Ask the Q400 pilot a question.....

[utd4life 5]

Hello guys, another quick question.

 

I have noticed on takeoff, if I advance the power levers forward too quickly, the FADEC doesn't always kick in and the powers shoot all the way to max instead of stopping at the takeoff power. The same happened yesterday on a go-around, is this something that happens in real life, or am I doing something wrong?

This only happens if I push my throttle lever straight up instead of doing it a bit more slow and gentle, similar to the way you would in say an Airbus where you set 40% n1

Many thanks,

Dan

When I say overshoot takeoff power, I mean it shoots passed 90% and goes into the red

[Airline2Sim 489]

We configured the levers to have the top of the throttle axis stop at 90% as in the real world you'd only use Max power in the event of losing an engine. I can't remember exactly how we did it but I can go into the control panel and post up a screenie later. 

[utd4life 5]

We configured the levers to have the top of the throttle axis stop at 90% as in the real world you'd only use Max power in the event of losing an engine. I can't remember exactly how we did it but I can go into the control panel and post up a screenie later. 

 

That would be great, thanks

[utd4life 5]

Hello again,

 

I was hoping someone could explain to me how wind speeds are taken into account for takeoff and landing. Say for example if we had a departure with winds 120 @ 12 knots gusting to 30 knots, and a landing with the same wind speeds, how would this be implemented onto the takeoff and landing speeds?

 

Many thanks,

 

Dan

[utd4life 5]

Sorry guys, another question from me regarding winds again. What is the maximum cross wind landing for the Dash, and is this figure the solid wind speed, or is it also the gust?

 

Many thanks :-) And sorry for all the questions, just wanting to learn as much as I can about this beautiful aircraft!

[bbilly05 3]

Hello again,

 

I was hoping someone could explain to me how wind speeds are taken into account for takeoff and landing. Say for example if we had a departure with winds 120 @ 12 knots gusting to 30 knots, and a landing with the same wind speeds, how would this be implemented onto the takeoff and landing speeds?

 

Many thanks,

 

Dan

Get the aurasim app they use in the training videos. Airline2sim own it now and for a couple of dollars you get a two year license. Just enter the airport, runway, weight, temp, pressure, wind directions and the app calculates takeoff and landing speeds. Well worth the money.

[utd4life 5]

Get the aurasim app they use in the training videos. Airline2sim own it now and for a couple of dollars you get a two year license. Just enter the airport, runway, weight, temp, pressure, wind directions and the app calculates takeoff and landing speeds. Well worth the money.

 

Hi there, Yes I do use the AURASIM App, great piece of Kit! I was unsure whether this software took into account the wind speeds, and also as you can not implement wind gusts into this software, I was wondering how I would implement the gust?

 

Many Thanks :-)

[Airline2Sim 489]

The wind speeds are taken into account for the takeoff calculations so put those in as they appear from Aurasim.

 

Airlines differ in their SOP for calculating Vref for landing and it can get fairly complicated. It's common to add a small safety margin to Vref of up to five knots. Aurasim also does not take into account gusting winds so if they are reported (the METAR will show a G with a number after the reported wind), ie 225/20G27 then add half the amount of the gust component less the steady wind.

 

So the example above 27-20=7/2=3.5. So you'd add 8-9 knots to your Vref in that case. Don't add more than 10 knots in any case.

 

Hope that helps.

[utd4life 5]

The wind speeds are taken into account for the takeoff calculations so put those in as they appear from Aurasim.

 

Airlines differ in their SOP for calculating Vref for landing and it can get fairly complicated. It's common to add a small safety margin to Vref of up to five knots. Aurasim also does not take into account gusting winds so if they are reported (the METAR will show a G with a number after the reported wind), ie 225/20G27 then add half the amount of the gust component less the steady wind.

 

So the example above 27-20=7/2=3.5. So you'd add 8-9 knots to your Vref in that case. Don't add more than 10 knots in any case.

 

Hope that helps.

Great, thanks for the info! :-)

I'm hoping landing in gusty winds will be covered somewhat in the FO version :-)

[utd4life 5]

Yet another question for you guys...... I've noticed in real life pictures of Flybe Dash 8's, that the window wipers are placed in the 'up' position and kept there. I read this this is to reduce noise in flight? I was wondering if this is true and if the wipers stay in that position for the whole flight?

 

 

Many thanks,

Dan

[Airline2Sim 489]

Great, thanks for the info! :-)

I'm hoping landing in gusty winds will be covered somewhat in the FO version :-)

 

Yes, we're doing the circle to land on the short runway at the Isle of Man as the long runway goes out of limits.

 

Yet another question for you guys...... I've noticed in real life pictures of Flybe Dash 8's, that the window wipers are placed in the 'up' position and kept there. I read this this is to reduce noise in flight? I was wondering if this is true and if the wipers stay in that position for the whole flight?

 

 

Many thanks,

Dan

 

Yes, apparently it's true. It might be one of those things that aren't approved but many crews 'just do'. We train by the book

[crosswind 825]

Sorry guys, another question from me regarding winds again. What is the maximum cross wind landing for the Dash, and is this figure the solid wind speed, or is it also the gust?

 

Many thanks :-) And sorry for all the questions, just wanting to learn as much as I can about this beautiful aircraft!

The MAX crosswind component on the Q400 is 32 knots for dry and wet, non-contaminated runways.  Contaminated runways will allow for a MAX crosswind component of 14 knots.  

 

Regarding the gust factor of reported winds, this as you know is critical is helping to determine Vref - which is based on the flap configuration from the appropriate speed card for the aircraft weight for the landing configuration.  To determine Vref in gusty wind conditions, add one-half the gust factor to the posted Vref (from the speed chart).

 

Example:

 - Posted Vref = 114 kts (based on aircraft weight and flap setting)

- Wind = 15 kts, gusting to 30 kts

 - Gust Factor = 30 kts

- One-half the Gus Factor = 15 kts

-New Vref = 129 kts

[utd4life 5]

The MAX crosswind component on the Q400 is 32 knots for dry and wet, non-contaminated runways.  Contaminated runways will allow for a MAX crosswind component of 14 knots.  

 

Regarding the gust factor of reported winds, this as you know is critical is helping to determine Vref - which is based on the flap configuration from the appropriate speed card for the aircraft weight for the landing configuration.  To determine Vref in gusty wind conditions, add one-half the gust factor to the posted Vref (from the speed chart).

 

Example:

 - Posted Vref = 114 kts (based on aircraft weight and flap setting)

- Wind = 15 kts, gusting to 30 kts

 - Gust Factor = 30 kts

- One-half the Gus Factor = 15 kts

-New Vref = 129 kts

That's great, thanks very much for the info! :-)

[SubLogical 1]

When to press APPROACH on ILS landing?

 

My understanding is that the Appr feature arms the GS and if this is correct then you shouldn't need to activate it until you're established ... ?

 

My son is a private pilot taking his IR and insists on pressing the App button before established and on more than one occasion the aircraft didn't lock on to the ILS and began "hunting" in a circle for it.

 

I got shot down in flames since I don't usually press App until I'm established on the assumption I won't need the GS until I have the ILS but apparently this is not proper procedure.

 

I've been off on ATC for several years and returning to the left seat has definitely made my purchase of Ben's great product a wise investment ...

 

What's the correct answer ... and be gentle ... I'd really like to avoid asking my son to "pass the crow"!

 

Ken 

[Airline2Sim 489]

We actually discuss this in the CATII ILS approach into Liverpool.

 

The long answer is that it depends on the clearance from ATC. If you're cleared for the ILS, then you can hit APPR which will arm both the LOC and GS and intercept both automatically. If you're cleared for the 'Localizer' then technically you should only be pressing 'NAV' and arming the LOC as descending on the GS is not part of your clearance and should be only done when instructed to do so by ATC and then pressing GS to make that happen.

 

In reality however, if on a ILS approach it's hard to see the justification for increasing your workload in this way. You must descend at the point the GS starts to bring you down and if you miss it then you'll very quickly have to throw the approach away. For 99% of ILS approaches, you can press APPR when cleared for the approach.

 

Hope that helps.