Originally Posted by
Mem9guy
For 80...
Sometimes this single engine taxi thing that you like to beat up fNWA crews on is not as black and white as you think.
From the MEM 10-7A
Special Notes:
No single engine taxiing in the alleys, inside of Spots One and Three.
This is a lot of the gates that we use on the DC-9 in MEM
Also, on the APU issue, above a certain temp, MEM ramp will advise us to run the APU at the gate to supplement the conditioned air. Something to do with the external air system at some of the older gates.
While I agree with you that we should save gas when we can, I just wanted to point out that everything you see is not just crews ignoring policy.
In so many words: no crap. The example I used was out of JFK flying into ATL. Good pavement, wide open spaces, zero restrictions and oodles of taxi time. And then parking in a gate with very good air and good power. I would not have called it out if I did not already check up on it. (not checking up as in tattle taling, checking up if there were issues with the airplane or procedures that I was not aware of that restricted it- there were none)
I was just saying use your head, think, and don't be lazy about single engine taxi. The fact is that we default to single engine taxi (and no APU depending on the airplane) unless there is a reason to do otherwise. The same goes for running the APU at the gate. Good power? Good air? Shut it down... sure as heck makes the walk arounds nicer, too. Air not cutting it? Then of course you need to run the APU. It's not rocket science.
fNW typically defaults to two engine taxi and running the APU all the time at the gate. That needs to change, and that was my point.
I know the 9's engines are hair dryers on the ground and need the APU. The 88 is the same way, and we typically taxi with the APU and single engine on the 737. The 320 would likely require the same for airflow unless it's a nice cool day. There is a time and place for that. All I'm saying is think and be proactive in not burning the noisemakers when they aren't necessary.