Page 25 - Twin and Turbine June 2017

Three days, six airports and several wildly different perspectives on ying and culture.
we roll off the runway onto the taxiway and stop. There now follows another whole flurry of hand movements from both pilots as frequencies are changed, flaps pulled up, spoilers disarmed and transponders set on standby mode. At least I know what is going on up there, but to the non-pilot “newbie” business jet passenger, unaccustomed to being able to see the flight deck from their passenger seat, it must seem like very mysterious and urgent business.
The next morning Scott and I again board as passengers, but as pilots we still feel obliged to at least help with some of the preflight ground duties and cockpit set-up. The G280 has a long pre-start checklist on the center MFD (multifunction display) that does not permit any advancement toward engine start until all previous items are taken care of. Luckily, there is an APU, so with that running, Jim (one of the company pilots actually working this trip) and I work our way through the list. Frankly, it seems to be more complicated and drawn out than it
As we come down the ILS, there is a 20 knot, 90-degree crosswind, with the autopilot plugging in a significant crab angle. From where I am sitting in back looking down the fuselage tube through what looks like a very small and distant windshield, it appears we are headed somewhere well off the airport, which itself can be more easily seen from my passenger window than the glass out front. Finally, as the runway numbers flash by my window, the power levers are pulled suddenly back, which is followed by a strange silence and disconcerting sinking sensation. The G280s wing tips are close enough to the ground that care must be taken to not use too much of a slip technique when landing in a cross wind or the wing tip will ding the pavement. As a result, the airplane is deliberately landed in a crab, with things being straightened out once the main gear is on the ground. Even though as a pilot I theoretically know all about this, it still seems very odd to be looking forward from my “first class” passenger seat to see the airplane pointing toward the grass, rather than the runway when the tires touch down. This is followed by a definite sideways lurch and a slewing sensation with some screeching of rubber as the crab angle is taken out by a kick of the rudder and the nosewheel planted on the white line with a definite thump.
With the nose wheel is down, the airplane’s autobraking and reversers come on in a very serious fashion, with
June 2017
empty espresso cups rolling down the aisle toward the cockpit we rapidly decelerate. Slight left to right movements are felt as the guys in front keep the airplane on the white and the autobraking cycles on and off. Finally, with one last grinding grunt, the brakes are released,
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