Do pilots still use reverse thrust while reversing from the gates?
Posted by Cs_Marcell@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 33 comments
I heard it was a very common thing to do back in the 90's. However, nowdays I only see airports use tugs for that.
Wouldn't it been faster and cheaper to just use the reversethrust? It wouldn't need another specific vehicle or no need for aditional driver and so on.
homesad@reddit
Not related but I recently flew from JFK to NRT on JAL350 and they had one engine on before pushback, never experienced that before.
Darrell456@reddit
No. Too dangerous both with personnel and the chance of sucking up foreign objects, aka FOD.
thenewredditguy99@reddit
Not to mention using reverse thrust is incredibly noisy, and burns precious fuel.
Haldron-44@reddit
And tugs are surprisingly cheap and usually last forever. They are comparatively expensive to like a car as they are specialized kit, but for ground ops you usually buy one and are set for a long time. They also come in handy if you need to move some equipment around at smaller regional. Plus using wing walkers you can really pack 'em in there. And they are just fun! Cruising so low to the ground around a ramp is a blast!
Ry24gaming@reddit
"Tugs are suprisingly cheap"
Spoken like someone who doesn't know how expensive an aircraft tug is.
PlaynesNBotes@reddit
150k$ is remarkably cheap considering the price of what they're moving and how long they last.
FuckTheFlightline@reddit
Did you just ignore the sentence immediately after that or what
Apprehensive_Cost937@reddit
I can guarantee it's cheaper than an unscheduled overhaul of two jet engines.
Albort@reddit
i guess the a350 China Eastern did that after they hit the gate?
TremendousSeabass@reddit
from what I‘ve seen, it‘s a memory item in case of loss of braking power in the a350 so chances are they used what they had to slow down lol
Former_Farm_3618@reddit
Beat me to it! That was wild to see!
TremendousSeabass@reddit
Nope, huge FOD risk and overall dangerous for ground personnel. Plus unnecessary noise pollution for no good reason.
orkaa@reddit
I've recently experienced it in Belgrade, Serbia with their atr72, but it was a "bus gate" in the middle of the field.
oh_snap1013@reddit
It’s extremely uncommon. The only time you tend to see it these days is with turboprops in specific places where they allow power backs. In the UK there wasn’t a single airport we operated to that would allow it. Binter Canarias does it quite regularly in the Canary Islands though and I know a few other ATR operators do it.
Ficsit-Incorporated@reddit
I saw some Aer Lingus ATRs doing power backs at GLA in 2023. It was really neat to watch. I didn’t realize that it was that unusual in the UK.
By-Eck@reddit
Used to be common - at a UK airport I worked at 1998-2012, power back was standard for JS32 and JS41 movements (and we had quite a lot of those), and I knew of ATPs doing it. It seemed to stop early 2010s.
Fatbot41@reddit
Only place I’ve seen that still does it is Glasgow airport with the Loganair Twin Otters
Unusual-Cut-3759@reddit
It's called push back now for a reason :(
Happy-Table-9515@reddit
My first airline Northwest, used to do this with the 9s. I don’t believe any other commercial aircraft powered back from the gate.
Garbagefailkids@reddit
The MD-80, 727, and 737-200 were also fairly common powerbacks.
Happy-Table-9515@reddit
MD80 I’ve seen, I’ve never seen the 727 power back. It was only IIRC 3 gates the could do it. At least in MSP
asmrhead@reddit
The expense you'd incur from just a single foreign object damage event from reverse thrust use at a gate would pay for an entire airline's fleet of tugs.
Mostly_Cons@reddit
To my understanding, the only jets that were authorized for this were rear engined jets since they are high and out of the way
Blackhawk510@reddit
There's a training video I've seen detailing powerbacks with the 737-200, so I wonder if it was sorta a bucket/clamshell reverser thing?
Significant-Pen-2274@reddit
I was on a Frontier (the original Frontier) 737 that did a power back. It was probably about 1982 or so.
CarefulCanadian@reddit
I’m a military pilot and occasionally we will power back from a parking stand if the airport will allow us and we can’t pull through straight ahead. Most airports will insist that we get a pushback like our civilian counterparts however.
Weak_Tangerine_6316@reddit
It's rare. 727's do it on occasion, but they are largely or completely flying cargo these days.
Paqza@reddit
/u/cs_marcell Why do you think it would be cheaper to burn through a ton of jet fuel while increasing wear and tear on multi-million dollar engines when you can just use a tug? Walk us through your logic.
Ryan1869@reddit
Nope, I've never seen a plane do this, it's always been pushed back using a tug
RedNeckSharkBitten@reddit
The original Frontier Airlines would power back at Stapleton with their 737-200’s. Their pilots were specialists with the buckets. Watched a news clip one day after Stapleton opened up from a snow storm. A 737 was taking the runway but was sliding across it. One bucket popped out and straightened it on the runway and without hesitation, power came up and down the runway they went.
YugeWaterBottle@reddit
"Power backing" has gone by the wayside a long time ago. It's dangerous to personnel and equipment. It's extremely loud. It uses a lot of fuel. It might be cheaper until you suck in a baggage cart or, god forbid, a ground agent.
GuaranteeUnhappy3342@reddit
I was jumpseating on Eastern (yeah, a long time ago) and watched as we powered back a few times. Seem to recall there was a guy in the intercom at the nose, a wing walker on each wing and a guy watching the tail. So you started with four guys and no tug and blowing a lot of air and a fair amount of noise. I’d heard 727s could do it but I never saw it.
I have moved Bandits and Brasilias back…(not that big of deal but especially in the EMB-120 and the Shorts 360…do not touch the brakes rolling backwards.
Did have the towbar break during a pushback at Burbank in a 146. Very gentle use of brakes got us stopped us rolling backwards right before the active runway. Great excitement from the pushback crew!
AtariFerrariNH@reddit
I was on a AirTran DC-9 that did a power back a few times. Felt kind of weird. Here is a video https://youtu.be/zG_u_B5d7cQ?si=cnoQ2omzSBjOvPLN