U turn A320

[avionneta]

hello,
any idea why the u turn on A320 is to the right for the captain and to the left for the FO. no visibility during the turn that way ?

[hetfield]

It's obvious, if CPT says u turn, FO has to turn.

If FO says u turn, CPT is doing the turn.

[Clandestino]

Because the most critical part of the U turn on 320 is positioning the left seat in the case of the right turn (or the right seat in the case of the left turn) exactly above the runway edge and that is very hard to accomplish if you're trying to put your significant cockpit other over the edge, and not yourself.

As for the visibility thing, you usually make U turns on the runway and assumption is that noone is tailgating you. If that assumption is wrong, ATC will have a lot of things to explain.

[Dani]

as far as I know it, it's only the "Narrow runway turn" where you turn to the "wrong" side. If it's a standard rwy width of 45 or 60m, you may turn any side you want.

As Clandestino said, if you do the first turn towards the edge correctly, nothing will worry you for the second turn towards the centerline.

Dani

[SIDSTAR]

It's just easier to judge where the main wheels are if you put yourself over the runway edge. It's a bit hit-and-miss if you're trying to judge when the other guys is there! If you miss, it's a runway excursion and a lot of paperwork to be completed. That's why some carriers specify it's a Captain-only maneuver.