A319/A320 speed brake

[skywatch]

Hi,

I have a number of requests for information on the workings of various parts of the cockpit. Rather then put them all in one post I thought it would be better to have one post for each item, that way people in future will have an easier job to find the info they need.......so here goes....

How does the speed brake work? Is it a smooth moving lever all the way along it's travel?

Does it have 'detents'? Can it be locked to avoid accidental movement?

When armed for deployment on landing does that lever move to show operation (motorised) or does it stay in it position?

Do you need to lift or twist it at any point to operate?

If so how far does it need to be lifted/twisted?

Are there any interlocks to stop it's operation at certain flight envelopes or speeds? If so what are they?

What is the approx distance from the panel to the top of the handle (when the handle is in the upright position)?

How much resistance is there on the movement of this handle?


Thanks for any answers!

Skywatch

[dodiano]

Hi,

How does the speed brake work? Is it a smooth moving lever all the way along it's travel?

Does it have 'detents'? Can it be locked to avoid accidental movement?

When armed for deployment on landing does that lever move to show operation (motorised) or does it stay in it position?

Do you need to lift or twist it at any point to operate?

If so how far does it need to be lifted/twisted?

Are there any interlocks to stop it's operation at certain flight envelopes or speeds? If so what are they?

What is the approx distance from the panel to the top of the handle (when the handle is in the upright position)?

How much resistance is there on the movement of this handle?


Thanks for any answers!

Skywatch

Speedbrake Lever on the A-320 works as follows:

1- You Press the Black handle to move the Speedbrake Lever. If you don´t press it it won´t move! It is a smooth movement. Once it is in stowed position you can Pull the Handle to ARM it.

2- No Detents, as I mention above you press it to make it move. Except that in some Planes but I have to check this out Example the A-319 and A-321 which deploy full SPEED BRAKES with A/P ON it feels like a very slightly detent in the middle ahve to ckeck this one out though!

3- Nothing is ¨motorised¨ on the A-320 except for the Trim Wheels which move automatically so it stays in position you only see on the Lower ECAM the Ground Spoilers get deployed.

4- As mention earlier you Press to move, lift to ARM.

5- No Locking mechanismss it can be used at any time! Hardly use it on Level flight My friend it is totally unnecessary! If you look a bit further on you´ll see speedbrake on a plane is more like an aerodynamic brake used to actually make the plane Descend faster at a certain speed actually rather than brake the plane it is more like a lift Killer...

6- Owe you the distance on the Panel

7- And to measure resistance is kinda hard but of course there is a certain resistance...

Regards,

Roberto

[skywatch]

Wow Roberto! - Thanks for a detailed response (and so quick too!!!)

Now just a couple more things to make sure I understand this right....

Speedbrake Lever on the A-320 works as follows:

1- You Press teh Black handle to move the Speedbrake Lever. If you don´t press it it won´t move! It is a smooth movement. Once it is in stowed position you can Pull the Handle to ARM it.

SO it's spring loaded and that is what stops it moving, you have to push down, correct? About how far do you need to push it? 5mm? 10mm?

4- As mention earlier you Press to move, lift to ARM.

So can you lift it in any position or only when in it's in the forward position?

When you lift it do you move the lever move forward (like lifting on the throttle for reverse thrust, but the other direction) or do you lift it and leave it where it is? Does the knob stay in the lifted position or does it come back to it's original level? When does it come back down? Do you have to move it to do this? If so do you pull or push at this stage? - Gosh, who would have thought that this could be so complicated to explain?

6- Owe you the distance on the Panel

Maybe I can get an idea from some photos, but if you get the chance,it would be nice to have

Thanks again, will start thinking about writing the questions for some of the other items I plan to build. (hope you are not too busy !!!)...

Thank you again,

Skywatch

[dodiano]

SO it's spring loaded and that is what stops it moving, you have to push down, correct? About how far do you need to push it? 5mm? 10mm?

So can you lift it in any position or only when in it's in the forward position?

When you lift it do you move the lever move forward (like lifting on the throttle for reverse thrust, but the other direction) or do you lift it and move it forward? Does the knob stay in the lifted position or does it come back to it's original level?


Skywatch

1- Not sure how far you have to push it you just push it and it moves... If not it won´t move.

2- Read carefully what I wrote down there it can only be armed in the Forward Speed brakes Stowed position. And you Only Lift it! You know it is armed because the handle when lifted shows a white Stripe. After you achieve Taxi speed you Press it down to disarm them it is all mechanical.

3- i´m on vacation I might get pics when I get back to work in October.

Regards,

Roberto

[skywatch]

Many thanks for the clarification, I think I understand it all now!!!

No wait, one more question.....

The speed brake lever moves smoothly to the stowed position, but this is the only place that you can pull it up (i.e. you can't pull it up at the half way point due to some mechanical interlock). Yes/No?

I hope that you are having a nice vacation!

When I have finished with a few other items (that is if you can help with those too), then with your permission I would like to look at making a file with all these posts in to put in the library as it's lacking on Airbus stuff compared to Boeing. Is that OK with you?

Cheers!

Skywatch