CRJ Question

[SlapShot]

I noticed Air Wiskey/Independence taxi with the landing lights on. Why? Is the taxi light ineffective? Also, why do you taxi in with the flaps down?

Just curious.

 

[ERfly]

I may be out in left field (I fly the Brazilian Lawn Dart as opposed to the Canadian one), but the taxi lights are on the wings. The landing light is on the nose. Also, with the flaps, I think there was some sort of AD on the airplane that requires you to visually check the position of the flaps. Some carriers fixed the problem, others haven't yet. That's just what I understood. I may be completely wrong.

 

[WWEfan]

Maybe they forgot to do the "After Landing" checklist

 

[Baronman]

Also not a CRJ driver but have head that the flap thing has to do with an AD and they must be visually inspected in that position. Looks kinda funny and still catches my attention when going into a gate.

 

[PCL_128]

I noticed Air Wiskey/Independence taxi with the landing lights on. Why? Is the taxi light ineffective? Also, why do you taxi in with the flaps down?

Just curious.

The inboard parts of the wing have both recog/taxi lights and landing lights. You're probably just seeing the taxi lights on. Sometimes the lights are a little dim though and some guys will turn on the nose landing light.

As for the flaps, some airlines are still under the old flap AD that requires the flaps to be inspected after every flight in the 8 degree position. You can get out of this by reducing the VFE 8/20 speed to 215 knots and adding a new rubber filler piece between the wing and flap.

 

[mamba20]

The taxi lights are on the wings as well as 2 of the landing lights. The nose light is a landing light 1 on the 700 and 2 on the 200. The taxi lights are not the best I've seen that could be why. As part of our after landing check the F/O turns off all non essential lights once clear of the runway, maybe the capt. wanted them on or maybe the F/O forgot. Happens to the best of us.

As far as the flap thing goes, on the older CRJ's the flaps must be checked for warping (I believe) during the post flight walk around.

 

[SlapShot]

Thanks for the info. Now I owe someone a beer.

 

[Mongolikecandy]

Thanks for the info. Now I owe someone a beer.

I'll take it.

 

[No Delay]

I fly the crj. It is very common for the capt to want the nose landing light on during taxi. The after landing checklist calls for the landing lights to be turned off, but I always ask the capt if he wants his nose lights....most do. I have even had some captains call for the after landing checklist followed by "I have the lights"...meaning they will set the lights to their preference which is usually the nose light on.


Also, like everyone has said, the taxi lights are on the wings and could be confusing.

The flap thing is due to the AD which says the flaps have to be visually inspected. It is ASA's practice to set the flaps in takeoff position for the next leg / flight. This is so when we do our post flight inspection we can visually inspect the flaps. It just saves a step. I would bet that Independance has the same practice.

I think I heard someone the AD is an easy fix. I "think" just changing the flap speed limitations will cancel the AD. I think that or something similar is in the works and the AD will be going away soon.

 

[atrdriver]

In ATL the easiest way to tell if you're behind an ASA or a CMR RJ is where the flaps are set. 8 degrees for ASA and 20 for CMR.

 

[J32driver]

The flap AD isn't an easy fix. It requires new wiring and control units from what I understand. Air Willy has 70 RJs. Of those 70, roughly 50 of them have completed the AD and don't actually require the visual inspection. BUT... so crews don't have to keep track of which airplane they are in, we just treat all planes like we have not complied with the AD. After the AD has been completed on the entire fleet, we will start retracting the flaps to zero like a normal airline. I've heard probably another year or so before all the airplanes have the mod completed.

As for the nose landing lights... ACA started that after one of their planes da mned near got split in half by a chick bus driver that was talking on a cell phone and T-boned them right at the wing root. The bus driver claims she didn't see the plane because its nose lights weren't on.

 

[jehtplane]

J32 is correct, they are replacing the PDU's, or power drive units as they cycle through C checks.