Cockpit Approach & Landing in Air Mauritius A340-300E (HQ)

[weriddan]

Great video ! just wondering im flying on them next year... do you rekon i will get into the cockpit? they seem pretty lienent

[Angolaviators]

After the main gears touch the rwy it took 18 seconds for the nose gears to touch it. Nice video.

[VeracityMedia]

@Angolaviators it took 5 seconds. Perfectly normal. Check again.

[AuerbacherFreak]

why the voice say retard? isnt it the decide of the pilot if he give the throttle power or not????

[TheBadameco]

@AuerbacherFreak retard means to put the throttle leve to iddle

[AuerbacherFreak]

@TheBadameco ok thx



[jonstewartforprez]

@mauritiuskila I certainly appreciate your advice, but I prefer the life I have right now as a 747 captain.

[jonstewartforprez]

@WhiteKestrell ... Sorry, the comment got cut off. Floating with the A340 can create a nice soft landing situation you describe, however, if the runway isn't long or dry, it can be a dangerous situation in itself. I am sorry to say that I have never flown or visited Mauritius, so I'm not sure what the runway/typical weather would be like..

As per your other question... I'm not sure what you mean by 180 (I think you mean degrees and not feet?) turns?

[WhiteKestrell]

@jonstewartforprez Ah thanks, so that's how you get the landings softer. The runway in Mauritius is about 3000m/ 10 000 feet, and it's kind of hot enough to bake an egg on it and usually dry. For the question, yes I have a problem with the 180 degree turn on runway, for the A330. Airbus' FCOM states that a standard runway is 45m/150' wide and that the turning radius of an A330-300 is 46m/153', without margin... Do you Pilots ever turn around without using turning areas on the runway? ^^

[jonstewartforprez]

I also thought I'd answer some of the questions:

It's an A340. No doubt about it (it has 4 engines, most obvious thing).

The speed brakes (spoilers) were deployed. Unlike Boeing aircrafts, A340 doesn't actually move the spoiler handle when it lands.

There was a bounce in the landing (a flaw in all A340s)

The autopilot called out the altitude, along with the "Retard! Retard!"

Unlike Boeing, Airbus uses sidesticks (or joysticks). I personally prefer the yoke instead and fly the 747 right now..

[jipe05]

@jonstewartforprez thank you for your precious info! :)

[WhiteKestrell]

@jonstewartforprez Correct, except for one fact on which I disagree. I've read your comment explaining bumpy landings on A340s but I have flown on Air Mauritius' A340s a lot of times, as a passenger of course :P, and most landings were pretty smooth. Even less bumps... What if you initially use a lower landing speed and a slightly higher flare angle instead of bumping then land? Total respect for being a pilot and having flown an A340 though ^^. I've got an issue with 180' turns, can you help?

[jonstewartforprez]

@WhiteKestrell The scenario you described (low landing speed and a flare) might just make it a "hard" landing since it will cause the aircraft to lose lift faster, even during the flare. There is of course the potential threat of stall, which is much worse than a bumpy landing.

I was just merely describing my thoughts and experience. I am by no means an engineer; just a pilot. It seems to me that the pilot you flew with "floated" down the runway for a while to create a nice, soft landing..

[mauritiuskila]

@jonstewartforprez mate get a life !

[aerotec750]

@jonstewartforprez A bounce in the landing is not a flaw on a340's. It's due to the main landing gear's angle. The rear wheels of the main landing gear touch down first and then the front ones do!

[jonstewartforprez]

@aerotec750 Hmm, nice observation. However, main landing gears of most wide body aircrafts are designed such that the rear most wheels fall below the front wheels under the influence of gravity. You can see this in almost any wide body aircraft landing/take off photos. As this is the case, it doesn't necessarily mean that the main landing gear is the source of the bounce. Inherently, the A340 has a hard time canceling out lift during touchdown (aerodynamically), and the spoilers are a bit slow

[aerotec750]

@jonstewartforprez Actually I think the rear wheels of A330's and A340's are held down by the suspension. They kinda provide an upward force which slows down the aircraft's descent when they touch down, right?

[jonstewartforprez]

@aerotec750 The angle of the main wheels, counterintuitively, doesn't provide much lift. In fact, landing gears increase the drag force, causing us to increase fuel consumption (which is why airliners tell us to lower landing gears late). As for the bounce in A340, it has much to do with the angle of attack the wings are forced into while flaring. It's a lot more technical, but as a pilot, I can tell you from the way it feels: and it is that the A340 has a hard time canceling out lift...

[jonstewartforprez]

I got to fly the A340 several times as F/O.

I have to say, it's a really nice aircraft, except for one major problem. The landing is almost always going to be bumpy (even on autoland). The major problem with A340 is that it fails at canceling lift upon touching the runway, and so it almost always bounces up (unless it's stalling of course) after the first touch. Then, it comes back down again after having reduced some speed for the final landing (which often results in a hard landing)..

[diamalex]

Great video! Did you notice that the pop-up spoilers (airspeed brakes) do not deploy at all? Or did I miss something?

[mmichaeldonavon]

Nice video. Wondered if there was a slight "bounce" on the landing, as it appeared the main gear hit a second time (?). Looked like the TR's were deployed while the nose was quite a bit in the air (then the nose gear contacted the runway). Maybe it was the camera angle. Anyways, nice video. Thanks

[1imthwalrus]

is that the computer or the copilot calling the altitude?

[joshun28]

@1imthwalrus the computer

[FlyingFsxDe]

bumpy landing.... maybe the pilots were nervous because of the spectator :D

nice video *THUMB UP* feel free to watch my videos (:

[jin7210]

i live in mauritius

[Siriusstunna]

whata shitty camera job.... if we wanted to see the side view of the plane landing we could of just got a passenger video not somene lucky enough to be in the cockpit.

[damiantymkiw]

this is the best job in the world!

[pusenka]

GREAT VIDEO!!!! How did you managed to get inside the cockpit?

[racear8]

Great video, but how did you managed to get in the cockpit? are you pilot? or just asked?

[jipe05]

@racear8 just asked :P

[racear8]

@jipe05 Wow, that is quite nice from the pilots, especially after 9/11. I hope so much I can do the same you did; landing in a cockpit in stead of seeing the cockpit after landing!

[cavallerizzaamo]

@jipe05 I also got in this cockpit, we asked before and so. but we got before the landing phase... one time we got when we arrived in italy, we saw italy from the sky, the mountains, ecc. before arrived to Rome's airport

[evilmontezuma87]

@racear8 I went jump seat the whole trip I mean from pushback all the way till we taxii back into the gate at our destination in a Airbus 320. I had a friend that worked in the ticket counter and talked to the pilot if he can allow me to jump seat and he said yeah, the reason that I gave him is that I was studying to be a pilot (in which I am) and ever since we have communications among each other, I even got a job offer once I finish my training.

[Guilland23]

WOW.... You can hear the gears go down!!! Amazing!

[yarvet72]

este es un A-340, el throttle tiene 4 set, significa 4 turbinas, y el a-319 solo tiene 2 turbinas, a parte de el throttle, se ve el landing gear 4 green light, el a-319 solo tiene 3 green light

[brybry2123]

isnt functioning electronic items on the pane bad for it?

[irvinmanohar]

MK follows African authorities. If you do your training @ 43air School, no need to convert. It follows MK rules.

Merry Xmas too

Cheers

[irvinmanohar]

cpl and frozen atpl u can do it at 43 air school in south africa where air mauritius trains all their cadets.. but atpl itselt, you should accumulate at least 1500 hrs of flight on any aircrafts including single engine but at least 1500 hrs of flight, then u r all set.

[badboykarlos]

wow they use joysticks in airbuses instead of the traditional wheel thing

[jipe05]

sidesticks to be more precise lol

[Kambanicity]

yeaaah? is that something new???

[GeneralofFlight]

And it is not a " wheel thing" it is called a yoke lol

[tatercito]

@badboykarlos isnt Fsx dude =)

[damiantymkiw]

@badboykarlos and control column or yoke for the "traditional wheel thing" ;)

[pete5668]

@badboykarlos for the new generation of pilots who grew up playing video games.

[ktarachand]

mari nassa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ManhattenSafe]

Yes it´s an A340! Nice Video! 5*

[miquelpp]

Fantastic video....Definitively, it´s an A-340.

Best.

[chamilitary999]

Yes I agree with you but It's amazing that they use an A340 for a short trip

[chamilitary999]

sorry its really an A319. Are you sure he's comming from Gillot?

[jipe05]

hum.. -_-" i was in the plane and i confirm its a A340 [look at the throttle-4 and not 2 bands] and they use A340, although its close to mauritius, because of the high demand..air mauritius also uses ATR-72 and A319 (as you said) for this route but indeed i confirm its a A340. look at the description of the video-could not have been more precise about that: the name and code of that plane are given..make a research about that on airliners or whatever site, you'll get the confirmation

[jipe05]

and yes i was coming from gillot

[SuperBlabla1994]

@chamilitary999 It's not a A319, watch the throttle

[chamilitary999]

yes but you wrote i mistake it's an A319

I don't think so they would use an A340 for only 175 MN^^.

But nice video

[erj4pilot]

again, pay attention to throttles...4 not two...dead giveaway that it is a 340...also the cockpit isn't all that roomy in a 319 :P

[chamilitary999]

Yes i know i'd maken a mistake . If you look at the top, I was wondering why they took an A340 for only 185 MN

[erj4pilot]

High density route maybe, or equipment availablity. But, yeah, I get ya...those beasts can eat up some fuel.

Maybe it's time to add a couple ERJ's to the fleet :)

[chamilitary999]

Maybe but their A319 would be fine

[aboune]

super!