use of "route 2"

[Guest]

Hello everyone!One question came to my mind the other day about route 2,as I almost never use it...I m sure it depends on each airlines SOP, but what do you most usually store in this secondary route: during cockpit preparation, do you store an immediate return to the departure airport (or takeoff alternate!),or the possible departure from an other runway,when applicable?And then later,let's say when passing FL100, do you "copy the routes" as a back-up?Then when preparing the descent,do you store an other possible approach? or the diverting plan to the alternate?Or do you simply store the elements of the next leg?Thanks a lot...catIIIdual (LFPG)

[Guest Iz]

Hmm there's no real SOP about RTE 2 in our company. Sometimes when we're going for a quick turnaround at the outstation, I'll punch in the return route in RTE 2 during the first flight.The thing with RTE 2 is that you have to be alert that you don't activate it by mistake and have the airplane turn in the wrong direction all of a sudden. It happens to every pilot once in a while, since the 757/767 FMC reacts quite slowly (like a Commodore 64), I'll be 2 entries ahead, punching everything in and you happen to execute or select the wrong thing.So do with it what you want :)Iz

[Guest anthonyj]

With Australian airports (read Sydney KSA) being so flippant about runway allocation I use route 2 every time I fly to store the second most likely STAR/Runway combination, and would wind up activating it about 20% of the time! My record is four runway changes at KSA between Melbourne and Sydney as a front went through.Generally guys load the same standard route in route 2 that is loaded in route 1 incase route 1 is accidentally corrupted, to load any possible diversion, or as I described above.