Originally Posted by
aa73
I always thought this was kind of weird regarding CRJ thrust reverse:
While riding as a pax, I'd always notice that reverse would never occur until the aircraft was almost as slow as 80 kts or even slower. It just seemed like a long time between main gear touchdown and hearing the engines going into reverse, at which point we're practically stopped. The reverse would last maybe 3 seconds. It almost seemed a waste, since I could feel the aircraft slowing before reverse was even activated. What gives? Just curious because on most jets I've flown, specifically the 75/76, I get reverse thrust going before the nosewheel even touches down. Greatly reduces stopping distance. Can this be done on the CRJ? Thanks for your replies.
73
Yeah that's a CRJ200 issue. The reversers use bleed air instead of hydraulics so once we pull the levers it takes a few seconds for the air to deploy the reverser. It's a pain and renders them all but useless since like you said they can only be used for a few seconds. Bombardier fixed the 700/900 and made their reversers hydraulic.