Arjun Singh

Airline Pilot A320 | B737 | Flight Sim Enthusiast. (Views and comments are personal)

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

A 1st in commercial aviation & one of the most distinctive features of the 777X's design is its innovative folding wingtips.

The 777X boasts an impressive 235 feet and five-inch wingspan, a bit too wide for most airport gates.

🧵 The Boeing 777X Folding WingTip (FWT) operation.

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

Although the A380 is huge, weight savings still matter.

To offset the heavy weight penalty of traditional hydraulic distribution piping, the Airbus A380 utilizes two key engineering innovations.

1️⃣ Increased system pressure (A380 raised it 66% from 210 to 350 bar) → less fluid volume + smaller return lines = 20% system weight saved.

2️⃣ Zonal hydraulics using electrical power - perfect for distant, short-duration actuators - aptly called local electro-hydraulic generation systems (LEHGS) ⚡️

Both debuted on the Airbus A380.

[Varun Solanki @varunb777]

#A380

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

It is remarkable to consider that this is where it all began.

The name serves as a tribute to the airline's renowned "Double Sunrise" flights from World War II.

[Qantas @Qantas]

Today we announced the future of aviation to take Australia further. Are you ready @Boeing and @Airbus?

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

Airbus's first Rear Centre Tank (RCT) - The A340-500 was the first to introduce a fuselage integral fuel tank to enable extended-range operations, a design later adopted on the A321XLR and now used on the A350-1000ULR.

The standard 5-frame RCT provided a capacity of 19,930 liters (5,260 US gallons). It is a permanently installed fuel tank located in the lower fuselage, outside the pressurized cabin area, and positioned aft of the center landing gear bay.

Did you know - A larger 7-frame RCT was offered as an option.
Singapore Airlines A340-500s were a customer-specific variant equipped with the larger 7-frame tank (instead of the standard 5-frame) to support the Singapore–New York (SIN-NYC) route.

[Airbus @Airbus]

Kicking off a 2 month Flight Test campaign, the #A350-1000ULR has completed its first flight! ✈️

Equipped with an additional rear centre tank, the Ultra Long Range aircraft will enable @Qantas to fly non-stop flights between Sydney and London or New York.

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

Tail Tipping in Freighters: A Critical Ground Handling Risk

Tail tipping is a serious hazard during aircraft loading and unloading. It happens when the center of gravity shifts too far aft, causing the nose to lift and the tail to crash to the ground.

Most aircraft lack dedicated systems to prevent tail tipping. NLG extension and ECAM warnings are not designed for this purpose.

The nose landing gear strut extension is affected by many factors such as temperature, friction, joints, and servicing conditions. There is no reliable “normal” extension value that indicates tail tip risk. Ground personnel must visually monitor the nose gear at all times.

In some Airbus tail-tip cases with excessive NLG extension, the L/G SHOCK ABSORBER FAULT warning may appear. However, this warning only triggers when the engines are running. Since engines are usually off during cargo operations, it cannot be relied upon as a primary safeguard.

The Airbus A350F features a dedicated Tail Tipping Warning System (TTWS) that continuously monitors nose landing gear compression in real time. If the weight on the nose gear falls below a safe threshold, it triggers visual and audible alarms for the ground crew.

Tail Tipping Warning System (TTWS): Developed with Liebherr-Aerospace, the TTWS uses precision sensors to detect impending tail tipping. It immediately issues alerts and can automatically halt the cargo loading system.

Airbus validates the system through rigorous testing, including extreme simulations on the "Cargo Zero" test rig with ultra-heavy ULDs up to 28 tons. These tests ensure the anti-tail-tipping systems perform reliably under the most demanding conditions.

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

Actually Sir, 2 would be required. This is known as "Catamaran stability" in raft slides. It has a wide spacing of its twin hulls, which provides a broad stance on the water rather than relying on heavy ballast. This "form stability" resists tipping and rolling, giving passengers a flat, level ride and excellent resistance to capsizing.

But maybe you didn't mean to ask this. 🤔

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

@iflytb20 @tweetpratikm I'm not flying the 1B.....yet.

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

As the CFM LEAP engine shuts down, you can hear the distinctive “whoosh” sound followed by a gush of air. That is the Reverse Bleed System (RBS) at work.

During normal operation, a significant amount of fuel remains unpurged in the system after engine shutdown. This residual fuel, located near or within the hot section, vaporizes due to high temperatures and deposits carbon (coke) on the fuel nozzles. Over time, nozzle coking leads to several operational and maintenance issues, including loss of thrust, reduced engine efficiency due to incomplete combustion, accelerated deterioration of hot-section components (combustor and High-Pressure Turbine), engine start failures, potential engine stalls, and increased unscheduled engine removals.

The Reverse Bleed System (RBS) prevents fuel nozzle coking by automatically introducing cool air from the core compartment into the engine core flowpath after shutdown. This effectively lowers the fuel nozzle temperature below the coking threshold. RBS can operate for a maximum of 1 hour, and its effectiveness depends on ambient conditions (especially ambient temperature) and the total duration it runs. The last flight of the day contributes the most to fuel nozzle coke accumulation because of the extended dwell time at the gate.

By actively managing post-shutdown thermal conditions, RBS significantly reduces coking-related problems, improves engine reliability, and lowers long-term maintenance costs.

Now, also coming soon to the CFM56

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

The effectiveness of the Reverse Bleed System (RBS) depends on several factors, including (but not limited to) ambient conditions and the duration of RBS operation (power-on time). The last flight of the day is the largest contributor to overall fuel nozzle coke accumulation, primarily due to the extended ground time at the gates. Estimates show that a minimum of 30 minutes of RBS operation during the last flight of the day is required to achieve maximum benefit from the system.

It is permitted to have one engine with RBS and one without. The startup cool times should not have an impact as this is just to cool the fuel nozzles and not the entire core section.

[PlaneCrazy @IXGguy]

At weights below 230 tonnes, the centre (CTR) gear on the A340-200/-300 ceases to play a significant role in the aircraft's pavement loading. Notably, at very low operating weights, the CTR gear may hang clear off the pavement, making it unnecessary in certain instances. Some airlines have leveraged this characteristic by fully deactivating the CTR gear in accordance with the A340 MMEL (Master Minimum Equipment List), which results in a reduction of both drag and weight. This modification ultimately contributes to decreased fuel consumption and associated operational costs due to the decreasing airport fees.

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

@BOMgirltweets Thank you, A. Another day for us to be reminded that we are just a cog in the giant wheel that turns the airplane around.

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

@AME_A320 @tweetpratikm @trend_nosig @PilotBoeing1 @pilotshashi @pilotnrd @AnnoyedTrainee @awasthishivam96 @pilotkushagra Thank you for giving us the best planes.🙏

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

On the Boeing 787-8 and 787-9, all four wheels of each main landing gear remain in contact with the runway during the initial rotation. This limits the aircraft’s maximum nose-up pitch angle to 11.2° for the 787-8 and 9.7° for the 787-9 to avoid a tailstrike.

For the longer 787-10, Boeing introduced a hydraulic strut at the forward end of the main landing gear trucks. This strut restricts the amount the gear truck can tilt during rotation. As a result, the forward pair of wheels lifts off first, allowing the aircraft to pivot smoothly over the rear axle in a gentle “tiptoe” motion.

This modification increases tail clearance, enabling the 787-10 to achieve the same maximum takeoff pitch attitude as the 787-9 (9.7°) at the same takeoff speed. The higher pitch angle not only reduces the risk of a tailstrike but also allows the aircraft to become airborne more efficiently without requiring a significantly higher takeoff speed.

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

The Airbus A350 Family was conceived from the start as a "more electric" aircraft. Traditional dependence on pneumatics and hydraulics in earlier generations has been partially replaced by electrically assisted actuation systems. It was therefore logical for the A350F's new Main Deck Cargo Door (MDCD) to adopt an electrically driven opening and closing mechanism instead of a hydraulic one. This architecture reduces weight, improves reliability, and cuts maintenance needs.

The MDCD on the A350F (the world's largest main-deck cargo door on a commercial freighter) uses an electro-mechanical actuation system supplied by Curtiss-Wright. It incorporates rotary and linear actuators, alongside control and power electronics, to open, close, latch, and lock the A350F’s Main Deck Cargo Door and a high-voltage DC architecture. This replaces traditional hydraulic actuation for the door's opening, closing, latching, and locking functions.

This design eliminates the need for hydraulic fluid lines running to the door. However, it requires a powerful electric motor capable of operating the large, composite cargo door reliably under all potential ground conditions.

[A350Blog @A350Blog]

The #A350F main deck cargo door is made from composite materials and features an electrical open/close actuation system.

📸 Airbus

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

@a_flyguy

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

@a_flyguy The poor pilot's HUD — a water cup kept on the windshield. Some old jocks kept up this habit.

P.S.: This is not advice. A water cup in a strict no-liquid zone can be disastrous.

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

Fun Fact : The Airbus A350 XWB Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France, is officially named the Roger Béteille Final Assembly Line in honor of Roger Béteille (1921–2019), one of Airbus's four founding fathers and a pioneering aeronautical engineer.

Often called "Mr. Airbus," he played a key part in the company's early success, including the development of the A300 (Airbus's first aircraft), the wide fuselage cross-section design, work-share agreements among European partners, and the introduction of fly-by-wire flight controls - a technology that became an industry standard.

[Airways Magazine @airwaysmagazine]

🔴 The first Airbus A350-1000ULR has rolled out of the final assembly line in Toulouse.

#Qantas #Airbus #A350 #ULR

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

@CaptBob_Nomadic https://t.co/87TFieyKwu

This allows pilots and enthusiasts to practice specific flight procedures without flying an entire route, exactly like a Level D Sim.

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

@trend_nosig @skh27 This is mine, you spoiled brats.

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

@lockhidmartinez Unfortunately, yes. The startle effect, followed by the need to course correct in any direction, is a human factor study.

https://t.co/iMYYJk0Oyk

[Arjun Singh @chainsawrocks]

According to a EUROCONTROL study conducted in 2020 (and later updated), which analysed radar data from core European airspace over a 12-month period, pilots followed only 38% of TCAS Resolution Advisories (RAs) correctly. In 34% of cases, aircraft manoeuvred in the opposite direction to the RA command - directly contrary to what the collision avoidance system required.

In short, flight crews failed to properly follow this vital last-resort safety net in nearly half of all cases, despite TCAS RAs being specifically designed and proven to prevent mid-air collisions and save lives.

To assist crews in performing the optimal manoeuvre in response to an RA, Airbus developed the AP/FD TCAS function.

This autoflight guidance mode helps flight crews correctly respond to the RA in a timely manner, perform a manoeuvre only to the extent necessary, execute it with a moderate load factor to ensure passenger comfort and reduce the risk of injury, and prevent the triggering of TCAS alerts on other aircraft.

When engaged, the system automatically targets a vertical speed 200 ft/min inside the RA green band (or precisely 0 ft/min for Level Off RAs), with smooth accelerations typically between 0.15g and 0.25g. This significantly improves compliance and reduces the risk of over- or under-reaction.

Flight crews can revert to the standard TCAS warning procedure at any time if they prefer to follow the RA manually. However, an Airbus analysis of more than 130,000 flights on A350 and A380 aircraft shows strong confidence in the AP/FD TCAS function: in 91% of RA situations, crews kept the autopilot engaged.

[Turbine Traveller @Turbinetraveler]

Are TCAS alerts really this dramatic? And do pilots actually look out the window to spot the other aircraft?