True, though with RNP this will go away. However, the only planes SWA gets is new deliveries, and since one of the first things that happens is MX goes over it and (among other things) disables the AT, the only way you'd be able to use AT would be during a delivery flight. Most pilots play around with it a little, otherwise, there's no actual way to do it.

 

SWA would be wise to leave their '50s mentality regarding technology in the 50s. Autothrottle is a significant fuel saver and should be employed when appropriate.

Same applies to RJs.

 

are you sure about that? we used to take a 1% fuel penalty for leaving the autothrottles on in the DC-10 during cruise. The reason for this is the autothrottles "hunt" for airspeed and are constantly moving the throttles back and forth, as opposed to manually setting power you leave the throttles where they are and its more efficient because the engines arent spooling up and down. however the PMS (performance managment system) equipped 747 didnt have this problem because it would actually allow the airplane to climb or descend up to 100 ft before it attempted to change the power setting. this was a huge fuel saver believe it or not.

 

Well, I will admit that I don't know regarding specific airplanes. But A/T were invented not only as a labor-saving device. They do have a function beyond that and I would say it must be fuel saving. Does the DC-10 have FADEC?

That combined with A/T should equate to significant savings. At least if, as you described, the system allows for most efficient altitude/speed tradeoffs.

 

Well, believe it or not, there are actually a lot of people who do look at the cost benefit of these situations at SWA. Not only that, but there are actually a lot of pilots who aren't huge fans of AT because of the risk of losing some situational awareness. These things come with time, and to talk about a 50s technology seems a little silly after you realize how every single airplane has HUDs, how EFBs are just around the corner, and how complex, expensive, and heavy performance books and/or contractors are negated at SWA by the OPCs. Also, keep in mind that AT aren't the end all be all of fuel efficiency, and that on some routes there can actually be a fuel penalty because of the level of intelligence for ATs.

 

no fadec on the 10, it was straight mechanical linkage. the problem was the A/T would try so hard to hold exactly a Mach or airspeed at high cruising altitudes and with all the different disruptions like light chop, temp variations and wind changes, they would move like crazy. If you were manually flying the throttles, and you hit light chop or a slight airspeed deviation, you normally wouldnt jockey the throttles around because you know youd pass through it at some point and things would go back to normal.

then again the other airplane I fly is EEC controlled and the autothrottles are extremely well engineered. They are smart enough to know engine EPR versus matching throttle position on takeoff, and will revert to the known throttle position if the EPR's are reading incorrectly (Air Florida crash) on takeoff to make sure you are making enough power.

 

Seems like an intelligent airplane. Which one is it?

 

C-17, but im sure other airplanes have this too (possibly 757 since they have the same engines?)

 

"retard, retard......" thems fightin' words!

 

The start of this thread is drop dead hilarious. I think ill have to look up a flight crew members job description (pertaining to regional RJ's) and post it on here.