Gliding Large Aircraft
Psychophysiological entity
We used to go to Stansted in an Eagle Viscount, and our fleet manager would get us to fly at 1500' until the runway was under the nose, then taps shut and land off it. The thing is that the although the Dart didn't like to have reverse torque, it wasn't known then, so what we got was something near to no power.
He was/is a good bloke. Gave us 900 hour rookies a feel for the machine that served well.
He was/is a good bloke. Gave us 900 hour rookies a feel for the machine that served well.
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Quote:
"......our fleet manager would get us to fly at 1500' until the runway was under the nose, then taps shut and land off it."
My bet is that he was an ex-Varsity instructor. That was a standard "fun" demonstration in the Air Force. But not quite what I meant at the start of this thread when what I was really talking about is sailplane-style management of energy.
Jack
"......our fleet manager would get us to fly at 1500' until the runway was under the nose, then taps shut and land off it."
My bet is that he was an ex-Varsity instructor. That was a standard "fun" demonstration in the Air Force. But not quite what I meant at the start of this thread when what I was really talking about is sailplane-style management of energy.
Jack
I did 'no power' flight in my last sim. (RJ100)
PA
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As one now engaged in the corpoate world, we do from time to time get the chance to practice glide approaches when joining overhead for visual approaches by setting a target of 1000 ft at 3 miles. With practice it is surprising how accurate one can get at hitting the target before stabilizing for a normal approach.
It seems to me that excepting the standby gyro, the angle of attack indicator is the least used piece of kit in our tool box nowadays - despite being the main one that we need to rely on when (God forbid) it all goes quiet.
During more mundane flights and training sessions I've witnessed crews searching manuals for holding speeds, drift down speeds, best glide speeds, ref speeds, best rate speeds, best angle speeds, and even whether they can climb a further 2000 feet at any given weight.
Do they no longer teach what the numbes on this dial actually mean, and how they may be used to provide instant and accurate answers to all of the above? I guess not..
It seems to me that excepting the standby gyro, the angle of attack indicator is the least used piece of kit in our tool box nowadays - despite being the main one that we need to rely on when (God forbid) it all goes quiet.
During more mundane flights and training sessions I've witnessed crews searching manuals for holding speeds, drift down speeds, best glide speeds, ref speeds, best rate speeds, best angle speeds, and even whether they can climb a further 2000 feet at any given weight.
Do they no longer teach what the numbes on this dial actually mean, and how they may be used to provide instant and accurate answers to all of the above? I guess not..
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Lore has it that Bob Pearson made a good guess at the best-glide-speed of a 767-200--the Gimli Glider--and came up with 220 knots IAS. I don't know if he looked it up or not, but the legend is that it was "because he was a glider pilot."
Why, forgodsakes, do they always call sailplane pilots "glider pilots"? Gliders go down. Sailplanes go up.
Why, forgodsakes, do they always call sailplane pilots "glider pilots"? Gliders go down. Sailplanes go up.
I have never understood why An AOA guage with indexes at useful points such as best glide / min drag is not required and installed as standard in all aircraft.
The only transport aircraft I have seen with this installed was on a Delta 767.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that Dal has a large number of ex Navy Pilots.
The only transport aircraft I have seen with this installed was on a Delta 767.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that Dal has a large number of ex Navy Pilots.
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I had training in glide approaches in the A320 Sim, as well as the CRJ, using a simple "double altitude for distance" formula on both models. You can actually get the FD to capture the LOC, while handflying the descent. Works well.
In my 7 years on the A340 we never did this, but as it only flies by a little device called the "Improbability drive", one doesn't need it anyways.
Nic
PS: There is no actual guage, but a digital way to get the read-out of the AOA-probes on the CRJ. I have been watching the numbers, but as flightschool is so long gone and I never learned how to fly on the AOAs, I would be happy if any of you guys could give me some explanation or point me to some reading to enable me to put those digits to sensible use...
In my 7 years on the A340 we never did this, but as it only flies by a little device called the "Improbability drive", one doesn't need it anyways.
Nic
PS: There is no actual guage, but a digital way to get the read-out of the AOA-probes on the CRJ. I have been watching the numbers, but as flightschool is so long gone and I never learned how to fly on the AOAs, I would be happy if any of you guys could give me some explanation or point me to some reading to enable me to put those digits to sensible use...
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Admiral, I spent 30 mins typing out a reply that may help you with AOA's for just about every eventuality in your FM, then lost the connection as I pressed to post.
PM me and I'll gladly do it again for you - but not tonight!
PM me and I'll gladly do it again for you - but not tonight!
