Probably a stupid question... wing inspection lights

[PHX767]

I will attest that the AA checklist is really long and cumbersome. Take a long card with kind of small print, add that to a mechanical checklist down on the console that most items have 2 responses to , and now you know why it takes so long to get 'er done. Also maybe have to get new w&b from the acars, or new takeoff data if you guessed and got info for the wrong runway. And if you do a single engine taxi it gets real busy in the last few minutes.

On the lights: Most -80 guys will flip them all up/on to make it easy. Never flew with an AA Capt that wanted 'em otherwise. Then again I got laid off in Aug '03 so things may have changed....

 

[aa73]

CO and SWA pilots: What a great idea. The thinking at AA is, "Well, we did it that way on the Lockheed Electra so that's why we do it today, is there a problem?" Unfortunately, we still have a taxi checklist but it's pretty short - about 4 items. The rest is the "Before T/O" checklist.

So if you guys don't have a taxi checklist, do you have a "Before T/O" list?

p.s. Here's how absurd a mechanical checklist is: About two years ago we added "engine ignition" to the before t/o mechanical checklist. Guess how much it cost to install those two words to the MD80 mechanical checklist... $3000 per aircraft! and we have more than 300 MD80s. Do the math! Why they can't go to one plastic card per airplane is beyond me...

 

[geshields]

CO and SWA pilots: What a great idea. The thinking at AA is, "Well, we did it that way on the Lockheed Electra so that's why we do it today, is there a problem?" Unfortunately, we still have a taxi checklist but it's pretty short - about 4 items. The rest is the "Before T/O" checklist.

So if you guys don't have a taxi checklist, do you have a "Before T/O" list?

Yes we do have a before T/O checklist which is usually accomplished when we are number 2 for the runway...

 

[FR8mastr]

Back to the original topic, the ice lights do absolutely nothing but night blind the guys on the taxiways. You can not see the ice lights from behind so any potential "landing aircraft" wont see them anyway. In flight they can be seen, however when you see a bright white light in front of you, you think the aircraft is heading towards you ie landing lights. When in reality the aircraft is heading slightly left or right and away. If these ice lights were not on you could make out the nav lights and tell direction quickly.
Please give us a break and turn the ice lights off, especially on the ground.
I will give into the argument that ice lights are good for crossing active runways as an aircraft on final might actually see the ice lights in that situation.

 

[Pat Fabin]

Yeah, our 2 items on the 737 are flaps & flight controls. We could definitely move both of those to the afterstart or before takeoff. In any case, 2 is a heck of a lot better than any other airplane I've flown!

And for SWA, that makes sense to have both pilots looking out given your taxi speeds!

 

[canyonblue]

Why do some airlines (UAL, DAL, CAL) turn on their wing inspection "ice" lights during the day when cleared for t/o.... does it really make a difference... it's hard to see.

By posting this you did notice, so in effect it does accomplish what it is intended to do, notice the airplane.

 

[Cardinal]

The guy that crashes into me won't be the one at 12 o'clock, opposite direction, with his landing lights blazing. The guy that kills me will be coming from a direction I'm not usually scanning - over my shoulder. Exactly the direction the ice light points. Two Beech products collided at the 90 degree instersection of two runways in Quincy, Illinois during takeoff. Were it a little darker out, with ALL lights on, would it have made a difference? Maybe is good enough for me.

 

[FR8mastr]

Has there ever been a collision with one aircraft overtaking another from the 5 or 7 oclock position? It might be possible if you are hovering in a rotorwing. Someone approaching you from those positions will not hit you, as you are moving foward. Other than that two aircraft on a collision course even 90 degrees, dont start at 90 degrees. In that case the landing lights would be visable long before you can see an ice light. And by some miracle you missed the billion candle power landing light and saw the ice light, by the time you see it its too late.

 

[str8upflyrght]

Has there ever been a collision with one aircraft overtaking another from the 5 or 7 oclock position? It might be possible if you are hovering in a rotorwing. Someone approaching you from those positions will not hit you, as you are moving foward. Other than that two aircraft on a collision course even 90 degrees, dont start at 90 degrees. In that case the landing lights would be visable long before you can see an ice light. And by some miracle you missed the billion candle power landing light and saw the ice light, by the time you see it its too late.

Have you ever heard of Constant Bearing Decreasing Range? You can get hit from any clock position if the relative speed works out (or doesn't work out in the case of a mid air)

 

[Spooky 1]

Flight control question

At CO we have NO items on the B737, or B757/767 taxi check (there is no taxi ck). Everything is done on the Before start, and After start.

Really allows both persons attention to other things.

How do you do your flight control check, i.e., before you start the taxi or what. On the 67 at least you must have to get the flaps out to check the OB aileron movement, so do you just wait for that to happen before moving the airplane? Just curious as I am looking for a better way and I agree that less is better after you start to taxi.