Similar to my earlier post about my jump-seating experience during a Boeing 747-400 photoshoot flight, I was also granted the opportunity to jumpseat during an Airbus A319 test flight towards the end of my internship with United Airlines. This test flight was routine and was necessary to verify the performance of some newly installed actuators for the flight control surfaces (i.e. ailerons, rudder, elevators, etc.). While the flight went smoothly and was very short (it didn’t last more than 30 minutes), there were some issues regarding paperwork and whether the aircraft was airworthy according to company rules and federal regulations. After a lengthy delay and a series of phone calls, however, the flight was approved and we were underway. I shot some video from the flight deck during takeoff, climb, the short cruise, approach, and the landing back in San Francisco. Watch in HD for the best quality!
Airbus A319 Test Flight
Posted by mikestengel on July 10, 2012
Posted in: Airlines, Techy stuff.
Tagged: a319, actuators, aileron, airbus, airbus a319, airlines, airport, airworthiness, approach, cockpit, cruise, delay, elevator, flight deck, fly by wire, jumpseat, ksfo, landing, maintenance, mro, pilot, rudder, san francisco, SFO, takeoff, tech ops, test, test flight, United, United Airlines, united technical operations.
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