I have flown a 737-200 into LPB many times. The account above is very good and comprehensive, and I'd like to add a few points relative to our operation. Our 200s did not have a switch inhibiting deplyment of O2 masks. Indeed, flight crew wear masks above 10K cabin alt, and prior to starting approach, pressurization panel was set to no engine bleeds while APU provides bleed air to keep cabin alt below 14000 ft. This configuration is kept until after landing, in order to allow APU generator to power the busses. Other details I recall are that 1 engine is started at the gate (APU providing bleed and ground cart providing AC), follwed by pushback and crossbleed start. No bleeds takeoff is performed, and immediately after setting climb thrust, packs are reestablished before APU runs out of air and 02 masks pop down. Engine surges are common during spool up with even a slight crosswind and that 4000m runway seems like nothing when taking off with a full load, (about 40 pax on a typical day). Scariest takeoffs I've ever witnessed. Runway 28 (downhill) is preferential for TO, up to a 6 kt tailwin. 7 or more, runway 10, uphill, allows for greater payload). Very interesting operation for an aircraft which was definitely not built with LPB in mind. Aircraft with larger engines pose lesser problems, I imagine. (PS. only -17 engines are certified).
[ 27 September 2001: Message edited by: aluminum ovcst ]