Originally Posted by BenS

Wow, well, so someone tries finishing a disagreement by saying something nice like "hope to see you on the ramp in seattle" and this is your reply? Are you still perplexed at how you've been treated here? You retracted the word competent from your statement "only competent pilots use flashlights during the day", is there a word you'd like to replace it with?

Your entire demeanor leads me to ask: who do you think you are better than? See next quote...



So you finish a flight; all 3 struts have failed and your first thought is the f/o obviously missed that they were flat before departure. I have to ask the first question I'd had; how bad was your landing? Or do you genuinely believe that all 3 struts failed by natural course right before this one flight? I also must ask you noticed it post-flight, but not pre-flight? If it was a pre-flight issue as you accuse, you as captain are still responsible for noticing something that obvious... yet, so quick to blame the f/o.

Originally Posted by forgot to bid

I think a triple strut fail would be noticeable on taxi out. I mean when one bottoms out because it's low it's very noticeable, all three out? I can't image all three being out to begin with unless they were improperly serviced in the first place and the landing flattened them.

Or the landing was so hard that it buckled the inner cylinders, but on all three? Heck of a landing. But if the struts are leaking then chances are you have internal components failed.

I would suspect bad servicing first. But the FO to me would be off the hook. No way anyone taxis a jet out with completely flat struts and keeps going.

Originally Posted by forgot to bid

I think a triple strut fail would be noticeable on taxi out. I mean when one bottoms out because it's low it's very noticeable, all three out? I can't image all three being out to begin with unless they were improperly serviced in the first place and the landing flattened them.

Or the landing was so hard that it buckled the inner cylinders, but on all three? Heck of a landing. But if the struts are leaking then chances are you have internal components failed.

I would suspect bad servicing first. But the FO to me would be off the hook. No way anyone taxis a jet out with completely flat struts and keeps going.

Originally Posted by Boomer

This post has photoshops from both 80kts and FTB, a dude calling Buzzpat unprofessional, a Honeybadger, the "All your base" meme, someone trying to pick a fight with Newk, and both ends of the "Scale of 1 to 10" with Timmy Martins to represent the number 1 and Mr. T to represent the number 10.

This thread is officially EPIC

Originally Posted by Timbo

Back in the day.... when I was flying KC135's out of New Hampshire in the winters, they used to warn us about the struts 'going flat' on a really cold overnight (well below zero cold) where the metal inner struts would shrink and the O-rings would freeze and the fluid might leak out. So on a cold morning walk around, that's the first thing we would look for (but without our flashlights!)

I saw a few struts that were low and wet with leaking fluid, but I never saw all three go to zero. But you don't need a flashlight to see it, unless you're in the pitch black of an O-Dark Thirty launch.

The most useful thing I've found for my flashlight on a night time walk-around is...shining it into the eyes of the oncoming tug, fuel or catering truck trying to run me over!

Originally Posted by forgot to bid

Trying to keep fluids in airplanes is a pita. On that corporate jet I managed the bottoming out of struts and strut servicing was something our tech rep was jumpy about.

We had our hydraulics improperly serviced by maintenance and on takeoff headed home after 14 straight days on the road the left hydraulic system said see ya!

pita I tell ya, pita.

Originally Posted by 80ktsClamp

That wouldn't have happened if you used your flashlight during the walkaround.

Originally Posted by forgot to bid

So you're just another Alaskan 737 pilot, putzing around your jet one day...



when the flashlight sheriff catches you.



Guys, be careful out there...