My 737 just started talking to me!

[BmPilot21]

Was on the approach the other day, suddenly get '2500' in a very loud American voice (radalt alive). Then 500, 50,40,30,20,10.
Came as a bit of a surprise, scared the hell out of me in fact - thought I'd gone flying on an Airbus by mistake. I didn't know 737 radalts had this capability. Apparantly it has been inhibited up to now, but as the Boeing SOP's become more and more like the Airbus, it is being reactivated.

I think it is a good idea, will help in poor viz, and will help stop flaring too high on very wide runways etc. Also, means we will never miss the radalt alive call or 500 radio through being distracted with ATC / Cx's etc.

Do most other operators use alt. callouts?

[fly4fud]

hey BmPilot, do most operators use alt callout and your reference made to the A320... your 737 must be one of the airliners I know of (ok, with the MD-80 series) that has NO call outs.
Those were introduced around the 1980s, (A310 first?) last century :) :)

(we do even have'em on the ARJ :) )

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... cut my wings and I'll die ...

[Gominder]

We have 25 737 in our fleet and all are talking. It´s just a problem of pin programming to get the call outs you want.

Don´t think !!!

[AffirmBrest]

Maybe our 73's were just shy... :)

(wouldn't you be with a hairy-handed tractor driver wrestling with your handles?)

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...proceeding below Decision Height with CAUTION...

[Slasher]

Ours dont talk yet but when they do Im having it upgraded to a sexy-honey software voice instead of that stupid bloodey gay drogenous-sounding one!

"50 feet darling....40...30...20 feet Sugar. 10...Start flaring love...Ooh you ARE a good boy!"

[Max Angle]

BMpilot21

All of our 737's can talk but the company decided that they did'nt want it for some reason so it's been switched off for years. I am on the Airbus now and it's amazing how you start using the alt. call for the flare. I know I should not do it and I was'nt really aware I was until we had double rad-alt failure in the sim. We both had a couple of goes at the landing and piled it in both times. The 2500' (rad alt alive) call is very good, the manual call was all very well
but when things were hectic, ie. when you really want it, it was often missed.

Cheers.

[E. MORSE]

All the 757 and 767 acft I flew in had those call outs.

It is a part of the GPWS

Company I am in now choosed not to have the "2500" and "500" call though.

It is as an option which call outs the company wants to have.

Nice feature , it can be inop though.

:) cheers

[calltheball]

BMpilot21 -Ahh thought you were on the Airbus eh? -You can but dream..........!! On a more serious note, Max Angles point about the use of the rad-alt in judging the flare is a very valid one. It not only helps with deciding which point to initiate the flare, but also with judging the rate of descent (ie fifty.....fourty.....thirty etc as opposed to fiffourthirttwe..bump!). I find this system works well up to the point where for whatever reason, it decides to miss calling out the odd number (have heard it miss 500 as well as numbers closer to the ground). That combined with the inclusion of a random odd number (six -did I imagine that?) makes too much reliance on the numbers a recipe for inconsistant landings.

Having said all that, it's easier said than done -the Airbus is my first large aircraft type, and consistent judgment of the flare is something that experience will bring -as I gain that experience I am conscious of using the rad-alt as an important cue.

At least (up until now anyway) BMpilot21's landings have been totally visual (at least without the audible rad-alt call) and I think the transition to be made from without callouts to with is easier than vice-versa.

The 2500 (rad alt alive call) is a useful situational awareness call, although again I believe it is a pin option and not all Airbus aircraft do it.

[Buckshot]

Airbus aircraft also call "Retard, retard" in the flare unlike the Boeing examples.
I was never sure whether this was a direct comment on the pilot's performance on his landing or an invitation to close the throttles!

[Positive Climb]

Wait till you get EGPWS on your 737 - that brings a multitude of new call outs including " 50 above" and "decide" if you've bugged a radio decision alt !!!




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"After V1, we'll take the emergency into the air - You call 'Positive Climb' and I'll ask for the gear up. We'll climb away at V2 +15"