@ Michuki JKIA has an instrument landing system(ILS)-(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrument_landing_system) installed but for autoland you need the most advanced one- category 3c which can guide the plane all the way to the ground and even along it for taxiing. @aki- actually I think the pilot quite enjoys the Mombasa flight as the cruise is the most boring time and all the work is done on take off and landing- so it's more fun or fatigue whichever way you look at it. Oh and KQ planes on the most part can autoland but it's not approved by the company plus you need the cat 3 capability I mentioned above. @odhis Steve explained the reverse thrust as the reason for power increase. Now about the main wheels touching down firt and the "aircraft landing itself". When the plane is just about to land- around 50 feet off the ground the pilot 'flares' i.e pulls the nose up to make the plane fly level and and reduces the power(in alight aircraft, power is cut completely) and this makes the plane start sinking- i.e it lands itself. Now the work of the pilot is to keep the plane flyinga s long as possible and he does this by pulling the stick back which makes the plane lose speed and the rear wheels touch down gently in the ideal case. During this phase- the hold off the wheels are just kept off the ground. if this is done improperly the tarmac wil be met with a bang though when the runway is wet a slightly heavier landing is required for traction. Oh and on a light a/c the plane actually stalls just before touchdown in a good landing! Thrust reverses,flaps and spoilers- those things that come up from the wing help to slow the plane down on the ground. Flaps however were applied earlier on in the approach. So that's how they land the plane! On 04/06/2009, Michuki Mwangi <michuki@swiftkenya.com> wrote:
aki wrote:
@gituma, you force me to write..hehe :-) I think auto landing possible if airport equipped with ALS radar.
If memory serves me right, a KQ pilot name withheld mentioned to me that JKIA has ALS. How well calibrated it is another question all together. Am not sure if anyone has used it to perform auto-landing either. But i believe the system is installed - operational i dont know! :)
Mich
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