New Dangers of Flying Near Empty Airplanes.

At my employer crew messages (sort of like email) have gone out warning us to be careful, but I think the article overstates the overall risk out there because of it.
 
I totally agree. I mean who wants to read an article about company pilots getting a message to be careful....:lol:

Heh! Touché! :p
 
I have a friend that started IOE at Spirit in the midst of all this, and had to learn to land an empty airbus. He said even the training captains he was flying with were having issues.
 
I have a friend that started IOE at Spirit in the midst of all this, and had to learn to land an empty airbus. He said even the training captains he was flying with were having issues.

Well that's a new definition for a "light twin"...
 
It can defiantly screw with your landing technique! The CRJ wants to float badly when it’s empty. You get use to a certain amount of kinetic energy that all of a sudden isn’t there anymore to help you. As 95%+ of your flights are 75% or more full.

In a 700/900 I always used the weight to help flare when I cut power at 30’. When it’s empty it takes more of a pull to get the ass end down. However, if you ain’t careful you’ll slam the main gear into the runway as they’re further behind the pivot point then you think.

The main issue at my previous airline was guys flying the 200 for several legs then ending their day in a 900. Hard landings were common due to crew forgetting to flare the 900. In the reverse direction we had issues with crews almost stalling out the 200 on climb out or on approach.
 
Years ago when my primary instructor was a ramp rat for Texas International (I am dating myself somewhat, but I remember when they were TransTexas as well), you could in some of the shorter bodied DC-9's that were unloaded get three or four guys to stand in the rear of the cabin and get it to rotate back enough to raise the nose gear off the ground.
 
Think almost everyone remembers how quickly their first solo climbed once they offloaded the weight in the right seat.
In fact, I soloed at BJC and the fact that my instructor got out wasn't lost on ATC. As I'm turning crosswind the tower calls and says "Doesn't it fly a lot better without that fat guy in the right seat."
 
In fact, I soloed at BJC and the fact that my instructor got out wasn't lost on ATC. As I'm turning crosswind the tower calls and says "Doesn't it fly a lot better without that fat guy in the right seat."

My tower did the same thing on solo, and it was double funny as my CFI was a recently retired controller from the same airport! "Flies a lot better without Ray in the right seat, huh?" lol
 
Every time I see this headline I think of ghost ships. I know that COVID has disrupted air travel but I don’t think that there are empty airplanes flying about presenting dangers to the rest of us. Can someone please fix the headline for me.

New Dangers of Flying Near-Empty Airplanes.

Thanks,
Your local grammar pedant
 
Every time I see this headline I think of ghost ships. I know that COVID has disrupted air travel but I don’t think that there are empty airplanes flying about presenting dangers to the rest of us. Can someone please fix the headline for me.

New Dangers of Flying Near-Empty Airplanes.

Thanks,
Your local grammar pedant

Hyphen coupled compound adjectives are grammatically considered as one unit.

The words in a compound adjective (a single adjective made up of two or more words) can be linked together by hyphens to show they are one grammatical unit (i.e., one multi-word adjective). For example:
  • I have sent you a three-page summary.
    (The words in the compound adjective "three-page" are linked with a hyphen to show they are part of the same adjective.)
Why Should I Care about Compound Adjectives?

Punctuating compound adjectives correctly will not only showcase your writing skills but also help your readers to absorb your words more easily. When a compound adjective is not grouped to show it's one grammatical unit, it can cause your readers' scan to stutter momentarily as they group the words into a single entity themselves.

It follows that your interpretation of the compound adjective as two separate words, one an adverb and the other an adjective which change the meaning of the headline, is incorrect.

Thanks,

Your local grammatically knowledgeable non-pedant.
 
Last edited:
Hyphen coupled compound adjectives are gramatically considered as one unit.

The words in a compound adjective (a single adjective made up of two or more words) can be linked together by hyphens to show they are one grammatical unit (i.e., one multi-word adjective). For example:
  • I have sent you a three-page summary.
    (The words in the compound adjective "three-page" are linked with a hyphen to show they are part of the same adjective.)
Why Should I Care about Compound Adjectives?

Punctuating compound adjectives correctly will not only showcase your writing skills but also help your readers to absorb your words more easily. When a compound adjective is not grouped to show it's one grammatical unit, it can cause your readers' scan to stutter momentarily as they group the words into a single entity themselves.

It follows that your interpretation of the compound adjective as two separate words, an adverb and an adjective which change the meaning of the headline, is incorrect.

Thanks,

Your local grammatically knowledgeable non-pedant.


Just use the correct word to start. "Nearly empty" would be perfectly clear.
 
Back
Top