Hi there:I was having a discussion with a friend at the airport, and we started talking about landings. Anyways, we ended up disagreeing on the following:1. He claims that for maximum braking, a 737NG would use the RTO setting during landing. I happened to disagree, since RTO means Rejected Takeoff ONLY. So, who's right?2. He says for normal flight operations, 737NG's use full flaps (flaps 40). However, I seem to recall that you usually don't use that setting unless it's needed... For the most part you use flaps 30 as landing flap. Again, who's correct on this point?Clarification from a real pilot or someone who knows the plane well is appreciated.Daniel P.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/ng_driver.jpgMember of SJU Photography. [A HREF=http://www.jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?userid=9004]Click Here[/A] to view my aircraft photos at JetPhotos.Net!The official psychotic AA painter. :)

Hello,Real 737-200 and 737-500 driver here.1. RTO is NEVER used for landing, in fact it will not work due to the conditions required to arm it for an RTO.2. Most of the time, 737's just use flaps 30 for landing because of 2 factors. First, with certain hush-kit installations on the -200's, use of flap forty would cause an exceedance of noise abatement requirements due to higher thrust settings. Second, it is less economical to use flaps 40 due to the extra drag and fuel burns. It is only used when runway conditions preclude a normal flaps 30 landing. The VREF speed differences are minimal anyways. I have also heard pilots say that a go-around is more difficult with an engine failure when using flaps 40, again, due to the higher drag.Hope this answers your questions.Regards,Carl

Hi there,you are right, RTO won't do a thing on landing! What your friend might have meant is that RTO has the same effect (on the brakes) as full manual braking. No other autobrake setting will brake "as hard" as full manual braking.Regarding flaps, Flaps 30 is normal for long and medium runways. Flaps 40 is used for short runways (such as Funchal, Madeira)But then again it's a SOP thing!Regards,Mark

Carl:Thanks very much!! That just about does it. :)Mark:Thanks. Now, a question regarding what you said. Autobrake levels are based on a stopping distance, right? If you're coming in fast, couldn't it happen that max braking is required to stop the plane within the distance of that autobrake level?Thanks to both of you for your feedback. I knew I was right. :-lolDaniel P.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/ng_driver.jpgMember of SJU Photography. [A HREF=http://www.jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?userid=9004]Click Here[/A] to view my aircraft photos at JetPhotos.Net!The official psychotic AA painter. :)

hi Daniel,(I'm NOT a real world pilot, but I do know a little about this ;))"1. He claims that for maximum braking, a 737NG would use the RTO setting during landing. I happened to disagree, since RTO means Rejected Takeoff ONLY. So, who's right?" - The RTO setting is ONLY used prior to Take off. for Maximum braking MAX is used, but usually 2-4 is used depending on runway length and if the runway is WET(3-4) or DRY(2-3)"2. He says for normal flight operations, 737NG's use full flaps (flaps 40). However, I seem to recall that you usually don't use that setting unless it's needed... For the most part you use flaps 30 as landing flap. Again, who's correct on this point?" - Flaps 40 is only used on limeted runway lenght, you don't need to stop the plane 1/3 down the runway. Flaps 30 and autobrakes 2 or 3 is what normally used, but if rain, snow etc or lim. runway flaps 40 and autobrakes 3-max depending on runway lenght.(looks like I'm not fast enught)regards, Martin

And lets not forget that a 737 NG 600 is not a 900 NG, you cannot apply flaps and braking req for each type. While it's true flaps 30 is somewhat a norm for the 600-700 on the 800-900 NGs I often see flaps 40 as a norm for landing. Of course what Mark touched upon regarding SOPs comes into play here. On the larger NGs, flaps 40 gives a few more inches clearance on landing... Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4][h3]P M D G's 747-400[/h3][h4]coming to a runway near you[/h4][/font color]Caution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)AMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | Maxtor 6Y080M0 SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 | Windows Xp Pro | Windows Xp Pro 64 |

Funchal is quite a long runway nowadays, and the added possibility for severe turbulence and windshear there would sometimes make flaps 30 landings a must.For a -600/-700, the difference between VREF30 and VREF40 is usually 2 or 3 knots. For an -800/-900, this may be as much as 8 knots. RTO = equivalent of maximum manual braking.Autobrakes MAX = less than maximum manual braking.Enjoy,Iz

DanielAutobrakes are based on deceleration rates. It includes the total braking action i.e. brakes plus any thrust reversing. So if bno thrust reversing is used the brakes haas to do some more work to continue the same deceleration rate.Below are the different settings:Setting Pressure Deceleration Available 1 1250 4 ft/sec

Someone mentioned snow on the runway would suggest a higher brake setting... I would have thought the oppisite.I know they have anti lock brakes, but, landing on a snowy runway you aren't going to get much brake pressure without locking up anyway (and locking up would turn the plane into a very expensive and heavy dinner tray sleugh), so the autobrakes won't be able to meet their required decelleration targets, unless you are using reversers.Just a thought.Besides, as I understand it, using autobrake MAX or RTO or full manual and no reversers is expensive, delays flights, costs in new brakes, tyres and a complete check up of the LG systems and hydrulics. Do a few too many without good reason and you are bound to be sacked for being a prat.