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kmanning

Very High Vertical Speed When Using VNAV

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Sorry to bring up this old thread, but I couldnt resist..I believe many of older simmers know Mel Ott, aka Captain Tarmack, and he learned me a lot of the 747-400. He was a few years ago retiring.He started with a DC3, worked all the way up to the -400. For NWA.But, I recall some of his words:The 747-400 can ALMOST outclimb a F16 when light, she has an tremendous climb rate then. One NEEDS to derate to tame her.Never, bet never trust VNAV, he said. He used VS more than VNAV because of the problems. Even the Boeing manual I have gives some Boeing notams on the VNAV.So, while automated, just aviate, check, and intervene when needed.I hope you all read this..A Long Term Love Affair with a Big Hunk of Aluminum!By Mel OttWhen any airplane can give a 58 year old pilot GOOSEBUMPS by simply flying over his head, you do have a work of art!!!A 747 can hardly be called beautiful, when compared to the Lear, or the Grumman Gulfstream, or even the venerable DC3. However, she is a massive airplane that really put the meaning into "The Aluminum Overcast." This airplane, due to its size, "tricks" the mind while watching it fly an approach that seems to be way too slow for physical flight.While flying at 160 knots it looks like it is flying at a 80 knots. While landing at that same 160 knot speed, to the pilot, in the cockpit, it looks as if he is landing an airplane only traveling at 60 knots due to his almost 8 story height above the runway at touchdown. Most 747 pilots refer to the 747 as just a "Big Ol Piper Cub"!With FOUR HUNDRED TONS OF AIRPLANE under his seat belt/shoulder harness, the pilot can use finger tip pressure to change her direction. While in "shirt sleeve" comfort for hours on end, that same airplane is plying her way through temperatures of minus 70 degrees or below and that at times, can cold soak her fuel in the tanks to temperatures that threaten to "gel" that fuel and turn it into slush rather than a burnable liquid.After a 12 hour ocean crossing with over 400 passengers on board, it can "loiter" for another hour or two, in a holding pattern at the destination

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