Originally Posted by
Timbo
When I first checked out as my fist Capt. job on the MD88, I had the FAA on the jumpseat to watch on the last leg. His one critique was that I rotated slowly...
I mentioned that since we had departed from a 10,000' runway, with no obstacles, wouldn't we be much better off, rudder control and climb wise, if we had lost an engine at V1, with the extra 10 knots...?
The only time I worry about getting up quickly and being right on V2 is if it's a very short runway or there is an obstacle to be cleared, and 99% of the time, there isn't.
If the guys in the DFW 727 no-flap takeoff (1987) had rotated slower, they might have been able to fly it off, it was a 12,000 runway. Ever since that accident I've never been in a hurry to "jerk it off"....so to speak!
Well said sir. I was in SVO when the 767 tailstrike happened. I heard it was a new hire FO, which makes sense because at the time the sim instructors were all breathing down your neck (literally) about "getting that nose up to V2-V2+10 right away!!!" The sim just doesn't rotate like an aft CG 7ER on a cold day. Maybe he rotated early too, I don't know, but I completely agree we are teaching a method that should really be considered a Transport Category airplane's version of a short field takeoff. No need to do anything quickly in a 400,000lb airplane.