December 6, 2002 at 5:59 pm
Never really thought about till I recently downloaded a very good VC10 for my flight sim game. While doing a take off…viewed from a ‘spotter plane’… I noticed that it only appears as if the two outer engines on the Vicky have thrust reversers. Is the the case ?
Does the centre engine of the Tristar or MD11 have thrust reverse capability ?.
Must be a bit of a handfull when you touch down and chuck it in reverse to slow down ,trying to remember which engines have this ability !
Cheers
Gary
By: KabirT - 14th December 2002 at 16:27
RE: Thrust reversers
IL 62 is just an amazing airliner. It has so many diff. features…it has the steepest angle of take-off than any airliner.
By: MSR777 - 14th December 2002 at 16:12
RE: Thrust reversers
During my time in the 80’s as a Traffic Officer/Load Controller at Stansted we used to handle the IL62s of both Aeroflot and Cubana.The thrust reversers on these a/c were usually deployed on crossing the runway threshold just prior to touchdown. According to a Cuban First Officer this was necessary due to the high landing speed of the IL62 and the fact that it had no leading edge slats to provide a more reasonable,sedate approach. The sight of such rapid deceleration and sudden nose down pitch on such a large aircraft at so low an altitude was something to see. I miss ’em, but I dont think the local residents do!
By: geedee - 14th December 2002 at 15:31
RE: Thrust reversers
Thanks for the info guys
Cheers
Gary
By: Hand87_5 - 9th December 2002 at 14:02
RE: Thrust reversers
WHAT a goegeous picture of the tristar under Panam livery: oldies but goldies !!!
By: wysiwyg - 8th December 2002 at 15:32
RE: Thrust reversers
It’s not vital for every engine to have thrust reverse if you can achieve suitable deceleration with the remaining engines. Performance calculations are completed without taking reverse into consideration so any thrust reverse you get is a bonus.
Mongu – yes a Lauda 767 had a thrust reverser unlock and fully deploy inflight a few years ago with fatal consequences. The fault was with the engine manufacturer (P&W I think) rather than Boeing as they design the reverser system that goes onto their engine. BA’s fleet were unaffected as they are one of only 2 767 operators with RR engines.
By: mongu - 7th December 2002 at 21:09
RE: Thrust reversers
That’s scary!
Didn’t inflight deployment of the reversers cause the Lauda Air B767 crash a few years ago?
By: wysiwyg - 7th December 2002 at 20:50
RE: Thrust reversers
In flight reverse would only be used in the event of a decompression and the subsequent emergency descent.
If I remember rightly the A380 will only have thrust reverse on 2 of its 4 engines.
By: KabirT - 7th December 2002 at 13:10
RE: Thrust reversers
The trijets are bound to have a central reverse thrust otherwise the a/c wont stop in time.
By: Ren Frew - 7th December 2002 at 11:15
RE: Thrust reversers
Reverse thrust in flight !!!! Did they ever use it ?
By: wysiwyg - 7th December 2002 at 09:07
RE: Thrust reversers
I didn’t know until I saw the pictures above. Those pictures of the TriStar and DC10 are undisputable. The Trident definitely did not have reverse on the center engine but I’m not sure about the 727. By the way the Trident (and I believe the DC9) could actually use reverse thrust in flight, unlike any other commercial aircraft I know.
By: Bhoy - 6th December 2002 at 23:38
RE: Thrust reversers
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 06-12-02 AT 11:39 PM (GMT)]apparently all three major trijet widebodies have thrust reversers on their central engines
(nb the MD-11’s are the same as the DC-10’s, but I couldn’t find a photo with a closer look, so I didn’t bother)
Attachments:

By: Dazza - 6th December 2002 at 23:10
RE: Thrust reversers
The DC-10 and MD-11 do have a thrust reverser on the centre engine.
Regards, Dazza.
By: mongu - 6th December 2002 at 22:32
RE: Thrust reversers
The Tristar centre engine is actually embedded in the aircraft, a bit like a 727 – I don’t see how a thrust reverser could work.
Still, does anyone know about the DC-10 or MD-11?
By: Jeuneturc007 - 6th December 2002 at 22:05
RE: Thrust reversers
tristar? do you want hot gases reversed towards the fuselage?