SWA crew names released

[madjack]

"So you'd cover up a bad technique (not standing up the throttles to ensure symmetric thrust"

Not to offend, but I was referring to the case where the other guy is flying and cobs on the power before you can react...thought that was obvious...

 

[SWA Bubba]

That doesn't make it right. Sorry, but the simple fact is SWA has a lot more pilots than anywhere else that seem to try and make up time on the ground. We have all seen SWA crews taxiing like they just stole a 737.
A hurry up mindset maybe lends itself to blurring the distinction between taxiing an airplane and taking off an airplane?
You simply don't need the tiller for directional control. The rudder is all you need. Even if you lose an engine, your left hand is on the yoke and your right hand is going to be closing the thrust levers. You are certainly not going to be reaching for the tiller with your left hand once you have closed the thrust levers or even worse, before you have closed the thrust levers. Probably the worst abuse of the tiller would be a Captain that induces tiller input while the F/O is flying?, that could really start some problems.

Again, a hurry up mindset lends itself to trying to hurrying up the takeoff roll, which in turn could lend itself to not taking the extra second to ensure symmetrical power before adding T/O thrust.

Scoreboard has a point, Dan. What is your fascination with the taxi speed of Southwest jets? You try to tie it to every instance you can, even when it has absolutely no bearing. YOU are the one who started the 20-page thread "Slow down SWA!", blaming "Southwest's ridiculous taxi speeds" for an incident where a guy knocked down a light pole in DEN while swinging around into a parking spot (with one essentially stationary wheel, and the other moving about 3 kts). You don't even wait for a single fact, before you attempt to tie every damn thing to your particular pet peeve.

The fact is, that Southwest has NEVER had an accident or incident that was found to be related to taxi speeds. Never. Our manual says to taxi at a maximum speed of 20 kts in general, or 30 kts on long straight taxiways. And, more importantly, at the bottom of that page, is says "FAA approved." That means that we taxi at FAA-approved speeds.

The fact that a lot of carriers taxi at ridiculously-slow speeds to pad their paychecks (or piss off their employers) has absolutely NO bearing on Southwest operations, or for that matter, what is safe.

Give it a rest. Please.

Bubba

 

[madjack]

"The fact that a lot of carriers taxi at ridiculously-slow speeds to pad their paychecks"

Paid by the hour vs paid by the trip...

 

[Dan Roman]

Explain why 30knots in a jet designed to taxi at 30knots is somehow unsafe under the right conditions such as taxiing C to 25R at LAS? Please use small words.

Ok I'll try...I don't want to use too many pleonasms lest I sound pedantic, erudite or verbose.

Taxiing faster in a straight line is not, by itself always unsafe. But when being in a hurry becomes your norm, it opens the door for incidents like, say......oh I got one! You're cleared for takeoff and you rush on to the runway, cob the power without even waiting to see if you have symmetrical power, which you momentarily don't, and the next thing you know you are all **************************************** and elbows with the rudder pedals or god forbid, you actually are grabbing at the tiller, which in turn can cause all kinds of problems on the T/O roll. Like the Tower Air or CO incident proved.

 

[madjack]

Dan, that is a stretch, taxi speed and overuse/misuse of the tiller on the runway...I think at this level we all know and recognize unsafe taxi speeds and overcontrolling the tiller and avoid doing both...at the end of the day we all have actionable licenses, sounds like ur hating SWA a little...

 

[HowardBorden]

Taxiing faster in a straight line is not, by itself always unsafe. But when being in a hurry becomes your norm, it opens the door for incidents

Dan, do you work for Southwest? Did you used to work for Southwest? Are you regularly on a SWA flight deck? I'm just curious because you routinely refer to this "hurry up mindset." If you aren't in the cockpit how do you know if someone is hurrying. I work there and I simply don't see it often. Of course I have witnessed someone being in a hurry but it certainly isn't the norm, encouraged or happening with any frequency. As a matter of fact the very last guy I flew with specifically stated: "Don't ever let me rush you. If you aren't ready we aren't ready." Trust me, this is very much more the norm than the "hurry up mindset" you are so fond of referring to.

 

[Dan Roman]

Dan, that is a stretch, taxi speed and overuse/misuse of the tiller on the runway...I think at this level we all know and recognize unsafe taxi speeds and overcontrolling the tiller and avoid doing both...at the end of the day we all have actionable licenses, sounds like ur hating SWA a little...

Nope, not all. Just calling it as I see it. The honest fact is Hawaiian has had issues with inter island pilots trying to out qualify you guys. We have managed to morph into a much more standardized operation. This became necessary as we expanded from pilots who spent 30 years flying nothing but inter island DC-9's to an operation of inter- island 717's (they don't tolerate the abuse the old DC-9's did) and International 767 and A330 flying. With the amount of seat changing and growth we have experienced, standardization has become very important. To be fair, your pilots are probably among the best at flying 737's around. Spend 20 years in a single type A/C and you get it wired. Like our inter island pilots. They do multiple legs in all kinds of conditions and as a result they become very comfortable with the airplane. It's real easy to cut corners by speeding or skipping checklists that you know like your social security number.
But we had a few guys back in the 90's that could make the airplane sing and dance if they wanted, but they habitually operated like they were trying to qualify for Indy and this caused a few incidents. The moral being, no matter how good you are with the airplane, rushed flight ops causes problems.

BTW MadJack, hats of to your civility rather than stooping to insults.

Again, I say on here a lot that we all live in glass houses. I don't buy the one airline is better than another crap. The fact is we all started out wanting to be airline pilots and whether you are with SWA DAL HAL OR whoever, we are quite fortunate. The biggest tools in the industry are the ones that think because they fly for, fill in the blank, they are somehow better than someone else? So no I am not bashing SWA, great airline with a LOT of great people.

 

[Dan Roman]

Dan, do you work for Southwest? Did you used to work for Southwest? Are you regularly on a SWA flight deck? I'm just curious because you routinely refer to this "hurry up mindset." If you aren't in the cockpit how do you know if someone is hurrying. I work there and I simply don't see it often. Of course I have witnessed someone being in a hurry but it certainly isn't the norm, encouraged or happening with any frequency. As a matter of fact the very last guy I flew with specifically stated: "Don't ever let me rush you. If you aren't ready we aren't ready." Trust me, this is very much more the norm than the "hurry up mindset" you are so fond of referring to.

Sorry Howie, but I have witnessed it a lot. I've had two SWA flights ignore ATC and cut in front of me at LAX, I've seen a SWA flight taxi so fast from the gate to the parallel taxiway in PHX ( 100 yds) that when ATC didn't let him cut in front of us he had to stand on the brakes so hard the airplane visibly rocked back and forth like nothing I have ever seen. I could go on, but you get the picture. All of us on this forum are all out there on the taxiways from a lot airlines. You are not going to fool anybody by saying SWA crews don't have a rep for fast taxi.
Again, not bashing, just making an observation.

 

[Dan Roman]

And Howie, you are right, you don't see SWA crews speeding as much as you used to. I think you are going through much what we we did inter island. Slowing down and being more standardized is a good thing, like the guy who briefed you about not rushing. Makes for a much happier cockpit.
Your example of being briefed not to rush is a good one. Couple years ago a SWA in a rush took the intersection behind us at OAK. he was in such a rush the non flying pilot mistakingly was still calling out before takeoff items on the radio (in his haste he misselected the radio ) as they rolled down the runway.
Dangerous? Nah, just not as professional and clean as we should all want to fly.

 

[madjack]

Those pesky int/mic rocker switches, they can be trouble...