JoeDiamond

On the airport diagram (Jepp 10-9A pages) you will find a value for the distance beyond threshold for the runway. That is the distance available for landing.

Don't underestimate the value of lowering the gear early to help with the energy management. When ORD is landing to the East it's common to have a tailwind down to 1000-2000 AGL combined with a speed reduction to from 210 to 180 knots while you are descending on the glide slope. It's not at all unusual to drop the gear well outside the FAF while you are still at 3000-4000 AGL. With a tailwind aloft it's often the only way you can get the airplane to slow down in a timely manner. Another common one is the RNAV visual approach to 28R at SFO. They sometimes slow you down way out from the runway and keep you high so it's not uncommon to drop the gear at 6000' MSL. The gear in the 737 causes minimal noise and vibration. It's not a big deal to throw it out early.

The only specific limitations in our flight manual are that you cannot deploy the speed brakes below 1000' RA, and you cannot extend the speed brake lever beyond the flight detent in flight. Extending the speed brakes with the flaps extended more than 10 degrees will give you "SPEED BRAKE EXTENDED" light but it's not prohibited to do so. Having said that if you need the speed brakes with the flaps at 15 you are in a bad position anyway and should probably consider going around. I often use the speed brakes with the flaps at 5 or 10 degrees, usually if I'm trying to slow down while descending.

U12.0 software is starting to show up in our fleet. It adds the RTE 2 capability among other things.

You might, emphasis on might, be able to get away with going to idle at 50' RA if you are landing flaps 15. Do that with flaps 30 and you will have a rather uncomfortable arrival. Do it with flaps 40 and the airport operations people will need to come and pick up the pieces of the airplane you left behind on the runway. With flaps 30 I usually idle the power at the 10' RA call out. With flaps 40 I carry the power a little longer and go to idle as I touch down. Each landing is a little different and you may need to carry thrust a little longer or shorter to suit your conditions for that particular landing. In any case idle thrust at 50 feet is a bad, bad idea. As for the flare, I usually start it at the 20' call. Again, you might do it a little earlier or later depending on the landing, but certainly not at 50 feet. Pay attention to the cadence of the RA call outs. After a while you get the feel of how fast the calls should come. If they are coming to rapidly you have a higher sink and need to flare earlier. If you are high and floating the calls come slower.

Everything you need is in the HUD. Your initial pitch guidance should be the TOGA line. Rotate smoothly up to the line keeping the waterline symbol in the gap to maintain heading. Don't worry about the flight director cue at this point, the TOGA line gives you all the pitch guidance you need. Once you have the airplane established in the initial climb transition to the flight director cue.

That's the TOGA line and it is your initial pitch target for rotation. You will notice a gap in the TOGA line that coincides with the heading selected on the MCP. If you rotate to put the waterline symbol into the gap in the TOGA line you are right where you want to be. I don't know about other operators but we are required to use the HUD for all takeoffs if it's operative.

Short answer, stabilized approach to 20 feet. Raise the nose slightly at the 20' RA call out. Reduce power to idle at the 10' call out. A bit simplified but it will get you in the ballpark. Make some landings using the HUD and pay attention to what the flare cue is telling you.

I should clarify my earlier statement. Our takeoff performance system handles SNA differently from other stations. The system will start off with 26K, flaps 25 and will bump up to 27K if needed for the planned payload. You will never get anything less than 26K, flaps 25 with our system at that station. Last month I ferried an empty airplane from there and it will still give your 26K/F25. It was quite the rocket on that takeoff. Yesterday's SNA-ORD flight was at the other end of the spectrum, 27K, flaps 25 with the bleeds off, and we were within 100 pounds of the runway limited weight. In my experience 27K has been the most common takeoff thrust I've used at SNA. If you get a lighter payload or are doing one of the shorter legs like PHX or DFW you can see 26K.

For what it's worth, while flaps 1 and 5 are the most common takeoff settings flaps 15 takeoffs aren't that rare, especially this time of year as the tempratures increase. Departing 9R from ORD often calls for flaps 15 if you are headed for the west coast. Takeoffs from KSNA always call for flaps 25. DCA and LGA will often use 15 or 25 for the transcon flights as you are heavy with fuel.

They are bright. Beyond that I don't know what to tell you, we don't carry light intensity meters as part of our standard equipment. The best comparison I could give would be like the high beam headlights of a newer generation car, just more of them. There is more than enough light to get the job done. As far as procedure, we turn everything on for takeoff. More lights = better, both for illumination and for increasing visibility to other aircraft.

Unless I've been missing something during my walk arounds all these years there is only one light on the nose gear. Newer airplanes have zero lights on the nose gear.

Very much so. More often then not I'll put the airplane into the attitude I know it needs to be in and let the flight director catch up with me.

I prefer the dual cue format, mainly because that's what I look at all day. Having used both I find the dual cue can be flown with more precision than the single cue. It the end it simply a matter of personal preference as both types ultimately provide the same information. As for what to do with the rudder? With the exception of takeoffs, landings, and flying with an engine out you don't do much of anything with it. As long as both engines are running you can fly the real airplane after takeoff with your feet flat on the floor and not notice much difference. It's not like a light airplane where you need to correct for adverse yaw.

The real airplane handles much better on approach and landing with flaps 30 than it does with flaps 40. There is a lateral shift in the center of lift as the flaps extend beyond 15. This combined with the roll spoilers makes the airplane less stable in roll with the flaps at 40. It's easy to get the airplane into a pilot induced oscillation in roll during a full flap approach, especially if its gusty. At my company we can land with the flaps at 15, 30, or 40. 30 is my normal go-to setting. 40 is when the runway is shorter than 7000 feet, or it's wet, or braking action is less than good, or there is a tailwind. On the really gusty days if the runway is long enough to allow it I will use flaps 15.

Use whatever flap setting your performance situation requires. My personal preference, along with the vast majority of the pilots I fly with, is to land flaps 30 if the situation allows it. Flaps 40 is recommended if the runway is less than 7000 feet, is wet or you have a tailwind for landing. I landed on 27L at ORD this morning at 142,000 pounds using flaps 30 and easily made the A1 turnoff.

Those expensive pixels are worth every penny when you find yourself in an unreliable airspeed situation.

One of the changes in U12.0 is that VNAV will capture the descent path in a cruise descent. In 10.8 a cruise descent would blow through the path without capturing it.

We are just starting to see U12.0 enter the fleet, I haven't seen any firsthand. The majority of the fleet still runs U10.8A which aside from our CDUs having a slightly different keyboard layout is pretty close to what's in the NGX. It's not exact, but pretty close.

U12.0 added the RTE2 option.

My personal technique would be to put 280 on the climb page prior to departure. Later, once the restriction is lifted I would either select ECON or whatever speed I wanted on the climb page. Speed intervention would work as well. If I know about the speed restriction in advance, as you would on a SID like this, I prefer to use the climb page. Speed intervention requires action later and if I give myself the chance to forget something later I probably will.

I can't speak for Alaska's procedures but I can tell you that the only time we turn off the engine bleed switches is when we are doing a bleeds off takeoff or we are being deiced. They are normally on for start.

Probably because you don't land at flaps 30 or 40 on a single engine.

Yes. If icing conditions are encountered on the approach with the flaps extended or if the landing runway was contaminated the flaps are retracted to 15 and left there on shutdown so the flap wells can be inspected to ensure they are free of contamination prior to the flaps being retracted fully.

Alf1 is correct. If you press TOGA for takeoff with the F/D switches off the A/T will go into N1 mode but you will not get and roll or pitch modes. Flip the F/D switches on and press TOGA again once you are airborne and everything will go back to normal. Or so I have heard, I'd never do that myself.