by expat » Mon Nov 06, 2006 6:40 pm
Having flown three times ;D in the jump seat of a 737-800 over the weekend (perks of the job) all approaches where made at 140 kts flaps 40 when the aircraft was full and once a 125 kts flaps 40 when it was about 1/3 full or 2/3 empty depending on your view.
As for thrust reverse, normally the pilot will wait until the aircraft has all three gears on the ground. The throttle is generally retarded to idle at about the 10 feet call out and the aircraft then uses residual momentum for that last couple of seconds. The 737 does however have a trick up it's sleeve.
If the rad alt senses that the aircraft is off the ground, but at less than 10 feet of altitude, the pilot can, if he wants to activate the thrust reverse whilst still in the air.
How much thrust reverse is used depends on all up weight, length of runway and runway surface conditions. The pilot may choose to use anything from thrust reverse at idle power to slamming the anchors on. Regardless of what he uses, it is of very little use below 90 kts and always stowed at no less than 60 kts. One last thing about thrust reverse, it will not stop the aircraft quicker or in a shorter distance than the brakes. Its main use is to lengthen the life of the aircraft brakes by relieving the amount of work they have to do in the initial slowing phase. They are very expensive and, trust me, very, very heavy.
Matt
"A bit of a pickle" - British translation: A catastrophically bad situation with potentially fatal consequences.
PETA
People Eating Tasty Animals.
B1 (Cat C) licenced engineer, Boeing 737NG 600/700/800/900 Airbus A318/19/20/21 and Dash8 Q-400
1. Captain, if the problem is not entered into the technical logbook.........then the aircraft does not have a problem.
2. And, if you have time to write the fault on a napkin and attach to it to the yoke.........you have time to write it in the tech log....see point 1.
?? It would seem to me that it might slam the nosewheel down if applied prior to allowing the NWheel to touch the ground ?? I am just a private pilot . I also wonder about what the initial ROC is for a 737 approx. 
