The first time I experienced it I was sure the plane was going into the Pacific. I can only imagine what it would've been like throwing an open cargo door into the mix.
I have to give you that one - Newport Beach snobs endangering not just airline passengers, but themselves when you think about it - I wonder how many planes have experienced problems because of those regulations?
I need to experience that.
Takeoff is similar at Chicago Midway. Plane's @ full throttle for a couple of minutes, then everything is eerily quiet...sounds like they turn the engines OFF.
Straight up? Well, even if they ARE using full power, that's unusual performance for an airliner. So unusual in fact, that I am slightly sceptical, as in "Whoa, Dude, whatcha smokin'?".
The procedure is equally troubling to the flight crew. A case where public pressure intimidated the FAA into promulgating regulations that are both unsettling to passengers and can be a source of fatal delays should a contemporaneous loss of power occur.
Unnecessarily steep angles of attack and sudden, substantial changes in power settings, regardless of engine design, are a significant factor in diminishing safety of flight near the ground. An unexpected, momentary power loss, aggravated by obscene deck angles can make for busy hands and frayed nerves in the cockpit during departure.
A fellow named Eisenhower, a corporate legend, once taunted Swiss officials over similar noise abatement procedures. Legend has it that soon after the gear was retracted during takeoff from Zurich, Eisenhower substantially reduced power on the Boeing 707 under his command and glided quietly into a valley off the end of the runway. Just meters above the low terrain he reapplied full power to all four Pratt & Whitneys and roared across the city at low altitude in a thunderous commotion. Both he and the aircraft were not invited back.