Climb Rate Problem???
Perhaps this is somehow related to the Indicated Airspeed issue brought up in another thread.
I was flying a CRJ-700 from TJSJ to KMIA in fair weather, calandar month January, mid-AM departure. I'm climbng from 20,000 feet to 30,00 on autopilot, speed set to 280kts, and I go to look at my GPS or something, taking my attention away from the gauges.
I'm snapped back to attention by my stall alarm and I get back to the controls to see the aircraft in a handsome nose-up stall, around 28,000 feet. I snap off the auto pilot, nose it down, get up some airspeed and flatten out at about 22,000 feet. I check for symptoms of de-icing (OK, OK, I'm just GUESSING that maybe something iced up). I throw every de-icing switch to on, and put the autopilot back on but hold it at 22K for a while. After a few minutes I initiate a climb (ATC: "Please expedite your ascent to FL 300" Me: Yaaah, c'mon!!! Can't you see I'm cheatin' DEATH here???!!!")
Well , lo and behold, it happens AGAIN!!!!. Same outcome, this time when I climb a third time I run the climb rate waaay down, maybe 500-700 ft/min. I get up in the air fine and have no problems later on in climbing and mainteining altitude in the 40's.
At some point after this, ATC notifies me that my IFR flight plan has been cancelled. But that's beside the point.
Whenever ATC gnaws on my rear about expeditiing my ascent, I always run the climb rate up, 2200-2700 ft/min. Sometimes I do that even without waiting for being harangued by ATC.
Is that excessive??? Or, more exactly, does an aggressive climb rate have to be cut back as you go up in altitude, as the air thins out, with an explanation being based on the same principles to those of why IAS differs more from true airspeed the higher you go?
It seems that climb "rates" inherently "flatten out "in a way, in that if you're maintaining a constant IAS as you go higher, the true air speed is going up, therefore although you might be climbing at the same rate with respect to TIME, you're traveling more horizontal DISTANCE the thigher you go (at a given IAS). Time rate of ascent remains the same, but angle of ascent decrease because you're going faster.
If the climb rate being too high is not the answer, is it somehow an icing matter? I've taken the CRJ-700 to higher altitudes in other flights without incident, in the same general locales, but in spring/summer months.
Or, since I was flying near Cuba, was ol' Fidel trying to go out with a bang and put the whammy on me?
mdaskalos
8 Answers
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If you had autopilot set for speed the crj should have added power in the climb. Are you sure you had the "speed" button pushed? A power on stall with the auto-speed selected sounds strange. You would have to be climbing very sharply.
faust,
Yeah, I had the speed button on. If I hadn't, I would have been at 100% throttle until then. I go full bore on takeoff, and click on the speed control at some point fairly early in the climb and never touch the throttles by hand until getting quite close to landing.
mdaskalos
I am not familiar with the CRJ model you are flying. I know that in FS9 if you climb too sttep as you suggest that you are then that is only part of the proble. Full throttle take offs aren't really needed with this type of aircraft I am sure. What I learned and there has been discussions about this here at Flyaway about this very subject with in the past year. You have many instruments on any aircraft one that commonly gets over looked is the pitot heat. This maked it possble for your aircraft to climb at the proper ratr it is your altitude instrument so to speak make sure that the pitot heat is on at all times. The second problem is possible from your fuel weight.
If anybody here has anything to add please do. I will not be offended if I stated something incorrectly.
I hope this helps. Happy flying...!!!
thanks edr1073,
I'll keep the pitot heat on.
I could wish, however, that someone who is a "CRJCap'n" or something similar might pop into this thread and speak up about a CRJ...
mdaskalos
Ok, is that a hint? 🙂 I don't have FSX so I'm unable to check the flight characteristics of the FSX CRJ. You are correct about the climb rate having to be reduced as you climb to higher altitudes and also the fact that if you maintain a constant IAS that your TAS will increase. Climb rate is a function of excess power and all engines lose power as you climb. Normally the CRJ 700 would use 290 KIAS until the transition to Mach of .74 at approx. FL 280. The climb rate will continually decrease as you climb. Above FL300, 1,000 FPM would be the norm depending on weight. Flight Simulator doesn't allow the autopilot to climb in reference to airspeed, as in the real aircraft, so you have to manipulate vertical speed throughout the climb. Decrease climb rate to maintain airspeed. 🙂
Last edited by CRJCapt on Sat Feb 03, 2007 1:37 am, edited 1 time in total
CRJCapt wrote:
Ok, is that a hint? 🙂
Well of course!!!
'bout as subtle as a pointed stick, ain't I???
Well that helps out a lot. Actually all three of you guys did. It's nice to know that I'm not a total doofus in considering these matters.
mdaskalos
No problem gald we could be of assistance to you. CRJ. Home much do we charge these days???? For good advice like we gave this person...LOL
🍻
😂 🍻
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