The engine is working, and the plane is taxiing to the starting position. The pilot sets the engine at low speed, the mechanics take away the tragus from under the wheels and support the wings by the edges.
The aircraft is heading for the take-off runway.
Takeoff
On the runway, the liner is placed against the wind, because it is easier to take off. Then the controller gives permission to take off. The pilot carefully assesses the situation, turns on the engine at full speed and presses the helm forward, raising the tail. The airliner increases speed. The wings are preparing to rise. And now the lifting power of the wings overcomes the weight of the aircraft, and it breaks away from the surface of the earth. For some time, the lifting power of the wings increases, due to which the aircraft gains the desired height. When climbing, the pilot keeps the helm slightly tilted back.
Flight
When the required altitude is reached, the pilot looks at the altimeter and then slows down the engine speed, bringing it to the average level in order to fly level.
During the flight, the pilot observes not only the instruments, but also the situation in the air. Receives commands from the dispatcher. He is focused and ready at any moment to quickly respond and make the only right decision.
Landing
Before starting the descent of the aircraft, the pilot evaluates the landing site from above and slows down the engine speed, slightly tilts the aircraft down and starts the descent.
For the entire period of descent, he constantly makes a calculation:
What is the best way to land
Which way is better to turn
How to make an approach so that when landing you go against the wind
The landing itself mainly depends on the correct calculation for landing. Errors in such a calculation can be fraught with damage to the aircraft, and sometimes lead to disaster.
As the ground approaches, the plane begins to glide. The engine is almost stopped, and the landing begins against the wind. Ahead is the most crucial moment - touching the ground. The plane is landing at high speed. Moreover, the lower speed of the aircraft at the moment the wheels touch the ground, gives a safer landing.
As it approaches the land, when the ship is only a few meters away, the pilot slowly pulls back on the yoke. This gives a smooth lift of the elevator and the horizontal position of the aircraft. At the same time, the operation of the motor is stopped and the speed gradually decreases, therefore, the lifting power of the wings is also reduced to nothing.
The pilot still pulls the helm towards himself, while the bow of the vessel rises, and her tail, on the contrary, falls. The lifting power to keep the aircraft in the air is exhausted, and its wheels gently touch the ground.
The airliner still runs some distance on the ground and stops. The pilot revs the engine and taxis to the parking lot. Mechanics meet him. Everything stages completed successfully!
Those who live in the area of airports know that most often taking off airliners soar up a steep trajectory, as if trying to get away from the ground as soon as possible. Indeed, the closer the earth, the less the ability to respond to an emergency and make a decision. Landing is another matter.
A 380 lands on a runway covered with water. Tests have shown that the aircraft is capable of landing in crosswinds with gusts up to 74 km/h (20 m/s). While reverse braking devices are not required by the FAA and EASA, designers Airbus decided to equip them with two engines located closer to the fuselage. This made it possible to obtain an additional braking system, while reducing operating costs and reducing preparation time for the next flight.
A modern jet passenger liner is designed to fly at altitudes of approximately 9-12 thousand meters. It is there, in very rarefied air, that it can move in the most economical mode and demonstrate its optimal speed and aerodynamic characteristics. The interval from the completion of the climb to the beginning of the descent is called cruise flight. The first stage of preparation for landing will be the descent from the echelon, or, in other words, following the arrival route. The final point of this route is the so-called initial approach checkpoint. In English, it is called Initial Approach Fix (IAF).
A 380 lands on a runway covered with water. Tests have shown that the aircraft is capable of landing in crosswinds with gusts up to 74 km/h (20 m/s). Although FAA and EASA regulations do not require reverse braking devices, Airbus designers decided to equip two engines closer to the fuselage with them. This made it possible to obtain an additional braking system, while reducing operating costs and reducing preparation time for the next flight.
From the IAF point, movement begins according to the approach to the aerodrome and landing approach, which is developed separately for each airport. The approach according to the scheme involves further descent, passing the trajectory set by a number of control points with certain coordinates, often making turns and, finally, reaching the landing straight. At a certain point on the landing straight line, the liner enters the glide path. Glide path (from French glissade - glide) is an imaginary line connecting the entry point to the start of the runway. Passing along the glide path, the aircraft reaches the MAPt (Missed Approach Point), or go-around point. This point is passed at the decision altitude (CLL), i.e. the height at which the go-around maneuver should be initiated if, prior to reaching it, the pilot-in-command (PIC) did not establish the necessary visual contact with landmarks to continue the approach. Before the PLO, the PIC should already assess the position of the aircraft relative to the runway and give the command “Sit down” or “Leave”.
Chassis, flaps and economics
On September 21, 2001, an Il-86 aircraft belonging to one of Russian airlines, landed at Dubai Airport (UAE) without releasing the landing gear. The case ended in a fire in two engines and the decommissioning of the liner - fortunately, no one was hurt. There was no question of a technical malfunction, just the chassis ... they forgot to release it.
Modern liners, compared to aircraft of past generations, are literally packed with electronics. They implement a fly-by-wire electrical remote control system (literally “fly on the wire”). This means that the rudders and mechanization are set in motion by actuators that receive commands in the form of digital signals. Even if the aircraft is not flying in automatic mode, the movements of the steering wheel are not directly transmitted to the rudders, but are recorded in the form of a digital code and sent to a computer that will instantly process the data and give a command to the actuator. In order to increase the reliability of automatic systems, two identical computer devices (FMC, Flight Management Computer) are installed in the aircraft, which constantly exchange information, checking each other. In FMC, a flight task is entered with the indication of the coordinates of the points through which the flight path will pass. Electronics can guide the aircraft along this trajectory without human intervention. But the rudders and mechanization (flaps, slats, spoilers) of modern liners are not much different from the same devices in models released decades ago. 1. Flaps. 2. Interceptors (spoilers). 3. Slats. 4. Ailerons. 5. Rudder. 6. Stabilizers. 7. Elevator.
Economics is at the heart of this accident. The approach to the airfield and landing approach are associated with a gradual decrease in the speed of the aircraft. Since the amount of wing lift is directly related to both speed and wing area, in order to maintain enough lift to keep the car from stalling into a tailspin, the wing area needs to be increased. For this purpose, mechanization elements are used - flaps and slats. Flaps and slats perform the same role as the feathers that birds fan out before falling to the ground. Upon reaching the speed of the start of the release of mechanization, the PIC gives the command to extend the flaps and almost simultaneously - to increase the engine operation mode to prevent a critical loss of speed due to an increase in drag. The greater the deflection angle of the flaps/slats, the greater the mode required by the engines. Therefore, the closer to the runway the final release of mechanization (flaps / slats and landing gear) takes place, the less fuel will be burned.
On domestic aircraft of old types, such a sequence for the release of mechanization was adopted. First (for 20-25 km to the runway) the chassis was produced. Then for 18-20 km - flaps at 280. And already on the landing straight, the flaps were fully extended, into the landing position. Today, however, a different methodology has been adopted. In order to save money, pilots tend to fly the maximum distance “on a clean wing”, and then, before the glide path, reduce speed by intermediate flap extension, then extend the landing gear, bring the flap angle to the landing position and land.
The figure shows a very simplified approach to landing and takeoff in the airport area. In fact, the schemes can differ markedly from airport to airport, as they are drawn up taking into account the terrain, the presence of high-rise buildings near and no-fly zones. Sometimes there are several schemes for the same airport depending on weather conditions. So, for example, in the Moscow Vnukovo, when entering the runway (VVP 24), the so-called. a short circuit, the trajectory of which lies outside the Moscow Ring Road. But in bad weather, planes enter in a long pattern, and the liners fly over the South-West of Moscow.
The crew of the ill-fated IL-86 also used the new technique and extended the flaps to the landing gear. Knowing nothing about the new trends in piloting, the Il-86 automation immediately turned on the voice and light alarm, which required the crew to release the landing gear. So that the signaling would not irritate the pilots, it was simply turned off, just as a boring alarm clock is turned off when awake. Now there was no one to remind the crew that the chassis still needed to be released. Today, however, instances of the Tu-154 and Il-86 aircraft with modified signaling have already appeared, which fly according to the approach method with a late release of mechanization.
Based on actual weather
In information reports, one can often hear a similar phrase: "Due to the deterioration of weather conditions in the area of airport N, crews make decisions about takeoff and landing based on the actual weather." This common stamp causes domestic aviators to laugh and indignant at the same time. Of course, there is no arbitrariness in the flying business. When the aircraft passes the decision point, the aircraft commander (and only he) finally announces whether the crew will land the liner or the landing will be aborted by a go-around. Even with the best weather conditions and the absence of obstacles on the runway, the PIC has the right to cancel the landing if, as the Federal Aviation Rules say, he is “not sure of the successful outcome of the landing.” “Go-around today is not considered a miscalculation in the work of the pilot, but on the contrary, it is welcomed in all situations that allow for doubt. It is better to be vigilant and even sacrifice some amount of burned fuel than put the lives of passengers and crew at even the slightest risk,” explained Igor Bocharov, Head of Flight Operations at S7 Airlines.
The course-glide path system consists of two parts: a pair of course and a pair of glide path radio beacons. Two localizers are located behind the runway and radiate a directional radio signal along it at different frequencies at small angles. On the runway center line, the intensity of both signals is the same. To the left and to the right of this direct signal of one of the beacons is stronger than the other. By comparing the intensity of the signals, the aircraft's radio navigation system determines on which side and how far it is from the center line. Two glide path beacons stand in the area of the touchdown zone and act in a similar way, only in a vertical plane.
On the other hand, in making decisions, the PIC is strictly limited by the existing rules of the landing procedure, and within the limits of this regulation (except for emergency situations like a fire on board), the crew does not have any freedom of decision-making. There is a strict classification of approach types. For each of them, separate parameters are prescribed that determine the possibility or impossibility of such a landing under given conditions.
For example, for Vnukovo Airport, a non-precision instrument approach (according to locators) requires passing a decision point at an altitude of 115 m with a horizontal visibility of 1700 m (determined by the meteorological service). To land before the VLOOKUP (in this case, 115 m), visual contact with landmarks must be established. For an automatic landing according to ICAO category II, these values are much lower - they are 30 m and 350 m. Category IIIc allows a fully automatic landing with zero horizontal and vertical visibility - for example, in complete fog.
Safe hardness
Any air passenger with experience in flights by domestic and foreign airlines has probably noticed that our pilots land planes “softly”, while foreign ones land “hard”. In other words, in the second case, the moment of touching the strip is felt in the form of a noticeable push, while in the first case, the aircraft gently “grinds” to the strip. The difference in landing style is explained not only by the traditions of flight schools, but also by objective factors.
Let's start with some terminological clarity. A hard landing in aviation is called a landing with an overload that greatly exceeds the standard. As a result of such a landing, the aircraft, at worst, suffers damage in the form of permanent deformation, and at best, requires special maintenance aimed at additional control of the condition of the aircraft. As Igor Kulik, Leading Pilot Instructor of the Flight Standards Department of S7 Airlines, explained to us, today a pilot who made a real hard landing is removed from flights and sent for additional training in simulators. Before going on a flight again, the offender will also have to test-training flight with an instructor.
The landing style on modern Western aircraft cannot be called hard - it's just about increased overload (about 1.4-1.5 g) compared to 1.2-1.3 g, characteristic of the "domestic" tradition. In terms of piloting technique, the difference between landings with relatively less and relatively more g-loads is explained by the difference in the procedure for leveling the aircraft.
To leveling, that is, to prepare for touching the ground, the pilot proceeds immediately after passing the end of the runway. At this time, the pilot takes over the helm, increasing the pitch and transferring the aircraft to the pitching position. Simply put, the aircraft "turns its nose", which results in an increase in the angle of attack, which means a small increase in lift and a drop in vertical speed.
At the same time, the engines are transferred to the “idle gas” mode. After some time, the rear landing gear touches the strip. Then, reducing the pitch, the pilot lowers the front strut onto the runway. At the moment of contact, spoilers (spoilers, they are also air brakes) are activated. Then, reducing the pitch, the pilot lowers the front strut onto the runway and turns on the reverse device, that is, additionally slows down with engines. Wheel braking is applied, as a rule, in the second half of the run. The reverse is structurally made up of shields that are placed in the path of the jet stream, deflecting part of the gases at an angle of 45 degrees to the course of the aircraft - almost in the opposite direction. It should be noted that on aircraft of old domestic types, the use of reverse during the run is mandatory.
Silence on the sidelines
On August 24, 2001, the crew of an Airbus A330 flying from Toronto to Lisbon discovered a fuel leak in one of the tanks. It took place in the sky over the Atlantic. The commander of the ship, Robert Pish, decided to leave for an alternate airfield located on one of the Azores. However, on the way, both engines caught fire and failed, and there were still about 200 kilometers to the airfield. Rejecting the idea of landing on the water, as giving almost no chance of salvation, Pish decided to make it to land in gliding mode. And he succeeded! The landing turned out to be tough - almost all the pneumatics burst - but the disaster did not happen. Only 11 people received minor injuries.
Domestic pilots, especially those operating Soviet-type airliners (Tu-154, Il-86), often complete the alignment with the holding procedure, that is, for some time they continue flying over the runway at a height of about a meter, achieving a soft touch. Of course, passengers like holding landings more, and many pilots, especially those with extensive experience in domestic aviation, consider this style a sign of high skill.
However, today's global trends in aircraft design and piloting prefer landing with an overload of 1.4-1.5 g. Firstly, such landings are safer, since holding landings contain the risk of rolling out of the runway. In this case, the use of reverse is almost inevitable, which creates additional noise and increases fuel consumption. Secondly, the very design of modern passenger aircraft provides for a touchdown with increased G-force, since the operation of automation, for example, the activation of spoilers and wheel brakes, depends on a certain value of the physical impact on the landing gear (compression). This is not required in older types of aircraft, since the spoilers are switched on there automatically after turning on the reverse. And the reverse is turned on by the crew.
There is another reason for the difference in landing style, say, on the Tu-154 and A 320, which are close in class. Runways in the USSR were often notable for low cargo density, and therefore in Soviet aviation they tried to avoid too much pressure on the surface. On the carts of the rear pillars of the Tu-154, six wheels each - this design contributed to the distribution of the weight of the machine on large area when landing. But the A 320 has only two wheels on the racks, and it was originally designed for landing with more overload on stronger lanes.
The island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean, divided between France and the Netherlands, has become famous not so much because of its hotels and beaches, but thanks to the landings of civilian liners. Heavy wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 747 or A-340 fly to this tropical paradise from all over the world. Such cars need a long run after landing, however, at the airport of Princess Juliana, the strip is too short - only 2130 meters - its end is separated from the sea only by a narrow strip of land with a beach. To avoid rolling out, Airbus pilots aim at the very end of the strip, flying 10-20 meters above the heads of vacationers on the beach. This is how the trajectory of the glide path is laid. Photos and videos with landings on about. Saint-Martin has long bypassed the Internet, and many at first did not believe in the authenticity of these filming.
Trouble on the ground
And yet, really hard landings, as well as other troubles, happen on the final leg of the flight. As a rule, not one, but several factors lead to accidents, including piloting errors, equipment failure, and, of course, the elements.
A great danger is the so-called wind shear, that is, a sharp change in wind strength with height, especially when it occurs within 100 m above the ground. Suppose an aircraft is approaching the runway at an IAS of 250 km/h with zero wind. But, having descended a little lower, the plane suddenly encounters a tailwind with a speed of 50 km / h. The pressure of the incoming air will drop, and the speed of the aircraft will be 200 km/h. The lifting force will also drop sharply, but the vertical speed will increase. To compensate for the loss of lift, the crew will need to add engine power and increase speed. However, the aircraft has a huge inertial mass, and it simply will not have time to instantly gain sufficient speed. If there is no headroom, a hard landing cannot be avoided. If the liner encounters a sharp gust of headwind, the lift force, on the contrary, will increase, and then there will be a danger of a late landing and rolling out of the runway. Landing on a wet and icy strip also leads to rollouts.
Man and machine
Approach types fall into two categories, visual and instrumental.
The condition for a visual approach, as with an instrument approach, is the height of the base of the clouds and the visual range on the runway. The crew follows the approach pattern, focusing on the landscape and ground objects, or independently choosing the approach trajectory within the allocated visual maneuvering zone (it is set as a half circle centered at the end of the runway). Visual landings allow you to save fuel by choosing the shortest approach path at the moment.
The second category of landings is instrumental (Instrumental Landing System, ILS). They, in turn, are divided into accurate and inaccurate. Precise landings are made using a course-glide path, or radio beacon, system, with the help of course and glide path beacons. The beacons form two flat radio beams - one horizontal, depicting the glide path, the other vertical, indicating the course to the runway. Depending on the equipment of the aircraft, the course-glide path system allows for automatic landing (the autopilot itself steers the aircraft along the glide path, receiving a signal from radio beacons), director landing (on the command device, two director bars show the positions of the glide path and heading; the task of the pilot, operating the helm, is to place them accurately in the center of the command device) or beacon approach (the crossed arrows on the command device depict the course and glide path, and the circle shows the position of the aircraft relative to the required course; the task is to combine the circle with the center of the crosshairs). Inaccurate landings are performed in the absence of a course-glide path system. The line of approach to the end of the runway is set by radio engineering means - for example, installed at a certain distance from the end of the far and near driving radio stations with markers (LBM - 4 km, BBM - 1 km). Receiving signals from the "drives", the magnetic compass in the cockpit shows whether the plane is to the right or left of the runway. At airports equipped with a course-glide path system, a significant part of landings are made on instruments in automatic mode. The ICFO international organization has approved a list of three categories of automatic landing, with category III having three subcategories - A, B, C. For each type and category of landing, there are two defining parameters - the horizontal visibility distance and the height of vertical visibility, it is also the height of decision making. In general, the principle is as follows: the more automation is involved in the landing and the less the “human factor” is involved, the less value these options.
Another scourge of aviation is side wind. When the aircraft flies with a drift angle when approaching the end of the runway, the pilot often has a desire to “tuck” the steering wheel, to put the aircraft on the exact course. When turning, a roll occurs, and the aircraft exposes a large area to the wind. The liner blows even further to the side, and in this case the go-around becomes the only correct decision.
In a crosswind, the crew often tries not to lose control of the direction, but eventually loses control of the height. This was one of the reasons for the Tu-134 crash in Samara on March 17, 2007. The combination of "human factor" with bad weather cost the lives of six people.
Sometimes a hard landing with catastrophic consequences results from incorrect vertical maneuvering on the final leg of the flight. Sometimes the plane does not have time to descend to the required height and is above the glide path. The pilot begins to "give the helm", trying to enter the trajectory of the glide path. In this case, the vertical speed sharply increases. However, with an increased vertical speed, a greater height is also required, at which alignment must be started before touching, and this dependence is quadratic. The pilot, on the other hand, proceeds to equalize at a psychologically familiar height. As a result, the aircraft touches the ground with a huge overload and crashes. History of such cases civil aviation knows a lot.
Airliners of the latest generations can be called flying robots. Today, 20-30 seconds after takeoff, the crew can, in principle, turn on the autopilot and then the car will do everything itself. Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, if an accurate flight plan is entered into the on-board computer database, including the approach path, if the arrival airport has the appropriate modern equipment, the liner will be able to fly and land without human intervention. Unfortunately, in reality, even the most advanced technology sometimes fails; aircraft obsolete designs, and the equipment of Russian airports continues to be desired. That is why, rising into the sky, and then descending to the ground, we still largely depend on the skill of those who work in the cockpit.
We would like to thank the representatives of S7 Airlines for their help: Pilot Instructor Il-86, Chief of Flight Operations Staff Igor Bocharov, Chief Navigator Vyacheslav Fedenko, Pilot Instructor of the Flight Standards Department Directorate Igor Kulik
Aircraft landing and takeoff speed are parameters calculated individually for each airliner. There is no standard value that all pilots must adhere to, because aircraft have different weights, dimensions, and aerodynamic characteristics. However, the value of speed at is important, and non-compliance with the speed limit can turn into a tragedy for the crew and passengers.
How is the takeoff?
The aerodynamics of any airliner is provided by the configuration of the wing or wings. This configuration is the same for almost all aircraft except for small details. The lower part of the wing is always flat, the upper one is convex. Moreover, it does not depend on it.
The air that passes under the wing when accelerating does not change its properties. However, the air, which at the same time passes through the top of the wing, narrows. Consequently, less air flows through the top. This results in a pressure difference under and over the wings of the aircraft. As a result, the pressure above the wing decreases, and under the wing it increases. And it is precisely due to the pressure difference that a lifting force is formed that pushes the wing up, and together with the wing, the aircraft itself. At the moment when the lifting force exceeds the weight of the liner, the aircraft lifts off the ground. This happens with an increase in the speed of the liner (with an increase in speed, the lifting force also increases). The pilot also has the ability to control the flaps on the wing. If the flaps are lowered, the lift under the wing changes vector, and the aircraft rapidly gains altitude.
It is interesting that a smooth horizontal flight of the liner will be ensured if the lifting force is equal to the weight of the aircraft.
So, the lift determines at what speed the plane will take off the ground and start flying. The weight of the liner, its aerodynamic characteristics, and the thrust force of the engines also play a role.
during takeoff and landing
In order for a passenger plane to take off, the pilot needs to develop a speed that will provide the required lift. The higher the acceleration speed, the higher the lifting force will be. Consequently, at a high acceleration speed, the aircraft will take off faster than if it were moving at a low speed. However, the specific speed value is calculated for each liner individually, taking into account its actual weight, loading degree, weather conditions, runway length, etc.
Generally speaking, the famous Boeing 737 passenger airliner takes off from the ground when its speed rises to 220 km/h. Another well-known and huge "Boeing-747" with a lot of weight off the ground at a speed of 270 kilometers per hour. But the smaller Yak-40 liner is capable of taking off at a speed of 180 kilometers per hour due to its low weight.
Takeoff types
There are various factors that determine the take-off speed of an airliner:
- Weather conditions (wind speed and direction, rain, snow).
- Runway length.
- Strip cover.
Depending on the conditions, takeoff can be carried out in different ways:
- Classic speed dial.
- From the brakes.
- Takeoff with the help of special means.
- Vertical climb.
The first method (classic) is used most often. When the runway is long enough, the aircraft can confidently gain the required speed necessary to provide high lift. However, in the case when the runway length is limited, the aircraft may not have enough distance to reach the required speed. Therefore, it stands for some time on the brakes, and the engines gradually gain traction. When the thrust becomes strong, the brakes are released and the aircraft abruptly takes off, quickly picking up speed. Thus, it is possible to shorten the take-off path of the liner.
There is no need to talk about vertical takeoff. It is possible in the presence of special engines. And takeoff with the help of special means is practiced on military aircraft carriers.
What is the landing speed of the aircraft?
The liner does not land on the runway immediately. First of all, there is a decrease in the speed of the liner, a decrease in altitude. First, the aircraft touches the runway with the landing gear wheels, then it moves at high speed already on the ground, and only then does it slow down. The moment of contact with the GDP is almost always accompanied by shaking in the cabin, which can cause anxiety among passengers. But there is nothing wrong with that.
Aircraft landing speeds are practically only slightly slower than takeoff speeds. A large Boeing 747, when approaching the runway, has an average speed of 260 kilometers per hour. This speed should be at the liner in the air. But, again, the specific speed value is calculated individually for all liners, taking into account their weight, workload, weather conditions. If the aircraft is very large and heavy, then the landing speed should be higher, because during landing it is also necessary to "keep" the required lift. Already after contact with the runway and when moving on the ground, the pilot can slow down by means of the landing gear and flaps on the wings of the aircraft.
Airspeed
The speed during landing of an aircraft and during takeoff is very different from the speed at which an aircraft is moving at an altitude of 10 km. Most often, aircraft fly at a speed that is 80% of the maximum. So the maximum speed of the popular Airbus A380 is 1020 km/h. In fact, flying at cruising speed is 850-900 km/h. The popular "Boeing 747" can fly at a speed of 988 km / h, but in fact its speed is also 850-900 km / h. As you can see, the flight speed is fundamentally different from the speed when the aircraft is landing.
Note that today the Boeing company is developing a liner that will be able to gain flight speed at high altitudes up to 5000 kilometers per hour.
Finally
Of course, the landing speed of an aircraft is an extremely important parameter, which is calculated strictly for each airliner. But it is impossible to name a specific value at which all planes take off. Even identical models (for example, Boeing 747s) will take off and land at different speeds due to various circumstances: workload, amount of fuel filled, runway length, runway coverage, presence or absence of wind, etc.
Now you know what is the speed of the aircraft when landing and when it takes off. Everyone knows the averages.
A seemingly harmless habit - clapping after a plane lands - can lead to personal tragedy. The other day, a young man from Atlanta named Greg posted a cry from the heart on Twitter.
Picture this: You’re 31. You just married your soulmate and are on your way to your beautiful honeymoon. The plane lands in Bora Bora, as it touches the ground your wife begins clapping. She's an airplane clapper. You get on a plane right back to America and you never speak again.
Imagine: you are 31. You just got married and went with your soulmate on a trip to Honeymoon. The plane lands in Bora Bora and your wife starts clapping. She is an airplane clapper. You get on a plane flying to America and you don't talk anymore.
This entry caused a stormy response from Twitter users. “I don’t know who is worse: those who applaud after landing, or those who do it in the cinema after watching a movie”, “You never fully know a person until you see how he behaves on an airplane,” wrote people.
The question of whether to clap or not to clap after landing is still a matter of controversy. The Reddit forum has a Planeclappers community where users share their thoughts on airplane clapping and their experiences. Here are some of them:
- “We were flying over the mountains in Southern California and I thought we were going to die because of a crazy woman. Looks like we fell a couple of times and one lady almost hit the ceiling because she wasn't wearing her seatbelt. When the plane landed, everyone clapped except me and her.”
- “Yesterday, my boyfriend and I went to the park, which is located near the airport. We looked at the runway. And every time the plane landed, he stood up and greeted him!”
- “I was on a plane and experienced extreme turbulence for 20 minutes before we landed. To my surprise, no one clapped. Although there was a collective exhalation of relief.
Why do passengers applaud?
The reasons are different. Often those who return to their homeland after a long absence, including for a number of economic or political reasons, clap. Also, people show joy from a successful landing in difficult weather conditions or in cases where there was some kind of technical malfunction on board.
It happens that passengers clap for no reason, even if the flight and landing were in normal mode. Noticed: those who fly frequently do not usually applaud. But passengers who go on vacation a couple of times a year prefer to “thank” the pilots.
According to flight attendants, passengers are more likely to applaud on international flights. Much less often - after landing in European cities, where flights are cheap and residents fly very often.
By the way, landing is not a guarantee that all the dangers are behind. In 2005 in Toronto during a plane landing airlines Air France with several hundred passengers had a heavy thunderstorm and rain. The aircraft landed with difficulty Passengers tell of harrowing escape and people started clapping. But they quickly realized that this was premature: the plane drove off the runway into a ravine and caught fire. No one died, but among the victims were those passengers who applauded.
How do others feel about applause?
Pilots don't hear passengers clapping. Flight attendants can tell pilots that the landing was applauded. But this is not always perceived positively.
There are pilots What do airline pilots think of passengers who applaud after a landing? who are pleased or indifferent that they clap.
It doesn't matter much to me. Passengers are not air travel experts and cannot determine how well the landing was. But I will never refuse applause. It's always nice, even if sometimes undeserved.
Peter Wheeler, pilot from Australia
But many pilots are offended by applause. They consider themselves professionals of the highest category, and therefore landing is not something out of the ordinary, but an ordinary job that they always try to do flawlessly. It is insulting to a pilot when passengers think that flying in an airplane is a game of roulette.
Passengers themselves relate to the tradition of clapping in different ways. Someone
"Hello, can modern airliners land completely on their own, without the participation of the pilot? Meaning, if all the data was entered into the computer in advance. Or do pilots produce mechanization (chassis, flaps, etc.) ??"
I was motivated to write this article aviation forum discussion. Surely, after all, it will be interesting for someone to find out some technical details of their flight from point A to point B. What is going on behind the closed front door in those minutes when half of the cabin is ready to forgive everyone and everyone for any sins, become righteous and start losing weight from Monday?
By the way, passengers very often confuse this front door with the door to the toilet. Sometimes they try long and hard to open it, despite the fact that on the planes of my company the inscription warning that access is only for the crew is made in large red letters and is much more visible than in the photo below.
Photo by Marina Lystseva photographersha
To many ordinary people, a modern aircraft seems to be something akin to a starship - buttons, displays, levers. Therefore, it is not surprising that faith in the unlimitedness of design ideas often exceeds the real capabilities of modern aircraft.
Indeed, why not a spaceship?
And this despite the fact that the B737NG was developed twenty years ago and already looks rather archaic compared to the most modern models:
Photo of the Airbus A350 cockpit from the Internet
Photo by Marina Lystseva photographersha
Does this whole stray still need people? Moreover, in the amount of two?
Many really believe that the liner performs all landings automatically. That is, the pilot is needed there only to press the magic button "LANDING" or whatever its name is?
However, there are also skeptics who, in all seriousness, believe that the achievements of modern technical thought can not implement the landing algorithm without a person:
inspit
"You should not confuse automatic landing approach and the landing itself, i.e. touching the concrete runway with the wheels of the landing gear. Fully automatic landing is possible only with the participation of ground-based hardware radio landing systems. It is precisely because of their insufficient resolution that such a landing is associated with risk and in currently not practiced.
So is it practiced or not? Who is right?
Practiced.
The ability to automatically land an aircraft is not something recently invented. This show has been around for decades. Many models that practically left the arena were perfectly able to do this 30 or more years ago.
However, contrary to popular belief, automatic landing is still not the main way to return the aircraft to the ground. Until now, the vast majority of landings are done the old fashioned way - by hand.
Most importantly, certain conditions are still needed for automatic landing. Modern equipment (I note - certified equipment) does not yet allow automatic landing on any runway anywhere in the world. Important - the automatic landing system is not autonomous, that is, it requires external equipment, which must be installed for a given runway or airfield.
The most common type of landing today is an ILS precision approach with heading and glide path guidance (that is, a final descent on the straight ahead of touchdown). They are formed by specially shaped beams emitted by ground-based antennas. Aircraft equipment recognizes these signals and determines the position of the aircraft relative to the central zone, i.e., the extended center line of the runway. Accordingly, someone (the pilot) or something (the autopilot) sees the deviation indication and does their best to always fly center.
Video of automatic landing - view of the main flight instrument. Below and to the right you can see "diamonds" (from 01:02) these are indicators of the position of the course and glide path relative to the aircraft. If they are in the center, then the liner flies perfectly.
Cross in the center of the device - director arrows, holding them in the center, the pilot or autopilot provides the necessary turn rates or climb / descent angles in order to reach the desired flight path (not necessarily during landing approach - they can provide path guidance for almost the entire flight )
As a matter of fact, while keeping the aircraft on the desired trajectory, the aircraft, controlled by the autopilot, flies to a certain height measured relative to the ground (50-40 feet), after which the leveling maneuver (FLARE) begins according to a cunning algorithm and after that, at an altitude of about 27 feet the automatic assistant smoothly reduces the operating mode of the engines (the pilot can do the same), and soon the landing takes place.
Most modern aircraft they can also provide an automatic run up to the stop of the aircraft - after all, landing is a simple matter, it is also necessary to stop this colossus in complete fog! Rumor has it that some planes are also trained to steer in zero visibility, if the airfield would allow. I don't know, haven't checked. My B737-800 can only automatically land and (if there is an appropriate option on a particular aircraft) complete the run after landing.
Answering the question that started this thread can modern airliners land completely on their own, without the participation of the pilot? This means if all the data was previously entered into the computer. Or pilots release mechanization), I will say "They can't."
The plane itself not will begin a descent and landing approach, will not release mechanization and landing gear. Theoretically, this is quite possible constructively, but today a person sitting in a pilot's seat solves these problems. Modern computers are not yet ready to make decisions for a person, because situations in each flight can develop very differently, and it is not yet possible to standardize the trajectories of all those thousands of aircraft flying in the skies. A person with decisions is doing better so far. Read more on this topic at the link at the very end of the post.
"So what's the catch, Denis Sergeevich, if you say that auto-landing was invented a long time ago and works great, why is it still not used in every flight?"
--==(o)==--
Alas, the system has many limitations. Let's start with the fact that not every airfield has an ILS system. This is a rather costly system that pays off in the presence of heavy traffic and frequent bad weather.
Also, even if HUDs are present, automatic landing may not be permitted due to other restrictions. For example, in the mountainous Ulan-Ude, we cannot perform an automatic landing, because the glide slope angle exceeds the tolerance for doing so. What can we say about Chambery, in which the glide path is much steeper, and the runway is only two kilometers!
That is, there are restrictions for automatic landing - according to the maximum and minimum angle of inclination of the glide path, as well as according to the value of the wind - mainly lateral and / or tailwind.
That is, oddly enough, if the weather is "horrible", then landing, like it or not, you have to do it in Chkalovsky style. Manually. And if the glide slope is also steep, as in Chambery, then, as usual.
Moreover
There may be good weather and normal glide path, but the "curve" runway and automatic landing can be a big risk in terms of a rough landing - yet the aircraft is not yet trained to predict terrain changes ahead. Such runways as Norilsk (19), Tomsk (21), Rostov (22) are not very suitable for automatic landing due to the specific bend of the runway, and each such landing turns into a game with decoding.
On some runways, the profile seems to be fine, but due to some natural or technical phenomena, the glide path is unstable and the plane "walks". Accordingly, a stupid autopilot tries to walk along with deviations, but a smart person does not. Example - .
Many manufacturers either explicitly specify or recommend landings only on runways certified for ILS CAT II/III approaches. In this case, there is some guarantee that the glide slope will not walk, and the runway is not a curve. Although even when landing on such runways and on any others in conditions where CAT II / III operations are not performed, i.e., the ILS operates on CAT I, the same Mr. Boeing recommends that very attentive when performing automatic landings - because v good weather airdrome services are not required to ensure the "purity" of the beams, so interference is possible - both from an aircraft flying in front of you, and from ground objects, which may well be located in the area of localization and glide path beams.
Therefore, oddly enough, good weather is not yet a reason to feel relaxed, trusting the autopilot.
ILS Performance
ILS Performance Most ILS installations are subject to signal interference by either surface vehicles
or aircraft. To prevent this interference, ILS critical areas are established near each
localizer and glide slope antenna. In the United States, vehicle and aircraft
operations in these critical areas are restricted any time the weather is reported less
than 800 foot ceiling and/or visibility is less than 2 statute miles.
Flight inspections of ILS facilities do not necessarily include ILS beam
performance inside the runway threshold or along the runway unless the ILS is
used for Category II or III approaches. For this reason, the ILS beam quality may
vary and autolands performed from a Category I approach at these facilities should
be closely monitored.
flight crews must remember that the ILS critical areas are usually not protected
when the weather is above 800 foot ceiling and/or 2 statute miles visibility. As a
result, ILS beam bends may occur because of vehicle or aircraft interference.
Sudden and unexpected flight control movements may occur at a very low altitude
or during the landing and rollout when the autopilot attempts to follow the beam
possibility and guard the flight controls (control wheel, rudder pedals and thrust
levers) throughout automatic approaches and landings.
Be prepared to disengage the autopilot and manually land or go-around.
Again, it is not necessary to perform a HUD approach (even in manual mode), because usually the approach schemes are quite "sweeping". In good weather, a visual approach often looks preferable - the pilot will not follow the entire scheme, but will choose a more optimal trajectory, shorter, which will save time, fuel, and unload the controller.
True, in Russia such visits are not very practiced for various reasons. In the West, especially in the USA - very, very often.
So, above we talked about the weak noise immunity of the HUD system, and therefore not every runway equipped with a HUD is capable of auto-landing. Is humanity running into insurmountable difficulties?
Of course not!
There is a gradual introduction of a new precision approach system based on dead reckoning by means of satellite navigation. For a more accurate calculation, a special station (LKKS) is installed in the airfield area, and, as a result, we get a very, very accurate position of the aircraft in space. And, accordingly, the trajectory calculated from this position does not depend on snowdrifts on the ground or cars crossing the landing course. In addition, one such corrective station makes it possible to cover several airfields (for example, one is enough for the Moscow air hub). It should be understood that maintaining the operability of this system is much less expensive than maintaining the ILS.
Several dozen LKKS have been installed in Russia, however, officially (since recently) it has been operating only in Tyumen. Our company became the first passenger company to perform such a run in this city.
And this situation with LKKS for several years. Don't ask me why - I myself am at a loss, because this is a very stupid situation.
True, in order to carry out such visits, the installation of special equipment on aircraft is required. Considering that this call is still not very popular in Russia, operators are in no hurry to refine their liners.
However, sooner or later, such systems will replace ILS from airports.
Will progress push pilots out of the cockpit?
Thank you for your attention!
