Cockpit Chronicles: Boeing vs Boeing. Pilots weigh in on the flight qualities of each type

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10-03-2011 @ 8:22AM

Alan said...

"Another slick feature: Both engines are started at the same time." - As an interested but not particularly well informed nerd I think the significance of that might be somewhat lost on me. Why's that so handy? I thought running only one engine on the ground for as long as possible was a normal fuel saving tactic.

I can see why it might be an engineering challenge for Boeing, but not why a pilot would care about it much.

10-03-2011 @ 10:42AM

Kent Wien said...

Hi Alan,

There are a lot of factors that go into a single-engine taxi decision. Taxi weight, obstacles in the area, a short taxi or an uphill taxiway are some of the reasons we don't taxi on one engine.

There's such a fear of doing damage to aircraft, equipment or personnel, that a single engine taxi is a relatively rare event on the widebody airplanes. We're more likely to shut both engines down while waiting a JFK for example, during an extended delay. In that case it's handy to be able to start both at the same time to move quickly when ATC asks us.

Kent

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