Braking action

[Pink Panther]

Hy there,
I flew into Stuttgart, Germany the other night in a pc12 (single engine turbine). A snow shower moved over the airport at our arrival. The traffic controller asked most of the big jets about their comments on the braking action. Nearly everybody replied with: "braking action is medium". I was wondering how one could determine what the braking action is? I am flying in a turboprop and do not have to use my brakes at all, and the big jets all have antiskid. So I am wondering how you can comment on the braking action?

Greetings,

Reinier

 

[Melon]

How should a pilot report surface conditions? Normally, this information is passed along in the form of a breaking action report. Pilots should make breaking action reports in these terms only: Good, Fair, Poor, and Nil. "Medium" is not a proper term for BARs. Granted, breaking action reports are subjective and often determined by the speed, weight, performance, and configuration of the aircraft. This is why breaking action reports are issued with the aircraft type included. Sometimes they are done by an airport vehicle. Hope this answers your question.

 

[mar]

The seat of your pants

I think what the question is getting at is this: If the anti-skid system is doing its job (preventing the wheels from locking up) then how can the pilot accurately determine how slick the runway is....????

...the assumption being the anti-skid system masks the "slipperiness"...to coin a term...

But in reality the pilots can feel the anti-skid system *working* by the subtle lurches of the airframe while the brakes grab and release.

The slicker the runway, the harder the system works and you can feel it.

I hope that gets to the heart of the matter.

 

[mcjohn]

I just heard on the radio that the SWA plane that over ran the runway had been given a report from the tower that breaking action was fair to poor.
I'm wet here. I didn't know that was such a common condition to report.

 

[Fury220]

The military uses Runway Condition Reading (RCR) for several regulatory and TOLD considerations...is this not used in the civ world?

 

[mar]

McJohn--I wouldn't say it's common but sometimes conditions can change rapidly in the real world. It's important to realize that braking actions reports from pilots are like reports of turbulence: they're gonna vary with pilot experience and aircraft type.

Fury220--Some civilian airports will issue "mu" (greek letter) reports after a ground crew goes out with an instrument to measure the friction.

Braking actions reports from pilots are solicited sometimes in lieu of "mu" readings. Basically it depends on the airport.