Flaps + Speedbrakes on Approach?
I'm really sorry if this question is in the wrong place, but it is a tech based question that might not be picked up if I put in anywhere else.
I was on an A320 coming into EGLL on Monday afternoon about 15.15. As we started down the glide slope I could see the wing and became fascinated by the config. It looked like we had flaps1 and the speedbrakes were at 45 degrees. Obviously as we got further down the glide slope and added more flaps the speedbrakes dropped. But as I've never seen (or never noticed!) speed brakes with flaps on approach before, I just thought I'd ask about it. It was obviously everything was perfectly under control and we made the most comfortable landing from a pax point of view I've ever experienced - As we got off as well as thanking the cabin crew I asked them to thank the pilots as well which I usually forget to do. So I just wanted to ask in what circumstances that initial config might be used. Might it be weather related? It certainly wasn't the best of weather and we'd had a weather related 15 minute hold, or might it be the need to get down quick and 'get off' quick this being EGLL and a lot of other aircraft coming in behind us? Or a combination of these?
As you can guess I'm not a pilot, and I guess for you this would be as normal as you could get, but I was fascinated by it.