Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
FWIW, Embraer officially recommend (in the E170/190 AOM2) the deselection of the flight director when the autoflight system is disconnected.
Ok, I'll eat the crow I deserve, or how I learned to love the Bus.
- Thread starter nimslow
- Start date
Stone Cold
Well-Known Member
Am I reading this right? They are saying any time you hand fly, turn the FD off? Even if you're following the Flight Director? So on takeoff, I'm assuming you have the FD off and autopilot off until a certain altitude, per their recommendation?
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
That was a touch inadequate on my part. It's specific to disconnection in FLCH (open descent, to Airbus types). Viz.:
I personally would command "FLIGHT DIRECTORS OFF" right after autopilot disconnection during visual approaches anyway; if I wasn't following it, I wanted it off.
Stone Cold
Well-Known Member
Ah, makes more sense...when piloting, do pilot stuff!!
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
The flight director was required to be used for takeoff.Ah, makes more sense...when piloting, do pilot stuff!!
(It took off just fine without it once. I mean, so I'm told.)
RPJ
Well-Known Member
I'll be making the same transition as you in 18 months, MD80 to AB319/320.
ctab5060X
Well-Known Member
Turn the Flight Director OFF when the AP is disconnected while in FLCH??
Must be operator specific guidance because we don't have that.
How about just using any other vertical mode and TCS?
broncoav8r
Well-Known Member
During a visual approach AP/AT OFF sure. Hand flown FLCH climbs aren't a problem either really in the great scheme of things, it's basically the same thing we have all done since the piston days by climbing at Vx/Vy. However the one thing I didn't do (and still don't) is a hand flown FLCH descent. Want to hand fly in a descent? Select VS/FPA and kick it to SPDt instead of SPDe. Boeing is a little different in that in a descent so it's not as big of a deal, but old habits die hard.
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
Or turn it off, but we're just talking in circles now.
Level change in the climb is great. Level change, hand-flown descents, not so solid.
broncoav8r
Well-Known Member
Agreed...Both methods have their merits depending on situation, blah, blah, bah...provided that FLCH isn't used to go down manually...ever
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
Visual approach: turn the flight directors off. If you can't figure out how to make the vertical and lateral flight path hit the runway on speed and stabilized without the magenta devil, you might need to pick up another line of work.
(but do load up an approach to that runway if you've got it handy.)
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
I could reference you to a number of airplanes that landed at the wrong airport because they believed it was as simple as, "this plane, that runway."
But you already know about them.
So I'll just let you feel good about yourself on the internet.
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
Why thank you. It's my safe space.
Ellsworth is one of "those" places (and makes for interesting reading).
Thinking about good and meaningful hand flying opportunities is never a bad idea given the problems we seem to have with hand-flying; appropriate levels and such.
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
Why thank you. It's my safe space.
Ellsworth is one of "those" places (and makes for interesting reading).
Thinking about good and meaningful hand flying opportunities is never a bad idea given the problems we seem to have with hand-flying; appropriate levels and such.
I agree completely, but we shouldn't be hand flying in high threat environments just prove to the kids that we once played varsity.
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
I'll buy that.
Once you've confirmed that you're lined up on the correct runway at the correct airport and confirmed it without a doubt; if one then needs the magenta to make the vertical and lateral work and is unable to make it happen otherwise.....is how I read his post.
🦈💜
Well-Known Member
Handflying skills atrophy faster than one expects. But with the "high-threat" caveat, added, I can't disagree. Our job, first and foremost, is the safety of our passengers. Still, I take the opportunity to handfly as much as I can in "reduced threat" areas... or if the automation decides, say, that a GP into the ground is a good idea.
I don't personally believe that Mr. Blue was suggesting being an idiot for the sake of vanity, and I think he deserves a bit more implicit respect in consideration. I have yet to ever see him hold an attitude or line of thinking that is contrary to safety.
~Fox
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
You read correctly.
@jtrain609 is a dangerous hack who flies an Airbus now.
Interestingly, sheer mechanical flying skills - provided that they are taught correctly to start with (which, in our modern environment, is honestly quite a suspect assertion, although that hasn't been studied as much) - are typically over-learned and don't really atrophy, at least not in comparison to the higher order cognitive skillset. What does atrophy are the slightly higher-order skills that power "raw data" navigation, position-keeping and instrument interpretation.
My point is, unless you're on the 'Bus where it is le prohibited, when you turn stuff off, you might as well turn it all off and work out the cognitive part, and not just the psychomotor part.
Someday, you may *have* to do this by hand.
We had a deferred autopilot on a 200-1/2 day in MSP once; that was actually one of the better flying days, in terms of effort-versus-how-satisfied-I-felt, I've had.