Singapore Airlines 747 Non-Normal in Melbourne on Tuesday?

[pilotshorvath]

I was delayed out of Melbourne on Tuesday (26th) afternoon (paxing) due to a Singapore 747 blocking the taxiway which I then saw being towed by a tug with (what appeared to be) only 3 engines running and what looked like full landing flap for a 74.

I have tried to search both pprune and google and nothing has come up.

Seeing an A/C being towed is normal, but when it's being towed from a runway with flap out I'm guessing it is some sort of non-normal condition.

Anybody flying around then heard any radio calls as to what the non-normal condition may have been?

Cheers. :)

[ad-astra]

Pushed back and unable to taxi forward due uphill slope on taxi-way.
Called the tug to pull it forward but had to shut the inboards down during the process.
Can't wait for the WIP in ML to finish.
Ended up with a 20 minute delay watching the whole thing unfold.:{

[ACMS]

These things happen everywhere.

We had a 777-200 get stuck in the tarmac in Dubai a year ago after pushback before taxi. The whole thing was a disaster. They had to offload the pax and try to pull it out of the asphalt. In the end the flight was cancelled!!

And the apron in Bkk is weird, very soft as well, it takes quite a bit of power to get the 777 moving.

[vee1-rotate]

was watching the whole thing from office upstairs...he reported on ground frequency that they used 50% power and still could not move...not sure what the prob was...they were towed up taxiway A to let other aircraft pass, then took off about 10 minutes later, so I guess it wasn't anything to serious? Pehaps left the park brake on...:E

[pilotshorvath]

Thank you everyone for the info, that makes sense.

Pitty the truth is never as exciting as what you imagine. :}

Yes the 20 minutes was indeed slooooow.:zzz:

[LapSap]

What sort of gradient are we talking about??

[vee1-rotate]

I don't think the gradient was the whole cause of the problem, more so the abundance of workers on the ground behind him working on taxiway upgrades, which doesn't make total sense as 50% power on a 747 is quite a lot:eek:

[Keg]

He was probably talking about 50% N1 rather than 50% power! If they're using GEs then full rating is about 107% depending on the temperature and a 'normal' idle N1 is about 26ish percent. Either way, 50% N1 is still a fair bit of 'go'.

[pilotshorvath]

It's a bit odd that it seemed to have such a large flap setting, if it was before take-off?:confused:

Hence why I initially thought they had just landed.

[parabellum]

SIA use P&W 4056 engines, not that it matters much, they all chuck a fair bit of disturbance out the back!

[Keg]

744s generally use Flaps 20 for take off. It's a fair swag of flap hanging out the back. Landing flap (F30) looks like it's about to drag on the ground.

[Capt Wally]

maybe full flap was used in order to reduce the weight hence the surface friction on the wheels to move fwd:ok:............crazy? is it?:)


CW:E

[compressor stall]

Yup Keg, full flap on a 744 is an amazing sight. I was wandering around one a couple of months ago parked with full flap - incredible.

It would be easy to see how T/O flap could look like full flap on anything else...

CS

[parabellum]

Remember pictures of the Comet with full flap? Looked as though it was at 90 degrees to the wing!

[Centaurus]

Remember pictures of the Comet with full flap? Looked as though it was at 90 degrees to the wing

Yes - the Comet flap was exactly as you decribed. The Viscount 800 had an emergency Flap 40 setting and this was for short runways. You held it in reserve until just before the flare then hit the lever to 40. The term "Barn Door" drag comes to mind.