John Tullamarine:
(a) derate/flex meet the certification requirements - then why do we accept going at MTOW in critical conditions ? Double standard ? The days of pilots doing things to make life more comfortable for pilots during flight have long gone to make way for LoCo competition.
True, but a lot of rote there.
If departing an Aspen or an Eagle, just forget derate/flex thrust completely. The price of being wrong if nothing happens is very low. The price of being wrong if you select derate/flex thrust at such locations, particularly during unstable atmospherhic conditions may carry a very high price for being wrong.