliner that can't you can be taking off and losing airspeed as fast as you are accelerating (vs the ground) over the first 50~150 feet...

a third? Max weight take-off
a fourth? sightly premature rotation (based on low AUW estimate)
a fifth? Lower thrust, see below...

Outside air temperature was said to be 30ºC, but many pilots keep insisting that temperature just above the paviment can be as high as 10º more at midday.
Yes, that is just about possible but at only a metre or two above tarmac, known as a super-adiabatic layer, effectively giving a density inversion. This layer wants to be airborne but sticks to the ground especially within standing crops, and ultimately becomes so unstable that someone running through the field or a car passing by will trigger it. Sailpane pilots know all about this... and when it does go a million cubic metres of air can bubble up and has to be replaced - hence strong incoming winds to its core - so you don't want a big one going off upwind as you depart!

Runway markers?
After several accidents in the 60's and 70's I thought it had become routine to time acceleration to V1, maybe someone can explain - perhaps it's the massive increase in low-speed thrust that fan-engines introduced removed the need. But it was thought much easier to implement than runway markers at the time - it also reflected any combination of engine thrust deficiency and underestimated TOW.

Yes, I am not an airline pilot

Last edited by HarryMann; 24th Aug 2008 at 11:51.
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