It brings a whole new meaning to Tail Dragger!
Certification: it's called the Vmu demonstration. Most non-pilots have never seen this test.
During the takeoff roll the
pilot rotates the aircraft nose up at well below normal V1 rotation
speed. The aircraft is not yet ready to fly so at the high angle of
attack the tail hits the runway and drags along until the aircraft obtains
sufficient speed to fly itself off the ground.
The tail strike is a
required certification test where the pilot hits the tail of the aircraft
on the runway on purpose and then flies it off the runway showing that it
can fly off after the runway scrape.
Most aircraft have a skid placed on the tail where it is going to
hit to minimize any damage to the tail, but the Airbus has a metal
extension to keep any damage to the tail structure.
Two things to notice:
Just how big this aircraft is!!!! And, as the aircraft rotates and you can
see the elevators, the engine thrust is bouncing off the runway causing the
elevators to flap up and down.
The elevators on this plane are probably bigger than most planes wings.
