Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - Updates to ACARS/ATC Speed Restrictions (250/Below 10K) and Flight Score.

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | Airline Operations | Updates to ACARS/ATC Speed Restrictions (250/Below 10K) and Flight Score.

DVA12746
Chief Pilot, B747-400
DISPATCHER

Joined on September 06 2015
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""Whatever It Takes...""
Midwestern United States

340 legs, 805.7 hours
5 legs, 8.5 hours online
332 legs, 768.3 hours ACARS
0 legs dispatched, 2.7 hours

Posted onPost created on March 01 2025 13:15 ET by Ken Webber

With Luke's help, we have updated the speed at which a violation is "flagged" to 255 knots. Specifically, as long as an aircraft is flying 254 knots or slower, a warning will not be given. This isn't license to fly faster than 250, it's just so that the pesky "251-knot" flags will "go away". This change is in effect.

Additionally, we are working to incorporate High Gross Weight Clean Speeds for the Heavies during climb phase after takeoff. The way it will work is: an aircraft weighing greater than 590,000 lbs will not be flagged for violating the 250/Below 10K speed restriction. Aircraft are NOT TO EXCEED 289 knots (you will be flagged at 290). The purpose of this change is to allow pilots to fly at airspeeds recommended on their VNAV climb pages for best fuel performance on long-range flights, so unless you're in a 747 or A380 you shouldn't be bumping against the limit. Once an aircraft is under 590,000lbs (i.e. descent to destination) the 250/Below 10K will again apply.

We will inform you when this has gone active.

Ken Webber (DVA12746)

DVA10286
Captain, B777-200
Gold

Joined on November 05 2011
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"ASEL - Instrument Rated"
San Diego, CA

1,103 legs, 5,003.2 hours
1,100 legs, 5,000.2 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on March 01 2025 15:13 ET by Thomas Weber

Thank you for these updates! Hopefully it will encourage all our pilots to strive to match real-world procedures even more faithfully.

I bet there are charts showing clean speeds as a function of weight in the various AFMs for each airframe, which would probably be pretty easy to implement. It's a shame those are so hard to find in the public domain frown

Posted onPost created on March 01 2025 16:51 ET by Ken Webber

I'm sure there are charts, but they are of no importance to us. We're keeping it simple. And in this day and age of virtual aircraft, it's simply a matter of programming a FMS.

And what we are doing is giving an option to those who fly the Heavies on long-range flights. We aren't encouraging anyone to be "real-world" or "not real-world". DVA caters to all simmers, from the hard core VATSIM-flight planning for hours-type to the simmer who flies a direct short haul flight.

Ken Webber (DVA12746)

DVA13438
Captain, A350-900
Platinum
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Joined on March 04 2018
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Portland, TX

1,376 legs, 3,037.7 hours
774 legs, 1,523.3 hours online
1,375 legs, 3,036.0 hours ACARS
7 legs, 16.3 hours event

Posted onPost created on March 02 2025 08:35 ET by Darrell Arview

I think all of you are doing a great job in as it says, as real as it gets.

Darrell Arview

Captain, A350-900

DVA10736
Captain, B777-200
Diamond

Joined on May 13 2012
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Milton, ON Canada

1,057 legs, 6,426.5 hours
47 legs, 280.8 hours online
1,052 legs, 6,405.6 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on March 02 2025 10:22 ET by Florin Marinache

Thank you all!

Florin Marinache

Captain, B777-200

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