Wet or Contaminated Runways

The conditions and factors associated with landing on a wet runway or a runway contaminated by standing water, snow, slush or ice should be assessed carefully before beginning the approach. The Flight Safety Foundation team found that wet runways and runways contaminated by standing water, snow, slush or ice were involved in 96 percent of…… Continue Reading →

Brakes and Performance

All Brakes are subject to wear. Some brakes may also experience oxidation which can lead to brake rupture. In the case of a brake rupture or if brakes are too worn, the aircraft braking performance is reduced. This can result in a runway overrun if the full braking capacity is required such as during a…… Continue Reading →

Ice Ridges on the Lower Nose Fuselage

With the start of the winter season in the northern hemisphere, it is a timely reminder to re-publish this Airbus article, initially written in 2018. Ice ridges on the lower nose fuselage can cause Computed Airspeed (CAS) values delivered by the ADRs to be lower than the actual airspeed which may lead to unreliable airspeed…… Continue Reading →

Landing distances

When discussing landing distance, two categories must be considered: ‘actual landing distance’ is the distance used in landing and braking to a complete stop (on a dry runway) after crossing the runway threshold at 50 feet; and ‘Required landing distance’ that is the distance derived by applying a factor to the actual landing distance. Actual…… Continue Reading →

Blended Winglets For Improved Performance

Blended winglets on the Boeing Business Jet and the B737-800 commercial airplane offer operational benefits to customers. Besides giving the airplanes a distinctive appearance, the winglets create more efficient flight characteristics in cruise and during takeoff and climbout, which translate into additional range with the same fuel and payload…. Continue Reading →