Among other things, to work in the secure area of an airport you have to take a security badge class. It usually involves an hour long computer video course followed by test questions. A couple years ago the administrative assistant who filled out my paper work accidentally signed me up to take an extra class that gave me driving privileges on the ramp areas. I protested to the badging officer that I didn't need those privileges and didn't want to take the extra class. He would hear none of it and made me take the driving class to get my badge. One of the videos in the class was a demonstration of what would happen if you drove behind a jet engine at power. They used an old operations truck at San Francisco International Airport behind an unidentified United Airlines Jet (not a 747) . The video was so cool I purposely got the test question wrong a couple times so I could see the video over and over. I stumbled across it on You Tube today -here it is:
I found my way the above video after watching a Top Gear episode where they do the same thing with a Virgin 747.
Which led me to this video of a steep banking South African Airways 747 at an airshow.
Which led me to this super shortfield 747 takeoff video in Bournemouth Airport, UK.
Which led me to this video of a KLM 747 landing at St. Martins. The beach on St. Martins runway end is known for low flying aircraft!
Which led me to this video of flight deck footage from another KLM landing at St. Martins.
The author / pilot of the above video had a very informative description of how a 747 approach should be flown:
On an approach on instruments a B747 should cross the runway threshold (= the piano keys) with the main wheels at ± 35 ft above threshold. The 747 is so big that at that point the altitude of the cockpit is 35 ft higher, so the cockpit is at ± 70 ft when main wheels cross the threshold.
On a visual approach, as is the case here at St.Maarten, we have to have some more margin. Normally the pilot aims to see the runway threshold disappear under the nose at 80 ft (mind you, the main wheels are at that moment still NOT above the threshold) to have sufficient main wheel clearance.
If you look at the video and notice the altitude callouts, you see the threshold disappear under the nose at the call 50, so actually I am a bit too low in stead of too high. (Actually I am only too low for a visual approach. If you look at my landing at JFK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4YoXy... you will see that I cross the threshold also at 50 ft, which is normal on an instrument approach. Note: the automatic altitude callouts you hear on this video are Radio Altimeter altitudes. The Radio Alt is zero when the gear is on the ground with struts extended.)
Now, there are quite some viewers who think we landed too far on the runway. What follows from earlier explanation is this:
We approach a runway at a three degrees approach angle. If main wheels cross the threshold at the correct altitude, the main wheels will hit the runway at approx 900ft (300m) behind the threshold, that is, if you don't flare the airplane. If you look again at the video and wait till you hear 50,40,30,20,10 and see the solid white markers, they are at 900ft behind the threshold and the plane touches down right behind them, because I did flare the airplane. (Passengers seem to hate hard landings!!)
THIS IS THE NORMAL TOUCHDOWN POINT FOR A B747.
The FCTM(=Flight Crew Training Manual) from Boeing says: flare distance is approx 300 to 600mtr (=900 to 1800ft) beyond the threshold.
The final video is a bone-chilling aborted takeoff gone wrong. I know no details of this accident other than it was a cargo plane not a passenger plane.
I found my way the above video after watching a Top Gear episode where they do the same thing with a Virgin 747.
Which led me to this video of a steep banking South African Airways 747 at an airshow.
Which led me to this super shortfield 747 takeoff video in Bournemouth Airport, UK.
Which led me to this video of a KLM 747 landing at St. Martins. The beach on St. Martins runway end is known for low flying aircraft!
Which led me to this video of flight deck footage from another KLM landing at St. Martins.
The author / pilot of the above video had a very informative description of how a 747 approach should be flown:
On an approach on instruments a B747 should cross the runway threshold (= the piano keys) with the main wheels at ± 35 ft above threshold. The 747 is so big that at that point the altitude of the cockpit is 35 ft higher, so the cockpit is at ± 70 ft when main wheels cross the threshold.
On a visual approach, as is the case here at St.Maarten, we have to have some more margin. Normally the pilot aims to see the runway threshold disappear under the nose at 80 ft (mind you, the main wheels are at that moment still NOT above the threshold) to have sufficient main wheel clearance.
If you look at the video and notice the altitude callouts, you see the threshold disappear under the nose at the call 50, so actually I am a bit too low in stead of too high. (Actually I am only too low for a visual approach. If you look at my landing at JFK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4YoXy... you will see that I cross the threshold also at 50 ft, which is normal on an instrument approach. Note: the automatic altitude callouts you hear on this video are Radio Altimeter altitudes. The Radio Alt is zero when the gear is on the ground with struts extended.)
Now, there are quite some viewers who think we landed too far on the runway. What follows from earlier explanation is this:
We approach a runway at a three degrees approach angle. If main wheels cross the threshold at the correct altitude, the main wheels will hit the runway at approx 900ft (300m) behind the threshold, that is, if you don't flare the airplane. If you look again at the video and wait till you hear 50,40,30,20,10 and see the solid white markers, they are at 900ft behind the threshold and the plane touches down right behind them, because I did flare the airplane. (Passengers seem to hate hard landings!!)
THIS IS THE NORMAL TOUCHDOWN POINT FOR A B747.
The FCTM(=Flight Crew Training Manual) from Boeing says: flare distance is approx 300 to 600mtr (=900 to 1800ft) beyond the threshold.
The final video is a bone-chilling aborted takeoff gone wrong. I know no details of this accident other than it was a cargo plane not a passenger plane.
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