Brake Cooling A320
I’m new to the Airbus, having previously flown Boeing and other types.
Since there is no brake cooling table, is there a particular technique to work out whether I should be landing with max reverse to limit brake temps? I want to use idle reverse as much as possible but I don’t want the brakes to be amber by the time I push back / reach the runway.
For info: Our fleet DOES NOT have brake fans and the turnaround times vary from 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Since there is no brake cooling table, is there a particular technique to work out whether I should be landing with max reverse to limit brake temps? I want to use idle reverse as much as possible but I don’t want the brakes to be amber by the time I push back / reach the runway.
For info: Our fleet DOES NOT have brake fans and the turnaround times vary from 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Wether to use max reverse is a judgment call. If you’re looking at a short runway, heavy aircraft (medium auto brake/flap full), and a 45 min turn, then max reverse will help the brakes.
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Jonty, I had a similar experience to you for the best part of 15 years. Then it happened. Where I least expected it. Smaller airports with short runways actually give us better control over managing hot brakes. Ludicrous airport layouts like Barcelona where you can be parked on the far side of the airport only to then have to taxi around the entire perimeter of the airport before you can depart (runway crossings not allowed) are the real culprit. 10 brake applications from 30-10 Kts (our company doesn't allow single engine taxi out) on a 30 degree day without brake fans will give you hot brakes at line up.
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I wait until 70kts, especially in places like Vegas. Reverser to idle, feet on the brakes simultaneously. Works great every time. In fact, this past Sunday, we were landing 26L in Vegas when the tower asked us to exit at A6 instead of A7 since they flew a 737 of an airline with a widget on its tail right up our butt. I applied the brakes at 70kts, and even though I did so somewhat more robustly than normal, they never went above 200C. It was +37C outside.
If you're landing somewhere long enough to have the luxury of delaying brake application until 70 knots then brake cooling is never going to be an issue anyway. Try landing in 1900m and get back to me.
Jonty, I had a similar experience to you for the best part of 15 years. Then it happened. Where I least expected it. Smaller airports with short runways actually give us better control over managing hot brakes. Ludicrous airport layouts like Barcelona where you can be parked on the far side of the airport only to then have to taxi around the entire perimeter of the airport before you can depart (runway crossings not allowed) are the real culprit. 10 brake applications from 30-10 Kts (our company doesn't allow single engine taxi out) on a 30 degree day without brake fans will give you hot brakes at line up.
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Sounds like LGA to me. Same technique, except when landing a heavy 321, in which case it's medium autobrakes until the reverser rev up, then autobrakes off until 70kts then feet on the brakes again. Won't keep them under 200C, but under 300C-350C for sure. By the time we deplane 228 people and board up another 228, things will have cooled down nicely.
Sounds like LGA to me. Same technique, except when landing a heavy 321, in which case it's medium autobrakes until the reverser rev up, then autobrakes off until 70kts then feet on the brakes again. Won't keep them under 200C, but under 300C-350C for sure. By the time we deplane 228 people and board up another 228, things will have cooled down nicely.
