Originally Posted by
pineteam
I don’t totally agree. Well if you keep the FD all the time and Auto Thrust I agree you don’t learn much.
But even if you had done challenging flying before , if you don’t practise you loose your skills. Simple as that.
Flying accurately a raw data ILS is not possible if you don’t train it regularly in line. I see so many guys doing raw data In daily operations and it confirms exactly what I say. The ones who do it often are usually the best. The only way to master instruments flying by hand and to feel confortable doing it in any conditions is to practise, practise and practise. Of course some are naturally better in term of handling. The ex military guys have usually a good handling but they are no exception to that rule. In fact they are not the best I have seen so saying ideally military is a bit pushy IMHO . From what I have seen so far, usually the guys who flew ATR in rough conditions are at ease when it comes to fly A320 raw data. I never flew ATR btw. I wish I did tho.
Some airline's SOPs (RYR), prohibit raw data line flying if the Flight Director is serviceable. Screwed up approaches and subsequent go arounds cost money.
They manage the threat of skills degradation by encouraging their pilots to book ad hoc sim time for practice in a dedicated fixed base machine.
There is no truth in the rumour that the sim has a coin slot on the outside, which accepts euros, in order to make it work.