Today Show - Automation Safer, but pilots confused when things go wrong
- Thread starter ComplexHiAv8r
- Start date
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
I hand-flew an MD-90 from SAN to SLC, FMS INOP, autopilot INOP and autothrottles INOP just VOR's and airways and, while easily doable, even fun. But would I want to do it for three more legs that day? Bitch, please. Nope.
In those situations you revert back to DC-9 style equipment; radar vector equipped.
typhoonpilot
Well-Known Member
I hand-flew an MD-90 from SAN to SLC, FMS INOP, autopilot INOP and autothrottles INOP just VOR's and airways and, while easily doable, even fun. But would I want to do it for three more legs that day? Bitch, please. Nope.
That is the beauty of the MD-90 it can do everything from full automation with LNAV/VNAV down to your back to basics DC-9 style without any automation. Very difficult, if not impossible to downgrade that much in newer highly automated aircraft.
TP
I still do.
I haven't found myself ever needing to track inbound or outbound on a raw radial, but still...
DE727UPS
Well-Known Member
HA...reminds me of the time I was an FO coming out of DFW. We get to departure and they say "fly heading 300 to join the Ranger 360 for weather". I was trying to remember how to put it in the box and the Capt just switched over to the VOR/LOC mode, dials in 360 in the window, and heading selected to follow the radial. I think it would have taken me until TOC to figure out how to do it in the box.
D
Deleted member 27505
Guest
2025 just called. They want their VORs back.
Bandit_Driver
Gold Member
Lol. LAN PSI have been out for awhile. DXO has been up and down. Makes it a fun time trying to fly a departure or arrival. ATC has to vector the /A guys everywhere.
They spent days teaching us this "Manual Dry Clean" acronym for doing just that, but I haven't been asked to join a radial in years.
Bandit_Driver
Gold Member
Fly out of DTW more. Turn left join the Detroit 006 to Layne. You probably get direct though.
TFaudree_ERAU
Mashin' dem buttons
I may or may not have had a botched FMS data load prior to a KRIC-MYNN trip. Botched it so bad that we couldn't even revert to the outdated database and use that with coordinate cross checks. Went in, refiled as /Q, and went on our merry way. ATC couldn't ever quite comprehend why we couldn't go direct to fixes or VORs 300 miles away.
Autothrust Blue
"Well, on the Brasilia..."
A prime example of using the right mode for the job.
"American umpty-ump, fly heading umpty ump—"
HDG SELECT umpty ump
"— intercept the Ranger umpty ump radial"
Tune and ID the Ranger umpty ump and display it.
I hate messing around with our rudimentary FMS down near the ground. We have a pseudo VORTAC function, for instance, but when you're given "heading (__) join the (___) radial" and you aren't expecting it, it's easier to just spin the knobs, tune it and fly it while the other guy types 80 words per minute.
Incidentally, when I was at Eagle, a good number of people would fly radar vectors on the HDG SEL page of the FMS instead of just spinning the bug around. (This screwed a bunch of people up - 'HDG SEL' instead of 'PROC HDG' being displayed on the FMC head made more than one EMB 145 copy a phone number on the next departure.) Sure, you can stay in (L)NAV that way, but why?
Alchemy
Well-Known Member
I "fly" a Boeing and most pilots at this company hand fly for about 2 minutes per flight, if that. Probably less if you don't count the takeoff and landing rolls. Most of the time it's just two/three/four of us sitting there watching the autopilot fly. I haven't "flown" a leg in about 2 months, ha. I use the term "flown" loosely - I'm just mashing buttons on an autopilot and cdu 99.99% of the time. I'm seriously considering buying a 25% share in a 172 to get my fun fix back in. This type of job makes you a total wuss (no offense to my comrades). I generally start to freak out if I'm expected to do anything more than a walk around and start coffee.
A couple years ago it was "GET THE AUTOPILOT ON!"
(lots of hilarity ensued)
Now it's "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Turn off the automation and make sure you fly every once in a while because y'all be screwing up all kinna stuff's"
Another reason why accountants and fresh business school grads should be no part of the operations equation.
(lots of hilarity ensued)
Now it's "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Turn off the automation and make sure you fly every once in a while because y'all be screwing up all kinna stuff's"
Another reason why accountants and fresh business school grads should be no part of the operations equation.
Chief Captain
Well-Known Member
Seems like a lot more work than it's worth.
Screaming_Emu
Joe Conventional
Well...I mean you look who you guys have training you...
Beep
Well-Known Member
I had a Kathleen Maddigan moment when we were told the same thing where I work... Was thinking " why don't we hand fly more often? Because *expletive* you told us..."
Soul Brotha'
Off to go do Black guy stuff
At the BlueJuice factory they want us to hand fly more often and turn off the auto thrust now.
I was like, what, you trust me now to fly the plane.
