Happy Holidays and the like, Kiz. If you choose to close the engine bleeds in your descent for landing for performance, to remain pressurized use the APU to pressurize the aircraft. And then set the pressurization as per normal. (make sure the crossbleed is open)

Flaps 45 was no big deal, as EMB-120IP stated. I flew with and taught both captains and co-pilots for many years on doing Flaps 45 ILS'/landings. It just takes practice and knowledge of the effects on the aircraft, and viola.....Touchdown, some smooth, some not so much, but all in all good none the less.. Hope that helps some. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Take care and KEEP SMILING!!

 

ndarmour, thank you and have a happy holiday as well. Understood and if we don't need to be pressurized i'm assuming we could just set it to 1000 feet AGL?

Happy New Year when it comes.

KIZ

 

Power settings for flaps 25 approach vary with weight. At about 24000 lbs or higher, the airplane will need about 19-24% torque. Below 24000 lbs, expect anywhere between 15-19% torque. The sim though, 20-25% works great, at 23 to 24000 lbs. A good average torque setting would be 20% (for profile purposes)

For flaps 45, in the airplane, expect to be 30-35% torque in the descent to maintain approach speed (we use Vref +10). Lighter = not too much difference, still about 28-34%. A good average would be 35%.
NDARMOUR speaks the truth (troof) about flaps 45. Nothing too difficult, just tempermental. Some smooth (smoove) landings, some not so much. Just keep the power in until the roundout.

As for flaring altitudes, it's tough to gauge. Flaps 25, your airspeed won't bleed off that fast so 3 feet is ok, but flaps 45...you do that and take out power = airspeed drops faster than you can blink. A good tecnique would be to keep the nose pointed down (on ref speed) till about 3 feet agl, with power still in, then increase pitch to reduce descent rate. About 1 - 2 feet agl (or when FO or CA braces for impact), reduce power and let it settle. Do this till you get the picture, then alter as needed.
Flaps 25 work best for crosswinds, but 45 do ok too. I've found that flaps 45 doesn't affect rudder control in the event of a large crosswind landing. It does add a little keel effect, so if it's really bumpy, it somewhat reduces the yawing tendencies.

NDARMOUR has a lot of experience in this airplane. More experience than I do being potty trained (I think). He definitely gives great advice!

 

Happy New Year guys! Wish you guys all the best for 2010!

During engine shutdown, do you leave the engine bleeds open or closed?
The SOPs say that shutting down the APU with bleed air open helps to extend APU life, is the same thing applicable to the engines?

Kindest Regards

KIZ

 

With an engine shutdown, if the APU is already on, I'd close the engine bleeds and open the crossbleed. The checklist (precaut. engine shutdown) calls for starting the APU if available, so once the APU is on, I'd close the bleeds.

Personally, If performance doesn't require bleeds to be closed (cold or low field elevations), or if the wx is nice, I shut down the APU. If the WX is bad, I leave it on just in case and shut it down around 10,000 feet. If the APU is preferred to be shutdown prior to takeoff, you can still do a bleeds closed takeoff, you just turn off the packs and close the bleeds until 400 feet or whatever your acceleration height is for that runway. You'll just be unpressurized for that period of time. Not a big deal. Closed bleeds saves engines, allows them to run cooler, more power, and reduces wear and tear at high power settings.

Shutting down the APU lengthens it's life, and saves 130 pounds per hour of fuel. The APU burns a slight amount of oil, and it only holds 2 quarts. Running it constantly under load (bleed and gen) eventually leads to low oil quantity. Treat it well, because once you're without it, life becomes much more difficult and environmental conditions become much more difficult to deal with!

 

Hey guys i'm pretty much done with my SOPs at this point. Wish i could see what your flip cards look like and woudn't mind seeing what your load manifest looks like but all in all, thank you all for your assistance and i wish you all the best for 2010. Safe flying and have a great year.

Regards

KIZ