Hello IFC . Just landed in Paris after a flight with Turkish Airlines from Manila via Istanbul and when taxiing to parking in CDG I noticed this Etihad 777 with flaps full AT THE GATE ! Is this normal or did the pilots forget to retract the flaps 😅 ?
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I believe when you look closer at the right inboard aileron/flaperon you can see some mechanics working under there.
Often times you need to extend the flaps fully to get to some components which move the control surfaces.
So I’d say its just due to maintenance.
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My guess it it was extended/left extended for maintenance purposes. It makes the flap surfaces as well as wing hydraulics more accessible.
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Oh okay , that explains it ! I didn’t notice the mechanics 😅
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Yes, as other comments say, its maintenance purposes. Anyway who on the face of the Earth would leave their plane full flaps on a gate. (please dont attack me)
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Me once accidentally 😓
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Hahahha OMG SAMEE*
Plus now I am really exhausted from the flight from Manila to Paris 😅. The seats were nice but for some reason the TK cabin crew were really rude on both flights 🥲
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oof…then it must be rlly exhausting thenshouldve chosen philippine airlines
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Might also have something to do with OAT as well. Was it hot there? Not sure how the 777 works but sometimes they leave the flaps extended at least at 1 until they park because the AC packs operate in another mode with the flaps deployed.
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Oh wow interesting ! But I don’t think that is the case in this picture since their flaps are set to full and you can see the little mechanics on the right
I’ve seen that on many Emirates A380’s and always questioned myself why.
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Indeed. I think its airline/airframe dependent but I know with Airbus depending on OAT the flaps are left down to prevent overheat from bleed ducts in the wing
Or maintenance reasons where they need to give ground crew easy access to meet turn around requirements
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Philippine airlines dont fly to istanbul unfortunately. Your best bet is to fly to dubai then istanbul on another airline. If your lucky, PAL would send a 309 seater A330 fitted with an updated and modern cabin. Usually they would send a high capacity A330 to fill the demand. These A330s are fitted with the old cabin and have no IFE
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Passengers didn’t pay to have the flaps retracted :)
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Ohh ok i see.:)
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Hmmmm. If I went to the captain and asked them to lower the flaps, how much would that cost?
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$5 per 5 degrees with terms and conditions
Thanks for the info btw.:)
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Add the fine print