Cheechako
Well-Known Member
Every six months airline captains have to go into the sim to "prove" they can fly. FOs do it once a year. Yesterday was my time in the hot seat. It was a fun one this time.
There are a handful of things that need to be done: 30 kt. crosswind takeoff and landing, steep turns, departure stall, some sort of malfunction (gen. 1 off for me), normal ILS, single engine ILS to landing, engine failure at V1, and a couple non-precision and CAT II approaches.
Thrown in is windshear, TCAS RA, and "roll upset." For this session, these all happened at once! We were on downwind for the approach and got the DESCEND, DESCEND, I disconnected the autopilot and followed the VSI pointer. . .TERRAIN, TERRAIN, WHOOP WHOOP PULL UP. Terrain takes priority, so I pulled up, back at my assigned altitude. . WHAM, we're inverted!
Later in the checkride, the elevator locks up. Now, there's a handle in every airliner that disconnects the left control from the right (both elevator and aileron). I pull the handle and I've got control. Then the ailerons lock up, we pull the roll handle and the FO has command of the ailerons. So now we're flying, me with pitch and my FO with the roll. One by one the screens start to disappear. So now we're shooting an ILS to minimums using the stand-by instruments (the ones in the center):
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/208399/M/
I've got control of pitch and power (without any engine gauges) following the glideslope meanwhile my FO is tracking the localizer using the mag compass card! FUN FUN! We made it and landed safely!
. . . just another day on the job!
There are a handful of things that need to be done: 30 kt. crosswind takeoff and landing, steep turns, departure stall, some sort of malfunction (gen. 1 off for me), normal ILS, single engine ILS to landing, engine failure at V1, and a couple non-precision and CAT II approaches.
Thrown in is windshear, TCAS RA, and "roll upset." For this session, these all happened at once! We were on downwind for the approach and got the DESCEND, DESCEND, I disconnected the autopilot and followed the VSI pointer. . .TERRAIN, TERRAIN, WHOOP WHOOP PULL UP. Terrain takes priority, so I pulled up, back at my assigned altitude. . WHAM, we're inverted!
Later in the checkride, the elevator locks up. Now, there's a handle in every airliner that disconnects the left control from the right (both elevator and aileron). I pull the handle and I've got control. Then the ailerons lock up, we pull the roll handle and the FO has command of the ailerons. So now we're flying, me with pitch and my FO with the roll. One by one the screens start to disappear. So now we're shooting an ILS to minimums using the stand-by instruments (the ones in the center):
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/208399/M/
I've got control of pitch and power (without any engine gauges) following the glideslope meanwhile my FO is tracking the localizer using the mag compass card! FUN FUN! We made it and landed safely!
. . . just another day on the job!