windplayer asks:
im flying CS 727-100, but have some questions about real 727

1. HSI on CS 727 shows only NAV1 data. Can you switch HSI on real 727 between NAV1, NAV2 ?

Well that depends on which operator bought the plane. The planes we had at TWA had the ability to switch the Captains HSI to feed the number two radio information into the display. Other airlines may not have bought that option.

2. "recieving aircraft checklist" says that  autopilot should be disengaged, system A. Is that safer to switch it to system B after takeoff? How you used it?

It does not matter which hydraulic system powers the elevator. We would use "A" going west, and "B" going east. Using the AB position was for a coupled approach in CAT-II. Remember this was not an autoland plane.

3. landing checklist says "ignition.....flight". what's that? should i turn on continuous ignition? when to use it?

There were two types of ignition on the 727. Low power and high power. The FLIGHT position was the high power or more joules selection.
FLIGHT position was only used when heavy rain or turbulence was encountered or for an in-flight start. The continuous position was for takeoff and landing and whenever you would do something that could un-stabilize the engine such as turning on the anti-ice or going on cross-feed.    

4. there is a red plackard in cockpit says - "yaw damper inop", and some speeds shown. does it mean that i should use rudder in turns if i fly faster then that speeds from plackard? What exactly yaw damper do in 727? (i got no rudder pedals yet, but ordered it already)

OK, the yaw dampers in a 727 are a big deal in real life. Remember, this is a very swept wing aircraft. The yaw dampers control dutch roll. The -100 was a nasty plane in dutch roll, the -200 was just a bit better, but is still was a bugger if the yaw dampers would fail. The long and the short of it is if one yaw damper were to fail, you go down and slow down - right now! At high speed and high altitude dutch roll is a big problem in the 727. The 707 is not as bad since the wing is not as swept. You could not be dispatched with a yaw damper inop in TWA in the 727, because if the other damper were to fail it could get interesting fast.

If you are at cruise, say FL330 doing .78 and a yaw damper were to fail you would reduce speed and start down ASAP. Slowing down made the dutch roll a bit less nasty and getting down out of the skinny air helped too. We would teach dutch roll recovery in the 727 very carefully because it was considered a hull loss if both dampers failed at high altitude and high speed. One of the ways to save yourself if faced with just such a situation at high altitude was to slowly deploy the spoilers. This would do two things to help. One, it would slow you down, and two, it would help to keep the plane straight by tending to bring the advancing wing back with spoiler drag. This was indeed not a place to find yourself in.

5. as i understand i should not use speedbrakes with flaps extended. am i right?

Correct statement! Too much drag and not enough wing!  :o


6. how to fly STAR using radio-navigation only? if i fly beacon1 and need to find intersection with beacon2 radial, i can tune beacon1 on nav1 and beacon2 on nav2, and fly nav1 on HSI, while watch nav2 on RMI. and when i see correct angle between nav1 and nav2 on RMI - thats the intersection right? or i can intercept beacon 1 radial, when tune beacon2 on NAV1, select required radial, and fly beacon1 radial using RMI? when HSI will show then i'll be on intersection. is there any simpler way? how you did that in real world?

You use both nav radios and do a lot of keeping an eye on the CDI's and DME's. RMI's are not close enough for most intercepts, but if you're careful it will give you a heads-up on where you are. What do you mean simpler way? This is real flying not that sissy glass stuff! Suck it up cupcake!  ;D

7. how to land it smooth? I fly flaps 25, gear down, level, at 160kts at max land weight. when GS indicator comes alive i do flaps 30, retrim aircraft, and it'll start to decent at 700 ft/m or so without power adjustments? is that right? how you did that, and how you use the throttles on final? engines spooling up slow, so you gotta know how to use it

Landing at max weight was not a problem as long as you fly the correct bug speed and manage the thrust. Engine spool-up is not a problem at mid thrust, only from idle - and it really is not that big a deal since the JT8D has surge bleed valves that get the engine spinning up pretty fast. The JT8D took a bit more throttle movement than say the 767 or 757 since the fan part of the engine was so much smaller. The big fan engines don't take much movement of the throttles to get a big thrust change.

How to land it smooth???  ;D :o  That is something a lot of pilots want to know!

Here is a hint. Don't get slow, and don't get a high sink rate. Don't close the throttles until the plane is either on the ground or one inch above!  If you are landing in a crosswind, you will be crabbing to a landing. Always flare first before you remove the crab and maybe ad some extra power as you do all of the above, since you are really cross controlling the plane and will be loosing lift in the process. Piece of cake!

8. is there any tricks about flare? Lou once said that 727 kinda tricky to land  (Lou stories thread) what about vspeed on touchdown? how bad can you go without damage?

See above! The plane has small wings - don't get a high sink rate and slow - it will bite you hard!  :(

At 100 feet as you cross the threshold, make sure you sink rate is no more than 700 FPM. If you are not stable by 500 feet on the approach - GO AROUND! Stable means on speed and sink 700 FPM. When you get down around 100 feet,  start looking at the far end of the runway - it will give you a better sense of closure with the ground - and hence a better idea of where to flare.

9. where is TAT indicator located on real 727?

The TAT on the TWA planes was located where the emergency air brake handle is in the CS model.


sorry if i go lame questions  just digging into 727-100, love hand fly it

P.S. GPWS switch near GPS, radar have only 2 states - off, override. how it should be inflight?

Look again! It has 3 positions... now you tell me which position it should be in. 8-)

Have fun hand flying. The 727 was one of the fun planes to fly.

Lou