STAT page and APU start

[Will]

Hello training captains,

Do you teach that a crew member should have the EICAS STAT page open and watch the APU parameters during the entire APU start?

Or would anyone find it acceptable to start the APU without monitoring the entire start in real time?

Thanks.

[andmiz]

No.  We're EICAS driven.  If there's a problem, EICAS will tell us.  No need to sit and watch when our attention should be focused elsewhere.

[Avi]

When you start from dark and cold cockpit (probably never happens) you can't see the STAT page anyway and during taix-in you better look outside 

Cheers,

[beat578]

When you start from dark and cold cockpit (probably never happens) you can't see the STAT page anyway and during taix-in you better look outside 

Cheers,

That makes a lot of sence... When the planes are parked over night if an airport (like zurich) is not open 24 hours, would you let some of the electronics running, as you have aircondition and power all night anyway on the dock?

[emerydc8]

Not that I would care to do it, but there is a way to watch the APU start on the status page with a cold dark airplane and no external power.

Jon

[Hardy Heinlin]

You mean put the secondary EICAS on the captain's ND? It will blank for at least 10 seconds during APU start so that about 30% of the start phase won't be displayed. But still better than no display at all :-)


|-|ardy

[John H Watson]

All the important parameters are monitored by the APU Controller during and after start... EGT, oil pressure, N2, acceleration, inlet door position, etc. The APU parameters are really just a curiosity until there is a problem for Engineering to take care of.

You can't always hear the APU shutting down (to a dead ship), so some folks might keep an eye on the ND (in the EICAS position) and wait until the parameters disappear before turning off the main battery switch. I think the door is powered by the (non-hot) Battery Bus.