B737-300
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 248; Flight Crew Type 11000
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Altitude Crossing Restriction Not Met; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance
Weather; Procedure
We were filed to fly the JFRYE 1 RNAV Arrival beginning at HYDES into DAL.  We got repeated 'steep descent after JTROE' or 'MASTY' messages at various times after the zero fuel weight was entered in the FMC and in-flight. Prior to TOD; we uploaded ACARS winds into the FMC and those winds were pretty much as advertised; from five o'clock from 57 to 40 knots throughout most of the arrival.  Mental math confirmed we would have problems flying the arrival as published at several points on our way down.  The problem became the most problematic right after passing JTROE.  The First Officer (FO) had done a fine job at getting the airplane back in VNAV PTH prior to JTROE and airspeed was right on.  As soon as we passed JTROE; we went from right on path to over 1;200 feet high at which point the FMC reverted to VNAV SPD again.  The only way we could have made the 10;000 feet restriction at GREGS would have been if we had been 30 to 40 knots above the published 250 speed there. We were discussing the need to get ATC relief when regional approach told us to descend to 5;000 feet so that eliminated the threat. Regardless of 737 variant; it appears the descent gradient for this arrival is too steep with even relatively benign tailwinds. Please test this arrival in the simulator. If it is 'un-flyable' then we should revert to the GREGS Arrival where the descent gradient is less constraining. The altitude constraints at both JTROE and MASTY appear too high. We are placing our Pilots at unnecessary risk if this arrival has problems of the magnitude we saw last night.
B737 Captain reports being unable to maintain the descent path on the JFRYE1 RNAV arrival to DAL with a 40 knot tailwind. ATC provides relief without being prompted.