Today's video was filmed by our master mechanic on jump-seat JAAN, landing with a heavy 58000kg or 128000lbs in our MADDOG, with a slight crosswind. Enjoy it and a penny for your thoughts..
I only have eight hours flight time as a student from the 90's. The new glass cockpits look confusing as hell. Too many computers. Give me the old school method. lol
Ahhh! The MD-80. I spent years of my life working on the SEM for the fuel system, (the main computer), and the CDU, (fuel quantity gauge), brings back memories!
Nice to see the MD-80 cross wind landing at St.Maarten . Not many MD-80 still flying. It was a great airplane in it's generation. There was a very noticeable crosswind during final requiring alot of yoke movement for correction. Very nice landing in spite of the wind by the F/O!
Well worn MD. Flew them with MidEx back in the day. Moved on to bigger...but not better...aircraft. I'll always have a special place in my heart for them! Loved being able to pull 20deg deck angle departures and scoot out of low scud in no time. Although the 75's I flew were referred to as "muscle" jets...the MD's were no slouch. I'd happily jump into one of the seats for old times sake!
WOW!!! As a former AA ground crew, I loved those MD-80's! The cool you could do with them is what's called a "Reverse push", thus, you didn't do a tug n bar, the pilots would reverse the engines at the gate as we directed! BTW- that F/O had hands of ICE!!! He was dead on with that approach and landing!!
My father, a DC10 captain with the old Transamerica refused the station mgrs request to back the plane so they could save the cost of the pushback. He told him, you want to reverse out of here, you do it.
ProNerd YES AT LEAST HE DIDN'TFUCK LIKE AMERICAN A310 THAT CRASHED IN NEW YORK DUE 2 PILOTS OVER CORRECTION ON THE RUDDER 4 WAKE TURBULENCE OF FFKN kal thatJUST DEPARTED!
Matthew Wells its probably becuase of the control tabs. The yoke on the MD80 does not directly move the control surfaces, they instead move small control tabs on each control surface which then flies the aileron or elevators into position. However, in the event of a stall the elevators can be powered into the down position hydraulically. This is why you often see split elevator positions of a parked MD80.
It takes allot of input. Your just moving small tabs on the control surfaces which in turn move the larger surface. I don't miss this dinosaur at all. Lovin me some Airbus!!!!
In most airliners, moving the control wheel drives hydraulic actuators which deflect the ailerons. On the MD80 however, the control wheel is connected by a system of cables and pulleys to a 'servo tab'. This is a small control surface that is hinged at the trailing edge of the aileron. Deflection of the servo tab creates aerodynamic forces on the aileron which in turn push them up and down. The lack of a direct link results in 'sloppier' controls (for want of a better word).
That's "Princess Juliana" to you, fella. Used to keep my sailboat there in the Lagoon, and also flew in there as a 727, and later a 757, Captain. I could see my boat as I turned off RW 08, but we never over-nighted at SXM. So I had to fly down as a passenger.
Amazing yoke work! ...and for Faris Mufti, as far as the pilot "being so hard with the flight controls", that's called flying an airliner "hands on", FYI :)
you should know that the majority of landings nowadays is still done by the pilots (manual landing). autoland is only applied when it's really needed, e.g. when there's a lot of fog/rain and visibility is very low. btw Princess Juliana Airport doesn't have ILS, pilots always have to land 'by hand' there. what you see them do right before landing is adjusting the autopilot for a possible go-around
combination. the md80 at these max lnd weights tents to run out of trim. big deflections are needed (lower airspeeds) and sxm has a huge mountain right in front of the rwy. gives a choppy wind. and we're based on a small island so all parts are imported. we try to save on tires and brakes. looking for that smooth touchdown each n every time plus we let it roll till the end for the brakes(when traffic permits)
tnx! no not always do you need a lot of control input. depends on the wind, and of course weight of aircraft, runway etc. about adding power to smooth out the landing... well some people tend to do it. im not sure about doing that, if preferred to do "one" big flare input instead of adding the power. but again it all depends on the current situation. the aircraft when at max landing weight(or higher weights)tends to run out of elevator trim. hence maddog ! sometimes you just need to be agressive
Those were the days, I'd give anything to fly a pilots aeroplane like that. I fly the 737 now, most pilots would freak out on a visual approach like that. Everything is flown LNAV VNAV now, if its visual, build it in the box or fly an RNP. So sad, but the way of the future I guess. Cheers for the video
Great video. We landed once there as a passenger on the way to Aruba a few years ago with a KLM MD-11. It's really a great approach. Very nice to see it from a pilot's view.
@BusterBunker The MD-80, with its aerodynamically-driven ailerons and elevators, usually seems to be a bit more sluggish than jets with conventional hydraulic flight controls. This is due to the fact that when the pilot moves the control column, he or she is actually moving a control tab on each aileron, which in turn moves the ailerons through aerodynamic forces. This takes a bit of time.
Very nice video ! This maddog has -for me- a cool history. It was originally delivered new to Aero Lloyd (former german airline) in 1987. I had a trip to Mallorca (Spain) exactly on this plane in 1997. So I´am very glad to see that this bird is still flying. And I´am even more excited to know that this aircraft is now landing on my favourite airport St. Maarten. Good work ! Thank´s for sharing !!
Was sorry to hear about what happened with Insel, had great times watching them and many others at St Maarten shame a lot of the classic aircraft no longer in use now.
That was a lot of yoke wrestling on landing, nice work, but.. Is this solely based on vfr and feeling at this stage or instrument based? Silly question I know, I presumed at landing speed with flaps full it takes a lots more work to battle the lessened stability. Dom (going back to school to achieve some stripes!)
@BustBunker since there were crosswinds turning the yoke stops the winds from changing there approach and landing and makes the plane strait at touchdown
Enjoyed the view from cockpit. I have always loved the MD series planes all the way from the Old DC9's to the newer models. Cool vid! Makes me want to go on vacation!!!
Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your videos. I film thunderstorm videos from my plane for a living. I'm looking forward to the convective weather you will encounter this spring and summer. Great work!
on older boeings, they dont have the countdown. the aircraft owner could install it. we have it installed on some md80's. not all. check the other videos and you'll see. greetings
THE MD SUPER 80 AND SERIES MAKES THE PILOT(S) FLY THE PLANE AND LESS RELY ON AUTOMATION WHICH TO ME KEEP THEM FOCUSED AND BETTER OF SITUATION AWARENESS. GREAT AIRLINER AND VIDEO! THANKS.
cyba0, the entire DC9/MD-80 line had manual flight controls, except for the rudder. So basically the yoke was only connected to the control tabs, which then moved the elevators or aileron. There was always a lag in response, so that's why you see a lot of movement of the yoke. During landing on turbulence, it's possible to see the yoke go near full left/right. The F/O reaches back to trim which is also directly connected via control cable to the trim tabs. You had it right, "mechanical" plane.
Want to be a pilot huh ? Well........try this first. Tonight at midnight clear out your wardrobe & put a chair in it. Now sit in it & close the door & stay there for 15 hours. This will simulate a back of the clock night flight. Every half hour get your mom to complainingly bring you a cold cup of coffee & shine a flash light directly in your face then drop a blacksmiths anvil on the cockpit floor. This will simulate in flt crew service & flight attendants job dissatisfaction by opening & slamming the cockpit door with cabin lights on full bright. Then get your mom to light a ships flare & put it on the wardrobe shelf near your face. This will simulate the sun rising. Still interested ?
Don't listen to @@graemewilliams1308 , airline pilots are one of the coolest jobs to have in the world. They are one of the few well respected, well paid jobs that you don't have to sit in a cubicle or office for and do the same thing every day as the time passes. You get to see the world from above, doing things others only dream of. There's a reason they call it 'having your head in the clouds', its so amazing that to most people, it seems unattainable. Try looking up videos of people filling out insurance, bank loans, or writing wills for old people. You won't, but you can find videos of airline pilots, because THEY LOVE THEIR JOB!
Amazing how you can do that so seemingly smooth, but your hands were flying all over the control panel all the way down. Must be lots to think about besides just setting the flaps and throttle and flying in by the seat of your pants. I learned to fly a Cessna 150 in the early 70's so these cockpit videos are extremely valuable to my fascination with flying the big ones. Thanks!
But you notice that during the jiggling the plane is not varying it's course by that much. The left to right simply moves the ailerons on the wings. I don't want to imply that this is like the steering wheel in your car (because it is not), but, you do tend to move your steering wheel left to right when you drive to make adjustments for the shape of the road without really thinking about it too much. Similarly, here, they are making adjustments for the wind--the air.
Some years ago I spent time as an A320 instructor, but those manual controls are awesome and surely missed. By the way, that type of manual controls still lives with the B-717, which is nothing more than a DC-9-40 with IAE engines and MD-11 instruments.
@haitiano1982 I believe that is because the control wheel is linked to cables, rather than a Fly-by-Wire electronic system found on newer jets. Am I right?
Great video Haitiano. Just a quick question...At what point did you disengage the Auto Throttle? I can see the switch on the ON position the whole time until the reverse 4 lights come on. Am I mistaken on this observation?
have flown in the 80 series (sas)dub to cph for over 20 years and love the things,a buzz in take off and solid as a rock,a pilots aircraft! cant understand the weird comments by some folk,but hey,no accounting for taste :-) thanks for the vid,nice.
Don't worry about the haters like 123ypaul. He's anonymous behind a computer while you're landing MD-80s smooth as silk. Good job and keep up the nice work.
Remember visiting St. Maarten last year and a lot of these Insel Air MD80s were going, probably the most frequent jet you see. The engines are ridiculously loud!
Thats because TNCM has no taxiways allowing you to exit after a landing on RWY10. You have to go down to the far end of the runway for a 180° turn, taxi back some of the runway before you can turn into the apron.
They are just controlling altitude, descent rate and speed as well as loc and gs. Just making the needed inputs to the ap for approach. It becomes monotonous after doing it enough times. The fun part is when you disconnect the ap.
Clearly. There is no turbulence. No birds to look out for or other aircraft. No thousand different gauges and switches. No ATC. It is like comparing movie racing to the real thing. But it is still fun.
sim flying is excellent for training though. but that alone doesn't qualify you to make real life input. and that's why they say every flight is different
Yes, you need a type-rating to fly other planes. I think with Airbus/Boeing you can have one rating, which allows you to fly similar aircraft in the fleet (Airbus A318/19/20/21) and so on
4325air, that sound is the horizontal stabiliser motion alert. The autopilot uses it to trim the pitch. If it moves more than 2 deg in 3 seconds or so, then bitchin betty also chimes in with a "stabilser motion" verbal warning. You hear this all the time flying in turbulence, and it's nothing to worry about :)
Nice Vid,, Being a Private,, My Piper Navahoo , WOW!!!!!!!! As I Got my Private In a Piper 180 0r a Cherokke 6.. That Cher 6 Was a Muslel BUILDER!! to Just use the rudders,,,, And On a 1600 ft strip,In Meriden, Ct, BEST CFI i had 36000 Hrs On Aircraft carrier,, As Neil Tought Me,,I asked What was Toughest Landing,, His Reply,, "NEVER 1 THE SAME!!!!" So when he said Hit The Numbers,,, The BEST CFII !!!! Thanks for GREAT VID!!!,,,,
Does the MD-80 not respond to input that low to the ground? It looks like the FO was banking to the left and right like crazy, but nothing was happening. Almost like the control surfaces were not responding. Or, maybe is the characteristics of the MD-80 that low the ground?
Excellent Vid!!! Does the MD-80 always have to have a lot of control input at lower speeds to stay on the mark? It looks like you had serious work to keep it there. Also do you find that you have to add some power in the 80 to smooth out the landing? As a passenger I seem to remember that. Do they still allow power-backs in MD-80’s?
