Originally Posted by
ecam
You guys 320s don't have brake fans? All but a handful of ours have them, even the 319s. We actually use them a lot with the high, hot, and short airports we use.
If you have brake fans, you need brake fans. The fan shroud acts like a heat shield, and holds the brake heat in. Even in a light 319, low auto brakes, you get hot brakes. Pretty much every single time.
On a positive note, you don't hear APU's screaming on the ramp. On a negative note, that is because every single airbus on the ramp has dual SCREAMING brake fans on. They are louder and more obnoxious than the APU.
3 years flying the bus at UAL I think I got hot brakes 5 or 6 times. Hot and high? Put external fans on the ramp at those very few airports.
321's I am not sure. Maybe more useful. I only flew them with brake fans.