Airbus Pilots thread....

Kritchlow

Final Approach
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Kritchlow
I know a few of us here fly the Bus.
I thought it may be beneficial to start a thread about some of the quirkiness about the airplane.
Perhaps we can learn from each other.

My mystery.... the aircraft floats. I start my flare about thirty feet and walk of the thrust levers about 20. I barely make the touchdown zone. I have tried chopping the thrust levers but that makes for a firm landing.

Please add your thoughts on that or an other issues.
 
I thought the ‘scare-bus’ was so easy to land pilots were bidding off due to lack of a challenge? There was a video meme to that message floating around.

Come to think of it, I did meet a F/A who said her bones were hurt from an Airbus landing.

Get below 10’, power off, don’t balloon. The worst place to be is high & out of energy, mind the gust.

Of course, what the heck do I know.
 
The neo has a little more residual thrust (big n1 fan) and less drag (sharklets) but I wouldn’t say it was an unusual floater.. I bring the power back when Fifi says; 20’ or so and it settles. The 321 rears it’s nose up when the spoilers pop so needs more positive forward stick but all the Narrow Body Busses are very benign... even with all the magic off.
For non AB drivers it’s a very forgiving airframe and the FbW stuff isn’t there to mask any ugly aero tendencies..
If you’re not happy with landing technique call CS and ask to fly with an LCA; most operators will be happy to help someone who wants a technique polished.
I still tell myself ‘Eyes to the end of the runway’ and cue off the RA calls cadence.
The most common gotcha i see is the approach phase either activating too early or not at all... manage speed... hello 250
 
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Hmmm Airline pilots talking about how to land an airplane. It never ends
 
I’ve found that the technique Varys with both model and engine the sharklet with iae’s lands different than a sharklet with cfms. And a sharklet and non sharklet with the same engines land differently. Then sometimes it just does what it wants anyway.
 
I don't know about any plane that critiques the pilot's landing by calling him a retard.

Boeing products do too - they’re just kind enough to not say it out loud. :p

7563ACF4-EF5E-402B-BDC8-99043118B3EF.jpeg
 
Jordan
The first Retard call is a verb. The second a noun. Come over here and try one on for size....
 
Jordan
The first Retard call is a verb. The second a noun. Come over here and try one on for size....
Maybe if the DGI doesn’t work out. I want to try avoid commuting at all costs. Got my app at Delta and United but haven’t heard anything. I’m going to do JetBlue as well.
 
Maybe if the DGI doesn’t work out. I want to try avoid commuting at all costs. Got my app at Delta and United but haven’t heard anything. I’m going to do JetBlue as well.
If you get on with the airlines either commuter or major you WILL end up commuting sooner or later!
 
I thought the ‘scare-bus’ was so easy to land pilots were bidding off due to lack of a challenge? There was a video meme to that message floating around.

Come to think of it, I did meet a F/A who said her bones were hurt from an Airbus landing.

Get below 10’, power off, don’t balloon. The worst place to be is high & out of energy, mind the gust.

Of course, what the heck do I know.
Right. Thanks for the thoughtful input. I
 
I’ve found that the technique Varys with both model and engine the sharklet with iae’s lands different than a sharklet with cfms. And a sharklet and non sharklet with the same engines land differently. Then sometimes it just does what it wants anyway.
So true...
 
My mystery.... the aircraft floats. I start my flare about thirty feet and walk of the thrust levers about 20. I barely make the touchdown zone. I have tried chopping the thrust levers but that makes for a firm landing.

It’s been 22 years and 2 types since I flew the ‘Bus last so take this for what it’s worth.

30 feet is where I started the flare in the 777. That is too high for the Bus. I think closer to 10 worked for me.

If I understand what you mean by chopping the throttles, I think that may be too aggressive. The throttles must be at idle when you touch down. Don’t get too aggressive with the reduction as long as thrust is at idle before touchdown.

I think those things will help with landing in the touchdown zone. Being on speed helps also. A few knots above target speed makes a noticeable difference.
 
A question I never thought about, when you get the 30 20 10 altitude warnings, what part of the plane is 0? The landing gear bottom makes sense, but how does it know how far off the ground it is? Sonar on the body calibrated with the gear length distance?
 
Are you guys using foreflight or garmin pilot?
My operator has approval for Foreflight; with the Stratus for ADSB inflight Wx. Our onboard radar is absolutely amazing; -Honewell RDR4000.
Our primary Chart Application is JeppFD Pro; its used by every airline in the US I've been on. Theres some tech from Foreflight moving into FDPro X, but hopefully with Boeing owning both Jepp and Foreflight now they'll focus on Foreflight....
 
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A question I never thought about, when you get the 30 20 10 altitude warnings, what part of the plane is 0? The landing gear bottom makes sense, but how does it know how far off the ground it is? Sonar on the body calibrated with the gear length distance?
There's a Radar Altimeter on most jets, generally calibrated to read zero when the Aircraft is level on the ground. This video is great for learning what all the bits hanging off the Bus do:
The RAs are an integral part of the landing logic on both Boeing & Airbus; and feed into other systems too...
 
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I thought the ‘scare-bus’ was so easy to land pilots were bidding off due to lack of a challenge?

Depends upon what "scare-bus" you're talking about. I actually find the A330 to be the easiest airplane I've ever landed. I've never flown the little bus, so I can't speak to that. Ha, not sure why people would leave a plane for a "lack of challenge." I'd much rather have less of a challenge with this gig. If I want a challenge I'll go fly a tailwheel on a windy day lol.

If you get on with the airlines either commuter or major you WILL end up commuting sooner or later!

Mostly true...some are just more lucky than others. I've commuted for a total of 3 months with 3 different airlines and have friends that have been in the airline industry over 15 years who have never commuted. Depends on where you live and your ability/desire to relocate.

30 feet is where I started the flare in the 777. That is too high for the Bus. I think closer to 10 worked for me.

I think those things will help with landing in the touchdown zone. Being on speed helps also. A few knots above target speed makes a noticeable difference.

This! On the 330, I break the descent at 50 feet and the flare at 30 feet. If I'm on speed, power slowly to idle at 30 or slightly before (rare to hear "retard"). Even a few knots fast and the power can come back much sooner. I've never flown the 320 but 30 feet seems pretty high to flare for that plane.
 
It’s been 22 years and 2 types since I flew the ‘Bus last so take this for what it’s worth.

30 feet is where I started the flare in the 777. That is too high for the Bus. I think closer to 10 worked for me.

If I understand what you mean by chopping the throttles, I think that may be too aggressive. The throttles must be at idle when you touch down. Don’t get too aggressive with the reduction as long as thrust is at idle before touchdown.

I think those things will help with landing in the touchdown zone. Being on speed helps also. A few knots above target speed makes a noticeable difference.
Thanks for the insight, Greg. Autoland actually starts the flare at 40 feet. I would be a bit queasy to start at 10 feet, but will explore that option. Thank you.
 
A question I never thought about, when you get the 30 20 10 altitude warnings, what part of the plane is 0? The landing gear bottom makes sense, but how does it know how far off the ground it is? Sonar on the body calibrated with the gear length distance?
Good question, but I’m guessing gear. That’s because when on ground it reads at “0”
 
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