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#1
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Leaving all engines running at the gate
Recently at SJU I saw an IB A340-600 arrive from Madrid that left all
four engines running during the 2 hours that it was at the gate before continuing to Santo Domingo. After all the passengers got off the entire crew, both cabin AND cockpit crew got off and went to the transit lounge for about an hour before returning to board for the SDQ leg. All this time the engines were left running. In fact, they never stopped running the whole time they were at SJU. I have never seen an airliner do this before and was wondering if something was wrong with this particular aircraft or if this is some kind of new "windmilling" feature on the new A346 or something. Perhaps related, I've heard that IB have had a horrible experience with their new A346s and this particular aircraft, EC-INO (Gaudi), the first one they received, is said to have given then more headaches than all the others. What circumcstances would make an airline leave a plane guzzling gas for such a long time on the ground? |
#2
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Leaving all engines running at the gate
John wrote:
Recently at SJU I saw an IB A340-600 arrive from Madrid that left all four engines running during the 2 hours that it was at the gate before continuing to Santo Domingo. If you could see the engines turning, it means that they were shut off and just slowly turning due to wind. It would be very hard for maintenance personel to get near the aircraft with all 4 engines running. And I suspect extremely hazardous (if not illegal) to refuel while engines are running. It is far more likely that what you saw were just engines turning slowly due to wind. There are situations where engines on one side are left running in extreme cold arctic conditions, and all passenger, cargo, fuel is handled from the other side. This is to ensure that at least one engine is available to generate sufficient power to restart the second engine. |
#3
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Leaving all engines running at the gate
"snowy squirrel" wrote in message ... John wrote: It is far more likely that what you saw were just engines turning slowly due to wind. Reminds me of what Steven Wright once said. "I used to own a helicopter, but had no place to park it, so I tied a rope to it, & left it running." |
#4
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Leaving all engines running at the gate
snowy squirrel wrote:
John wrote: Recently at SJU I saw an IB A340-600 arrive from Madrid that left all four engines running during the 2 hours that it was at the gate before continuing to Santo Domingo. If you could see the engines turning, it means that they were shut off and just slowly turning due to wind. It would be very hard for maintenance personel to get near the aircraft with all 4 engines running. And I suspect extremely hazardous (if not illegal) to refuel while engines are running. It is far more likely that what you saw were just engines turning slowly due to wind. There are situations where engines on one side are left running in extreme cold arctic conditions, and all passenger, cargo, fuel is handled from the other side. This is to ensure that at least one engine is available to generate sufficient power to restart the second engine. Nope, those four fans were running at a pretty good clip. No wind involved there. Besides, with the size of those things, it would take a hurricane to keep them turning for two hours. |
#5
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Leaving all engines running at the gate
The fans you saw were probably being turned by the wind. The noise you
heard was probably the APU running in the back. Its not unusual for a plane to sit at the gate with the APU running in the tail of the plane. Its a jet too and sounds like one. John wrote in message . .. Recently at SJU I saw an IB A340-600 arrive from Madrid that left all four engines running during the 2 hours that it was at the gate before continuing to Santo Domingo. After all the passengers got off the entire crew, both cabin AND cockpit crew got off and went to the transit lounge for about an hour before returning to board for the SDQ leg. All this time the engines were left running. In fact, they never stopped running the whole time they were at SJU. I have never seen an airliner do this before and was wondering if something was wrong with this particular aircraft or if this is some kind of new "windmilling" feature on the new A346 or something. Perhaps related, I've heard that IB have had a horrible experience with their new A346s and this particular aircraft, EC-INO (Gaudi), the first one they received, is said to have given then more headaches than all the others. What circumcstances would make an airline leave a plane guzzling gas for such a long time on the ground? |
#6
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Leaving all engines running at the gate
"John" wrote in message
Besides, with the size of those things, it would take a hurricane to keep them turning for two hours. Have you ever turned a turbine engine? -- John T http://tknowlogy.com/TknoFlyer http://www.pocketgear.com/products_s...veloperid=4415 ____________________ |
#7
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Leaving all engines running at the gate
On Tue, 03 Feb 2004 20:28:00 -0500, John wrote:
snowy squirrel wrote: John wrote: Recently at SJU I saw an IB A340-600 arrive from Madrid that left all four engines running during the 2 hours that it was at the gate before continuing to Santo Domingo. If you could see the engines turning, it means that they were shut off and just slowly turning due to wind. It would be very hard for maintenance personel to get near the aircraft with all 4 engines running. And I suspect extremely hazardous (if not illegal) to refuel while engines are running. It is far more likely that what you saw were just engines turning slowly due to wind. There are situations where engines on one side are left running in extreme cold arctic conditions, and all passenger, cargo, fuel is handled from the other side. This is to ensure that at least one engine is available to generate sufficient power to restart the second engine. Nope, those four fans were running at a pretty good clip. No wind involved there. Besides, with the size of those things, it would take a hurricane to keep them turning for two hours. The fans of a GE90 as fitted to some 777s are much bigger than a 340. It takes only a light sustained breeze to get them turning and they can certainly get up to quite a speed. There's not a chance 4 engines can be left running, let alone have the aircraft loaded, refuelled and serviced. You will also notice that the first engine isn't started until the aircraft has started to be pushed back. MJ |
#8
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Leaving all engines running at the gate
"John" wrote in message Nope, those four fans were running at a pretty good clip. No wind involved there. Besides, with the size of those things, it would take a hurricane to keep them turning for two hours. Rotor sections are *extremely* finely balanced, else they would vibrate the engine right off the wing at operational speeds. What this means is that the blade wheels will turn freely with very little force applied. A light breeze will suffice, no hurricane required. In my experience, more often than not you'll see these things turning (at least with large fan engines) if there's any breeze exposure at all. Regards, John Gaquin B727, B747 |
#9
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Leaving all engines running at the gate
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#10
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Leaving all engines running at the gate
John wrote: Nope, those four fans were running at a pretty good clip. No wind involved there. Besides, with the size of those things, it would take a hurricane to keep them turning for two hours. It takes very little wind to turn the blades. |
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