Hi, I have been watching some FSX movies that people have posted, and I notice that people seem to apply Reverse thrust the exact moment when the main landing gears touch down. Is that the correct proceedure? Im sure that some airlines differ, but I would think that a pilot would wait until the nose gear is down before applying.Just wondering about that, and what you (as an airline pilot) would have to say about this subject.Thank you,Rich

Any significant thrust reverse can only be commanded after all wheels or on the ground - this is due to the fact that nose wheel steering is important for countering any yaw due to asymmetric thrust. However it doesn't mean that thrust reverser can't be first deployed right after the main wheel touch down as a first step. What you probably see on those movies is the moment reversers are deployed and not how much reverse thrust is actually commanded.

I'm not a real pilot, but I play one on Microsoft.If you're flying the Pilatus Porter -- and if you have good enough headphones to pretty much block out the screaming of your passengers -- you just line things up on final, cross the fence, point the nose down at a 45-degree angle, and throw that big ol' prop into reverse pitch. A moment before augering in you flair out nicely and pretend it's all normal. The deceleration, when you're pointed down 45 degrees with the prop in reverse pitch, supposedly throws you against your chest harness quite noticably.(This is OT to the origional issue, but I can't help including it: For a maximum performance takeoff, just spool up the engine fully while standing on the brakes, then pull the stick all the way back and let go the brakes. The main gear lifts off in a few feet and the aircraft rotates on the tailwheel, rolling along like that for a few feet till the tailwheel lifts off too, then climbs in a pitch-up attitude straight out of any normal pilot's worst nightmare. A remarkable airplane, the Porter!)http://ernst-rolf.com/Pages/ernstPages/Pilatus.htmSnippits:Beta is one of three propeller conditions; with Forward and Reverse thrust are the other two. In Beta, the Porter's huge prop is set at +30 minutes of blade angle which (for reasons too detailed to go into here) results in the generation of a substantial component of reverse thrust whilst in flight. In a "Beta Landing", you fly at circuit height until the landing point disappears under the nose (in fact, you wait until a point abeam the landing point can be seen next to the turbine exhaust on the cowl). At this point you pull the prop into Beta, drop the nose steeply until the windscreen is full of earth, and you ride it down to the landing point like a carnival ride at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. You only flare at the bottom of the dive just late enough to get to the aircraft into a three-wheel attitude just before touching down. The other take-off option - extreme performance - is to simply wind up full power on brakes holding full aft stick, then releasing the brakes whilst continuing to hold full aft stick. In this case, the mains will lift first and the tailwheel will still be on the ground. The aircraft pivots on the tailwheel and rotates: this is what these aircraft will actually do.

When you watch real videos the reversers are started sometimes and on some planes before the nose gear touches down. When the mains hit you are still steering with the rudder. It is probably just one of those things. I don't think you want to wait too long incase the nose takes too long to hit. Uses a lot of runway. That is one thing I like about the LDS767. In the virtual flight deck just after the mains hit, you put the reverser's on and you can see the nose of the craft comming down. It would still do this withoout the reversers but it is the neatest thing to see. Reversers on and nose comming down. Would be the same in the PMDG I guess but I don't own it. JimCYWG

Hello,From there you can have some explainations and also links to explore (Airbus 320) for reverses in RLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAM_Airlines_Flight_3054Regards.Gus.

When I flew US Airways' 73' sim in Charlotte, the instructor failed an engine after V1. On the approach after the failed engine, I had full control with no autopilot and no autobrakes due to lack of that hydraulic system on the failed engine. I was told to apply reverse thrust as soon as possible, and I did. I had full reverse and heavy breaking before the nose gear ever touched the ground. It's pretty common to open the buckets/cascades before the nose touches, anyway.--Was a very nice landing in the sim, if I must say so; my other pilot friend was there to witness :(

Boeing thrust reversers are controlled by several switches that all receive information from the throttle quadrant. First the reversers commanded unlocked at the quadrant. This signal is sent to squat switches on the main gear. Once these squat switches are sensing the main gear is on the ground, it provides a closed circuit to the Quadrant, and the levers on the quadrant send the signal to the rest of the system, regarding reversers deployed or stowed, and engine rpm. When the Reverser levers are returned to the normal operating position, for forward thrust, the engines are already spooling or have spooled down to idle, the reversers are stowed, and the lock switches are engaged to prevent inadvertant deployment.This is a simplified look at the reverser system, I know, but one would have to open up the maintenance manual or the ops manual for a full explaination of what all is involved. Hope this gives you an idea how it works anyway.John

The practice of using reversers on touchdown of the main gear became more common place (especially for heavies) after the Air France A340 Crash up in Toronto CA in 2005, when it ran off the runway on landing during a T-Storm. Take a look at FlightLevel350.com videos and you can see. On some of the lighter aircraft like a 737 you may not see it all the time, but on heavy aircraft like the 747, you'll see it more often than not.

I hit the reversers and spoilers/speedbrakes on touchdown of the mains and cut the reversers at 60 KIAS to avoid FOD (Foreign Object Damage) due to reverse thrust kicking up debris and the ingestion of such. $$$!

Hi, I have been watching some FSX movies that people have posted, and I notice that people seem to apply Reverse thrust the exact moment when the main landing gears touch down. Is that the correct proceedure? Im sure that some airlines differ, but I would think that a pilot would wait until the nose gear is down before applying.Just wondering about that, and what you (as an airline pilot) would have to say about this subject.Thank you,Rich

Rich:There is no 'procedure' as to when you can apply reverse thrust and how much reverse thrust to engage. Once the aircrafts weight is placed on the main gear you can apply as much thrust as you want (no, steering is not an issue and asymetric thrust has nothing to do with it unless one of your engines is out or you are applying reverse thrust only to one engine for some reason).Since each landing scenario is different, it is up to you, the PIC to decide when and how much reverse thrust to apply. For instance, you if are landing at KLGA or DCA, I would highly recommend you apply reverse thrust as soon as possible and don't be stingy with it either. Then again, if you are landing at KDEN or another airport with really long runways, you may not need reverse thrust at all. Additionally, Tower may order you to turn off before a certain intersection or crossing runway and you will need to apply breaking and reverse thrust as needed to comply no matter how long or short the runway happens to be. Or it just might be the last flight of the day and you guys want to get to the hotel ASAP and you want to make a certain taxiway because its the shortest path to the gate and drinks at the hotel bar.It also depends on aircrft too. For instance at Continental Express the ERJs now use as little reverse thrust as is necessary (none at all is ideal) and let the brakes do the job which saves fuel and wear and tear on the engines which is more expensive to replace than brakes.The bottom line is that YOU are the PIC therefore YOU decide how to utilize the reverse thrust to meet your needs at the end of your flight since each flight is unique.HTH.

When reversing is used in the C-130, we have to wait until the nosewheels are on the ground. But, if you look, you can find many airliners with their thrust reversers deployed prior to nose touchdown.