Thread: What Happens When You Slam On the Brakes in a 747?

What Happens When You Slam On the Brakes in a 747? | Wired Science| Wired.com

Not much, thankfully

200m, from 200mph,, crazy,,, dose anyone no if planes have some sort of ABS????

Originally Posted by stig0000

200m, from 200mph,, crazy,,, dose anyone no if planes have some sort of ABS????

Yes. Not all planes, of course, but ABS was invented for aeroplanes.

I am reminded of the time many years ago I flew into Wellington (NZ) in a 747SP - if you know that airport, it looks too short to land even an SP. The landing was apparently made with the brakes on, with ABS switched on, and full throttle reverse thrust as soon as the wheels were on the ground. I was in Business Class on the upper deck, and the poorly stowed coffee pot (fortunately empty) sailed down the aisle to land at the pilot's door.

John

These sort of stories fascinate me John,,

so do the engineers that say yes you can land one of these things on that runway make the same sort of safety calculations as they do for fuel?

I think I've been Modded!
was sure I posted this in The Parking Lot,,

That was 200m less than expected, i didnt hear a final distance covered.

Yes aircraft have had ABS systems for a long time.
I am pretty sure disc brakes were first developed for aircraft then applied to road vehicles.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

These sort of stories fascinate me John,,

so do the engineers that say yes you can land one of these things on that runway make the same sort of safety calculations as they do for fuel?

Yes, although the margins are closer than fuel, because fuel has to cover unexpected delays. Every aircraft, even the smallest has performance charts (or computer programs) that you plug in wind speed, temperature, altitude, slope, runway surface, landing mass etc, and if the answer in landing distance is less than the runway length, the landing can be undertaken. Also coming out of the calculation is the approach speed, and the flight manual and operator policies also dictate the approach angle, flap settings, procedures such as rate of brake and reverse thrust application etc. Similar calculations apply for takeoff, and on occasion weight (usually freight or baggage, but occasionally passengers) have to be offloaded to reduce the required distance to the available distance. The pilot actually has very little discretion in airline operations, more in light aircraft operations, where most runways are far longer than needed.

John

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

I think I've been Modded!
was sure I posted this in The Parking Lot,,

You were and yes it was.