“Then for the first of three signals delivered in quick succession, after making sure nobody was standing in the way, you would extend your hands in front of you together with your palms together and horizontal to the ground, and open them with a “V” sign, joined at the ball of your hand signaling “Open your flaps.” as you watched the flaps open fully. “
I think this is the signal to open the speed brakes, not flaps. But then, I was an avionics guy, not a plane captain.
Thanks for the write up, I didn’t know that the life of a plane captain was so involved.
LOL, it could be! I knew it couldn’t be the speed brake, because we could not test the speed brake on our plane. it was a big long thing on the underside of the plane that would have smashed into the ground if it had been activated.
I think for different planes, it was different. For example, the A-6’s had speed brakes that deployed out the sides of the plane just aft of the wings, and IIRC, the plane captains for them had them tested by putting their hands together straight out in front of them, and made the same “V” to the sides instead of up and down.
But I will admit, I could easily have that wrong. I had to think a long time on that, and wasn’t sure. The others, I am pretty sure, but that one was fuzzy to me!