The throttles took some getting used to. However, I have noticed that I bring the E/WD and their symbologies into my visual flow. It takes some getting used to, of course, but after using it, I appreciate the philosophy because it keeps me engaged with the E/WD and the FMA. Primarily why, the best thing you can do when you're learning the Airbus design philosophy is making all FCU changes by looking at your PFD, cross checking what went into the FCU and following up thrust changes with the FMA and E/WD.
WARNING: NON PC ALERT STARTS NOW
The "throttle" position and anything in the FCU is "The Kiosk at McDonalds drive-thru with the pretty pictures" and the PFD and E/WD is the final product. Or, as one instructor said while pointing at the FCU "This is the hot stripper you want" then pointed at the FMA and said, "this is what you're married to". "This is what you want" while pointing again at the FCU, "this is what you got" while pointing at the FMA.
NON PC ALERT OVER
A design feature of the MD-88/90 which I didn't appreciate is my tendency to rely on throttle positioning to give me a cue what the engines were doing because, sometimes during level-off from a descent, the throttles would move forward one engine would spool up, the other would lag and my lazy-man's indication of something being awry is deflection of the yoke.
Having flown the Airbus product for over a year, on a
fly by wire aircraft, it's probably a little "more honest" about what's going on without synthetic triggers like moving throttles and control inputs driven by servos to mimic the magic, invisible hand of "Otto" to give you the false impression that you're in a conventional cables, pulleys, fetzer valve airplane.
You have to know what the airplane is telling you, what you want it to do and what it can do in your particular flight phase. That applies to a Piper Tri-Pacer up to the 747-8.
