Username Protected wrote:
What are its criteria for auto-deploy?
Obviously I guess you want it to pop when it is time, but not when it isn't, and you can't rely on pilots to choose this exactly... but I guess there is an option to do so airborn and maybe on the ground?
But otherwise with WOW even under loss of gens and engines it won't deploy (hopefully, ie during shutdown).
IIRC on the A319, 329, 321, loss of both engine Gens causes auto deploy. Had this happen once when I was working line maintenance. A coworkers wife called him and said "hey, one of your airplanes just flew over and it sounded like a lawnmower"
Sure enough, as they were taxing in the RAT is hanging out. Turns out, # 1 engine IDG dropped offline due to it being over serviced with lube oil at the last stop, Crew reached up and shut off the other IDG inadvertently, so the RAT deployed.
There is a provision to manually deploy from the cockpit and the ground and it can also be retracted and stowed from the ground.
It takes airspeed (100 knots or greater) to enable the auto deploy function
