speedbrakes pre-takeoff checks question - Attention Pil...

[Guest noflyzone]

greetingson a recent flight from CYYC to CYYZ on a 321-200, i noticed that during the pre-takeoff checks, only 3 of the 4 speedbrakes raised, indicated by position below:[ OK ] [ X ] [ OK ] [ OK ]The one that didn't is marked with an "X". I observed this on the right wing from my seat.During the approach, when slowing down, all 4 raised normally, and then the captain raised the first 3 and not the last one.Back on the ground, the captain did a check, and again, only the1st, 3rd and 4th came up.I asked the captain, and he said this was normal condition for on ground status.Can any Airbus pilot or someone comment WHY on pre-takeoff is the normal test condition only to raise the 1st, 3rd and 4th ?Also, is it possible to raise/lower the speedbrakes in any combination? As I indicated above, during the descent, he raised the ones in position 1,2,3 but not the 4th.Thanks!!!Michael

[Guest Phoenix_7]

proper speedbrake ground operation is not possible in FSJohn PSS SUPPORTsupport@phoenix-simulation.co.ukhttp://www.avsim.com/pss/phoenix.jpg

[Guest noflyzone]

Hello,this question pertains to the real aircraft - would any real Airbus captains know ?cheers,-mike

[Allan Burek 3]

Hello Mike,On the real A318/319/320/321 aircraft there are 5 spoiler panels. On the ground all 5 will raise, however the speed brake operation is limited to spoilers 2,3 and 4 (counted 1-5 from the inboard going outward on both wings)w while in-flight. However, if one spoiler on one wing fails, the corresponding spoiler is locked out automatically to maintain symmetry. I hope this helps. Allan Burek

[Guest noflyzone]

Allan,Please see photo below/attached.In any case, on the ground, as per my initial post, the only spoilers raised (starting inboard going outward) were:Position 1: UP Position 2: DOWN Position 3: UP Position 4: UP Position 5: DOWNDuring the STAR approach, he was slowing down and had the first 4 all UP (raised). #5 never changed position.On the ground again, he did a test, and we were back to the original,So I am making a conclusion that the on-ground test condition is:Position 1: UP Position 2: DOWN Position 3: UP Position 4: UP Position 5: DOWNOr was this simply a matter of personal choice for the captain and he was electing to do a pre-takeoff check without raising spoiler#2 ?The captain said this was normal, btw.cheers,Mikehttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/109679.jpg

[Allan Burek 3]

Mike,This query forced me to look up the system at work (I am a technician for JetBlue Airways). Something in what you said happened there isnt right. In the air, only 234 will raise when used as speedbrakes, 2345 will raise partially in the air when used as an aid for roll which is normal, and on the ground all will raise. You cannot select what individual spoilers you want up or down, unless you select a particluar hydraulic system off. In this case, both 2 and 4 spoiler are controlled by the same hydraulic system. So if you lost pressure, 2 and 4 would be inhibited. My guess is that if he did some test after landing (taxiing back to the gate?), then he/she knew something is not right there. Something of note though, certain computer failures will inhibit certain spoiler panels from coming up, so there may be something that the captain wasnt telling you. What airline was it that you flew, just for my own curiosity.

[Guest noflyzone]

B6679,I won't mention the airline by name, but let's just say a large canadian gov't owned carrier :-) Mind you, i thought he must be right because if it had been a different position on the ground after arrival vs. departure, there would be a mismatch and obviously something wrong.Since, the positions matched, (1 & 3 Raised) and the fact that all 4 had raised during the approach, then i assumed he was right.Very interesting you mention only 2,3,4 will raise for speedbrakes during flight, because as I said, 1-4 were ALL raised. Since you say all 2-5 could be raised as an aid for roll, maybe he was testing them all because I had told him about the "issue". I am not sure.After I deboarded the aircraft, he said 1+3 UP on the ground was normal. Thanks for the insight though..i guess we will have no clue unless an A321 pilot can confirm what exactly is going oncheers-mike

[Guest noflyzone]

Further to add to this confusion - why is it on the PSS A330, there are 5 speedbrakes: (i've labelled them)http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/109996.jpgHowever in photos of the A321 (including the one I flew on), there are4:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/109997.jpgIs that a difference between the A330 and A321 ?In any case, the aircraft that I flew one is the real wing photo above and had only "4".cheersMike

[Allan Burek 3]

Mike,There are 5 brakes on an A321. See the attached pic. As far as the A330, thats an FS model, and as was said before, there are certain real-life features that arent possible in FS.The A330 is different because of the larger wing.