Beta Notes- London, Stansted- Single Engine Performance

[cavaricooper]

I was spending the morning testing RTOs and the AT logic when something happened that I had to share.

 

To check certain paramaters of the AT logic, I wanted to be very light so I just loaded up a small fuel load and an EMPTY ZFW.  That left me at a GW of 168.6- hardly a strain for two GE 90-110s. It was a nice morning, Wind 290 @ 11, Vis 10+ miles, No Precip, Scatttered Clouds and Temp/DP 19/7 with a pressure of 1016mb. 

 

The incredible thing is that while I sit and work out performance figures, I am immersed in a cocoon of sound that transports me from the mundane study where I "fly" into the left seat of a 777F, sitting on Cargo Stand 12, Apron A at EGSS.  Working numbers, twisting knobs, running flows and the checking pages on the ECL all work together to create for me, a place very similar to that which a line captain must know and call "the office".

 

I was using Rwy 22 at London, Stansted and after Safety Checks, CDU preflight and before starts, called for a push.  You will be very glad to know that the pushing is fantastically done (except for that ghastly voice that keeps playing over and over..... who is that anyway???     ), and a few minutes later we were on the yellow line facing North on A East and turning two.  She taxies wonderfully with tiny throttle applications at these light weights.  At heavier weights it takes only a little more- but CAUTION, JET BLAST was never more significant!  Once moving, a judicious application every now and then is enough.  A right on Hotel, select the flaps, and the single item on the BEFORE TAKEOFF ECL was done and green.  Turned onto Sierra and lit her up at S3.  S1 rolled by, and a small left had us tracking the centerline.  Started the clock, pushed for 55% N1 and pressed TOGA.  At these weights the 777F accelerates at a nose bleed inducing rate.  Boeing's marketing brochure about 0-50 times are not just Ad hype!  For added fun, whilst I did select TO2, I did not apply any assumed temp derate.  Hang on to your hat- we were flying!

 

We leveled off at 4000' quicker than it took you to read so far.  The 777F is a monster at overspeeding flaps if you're not careful.  Here, we had so much thrust, and such a pronounced trend vector, that I selected up as soon as we reached V2 + 20 and despite no toasters in the back I was horrified at the body angle I reached.  The finger-biting was short lived, as I was busier than an organist in the midst of the Tocata and Fuge in D Minor....a 4000' level off in a rocket ship isn't a calming affair!

 

Then, in a moment of madness, I decided to help reduce all that power.  I reached down and shut off fuel to Engine 2.  I got the ENG SHUTDOWN R EICAS message, along with advisories, and the X-BLD START message about N2 on the lower EICAS. The ENG IN-FLIGHT START R ECL suggested what I ought to do now....

 

 

 

I ignored it and flew cross-wind manually using the FPV- which was doing an admirable job of a Charlie Chaplin impersonation- the one where the Litle Tramp walks slightly askew!  Turning down-wind I decided I better let the AP fly for a moment while I planned my future.  We went HDG SEL, FLCH down a few hundred feet to 4000 again (I did mention I was slightly busy, right?  But for God's sake don't tell RSR! I'm wearing out the leather in his office chair...the one he keeps especially uncomfortable for Chief Pilot meetings, the one he sips coffee in, while sighing often and looking out the window, the one that has a wooden slat missing that creaks.... well anyway- that one) and I went heads down to plan the approach.

 

I worked through the ELEC HYD FUEL AIR and FCTL pages and saw that the aeroplane had done what Boeing advertizes it as capable of, systems management, as long as the moron in the front seat doesn't muck it up).  We were good to go.  I selected ILS 22, didn't bother with winds, and pressed FLCH down to 2500.  I decided on Flaps 25 (better performance (as though I might need that) on the go-around; as well as AB3 and NO reverse.  Establishing a LONG way out, I had time, and was so impressed with the handling characteristics of this aeroplane, I decided to get a few screenies for you.  Hence, the late timing of the pictures- sorry! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still, you get to see the LAND 3 Green, Rollout Armed, Flare Armed FMAs AND the pretty EICAS pictures....with the short flight ahead I ignored the fuel imbalance issue.

 

 

 

 When you warp your head around all the information you are proffered, you will get a sense of the complexities of this aeroplane.  Still, like a great wine, you know with the first taste it's superb, only identifying the multiple layers of "why" after you have lingered with it a while. 

 

Against my usual practice, I allowed the aeroplane to establish and fly, reducing to 180 and then to VREF +5 at 4DME, keeping the speed up without flap drag as long as I could.  You can see in the photos that the autopilot has done a fantastic job of keeping the right wing low, and the sailboat on the PFD is doing the Chaplin routine.  At 4 DME we bled off speed, selecting final Flap25 and as we got lower, the crab was eliminated and we touched down.  I had not selected Boards armed as I wasn't sure I was going to land the first time.  Halfway down short final, I was so taken with her that I wanted to put her down and write to you all.... so mea culpa!  Had I known how she would perform, my heart-rate would not have reached it's cardio target level

 

 

 

I disconnected AP at 80 kts and with my left hand on my tiller, the right dancing around on the MCP and Light Panel, steered her off on a high speed at a very sedate 25Kts.... AB2 would have probably been fine.

 

The more time I spend with this girl the more I marvel at her.  On the surface she is simplistic.  The 737, decades older seems much more complex to operate.  As one delves through the underlayment, and reallizes the depths of strata; of systems redundancy, load shedding, re-routing and re-configuring, one realizes that she is something special.  I sound like an stuck old Grundig Grammaphone, but this release will stand the FSX world on its ear- AGAIN- Bravo Zulu PMDG!

[Eraser74]

Thanks for sharing! Great read! Can´t wait to take this baby out for a flight!

[pinlifter]

I'm chomping at the bit to fly this masterpiece Carl. Excellent work again my friend!

[MTN1289]

Excellent reading Carl, thanks for feeding us hungry pilots. So excited for this bird.

[Aamir]

Fantastic read!

[777simmer]

Yes, thx :-) very nice read :-)

[jcomm]

I wonder if those N1 figures are consistent. I'd expect them a bit higher ( by windmill ) ? You were low  ( 2500' in the 1st shot ) and at 180 KIAS...

[Alec]

Amazing story and pictures! Thanks

 

The one thing I didn't understand is the Right Wing Low. Isn't it the proper flying technique to lower the wing of the operating Engine, to help overcome the asymmetry thrust? I of course may be totally wrong, since I don't have a real life Multi Engine Training!

[et31]

Very nice read and very excited! I will be failing both engines just to get the RAT out

[wedgantilles]

Again very nice writing, making all of us so envious and eager to fly it too

[Continental737]

What are you using to compute takeoff performance values? I know TOPCAT does not have a 777 profile.

[Chris F.]

Interesting read! I seriously can't wait to roll this aircraft out of my hangar.

[Atr1x]

Hope that it will be released soon... School starts on monday..

[tcas_climb]

Thanks for this incredible post, she really does seem like a beauty, i too would like to know how you calculate performance figures? Did they give you  a little performance calculator?

[A320FAN]

Fabulous!