Once airborne the handling characteristics are noticeably wonderful, it really does feel stable and smooth to fly. The famous ‘10 Degree dead band’ on the NG seems to start a couple of degrees earlier on the Max, in fact Pitch control will need some conscious thought for the first few hundred hours I fly it. I am guessing this may be due to the higher nose gear strut. On take off the nose does seem to rotate faster than the NG in the first 5 degrees of the rotation. Engine Anti-ice On will give you a higher idle as well so this could be a threat while taxying in tight aprons or icing conditions. The next clue of the power the max has, is as soon as you release the parking brake, it will start to taxi on idle power. All of this activity means the start sequence can last up to about 3 minutes. There are two engine protection systems that the aircraft is checking for you, EOS, which is engine overspeed protection and TCMA, Thrust Control Malfunction Accommodation which protects against uncontrolled high thrust on the ground, these automated systems help protect the engines. The first practical difference is the start sequence, the Max has a Bowed Rotor Motoring system which motors the engine to ensure that the drive shaft stays straight and doesn’t bend. The aircraft will also display an arrow pointing to the shortest direction to wings level if you end up in a high bank angle situation. This is especially useful in upset recovery situations when all you have is “Where is the ground and where is the sky”. I am a big fan of the larger screens and in particular the larger PFD, I wholeheartedly believe that the bigger the PFD is, the better. The new Flight Deck is very noticeable, in my opinion some space could have been utilised better, on a whole it is a step in the right direction. The Engine settings are approx 5-10% lower than on the NG and you really do feel the potential power sitting in your hand when resting on the Thrust Levers. The main trick with the Max it seems, is to have an awareness of these systems that are running in the background, what they do, why they do it, and in some cases, how long it takes to do. ![]() There have also been changes to the flight deck layout modernising the fleet, it is comparable to the 787 flight deck and could be a standardisation move towards an Airbus-like philosophy. This was achieved with a number of automated systems that manipulate the aerodynamics and handling to make it ‘feel’ as if you are flying the NG. In order to remain cost effective, it was in the interest of Boeing to keep this type under the same licence as the 737NG. The main changes from the 737-800NG to the 737 Max are: ![]() The online learning did make it seem a little like a new aircraft type with all the small changes and added systems, this took a while to wrap my head around and a lot of note taking! The MCAS system has been redesigned with redundancy in mind, it now takes information from two independent sources and will only activate once per ‘High Angle of Attack’ event. Settling into my eLearning for the second time (The first time was pre-Lion Air incident), I was pleased to see the system redundancy that has now been implemented into the 737 Max. This blog is written by one of our Directors, Graham, describing flying the 737 Max for the first time. ![]() ![]() Those of us from Airline Experience, as the latest addition to this rich history, want to share and record our time and progress here at the airport. Opening as a private airstrip in 1931, Fairoaks Airport (EGTF) has gone on to have a rich 90-year history - creating numerous commercial pilots, engineers, ground crew, and other such aviation-related careers. By Graham, 19th March 2021 Flight Simulator Fairoaks Airport.
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