Originally Posted by
parabellum
Sonicbum - My only quibble with your argument is that simulators rarely faithfully reproduce the seat of the pants sensations necessary to properly fly an aircraft and so obviously lacking in some recent accidents.
Originally Posted by
Uplinker
Quite so, Sonicbum, but I also agree with parabellum.
Too many simulator sessions these days are box ticking exercises then-piss-off-early-to-beat the traffic. If an exercise is not flown properly, you get a minor bollocking from the TRE who tells you what you should have done, then an immediate repeat which, unsurprisingly, you get right. The box is ticked and you move on to the next exercise. But have you really learned, understood and practiced the manouever until it is second nature? Of course not.
As a long term Airbus pilot recently converted onto the Boeing, I do find the Boeing autothrust confusing. Obviously, I am not completely au fait with it yet, but it seems (to me) go to arm at strange times, and doesn’t always pick up, so you have to watch it like a hawk otherwise it can bite you in the arse by dropping out while you are re briefing because the arrival and ILS changed or whatever.
You are
absolutely right. The seat of the pants sensation is almost completely absent in the sim and that is an important limit of these training devices that we should account for. The "box ticking" philosophy is one of the major concerns affecting the industry as, especially nowadays, everything must be fast and cost efficient otherwise the bean counters will see it as unproductive. Me, like I believe the majority of other trainers regardless of the type of airline, have found myself with 4 hours sim sessions filled up way above the brim with enough material to cover comfortably 2 sessions. You then end up with maybe 1 or 2 trainers signing training disruptions for lack of time whilst the majority just cuts every possible corner to finish the session, go home and chill. No need to say who then gets questioned by the training department. I honestly don't know where we are going to end up by following those principles and I praise those operators who still manage to keep the bar high regardless of how expensive it is.