Help with developing A320 control feel

[Rosstafari]

I'm in the sims on the A320. Things are going okay, working on flows, etc.

One sticking point - finesse when it comes to the controls. It's okay, even smooth, with standard flying. But when it comes to maneuvers where I need to add some more force (stalls, alternate law, etc), I sometimes overcontrol. On the same note, during stall recoveries, I'm sometimes unintentionally rolling when I'm just wanting pitch.

Any tips? Trade you for a beer.

 

[ASpilot2be]

Fly with your thumb and two fingers. It's hard to fly smooth when you use your whole hand.

 

[form810]

I'm in the sims on the A320. Things are going okay, working on flows, etc.

One sticking point - finesse when it comes to the controls. It's okay, even smooth, with standard flying. But when it comes to maneuvers where I need to add some more force (stalls, alternate law, etc), I sometimes overcontrol. On the same note, during stall recoveries, I'm sometimes unintentionally rolling when I'm just wanting pitch.

Any tips? Trade you for a beer.

Meh, just think of it as a video game - 'cause it is, even in the "real" plane - and play accordingly.

 

[Box hauler]

When it comes to the Bus, poor flying in the sim is mostly just a sim thing. The way the control laws works it can be awkward to make hand movements translate to what you’re trying to do. The real airplane will make much more sense. If you try to prevent rolling and pitch changes at the same time it will make it easier

 

[CFIscare]

As others have mentioned, hand flying will feel more natural and smooth once you get to real flying and have some hours in it.

In the mean time, the best thing I can recommend is to ensure you have the proper seat and armrest setting. Having an improper setting can lead to some of the things you had mentioned.

Are You Properly Seated? | Safety First

The best position for a pilot to fly is not left to chance. It is the result of detailed analysis and design that provides the optimum seating position for both the Pilot Flying (PF) and the Pilot Monitoring (PM) to safely and comfortably operate their aircraft.

safetyfirst.airbus.com

 

[form810]

As others have mentioned, hand flying will feel more natural and smooth once you get to real flying and have some hours in it.

In the mean time, the best thing I can recommend is to ensure you have the proper seat and armrest setting. Having an improper setting can lead to some of the things you had mentioned.

Are You Properly Seated? | Safety First

The best position for a pilot to fly is not left to chance. It is the result of detailed analysis and design that provides the optimum seating position for both the Pilot Flying (PF) and the Pilot Monitoring (PM) to safely and comfortably operate their aircraft.

safetyfirst.airbus.com

Yeah! This.

Do this in every rental car you ever rent, too. Also, know where the light switch, the mirror settings switch, and the very special, marketing-driven, gear-shifter dillywhopper-whatchamacallit is. Forget about where the starter button is; If you can't suss that out, you will remain safe and sound.

Also, please internalize the understanding that if controlling a car in an exigent circumstance is incumbent upon your mirror settings or seat position, something is VSF, and you're probably gonna crash.

Drive the car.

Fly the plane.


...Or, I suppose, just let the machine fly the plane, and literally display the utter uselessness of the presence of your ass (YCTSAH) in your seat.

And, don't forget to tell your union reps and your bosses just how important it is for them to, you know, have you sitting there.

 

[CoffeeIcePapers]

The airbus is performing a lot of magic in normal law, so don’t try to overcorrect. Just put it where you want it, and it will mostly stay. Don’t worry about finesse on steep turns and what not.

Stalls and alternate law maneuvers can be flown mainly the same way, there’s just less magic happening. It’s ok to be ham fisted with those, just try to avoid secondary stalls.

 

[Soul Brotha']

The more you try and “fly” it the more erratic it will be. Less is more. Two finger method works well as mentioned above. Sim is more about procedures and learning how your airline wants it flown. Get on the line and there you will get comfortable flying it. When you ask ”What’s it doing now? 99% of the time you told it to do that. Fun airplane to fly.

 

[BobDDuck]

I think if said it before, but the best advise I've gotten is to hold the stick like it was another guy's junk.

Also, if you feel like you are overcontrolling, let go for a second.

 

[form810]

I think if said it before, but the best advise I've gotten is to hold the stick like it was another guy's junk.

Also, if you feel like you are overcontrolling, let go for a second.

Dang! And here I was thinking it was soooo great when we no longer had to endure the awkwardly gay moment of BOTH hands on the throttle. Way to take it to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!

Too "verbose" for yah? Well... is it?

 

[Rosstafari]

Yeah! This.

Do this in every rental car you ever rent, too. Also, know where the light switch, the mirror settings switch, and the very special, marketing-driven, gear-shifter dillywhopper-whatchamacallit is. Forget about where the starter button is; If you can't suss that out, you will remain safe and sound.

Also, please internalize the understanding that if controlling a car in an exigent circumstance is incumbent upon your mirror settings or seat position, something is VSF, and you're probably gonna crash.

Drive the car.

Fly the plane.


...Or, I suppose, just let the machine fly the plane, and literally display the utter uselessness of the presence of your ass (YCTSAH) in your seat.

And, don't forget to tell your union reps and your bosses just how important it is for them to, you know, have you sitting there.

 

[Rosstafari]

I think if said it before, but the best advise I've gotten is to hold the stick like it was another guy's junk.

Also, if you feel like you are overcontrolling, let go for a second.

Instructions unclear, meeting with Professional Standards at 3

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Since you asked specifically about flight control degradations…

Alternate law wasn’t anything special in my book, really; pitch control was as in normal (load factor demand) and the roll control wasn’t rate-based(? I don’t remember) but it also wasn’t terribly remarkable either if memory serves. The speed stabilities are neat to see.

Specific to pitch and roll direct…small inputs, please, and keep the stabilizer in trim if you’re able to do so. Remember that you’re moving the whole damn elevator or aileron-spoiler combination directly, and surface deflection is proportional to stick position with no gain whatsoever. It’s just an airplane at that point with admittedly horrible (no) control feel or feedback. If it’s lousy it’s because it is lousy, but it’s perfectly controllable.

One general Airbus thing observation that regardless of how you’re flying the thing—from pitch and roll direct to all the way up in managed NAV with an autopilot engaged—you must always understand what you are asking the machine to do. Indeed that might well have been the root cause of the majority of the cock-ups I witnessed in my time on the thing.

 

[BobDDuck]

Dang! And here I was thinking it was soooo great when we no longer had to endure the awkwardly gay moment of BOTH hands on the throttle. Way to take it to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!

Too "verbose" for yah? Well... is it?

That's just called a coupled approach.

 

[roundout]

I'm in the sims on the A320. Things are going okay, working on flows, etc.

One sticking point - finesse when it comes to the controls. It's okay, even smooth, with standard flying. But when it comes to maneuvers where I need to add some more force (stalls, alternate law, etc), I sometimes overcontrol. On the same note, during stall recoveries, I'm sometimes unintentionally rolling when I'm just wanting pitch.

Any tips? Trade you for a beer.

First off. Bruh.

Second. It’s a sim. There’s no control feel.

 

[derg]

Are you talking about the full flight simulator or that big stationary contraption called a FTD?

 

[Rosstafari]

Thanks all. Much better control today after following the advice. It was a huge help.

V1 cuts, single engine things, and slat/flat failures tomorrow. We’ll see if that sparks a new thread…

Are you talking about the full flight simulator or that big stationary contraption called a FTD?

FFS. There’s a half broken FTD around that I sometimes sneak into late at night to practice flows, but I’m experiencing the thrill of motion sickness on taxi these days.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

V1 cuts

Everyone poops their pants about this maneuver for reasons completely unclear to me, and it's really a quite straightforward and docile V1 cut. Comment reserved until I think about it some more as to what's the actual hard part of Airbus type training, though at Yellow we leaned heavily into not mere knowledge, but comprehension of the flight control laws.

Second. It’s a sim. There’s no control feel.

In fairness, the actual airplane doesn't really have any control feel either.

 

[roundout]

slat/flat failures

This is the easiest way to get retraining, pay close attention

 

[Autothrust Blue]

This is the easiest way to get retraining, pay close attention

IMS, there’s some fast and fancy footwork at like 300’, and some pretty specific directions on the Status Page.