The 737-900ER has a reputation as a runway hog. The elongated fuselage sits atop a gear that was originally designed in the 1960s for a much shorter fuselage. So the rotation angle is very carefully managed to avoid a tail strike. It lands very fast too. But it's also known as an efficient, economic cruiser, and the airlines love it.
This is why the 900ER can't fly from Maui to the mainland US, it needs over 9000ft of runway to take off at MTOW, Maui only has a 7000ft runway. 800s can barely take off in Maui when heading for the mainland, of course it is trivial for widebodies as they are barely half fueled for Hawaii to the US mainland.
Also you're right, 800s and 900ERs actually land at a higher speed than they take off at. VR is usually around 125-130kts, VRef is usually around 135-145kts.
mrvwbug44 thought the 800/900 usually needs at least 160 knots to rotate, and at least 140 to land. All that depends on weight, temperature, altitude. This one I estimate rotated at 180 knots or greater and used nearly full throttle, finally lifting off into the air some 45 seconds after spoolup.
That's due to the high altitude of Denver Airport. Since the air is less dense, aircraft needs higher speed for its wing to generate enough lift for airborne. That's also why high altitude airports have longer runway.
Eric Clifford should be a three hour and some flight to Newark. The -900ER can fly 6 hours without issue. So not a full tank. But even on 2 hour flights from lower altitudes or in moderate or mild conditions the thing simply gobbles the runway.
Today's flying public has gotten used to and expectant of those 10 second takeoff rolls...lol. I prefer those LONG rolls...it makes me feel like I got my money's worth.
I HATE long takeoff rolls. An incident in CLT on a Piedmont 727 back in teh 80's scared the crap out of me. We rolled for what seemed like an eternity and the gal I was travelling with, who was a seasoned traveler but not an aviation geek, looked at me and said "shouldn't we be off the ground by now". We should have. After that, I try to fly Southwest whenever possible as they seem to get off the ground and in the air as quickly as possible.
I've flown on a 737-ER out of Denver in the summertime on that very runway, and yeah, it takes awhile. Not to worry...they know precisely how long the takeoff roll is in advance, with plenty of safety factor built in.
The 900s especially take awhile to get off the ground, longer than most widebodies. Then you get the 757s which are off the ground in about 15 seconds, even in Denver.
I had a question about take offs, how long does it take for plane to go from the runway to stabilizing? I’m going on my first plane ride and I’m scared of the plane just accelerating at a steep angle for too long🥲
This past September 6, I was on a 737-900ER out of Denver, and we took off on 34L, and we were off the ground in under 6000 feet, so basically, there was still 10,000 feet left on that runway.
Sam Hill still quite a lot of thrust even if not 100%. Enough power that the engine buzz is drowned out. Yes, full throttle can only be used for very short periods of time due to its wear on the engines.
Alphons Vorderwühlbecke lifts off about 45 seconds after spool up. That’s awful long. Also flies over the end of the runway about 6 seconds after liftoff which is pretty close, especially considering it’s a long 12,000 foot runway.
This is totally normal at high altitude airports on hot days. To throttle up even more would reduce the life of the engines. May as well use that long runway. Instead of rotation at ~150 kts on on a cold day, rotation may accurate as high as 190kts, and the acceleration will be a lot less in that hot weather too. No big deal. . .
A 900ER can't derate except on 16R/34L on a hot day in Denver, unless it is running light. Their usual rotation speed would be around 140-150kts when heavy, as low as 125-130kts when light. 190kts is probably when a heavy 900ER will establish positive climb, as like the 800 they tend to float a bit after liftoff before establishing positive climb (because initial rotation angle is low to prevent tail strike)
The three H’s: hot, high, and heavy. Wasn’t a hot day but warm enough. And the 737-800/900 will roll long even from low altitudes on 2 hour flights in moderate conditions. It’s that much of a dog by nature.
They weren't using full thrust. I've landed at Denver when they haven't used reverse a few times. The runways are REALLY long. Narrow bodies seldom need to hurry.
They usually don't derate coming out of Denver, unless they are running really light. A 900ER that is close to MTOW is going to need over 10,000ft of runway to get off the ground in Denver.
Mordalo true. You’ll find takeoffs this long at Orlando, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, etc, although the thrust won’t be nearly as much. And yes, Denver is a mile high, meaning thinner air, higher rotation speeds required, less lift, and longer takeoffs.
This was Monday April 4th. Denver to Newark. If you watch other videos of planes taking off from runway 8 in Denver you'll see how incredibly late this rotation was!
+Brennan's Flight Factor yes, n69816. The "one hundred" livery that recognizes the top 100 employees at united with a plaque near the entrance (don't know if you noticed it)
