Control your Speed… During Descent, Approach and Landing
This article is the conclusion of our theme of speed management during a flight, which began in Safety first Issue #18. We are entering into the descent phase. Our objective is to cover descent from cruise altitude down toward the destination airport and prepare the aircraft for its approach and landing.This article aims to highlight how the reference, limit and operating speeds are useful during descent, approach and landing. It also provides a description of the tools that are available and operational recommendations on how to manage the aircraft energy during the last phases of flight.
Introduction to the Soft Go-Around Function
The “all engines” go-around is a very dynamic procedure with high accelerations created by the application of TOGA thrust. Yet in-service experience has shown that as long as both engines are operating, a lower thrust can still be sufficient to perform a safe go-around.As a safety enhancement, Airbus has introduced the Soft Go-Around (SGA) function, which provides a reduced go-around thrust and associated operating procedures. This article will review how the Soft Go-Around function works, how it is activated, on which aircraft it is installed, and how to deal with a “mixed” fleet composed of aircraft with and without the function.