Question for SWAFO (not FSP related)

[teofilo]

Hey SWAFO!
I was wondering since you fly for Southwest what are your flap setting when departing KMDW.
I fly the 737-700 and I am finding it hard to takeoff from that airport unless you use a flap setting of 10 degrees or more.
What are the normal procedures so you can clear for example runway 4R or 22L. I know for the smaller runways it won't work but for
some reason no matter if I put 10 degrees of flap, I always takeoff almost hitting the wall or touching the trees at the end of the airport.
Any suggestions?
Thanks much,

Teo

[olseric]

I can't answer the flaps question, but I do have another for you...how are you taking off? Rolling or static?

If you position and hold, spool the engines up, and then release the brakes, it will help speed your aircraft up sooner thus consuming
less runway.

[alphaone]

Huh that's odd... I took off in my pmdg 737-700 from kmdw not too long ago doing a rolling takeoff at flaps 10 and a ZFW of about 106,000 and had no
problem getting off the ground well before the end of the runway. Maybe you're taking off too heavy? Take a look at the takeoff charts for the 737
if you have the pmdg.

[teofilo]

Yeah that will be my best bet.
Check the charts.
I usually do a rolling takeoff. But I will try the other one as well.
My aircraft in FSPassengers is loaded at about 87% so it's not fully loaded. I guess I can just add a lot of trim to see if that helps me get it
off the ground faster, but I am fearing a possible tail strike.


Teo

[alphaone]

I would keep the trim at about 5.5 degrees

[vollmey]

That's a good question for Brad, the 700's out of Midway got to be fairly heavy heading out to the west cost. And I agree in the PMDG
700 it's real tight getting off the ground even at 120,000 lbs.

Good question.



Post Edited ( 10-19-05 20:02 )

[teofilo]

Today I took off on a flight from MDW to LAS (Vegas) and I selected a flaps 15 settings. Also I took off without packs for extra thrust. I did a
holding takeoff. Holding the breaks and waiting for the engines to spool up.
After that I got to takeoff perfectly, I cleared obstacles by about 100ft. I think that's better than my previous takeoffs.

Regards,
Teo

[SWAFO]

Teo,
Sorry for not getting around to your post earlier. Very busy at work lately. The 737-700 is approved for flaps 1, 5, 10, 15, and 25
takeoffs. Keep in mind that although the FS9 aircraft (especially payware aircraft) replicate lots of the performance aspects of their real
world counterparts very well, there are still shortfalls. Normally, I'll have no problem taking off from MDW with Flaps 15, and commencing
a rolling takeoff. If I am very heavy, I will perform a bleeds off takeoff (or use the APU during the takeoff for bleed air), however it's not ideal
to shut off the packs, and still leave the bleeds on. That defeats the whole goal of the bleeds off takeoff (to have maximum engine thrust
available). Also, be sure that you aren't using any thrust de-rates, and are using the maximum available thrust. If necessary, you can
spool the engines above idle with the brakes set, however it's not good practice to constantly run the engines up (at least both at a time)
to a high speed with the brakes on. It's better to stabilize the engines (set to 40% N1) with the brakes on; then immediately release the
brakes, and push the throttles to their maximum. This will allow a quick spool up, will give you some added acceleration during takeoff,
and won't place as much strain on the brakes.

Hope this helps. Time for bed, I finally have two days off in a row (been working non-stop the past week or two), so I'm anxious to relax!

[teofilo]

Thanks much Brad!

I will try that tonight on my flight to KFLL.
Have a great break!

Teo